Adler is looking at me searchingly. We’re in his bed, sweaty and glowing from the vigorous, yet tender and not-at-all-kinky sex we’ve just been having. He went down on me, making me come twice, then I sat on top of him, riding him, while he ran his hands all over my body. It’s the first time we’ve had sex in this position, and it felt so intense. controlling the depth of the penetration and seeing the pleasure on his face.

“So that’s what you want. Really?”

“I don’t know. I’m confused. I always knew I’d leave my hometown after college and move here. But last time I was home, it just felt right. All my close friends are there. It’s a really cute town. I love all the green space. I just want to go to the interview and see how it feels.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“What?”

“Yup. We can go tomorrow, or tonight, if you want. And you can show me around.”

I cock an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, I am. I want to know everything about you, Reagan. See where you grew up.”

“Have you ever been in a small town before? There’s not a lot to do there, you know.”

He laughs. “Of course, I have. Callie lives in Maine.” He strokes my face. “Are you ready for me to meet your family? Or shall we book into a hotel?”

“You want to meet my family? Really? Are you a dream?”

He grins. “You can meet my sister in return. I know she’s bursting to meet you.”

“Okay, I guess they’re allowed to meet you. But let’s stay at Monica’s. It’s more relaxed.”

On Saturday morning, I wake up with a jolt, and my mind takes a little longer to catch up to the fact that I’m in Adler’s bed. He didn’t close the curtains fully last night, and it’s bright in the room, the light reflecting off the white walls and comforter. And Adler’s beside me, still asleep. He’s lying on his front, arms tucked beneath his pillow and his face turned away from me. It’s warm in the room, and he’s pushed the comforter right off so his incredible body is displayed in all its glory. My gaze roves over his broad, muscular back, and his toned ass. And then I see it. A long, thin scar, cutting diagonally across his right ass cheek. How have I never seen it before? I raise myself up a little to get a better look. Because I’ve only ever seen his ass fleetingly, in dim light. Most of the time I’m either face down, or facing him. He stirs and I fall back onto my pillows. As he wakes up, turns, looks for me, I watch him, waiting to catch his very first reaction.

He sees me and breaks into a grin. “You’re still here,” he says.

My pulse speeds up. “Thought I might have changed my mind?”

“Maybe.”

“Come give me a hug,” I say, holding my arms out to him. He stretches across the bed and pulls me into his arms, surrounding me with his deep, clean, masculine scent. “Like this?” I say.

“Yup,” he replies, still sleepy. But as I run my hands up and down his back, he stiffens. My instinct is to stop. But I don’t. Instead I trace a path along his hip, all the way to the mark on his ass where I can barely feel the scar tissue. His body feels tense, and I sense that he’s longing to grab my hands, pin them over my head, and enact some punishment. Instead, there’s a crunching sound as he grinds his jaws together.

“What happened?” I demand, although I think I already know the answer.

“At school. A monk hit me so hard he broke the cane on me, and it cut me bad.”

I draw in a sharp breath. “I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”

He shrugs. “Yup. I’m just glad I never have to see it.”

There’s so much discomfort in his eyes that I hate to keep pushing him. But I know I have to. Because I need to know if he’s for real. “Why don’t you like being touched?” I ask.

He rolls onto his back, laces his hands behind his head, and lets out a breath that sounds more like a groan. “Same stuff, being beaten at school. Walking around with bruises for days afterward used to make me feel like I wasn’t in control of my own body. It used to make me so mad and disgusted I felt like bursting out of my skin sometimes. After that I couldn’t deal with any hands laying claim to my body.” He gives a short laugh. “I don’t know if that makes any sense at all.”

“It does,” I say, my heart aching with sadness for him. “Did your grandma hug you a lot?”

His lips curl in a half smile. “All the time. She was a very warm person. And it made me feel safe when I was very small.”

“It’s different when someone loves you,” I say softly.

He turns his head toward me. “I know.”

I reach out and run my hand over the firm contours of his abs. “And it’s important to me that I can touch my boyfriend. I’m a very tactile person.”

“I know.” His tone is lighter now. “I want you to be happy, Reagan. That’s very important to me.”

“And you might even come to like it.” I keep stroking him gently, alternating between his abs and his thighs, teasing him, getting closer to his cock but not touching it.

