My cock is so hard it hurts. But I’ve waited so long to fuck her that I’m not going to waste it. I’m going to make this last as long as I possibly can, because it could be the last time. I circle her clit with my fingers, marveling at how wet she is for me. I kiss the soft skin of her neck, feeling her racing pulse against my lips and the vibrations of her moans through my tongue. She bucks into me, arms squirming in my grip, but not strong enough to break free. She cheats a little by wrapping one of her legs around me, but I let her slide on that one.

Feeling how wet she is makes me so hungry to taste her again that I can’t help myself. I let go of her wrists and grab her under the thighs, lifting her so that her legs rest on my shoulders and her back is against the wall. I don’t wait, diving into her pussy with the kind of hunger that only four years of anticipation can create. Her thighs press against my ears, muffling sound, but not so much that I can’t hear her sharp intake of breath when my tongue finds her. God, she tastes so fucking good.

I take two fistfulls of her ass as I ravenously eat her out. I can tell by the way she quivers against me and thrusts her hips rhythmically that she’s getting close. She had better fucking remember not to cum until I give her permission. I don’t want her need diminished in any way. I want her absolutely on the edge of desperation to cum when my cock is inside her. I want her to ride me so hard that my dick will be sore tomorrow. It’s almost impossible to pace myself with her. I’m like a kid in a fucking candy shop, and I just want to eat it all right now.

I’m merciless with her, using my tongue in ways I know she’s never felt before. I trace her entrance with the tip of my agile tongue, diving in and running up her valley, kissing her clit and circling it slowly, breathing heat against her as I do. She’s getting close and I have to make myself stop, even if I could spend the rest of the night with my face buried in her pussy. I pull my head back and lower her to her feet where I can look down into her eyes.

She’s so turned on that her pupils are dilated. I smirk at her, cupping her jaw and kissing her deeply, making her taste how fucking delicious she is. She loves it, and this time I let her hungry hands yank at my pants and briefs, stripping me until I’m as naked as she is.

I turn her around, pressing her cheek against the wall and once again pinning her hands above her head so that she’s forced to stick her perfect ass out toward me. I pull her hips back so that I have her positioned perfectly for me. “How bad do you want it?” I ask

“I want it,” she gasps.

“How fucking bad,” I growl.

“Fuck me. Please. I want it so bad.”

Her words are like fire in my chest. My cock throbs with anticipation, but I don't push myself inside her yet. I slick my length through her folds, rubbing her sensitized clit with my cock. I love the way her smooth and soft ass feels against me as I slide my cock along her slit, driven crazy by her heat and wetness. She wants me so fucking bad she’s practically dripping for me. I love it. I move faster, running my fingers from her shoulder blades to her lower back, and then clutching her by the hips and pulling her into me.

It’s not long before I’m unable to delay any longer. I grip my cock and guide it into her entrance, mercilessly thrusting my hips so that I plunge inside her in one swift motion. Her head reels back and she gasps, turning to look at me with her mouth wide open and eyebrows pinched. Her look of surprised pain quickly melts to bliss as I work against her, in absolute disbelief at how incredible she feels.

It’s only a few seconds later when I lose all control, consumed by the sensation of her core gripping my cock. I can’t take my eyes off of her face. She’s looking to the side, eyes squeezed shut in ecstasy and mouth open as she gasps for breath. I move faster and harder until the sound of my body slapping into her ass drowns out the moans spilling from her lips.

“Cum for me,” I groan. “Cum all over my fat cock.”

She responds so quickly that I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t feel her pussy clench against me. Her core grips me like a fist, squeezing and begging me to cum inside her, but I pull out at the last possible second, spraying hot cum in the smooth dip of her lower back.

I turn her toward me, kissing her as we sink to the floor together, lying in eachother’s arms. She puts her hands on my chest and resting her head over my beating heart, panting and shaking as her orgasm tears through her. It’s nearly two minutes before she speaks.

“I want you to take me on another date,” she says.

I look at her in disbelief. As much as I want to lock her into the agreement, I know it wouldn’t be right. She has so many endorphins flowing through her body right now that she can’t be thinking straight. I lean down and steal a kiss, pulling back with a grin. “I’ll take you up on that if you still feel the same way tomorrow morning.”

She gives me a strange look and then smiles a little, nodding. With a start, she reaches for the baby monitor on the floor beside us and sighs when she sees the grainy image of Roman sleeping on his back, legs and hands splayed out like a starfish.

