“Well…I—” She tries to look away, so I force her face back towards mine with my hand on her jaw.

“That was f**ked up,” I tell her, pronouncing the last two words clearly and slowly.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t think this is working out,” she tries again.

“You said that already, and it’s bullshit. You’re just afraid and using it as an excuse to push me away. I told you before. You run, I chase.”

“You’re insane,” she says, trying to wiggle free.

“Probably, but that doesn’t change the fact you’re mine. I’m done with the bullshit, Sophie,” I growl in her ear, my grip on her tightening.

“It’s not bullshit.”

“Baby, you’re not listening to me.”

“I am! You just said the way I feel is bullshit,” she argues.

“No, you pushing me and anyone else who tries to get close to you away is bullshit.”

“You can’t say that.”

“Fuck if I can’t. You have been doing it from the start, pushing me away while holding on tight. I told you yesterday. I’m done with it.”

“I’m not ready!” she yells in my face, catching me off guard.

“When, huh?” I ask, pressing her deeper into the wall. “What do you need? Ten more years? In ten years, will you be ready to try to live again? Or will you find some other excuse?” I roar my questions.

“Stop it,” she says softly, tears filling her eyes.

“No, Sophie, I’m not going to stop. I need you with me, but in order for that to happen, I need you to want us as much as I do. I need you to stop letting your fears run you.”

“I’m afraid!” she cries.

“You think I don’t know that? I won’t let anything happen to you,” I tell her gently, pulling her body against mine.

“What if I lose you too?” She whispers the words, and my heart cracks open. I knew that this was one of the things holding her back, and I am f**king happy that she is finally realizing it.

“You won’t.” I hold her tight as her body sags against mine, and I say a silent prayer that she is finally getting it. “No more running, Sophie,” I say, running my hand down her back. “From now on, we figure this out together.”

“I’m sorry I ran and that you were worried,” she apologizes quietly.

“It’s fine.” I hold her a little tighter, breathing in her smell. “You need to pack some shit so we can go home,” I tell her after a few minutes.

“I’m home.”

“We’re going to my house, where you will be staying more often than not from now on,” I state.

“You can’t just decide that,” she says, shaking her head.

“I didn’t just decide that. I decided it a long time ago.” I step away from her, turning her towards her room. “Now, go pack so we can go home. I’m f**king exhausted after searching for your ass all over the city today.”

“You’re very annoying,” she says, walking to her bedroom.

I follow behind her, watching as she dumps the stuff in her overnight bag onto the bed. “You stole my shirt.”

“What?” she asks, looking over her shoulder.

“You stole my shirt,” I repeat, picking up my shirt off the bed and showing it to her.

“I must have forgotten about it.” She looks away quickly, making me smile.

“Admit it, baby. You were taking a piece of me with you.”

“You are so full of yourself,” she says with fake exasperation.

“Whatever you say.” I laugh when her cheeks turn pink. I watch her put some stuff in the bag and notice how little she’s bringing. “That’s not enough,” I tell her when she starts to zip it up.

“It’s plenty.”

“No, pack more.”

I walk to her closet, grabbing another bag down from a high shelf. As I’m pulling it down, something hits me on top of my head before bouncing off and hitting the floor with a rubbery thud. Sophie squeaks before running towards me, grabbing whatever it is that hit me and putting it behind her back.

“What is that?”

“Nothing,” she answers, walking backwards.

“Really?” I place the bag on the bed before slowly following her.

“Nico, stop right there,” she says, her face becoming bright red.

“What’s behind your back, baby?”

“It’s nothing,” she says, her eyes growing bigger the closer I get to her. She starts to turn, and that’s when a big purple dildo fumbles out of her hands, bouncing once before rolling under the bed. “It’s not mine, I swear!” she says, looking distraught, holding up both her hands in front of her.

“It’s not your dildo?” I ask, trying not to laugh.

“No, it’s my friend’s.”

