Morning came far too quickly for a girl who’d spent the evening entrenched in nightmares.

I’d been dreaming about Jenny, of course, and my mother, too. I’d dreamt their corpses were in our old living room, stuck with the thousand needles they’d used to keep their demons at bay. They were bloated and bruised, but all smiles, with teeth too bright for dead girls.

And all the while, they kept asking how I was, if I had made myself a hero yet. And in my dream, all I could do was say, “No, Mom,” and “No, Sis,” like some shameful little girl, and they laughed and laughed and laughed.

Why the hell did you kiss him? I thought to myself, pondering my own stupidity as I sat up on the smelly couch. I guessed the only good thing about last night was that the department was fighting a budget crisis and probably didn’t have any ears in this room.

“Stupid,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure if I was talking to myself or to the man still entombed in a sea of Egyptian cotton. We’d told Nathan to pack for a week, and he apparently used most of his luggage space to stow away miles of white sheets with an almost impossibly high thread-count. No sleeping like a commoner for that man.

I didn’t need this. I didn’t need any of this. My life was complicated enough without trying to jump back into bed with someone who’d probably cut himself on cheap toilet paper. I’d learned my lesson once, and I didn’t need to be reminded.

Did I want to do it anyway? Yes. Was I going to? Hell no.

The sun was coming up, and he was still sleeping as I began my little ritual. I spent five minutes at each window surveying the ground, taking note of everything worth noting. Cars parked in the lot by make and model, loitering individuals with their general descriptions, places someone could hide… Captain Pierce would expect an update with his morning coffee, and I wanted to be the detective on top of this case, not the woman who spilled her heart out and kissed the star witness.

And there was a problem out there. There were at least a dozen men posted about in unusual places. Not police, that much was certain. I could spot an undercover from a mile away, but these men were different. I spotted another one out on a little patch of grass on the edge of the property, his back leaned up against a tree, hands in front of him and his head slowly turning from one side to the other as if searching for something—or someone. A moment later, a pair of men came rounding the block again, walking calmly down the sidewalk. That was the third time they’d passed.

They were ex-military. No question. If I could see twelve of them, there were probably a dozen more being a little less conspicuous. With the entire apartment being too small to allow me a quiet place to make the phone call, I decided the little area that doubled as a living room was probably best. I lifted the phone to my ear.

“Detective, I expected this call ten minutes ago.”

Captain Pierce was being his usual rosy self.

“I have eyes on some men downstairs. At least twelve, well trained. They appear to be holding position around the building.”

“Yes, Sandra. Mr. Hale insisted on private security. We have a few trusted officers posted in the building, but we can’t afford to throw an entire squad at this problem. The world doesn’t stop being a bad place when a rich asshole needs protection. Mr. Hale has invested a small fortune in protecting himself since your little visit to his house,” the Captain replied gruffly.

“And you’re going to tell me these men can be trusted, and that they aren’t potentially compromising this entire operation?” I asked indignantly. How in the world could the Captain be okay with this? Mercenaries were in it for the money, and if there was one thing Mr. Wallace had in abundance, it was money. We were supposed to be running a low-profile operation, not informing every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the tri-state area of our location.

“How’s Mr. Hale holding up?” the Captain asked, changing the subject without answering my question.

“He’s settling in,” I replied, staring over at the lump under the sheets.

“Excellent. Stay put and try not to worry, Candy.”

I cringed, biting my tongue and trying not to give the Captain my what-for. He knew what he was doing. I could practically see the sneer on this face, could practically hear him biting back a chortle in his tone. This was going to be a long day…

“Morning, sweetheart.”

I jumped two feet into the air, smacking my head squarely on the slowly rotating ceiling fan that hung perilously low in the shitty little living room. My head thrummed with pain as it came down into the half-wall, half-counter that separated the efficiency, and my vision dwindled into a tunnel as I hit the floor.

Click… Click… Click…

The sound was aggravating. It wouldn’t stop, just an incessant noise that was keeping me from enjoying this moment of rest. I blinked, staring through hazy eyes at the ceiling, the rotating blades spinning round with a lopsided motion and causing the metal chain that operated the fan to smack against the lighted glass dome.

