I stepped out of the sea and onto the beach. “How was it?” Jodie asked, looking up from the deck chair.

“Freezing,” I replied, my teeth chattering.

“Your fault. You could have been in a tropical ocean instead of just off Scarborough promenade.”

I took the towel she offered me and ran it through my hair. “And miss the chance to meet my daughter?”

“I still can’t believe you rerouted the plane to land here. I didn’t even know there was an airport at Scarborough.”

“Private and little but perfect for us. Now I’ve been in the sea you need to keep your part of the bargain. Let’s go meet Dora.”

“All right, I guess I’ve teased you long enough. Let’s go.”

She had made me a deal when I told her we weren’t flying to my island. If I swam in the icy cold North Sea, she’d take me to meet Dora. It seemed a reasonable deal. Punishment for not ringing her. I’d already punished her on the plane for not ringing me, administering a spanking she told me she could still feel it when she sat on the deck chair.

We walked off the beach together, me with a towel wrapped around my shoulders. It was warm in the sunshine but I was glad to change into my usual suit when I got back to the hire car. “Not worried someone will see you?” she asked as I slipped off my swimming shorts.

“I don’t care,” I replied. “Let them look. I just care about what you think.”

“I think you better get dressed before I jump on you here and we both get arrested.”

“That reminds me. Did anything come of you being arrested?”

“You mean for attacking my landlord? He dropped the assault charges after evicting me.”

“About that.”

“Yep.”

“I might have bought his building. If you want to move back in, you can.”

“When did you do that?”

“A couple of months back. I was planning to let you stay rent free but I heard you’d already moved elsewhere. The landlord didn’t know where.”

“Because I didn’t tell him.”

We climbed into the car together and she gave me directions to the vacation home. It was on the cliff top, overlooking the castle and the harbor. We got there in ten minutes, pulling up in the space outside. “This is it?” I asked. “My daughter’s in there?”

“Want to come and meet her.”

The door was unlocked. Jodie walked in first. I followed her, my heart soaring as I heard the sound of giggling coming from the back garden. “Hello,” Jodie shouted out. “Where’s my little girl? There’s someone I want her to meet.”

Annie’s mom was sitting on a blanket next to a blow up paddling pool. Splashing around inside was the most beautiful sight, all golden curls and cheeky grin as she looked up at me and waved.

I waved back, unable to move. “Come on,” Jodie said, taking my hand. “Come and say hello.”

“What are you doing here?” Annie’s mom asked.

“Missed her,” she replied. “This is Mr Stempel.”

“Nick,” I said, holding out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Rebecca.”

“Nick is Dora’s father.”

Rebecca looked at me closely. “I see. Well, you’ll want a coffee then.”

She got up and walked into the house, leaving me and Jodie to sit with our little girl.

That was a memory that never left me. I might have missed out on the beginning of her life but I vowed in that moment to never miss another second of it. We sat splashing together, Jodie and Dora flicking water up at my face and giggling together.

“Move in with me,” I said, wiping the water from my face for the sixth time.

“What?” Jodie asked, sounding shocked.

“Move in with me. Both of you.”

“Are you serious?”

I nodded. “Never been more serious about anything in my life. I was an idiot to let you go last time, I’m never doing it again. I love you, Jodie. I can’t believe I almost lost the chance at a life with you. Please say you’ll move in with me.”

“Let me think about it,” she said, pausing for a second before grinning. “Of course we’ll move in with you.”

Rebecca reappeared with drinks on a tray. “You three look happy.”

“I’ve got good news and bad,” Jodie said to her. “Which do you want first?”

“Give me the bad news.”

“I won’t be able to enjoy your bacon sandwiches for breakfast anymore.”

“Why not? I thought you liked them.”

“That’s the good news. I’m going to move in with Nick and that also means you get your garage back. I’ll shift my stuff out of it and you can park off the street again.”

