“Would it be a secret if I saw it?” she replied smartly and I laughed. She was still my snappy Mila, no matter what we’d done together. I’d been slightly worried that she’d be a little overwhelmed and scared of me. I did have a voracious sexual appetite and I knew that some women didn’t enjoy the risks and adventures I liked to take. It made me appreciate the woman she’d grown into even more.

“Well, you’ll see it eventually.” I winked. “But I suppose that will be when you’re naked and begging me to—”

“Ha.” She rolled her eyes as she interrupted me. “I won’t be begging you to do anything.”

“Oh how foolish and young you are.” I laughed, my fingers running along her trembling lips. “How many times do you have to be reminded otherwise?”

“Reminded of what?”

“Reminded of how good it feels to beg me. And how good it feels when I give in to your pleas.”

“I don’t beg and plea and you don’t give in. It’s not giving in if you want it as well, TJ.”

“Shall I tell you what I want right now?” I said, leaning down and kissing her lips softly. She kissed me back, her tongue licking my lips before she gently sucked on my lower lip and bit down with her small, sharp teeth. I felt a stirring in my loins as my hands moved down to her waist, pulling her closer to me, so that she could feel what she was doing to me. I felt her sharp intake of breath as my hardness pressed against her stomach and I deepened our kiss, my hands falling to her ass.

“TJ,” she moaned, her hands pushing me back.

“Yes,” I groaned, not wanting to stop.

“My room?” she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes up at me. “I’ve got some unpacking to do.”

“I don’t know why you brought all these clothes with you,” I said as I picked up two of her suitcases. I grunted at how heavy they were. What exactly had she packed? “It’s not like you’re going to be wearing clothes much.”

“Oh?” She tossed her long blond hair to the side and gave me a cute little smile, her nose crinkling as she gazed at me. “Is that what you think?”

“That’s what I know,” I growled as she poked me in the chest with her index finger. I noticed that she’d recently painted her nails a hot-pink color and I wondered if she had painted her toenails the same color as well.

“Keep fooling yourself, Mila.” I laughed as I walked towards my bedroom and she followed behind. It felt strangely exciting to be welcoming Mila to my home. I’d never lived with a woman before and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I know what I was hoping to expect, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

“I brought some sheets with me, if you don’t mind,” she said softly as we walked into the bedroom. “I thought they would soften up the room.” She gave me an impish smile as I put her cases down and turned to her. “Seeing as I live here now as well.” She walked over to the bed and pulled the duvet off and handed it to me. “I might as well change the sheets now, seeing as I have you here with me.”

I stood there in silence as she proceeded to pull the dark gray sheets off of my bed. To say I felt stunned was an understatement. This was all of a sudden seeming real. Realer than I’d expected. And my worry grew. What if Mila’s expectations were different from mine? What if we weren’t on the same page that I thought we were on? My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the back of her body while she hummed to herself happily. I was lying to myself and to her. I knew that her expectations were different. I knew that I was playing with fire. I knew that one or both of us was going to get burned, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care because in that moment all I could think about were my needs. And her needs. And to hell with the rest. To hell with the secrets and lies. To hell with feelings. To hell with all of it. I was going to show Mila that all the things she thought I’d been joking about were real. I was going to show her my secret dungeon. The dungeon she didn’t believe was real. And I was going to have her begging me. Begging me to give her more pleasure than she’d ever known in her life. And then I was going to make her wait. And while the wait would almost kill both of us, it would only make things so much better. And then, then she would know that her dreams and fantasies about who I was and who we were together were just that—figments of her imagination. And when she realized that, I knew that life as I knew it would be over.

“TJ, don’t freak out.” She turned away from changing the sheets and looked at me, her expression one I didn’t truly understand. “I’m not looking to change who you are, just your sheets,” she said, eyes gazing into mine knowingly. Though, I wasn’t sure exactly what she thought she knew.

“I’m not freaking out,” I said, though that was only partially true.

“Seven, ten, twenty,” she said softly and I froze as I gazed at her in shock. “That’s the combination to your secret room.”

“How did you know that?” I swallowed hard as I took a step towards her, the shock evident in my voice and on my face. “How did you know?” I asked again as I stepped in front of her.

“You’re not the only one with secrets, TJ.” She looked up at me with clear eyes, a small smile on her face. “You might realize one day that you can’t underestimate me. Anywho, you found out about Operation Condor. I found out about the code.”

“You might realize one day that I never did underestimate you,” I said and she looked away then, something in her eyes changing, making me think that she had something to hide.

“So do I get a closet?” She changed the subject, and as much as I wanted to stop her and tell her that I would like to go back to how she knew the combination number, I didn’t.

“A closet?” I grinned at her. “You want a whole closet?”

“Well, I guess a drawer could do.” She rolled her eyes at me. “And I’ll just live out of my suitcases for the next four weeks.”

“What did you bring with you?” I asked her, wondering what on earth she had thought to pack for four weeks.

“Clothes, toiletries, books, my laptop, makeup, bubble bath—”

“Bubble bath?” I interrupted her, surprised. “You know I have bubble bath, right? Or that I can buy more if I run out.”

“I like the bubble bath I buy. It’s a cantaloupe melon scent and it leaves the skin really soft.”

“Okay, so that’s definitely for you, then.” I laughed. “I don’t want to smell of melon.”

“It’s amazing.” She pouted. “Don’t knock it until you try it.”

“That’s fine. I’ll just smell you.”

“That sounds so creepy.” She giggled and I watched as she pulled out two throw pillows from one of her bags and placed them on the bed. “They match the sheets.” She grinned impishly at me as she saw me looking at the pillows.

“Uh huh,” I said and then teased her. “No teddy bears as well?”

“Nah,” she giggled. “Maybe I’ll move them in next week, once I see how everything works out.”

“Uh huh.” I shook my head and laughed. “I’m hungry. Wanna grab a bite?”

“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “What’re you making?”

“Oh.” I paused. “I thought you would make something, now that you’re here.”

“What am I? A housewife?” She looked at me with wide eyes. “Here to cook your meals and service you?”

“I wouldn’t say no.” I winked at her and her jaw dropped. “But no, that’s not why you’re here.” I shook my head. “And I was joking about the food. I actually have stuff.”

“Oh?”

“I bought some tomato soup at the deli last night and I have stuff for grilled cheese sandwiches. I remember you always loved soup and grilled cheese.”

“Good memory.” She smiled happily. “Sounds yummy. Let’s go make ’em. I can help.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll heat the soup up.” She laughed as we walked to the kitchen. “You can impress me with your grilled-cheese-making skills.”

“Well, you know I have so many skills. I don’t want to be showing off all of them.”

“I think it’s okay.” She patted me on the arm. “I think you won’t get a big head.”