Chapter Six

Ava came awake with a start, and at first, she had no idea where she was. Someone was sleeping practically on top of her, and she was feeling more than a little smothered.

She fought her way through the mass of muscles to sit on the edge of the bed.

Of course, there was no way to do that without waking him, not that she had been in the least concerned about that, though, frankly.

"Bad dream?" he asked, reaching out to trail just his fingertips down her spine, and making her shiver.

"No, I just forgot I was here, and you were on top of me. I couldn't breathe."

Her words were flat and dull, for a reason he couldn't fathom. "I'm sorry. I'll be more careful about that in the future."

Ava didn't say anything else but rose to use the ensuite bathroom.

Kurt was still awake when she came back, having turned on a nicely dim light that helped her find her way.

He pulled back the sheets for her, as if to welcome her back, but she sat down on the edge of the bed again, rubbing her hands over her face and lamenting, "Oh my God, I can't believe I've done this. You must think I'm such a hypocrite, with all of my big talk about how I wouldn't sleep with you on any particular number of dates. And Sheila and Jack! What are they going to think about me staying out all night?"

Kurt watched her put her head in her hands and rose to cradle her body with his own from behind, pulling her to him so that she was sitting up and he could keep her more closely against him.

"Firstly, I don't think any less of you. Do you think less of me, since I said essentially the same thing to you about wanting to go slowly?"

She remained stubbornly silent, and he shook her gently. "Hmm?"

"No, of course not," she answered reluctantly.

"All right then. And Sheila and Jack will just be incredibly glad that we're happy. I promise you that. They're not judgmental people, and they've been after me to find someone for a long time now." He rubbed his hands over her arms, massaging her neck and trying to get her to relax some. "Sheila was after me to ask you out before you made it out the door that day, I swear."

Then he realized that he was assuming something not in evidence. As he looked down at her, Kurt said, "Well, I'm happy, anyway. You're not, though?" That question was wrested from him, because he wasn't at all sure that he wanted to hear her answer.

"I-I don't know. I don't do this. I don't jump into bed with anyone, as a rule, and yet here I am, with you."

She made it sound quite distasteful to her.

"I know it sounds stupid, but I'm not used to being led around by my libido, I guess. I can't figure out how I got here. I mean, I've got this baby to take care of now, and you're understandably kind of traumatized by them, and I'm still traumatized myself by my last relationship, and I just don't really know where to go from here, I guess is what I'm trying to say. And it doesn't seem like a very good place to start from, either, to me."

Kurt lay back, taking her with him, grabbing her by the hips and lifting her off the bed to put her down on his long, thick pole. A loud gasp was torn from her throat at first, and she struggled a bit against him and her inevitable impalement, but then her body took over and largely shut her annoyingly rational mind off. And, as she was still in the process of enveloping him with her body, he sat up and began to suckle at her breasts.

Ava groaned and arched her back, giving him even more access to that which he desired as he began to bounce her up and down on him, giving her no choice but to grab a hold of his shoulders and hang on for dear life.

"Stop—no—too fast!" she panted, barely able to string two words together.

"Painful?" If he'd had the slightest inkling that she was in pain, he would have stopped immediately, with absolutely no thought of the cost to himself. But Kurt was of a mind that her protestations were much more a reflection of reluctance rather than actual discomfort.

She shook her head. "N-no, just hard to, hard to—" she kept repeating, because he'd found the heart of her excitement again, and any ability to speak just flew out the window as soon as he began to feather his fingers over her.

"Hard to what, Ava? Tell me," he growled urgently. Kurt was thoroughly enjoying how completely she lost her mind while he was pleasuring her.

"Hard to take!" she almost yelled as he continued to fuck her mercilessly, never missing a beat at any one of the very sensitive spots he was caressing.

"Good. I like that it's not easy for you to take me, or what I'm doing to you. I bet it makes you come just that much harder."

Kurt reached up and wound his free hand in her hair, using his grip to arch and expose her neck, which he then attacked with his lips and teeth, the way he had been her nipples until seconds ago. Instead, he'd left those aching peaks wet and cooling quickly in the chilled air.

