Chapter 41 Tore had me on my knees, my face pressed to the mattress, gripping my hips as he drove into me, shoving me toward the headboard with every thrust. Grunting, I braced a hand against it and pushed back, screwing my backside into his pelvis, taking him even deeper. "Yes," I cried. "Baby, yes. It's so good." My thighs were shaking and sore, and my core ached from all the attention he'd given me, but I could take it. I wanted to. This wasn't the first time he'd fucked me tonight. Not the second either. After dozing off in a sweaty tangle of limbs, he'd woken me with his tongue, and it hadn't taken long until he was inside me again. Since the night he chased me across the street a month ago, he hadn't stopped. Most evenings, I had dinner with him and his family and usually hung out with them after too. And once everyone retreated to their own rooms for the night, I was in Tore's bed, taking him then falling asleep with him. I always snuck out at the crack of dawn, though. I wasn't ready for everyone to know I was sleeping over. Tore didn't like it, but he indulged me. He'd had two years to prepare for what he wanted us to be. I was catching up quickly, but I wasn't quite there. It wasn't his fault life had taught me to be cautious. And we both agreed we had to be careful with the kids. He was getting me there, though. Every time I watched him with his kids. Each night we fell asleep together. How he looked at me. The way he spoke to me. Every little thing he did pulled me closer. He dragged a finger along the valley of my ass and tapped my hole. "I want this." I looked over my shoulder. The sight of him-rippling muscles glistening with sweat, hungry eyes focused on my ass like he was seconds from taking a bite out of it-made my insides clench around him. "If you keep being such a good boy, I'll let you have it," I panted. His gaze lifted to find mine. "You're going to let me have you here?" "Can you be good?" I teased, breathless. "Anything to win my prize, beautiful." I shot him a punch-drunk grin. "We'll see about that." He reached around me, rolling my clit with the pad of his finger. "I'm going to start by making you come. Are you going to do that for me?" I nodded into the mattress. "Oh yeah. I definitely will." With Tore, it was easy. He touched me just right, and I ignited, shaking, clawing at the sheets, begging for relief. And he gave it to me. I came until my legs tried to give out, but Tore wouldn't allow it. Gathering me in his arms, he shuffled us forward, my front plastered to the headboard, my back to his chest. His mouth was beside my ear, huffing raggedly as he slammed into me in hard, frantic thrusts while holding me tenderly, kissing my cheek and temple, stroking my hips, whispering love. He pulsed inside me, coming hard and hot, and we fell, hitting the mattress together, Tore wrapped around my back, one hand on my stomach, the other holding my breast. Those had become his spots. I liked that he had places on my body he claimed as his own. I'd silently done the same. His glowing ears, the deep line that ran through the center of his palm, the lock of hair that fell on his forehead when he was over me. Those pieces were mine. All mine. I twisted my neck to blink at him. "We should really sleep this time. It has to be late." He swiped his phone from the nightstand and held it in front of me so we could both see. "Only midnight. Not too late." As he was showing me the screen, a text from Sam popped up. Sam: ????? I huffed a laugh. "Sam's a man of many words." "Yeah." Tore tossed his phone and nuzzled my hair. "He's texted me a few times tonight. It's nothing urgent, and I'm off the clock." "I bet he loves that." "He won't be pleased, but I don't care." His fingers trailed along my stomach, lulling me into a boneless heap. "I'm with my girlfriend. He can't have access to me right now." I smiled, my eyes fluttering closed. "Gotta have that work-life balance, baby." "Damn right." He kissed my hair. "I'll sort Sam out tomorrow. For now, I'm going to fall asleep with my girlfriend and try not to get pissed off when she sneaks out in the morning." "Wow, she sounds amazing," I teased. "I'm sure she has valid reasons for the sneaking." "She is, and she thinks she does." He kissed my hair. "Go to sleep, Beatrice." "Bossy," I whispered. "Only when you let me be." I fell asleep with a smile on my lips, warmth at my back, and my heart filled with optimism. Monday night, I had dinner with my girls. As wrapped up as I was in Tore and the Gallo family, it was important not to forget the rest of my life. Clara shared details about her quickly approaching