I pull her down to kiss her once more, and she slips her hand under my shirt, her fingertips raking against my skin as she feels me there beneath her. My cock is stirring to hardness at her touch, and I know I need to be inside of her.

I slip my hand between her legs and pull her panties aside, massaging just the outsides of her folds for a moment before I dip in to feel her wetness properly. She groans against my lips, and I grin, biting down on her bottom lip for a moment as I push my fingers inside of her.

“Fuck, you’re so wet for me already,” I murmur to her, keeping my voice low. She lets out a sound that’s somewhere between a whimper and a whine, and I know she needs this just as much as I do.

I unzip my pants and pull my cock into my hand, stroking myself a couple of times—she gazes down at me, her legs parted, her belly rising and falling swiftly, as she waits for me to guide myself against her.

And then, at last—I do. I press myself against her slit, her panties pulled to the side to make space for me, and pull her down on top of me in one swift motion.

She buries her face into my shoulder to stem the groan of pleasure that courses through her as I fill her with my cock once more. The sensation of her wrapped around me like this—it’s almost more than I can take. I feel like I could finish right here and now, just with her on top of me. I’m not sure if it’s the intensity of this night as a whole or just the sheer passion of our physical chemistry, but I don’t really care.

I pull back from her and begin to grind up and into her—not thrusting, but moving my cock inside of her so I can feel every inch of her from the inside out. I can’t take my eyes off of her face, the way she reacts to me, as though she can barely believe it’s possible for something to feel this good—and I’m right there with her.

She presses her hands into my chest after a few moments, and starts to move down to meet me, matching my motions with every thrust. Her breathing starts to catch at the back of her throat a little, and I can tell that she is seriously getting off on this. I love the way she looks when she moves on top of me, her brow slightly furrowed, her lips parted as she pants for breath. I want nothing more than to commit this sight to memory so I can never forget how damn good she looks for me right now.

I tighten my grip on her hips and start to drive myself into her with a little more force, our bodies coming together over and over again. She moves her hands to the back of the couch and uses the newfound leverage to push back onto me, and soon I feel my orgasm brewing inside of me.

I lean down to draw one of her nipples into my mouth, letting my lips graze along her delicious bud for a moment, and she lets out a low moan. All at once, I feel it, the moment she reaches her release—her body bucking down against mine, her system shuddering with a helpless pleasure as she lets it course through her. I lift my head to kiss her and she kisses me back with a frantic passion, knowing that she can’t get enough of me.

And it’s that which pushes me into my own release—I drive myself deep inside of her one last time and hold myself there, feeling the pleasure as it rushes from my cock to every nerve ending in my body. It takes every bit of restraint I have in me to keep my voice down, but I mutter a rush of curse words as I finish inside of her, her body pinned to mine, her breath still rushing out of her lungs and into mine.

By the time we both come back down to earth, we’re breathing hard, and neither of us are willing to let this moment go, not quite yet. I look up at her for a moment, pushing my hands through her hair so I can stare into her eyes. Her cheeks are flushed, and there’s a slight smile on her face. She makes no move to get off of me, as though she’s still enjoying the sensation more than she would care to admit.

“So,” she remarks, as she brushes her nose against mine. “What do you think of my tactics? Believe me now?”

I chuckle. I can hardly remember the conversation we were having before this happened. Hell, I can hardly remember why I came here in the first place.

“I don’t know,” I reply, as I pull her in for another kiss. “I think I could stand to be convinced a little more…”

11

KATIE

“There you go,”I coo to Polly as I tug her little sleep suit on over her fresh diaper and pinch her sweet little chubby cheeks. She smiles up at me, and my heart warms at once. There’s something about that bright grin that really makes my day. Just knowing that she’s happy, it’s all I really want.

And that’s exactly how she seems, after spending the morning with Luca and me. He slept over last night, which was probably a bad idea, but I’m not going to overthink it now that it’s happened. When he came over, there was something in the air between us at once, and I know it’s not the kind of shit you can just brush off. No matter how bad an idea Cara thinks all of this is.

“I think it’s time for your nap,” I tell her, heading through to her little room. We spent this morning doing some tummy time, a little play, and now she’s eaten and changed and ready for some rest. Which I am glad for, because I feel like there’s a whole lot more to Luca that I want to get to the bottom of.

Once I’ve put her down, I emerge into the kitchen once more, to find Luca standing there with two cups of coffee. He’s stillwearing his tee and jeans, but he’s barefoot now, and he looks like he belongs there.

“One of these for me?” I joke as I reach out to take a cup from him.

“No, this one’s for Polly,” he teases. “Thought she was looking a little sleepy, she could use the caffeine boost…”

“Oh God, I can’t think of anything worse,” I laugh, as I push a hand through my hair. For a moment, his eyes just linger on me, and I feel a flush rising to my cheeks. There’s something about being under the scrutiny of his gaze that does things to me, even though I’m quite sure it shouldn’t.

“So how are you feeling this morning?” he wonders aloud, finally breaking the silence between us.

“Better than I was feeling last night,” I admit. “Much better, actually. Thanks for coming over like you did, I know it was a big ask…”

“Katie, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you,” he admonishes me gently. “I want to be here for you. For both of you.”

He glances toward the room where Polly is sleeping, and my heart skips a beat. I saw the way he looked at her last night—I could see the adoration in his eyes, that love that was written all over his face. I can’t even imagine how strange this is for him, to be part of our lives right now, given everything that’s happened between us over the last year or so.

“I think Polly really likes you,” I offer, hoping to change the subject to something a little brighter.

He grins. “You think?”