And when he finally let go of her hair, that same hand found her backside and began to spank it more crisply than he had before.

But even though his palm was cracking down relatively hard and quite frequently on her rear end, it barely took the edge off the ecstasy he was forcing to creep ever higher within her.

Before she would have said she was ready, though, Kurt commanded, in a tight, demanding tone that he'd never used before with her, "Come, Ava. Come for me now."

Any illusion she had about having any kind of control over her body was ripped away from her. Her body was following his orders now, not hers, and almost before he finished speaking, she was hurled into the storm, tossed, and buffeted wildly as he continued to take his own pleasure from her, all the while making certain to keep hers as raw and wild as ever.

He had long since spent himself within her before he allowed her to come back down from the many times he had forced her to find her own paradise on the tips of his fingers.

Ava was no more than a limp noodle, and he felt his chest swell with pride as he maneuvered her carefully around on the bed, so that he could curl himself around her from behind, wrapping strong arms around her so he could keep her as close to him as possible.

Kurt knew that she was asleep long before he stopped fussing over her, adjusting the pillows and the covers and making sure that she looked as comfortable as he could possibly get her. He'd almost forgotten how much he liked having someone to take care of.

His heart clenched when he realized that that was one of the things he'd missed most.

But he also recognized that if he dwelled on that thought for too long, he might just have the same crisis of conscience as she'd just had—only a lot worse.

So, he just decided to shove all of the reasons why this was not a good thing that they'd done and just go with the idea that they had each gotten a whole lot of pleasure out of each other, and how could that really be all that bad, when it really came down to it?

It was as if the universe had taken that last thought of his before he'd drifted to sleep as a challenge to prove to him just how bad it could be.

The next morning, he woke up and recognized that there was a woman in his bed, and without thinking about it, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, saying to her what he'd said to her a thousand times before.

"Mornin', Mo."

Ava had—rightfully, of course—come to full consciousness at that and jumped out of his still very sleepy embrace as if she was a scalded cat, immediately beginning to gather her clothes.

Kurt sighed heavily and closed his eyes. This was not how he had wanted the day to begin.

But he couldn't stay there, and not just because he could hear that, as she was finding her things, she was crying.

Again, rightfully so. He couldn't imagine how he would feel if she'd rolled over and called him the name of her last lover—although he would bet he had more reason to be insulted than she did, if it came down to it.

But that was neither here nor there.

He rolled out of bed on his side, easily intercepting her on her way to the door. He didn't touch her—he'd learned very quickly not to try to touch a really angry woman who was also crying, and he figured that went double for one he didn't know all that well yet—but he did stand in her way with his hands up. "Ava, I'm sorry. I'm incredibly sorry. I'm terribly, horribly, awfully sorry."

She stopped trying to leave before he'd finished his mea culpa, standing there all folded in on herself in a way that made him almost unable to curb the impulse to pull her into his arms, but, again, he knew better from prior—painful—experience.

"Let me go."

He opened the door and stepped aside. "Give me a minute to climb into some clothes and I'll take you over to Sheila's."

Not to get April, but over to Sheila's, Ava noted, adding another point against him.

"I'll call an Uber," she told him absently, already bringing up the app on her phone.

"No," he said quietly from behind her, "I'll drive you. I can get you there long before they can even get here. Sit in the living room for a short moment, and I'll be right there."

She was already entirely too familiar with that particular tone, and when she did as she was told, her behind reminded her of that fact in an entirely new and different way. She wasn't really that uncomfortable, but the idea that sitting was uncomfortable at all was just mind-boggling to her. How had he managed to get past what she liked to think of as her carefully constructed defenses so quickly? She'd ended up in bed with him, for fuck's sake, and she'd let him spank her!

So much for said defenses. She was back at square one, apparently, not having learned a thing from her time under Jeffrey's cruel, feckless, mercurial thumb.