Click… Click… Click…

“Are you okay?” Nathan asked softly. His face appeared above me, a look of concern painted across it.

The fog was still lifting from my freshly-concussed brain, but already I was identifying things that were wrong with my current situation. For one, I was laying on the dirty-ass floor. For two, my eyes were locked on a rather enormous and exceptionally erect penis. It had been awhile since I’d stopped my little visits to Mr. Hale, and even longer since I’d been with a man. For a brief moment, I considered doing something about that.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” he asked, his balls jiggling as he moved.

“Oh, for God’s sakes, put some clothes on!” I shouted, sitting up and rubbing my head. “Were you…? What the hell were you doing over there?” I said, inadvertently glancing back at his erection.

“I… uh…”

“What, you can’t even make it one day? It’s bad enough I have to share a space with you. You’d think you could at least keep your hand off your dick while I’m around!”

My brain was sorting everything out, the cloud lifting as I stared at this man. It didn’t matter that I was practically drooling—that was probably thanks to the brain injury I’d just experienced. The icing on the cake came as he started to laugh.

“No, you don’t get to laugh at this. I’m in here trying to keep you alive. You don’t call me ‘sweetheart,’ and you don’t scare me like that!”

“I’m sorry. It’s not like you haven’t seen it before…”

“You’re sorry? What exactly are you sorry about? Are you sorry about last night? Are you sorry about the men outside, or the way you’re risking this whole operation by telling every private security firm in the region where you’re hiding?”

I was fuming now. I could hear my mother’s voice pouring out of my lips as I chastised this entitled asshole.

“I trust those guys. I’ve used them in the past. Besides, do you think the cops your captain posted in this building would stop the Paddies? Maybe you weren’t paying attention last time Wallace went on trial.”

He still made no attempt to cover himself, his cock swinging side to side as he talked, drawing my eyes again and again like the mechanized sweeping of a metronome.

“Trust me,” he whispered, a grin spreading on his face.

He was doing this on purpose. I wrenched my eyes away from his genuinely delicious-looking body and tried to calm my breathing. “Clothes on. Now. No more secrets from here on out. If you intend to do anything to change the nature of our living arrangement or our security, you need to inform me immediately. And… no doing that,” I said, waving at the God-given gift between his thighs.

“I thought we were only supposed to be pretending? You’re starting to sound like a nagging wife,” Nathan laughed. I hissed, hackles rising as I realized the only way he’d take any of this seriously was if the threat to his livelihood seemed real.

I stood up, crossing the space and wrapping a hand around his most sensitive exposed parts.

“Let me make this perfectly clear, Nathan,” I said, clamping down harder and listening to him yelp. “In here, you’re going to do what I say, or I’m going to throw you to the wolves. Now, put your pants on.”

I released him, turning away and trying desperately to ignore the burning desire inside me. I’d just touched his cock, and even though I’d meant every word of my threat, all I could think about was how the smooth, supple skin of his dick had felt so right in my grasp. The pleasurable pulsations kissing him had inspired in me last night returned with a vengeance, and I grimaced, trying my best to once again ignore them.

What the hell is wrong with you, Sandra? Don’t let this man affect you like this. Hold it together…

I didn’t have a chance to revel in my little show of force. Nathan’s hands swept up behind me, grasping at my wrists and lifting them, throwing my hands against the wall as he pressed against me from behind. I could feel the heat of his dick against my ass and his breath catching just behind my ear.

“Jesus Christ, Sandra. Do you even understand what you do to me?” he whispered, holding my wrists tighter as my palms pressed against the cool wood paneling. His breath swept through the hairs at my nape, sending goosebumps over every inch of my skin. “Women fall over themselves to be with me. Bag the rich guy—that’s the game, isn’t it? They play pretend. They want something. All of them want something. You were always different. You never asked me for anything...”

“I only wanted you.”

“Then why the fuck did you break it off with me?” Nathan said, straining against me.

