We scrambled to our feet and started running down the hill. Augustine's speed left me trailing behind him in just a few seconds. "Tabitha?" he called. "Tabitha!"

A muffled scream came from my left. I turned as I saw her little hand as it disappeared into the water. My fear rose into my throat like bile. "Augustine!" I shouted. He turned and I pointed to the water.

He spotted her and changed his course. I ran after him as fast as my feet would take me. My heart seized when I watched Augustine dive into the water. Sebastian tried to follow him. "No!" I slid down the hill, took him in my arms, and skidded to a stop just before the cliff. As much as I wanted to, as much as every shred of me was screaming to do so, I couldn't go after her without risking him falling in as well. I had to have faith in Augustine to save her.

We waited silently. My heartbeat was hard in my chest, Sebastian's doing the same against my palms. I wanted to cry when he resurfaced alone.

He paddled quickly downstream, and then went under again. I took Sebastian with me, treading as carefully as I could while keeping up with the river's speed. My heart pounded in my ears while I scanned the water for signs of them.

Nothing. No ripple, no shadow. Every second felt like a minute. 

It's been too long, my fear screamed in my head.

Not a moment later, I saw him return to the surface. I didn't breathe until I saw her little head on his shoulder.

"Oh, thank god." I placed Sebastian at my back and slid us down the hill to the rocky shore below.

Augustine crawled out with Tabitha in tow, her little arms clinging to him. I helped pull him onto the grass and he laid her down gently. "Tabby!" I cried. She coughed and coughed—a good sign. I rolled her to her side and brushed the wet hair from her face while she coughed up water. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked at me. "She's okay! You're okay, sweetheart," I hugged her and she shivered in my arms.

It took me a moment to realize she wasn't the only one shaking. The adrenaline pumping through my veins left me vibrating. Augustine looked at me, still panting, the water dripping from his face. He sat on his heels, bracing himself with his hands against his thighs in an attempt to catch his breath. His translucent clothes clung against his skin while his chest and stomach heaved. He combed his fingers through his wet hair and dropped his head back with a sigh of relief.

Nothing, no fear, no planning, not even a second of hesitation to remove his shoes, could stop him from going in to save her. And he had done just that. She was okay because of him.

I had never found him more attractive than I did at that moment.

. . .

A few hours later, once the doctor had checked her out and verified she was fine, I helped her with a hot shower, washing all the river—and the trauma that threatened to come with it—down the drain in a lavender-scented foam. After a hell of a day, both she and Sebastian were exhausted.

He refused to leave her side, even choosing to sleep in her bed with her. They hugged each other close as I tucked the covers tightly around them.

"You were right," she whispered to me.

"Right about what, Tabby?"

"Daddy didn't let me drown."

I had nearly forgotten. My eyes stung with tears. "Of course not, sweetheart. See? Nightmares aren't real." She smiled and I kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams, sweetheart."

She snuggled up to her twin and shut her eyes. 

I left the room, leaving the door cracked behind me. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. 

Finally, the emotions and stress I had been suppressing came to the surface. The immensity of my fear, anxiety, and eventually, relief, all came out in the form of tears. This day could have gone in a very different direction had it not been for their father. For that, I was thankful beyond measure. 

I looked over the banister down in the direction of his bedroom. Every moment that passed showed me a different side to him—more proof that he was different than anything I had experienced before. That, possibly, letting ourselves be more may not be as scary as it seemed. 

As I wiped my tears away, my emotions calmed. The more my anxiety faded, the more my desire to go to him heightened. 

I padded down the hall and quietly made my way down the stairs. Inside his office, I found him at his desk, spewing frustrated Italian into the phone, his hair still wet and his shirt still unbuttoned from a shower. Mmm.

He spotted me and gestured me to come inside. I did so, pressing my back against the door to close it and turning the lock behind me. I stalked toward him slowly, wondering how long he would make me wait. How long I could wait.

As I walked, my panties felt uncomfortably wet between my thighs. They needed to come off.

He said goodbye and hung up. He continued to look down at the phone. "You were correct, as always, love," he said. I moved toward him. "The children need swimming lessons as soon as—" he stopped short when my lips crashed against his.

As I kissed him, he stumbled back until he was stopped by the wall. My kisses were hungry, my hands clawing at his neck and bare chest. He kissed me back with the same intensity. His hands exploring my body for just a moment before I started tearing his shirt from his shoulders.