Kurt got dressed as quickly as he could, not wanting her to spend too much time out there in the living room crying—or deciding to take matters into her own hands. He wouldn't put it past her to up and start walking.

But she was right where he'd left her, and he counted that as a good thing. On his way to the garage, he handed her a box of Kleenex, and once they got into the car, he reached into the back seat and gave her the painting he'd bought for her.

They didn't say anything to each other all the way to the Westbrooks'. She was practically out of the car before he came to a stop, and Sheila opened the door when she knocked on it.

The older woman waved at Kurt, who waved half-heartedly back.

"I'm sorry to descend on you like this, but I need to go home."

***

Sheila could see how upset Ava was, and all of the hopes and dreams she had been spinning since Ava had called last night about them getting together on a more permanent basis evaporated in the face of her raw anguish. Sheila nodded to Jack, who got April's things together, returning shortly with the little girl on one arm and her bag hanging off the other.

She wished her husband had taken a bit more time gathering things, because she hadn't gotten so much as a word out of Ava as to what the problem was. She and Jack had been praying so hard for this to work out for them. If ever one couple was rooting for another to have sex, it was them rooting for Kurt and Ava. They'd thought their prayers had been answered when she'd said that she didn't know when she'd get there, and now here she was the next morning after they'd obviously been together.

And, apparently, it hadn't turned out well at all.

Ava took April and her things from Jack, and turned to head out the door, but Sheila's hand on her arm stopped her momentarily.

"Honey, I hate to see you so upset. Wouldn't you like to take a minute and have some coffee and talk?"

"No but thank you so much for being so flexible about me just dropping April on you all night. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, dear. You—and April—are always welcome here." It was about all she could say before Ava was gone, heading across the front yard to her car.

She was glad to see, though, that Kurt was still there, and if she knew him at all, she would say that he was going to follow Ava home just to make sure that she arrived there safely, because she was so upset.

When she'd put April into her car seat and thrown the bag in with her, Ava trudged determinedly to the driver's side of Kurt's car, where words were exchanged.

"Sheila, stop peeping at them," Jack chided from behind where his nosy wife had just slightly pulled back the curtain on the window in their front door.

She was moving her head around, trying to get the best angle to try to see what Ava was saying to Kurt, but she was too far away. "I'm not peeping. I'm just an interested party. After all, I had a hand in getting them together."

"Uh huh." He did not sound convinced. "It's tacky. And it's not like you're not going to pump him for information when you see him on Monday morning, anyway."

That got her to jerk back and glare at him, trying to look insulted when he was too damned right. "I will not!" she defended, both of them knowing she was lying through her teeth.

Although at least she didn't move the curtain when she moved stealthily to the living room window. She didn't need to. She could see just fine what was happening.

But by then, whatever conversation Ava had struck up with him was over, and she hauled ass out of there.

***

As he followed behind her—whether she wanted him to or not—he wished, not for the first time, that he had a mic and speakers in the car, so he could tell her to watch her speed.

And if he ever got the chance to discipline her again, that would be at least one reason why.

Eventually, long before she made it to her apartment, she slowed down, as if remembering that she had precious cargo with her, but he still wished she had let him bring her home. She was likely crying—as she had been when she'd trudged to his car and told him not to follow her any farther—and that was never a good thing to do while driving.

When they got there, he parked a little way away, wishing he thought she'd welcome his help in getting all of that baby stuff inside, but he knew she wouldn't. He'd really blown it this time, granted, through no real fault of his own.

She hefted everything herself, including the baby, locked the car, and had her key out so she could seamlessly get into her place.

Kurt sat there far longer than he probably should have, staring after her and sighing heavily, until at last, he forced himself to pull out of the parking space and head to his empty home.

***

When she heard from him again, more than a week had gone by.

Sheila, she'd heard from since almost the time she'd walked into her house that night. She was constantly checking up on her—not annoyingly so, but with an obviously caring bent. Ava bet she was doing exactly the same thing with Kurt.

