I’d called Tanya around five to find out if she wanted to join me for dinner. I’d assumed she would, but I wanted to make sure. She hadn’t sounded good. Her voice had been flat and devoid of any meaningful emotion. She’d assured me it was nothing, but I was still fretting. It was nearing six and I was expecting her any moment. I hoped I hadn’t crossed a line somewhere and upset her.

Last night and again this morning had been magical. There was no other word to describe it. Tanya had bedrooms skills, of that there was no arguing, but it went beyond that. Far beyond that. I hadn’t been kidding when I said I thought about having her for lunch. I simply couldn’t seem to get enough of her, but it was more than she’d fucked me like I’d never been fucked before. It went much deeper than physical pleasure. I felt we had a connection. Something had happened between us. It wasn’t love. I didn’t love her. But it was something, something I’d never experienced before. I couldn’t describe it, but we fit together, like two pieces of a puzzle. It was confusing and weird and wonderful in equal measure.

I tried to write my Health Minute tips but couldn’t focus. All I could think about was Tanya and how she made me feel. I’d finally gone to my spare bedroom and used the machine in there to hammer out a routine. That had helped a great deal to relax me, but it hadn’t in anyway changed how much I was looking forward to Tanya’s arrival.

I was working in the kitchen when I heard the rap at the door. We were having charred lemon chicken piccata with a side of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions in a light vinaigrette dressing. I wiped my hands and hurried to the door, my heart thudding with equal parts excitement and dread.

“Hey,” I said opening the door and inviting her in, offering her a kiss as she entered. “Everything okay?” I asked after our lips parted.

“Fine,” she replied as she followed me to the kitchen. She sounded better than she had on the phone, but something was still off.

I checked on the chicken and turned my attention back to her. “We’re having chicken. I eat a lot of that. I hope that’s okay.”

She smiled, slowly brightening. “It smells wonderful.”

“It’s one of my favorites.” I paused. I didn’t want to ask, but I had to know. “Everything okay with us?”

She looked at me in surprise. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You seem a little, I don’t know, down. I thought maybe you were having some regrets.”

She looked at me as she softened. “No regrets. Just a bad day at work. That thing I had to do? It was awful. I watched a woman’s life be destroyed and go to pieces right in front of me.”

I checked the chicken one more time then moved to her and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry.” I liked the way her arms went around me and how she laid her head against my chest.

“Not your fault. It comes with the job.”

“Why do you do it?”

“It’s all I know.”

I nodded. I wished I could help her, but I didn’t know how. I held her a little tighter for a moment then released her. “Dinner will be up in a moment. Want a glass of wine?”

She was steadily improving. “I’d love one.”

I opened the bottle I’d selected to go with the chicken. I didn’t know shit about wine, so I hoped what I’d picked up from Megan applied. I poured her a half glass, then a little less for myself. I tried to avoid empty calories where I could.

I filled the plates and placed them on the table, topping off her glass as I sat. She took a tentative bite and smiled.

“This is excellent!” She sipped the wine. “It pairs really well with the wine.”

I sat back, allowing her to think I knew what I was doing with the pairing. By the time dinner was over she had completely returned to her normally good mood.

She helped clear the table as I loaded the dishwasher, then we settled on the couch. I thought it was funny she wanted to watch African Queen again, considering she’d ignored the last third of the movie the night before. Not that it mattered. I’d ignored it, too, for something far more interesting, but I’d seen the movie before.

She snuggled into my side. She was so tiny she took up almost no space. We made it all the way through the movie this time without her attacking me, much to my disappointment. When the movie ended she looked up at me. I softly caressed her jaw with my thumb and forefinger before I took her lips in a slow, luxurious kiss.

“Can you stay tonight?”

“I was hoping you’d ask. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought some clothes for tomorrow.”

“Why would I mind? Where are they?”

“I left them in my car. I didn’t want to assume.”

I smiled. We were treading lightly. Perhaps she was sensing something, too, and didn’t want to mess it up. “If you want to go get them, I’ll draw you a bath.”

She looked at me, her eyes slightly wide. “You’re kidding.”

“About what?”

“Drawing me a bath?”

I felt a chill. “Why? Is that wrong?”

“No, but why?”

“Wouldn’t you enjoy one? I thought that’s what women liked after a hard day.”

“No, not that. Why are you being so nice?”

I paused, trying to sort through her words. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like it’s a lot of work. Turn on the taps and adjust the temperature.”

“It’s not that, it’s…”

“What?”

“So thoughtful. Nobody has ever offered to draw me a bath before.”

I shrugged. “Now you can’t say that anymore. So…yes? No?”

She smiled. “Yes. Thank you. Do you do this for every woman you sleep with?”

I laughed softly. “No.”

“Ever offered to do it before?”

I thought about lying but decided not to. Why should I? I hadn’t done anything wrong. “One other.”

She smiled. “The woman that lived with you for a while?” I nodded. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

“Why lie?”