“Because you were too self-obsessed to give yourself to anyone. All we had was sex and lies. I hated your immaturity. I hated everything about you,” I said, my body practically purring with excitement.

He released my wrists, but I kept my palms firmly planted against the wall, rocking my hips ever so slightly against him and gasping as his fingertips brushed slowly down my sides. He paused at the edge of my breasts, feeling them through the thin t-shirt I’d slept in, teasing the rounded edges before moving on to my hips.

“I’m not that man anymore, Sandra,” he said huskily, his voice strained as he pressed his fingertips into the soft spots at the front of my hips. I could feel the slight tremor of his touch—he was so close to losing control. He pressed harder, and I knew there would be bruises in the shape of his fingers by the afternoon.

I didn’t care. In fact, I realized, I wanted them. I wanted to look into the mirror later and see the remnants of when Nathaniel Hale’s lust had gotten the better of him—and of me. Every time I looked at my hips for the next few days, I wanted to shiver at the reminder of all the dirty, filthy things this man had done to me.

I moaned as he pressed his lips into my neck, gliding them over my flesh. He left scorching trails wherever he went, like he was setting fire to my very being with only the power of his caress. I could feel my pussy pulsing with want—no, with need.

I wanted to hate-fuck Nathaniel Hale into oblivion, and maybe even beyond.

I wanted to take out all my frustrations on this spoiled brat. I wanted to make him want for something, for once, something I’d deny him until he was begging and pleading and broken beneath me. But as much as I wanted that, I wanted him to take me, too, to show me what I’d been missing since the day I left him high and dry in his fancy little castle on the hill.

“You always been so fucking beautiful,” he whispered, biting ever so softly on the slender expanse of muscle between my shoulder and neck. I sucked in a breath through my teeth, my knees trembling as he blew warm air over his teeth marks. “I can’t control myself around you, not since that first time,” he added breathily, his hands forcing my loose flannel bottoms down over my hips, the pants pooling around my ankles as my skin tingled in the cool air.

My bare ass was pressed against him now, and I could feel his dick throbbing steadily against me. He pressed it up against the small of my back, rocking gently until I felt a warm bead of precum smear onto my skin. I moaned, my ripe ass working against his balls as I squirmed uncontrollably.

I willed myself to stay still as he forced my legs apart with his knee, arching my back as his hands crept back up beneath my loose t-shirt to grope and fondle my breasts. He slipped my nipples between his fingers, toying with them mercilessly, drawing soft wails from between my lips as he flicked over them with his thumbs.

Was I really doing this? His words echoed in my mind:

I’m not that man anymore…

My mind was muddled by the dull ache still pulsing through my pussy and the insane desire welling up from every part of my body. Did I want this? Was I ready for it? Would it even be right? I was supposed to be protecting the witness, not fucking his brains out—I was fairly certain that last bit went against some unspoken witness protection rule.

A thought occurred to me just then, a silly one, but a justification for my desire nonetheless: what would “Candy” do?

“I want you inside me,” I whispered at last. The words tasted bittersweet as they left my lips, as though I’d given up the advantage in exchange for fulfilling my most primal need.

Every nerve in my body was on a hair-trigger, and as his hand swept in slow motion back down over my hip and around my ass toward my inner thigh, I let out the loudest moan of my life.

“Shh… Your friends might be listening,” Nathan whispered, his fingertips moving upward and over the molten swell of my sensitive folds. I bit my lip as hard as I could without drawing blood as he released a soft but sensual grunt, my hips bucking against his skilled fingertips.

“You have such a perfect pussy,” he told me. It made my whole body quiver. “I’ve missed this…”

“Please, Nathan, fuck me before I change my mind” I begged, struggling to keep my voice low. But he ignored my pleading, his hand slipping up beneath my wetness and sending bolts of electric pleasure shooting through my body, making the hair on my arms and nape stand on end.

I couldn’t take much more of this torture. As delicious as it was, it had been too long since I’d had this man inside of me. I was desperate for it, aching for it, my tight channel squeezing and throbbing as I thought of what it might feel like to have Nathan Hale invade it just one more time. I knew just how impossibly thick his dick was, and the way he was holding me, I was sure he’d fuck me in half just the way I needed it.

