Even after everything she said tonight, that she wants me and a life here, part of me worried that she would be pissed at me for threatening to kick Derek’s ass. That she would say things were too messy, and there was too much at stake by picking a fight with him.
 
 The way he looked at me, in his fancy suit and shiny shoes, I wondered if she would remember every reason why she wanted to leave here in the first place. But she’s not pissed. She’s here, pressed against my back, and telling me she’s ok. So, I choose to believe her.
 
 “You’re making tea?” She cranes her neck around me as the teakettle starts to whistle. “You hate tea.” I shut off the stove, move the kettle off the burner, and turn to wrap my arms around her, pressing a kiss to her upturned mouth.
 
 “But you don’t.” I shrug. “And I needed to keep my hands busy.”
 
 “Thank you. For everything.”
 
 “Anything for my girl.”
 
 “Your girl?” she echoes as I straighten. She gazes up at me.
 
 For a split second, I think about backtracking and downplaying what I said. Even after all we shared earlier and the things we said. Uncertainty wars in my head at what she thinks of me calling her that. But then, I realize I don’t want to.
 
 So, I take her face in my hands and say, “Yeah. You ok with that?”
 
 She swallows and nods against my palm, her eyes wide. “Yes,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
 
 “Good.” I press a kiss to her lips and pull her against me, fighting like hell to resist pumping my fist in the air.
 
 She looks up at me with a small smile and drops a hand to my stomach, working her fingers under the fabric just below my belly button.
 
 “I can think of a few other things you can do with your hands that are more fun than making tea.” She pushes her fingers into the waistband of my pants and drags her nails across my lower abdomen, making my gut clench and my cock slowly come to life.
 
 A chuckle rumbles deep in my chest as she takes my hand and presses it to her chest. I can feel her hard nipple on my palm as I squeeze gently. When my eyes move down her body, I realize she’s in nothing but an oversized T-shirt and panties, her long legs bare. She’s so beautiful.
 
 Lifting onto her toes, she presses her mouth to mine, and it’s warm and sweet. It’s a chaste kiss, nothing like the slow track she’s taking toward my dick.
 
 I swipe my tongue across her bottom lip, and she opens for me, letting me take her mouth. The sound she makes when I grab her ass and pull her against me is sinful. Between that and her fingers closing around my cock, I’m already right fucking there.
 
 I grab her by the hips and turn our bodies, putting her perfect ass on the counter, just like I threatened to the other night. She leans back on her palms, her head resting on her shoulder and eyes hooded as she watches me take her in.
 
 Her shirt rides up around her hips, revealing that skimpy thong. I spread her knees wide and run a finger over the fabric. It’s easily marked by how wet she already is.
 
 My eyes find hers and my voice comes out low and rough. “You always this wet for me?”
 
 “Yes,” she breathes.
 
 I grab the front of her panties and give a little twist, pulling them up between her pussy lips. She arches her back toward me as the fabric tightens over her swollen clit and I bring my mouth to her chest, finding and softly biting a hardened nipple through the fabric.
 
 “Hank, please…” She rocks her pelvis on the counter and whimpers when she can’t find any friction.
 
 “Please, what, baby?” I say as I work her other nipple with my tongue and teeth, soaking her shirt while giving her panties another little tug.
 
 “I need more,” she pants, her eyes glazed and wide.
 
 I release her panties and shove my hand inside, roughly driving two fingers into her.
 
 She gasps and her head falls back against the cupboard behind her with a soft thud. “Yes! God, Hank, yes. Don’t stop.”
 
 I work my fingers in and out of her while she grabs my shoulders, pulling me in for a hot, crushing kiss. She’s frantically rocking her hips against my hand, fucking my fingers like it’s the last thing she’ll ever do.
 
 I yank her shirt up with my free hand and wrap my arm around her back, pulling her close. She gasps as the movement pushes my fingers in deeper, and I pull a nipple into my mouth, sucking and scraping my teeth along it as she cries out.
 
 “Is this what you need? You’re gonna come like this, aren't you? Grinding this sweet pussy on my fingers. That’s my perfect girl. So fucking hot, baby.”
 
 Shemoans a low whine in her throat. With her fingers digging into my back as she cries out, she comes hard and fast, panting against my shoulder and breathing life into me with every single whimper.