She smiled, and I liked it. “Why indeed, but a lot of guys would have.”

“That’s stupid. Why lie about something so trivial?”

“I agree, but maybe they do it to try to make me feel special. I don’t know. Had you said I was the first, I’d have been suspicious. I don’t think that’s something that just springs to mind. You either think of things like that, or you don’t, and if you’d said no, I would have wondered what was special about me and not the woman you lived with.”

“Megan.”

“Megan,” she repeated. “If you weren’t offering to draw her a bath, but were me, and she was more than a friend with benefits, that calls into question a lot of things you’ve told me.”

I shook my head in teasing amazement. “Do you forget anything?”

“Not much.”

“Are you always so suspicious?”

Her smile was slightly sad. “It comes with the job. I can’t turn it off. A lot of guys can’t take it.”

I decided right then to always be straight with her. “You know I’ve had other lovers. Why pretend I haven’t? You didn’t become that good in bed without some practice, so you’ve obviously had other lovers.” I shrugged. “If it bothers you…”

She smiled and stepped in closer. “What would bother me is lying about it.”

“I haven’t lied to you, Tanya. I’m not going to start now, not after last night.”

She stepped in a little closer. “Good.”

I pulled her into a kiss, and suddenly, everything was right again. “Go get your clothes,” I murmured.

She stepped back, her gaze holding mine, then smiled. “I’d like the water a little on the warm side.”

“You got it.”

After she left, I waited a few moments before starting the water, trying to time the filling of the garden tub to her return. When I thought I’d waited long enough I began filling the tub, adjusting the water until it was a touch too hot for my tastes. I had some bath salts left over from when Megan was here, and I added them to the bath, making the entire room smell of something floral. The tub was nearing full when I opened the door to let Tanya back in.

“It’s ready.”

I took her bag as I directed her to the master bath, tossing it on the bed as we passed. She checked the water with a swish of her hands, then rubbed her fingers together before turning off the taps.

“Perfect,” she said as she began to disrobe.

I’d seen everything she had to show yesterday, so unless she ordered me out, I was staying for the view. I took her suit jacket from her, which I’d hang up after she settled into the water.

“Yes, it is,” I murmured as she took off her blouse. I took that and her skirt as well.

She smiled at me before she stepped into the garden tub and hissed as she slipped into the water before sliding lower in the tub with a sigh until the water stopped at her chin. She looked at me. I probably looked like a dipstick, standing in the middle of the bathroom holding her clothes, but I was frozen in my spot watching her.

“Want to join me?”

I shook myself out of reverie and smiled. “I would, but it’d be a little tight.”

“I thought you liked tight.”

I chuckled. I quickly hung her clothes and began to strip as I returned to the bathroom. I’d smell like a girl in the morning, but fuck it. She scrunched up close to the faucets, and I settled in behind her. It took some work, and a lot of snickering by both of us, but we finally managed to find a position with her between my legs that worked, and she lay back against my chest. It was crowded, really crowded, and if she’d been any bigger we wouldn’t have fit, but holding her snug and tight against me, my hands casually caressing her skin, was worth the small discomfort. And smelling like a chick.

I held her for a long time, my hands slowly sliding over her body as I occasionally kissed the top of her head.

“The water’s getting cold,” she murmured.

“I thought you went to sleep.”

She purred. “I could have, but…”

“But?”

“But when I fall asleep in your arms tonight, I’m not moving until morning.”

“I like that plan.”

She stood and stepped out of the tub, and I followed. I patted her dry with a fresh towel, then dried myself. She felt incredibly silky and smooth, and she smelled wonderful.

“Cold,” she said with a faint shiver as she stepped into my arms.

I wrapped her in my arms and held her close, her arms tucked in close to her sides. I held her a moment before she shivered again and felt her relax.

“Nice,” she murmured.

“Very,” I agreed.

I loosened my embrace and she slipped out, but not before I stole a quick kiss. I shaved as she removed her makeup. Other than a bit of color over her eyes, I couldn’t tell she even wore makeup, and I liked the fact that she allowed her natural beauty to shine through. We brushed our teeth before we retired to bed. She stopped at the closet to retrieve an empty hanger and placed it on the side table before sliding between the linens.

“What’s that for?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me as I tucked in close behind her.

“In case I want it later.”

“For what?”

“You’ll see.”

I wanted her, I wanted her badly, but she was going to have to make the first move tonight. I didn’t mind being the pursuer, but I didn’t want her to think the only reason I asked her to stay was so I could make love to her. I wanted her body, but I wanted her to be the last thing I saw before I fell asleep and the first thing I saw in the morning after I woke up almost as badly.

It was early, barely nine, but after the lengthy soak, this felt like the natural progression. I pulled her into a tight, warm spoon. I wouldn’t be able to hold her like that for long before I was sweating buckets, but I wanted to warm her up if she was still cold.

