I stayed in the living room for most of the day, trying to keep myself occupied by watching TV or reading one of the many books on Ellie’s shelves. Nothing helped to take my mind off her—I regretted what I’d done, the fact I’d stopped her from coming when she needed to most. It hadn’t felt right in that moment to make things so impersonal, not when all I wanted was to be pressed to her skin-to-skin.

It was later before I went up into my room, not having seen Ellie even around dinner time. I had thought about bringing her something but decided against it. She’d seemed like she truly didn’t want to see me—I’d never seen a look of anger on a woman quite like I’d seen on her, something hot and desperate, ready to rage against me. It was sexy at the same time as it was frustrating, and it had only fueled the words that had come out of my mouth when she’d asked me to describe to her the things I would do if I could.

I undressed in the bedroom, then went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. It was cold in the house—cooler than I normally kept mine, and I’d been chilly all day except for the moments when I’d been with Ellie. The hot water felt warm on my skin as I stood under it, my eyes closed, letting it smooth away the tension in my body.

I heard a noise and pulled the curtain back, surprised to see Ellie standing in the doorway. She stared at me, her eyes meeting mine, holding them as she started to unbutton her dress. I watched as she took her clothes off, first the dress, then her panties, then finally her bra. I held my breath when her breasts spilled out of it, round and pale and perfect, her nipples already hard from arousal. I reached and took her hand, pulling her into the shower with me once she was completely naked.

“Ellie,” I said to her, and she reached to put her hand over my mouth.

“I want you to fuck me,” she said. “But I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to look at you. I just want you to fuck me, okay?”

“Okay,” I said to her, overwhelmed with desire. It didn’t feel right and yet I turned her around, lathered up my hands and wrapped them around her to begin to soap the front of her body. I ran my hand over her stomach, her breasts, which somehow seemed larger than they had the last time I’d touched them. That drove me a little wild, especially when my fingers touched her nipples and she jumped, whimpering with pleasure.

“So sensitive,” I said, pinching them between my fingers. She pressed her ass back against my cock, rubbing against me as I traced her nipples with my thumbs. “So perfect.”

She moaned in response, a sound that drove me crazy. I allowed my hands to travel lower, soaping the soft curls between her legs before spreading her thighs open. I knelt down and washed them as well, gazing at how swollen and flushed her pussy was. I had to taste it, so I put my mouth over her from behind, swiping my tongue along her slit to gather her moisture on my tongue. She tasted sweet and sultry, addictive, and I found myself lapping at her eagerly as the water poured over us, dipping my tongue deep into her needy pussy. I sucked on her clit as she humped against my face, whimpering continuously as I devoured her. It seemed like I couldn’t stop once I started—I hadn’t intended to make her come this way but suddenly I needed to, needed to feel her coming all over my mouth.

“Lucas,” she panted, her legs shaking. “I can’t—”

“Yes, you can,” I said to her, tasting her clit. “Come for me, baby girl.”

“God,” she whimpered, and did just that, flooding my tongue with her juices. I turned off the water then and pulled her out of the tub, trying not to be rough with her but feeling almost like an animal in how badly I needed to be inside of her. She looked at me, gazing into my eyes before I turned her around, still soaking wet, and bent her over the sink.

“I want you to watch yourself while I fuck you,” I said to her, barely paying attention to the words that were coming out of my mouth. “I want you to watch yourself melt for me.”

I saw her close her eyes in the mirror, shaking her head. I swatted her ass hard on one side. She jumped, moaning, and when I reached down to touch her pussy I found it dripping with how wet she was. I spanked her again until she opened her eyes, her gaze meeting mine in the mirror. I held it while I aimed my cock inside of her from behind, pushing in as deep as I could, filling her completely.

“Watch yourself,” I commanded. I didn’t know what was coming over me, why I felt the need to be so dominant over her. I wanted her to give in to what she wanted, to see how bad she wanted it as I started to fuck her from behind. I saw her watching herself in the mirror, her lips parted, eyes desperate as I started to ride her in and out. Her pussy was so tight around me, fit me so well that I closed my eyes and savored it for a moment, holding almost still inside of her. I ground against the back wall of her pussy, making her squirm backward against me to get even more.

“Did you miss my cock, baby?” I asked her. She met my eye, glaring at me as I started to speed my hips up against hers.

“No,” she said, and I pulled out of her, swatting her ass again with my hand.

“What was that?”

“I didn’t—I didn’t miss it.”

“That means you don’t want it now,” I said to her, reaching over and grabbing a towel to wrap it around me. I started to leave the bathroom, teasing her, and she grabbed my wrist.

“Please, Lucas,” she said, wiggling her ass in the air.

“Tell me you missed this,” I said. “Missed me fucking you this good.”

“I did,” she said, chewing on her lip.

I reached forward to touch her cheek, leaning in to kiss her, but she turned away and positioned herself against the sink once more. I went to her, took her hips in my hands and pulled her back, impaling her on my cock once again. I started to grind against her, my hands on her hips as I pulled her back into a rhythm. She was bucking against me, moaning, and when I saw her eyes were closed I stopped.