“You have your friend’s dildo?” I c**k my head to the side.

“Yes,” she says, her shoulders slumping.

“So you’re telling me you keep a dildo…for your friend…in your closet?” I start to laugh.

“Oh God, that sounds really stupid.” She covers her face. “I mean, my friend got it for me.”

I bend down, picking it up from underneath the bed. The thing is not only bright purple with sparkles, but it has to be at least a foot long and three inches across.

“I’m going to kill Maggie,” she whispers with her eyes closed.

“Babe, I seriously hope you never tried to use this,” I say, turning it over in my hand.

“Oh. My. God. Kill me now,” she groans, her eyes still closed.

“Baby.” I laugh so hard that tears start to fall from my eyes.

“No, I’m pretending that if I can’t see you, then this isn’t really happening,” she says, making me laugh harder than I have in my entire life.

“Look at me,” I finally wheeze out.

“Nuh-uh…” she mumbles, eyes still closed.

I drop the dildo to the bed before I put my hands in her hair and stop laughing. “Open your eyes, Sophie.”

“No.”

“Baby, please open your eyes.” I push her hair away from her face. “Hey,” I say when she finally opens them. “You know, with me, you never have to be embarrassed, right?”

“You say that, but a giant purple dildo just fell out of my closet and hit you on the head. That is the definition of a reason to be embarrassed.”

“You have to admit it’s pretty damn funny.” I chuckle, and her eyes narrow.

“I’m really going to kill Maggie,” she growls.

“Is that the only toy you have?” I ask, watching her eyes get wide.

“I don’t have toys.”

“Guess we’ll have to change that.”

“What?” she breathes, searching my face.

“Finish packing,” I tell her without saying anything else. My dick’s hard as f**k thinking about the things I’m going to show her. The image of f**king her with her wrists bound to my bed and clamps attached to her ni**les has me groaning and shoving my face into her neck. “Please just finish packing.” I kiss her once on the side of her neck before stepping back.

“Okay,” she whispers shakily before going back to her bed to finish packing.

It’s after five in the morning by the time we reach my house. I park my bike back in the garage before helping Sophie carry her bags inside.

“Hey, girl.” Sophie stops to pick up Daisy, who is bouncing around at our feet. She follows me down the hall to my bedroom, talking to Daisy in a baby voice the whole way. I drop her bags into my closet, walk to Sophie to take Daisy from her hands, and set her outside the bedroom door before closing it. “What are you doing? She always sleeps with me when I’m here,” she says, her eyebrows drawing together.

“You’re right, but we’re not going to sleep right now,” I tell her, walking her backwards towards the bed.

My mouth drops to hers and I lick the seam of her mouth before pulling her bottom lip between my teeth and biting it. I feel her fingers digging into my chest as my hands slide her shirt up and over her head. I’m done holding myself back. I pull away from her long enough to drag my shirt over my head. I can hear her breathing increase as my hands go to the button of her jeans, unsnapping it before dragging her zipper down.

Our eyes are locked; her hands go to my shoulders, her nails digging into my skin. I shove her jeans down her h*ps before pushing her back to the bed, grabbing them by the ankles, and pulling them off completely. I toss them to the side, running my hands up her calves to her thighs before taking her mouth in another deep kiss. I move between her legs, spreading them wider with mine. I slide my hand around her back, flicking the clasp of her bra and popping it open.

“Oh,” she whispers, her eyes widening as I slowly drag her straps down her shoulders, exposing her tits.

“Jesus, you’re beautiful.” I drop to my knees on the floor so her br**sts are level with my face. Keeping our eyes locked, I pull one nipple into my mouth. Hers opens on a silent moan, her head falling back. “Watch me, baby,” I demand. My hands run up her thighs and my thumbs trail over her pu**y on the outside of her panties before traveling up to her hips. “Lift.”