And I wanted it to happen. Oh, God, I wanted this so bad.

I tried to pull back from the wall, to spin myself around and force myself on him, but Nathan held my hips firm and made it clear I wasn’t moving. His forceful hands stole a whimper from my lungs.

“Fuck me, Nathan,” I begged him once again. “Just do it. Please don’t make me wait…”

“No,” he answered, nibbling softly on my sensitive earlobe. I moaned, trailing off into a desperate whine. “Not yet.”

“Let me suck your cock. Please,” I said, my voice dripping with sex as his fingers explored me, rolling soft circles around my delicate nub. I could feel a certain, familiar tension burgeoning between my hips, the kind that pulled my belly flat from the inside and made me wiggle against Nathan’s hard, hungry body. My toes curled into the carpet as he teased and tantalized that spot, never providing quite enough friction for me to fully release.

“You can’t handle it, can you, Sandra? You put on this big act for the world, like you’re the one in control... I know what you need,” he said, a finger slipping inside me, forcing a gasp from my lips. “You need a man who takes what he wants.”

I cried out as he began to fuck me with his finger. It certainly wasn’t as thick as his massive cock was, but it was better than nothing at all, and I reveled in the sensation of finally being filled. He was playing my body like a musical instrument, his free hand sliding up and wrapping a handful of my hair in his fist before pulling my head backward and forcing my back to arch even further.

It was unbelievable. My legs flexed and my whole body bowed against the wall as my arms collapsed, his fingertip curling against the inner wall beneath my stomach. Pain and pleasure mixed in a way I’d never experienced with any other man. Nathaniel Hale knew exactly how to give me what I wanted, and I lost myself to the sensation as I squirmed in desperation.

“You think you’re so strong, but there are some things in life you just can’t control. You can’t control me, Sandra. You can’t even control yourself, can you?”

“Oh, fuck,” I whispered, clamping down around his fingertip, trying against all odds to hold out. His thumb found its way beneath my clitoris, rolling over it in time with the soft thrusts of his hand.

Now he was giving me more than I could handle, whereas a moment before, he hadn’t been giving me enough. I could feel the tide of my orgasm swelling, rushing in to envelop me as he pushed me farther and farther out to sea.

“Come for me, Sandra,” he ordered, knowing full well that really, I had no choice. “Just let go.”

The muscles in my thighs tensed as he drove me closer and closer to the edge. This was happening. I was letting this man claim me in a way only he could. My scalp sent pain shooting down my spine as he pulled my hair back again, his finger working even more insistently inside me, pressing up gently against my g-spot. Tension poured out from my core.

I couldn’t focus. Nothing mattered except for the pleasure rolling out between my thighs. My skin tingled and goose bumps flushed across my body, along with an intolerable swell of heat and desire.

“Oh, God… Nathan… I’m coming!” I said perhaps just a bit too loudly. There was no holding back as pleasure pulsed from my solar plexus to every single extremity of my body. My toes curled as I shuddered against him, my pussy clenching down forcefully on his finger, milking it like I was ready to take a load from his cock. His hand released my hair, reaching around and clamping down over my mouth as I screamed his name, unable to hold back in the face of overwhelming bliss.

I’d never had an orgasm like this in my life. Nathan had always made sure I got off first, but this was on a whole different level. Not even my well-worn shower massager at home could match this. Nathan had driven me to new heights, delivering me to the gates of heaven with his skilled touch. I never wanted to come down again.

My descent proved inevitable. I groaned and squealed against his palm as I reluctantly returned from the ultimate high, collapsing to my knees, my forearms trying desperately to hold my face off the dirty wall as I gasped for air.

Reality struck me like a brick to the face. What had I just done? I was supposed to be done with Nathaniel Hale, but here I was quivering at his feet.

“God, your pussy is so wet. I love the way it drips for me,” Nathan murmured, still standing behind me. “It’s always set you apart… I’ve never touched a woman who reacted quite so eagerly before…”

I pulled myself away from the wall, turning slowly toward him, my knees aching against the thin carpet. It was bristly and coarse, but I had other, more important things than that to focus on.