I held her for a time, my fingers delicately caressing the points of her breasts and my hard member pressed against her ass, until she turned over in my arms and held my gaze. I kissed her. She opened her mouth to me, and the kiss deepened and took on a life of its own.

“Oh God,” she murmured as she rolled to her back and I kissed down her body, pausing to nurse her breasts. “I was afraid we weren’t going to do this.”

I ignored the comment as I moved lower, slowly kissing down her stomach while my fingers played with her nipples. She drew her legs up as I moved lower, her hands in my hair tugging me in tighter as I set to work. She writhed sensually under my touch, her soft sighs of pleasure making me long to feel her around my shaft, but I wanted this more.

“Fuck…fuck…fuck…” she began to chant. God, I loved to hear her muttering that word repeatedly. “Fuck…fuck, fuck, fuck…fuck!” she gasped, her hands pulling my hair.

I looked up, watching as her back arched, thrusting her breasts skyward air as she tugged my mouth tight to her pussy. I was torn: continue to eat her to see if I could make her scream in pleasure, or plunge into her and make wild passionate love to her. She took the decision from my hands by shoving at me.

“Stop! Stop, stop, stop, stop!” she begged before relaxing with a sigh.

Making love it is, I thought as I moved higher, quickly kissing back up her body. I reached her lips, but before I could enter her, she pushed me away.

“Nuh-uh, not tonight, lover boy. I’ve got something special for you,” she said as she steered me to my back. She picked up the clothes hanger and handed the thick plastic triangle to me. “Hold this, both hands, and don’t let go.”

I took it with both hands before she hooked it over the decorative, stainless-steel bar that provided a matching trim piece on my bed to complement the knobs on the rest of my bedroom furniture. My hands were now above my head.

She smiled as she swung a leg over me, and as she settled over my hips, I felt a thrill of anticipation pass through time.

“You hold that and don’t let go. You let go, we’re done for the night, but so long as you hang onto it with both hands, I keep going. You game?”

Tanya was binding my hands, but in a safe, non-threatening way. This was new, and I felt a surge of anticipation. “Bring it,” I said with false bravado.

She smiled as she leaned down and caressed my lips with hers. “You had your way with me last night and this morning, but tonight, I’m going to break you.”

Oh my God! I was going to come before we even started, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “Do your worst.”

She kissed the side of my face to my ear. “Babe, my worst is very, very, good,” she breathed.

She rose slightly and settled back, my cock sliding deep inside her, her moan at its passage causing a tingle to pass through me. She settled back and smiled evilly as she began to rock her hips. I held her eyes, desperately wanting to caress her breasts, but I held the hanger. She closed her eyes, her arms lifting to hold her hair up as she rocked, her face twisted into a mask of ecstasy. I didn’t know if she was acting or not, but it was heating me up.

She bounced and rocked, her skin becoming damp with sweat as she worked on me. I was fighting my orgasm, trying everything to hold off the rising tide of pleasure, but I was losing the war with my body.

“Fuck…fuck…fuck, fuck…fuck!” she snarled as she shuddered, hunching forward, jerking and grunting.

I breathed a soft sigh of relief as she rode out her orgasm. I’d been a hairsbreadth from coming myself. She slowly sat up and smiled, then began to rock again. I hadn’t had time to recover, and the orgasm that had begun to recede came roaring back, stronger than ever.

“You like that?” she whispered, reading my distress. “You’re going to come. I’m going to make you come so fucking hard.”

“No!” I snarled, shaking my head violently.

“Yes,” she cooed.

I wanted to say no again, but it was too late. I splashed into her with a groan, which only served to encourage her. She fell forwards into my chest and proceeded to fuck the shit out of me. I roared in erotic pain as she pounded me into her hard and fast, my pleasure soaring as she fucked me. I wanted to let go of the hanger, to end the torment, but I never wanted her to stop. I roared again as I bucked and thrust, drawing hard against the plastic, trying to fight through the pleasure she was giving me, my body alive with orgasmic fire unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

I cried out again, and the plastic shattered, broken by my straining against it as I fought the bliss. I dropped the remains of it and wrapped her in my arms, holding her tight as I quivered and thrust. She’d reduced me to a shivering blob, and I held her, waiting for the lightning inside me to end.

“Fuck!” I gasped as my orgasm washed out of me. I started to release her, but she pumped her hips again and another massive aftershock rippled through me. I clamped down on her again as I grunted and thrust, my body no longer mine to control. “Shit!” I breathed as the cascading waves of pleasure finally stopped.

She forced herself out of my arms and kissed me slowly, sweetly, and smiled down at me. “If you talk to that fat-titted whore, April, again, you tell her what this scrawny ass bitch did to you.”

I shuddered with a soft grunt of residual pleasure. When were the fucking aftershocks going to stop? “Is that what this was about?”

Her smiled widened slightly. “No. This was about me giving back some of what you did to me last night, and getting to enjoy watching you come. But tell her anyway.”

I chuckled as I pulled her lips to mine.