wedding. She'd refused the male stripper I'd offered to hire for her bachelorette, but she hadn't denied the Elvis impersonator I had up my sleeve. Of course, I hadn't mentioned him, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Shira had started wedding planning now too. She and Roman were low-key, so they were keeping it small, but Shira blushed with excitement and gushed what she wanted her wedding dress to look like. Even though her engagement hadn't been roses and fireworks, she was excited to be married to her man. And I told them all about Tore and the kids. Shira had met everyone but Tore, but she and Clara were both eager to get to know the new people in my life. It was still unbelievable I'd gone from happily, staunchly single to fully immersed in an entire family, but here I was. And it felt right. Nothing and no one would ever replace what I'd lost, but that was okay. They didn't have to. I could miss my siblings down to my bones and love Scarlet, Lace, and Tally to the same depths. One did not negate the other. It was scary and wild and out of my control, so I had chosen to give in, let go, and enjoy the ride. When I got home, I sent a message to Tore. Me: Hey. I'm home. Dinner was fun. Everyone wants to meet you soon. Tore: Come over. Me: Did you not read the part about my friends wanting to meet you? Tore: I did. We can talk about it when you come over. Me: I'm beat and already in my pjs. Benji-bear and I are going to turn in early. I'll see you in about twelve hours, Salvatore. Tore: Come over in your pajamas. You can bring Benjamin with you. Me: Babe, I'm staying home tonight. I wish you'd drop it and ask about my dinner instead. Tore: If you were in front of me, I would. Me: Okay. Well...we're not getting anywhere. I'll see you at Nox tomorrow. Good night. Tore: We'll talk tomorrow then. Good night, Beatrice. I couldn't say I wasn't a little salty he hadn't been able to get it up to ask me about my night, but told myself sometimes things got lost in translation through text. And it wasn't like I didn't want to spend the night with him. I definitely did. But I was tired, and I had to wake up early to do some client prep work. This once, it was easier to sleep in my own bed. Plus...well, I didn't love him commanding my presence, but since I was pretty certain we were just miscommunicating, I wasn't worried. We'd squash this tomorrow. I was taking out a batch of muffins when my phone chimed, alerting me to an incoming email through my website. Dropping the pan on top of the stove, I shook off my oven mitt to check if it was urgent. The sender was Paul at Nox Cyber. Huh. Frowning, I clicked on his message. From: [email protected] To: [email protected]m Bea, Sorry to send this so last minute, but we no longer need your services at Nox. Since we're beyond the cancellation window, we will be paying you today's fee. Please remove Nox from your calendar going forward. Thank you for your time, and again, I apologize for the late notice. Best, Paul Delaney What the shit? What the actual shit? Blood rushed in my ears as I reread Paul's message. I didn't know what to think. Never in a million years had I imagined Nox would cancel my services. That job accounted for a nice bit of my weekly income, and now...nothing. It was so last minute, what could have happened between last night and this morning? I sucked in a breath. Surely not... Had I misread Tore that badly last night? Had he been so angry with me for not coming over, he'd had Paul fire me? My stomach flipped, the scent of my freshly baked cranberry muffins suddenly nauseating. Dropping my phone, I braced my hands on the counter, heart pounding hard enough to shake the breath from my lungs. No. No, Tore wouldn't do that. Not over me not coming over. Would he? I thought of how terse his final text had been, but that was just Tore. He wasn't exactly flowery with his words, but... Had I miscalculated? Had he really been so unhappy with me, he'd felt the need to deliver this swift blow to me and my income? I almost gaslit myself out of that thought, but it wasn't like this was the first time he'd bypassed me to make a decision about my work, my life, without stopping to ask me what I wanted. Tore, the man I was starting to trust, had gone around me and hadn't even had the decency to tell me himself. I was blindsided. Gutted. Pissed off to high heavens. I swiped at my cheeks angrily and yanked off my apron, tossing it onto the counter, so very done. His delivery might have been shit, but it had gotten the job done. Message received, loud and clear. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!