He flipped us and pushed my back against the wall. I moved my focus from removing his shirt to undoing his belt. He helped me, never stopping our passionate kisses and only encouraging our excited breaths. With deft fingers, he reached through the seam of my shirt and ripped it open. A couple of my poor buttons pinged against the floor.

I unzipped his fly and pulled him close. He took me by the wrists and pinned them to the wall beside my head. His lips left mine but stayed just a breath away.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I looked at him and breathed, "I'll do whatever you want me to."

He grinned. His hand slid down my arm and gripped my breast. He pulled the material of my bra aside, dragging the lace down my shoulders. He leaned down and licked my nipple, sucking it into his mouth while he teased the other with the pad of his thumb. I wrapped my arm around his neck, pulling him back into a kiss.

He stepped to the side and flung me forward onto the desk. I caught myself with my hands and tried to push myself up. He pushed his hands hard against my back and my head, pinning me down and mashing my face against the wood. My excitement heightened.

He yanked up my skirt, caring little for the tightness of the material as he moved to expose my ass. Once scrunched against my lower back, his fingers looped into my panties and snatched them down.

The pressure of his hand left my back, and a second later, I felt his tongue against my seam. A  teasing circle of my clit and a dip of his tongue inside me was enough to make me moan. His mouth disappeared, then returned in the form of a hard bite on my ass. 

I gasped with the pain, hoping he would give me more. I heard the signature clinking of his belt buckle and smiled.

His hand left my cheek and just a moment later, the belt made contact with my skin. It hit me hard, the sting making me wince. Another strike hit me harder and made me yelp with pain. With my cheek still against the desk, I looked back and watched him while the next three lashes hit me. The look on his face. The focus on his work, making sure it was just right, just how I like it . . . The heat in my core built hotter than before.

Every smack against my ass made me more desperate for him. I needed him to give me release, wanted to feel him inside me. The belt hit me hard against my sex. A loud moan slipped from me and it broke him. 

The belt landed by my head, his hand returning to my back. I held my breath until I felt him spread me wide and push himself inside me.

His cock was hard as a rock when he stretched me around him, fulfilling my need while also making my craving more intense. He fucked me hard, gripping the bunched material at my waist like a handle. My hips crashed against the hard edge of the desk each time his slammed against my raw ass. 

Over and over, my vision blurred as the pleasure built inside me. Pressed against the cold wood, my body was aflame. My sex quivered while he stroked deep, hitting every spot I needed him and more. I groaned when I could barely take it any longer. My fingers clawed against the desk, my legs tensed and soon after—"Ah!"

The orgasm hit me hard, the rush flowing from my belly to my brain with the first clench of my sex around him. When I arched up with the feeling, he pressed me down with both hands, leaving me shaking like a leaf when he didn't slow or stop his menacing pace.

As the orgasm rolled through me, his grunts turned to moans, my moans turned to screams. "Fuck," he said and withdrew from me.

In an animalistic rush, he turned me onto my back and shoved his desk items onto the floor. I crawled back and he climbed up, spreading my legs wide before shoving himself into me once again.

My body welcomed him, my muscles pliable, my skin misted in sweat. I couldn't come down from my high. My sex clenched around him, my legs quivered in his grip. Every touch kept me right there. I looked at him, feeling the tears leaving my eyes. His head fell back with a moan.

He fucked me hard and fast, his hips pumping between my thighs, his ass flexing beneath my palms. His breathy groans were barely audible against my screams of pleasure and pain. Hungrily, he leaned down, pulled my head to him, and kissed me. His tongue licked mine, our breaths heavy and hot, our grips tight and unforgiving as we fucked like animals.

The knock on the door made us freeze. "Mr. Montgomery?" a woman called from the hall. He looked toward it with fear.

"I locked it," I assured him.

"Mr. Montgomery, is everything alright? I have your tea here."

He relaxed and rested his forehead against mine. We both laughed.

We were getting careless, brazen in our moments together. But, I didn't want it to stop. I was losing my ability to put anything above giving him the pleasure he wanted and deserved.

We remained quiet while trying to catch our breath. "Mr. Montgomery?" the maid said again.

He crawled back and onto his feet. I held my hand out to him and he helped me lean up and slide to the edge of the desk. He stood between my legs, keeping me from standing, and kissed me in his slow delectable way.

"Shall we take this to a more appropriate location?" he asked rhetorically.

I smiled and he pulled me to my feet.

. . .

The next morning when I was done dressing, I limped until I found a regular gait that felt comfortable. The ache of my backside—inside and out—made me whimper, but so did the memory.