She does as she’s told, her h*ps lifting slightly off the bed enough for me to pull them down. I lean back to drag them down her legs. Once off, I go back to my original position between her legs. Our eyes meet again, and hers look nervous.

“Trust me to take care of you.”

She nods, and I pull her mouth up to mine, my fingers fisting in her hair as I kiss her once more before dragging my mouth away to kissing a trail down her neck, cupping both breasts. Then I lick and bite both ni**les before kissing down her stomach. I nip the skin above her pubic bone and see the muscles of her abdomen tighten.

“Sit up and watch me.”

Her arms go behind her to prop herself up on her elbows, pushing her br**sts out. I spread her thighs farther apart before licking her pu**y from bottom to top.

“Oh God!” she cries out, one of her arms coming out from behind her. Her hand grabs my hair.

I keep at her, licking her, f**king her with my mouth. I put one finger inside her then add another, her h*ps lifting as she screams my name. I feel her pu**y already clamping down hard on my fingers.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so hot.” I pull her limp body up the bed before leaning back to pull off my jeans and positioning myself between her legs. Leaning forward, I kiss her deeply as her fingers dig into the muscles of my ass, trying to pull me inside. “You want my cock?” I ask against her mouth, biting her bottom lip. My dick is throbbing, my balls pulling up tight, ready to explode.

“Yes, please,” she begs, her hands moving up to claw my back. Her nails burrowing into my skin causes me to shift my h*ps forward, the head of my c**k rubbing against her wetness.

“I’m gonna give it to you, but I gotta go slow. I don’t want to hurt you.”

She nods, her eyes widening when she looks down between our bodies. I can see fear on her face now. I’m not a small guy to begin with, and having a Prince Albert piercing makes look that much more intimidating, which is why I didn’t show her before.

“What is that?” she asks. If it weren’t for the scared sound of her voice, I would have laughed.

“It’s just a piercing, baby. Look at me.” I hold her face; her eyes lock on mine. “I promise it will feel good.”

She nods, and I hold my c**k in one hand, sliding through her folds before pressing myself slowly inside her. Her wet, tight heat wrapping around me has my head dropping forward, my teeth gritting.

“You feel so good.” I lift my head so I can watch her face; her eyes close, and I can feel the barrier proving that she is mine and only mine. I run my finger along her cheek, and her eyes open at my touch. “You know, the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one for me,” I say gently, watching her eyes get big. “You’re mine, Sophie. Every beautiful inch of you is mine.”

I thrust completely inside her, wanting to get it over with. She cries out, and I stop moving, just watching her face as she adjusts to me. She feels so good that it’s taking everything in me not to slam into her like a madman.

“I gotta move, baby. Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She brings her fingers up to my face, running them down my jaw. The look on her face is so gentle, and it holds so much emotion that I know she feels it too.

I start to move slowly at first, my hand traveling down her side to lift her thigh around my waist. Our mouths meet again in a slow kiss. My strokes are slow and gentle, not wanting to hurt her. Her pu**y starts to pull me deeper, and I’m so close that my balls start to pull up tight from the way her walls are squeezing me.

“I need you to come,” I tell her.

“I can’t,” she pants.

I circle my hips, hitting her g-spot. Her head falls back, and a loud moan leaves her mouth.

“You can. I can feel it. I need you to let go, baby.” I pull back, rolling my thumb over her cl*tbefore pinching it, causing her to clamp down harder. “Shit,” I breathe, trying to hold off my own orgasm.

“Nico!” she cries, rolling her h*ps up to meet mine.

“Let go.”

I lean forward, pulling her nipple into my mouth before biting down. Our bodies are both slick with sweat, our breathing heavy. She cries out, her head lifting and her mouth locking down on my shoulder, causing my own orgasm. I can feel my release all the way to my toes. With her pu**y squeezing my cock, I slow my strokes, taking her mouth in another deep kiss before laying my forehead against hers as I try to catch my breath.