Weeks went by with Brayden and I texting and talking a lot, but it was not easy for us to work our schedules out. After a bunch of missed dates and changes in plans, we were sitting down for date number three and I just felt like something was off.

“Are we ok?” I finally blurted out.

Brayden’s eyes got wide as he chewed on his steak. “Yeah, of course we are. Why wouldn’t we be?” His face flooded with concern.

“You just seem a little distant tonight.” I played with the napkin in my lap. It was a bad habit, but I always fidgeted when I got nervous.

He sighed. “Myla is dating Gavin Hayes.” By the look of dread on Brayden’s face, I knew it was a huge deal for him, but I didn’t get it.

“And?” I shrugged. “Help me understand why this is so troubling for you.”

“He’s the biggest douchebag on the face of the planet.” Brayden threw his fork down.

“That was a cute tantrum,” I teased, and Brayden shot me a mean glance. “He’s the captain of your team and he has to be some sort of a good guy for Myla to want to be with him.”

“She snuck out of the house and tried to keep it from me,” he barked before chugging down the rest of his whiskey ginger.

“Ah! There it is.” I smiled over at him.

“What?” He furrowed his brow while waving his empty glass at the server to get another drink.

“You’re upset that Myla tried to hide it from you. I mean yeah, you might have picked a different guy for her, but the main thing is that for the first time ever, your little sister was sneaking around behind your back because she knew you’d act like this. Honestly, if he is as big of an ass as you claim he is, Myla will see it eventually and leave him—or he actually is a good guy who just has a bad reputation because of his past.”

Brayden sat in silence, mulling over my words. “I see what you did there.” He pointed his finger at me, smiling. “You turned that all around on me because of my reputation.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Sometimes you just have to have an outside perspective to see everything clearly.”

“I still don’t like it,” he whined as his new drink was delivered.

“No one is telling you that you have to, but just for your sister’s sake, you might want to keep your opinions to yourself and let this play out a bit before you hulk out on her.”

“Fine!” he exclaimed, grabbing my hands in his. “As long as you help distract me.”

* * *

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Brayden asked me for the third time.

I grabbed his belt, starting to fumble with the buckle. “I have wanted this since the first time you got me into this bed.”

He pulled my shirt up over my head. “How do you want it, baby?” he growled before letting his teeth sink into my neck. I jumped a little from the pain.

“Too much?” he asked, retreating.

I pulled him back to me. “I’m just not used to someone biting me.”

We started making out. It had been so long since I had slept with anyone that I felt like that damn Madonna song should be playing on loop as we did the deed.

Brayden’s fingers pulled at my bra and jeans until I was in nothing but my black lace thong. He shoved up from the bed, his gaze devouring my body as he got down to his boxers.

“How long has it been, Karla?” he asked in his husky bedroom voice.

I bit my lip. “Too long.”

“Was he the last one?” I knew Brayden was asking about James, and it was sad to say that, for more than two years, all my orgasms had been brought to me by a battery-operated O-maker.

I nodded.

Brayden knelt on the bed. “I am going to give you something I have never given to any woman.” He pulled me to my knees so we were looking at each other.

“What’s that?” I naïvely asked.

He softly kissed me before answering, “My submission.”

I pulled away from him. I had no earthly idea what he was talking about.

He read my face and continued without me having to ask another dumb question. “I am a very dominant lover, Karla. I am usually rough and vulgar and pull pleasure out of my partner by first inflicting pain. Tonight, you’re going to be in complete control. You can do as much or as little as you’re comfortable with. I will walk you through it if you want me to, or you can just explore. Whatever you want to do, you can.”

I rolled my fingers down his chest, feeling all his toned muscles. I traced the swallow tattoo over his heart, the one he had gotten for his mother after her passing. “What if I just want you to make love to me? Gentle and sweet.”

I looked deep into his eyes as a small smile played on his lips. “Your wish is my command.”

He laid me down on my back, slowly pulling my lace underwear off. His soft lips traveled from mouth down my neck and over my collarbone. Without stopping, he reached over and opened the top drawer of his nightstand.

“Wait.” I shifted a little. “Don’t use a condom.”

He made sure I was looking right at him. “Are you certain?”

I gently kissed him before replying. “I want to really feel you. I’m on the pill. I trust you.”

Brayden shut the drawer and continued to kiss over my body. “May I go down on you?” he asked before slowly starting to suck on my nipple.

“Yes.” I exhaled slowly; it felt so amazing how gentle and tender his touch was.

Right as his tongue connected with my clit, electricity coursed through every cell in my body. “Holy fuck!” I cried out as he plunged his tongue into my wetness.

“That good?” He laughed a little.

“Don’t stop,” I moaned, arching my back to get my pussy as close to him as possible.

My entire body started to shake and Brayden pulled away. “You’re going to have to save that orgasm for my dick, babe. I really want to feel all of it.”