After three rounds, I still wasn't satiated. The only way I could get him to wake up and give it to me again was to literally milk him for all he was worth. He paid me back in kind. I was sure neither of us would be sitting comfortably at the breakfast table this morning.

I went to see the twins and found him inside the room. He was giving them a kiss while gripping his travel bag in his hand. My mood dipped.

He spotted me when he began walking out. "You're leaving?" I asked him.

"Yes. I'm off to catch my flight."

I scurried after him as fast as my ass would let me. "How did I not know about this?"

"Because it was decided two hours ago."

I sighed with frustration. "Okay, well, a lot will be happening in the next few days. Matthew is staying with his friends tonight. He will go to the city with them and join us at the loft on Thursday."

"Alright."

"The twins have their first therapy session tomorrow, then my friend will be in the city mid-week. I planned to spend time with her, but if you are still away, my nephews are six and eight. The twins might enjoy spending some time with them, if you're okay with that."

"I am."

"And where will you be exactly?"

"I have to visit Italy. Briefly."

"Briefly?"

"Yes. I'm not going on holiday."

He started down the steps but I stopped him. "How long is 'briefly'? Do you know exactly when you'll be back?"

"When do I ever?" he said. I crossed my arms with a huff. He grinned. "Why the upset? Will you miss me?"

I hesitated for a reason I didn't quite understand. "No, but your kids will."

He appraised me with his dark eyes, a quiet chuckle sounding from him. With his hand at my waist, he leaned in and kissed me.

My surprise was so tremendous that I didn't close my eyes at first. Just as they did, his lips left mine with a sound that made my heart flutter and my sex ache with need. "You are a terrible liar," he said.

I was so caught off guard I hadn't even uncrossed my arms. That wasn't a thing we did—gentle kisses and I'll miss yous—but at that moment, it felt like it was.

I followed him down to the third step. "Wait." When he turned, I placed my hands at his cheeks and pulled him to me. 

I kissed him the way I wanted, the way that felt more like a proper goodbye. He hummed quietly against my lips, his hand found my back and pulled me tighter against him. I slowly pulled myself from him, but he caught my lips with his for just one more.

My eyes opened and I caught his gaze. "Bye," I said, feeling more flustered than expected.

He looked me over again, a grin lingering on his lips. "See you soon, love."

He turned and I watched him leave down the stairs, two staff members meeting him at the bottom and following him toward the front doors. He looked back at me before walking through them.

My breath left me in a huff. I pressed my hands against my cheeks and found them warm. What the hell is wrong with you? I scolded myself.

I climbed back up the steps and turned to go to the twins' room. I stopped short. Matthew stood in the hallway as if waiting for me. My skin turned to ice. "Good morning."

"What was that?" he asked me when I took a step closer.

My heart raced, but I held in my fear. "What was what?"

"You. That face you made while watching him leave." Watching him. My fear dipped ever so slightly.

"I'm a little flustered by him leaving in the middle of everything." That was true.

"And that makes you blush? You don't blush," he said. My eyes narrowed. I wasn't sure if that was a jab at my personality or my melanin. "Are you in love with him or something?" he asked with an accusing tone.

"No, Matthew."

"Really? Because it sure looks like it."

I let out a heavy sigh. "We have a better understanding after our fight, but that's all it is."

"But do you?" he said, his voice a little too loud.

"Do I what?"

"Do you love him?!" he yelled.

I was taken aback by his anger. "I told you no. Why are you so upset?"

"I told you I don't need a step-mom! I told you I don't want you to be with him!"

"Matthew," I sighed. He stormed back into his room and I followed him. "Matthew, talk to me."

"You cannot fall in love with him. Please, Aubrey, you can't." When he started to cry, I was baffled.

"Honey, what is going on with you?" I brushed my hand over his hair and he pushed me away. My eyes widened.

"You don't understand!"

"What do I not understand?!"

"You can't let him turn you into Mom!"

I took a breath to maintain my composure. Fighting hormones with fire achieves nothing positive. "Your mother is irreplaceable, Matthew. Nothing anyone does will make me her," I assured him. "She was sick and left you far too soon—I know how painful that is. But if and when your father decides to be with someone else, you will have to be able to accept—"

"Mom didn't die because she was sick, Aubrey," Matthew cried. "He killed her."

I stopped breathing. I stared at him and waited for the words to make sense, but they never did.

"I-I'm sorry, what?"

_____

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please be sure to vote, comment, and add to your library if you want more!