Oh, God…

Nathan was standing before me, his perfectly tanned musculature on display as he stroked his hard, thick cock. It didn’t matter how many times I’d been on my knees in front of him, I could scarcely believe how incredible he looked…

His cock twitched, and I realized it was pulsing for me, that it was filled with longing for my body. His tip was flushed with desire. I knew he was desperate for my touch. Despite the control he pretended to have, his lust was only a few moments away from getting the better of him.

And me.

“See something you like?” he asked, that cocky trademark smirk spreading across his face. I didn’t know which I wanted to do more: punch him upside his head or suck his incredible cock.

Both, I realized. I want to do both...

“Go ahead, Sandra,” he urged me as he reveled in my fascination. “Wrap me up in those beautiful little lips of yours.”

No amount of self-restraint was going to stop me. Not even the oath I’d sworn as a police officer or my own personal devotion to my job could persuade me to turn away now. Rules be damned—I needed this man, and badly. I always had… Worst of all, the bastard fucking knew it.

I reached out, pushing his hand away from his impressive shaft so I could grasp his significant girth and bringing myself in line with his throbbing tip. My head was swimming as I drew him into my needful mouth, closing my lips obediently around him, letting my eyes flutter shut as I tasted his salty sweetness.

He drew in a sharp breath through his nose, and I heard him growl from someplace deep in his chest. It wasn’t the sound of a man he made, but of a beast overcome with passion. “I’m going to cum right down your throat,” he told me.

God… I’d missed this… Before Nathaniel Hale, nobody had ever talked to me like this in my whole life. It only made my pussy wetter, only spurred me on to prove him right. I was working hard for this man, focused solely on returning the favor he’d just paid me. There was no time for breathing, no time to take things slow. This was heavy and serious and totally raw. My jaw ached from his girth, but I kept going, bobbing and slurping on him like a woman possessed, my only thought to bring him to blissful release.

I wanted this cock to make me forget all the bad things that had ever happened to me. I wanted this dick to remind me that I was still human, still a person, still more than my gun and badge. I am woman, hear me roar...

Nathan didn’t even have a chance to warn me as he exploded deep in my mouth, his heavy balls contracting and drawing out long, jolting streams toward the back of my throat. I pulled back, swallowing around him, devouring his essence and savoring the taste. Each violent throb of his dick between my lips made my pussy pulse in tandem, and as he calmed I fell backward onto my ass, breathing hard, trembling from head to toe.

Nathan just watched me as I panted for air, my whole body tense as my breasts heaved on my trembling frame. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t seem to find the appropriate words.

“Wow,” he said finally, staring at me.

There was nothing to do except laugh. It bubbled out of me, rising in volume even as Nathan joined me, his own deep voice mixing with my lilting tone in the small space as we let out all our frustration and worry. It felt good to laugh. It felt really good to laugh with this man, in particular. For a moment, he wasn’t the billionaire witness I used to fuck, and I wasn’t just the detective sent to serve and protect him.

For a moment, we were alive, together, and nothing else really mattered. It was strange to think of it that way, but it was true. For some reason, being with this man made me feel things I’d been denying myself for a long time, things I thought I’d never get another chance to feel. It made me wonder why I had ever decided to stop seeing him in the first place. All his old flaws seemed so unimportant now…

“Are you going to fuck me?” I asked quietly, my laughter gradually coming back under control. Nathan’s eyes smoldered as he stared at me, making my knees quake just looking at the heights of his arousal. So maybe I was still horny. This was the man capable of providing the most incredible sexual experiences of my life, and I wasn’t ready to stop.

“I didn’t bring a condom,” he said, his eyes traveling up and down my naked body. “Are you on the pill?”

I shook my head, glancing over at the bed. “You packed three miles of Egyptian cotton, and not one single condom?” I asked.

He grinned wolfishly. It made my heart flutter. “I’m supposed to be locked up in this apartment with Detective Hard-ass. Don’t you think packing condoms would have been a little presumptuous?” he answered.