They talked and I played with Dora, marvelling at her pudgy little fingers and that infectious grin she gave me every time she looked up. “Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking the tiny hand she offered me. “Maybe don’t splash me aga…” My words were cut off by a faceful of water as the three of them all laughed at me.

A couple of days later we were up in the attic at my place. We’d traveled back a day before Rebecca. Jodie had said it was best to do it this way and I’d reluctantly agreed. It gave us time to collect her things and shift them across. I offered to hire people to do it but she wanted to do it herself. I helped load her boxes into the van while she said an emotional goodbye to Annie. “We’ll still be working together,” she said. “It’s not a real goodbye.”

“I’ll miss you,” Annie replied before pointing at me. “You better look after her.”

“I intend to,” I said, picking up the next box and carrying it out of the garage.

Once the van was loaded, I got us to my place and then we divided things into piles. The least important went up in the attic and that’s where we ended up, shifting stuff around to make room for it all.

“What is all this?” she asked, dipping her hand into one of the boxes she'd just moved.

“My family’s past,” I replied. “One day I’ll go through it all and sort it. Why? What have you found?”

“Looks like music.” She flicked through the pages in her hand. “Is this what I think it is?”

I glanced down. “I think that was the tail end of a symphony. My great grandparents knew a few composers.”

“This is the end of Schubert’s Symphony Number Eight. It’s the most famous unfinished symphony in the world.”

“That’s nice. Now put it back.”

“Put it back. Why?”

“Because that’s not what we came up here for.”

She put the paper back in the box before looking at me. “What did we come up here for?”

“To find something.”

“Did we? And what was it?”

“Oh, here it is.”

I grabbed hold of her and pulled her top off, leaving her gasping as I wrenched at my shirt, impatient to be rid of it.

“I thought we were making room for my stuff,” she said as I undid her bra.

“There’s plenty of time for that.” I tugged at her nipples, feeling them stiffen almost at once. “First I need to do something else.”

“What?”

“This.”

I pushed her down onto her back, undoing my zipper a second later and reaching inside. Straddling her chest, I thrust my cock straight into her mouth before she could say another word.

Her eyes closed as she choked on my length. Pulling back a second later, I let her take a quick breath before shoving myself in again. “That feels so good,” I said, sliding my hips back again.

I kissed my way down her body after coming too close to orgasm just from the warm wetness of her mouth. Moving down, I eased her clothes from her as my lips traced down her legs to her ankles.

Once she was naked, I pushed her knees apart, stroking her thighs, teasing her until she begged for more. Dipping my tongue into her, I was rewarded by that sound I knew so well, her gasp of surprise and joy.

I circled her clit, holding her legs in place with my hands, not letting her escape until I was done.

My cock throbbed with need and much as I wanted her to come on my tongue, I had to be inside her.

I climbed up her body, looking down into her eyes. “I love you,” I said, kissing her softly.

“I love you too,” she replied. “Now stop teasing me!”

“You asked for it,” I said, easing myself into her.

“Yes I did.” She lunged up and kissed me, her legs wrapping around my back at the same time.

I slid all the way into her, rocking gently back and forth, losing myself completely in the moment, feeling that connection to her that completed me.

We rolled sideways until she was on top of me, riding me in the way she knew I loved to see, teasing me by slowing for a minute before picking up speed.

Glancing down, I could see my cock vanishing into her and the sight brought me close to the edge. “Come in me,” she said. “I want to feel it.”

“Come for me,” I replied, reaching down and teasing her clit. “Do it.”

She reached the edge first, slamming down onto my length and letting out a scream. “I’m coming!”

The sight tipped me past the point of no return and I spurted up into her, my climax washing over my body as she slumped against me, panting slowly, her heart thudding so strongly I could feel it in my chest.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” she asked in a quiet voice when her breathing had returned to normal.

“I think so,” I said, stroking her hair slowly. “Now I just need to do whatever it takes to keep it.”