I got home late, long after the restaurant had closed. My staff were all new and mostly young—I had wanted to give some young people a chance to start their first job. I had hired the smartest kids I could find, yet it seemed like they often had problems with the money, and I was starting to think I had made the wrong decision in deciding to hire young.

I thought about that as I drove home, not expecting anyone to be up by the time I arrived. When I pulled up to the house, I saw that Lauren’s bedroom light was on. I was surprised, and when I got inside I went to her door and knocked on it softly, hoping that she would open it for me. I just wanted to see her face after a long day; I wanted to tell her about Rebecca, too, and let her know that my ex-wife was out of our lives for good.

Lauren opened the door and I immediately knew something was wrong. Her eyes were puffy and red-rimmed, and she looked as though she had been crying. She stared at me with a blank expression, a frown on her lips.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her. She went inside the room and I followed her, closing the door behind us.

“I don’t think this job is working out,” she said in a flat voice, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring up at me. “I think I want to quit.”

I stared at her in shock, completely caught off-guard.

“Why?” I asked, stepping toward her. She put her hands out to stop me from getting any closer and I froze, trying to meet her eye.

“I just don’t want to be here anymore,” she said. “It’s not working out, Jack.”

I knelt down in front of her, careful not to get too close.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Lauren,” I said to her. “Please.”

She stared at me for a moment before taking a deep breath.

“I brought the papers to the restaurant. I saw you with that girl. The waitress.”

I looked at her, confused.

“I thought Corina brought the papers to the restaurant,” I said. “Why did you bring them?”

“She was asleep. I thought you needed them right away—but apparently, you were busy anyway. I saw you—I saw you go into the back with her. She was pretty. I get it.”

“No,” I said to her, reaching out and taking her hands in mine. “No, baby. I was only bringing her back there to fill out her tax forms. I needed the papers to finalize them because I have to get them turned in in the morning. The only reason I was happy was because of what happened with Rebecca. She came to say that she would stop trying to fight for custody of Ivy. We’ll never have to see her again.”

She gave a dry, sarcastic laugh. “I’m supposed to believe you disappeared into a back room with a pretty girl and didn’t fuck her? You? Jack Stephens? You couldn’t keep your cock in your pants for five fucking minutes?”

“Stop,” I said to her. “Stop, Lauren. I didn’t touch her. I would never touch one of my employees. You know that.”

“I don’t know that,” she snapped. “I don’t know anything about you. All you’ve done is try to charm me and get me into bed. You haven’t been real with me for one minute.”

“Yes, I have,” I insisted. “Lauren, I—I think I’m falling for you.”

“That’s what all of them said,” she said softly. “Josh and Connor. And they left me for other women, too.”

“I would never do that. I’m serious about how I feel about you. I had my doubts at first—”

“Yeah?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. I knew then that it had been the wrong thing to say. “You had your doubts? That’s funny, because I seem to remember you flirting with me right off the bat. Seems to me that you were pretty sure about what you wanted from me the moment I was hired. That’s probably why you hired me, isn’t it? You get off on fucking all of your nannies?”

I started to grow angry then, all of her accusations rubbing me in the wrong way. I hadn’t done anything wrong with Samantha back at the restaurant and had no desire or intention of doing so.

“You are being completely ridiculous, Lauren,” I said to her in a sharp voice. “I didn’t do anything, I—”

She stood up, cutting me off, and started toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked her. “This is your bedroom.”

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” she said, but I took her arm as she started to march toward the doorway. She snatched it away from me but I took a step toward her, backing her against the wall. I would have let her go if she would have pushed me away but she didn’t, instead staring up into my eyes with heat in her own, a warmth that came from both rage and desire.

“Get away from me,” she said, but her hands were on my belt, unfastening it as she looked into my eyes. “Get the fuck away from me.”

I leaned into her, brushing my lips over hers. “No,” I said, putting my hands on either side of her against the wall, pinning her in with my body close to hers. She pulled off my belt then but stopped there, her finger tracing up and down my zipper. I felt my cock grow hard under her touch and loved the fact that her anger was making her so obviously wet and ready to be fucked, but at the same time it bothered me that she was angry in the first place. I wanted to soothe her, make it better. I wanted to make her stay with me.

“I hate you,” she muttered as I took her mouth in a slow, long kiss that seemed to take her breath away. Her body molded to mine, rubbing against me as I tasted her lips, teasing her tongue with my own. It felt so good to kiss her and yet I felt like I needed more. I was relieved when she pulled her nightgown up and over her body, showing me that she was completely naked underneath. I groaned at the sight of her body, so perfect and gorgeous, my hands traveling from the wall to her hips to touch the soft skin there. I traced her thighs, her hips, her waist with my fingertips, touching her all over before I got to her breasts. I took her nipples between my fingers and pinched them, tugging on them lightly, making her moan softly with the slight pain mixed with pleasure.