It had surprised her that he had let so many days go by between what happened and the text she received from him one weekday night. He'd seemed so keen about her, but—like everything involving him, it seemed—she couldn't decide whether she wanted him to call or not.

Can we talk, please?

All right, she sent back.

Kurt was pleased to see that, until the next message came in.

Although I'm not sure what needs talking about.

What wants discussing is how we get past this, he replied.

I'm not sure we can, or even should, she came back with.

And you don't want to try?

I'm not sure that I think we'd have much success. I'm still having problems with my leftover baggage from a bad relationship, and you're obviously still mourning your wife.

You seemed to do reasonably well getting past your memories that night. Or were you afraid and hiding it from me at any point?

She stared at his question for a good long time before answering, No.

Good.

Yes, I'll admit that we are explosive in bed.

Kurt nearly let out a whoop when he read that.

But what happened the next morning was not okay. Then there's the fact that I have a baby in my life, and you can barely stand to be in the same room with her.

He answered, I agree that there are things we both need to work on. But I really don't want to stop seeing you. It may sound stupid, or naïve, or whatever, but I really like you, and I want to see where this goes. I'll make whatever accommodations I can.

You can't even type the word "baby,” and you've never even said her name. You won't go into your friends' house when she's there, Ava pointed out.

She was in my office that first day, and I was in your apartment while the two of you were in the bathroom.

And both times, you looked as if someone had put you on the rack.

He couldn't really disagree with her about that, because he'd felt exactly like that. I just found you, and I feel like lightning has struck twice in my life. I don't want to give you up. Work with me, please, Ava. Let's see if we can come to some kind of a compromise that works for both of us, somehow?

It was the remark about the lightning that got her, and it had her reluctantly texting back, although against her better judgment. Okay, but I won't have April slighted in any way by your behavior towards her, or by whatever we decide.

Of course not.

She thought that was going to be easier said than done for him, but Ava had to admit to herself—if not to him—that she didn't want to lose him, either. And she definitely wanted to see where this led, too.

Kurt was on tenterhooks, waiting for her reply. In the meantime, he took a large slug of his drink while staring at his phone in rapt attention.

Okay. I'd like to try, too.

This time, he did whoop—loudly. It was a good thing the house was on a few acres and he didn't have any close neighbors. Although he wanted to overwhelm her with enthusiastic texts, he decided against it. Thank you, honey. I'll try to make sure you don't regret your decision.

And I'll try to do the same for you.

When can we get together? He hoped he didn't come across as desperate as he actually felt, but he wanted to pin down a time to see her. He felt like a junkie who need another taste to get by. He wanted to hold her in his arms and spend a lot of time just kissing her. But he also wanted to tip her over his lap again and fuck her senseless.

Well, it's a three-day weekend next weekend, and I have the whole thing off, surprisingly.

Surprisingly?

Yeah, us lowly shift workers often get stuck working at least one day out of a three-day weekend, because the call center is open every day. But it worked out for me this time. And working a holiday is double time for me—I'm grandfathered in—and they don't really want me to be there, anyway. Screws up their payroll. So, I have it off.

Let's go to Vegas! he suggested.

With a baby? she shot back.

Oh. Kurt was kind of startled by that. He had hoped to kind of ease into the baby thing. Uh, camping?

I repeat. With a baby? One that I'm not used to having yet and you're afraid of? No thanks. I can barely make it through the week in civilization without running out of diapers or formula or wipes or…

Hmm. Kurt wasn't very happy with her description of him being afraid, but he couldn't think of a better way to put it, either.

Yeah. Hmm.

We could do the tram again.

I'm sorry to be a pain, but I'd like some more time to go by before we do that again.

No problem.

Yes, problem, Ava thought. What were they going to do?

Okay, well, let's go back a step. I would suggest that our next few dates be childless.

That doesn't sound much like we're working on the problem but go ahead.

Hang in with me, here. He drew a deep breath. In some ways, you're right about how I feel about. the child.

You can't even type the word "baby,” Kurt? Really?

