As promised, Chris delivered himself right to my doorstep in Connecticut two whole days after declaring he would. He had sent me text messages, updating me on his travel progress, and when he reached my hometown, he let me know he was getting a ride from the airport to my house. I cleaned my place up and got my groceries in order, sending out my personal assistant to pick up some of the absolute necessities. By the time Chris arrived, I was a mess, my hair pulled back in a sloppy low ponytail and my face bare of any makeup.

When I passed by a hanging mirror on my way to open the front door, I noticed how flushed my cheeks were and I cringed, turning the knob anyway and revealing Chris on the other side. He had a rolling suitcase sitting beside him on its wheels and in his left hand, he held a duffle bag. Now, I should preface the retelling of this story by mentioning that Chris already knew I was a free woman. I had told him in a phone conversation that Mikey and I were over. He had been sympathetic, even pretended to be sorrowful, but I knew he was happy inside.

In my becoming a single woman, we had both gotten exactly what we wanted. I stepped out onto the porch with him, despite the chilly breeze whipping up to greet us, and Chris dropped the bag in his hand onto the concrete step with a thud. He slid his palm onto the back of my head, his fingers curling over the entire rear of my scalp, and he kissed me so hard it almost hurt. I immediately tangled my fingers in his hair and kissed back, moaning as he hoisted me up into his arms.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and he held on tightly, slipping his tongue inside my mouth and slurping me like a spaghetti string. I cried out, the sound muffled by his mouth being fastened so tightly to mine, and at last, I was alive. My heart soared the way it always used to, even skipping a beat here and there when Chris pleased me in just the right way. It was odd, the two of us being together like that. We hadn't missed a beat, and it was almost like we had simply pressed the play button after being on pause all those months before.

When we pulled apart, Chris tipped his nose into mine and I cupped his bumpy cheeks, grinning so widely at him I thought my face might crack. He chuckled, returned my smile, and spun me around so many times that we both grew dizzy. When he put me back on my feet, I picked up his bag with straps and brought it inside. He rolled his suitcase in behind me, shutting and locking the front door without having to be asked. With both of us staring at each other, standing still on our feet, I didn't know where to begin, what to say.

Apparently, Chris wasn't sure either. We watched one another for a good minute before I cleared my throat and tucked some hair behind my ear, canceling out whatever trance we had been stuck in. I motioned to my body. "Sorry for the sweatpants and bedhead. I've been busy trying to make this place presentable since I haven't really been staying here lately, and it took me a while to clean. I didn't have time to get myself all glammed up."

"You haven't stayed here in a while?" he asked. Chris already knew I'd been crashing at my parents' place primarily, because I'd already told him as much. I answered his question despite that knowledge.

"No. I've been staying mainly with Mom. Dad hasn't been around much because of work, so it's basically been the two of us."

"And Shane?" Chris quizzed.

I scratched my outer ear, up near the cartilage. "I talk to him on the phone, but, I mean, I don't really stay at his place. He's got Marissa and his kids, so there's not really any space for me over there."

"Oh," Chris said.

"Yeah."

"So..."

I smiled and took a step closer to him. "So..."

"What's the plan for today?"

"I'm not really sure yet. I thought we'd just play it by ear and see how things go," I replied.

"But, I mean, are we together, or is this just a getting-to-know-each-other period?" Chris wondered. "I don't mind either way, but I'd like to know what the deal is going into this."

"The deal," I said, "is that we're together, but it's kinda like a trial basis, just to see how it goes. If that's okay with you, I mean."

"Yeah, yeah, it's awesome," Chris said. He was giddy that we were a couple once more, I could tell.

I had turned the TV on low volume, mainly just for background noise while I had been cleaning, but I pointed the remote out to him. "You can watch whatever you want. I'm just going to head into the kitchen and grab some snacks for us. Is there anything specific you want to drink or eat?"

"Nope, not really."

"Okay. I'll be back," I said, quietly dismissing myself.

I felt his eyes on me with each step I took until I disappeared from sight inside my kitchen. I was jittery and needed a moment to calm my nerves. I planned on getting a drink of something, not necessarily alcohol, but a beverage that would lack caffeine and help me to chill out. I was bent over the open refrigerator door, sorting through meal options in my head when I first realized I wasn't alone anymore. I heard the scrape of his shoes against the tile floor.

