Three days later, Sarah’s eyes popped open. She stopped breathing for a second, laying perfectly still on her bed. There was gentle breeze coming through the open window and curtains were the only slight movement in the room. The sound of light traffic from a nearby highway rumbled in the background. Everything was as it should be, yet somehow something was amiss.

The bed dipped behind her. She sighed as the scent of Johnny’s masculine soap wafted to her nose. A warm and if she wasn’t mistaken naked body spooned behind her. One arm draped over and he nuzzled her hair.

“Stop pretending that you’re sleeping, Doll.”

“How did you get into my apartment?”

“Jesus, you’re dating a criminal. How do you think?” His voice sounded almost bored.

Turning to stare into his handsome face, she was shocked to find an open switchblade in his hand. Ignoring the implications of that, she asked. “You picked my lock? It’s supposed to be tamper proof.”

“I noticed. It kind of pissed me off. Called my safe cracker. He gave me a little hand. Don’t worry, he made me a key so I won’t have to do that no more.”

Shaking her head slightly, she wondered why she wasn’t more upset with the crazy mobster. “Haven’t seen you for a few days. Thought you might have gone back to getting your jollies from the vixens.” Now, she knew that making the little quotation sign with one hand was unnecessary, but she was miffed. What kind of man bangs the socks off a girl then doesn’t call? A thug, that’s who. Okay, she’d found her anger.

Suddenly, he was over her, the knife gleaming in the low level moonlight peeking through the window. He dragged the blunted edge down the side of her face. “You got pretty pale skin, Doll. Bet it would mark up real good.”

Batting his hand away, she complained. “Don’t be an ass, Johnny.”

Using the knife to slowly rip down the front of her tiny sleep shirt he grumbled in her ear. “You didn’t give a shit about those vixen sucking me off when we first me. Hell, you sat right there watching me like I was some poor bastard who didn’t know any better.”

“I didn’t like seeing that, Johnny.”

A quick flick of his wrist flipped the sides of her top open, baring her naked breasts. “How’s about you shut your lying mouth and let’s enjoy the evening. I’m not about to confuse the fact that you like bouncin’ on my cock with you maybe caring about me.”

Turning her hand, she cupped his face. “You’re more than a warm body and you know it.”

Growling, he turned slightly. Though she didn’t see it, she heard the knife land with a thunk when it imbedded into the wall on the far side of the room. “I ain’t fucking stupid. To you, I’m just a means to an end.”

Running her hand down the side of his face, she caressed him. “Then tell me why I get pissy about you getting your rod polished by another woman?”

“Fuck, that ain’t even hard to figure out. Women are all neat, clean and particular about their bodies. You wouldn’t want to share a dick any more than you’d want to share a toothbrush. I probably ain’t considered hygienic in your world.”

“You really know how to suck all the romance out of a good situation. You know that, Johnny?”

“Would it matter to you, if I said I ain’t been with nobody else?”

Chewing on her bottom lip like a schoolgirl, she tried to figure out if he was telling the truth. He was hard to read sometimes, when he blanked his facial expressions out. She spoke, trying to imitate his cavalier attitude. “What difference does it make? We’re here and we like each other. I just need you to know that we can’t be doing this all the time, Johnny.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“I refuse to allow myself to develop an emotional attachment to someone like you.”

“Someone like me? You mean a ruthless gangster with criminal ties or a primitive uneducated caveman who likes to drag his women into the bedroom and cut their clothing off with a fuckin’ knife?”

Feeling a sharp jab in the heart, she responded quickly. “A good looking bad boy with no interest in being faithful. Men like you are never faithful.”

“What in the sam hell do you know about men like me, besides what you watch on TV, of course? Do you know my pops has been married for coming up on thirty fucking years and he ain’t cheated on my mother not one time?”

“How could you possibly know something like that?”

“Two reasons. First of all I know everything about my pops, right down to where he buries the bodies. Secondly, if he ever did, I’d kill him and he knows it.”

Sarah stared at him again, letting the words sink in.

“I’m talking myself right outta sex tonight, right?”

Nodding her head she answered truthfully. “It’s nice that you’re true blue and all, but talking about stashing dead bodies is not romantic in the least.”

Sighing he laid back, staring at the ceiling. “And this would be why guys like me settle for vixens.”

Sarah had to smile at his exasperated voice. “Know what’s almost as good as sex?”

Turning over, he propped his head on one hand. “Oral sex?”

“Nope.”

“A hand job?”

“No. Stop thinking about sex.”

“I got no clue. Are you going to say we should go eat ice cream or something like that. I saw this chick in the comic strips who does that…”

“No. That’s called emotional eating and it’s not good for you.”

“Can’t be worse for you than dating a mobster.”

“We aren’t dating, Johnny.”

“Maybe you ain’t, but I sure as hell am. You’re all I been thinking about. I told myself I’d give you five days but here I am, sneaking in like a damned cat burglar or something.”