Baby. Baby, baby, baby, baby. Even just seeing the words on the screen made him a bit sick to his stomach, but she didn't need to know that, and he sent them more to get them away from him than to prove to her that he could type the word. I'm always going to be upfront with you, Ava, and I think that an outing with the baby might be a bit much for me right now. Maybe what I need to do is slowly desensitize myself over time? Be eased into it?

How much time?

It was a reasonable question, to which he didn't have a reasonable answer. I'm sorry, but I don't know.

She hadn't sent anything back after a few minutes, so he sent something again. I'm sorry, but I'm going to need you to be patient with me on this, but I do want to work on it.

Her All right didn't inspire much confidence in him.

What about this? We plan for me to come over to your place—with the baby there, of course—and have dinner with the two of you in say. six weeks?

When she got his text suggesting that, she actually said the last two words out loud in disbelief, and as she was typing them to him in the exact same tone, using italics and everything so he'd get the picture, another message came in from him.

During that time, I'll start doing the things I've avoided doing to date. I'll come in to Sheila and Jack's place when I pick you up and drop you off. I'll do my best to embrace the situation and stop trying to avoid it. Just please be patient with me. Like I will be when I give you your first real spanking, he couldn't help but add mischievously.

Hey! That was a real spanking you gave me!

He sent her an evil smiley face. I can't wait to teach you how wrong you are about that.

And I can't wait to see you holding April. I've always loved seeing big men with little babies or kittens.

Kurt sucked in his breath, and he felt like someone had socked him in his gut when he read the first part of that, but he forced himself to do so. I want to see you Friday night.

She started to reply, then more came in.

And Saturday day.

And Saturday night.

And Sunday day.

And Sunday night.

Ava had to laugh at that. Well, I'm sure at least one of those nights could be arranged.

He sent a frowny face. Just one?

Well, I only have one babysitter at the moment, and I don't want to keep imposing on her.

I'll get to work on that, but all right. How much time can I get with you? He wasn't used to being so restricted in seeing someone, but he had no one to blame but himself.

Well, I'll have to talk to Sheila, but how about Saturday, around four or so, to Sunday morning?

A grumpy face appeared at that, with the message: That's nowhere near enough time to do to you want I want to do to you, but I'll take what I can get.

Ava sucked in her breath at that.

Are you wet at the thought of that? he asked boldly.

Oh, Christ, yes, she thought but didn't type.

Is the baby down for the night?

Kudos to him, she thought, wondering how long it took him to type that, then decided to send, Yes.

Where are you?

In my living room.

iPad? Phone? Laptop?

A very old iPad.

Good. Bring it into your bedroom with you.

She squealed, glad he couldn't hear it. Now?

Now.

For a long moment, she simply stared at the tablet.

Then he sent: Don't make me wait, Ava. You won't like the consequences, as if he knew she was sitting there stalling—as if he was looking over her shoulder and knew that she was kind of frozen in place by how quickly their conversation had become very sexual.

She popped up immediately, turning off the light, glancing at the door to make sure that it was locked, and peeping in on the baby—who was asleep—then heading for her room. And while she was just walking into her bedroom, he pinged her again.

Your place isn't that big. It shouldn't take you this long to get to your room, honey.

Ava leaned back against her headboard as she protested, I came right in!

At the risk of sounding like every other online pervert, what are you wearing?

She sent him one of those rare LOLs, where she was actually laughing out loud. Do you want me to lie to you or tell you what I'm actually wearing?

She could hear the indignation in his voice as she read his next message. I always want you to tell me the truth, little girl. Only in this case, I want you to show me.

She'd no sooner gotten that when the tablet rang. He was Facetiming her.

Her "Hello" was just the slightest touch shy, and it turned him on to no end.

His grin was very devilish. "Hello! Fancy meeting you here."

She had to laugh at that. "Yeah, it's very surprising that I'm in my own bed, especially since you sent me there."

"So, show me what you're wearing, please."