I bit my lip, throwing my head back onto the pillow as Brayden got back on top of me. The head of his dick rubbed over my swollen bud gingerly before sliding into my tight opening. The way his cock filled me was something I had never experienced before. I wasn’t a stranger to big dicks or mind-blowing sex—college had definitely been a time for fun, promiscuity, and exploration—but I had never felt someone consume my entire body just by thrusting into me.

“Fuck,” Brayden moaned in my ear. “You’re so damn tight.”

His hips slowly rocked as he sweetly made love to me. He kissed me, looked directly in my eyes, read my body as we rode out our climaxes together. It was the most intense escapade of my life because it wasn’t about fucking, wasn’t about getting off—it was about connecting. Right then, with Brayden softly holding me as we lay in bed, I fell in love, completely and deeply, and I knew I was going to be Brayden Cox’s for the rest of my life.

* * *

“Please, stop,” I screamed as Hanif dragged me by the back of my neck into the bathroom. “I promise I will be good.”

My foster father was a mean drunk who had a short fuse and a quick hand. “Shut up!” he roared as he slammed my head down onto the counter.

“What did I do?” I cried as the taste of blood flooded my mouth.

“Don’t ask stupid questions.” His boot connected with my shin, making me fall to my knees in pain.

Jeremiah threw the door open, trying to wrestle Hanif off me. “Jer! Don’t! He’ll just hurt you too.” I tried to pull Jeremiah off his father. He was the only kid in the house related to Hanif and his meaner-than-sin wife, and Jeremiah was also the only one that had the balls to stand up to them.

“Run!” Jeremiah screamed at me over his shoulder as he held on to Hanif’s shirt.

I bolted into the living room, running into the room I shared with three other girls. “Hide!” I whispered before diving into the closet.

Hanif’s stomping footsteps got louder and louder until they were right outside the mirrored sliding doors that were concealing me.

“Think you can hide from me, you good for nothing waste of life!”

“Karla!” Brayden’s voice broke through my nightmare, waking me up as I gasped for air, the comforter clutched tightly in my hands.

I blinked rapidly, trying to regain my composure. “What?” I asked groggily.

“I think you were having a bad dream.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. “Are you all right?”

I nestled down into his embrace, feeling more safe than I ever had in my entire life. “Now I am.”

He kissed the top of my head and fought a yawn. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I let my head fall onto his shoulder. “We can save that for another time. Right now, I just want to sleep safely in your arms.”

“That’s fine, baby,” he muttered right before low snores and deep breaths took over.

* * *

I woke up to an empty bed. In my groggy state, it took me a few minutes to figure out where I was even. Rolling over, a piece of paper stuck to my cheek. I flipped it over to read the handwritten note while rubbing my tired eyes.

I jumped out of the warn bed, grabbing the robe from the bathroom. I was thankful to find that it was way too big to be a woman’s bathrobe.

Finding Brayden in the kitchen, shirtless in jeans, cooking for me, was one of the sexiest things I have ever seen. The delectable aroma of bacon and eggs consumed the small space.

“Good morning.” I breathed as I kissed his shoulder blade, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“Morning, babe.” He turned around, quickly kissing my cheek.

“Gross!” I heard come from behind me with a quick giggle.

Brayden threw a dish towel at his sister as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “Sis, mind your own business.”

“Coffee?” Myla asked me as she grabbed another cup out of the cabinet.

“Sure, thanks.”

She pointed to the table, setting the mugs of steaming joe down on placemats. “Don’t worry, Brayden will take care of the rest.” She winked at me. “Have you read any of the firefighter romances by Amy Briggs yet?”

I shook my head. “No. Should I?”

She squealed. “Like right now! Hold on, I have a copy of the complete series upstairs. You can totally borrow it if you want.”

“I would love that.” It was so nice to be sitting down with Myla. It had been so long since I had another girl to talk to other than Martha and Kari. They were amazing in their own right, but they were as far from book worms as it came.

She leapt up from the table while Brayden was putting our breakfasts onto plates. Sitting down next to me, he grabbed my hand. “Hope you like eggs. I probably should have asked.”

“This is perfect.” I leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“Did you sleep all right? You seemed to have a crazy ass dream in the middle of the night.” He remarked, before shoveling a huge bite of eggs covered in hot sauce into his mouth.

I bit my lip, it had been a long time since I had a nightmare about my foster family like that. “Just a bad dream about my shitty childhood.”

Brayden shifted a little so that he was looking right at me. “If you ever want to talk about it, I am here. But, I will never pry.”

“I appreciate that a lot.”

“Tomorrow night?” Brayden asked abruptly.

I glanced over at him, eyebrow raised. “What?” I was still so deep in my thoughts about my terrible foster father.

He shot me a cute half smirk. “We’re going out to dinner with your friends tomorrow night.”

I wanted to smack my palm right onto my face. “Oh, yes! We’re still on for tomorrow night. I cannot wait for you to meet Martha and Kari.”

“What if they don’t like me?” He asked, as serious as all hell.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “They’re going to love you. Promise.”