“Honey, I’m home!” he bellowed from the front door, startling me into hitting my head on the top of the cupboard I’d been cleaning.

“I just talked to you three hours ago!” I yelled back, running to him so I could jump and wrap my arms and legs around him. “You said you were just leaving!”

“I lied,” he replied smugly, grabbing my hair in a fist and kissing me deeply. “You surprised, Sugar?” he whispered into my mouth, walking us to our bedroom.

“Best surprise ever,” I whispered back, smiling wide.

“I even stopped by your Gram’s and let her know I was here so no one comes knocking.”

“I get to fuck you without an audience?” I asked mischievously. “I won’t know what to do with myself.”

“How about you make all those noises I haven’t heard in fuckin’ forever,” he told me with a groan as I bit down on his neck.

He carried me to the bed, never letting my feet touch the ground. When he set me down, I lay there lazily as he began to strip. His cut came first, sliding down his broad shoulders until he grabbed it with one hand and tossed it at the end of the bed, never taking his eyes off me.

When he reached behind his neck and could barely grasp the back of his t-shirt, I made a noise deep in my throat.

“You keep getting bigger,” I sighed huskily.

“Not a lot to do except drink when I’m not on jobs,” he told me with a grin. “Been working out so I didn’t give myself blisters jacking off.”

I snorted then laughed hysterically. “Been a little frustrated, baby?”

“Fuckin’ understatement,” he grumbled at my laughter as he stripped out of his boots and jeans.

“I can help with that,” I murmured, my eyes widening as I realized he hadn’t worn boxers.

“You think?” he asked, leisurely stroking himself as I watched.

“I’m pretty—” my voice came out sounding like Jessica Rabbit’s and I had to clear it before continuing, “I’m pretty sure.”

“Good,” he answered, nodding his head. “Strip.”

My heart was pounding as I climbed up to my knees, my hands going directly to the waistband of my shorts. I pulled them off slowly, watching his nostrils flare as my shorts and underwear hit the bed. I leaned back onto my ass to pull them off and gave him a good view, but he didn’t take the invitation, content to watch as he stroked himself.

“The shirt,” he commanded, his voice a deep growl that I’d come to know and crave.

I pulled my shirt off slowly. Once it was off, I remembered the bra I was wearing and raced to pull it off, fumbling and turning my body away from him as I tried to undo the closure on the back.

“Hey,” he called, reaching out to grab my hands as I frantically tried to get it off. “What’s up?”

“I bought a really sexy bra that I was going to put on when you were almost here,” I moaned, embarrassed. “I was going to change out of this one before you got here.”

“Why?” he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“Because it’s an old lady bra!” I huffed back, finally giving up on trying to unhook the three rows of hook-and-eyes holding it together.

“Sweetheart, it’s just a bra,” he told me, leaning down to run his lips over the top of my breasts. “It looks like it fits.”

“It does fit,” I told him softly, running my hand through his hair as he placed little kisses all over my chest. “But the other one is pretty, and this one isn’t.”

“If you don’t like this bra, then why did you buy it?”

I grasped his hair and tilted his face up to mine. “This is one of my comfortable bras. The other ones are for you to see.”

“You’re saying I can’t see most of your bras?”

“Just the comfortable ones,” I said with a nod.

“You’re outta your mind,” he stated firmly, pulling my hips until I’d fallen back on the bed. “You’re throwing all of those uncomfortable bras in the fuckin’ trash.”

“The hell I am!” I gasped, trying to sit up.

“Calliope, I want you,” he told me seriously, running his fingers down the center of my belly until he’d reached the heat between my legs. “I don’t give a fuck what kind of bra you’re wearing as long as it’s not digging into your ribs and your tits. You have uncomfortable bras, you throw that shit out.”

His fingers started exploring as if they hadn’t touched me a million times before, and my breathing hitched as he hit my clit.

“Now, take off this bra that you’ve been bitching about so I can see you,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss me softly.

I arched my back and easily undid my bra with one hand as he leaned back on his knees, his hands leaving my body.

“Jesus Christ, you’re beautiful,” he mumbled as I threw my bra as far across the room as I could. He knelt there staring for what felt like forever, and I wondered if he was noticing the thicker thighs and waist I was sporting. When he hadn’t moved for over a minute, I felt myself growing embarrassed even though I knew it was ridiculous.

“Are you going to touch me?” I asked in a snippy tone, my insecurity coming out bitchy like it always did.

“Yeah, Sugar. I’m gonna touch you,” he answered, running his hand down my leg. “I wanna look at your new body first.”