Ava liked that there was no doubt that he was a dominant, but he was also polite. At this stage of things, she would have run from him if he was crude or too demanding, but she got the sense that, even if things graduated to something more involved than she was comfortable with now, he'd still be just as gracious. And it added an unexpected touch of class that she really liked and that had definitely been missing from her previous relationships.

She arranged herself on the bed and moved the tablet so he could see her.

"It's just an old nightgown." She wished she had something sexy on, but even if he'd asked her to change into something like that, she really didn't have anything beyond the matching bra and panty set he'd already seen. Lingerie was very low on her list of items to spend what little money she had on, unfortunately.

And with April, it had fallen off the list entirely.

But she didn't want to think about that now.

"What's on it? Are those roses?"

"They're little cherry blossoms, actually, I think."

"It's very cute."

"So? What are you wearing? Do I get to see?"

"No. Like I said before, this is about you."

Ava pouted prettily.

"If you were here, I'd give you something better to do with that mouth, young lady," he said rather sternly.

She licked her lips in anticipation, and he sucked a breath in very slowly.

"Are you wearing panties under your nightgown?"

"Yes."

"Stand up, put the tablet on the bed, and pick up the hem of your nightgown to show me."

She did exactly as he asked, propping him up against a pillow so he could see her.

"Oh, very old school white panties."

Ava giggled softly. "Teara and I used to call them "poverty panties". They're the granny kind no one wants, so they're always on clearance."

He grinned at that. "Someday, I want you to sit down and tell me all about your friend."

Her eyes flooded with tears. "I would love to do that."

Kurt could see that she was getting emotional—but not in the way he wanted her to.

"Well, we'll have to expand your wardrobe a bit, I can see."

"No, we don't." She frowned.

"I don't remember asking you, Ava," he said calmly, with an eyebrow raised.

She was still frowning fiercely at him, though, until he said something designed to derail her distinctly rebellious thoughts. "Take your panties off and lie back down on the bed for me."

He was delighted when that seemed to fluster her a bit. "Have you ever had phone sex before, Ava?"

"Yes, but not in a long time."

"Do as you're told, honey," he prompted in a gentle tone, "before you get yourself into trouble."

She tried to avoid having to show him any more than was absolutely necessary by just reaching up under her gown, but he wasn't going to have that.

"Uh-uh-ahhh. Hold your gown up to your waist, then slide your fingers under the waistband of your panties and take them off that way." Even so, he couldn't see a lot, but he very much liked embarrassing her a little—maybe more than a little.

Once she'd thrown them in the general direction of the hamper, Ava got back on the bed, lying flat on her back.

"Very good. Now bend and spread those gorgeous legs of yours and put me between them."

It took her a minute to do as he asked.

"What is going on? Major construction just to put your tablet in an easel position?"

She'd finally managed to do what he wanted—while blushing furiously the entire time—and lay back again, although she could only see some of him now, from this angle.

"But I don't have an easel case or an easel of any sort handy, so I have to use a pillow, which doesn't fit easily between my legs."

"Another thing to go on the list," he mused.

"No, it's not!" she yelled.

"Again, Ava, I don't remember asking you. Can you put me on top of the pillow rather than in front of it? I want to see that beautiful pussy, but I want to see your face, too, when you come."

Kurt heard her outraged gasp and had to smile.

It took her another moment to arrange that, but when she did, he was able to behold a glorious sight.

"Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't get you an easel case. The pillow makes you keep your legs open, doesn't it?" he asked, making her already heightened color just that much brighter.

She was going to protest at the idea of him buying her a case, but then he said that other outrageous thing and she was yet again diverted into feeling just slightly embarrassed. "Yes."

"Yes, what, my dear?"

"Yes, Sir," she answered softly.

It was his turn to do a bit of arranging for himself until he was stretched out on his own bed, wearing nothing at all, as nature intended.

"Pull your nightgown up to your neck to expose those pretty breasts for me, Ava. Higher. Bunch it up beneath your armpits. If I can't pinch and suckle and nibble them, I at least want to be able to see all of them."

He heard her slight whimper at that and felt himself come to even fuller attention.