“You hate me,” I said, grinning against her lips. “But I bet that pretty pussy is soaking wet, isn’t it?”

“Shut up,” she said, though she didn’t stop me from sliding my hand down to find out if I was right or not. I knew before I even got to her pussy that she was turned on by the way she trembled under my touch. I smiled when I brought my hand between her legs and stroked the outer lips of her pussy, feeling that she was slippery and wet all over. She whimpered when I stroked her swollen clit with the tip of my finger, rubbing it in circles while she shook against the wall.

“So fucking wet,” I said, slipping a finger easily inside her warm and inviting pussy, and sliding it in and out. Her legs nearly gave out but I held her still with my free hand, rubbing her pussy as she moved against my palm. “You still wanna leave, baby? Or do you want to stay here with me?”

She moaned in response when I pressed a second finger inside of her, rubbing my palm against her clit. Her kiss was hot and feverish before she pulled away from me. For a moment, I thought she was going to leave, but I watched as she crawled onto the bed and positioned herself on hands and knees, a sight that instantly took my breath away. I stared at her, unable to look away as she looked at me over her shoulder, her eyes full of hunger.

“Please,” was all she said. It was all she needed to say. I undressed, my eyes locked on her pussy from behind. It was swollen and pink, glistening with moisture. I put my mouth to her from behind, swiping along the length of her slit with my tongue. I flicked her clit with the tip and she squirmed, exhaling sharply. I continued to lick her, unable to get enough of the taste. She had the sweetest, most perfect pussy—decadent and tight, and when I slid my fingers within her she grew even tighter as she clenched around them, desperate for something more fulfilling.

I pulled back from her, aiming my cock into her opening, sliding the head of it up and down her slit. She pressed backward, eager to take it, but I found myself wanting to tease her a little bit before I gave it to her. Every time she moved back I pulled away until she glared at me over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, baby girl,” I said, grinning at the look on her face. “It’s just so fucking fun to make you desperate.”

“I really do hate you,” she said, wiggling her ass in the air temptingly in a way that made my cock throb. I put my hands on it, squeezing the soft flesh as I pressed my cock deep inside of her wanting pussy. In the back of my mind, I realized that I wasn’t wearing a condom, but I was so caught up in my lust for her that I couldn’t stop myself from fucking her raw pussy even if I tried. I started to pump in and out of her, riding against her in a rhythm that felt natural, not frantic or too slow. It was the perfect pace to be able to feel it every time her pussy tightened against me, taking me deep against the back of her channel.

I held her hips in my hands, beginning to bounce them backward against me in forceful thrusts. She was moaning steadily, something that I knew I should muffle but couldn’t bring myself to do. It might be the last time I ever heard it if she walked out on me, and I wanted to make it last, leave the memory clear and vivid in my mind. I felt her body start to shake as she writhed backward against me, trembling as she started to come. I brought my hand between her legs and started to rub her clit, encompassing her with pleasure as I pounded against her. I couldn’t help myself. She came with a soft whimper, and I didn’t give her body time to settle down before I pulled her backward, sitting down on the bed so that she was sitting on my lap.

“I can’t do this,” she said, but her hips started moving automatically, simply grinding against me. I kissed the back of her neck while she started to ride my cock, sinking my teeth into the skin there, feeling her come again in a crash of pleasure. I held her down when she tried to squirm away and she didn’t fight me, but continued to fuck me with fervent downward strokes.

“I don’t think I can come again,” she whimpered. “It’s too much.”

“Yes, you can, baby,” I said to her in a low voice. “Just let it happen.”

She opened her mouth, but no words came out as she started to come for a third time, her body slowing down and riding against me as she rode it out. I couldn’t help but come inside of her then, not thinking of the fact that we hadn’t used protection, wanting desperately to feel the sensation of filling her up.

As soon as we were finished, she got off my lap, opening her suitcase to get dressed.

“What are you doing?” I asked her.

“I’m leaving. Now,” she said, not looking at me.

“It’s the middle of the night, Lauren,” I said to her. I took a deep breath. “You can leave in the morning. I won’t try to stop you. But just wait until then. You have nowhere to go right now.”

She stared at me for a long moment before sighing, putting down her clothes.

“Um, I need you to go,” she said. The words broke my heart, but I nodded and got dressed. I tried to kiss her before I left but she stopped me, turning her face away.

“Goodnight, Lauren,” I said, my heart feeling heavy in my chest.

“Goodbye, Jack,” she said, and I closed the door behind me, catching a glimpse of the sadness on her face for one last time.