“Watch,” I said to her one more time when she gave me a questioning look.

“I hate you,” she said, even as I started to pound into her pussy. I couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t hold myself back.

“Fuck me, then,” I said, forcing myself to stop so she could do all the work, her hips moving backward desperately. I let her have control for a few moments, watching as her soaking pussy slid back and forth over my cock. I loved to see the way I stretched her out, filled her up completely.

I started to move again when it was impossible to stop myself, meeting her movements in a way that made her cry out. I fucked her hard against the sink, riding her, taking her as roughly as I wanted to. It was like I couldn’t help myself—I wanted to claim her, to take her, to make her mine.

“I’m going to come,” she whimpered. “Please don’t stop.”

“I won’t, baby,” I said. “Come for me again.”

She moaned and came again, shuddering against the sink, riding back against me as her orgasm hit her. I reached down to rub her clit, making her come even harder the second time, fucking her until she couldn’t take any more pleasure. I came then, filling her up, and when we were finished and had caught our breath I wrapped a towel around her body and started to dry her off.

She turned around and looked at me shyly.

“Whatever happens here while we’re snowed in,” she said in a soft voice. “It doesn’t count. When we leave, it’s over.”

“Ellie—” I said, feeling a certain sense of despair well up within me. That was the last thing I wanted, to be done with her. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Yes, it does,” she said firmly, tightening the towel around herself. I sighed, then reached for her, taking her waist in my hands. It would hurt to let her go, but I hoped I could convince her to stay when all was said and done.

“Does that mean I can touch you as much as I want while we’re stuck here?”

I saw her struggle not to smile. It made me ache to see her suppress it—I hadn’t seen her smile once since I’d been here, and I craved it so desperately I would have done anything to make it happen again.

“Maybe,” she said, leaving the bathroom and going into the bedroom. She dropped her towel after she finished drying off and crawled naked into my bed. I smiled at her, looking down at her gorgeous face, her wet hair curly on the pillow. I climbed in beside her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against my chest. I was half-surprised that she even let me, but felt myself relishing every bit of her skin against mine. It broke my heart to think it could be over at any time—the snow would melt and she would send me away.

I’d broken Ellie’s trust forever, and the thought made a knot form in the pit of my stomach as she cuddled against me.

“You know I love you, Ellie,” I said to her.

She lifted her face to look at me, her expression serious. “I never want you to say that to me again,” she said with a fierceness in her voice. “Ever. Do you understand?”

“I can’t help it,” I said to her. “I am so fucking in love with you it hurts.”

“Too bad,” she said, sitting up. She looked down at me. “You have to promise you won’t say it again, or I’m going back to my room.”

“Don’t,” I said. “I won’t say it again. I promise.”

She stared at me for a moment, then curled against me again. She fell asleep a few minutes later and I held her close, making sure she was resting before I slipped out of bed and grabbed my phone. I crept out of the room and downstairs, pulling it out to call Alice.

“Hey, Alice,” I said when she answered the phone.

“Still snowed in?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “For the time being. How’s Luna?”

“She’s good. She misses you. I’d let you talk to her, but she’s asleep.”

“Would you wake her up, please?” I asked. I suddenly felt desperate to hear my daughter’s voice. There was something inside me that had felt broken when Ellie had told me to keep my feelings quiet. “Just for a minute.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, Al,” I said. “Please.”

There was a pause as she went to wake her up, then I heard Luna’s sleepy voice on the phone.

“Daddy?” she asked, and I felt my heart tighten in a familiar way.

“Hi, baby. I want to let you sleep. I just wanted to tell you that I love you.”

“I love you, too, Daddy,” she said. “When are you coming home? Are you bringing Ellie?”

“I don’t know, baby,” I said to her. “I hope so.”

“Me too,” she said, and I heard her yawn on the other end of the line. “I love Ellie.”

“I do too,” I said to her, the words coming out choked. “Goodnight, Luna.”

“Goodnight,” she said, her voice fading out as if she was falling asleep on the phone. I smiled as Alice came back on the line.

“Thanks, Al,” I said.

“No problem. How’s it going up there?”

“It’s uh—going,” I said. I didn’t know how to explain to her what was currently happening between Ellie and me, this casual thing that she’d decided she wanted to do while we were snowed in together.

“Have you gotten laid?”

“Alice,” I chided, chuckling.

“I’m just asking. You need it.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll call you tomorrow and keep you updated on the snow situation. Don’t corrupt my daughter.”

“I’ll try not to,” she said. “Night.”

I hung up, feeling better after having talked to Luna. Sometimes hearing her voice was all I needed to soothe me, especially since the day she’d gone missing.

I went upstairs and climbed into bed, pulling Ellie against me. She wrapped her body around mine, putting her head on my chest, and I did my best to live in the moment, though I was already dreading the time I’d have to leave Ellie behind for good.