"Very good. Now let your legs fall even further apart for me."

She did so, but very slowly, and he adored watching her inner struggle to overcome her reticence.

"Oh, my! I can see how wet you are from here!" The sight of her splayed like that for him made him need to speed the process up much more than he wanted to. Kurt wanted to linger over her, make her touch herself the way he wanted her to and bring her color up a bit with a few well-placed remarks designed to embarrass her further, but he couldn't wait.

"I should have thought of this before, honey, and I'm sorry I didn't. I'm a little out of practice. Do you have some lube nearby—not that you're going to need much, mind you?"

Her face was red as he saw her turn to her right, where her nightstand must've been. "Yes, I do."

"Good. I want you to touch yourself for me, Ava. I want you to forget that I'm here, and do what you would do normally to bring yourself off—but I want you to tell me when it gets to that point—you know the one I mean—the one that means it's going to happen whether you want it to or not. Tell me when you get there."

"Yes, Sir," she breathed, already obeying him as she lay back with her eyes closed, one hand spreading her pussy lips and stroking herself—slowly at first—with the middle and index fingers of the other.

Every sharply indrawn breath, every slight moan, every time she bit her lip or arched a little, he nearly came, but he was holding himself back as best he could, wanting to watch her explode as he did so himself.

And it didn't take her very much time—she was much quicker than he expected, and he took that as a compliment.

"Now, Sir," she panted, fingers working furiously on her little pearl.

"That's it, Ava," he practically growled. "Come for me. Come hard!"

As much as it had been his goal for them to climax together, he remembered the problem with that was that he was so involved in his own pinnacle that he wasn't paying attention to hers, and for him, that was a huge payoff—not that he needed it, but still. He'd be more careful about how he timed things the next time they did this.

But then, it wasn't really over for her, anyway—only for him and his highly inferior setup—and he could, and did, enjoy watching her bring herself off many more times before he allowed her to leave off. He felt like a student, studying in rapt attention at the altar of her slit, doing his best to try to catalog how she touched herself so that he could reproduce it for her when they were together again.

"Make yourself comfortable, honey," he encouraged as he did so himself.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she said, in the act of doing so.

Kurt noticed that she stepped back into her panties before coming to bed again.

"Not comfortable without them?" he asked.

"No, not really. I've found that I have problems sleeping nude or even just without panties."

He smiled broadly. "That's very modest of you."

She looked shy again for some reason. "Really? Does that bother you?"

"Absolutely not. You have a definite embarrassment fetish, and I intend to exploit it for all it's worth."

Ava was indignant. "I do not have an embarrassment fetish. And I hate the word "fetish" anyway. It sounds like something you need penicillin for."

That got him laughing, and she really liked it when she could do that. It was a balm to her, somehow—his laughter. Perhaps because he didn't do it that often, at least around her. In some ways, he still lived up to the sarcastic nickname she'd given him after their first encounter—Mr. Sunshine—but she knew why now. And she intended to make him laugh as often as she could.

"You most definitely do," he was saying, "and I love it."

She couldn't stop an enormous yawn. "Oh, dear, I'm sorry! I promise it's not the company."

"Oh, I hope it is," he rumbled at her. "I like the idea of exhausting you until all you can do is sleep in my arms, like I did that night. There's much more of that in your future, Ms. LaValley. But for now, say good night, Ava."

"Goodnight, Ava."

"Text me tomorrow morning when you get up, hmmm, before the day starts. I might not reply, but I like the idea of waking up to whatever I can get of you. Sleep well, angel."

"You, too, Kurt!" she barely got in before he signed off.

She was exhausted, but she couldn't get to sleep, lying there for a long time, staring up at the ceiling and wondering what she was getting herself into with him. It was the damaged leading the damaged, and that couldn't be a good thing, could it?

When she got up the next morning, she found an email from him before she could even send him a text. He'd sent her the numbers for three more folks who would love to babysit for April, along with glowing recommendations from each other, him, and Sheila and Jack for all of them.