And then Garrett withdrew, pumping back. He began to fuck her at a steady pace, each stroke punctuated with an audible slap.

The tiny Emma stared up from her phone screen. Even at that size, she could see herself, skin pink with a telltale rosy blush, kiss-swollen lips open as she panted, an animal reduced to nothing but sensation.

Stroke after stroke, she watched herself being pleasured. But Garrett had her pinned down, so she could barely move.

Emma wanted to give as much as she got but had to do it with tiny motions of her hips, as much as he allowed. That and her interior muscles, which she was using to great effect judging from his groans.

The first spank surprised her. “Bad girl,” he rasped.

He was close, she could tell, so she squeezed him again and was rewarded with another spank.

Garrett pulled her back off the table another inch, just enough to work a hand between her pussy and the edge of the table. He began to work her clit in time with his thrusts, making her cry aloud.

Emma forgot she was being recorded. She forgot everything except Garrett’s heat at her back and the hard length of him pounding into her.

Hands flat on the glass, she turned her head to face the camera. She could no longer see it, but this wasn’t for her. Her lips formed the words so he would see them later. The same three, over and over again, claiming him even as he did the same to her.

Her body was burning, pulsing with his every push and pull when he pressed close, grinding and shouting. His cock throbbed, hot seed spurting inside her as he came. A few more strained hard thrusts and she was coming too, that hot tight knot at her core exploding in wave after wave of pure bliss.

When she recovered, she was face down on the table, the glass too fogged for her to see. There was cold at her back and a shadow of movement under the table. The phone dinged as Garrett stopped the recording. Then he put the phone in his pocket before picking her up and carrying her to their room.

An hour later, after a long session in bed, he showered and went downstairs so he could carry their daughter to bed too.

Chapter Sixty-Eight

EMMA

She finished sorting the mini cups of green coffee beans in order of quality before checking her cheat sheet from the ICI, International Coffee Institute.

“Yes!” She pumped one hand in the air and did a celebratory jig around the kitchen island.

Ever since she’d decided to pursue coffee roasting as a career, she had been researching all aspects of the business, including pursuing a Q-grading certification.

These were the people who were able to sort beans by type and qualitybeforethey were roasted. It was a crucially important skill set to have, and every roaster and green coffee importer employed at least one.

She’d gotten the idea from her husband. Every time he drank a cup of something she’d selected and prepared, he would compliment her, saying she knew how to pick a bean. Once she realized just how important that skill was to her career plans, she had begun to research whether that was true. And according to the kit she’d had specially couriered by the ICI, it was.

This was significant. If she could refine this skill, she could build a business around it. A little importing and bean roasting enterprise.Garrett kept encouraging her to try, offering himself and his friends up as a sounding board whenever she needed.

At first, Emma had fielded these offers from him with skepticism. That was before. Now she accepted them because that was howtheyhad succeeded.

Garrett’s friends didn’t spring forth from the womb as titans of industry. Even Rainer and Elias, who had been raised with family money, took what they’d been given and pushed it to new heights. And they’d done it by helping each other.

Like them, she had that desire to create, to work toward something bigger than herself. Her little enterprise didn’t have to be huge, just hers.

Yes, her husband was going to provide a little seed money. But Emma was going to be smart. It was going to be a one-woman operation while she laid the foundation. Once she had things in place, she’d hire one or two others.

Both Kyle and Bethany had expressed an interest in getting on board. They both wanted to be ‘on the ground floor’ of something.

“Woman, I don’t want to be shlepping coffee to people in five years,” Bethany had told her.

The tattooed barista had been serving atDe Ollacafé at the time. She ignored the uncomfortable looks of the customers she’d just handed coffee to. “By then they better be bringing it tome.”

Emma warned Kyle and Bethany to keep their expectations low. She didn’t intend on building the newest coffee empire. It wasn’t going to be the next Starbucks. But they could carve out a niche that could sustain and fulfill them and still leave time to have a life. To enjoy their families. Because no matter what happened, Emma would be there for Stella.

She also wanted to be there for herself. It wouldn’t be much of a life if she worked herself into the ground. Which meant she needed a solid plan. She wouldn’t rely on hopes and wishful thinking.

Emma was continuing her associate degree in business, taking classes remotely for the time being. She’d also had lunch with a few of Garrett’s friends, including the owners ofAuric, who were involved in many entrepreneurial efforts, not just their security company.