Before long, he begins to shake. “Baby steps,” I murmur as I grasp his shaft with my right hand and stroke his pecs with my left. When I take him in my mouth, his body jolts violently, as if there are two warring impulses inside him. I’ve never gone down on him in this position before. Usually I’m on my knees, or in some other position where I can’t escape his onslaught. His hands knot in my hair and his hips jerk back and forth, but he can’t come. At last I give him what he wants and flip onto my hands and knees. With a growl, he gets up, takes hold of my hips, and enters me roughly. I come less than a minute later, his weight heavy on top of me and his hips pounding me into the mattress. He feels wild, possessive, and delicious.

“That was pretty hot,” I mutter, a few minutes later, snuggled into the crook of his arm.

“It was,” he agrees, stroking my face.

“Was it boring?”

“No, it was perfect. Enough questions now.”

“Okay,” I say, with a sigh of contentment.

* * *

On Sunday morning, we drive to Springfield in his BMW. It’s a bright, crisp day, and I feel a little dazed. I keep looking at Adler sideways. Is he really mine? And am I crazy going to this interview?

Monica’s eyes sparkle with curiosity as she opens the door to us. Adler is very charming, complimenting her place, cracking jokes, and I can practically see her barriers going down. We’ve been messaging back and forth incessantly over the past day, and she’s warned me to be careful with my heart, but he’s doing everything to show that he’s committed to me. He holds my hand constantly, asks her about our shared childhoods, and she steps up to the plate, telling plenty of embarrassing stories that have us all in stitches. We go out for dinner and end up drinking too much.

“What are your intentions with my best friend in the whole world?” she asks suddenly, fixing him with one of her characteristic mock-fierce stares.

Adler grins, puts his arm around my shoulder and says, “To love her endlessly, and make her the happiest woman alive.”

She keeps staring at him for a beat longer. “I believe you,” she says at last.

* * *

The next morning, Adler drives me to the co-op and waits in the car while I have my interview. It goes very well. I know every single person interviewing me, and they’re smiling a lot as I show them my portfolio of work. By the end, they’re pumping my hand and offering me the job. And the funny thing is, the salary is the same as I earn now. I ask for a few days to think about it, and I walk back to the car in a daze. Adler leaps out of the driver’s seat and opens the passenger-side door for me.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I just got offered the job.”

For the briefest moment, he looks shattered. And then he hugs me tight. “Am I going to have to move my business to Springfield?” he says.

My mouth hangs open. “Are you serious?”

“I’m serious about you, Reagan. Everything else is just details.”

“But you love the life you have, don’t you?”

“I do, but it’s not very far away. We could go back for weekends.”

“You would do this for me? Really?”

“Of course, I would. There’s no way I’m letting you get away from me.”

I look deep into those caramel eyes and see love and tenderness. I let out a long sigh. “How about we don’t think about this today? I want to show you a few things. And go see my parents for a little bit. And we can talk later.”

He kisses me. “Sounds good to me.”

I take him on a hike along the river, to some woods that I used to play in a lot as a kid. Spring is more than a month away, but there’s a sense of rebirth in the air. Everything suddenly feels simple, and Adler and I are holding hands, as if we’ve been in love for a long time.

“It’s so peaceful here,” he says. “I don’t often have peace in my life.”

“It gets old sometimes.”

“I don’t believe you.” He stands behind me, arms wrapped around my waist as we gaze at a field of cows.

“Right now it feels perfect,” I agree.

“Okay, is it time to go meet the people who are responsible for your fetish for being spanked?” he purrs in my ear.

“Stop!” I slap him, laughing.

My parents are impressed by Adler. I can tell that my dad thinks he’s a little too smooth and flashy. No surprises there. Dad thinks the same about anyone who comes from the big city. But he has my mom charmed almost instantly. My dad warms to him a little later when he turns out to be surprisingly knowledgeable about baseball, and even slaps him on the shoulder a couple of times—a dad sign of regard.

“Don’t let that one go,” my mom whispers to me as we’re leaving.

“Everyone loves you,” I announce to Adler during the drive back.

“Yeah, my first time meeting parents didn’t go as bad as I feared.”

“Are you serious? You never met anyone’s parents before?”

“Nope.”

“You’re such a natural.”

He lays a hand on my thigh. “I want them to like me. It’s important to me they think I’m good enough for you.”

“They think you’re plenty good enough. Trust me.”

We drive straight to his place, and as we pull up in front of the elegant old house, it feels like home as well.

