Hours later, dinner has been eaten, stories have been told, and laughs have surrounded us for hours. Finally, the tension and dread that have underlined the last couple of weeks has fallen away.

After we clean up, Sarah wipes her hand on the dish towel. “Well, fam, I’m off to soak in my bathtub before sleeping for at least twelve hours in my own bed. Now that we’re not on lockdown, I’m going to head home. Call me if you need anything.”

We say our goodbyes and Sarah leaves. Soon, Carsen crashes out too, falling asleep almost before her head hit the pillow. It’s a little slice of heaven when she asked if Keith and I both could tuck her in.

After closing her door, Keith pulls me close, kissing my forehead as the gravity of what our family could be sinks in. Detouring through the kitchen to snag two nightcap beers, we snuggle on the back porch, talking and looking at the stars.

“I’m going to grab another,” Keith says, sighing happily. “I think I’ve earned it today. Want one?”

“No, thanks. I think I’m going to change into my jammies. I’ll meet you back in five?”

Keith heads to the kitchen and I go to our bedroom. Wait . . . our bedroom. God, that feels good, and I’m going to love getting used to saying that. Quickly, I dig through the big drawer where I’d dumped the clothes Sarah had brought over for me, looking for PJs. I guess if this is our bedroom now, maybe I’ll have to claim more than one drawer in the dresser.

Shuffling things around, I see a flash of red lace. I fish around a bit, pulling out a lacy teddy I’d bought but never worn. Sarah brought just the thing.

Slipping my clothes off, I change into the teddy and check myself in the full-length mirror. Looking good, Elise. And now it’s time to be a little bad.

Sticking my head out the window, I see Keith below, his back to me as he watches the moon. “Keith, can you help me with something?”

I wait, standing tall and proud in the middle of the room as I hear him come inside, his bare feet still clumping on the carpet. Thank God he’s a country singer. He’d never make it as a ninja.

“What do you ne—” Keith asks as he steps inside, but his voice tapers off into a groan as he sees me. “Holy shit.”

I smile and arch my back a bit, knowing the pink of my nipples is visible through the fine lace. “I think this might be a bit too revealing. What do you think?”

“God damn, Elise,” Keith says, his eyes wide and his jaw still a little slack. “You look sexy as fuck. Turn around, let me see all of you.”

I do as he says, turning a slow circle to let him see all of me, but I look over my shoulder, wanting to see his reaction to the tiny string between my ass cheeks.

I don’t have to wait as Keith nearly pounces across the room to grab me forcefully from behind. Excitement sends shivers down my body as I expect him to shred the lace, hurl me across the bed, and ravish my body however the fuck he wants . . . but this is Keith, and as always, he’s in control.

“You tease me . . . but it’s a good tease,” he whispers in my ear, running a gentle finger along the edge at my cleavage, smiling as goosebumps break out along my skin. “But you’re not going to make me lose control first.”

His hips grind forcefully against my body as he turns me around, his full cock already pressing to my clit, but his touch is reverent as he traces along the slim strap at my shoulder.

“Do you like it?”

“Like?” Keith asks, lifting one strap and easing it off my shoulder but leaving my breast still covered. Tracing his finger down my arm, he shakes his head once. “No. I fucking love it.”

He reaches behind me, grabbing the tiny thong and pulling it up, making it rub along my pussy as I gasp at the sensation. I feel the bottom slip between my lips, and the string rubs against my asshole, making me shudder as Keith leans down, whispering in my ear.

“I’m going to fuck you in this, this sexy red lingerie that makes me so fucking hard for you. I’m gonna leave it on you and just slip this little string that’s splitting your ass over to the side so I can get my cock in your hot pussy. Do you want that, Elise?”

My head nods like a bobblehead, desperate for what he’s saying to happen right now. “Fuck yes, Keith. Do it now. Fuck me.”

But he steps back, his hand rubbing along the bulge in his jeans, and my pussy gets even wetter, knowing he’s gonna fill me with his thick cock. “Oh, Elise. You know better than that. Who’s in charge here?”

I bite my lip, knowing this is part of the tease, although it doesn’t always feel like a tease . . . it just feels natural. For a second, I’m reminded of him telling me in our first interview that foreplay can be the best part if it’s done right, and fuck, does he do it right. “You are.”

“That’s right, good girl. Get on the bed, on your knees and face down.”

I hurry to do as he says, grabbing a pillow to lay my face on as I lift my ass in the air. I can feel Keith move behind me, his presence filling the room and my senses. He pauses behind me, running a gentle, intimate hand over my right cheek so softly that it almost feels like a whisper of wind. “That’s a damn pretty sight, your fine ass turned up for me.”

He grabs a handful of each of my cheeks with his large hands, kneading and massaging, spreading me open wide to his gaze. “Look how wet your pussy is. I’ve barely touched you and your cream is soaking down your thighs. Time to taste.”

Without letting go of his powerful hold on my cheeks, he bends down to bury his face between my legs, tracing his tongue in a long line up my inner thigh to my center before repeating it on the other side. I shiver at the sensation, so good but not nearly enough. I lift my ass more, tempting him, taunting him, hoping he’ll give me what I desperately need.

I should’ve known better. Smack! His hand pops down on my cheek, fire exploding from my ass through my body before re-centering on my desperate pussy. “Bad girl. I know what you want, and I’ll give it to you. But only when I’m ready. Until then, let me take my time.”

I whine, the heat from the spanking warming my body and leaving me wanting more. Smack! He spanks my other cheek and I glare back at him. “You . . . you fucker. You know exactly what you’re doing.”