Moving closer, she ran a finger down his chest. “So, no vixens and you’ve been thinking about me?”

“Don’t try to get me all wrangled up in some kind of pillow talk.”

“That was the thing that’s almost as good as sex. Talking and getting to know each other.”

Eyeing her suspiciously, he objected without much conviction. “No, it ain’t. That’s only something a chick would say.”

“Tell me something about yourself you’ve never told me before, Johnny. Something intimate.”

“Fine. Chick talk it is then. I was fifteen when I had sex for the first time. It was with an older woman. I think she was almost twenty. She worked at a club my pop’s owns. I thought she really liked me, cause she used to flirt with me. She made it real good for me and I saw her on and off for months. I’d take her places and buy her nice things, just like I saw my pops doing for my mom.”

“What happened?”

“I came in the back with my pops one night and we overheard her begging my uncle not to make her go out with me anymore. She said I was scrawny and had bad breath.”

“Jesus, why would he do that?”

“I’m sure he thought he was doing me a favor or some such shit. She was a perfect ten.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Johnny. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Yea, I did. I should have known she was way out of my league and that you can’t always trust the words coming out of a broad’s mouth. Lookin’ back there were some signs. I was just too stupid to pick up on them. Losing her wasn’t the thing that bothered me.”

“It was your uncle thinking you needed help finding a girl?”

“Hell, no. I was fifteen. I probably needed a lot more help than I got. It was the fact that my old man heard what she said about me. I sometimes think that still preys in the back of his mind and he thinks I’m too weak to get a quality woman. It’s why I only ever fuckin’ accept perfect tens and rub his face it in every single chance I get.”

Sarah wasn’t quite sure what to say and the moment got awkward.

“I kicked her to the curb nicely and made it a point of not being the things she objected to. I work out every day and take care of my hygiene. I discovered there’s a word for what I am. It’s called meticulous.”

“I think you’re damned perfect. Everyone is awkward when they’re fifteen.”

“Bet you weren’t.”

“My father was a commander in the navy. I grew up living on military bases. Me and Margaret, my sister, looked just alike but were so different in a lot of ways. We got good at lying. Anytime she couldn’t do something, I just pretended to be her and took her test or went to her swim meet. When guys began pushing me to do things I didn’t want, she’d go out on the date and I wouldn’t have that problem again.”

“That must have been great.”

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but it stunted us both in different ways. When I grew up and joined the military, I didn’t know how to handle being around really pushy men. I learned real quickly to hang back, not draw attention to myself, avoid getting involved with them and just do my job. I was really selective about taking a lover and it was never anyone from my unit. The men were hostile at first then they started calling me their lucky charm and shit like that.”

“That’s men. They think of women as whores or virgins.”

“You’re a guy.”

“Every man thinks he’s real unique. I figure most of us are more alike than different.”

“I think that’s true for people in general, not just men.”

“I know. It’s why I don’t like takin’ road trips.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Something about traveling from one small town to the next and seeing the same fast food restaurants and gas stations filled with people who look and act just like the stupid fucks from the last town, it makes me crazy.”

“Makes you feel insignificant like one of millions. We all know that, logically. Somehow feeling it is different. It’s exactly how I felt every time we pulled up stakes and moved to my father’s next duty station. Trust me, if you’ve seen one military base, you’ve seen them all.”

“Didn’t you ever want to just drop anchor, find a sexy mobster, and settle down?”

Smiling she responded playfully. “And do what? Make little mobsters?”

His heated look went right through her as she suddenly realized they hadn’t used birth control the other day. Her hand flew to her stomach. “What if I’m…”

Closing his hand over hers, he asked darkly. “What if you are?”

“I’m not thinking of making myself not pregnant anymore, but what about my…”

“Your sister. You got people for that now, sweetness. I promise you, I’ll find her or die trying.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

“What? Look for your sister?”

“Die.”

Squeezing her hand, he smiled slightly. “Thought you weren’t going to get emotionally attached to me.”

“Fucking hell, Johnny. You’re too smart for your own good.”

“Come and give daddy some sugar.”

“You’re loving this idea, aren’t you?”

“Want to know the truth?”

“Of course.”

“When I had you against that wall, it was all I could think of. Thinking of you carrying my child and me getting to do everything for you that I ever wanted to do for a woman made me harder than I’ve ever been in my life. It was all could do to keep things civil, cause I wanted to do was throw you down and beast fuck you over and over again ‘til you never wanted to leave me.”

His words lit her on fire for him. Throwing one leg over his hip, she murmured. “I don’t think I’ve ever been beast fucked before. I always wondered what it would be like.”

Tangling his hand in her hair he moved towards her. Seeing the look of lust on his face made her clit tingle for him. Sarah realized instantly that she’d never felt more like prey in her life and she absolutely loved it.