“Does he always sleep like that?” I ask, smiling.

She laughs. “Pretty much.”

I’m painfully aware that we’re still completely naked, and even though it has only been a few minutes, I’m already thinking about taking her again.

“I’m willing to make you a deal,” she says, face serious. “I’ll let you keep your secrets, for now, because I think I want this to happen. I want it to work between us.” Her eyes search mine, and I know she wants me to confirm that I do too.

I kiss her softly. “It will work. You just have to trust me.”

She holds my gaze, biting her lip nervously. “I have a non-negotiable. If you’re going to be in my life, you have to leave the violence behind. I don’t know what’s involved, or how you do it, but I can’t have a killer in my son’s life. I just can’t.”

I frown. She has no idea what she’s asking of me. Fuck. The old me would have lied to her in a heartbeat. I would’ve said something about how she’s worth anything, and I would’ve fucked her while she believed I was going to change. I know I’m going to make the promise to her. I want what she’s offering too badly not to, what I don’t know is whether I’ll be able to keep it. God help me if I’m about to lie to her.

“I’ll leave it behind. For you, and for Roman.”

She blinks. “You will?” she sounds so shocked that it almost makes me laugh, but the black certainty that I just made an impossible promise churns in my gut.

“I rented the fucking apartment next door to you. You really think a little challenge is going to stop me?”

I park outside Ted’s apartment and double check the text from my guy, Logan. We call guys like him sniffers, because if you throw a little cash their way, they can sniff out just about anything you want to know. Getting Ted’s address only took Logan about five minutes. I’m surprised to see how seedy the place looks. I pictured a guy like him living in some lofty resort type place, but the building is a moldy square of concrete on a poorly-lit street.

The main entrance isn’t locked, so I’m able to get inside and take the stairs up to his floor without a problem. I find his door on the 3rd floor, apartment C. I knock hard. “Package needs signed for,” I yell into the door.

He opens the door. “Since when do you deliver at—”

I push through the door, slamming it behind me and grabbing him by the shirt. I’m about to deck him just for posterity’s sake when I remember my promise to Julia. Less violence. I may have said no violence, but I think she’d give me a pass on this one, so I lift him and toss him on his coffee table. He lands awkwardly on his back and flops to the floor, reaching to squeeze the spot where the corner of the table dug into him.

I kneel down so he can see my eyes, so he can see I’m not fucking around.

“Look, Ted. I’ve heard some shit that didn’t make me happy. I heard you’ve been blackmailing Julia. Is that true?”

He shakes his head, trying to squirm away from me on the floor. “Get the fuck out of my apartment, you maniac.”

“Wrong answer,” I say, grabbing him by the shirt again and lifting him to punch his face. Shit. Less violence. I let go of his shirt and watch as he drops a few feet and his head bangs on the tile floor. Whoops.

His hand cups the back of his head as he winces in pain. “I’ll call the cops!”

I notice his phone lying on the table beside the couch. I reach out and grab it. “With this?” I ask, slamming it on the floor and stomping on it a few times until it’s broken beyond repair.

“You’re paying for that, asshole.”

I lean closer to him. “I need your full focus, Ted. I want to make sure you completely understand this. I had a friend of mine do a little digging and it wasn’t hard to find some dirt on you. Seems that you’ve taken loans from the local crime families to fuel your little gambling habit. Well, here’s the bad news. If you haven’t noticed,” I say, flashing a random tattoo on my arm. “This means I work for them, and it means I’ve got a lot of fucking authority. You piss me off, and I’ll make sure your interest rate triples. Do you understand?”

“You’re bluffing,” he spits, face red from pain.

I smirk. You’re damn right I’m bluffing. “Sure. I could be. But every time you think about giving Julia a hard time, you’re going to have to ask yourself if you want to risk the possibility that I could be telling the truth. You might also want to remember that I know where you live.”

“Fuck you,” says Ted.

“Let me help you back up,” I say, kneeling to lift him. He struggles against me, trying to push himself free. This is normally where I’d give him something to remember me by, whether it was a black eye or a missing fingertip. But I want to keep my promise to Julia, so I abruptly let him go, curious to see if he can stand on his own.

Unfortunately, he can’t, and he totters backwards, falling right back into the coffee table again.

He’s groaning on the ground when I leave. I feel good though. I’m making progress, a little bit at a time. Hell, I already feel like a new man.