“Damn right,” he says, his eyes never leaving my ass. Keith gently rubs to soothe the sting, his smile showing how pleased with himself he is for spanking me. “Needed your pretty cheeks to match this lace.”

The flash of pain gone, his touch gets rougher again, and he spreads me wide, the thong string pulled off to one side to let him have full access to anything he wants. Holding my breath as he leans forward, ready for his tongue on my pussy, I clench the blanket underneath me to prepare for the expected bliss. But that’s not what he does. Instead, he starts on the outside, at the base of my ass before his hot, wet tongue moves toward my higher center, and I feel him flick against my asshole, making me squirm in delight.

He holds me tighter, locking me in place where he wants me. “You’re mine, Elise. Every part of you . . . mine.”

I nod, overwhelmed by the wonderful sensations of his tongue on my ass, but it’s not enough. “Tell me.”

“Yours,” I moan, my hips bucking uncontrollably even though he has a tight hold on me. “Everything. It’s all yours.”

“Mmm, good girl,” he murmurs, licking me again, his tongue slipping over my ass before moving down to tease at my lips. I spread my knees wider, letting him in deeper, and he takes the invitation, fucking my pussy with his tongue before circling my clit.

“Ohh, fuck . . . Keith . . . feels so good.”

He’s teasing me, tracing patterns with no sense so I can’t expect his touch, making me feel so good without letting it build too high, driving me crazy as he feasts on my body.

He moves a finger to my ass, letting the thick digit press inside slowly and deliciously, never pausing his torture of my clit. Deeper inside he goes, and I feel a sense of being so full, so wonderfully impaled, and this is just the beginning. I push back, wild for more as I moan and cry out, begging him.

He slips his free thumb into my pussy, filling me as he finger-fucks me faster and faster, filling my ass and pussy simultaneously.

Suddenly, he sucks my whole pussy into his mouth, thrashing his tongue across my clit. I explode, my orgasm pounding through me, tremors wracking my body as I bury my cries in the pillow.

I’m still coming when I feel him pull back, his jeans dropping and his hard cock thrusting deep inside me in one long stroke. It sets me off again, and I keep spasming, my walls fluttering around his thickness as he pounds my body relentlessly.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I squeal nearly incoherently as my spine fills with fire. I arch and reach back for him, trying to get all of him that I can. Keith is tugging the string of my thong tight over my left cheek, and he grabs my hands behind my back, locking them in place and forcing me to be still for him. “That’s it,” he says as he roughly, wonderfully hammers my pussy. “Keep squeezing me like that. Let me feel you milking my cock, your pussy sucking the cum out of me.”

I squeeze my pussy as hard as I can, wanting to drive him as crazy as he’s driving me, wanting him to reach that tipping point where he loses control.

“Harder,” I growl as I regain my voice. “Fuck me . . . I want it, Keith. Come in me and fill me up.”

He grunts, his hand twisting around the thong, and I feel the lace loosen around my lower half, falling to the bed beneath me as he tears it from my body. Now that his hand is free, he buries it into my hair as he leans over me, still pinning my hands behind me as he covers me with his body to rumble in my ear. “You think you can take me harder, Elise? Be careful what you wish for.”

I nod, and he takes my breath away, slamming into me harder than ever before. Holy fuck . . . this man is more than I ever could have imagined, even after all the fucking we’ve done before. This is right on the line, the undercurrent of pain making the pleasure even better.

I know I’m going to be sore after, and I like the thought that he’ll be imprinted on my body inside and out, heart and soul. I’m his forever, and he knows it as he makes me totally his.

“Yes . . .” I choke out in a strangled cry as my body tightens and explodes in another orgasm, his name a prayer locked behind lips frozen in exhilaration, caught in the waves of pleasure spreading from my pussy out to my fingers and curled toes.

Somewhere in the haze, I hear him behind me, his voice trembling as he’s on the edge too. “Just like that, Elise. Fucking milk me like a good girl.”

I have just enough energy left to squeeze him in a vise grip, giving him all I have.

“Shit, so tight . . . it’s so good,” Keith grunts. His cock swells, and I feel him slap into me a final time, his cock exploding deep inside me, the warmth of his seed coating my insides and making me softly weep in satisfaction.

As we pant, trying to catch our breath, I collapse to the bed, Keith still on top of me and inside me. Gathering me in his arms, he kisses my cheek, tasting my tears. “You okay?” he whispers, concerned. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

I smile, moaning happily. “So much better than okay. So much better.”

I feel the rumble of his laughter at my back, and he kisses my shoulder before slowly pulling out. I feel the loss instantly and wish he were inside me still. I’m too exhausted to look up, but I hear Keith pad to the bathroom and walk back to the edge of the bed.

“This might sting for a second.”

I hiss as he presses a wet washcloth to my sore pussy, but almost as soon as the shock of discomfort starts, it passes and a soothing warmth takes its place.

“Mmm, that feels good. But you might have to kiss it all better.”

“Normally, I’d give you a smack for that sass, but maybe I’ll take mercy on you for now.”

I chuckle, looking at him from half-hooded eyes. “Maybe just save it for later?”

“I can definitely do that.”

After a minute or two, the washcloth loses its warmth and Keith sets it aside, gathering me to curl up to him as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.

He covers us over with the blankets, tracing his thumb along my shoulder. “I love you.”

I look up at him, seeing the honesty, the depth, the truth in his eyes and knowing it’s all we ever need to say.

“I love you too, Keith.”