“I assumed being presumptuous was part of your core nature,” I replied, letting out a little laugh and looking away from his impossibly sexy cock, still rock hard and ready to please. Why couldn’t I just have it once—just this one time?

Nathan reached down, pulling me to my feet and straight up into his arms. It was a completely different experience when compared to the way he’d pressed against me from behind. Here in his arms, in his embrace, I felt safe.

“You know, Sandra, maybe we can’t fuck, but there’s more to me than my cock,” he whispered, licking his lips. I yelped in surprise as he picked me up off the floor, cradling me in his strong arms and carrying me swiftly to his bed.

The billowing sheets beneath my exposed flesh were like heaven on earth, and for a moment, I was able to forget the smell and the disrepair around us. I was able to ignore the shoddy apartment altogether and focus solely on what this handsome and talented man was doing to me.

Nathan’s hands glided over my body as he lay gentle kisses up my milky thighs. His mouth was so soft, so tender, and even his little love bites made me coo as he lightly inflicted them upon me in a hot, scintillating trail. Just as I thought he might drive his lips right into my sensitive heat, he passed by it entirely, instead sweeping up my stomach toward my tits.

“Oh, God,” I gasped as he drew a nipple between his lips and flicked his tongue across the tip. He suckled it lightly, laving it with his hot tongue before bestowing upon it the softest of bites, scraping his teeth with utmost care across the delicate nubbin. Then he pulled away to guide his hands up beneath my large mounds, lavishing my other breast with the same tender, electrifying sensations.

“Don’t stop,” I begged him as he pulled away, kissing up to my neck. For a moment, he was between my legs, his cock pressing hard against my thigh. I could feel him throb with desire, each of his spasms sending ripples of desire through me. But we couldn’t do this—not without protection.

“Relax, Sandra,” Nathan whispered into my ear, planting a kiss on my neck that was so tender it made me swoon. “I’m not going to fuck you. Not this time…”

This time. That implied this was more than just a one-off fling. Did he see more in me than just an opportunity? Did he regard me as more than just a warm, female body placed conveniently in the same living space?

More importantly, was I starting to feel the same way?

The thought of letting Nathan plunge his enormous shaft deep inside me was almost irresistible, but I fought the urge to capture him with my legs and drive him into my wanting core. I kept myself from throwing him off me and riding him at a gallop until exhaustion overtook us both. He rewarded my patience, slipping downward again, kisses trailing across my chest and back toward my spot, my throbbing and aching spot. I was desperate to feel his touch again.

His mouth found its way over my bare, swollen mound, planting kisses across it before dipping between my folds and letting his tongue run a soft line up to my nub. I cried out loudly as I rode his silken tongue, letting him write love letters in soft strokes that sent me higher than the sky.

I shivered in ecstatic bliss as one of his fingers found its way inside me, followed by a second, their thickness nowhere near big enough to fill the yearning emptiness at my core. I wanted the real thing, wanted to feel his cock burying into my depths, his bare skin inching into my own. Even so, I groaned and bucked against his flickering tongue, letting his mouth drive me higher and higher as he pumped his fingers into my quivering flesh.

Nathan was moaning now, the vibrations rolling through me from head to toe. Every part of my body was shuddering, another long and wonderful orgasm crashing over me. Nothing could possibly feel this good. It was criminal for this man to be so wealthy and so talented in the sack. I wanted to arrest him. I wanted to handcuff him to my bed and never let him stop. I could keep him as my own personal prisoner.

But he didn’t stop. As the waves of my orgasm rolled and began to fade, he rotated his wrist, bringing his fingertips against the front wall beneath my taut tummy. Without a word, he curled them, running across something that shot a jolt of renewed pleasure through my body. With a laugh and a smile, he attacked that spot, every thrust of his fingers bringing me further into madness. I was drawn into oblivion, the feelings so warm and rapturous that I could only call this place heaven. I lost all semblance of control as I gave myself to the sensation.

In that moment, Nathan had me… Body, heart, and soul.