The waves crash just outside my open window and I sigh. Graduation was last week. My father was proud, Nixon played the part of stand-in boyfriend, and my eyes never left Eric’s as he sat in the audience. Each day, we somehow end up at my bungalow by the sea. When I can get him alone, I see parts of Eric nobody ever sees. Deep below the surface of the cool, composed businessman is something I’m desperate to know and love.

“I’m going to tell my father,” I murmur, my voice barely heard over the gulls cawing nearby.

Eric, still half asleep, slides his palm over my naked ribs and mumbles. “Tell him what?”

He’s lazy in the way he runs his thumb over my nipple. As if we have all the time in the world to do just this. I wish it were true.

“That we’re together. That I love you…”

His head is turned, his hair messy, but he finally looks over at me. He squints his eyes and dark hair dusts his cheeks. I love when he looks like this. So unkempt and unruly.

“There’s not much he can do about it,” he says, his full lips quirking up on one side.

He rolls onto his back while grabbing my hips. I’m easily pulled over to straddle him. His erection is hard and throbbing between the lips of my pussy.

“He might not pay for my college,” I tell him as I rub against his length.

He groans and grips my thighs hard. “You never have to want for anything. You know I’ll give you whatever you want, all you have to do is ask, angel.”

His words turn me on. Gritty and feral. Possessive and protective. I grip his cock in my hand, then slide down over him. At one time, he stretched and hurt me. Now, we seem to fit together painlessly and perfectly. Once I’m seated on him, I dig my fingernails into his pectoral muscles and stare into his icy blue eyes.

“I want to get married.”

His hips buck into me and his glare becomes murderous. For a moment, I worry maybe I spoke the words too soon. But I can’t help it. I saw how much my father loved my mother based on the pictures. Time is precious. The one you love could be gone in an instant. Wasting that time seems stupid. I don’t want to waste another minute.

Plus…

I’m carrying his child.

We’re a family now. We may as well make it official.

He rolls us over, then drives into me so hard, I cry out. His mouth attacks mine. Biting and sucking. He worships it with a soul stealing kiss. I run my fingers through his thick, dark hair and pray he’ll love my body every day like this until we die.

He grabs hold of my thigh and pushes it up to the point of pain. Eric loves making me open and vulnerable to him. From this position, he gets in so deep, I swear I can feel him in my stomach. I grow wetter for him with each passing second as my orgasm nears. Our bodies make obscene sounds as they slap together. His animalistic grunts have me moaning with need. He bucks his hips in such a way, he grinds against my clit each time. Harder and harder. Eventually, he pushes me right over the edge. I cry out and shudder beneath him. His groans carry on for a few more thrusts until he exhales loudly, his teeth moving to sink into my shoulder. My pussy clenches around his cock, setting him off. Heat bursts inside me. If I weren’t already pregnant, I have a feeling he’d have just gotten me that way.

He doesn’t pull out of me, even as his dick softens, and his orgasm trickles out of me. The bed is getting messy beneath me, but I don’t even care. All I care about is having him every day.

“Why was she so special?” I ask, my tone bitter. The thought that he stayed with Julia long enough to have four kids annoys me. I don’t like her. How could she leave him? He’s beautiful and smart and successful. They had four kids together. If I ever see the bitch, she’ll hear words from me.

“Julia?”

The fact that he knows who I’m talking about agitates me more. I blink back angry tears. “Yes.”

He lets out a heavy sigh and lifts up to regard me. “She just got under my skin. I liked it. For the first time, someone had managed to do it. It completely fascinated me, and eventually, I grew to need that feeling.”

I frown. “And me?”

“You’re so far under my skin, I can’t think straight.” He presses a soft kiss to my mouth. “But I don’t worry that you’ll one day up and leave me.”

“You worried with her?”

“Beneath the love for me and the boys, she always had suspicion in her eyes. I didn’t have to cheat, because in her mind, I’d already done it. Nothing was ever good enough for her when it came to me.” His fingers run through my hair and he stares at me as though I’m precious to him. My heart swells and I nearly burst into tears.

“She was a stupid woman to have left you,” I tell him, my voice wobbling. “Especially since you had children together.”

I’ll never leave him.

Not now. Not ever.

“I’ve looked for her,” he says, shame coating his words. I’ve never seen him look so lost.

I tense and swallow. “When?”

“Every day since the day she left.”

Hot tears burn at my eyes, then spill down my temples. Suddenly, I want him away from me. I don’t want him inside me. I try to push him off, but he’s way too heavy. He must sense my mood change because he grabs my wrists and pins them to the bed. His cock starts to harden inside me.

“I hired a private investigator, Rowan. It’s for the boys’ sake. I didn’t personally actively search for her each day. Someone is being paid to look.” He leans his forehead against mine, and it only serves to make my heartrate skyrocket. “If I can find her, for them, I will. But I don’t give a fuck if I ever see her face again.”

“You still love her,” I accuse, choking on a sob. I twist and attempt to escape his grasp. He pins both my wrists with his one strong hand and grips my jaw with his other, forcing me to look at him.

“No.” His eyes blaze with fury. “Only you.”

“Liar!” I yell, my newly out-of-control emotions raging.

He growls as he manhandles me onto my stomach. Once my face is pushed into the mattress, he settles between my thighs and presses his cock against the puckered hole of my ass.

“I never claimed her ass, angel,” he hisses.

I scream at the top of my lungs when he enters me hard. I’ll never get used to the way it feels. Like someone is trying to rip me in half with a hot poker. He doesn’t slow or go easy on me. His fucking is brutal and claiming, like he wants to punish me.

I sob and squirm, but eventually give in to his feral ass fucking. I’m his. End of story. It’s what he’s telling me with his harsh thrusting and furious bites to my shoulder. Everything hurts, but the only thing I can feel is him. Eric. All over me. In me. He owns every nerve ending. My entire soul.

“There she is,” he croons, his fucking slowing to a pace I love. Gentle and sweet. Caring. “My angel lost her shit for a minute, but she’s back. My sweet, sweet girl.”

I moan when he slides a hand beneath me to seek out my clit. The pain always gets shoved to the backseat when he pleasures me with his dick in my ass. It’s weird how I go from hating every second to literally begging for more. I’m addicted to the brutality of it. The way he makes me feel entirely under his control.

My tears soak the sheets, but soon, it’s my orgasm making the mess. With Eric, though, I never feel dirty. He always seems pleased when I let myself go. Our bodies mate so well together. It’s like they’ve always known each other.

“Eric,” I cry out as I become weak beneath him. All of my energy is gone. He continues rocking his hips against me, grinding his cock deeper and deeper into my ass, until he comes once more. I’ll never grow tired of the way it feels to be filled with his cum.

“I don’t know how many ways I have to spell it out for you, Rowan, but you’re fucking mine,” he breathes against my hair, his words furious. “Mine.”

I nod, but can’t get any words out. He slides his cock from my ass and settles his weight on me. His lips press against any bare flesh he can find. Sweet, yet claiming.

“I love you,” he whispers against my shoulder blade. “Only you.”

“I love you too.”

“I know, angel. You only get upset because you care. It fucking moves me.”

I smile and try to turn my head to look at him. He seeks out my mouth with his. His kiss is sweet and sexy.

“Next time you need a good ass fucking to remind you I love you, pretty girl, just open that sassy mouth and mention my sons’ deadbeat mother.” He chuckles as he kisses my cheek. “I dare you.”

And as soon as my sore ass heals up, you can sure as hell bet I’m going to taunt him into proclaiming his love once more.