We sit up for a couple of hours discussing the job offer.

“I think the main thing is that you’re not happy in your current job,” he says. “And that’s no way to live.”

“It’s not. I hate all the competitiveness, all the backbiting.”

“It doesn’t suit you.”

“It doesn’t. I feel like it’ll change me in time.”

“So quit. Go in tomorrow and resign, and then you can decide whether you really want to move back to Springfield or if you just need a change.”

“I like this idea!” I take his face in my hands and plant a kiss on his lips. “And you can really see yourself living in Springfield, Monday to Friday at least?”

“Why not? We’ll rent a nice, big house. Get some dogs. Spend a lot of time outdoors.”

“You’re pretty awesome. Do you know that?”

“If that’s true, it’s because of you.”

Tingles of pure happiness run all the way through me. “And if I quit the job and we stay here, what then?”

“Well, what do you want to do? Just imagine, for a moment, that money was no object. What’s your passion?”

“Maybe I’d like to go to ad school and get a copywriting qualification,” I say slowly.

“Or?”

“How did you know there was an or?”

“I can hear it in your voice.”

“Well. I’ve always secretly wanted to be an artist.”

“What kind?”

“Ceramics, I think.”

“Then that’s what you should do.”

I laugh. “It’s even harder to get rich from art than advertising.”

“Are you good?”

“Yeah, I think I am. I did a minor at college actually, and I really loved it. My professor said I had talent.”

“So that’s settled. You should go to art school.”

“That’s not really possible.”

“Rea. This place doesn’t cost me anything. You can live here, and it’ll be my pleasure to support you.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Are you kidding? I make more than enough from my business, more than I could ever spend. I’d love to help you realize your dream.”

I stare at him wordlessly.

“Just have a think about it, okay?’

“Okay,” I say.

As I get ready for bed, I look around the house, amazed he’d give up this place, this town he loves, for me. When we lie down to sleep, he doesn’t pull away from me, but continues to hold me in his arms. I wake two or three times during the night, and I can tell he’s restless. But I know he’s doing it for me, and it’s very touching. Eventually I take pity on him and roll away to my side of the bed, giving him the space he needs. Baby steps.

* * *

As I walk out of Koln & Mathers gleaming offices for the last time, I laugh out loud. So many people would kill for a job here. Six months ago, I felt the same. And now I’ve thrown it away. The look on the HR manager’s face when I handed her my resignation letter was hysterical. Evidently, no junior leaves the company of their own volition—ever. She gave me an hour to collect my things, and then security escorted me out. I thought about saying goodbye to Jeremy. Maybe if he hadn’t freaked me out at the Sexpo, the universe wouldn’t have tipped me into Adler’s path. And if he hadn’t made a favorite of me, then discarded me so ruthlessly, I might not have found the impetus to quit my job. He wasn’t in his office though. Maybe I’ll email him later.

I stand in the street and gaze at the jagged skyline, at the skyscrapers, at the hectic city life. I’m unemployed and my future is stretching out in front of me. I feel giddy, like doing something incredibly reckless. My phone beeps. There’s a single question mark in the message, nothing else.

I’m free! They made me leave right away! I reply.

Is it too early for Champagne?

Nope!

Twenty minutes later, I’m striding into The Black Heart, looking for a broad-shouldered, muscular guy at the bar. But he’s not sitting there. He’s in our seat, watching me walk toward him with a smile on his face.

“Baby, I’m so proud of you,” he says. I sit down beside him, nestling into the crook of his arm.

“I’ve decided,” I say. “I want to stay here with you.”

His grin becomes even wider. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

I nod. “I want to go to art school, too. But I’ll fund it with doing some graphic design on the side, like I used to at college.”

He makes a kind of growly noise. “You don’t need to do that, seriously.”

I lay my hand on his. “Maybe that’s a conversation for another day.”

“Okay, agreed. Today is just for celebration.” He pulls a strand of my hair behind my ear and kisses me on my temple, inhaling softly, as if he’s trying to pick up the scent of my skin. “We’re going to be so happy living here together. There’s so many places I want to take you, so many things I want to show you.”

I gaze at him, aware what a sacrifice it would’ve been for him to move to Springfield. “I love you so much, Adler.”

He holds me tight against his big, strong chest. “I love you too, Reagan. And I can’t wait for us to start our lives together.”