I stood and closed the refrigerator door, poised to spin around and see if Chris needed anything, but he grabbed me by the hips before I could move. Pressing me flush up against the door, he moved my hair over my right shoulder to expose the back of my neck. My eyes involuntarily closed as he pressed soft kisses to my skin. I hadn't realized until then how much I had missed the unique warmth of his lips, the comfort that only he knew how to bring me.

"Baby," he whispered against my skin, his rough cheek brushing against me and sending a delightful shiver up my spine, "I know..." he kissed my shoulder, "I know I said we'd get to know each other again first. I know that's what I told you, but I also already know all I need to know about you by now. I know you inside and out, Stephanie."

"If you're asking my permission," I said, still facing my stainless steel appliance, "you have it."

"There's nothing in this world I want more."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I want this," I clarified. "I've missed you so much."

I waited for him to respond, which is what I assumed would come next. A verbal acknowledgment. It wasn't until I felt him holding onto my thighs, parting my legs by widening my stance, that I realized what was actually happening. A flutter ran through my belly and I bit back a squeal of excitement, so ready to open myself up to this man again in every way possible. Chris tugged at the waistband of my sweats and shoved them down until they pooled at my ankles. Not bothering to remove my panties, he shoved them aside while he reached between my legs and slipped two fingers inside of me.

I howled and rode his hand, pressing my palms into the refrigerator doors as I bucked into his fingers, helping to thrust them in and out of me. Chris used his free hand to hold me as still as he possibly could around the waist, but I was a wiggly worm, so it wasn't working all that well. He shoved his digits into me so forcefully that the heel of his palm slapped into my vagina, which was a little painful at first, but that feeling eventually subsided and gave way to pleasure. I leaned my head back onto his left shoulder and he kissed my right temple several times in a row.

"Gimme your hand," Chris whispered to me. I didn't react at first, so he repeated the words. "Gimme your hand, Steph." I raised my left hand, but he didn't approve. "Other hand."

I lifted my right hand and he singled out my middle and ring fingers, shoving them into his mouth and moistening them with his saliva. This time, he used his free hand to shove my moist panties down to my knees, leaving me partially nude. He led my wet fingers right up to my clitoris and told me to rub, and so I did, guiding my fingers in soft circles while he penetrated me with his own fingers: rough and thick and calloused. I loved the feel of him so much my mouth watered.

I carried on with him, enjoying that he was at least allowing me to partially stimulate myself. I knew what felt best and what would get me off the quickest, so I stroked in precisely the right way, shivering at the cheerful flurries that zipped around in my belly like schools of fish in the sea. I used my other fingers to part myself and gain better access to the intended spot, my happy place. Although, Chris was inside my happy place too, the tips of his fingers reaching spots inside of me that I hadn't known existed.

This was the point where I started heating up and sweat beads appeared on each side of my forehead. I wiggled my body and sighed, quickening my pace as I worked myself up into a tizzy. I was resting all my weight on Chris by this point, but he was strong enough to hold me steady and as my vision blurred and my toes curled over, he shoved my hand aside without warning and worked on me from each angle, playing me with his masterful fingers like I were his prized fiddle. I screamed his name and tried to hold onto him, but he was behind me, so my attempt was futile.

"Oh my god, please!" I cried out. My orgasm had been budding for a while now, but this was where the pure ecstasy spilled over, leading me to call out some more. I think by this point, I was only yelling out his name. I couldn't bother saying much else, except for maybe a few other basic phrases. "Chris! Oh God, Chris, please!"

A rush of fluids spilled out of my body and into his hand, and he nuzzled the side of my neck before bringing his hand up to his mouth, lapping up every last bit of the juices that had left my body. He slurped on his palm first, then his fingers, feasting on me like I were a delectable treat. I guess, to him, I was. His boner pressed into my butt. He was raring to go and I knew it. Chris kissed my hair a few more times before finally addressing me.

"Can we go to the couch?"

"How about bed?" I suggested, straining my neck to look at him.

"Yeah, bed is better. You okay to walk?"

"I'm good," I said.

When Chris backed me up a few steps, I bent over and raised my panties and sweats, tugging them back up around my waist. Chris groaned and fussed with his pants, attempting to shift them in such a way that they wouldn't continue cutting off his circulation down below. Somehow, we made it up the stairs to my bedroom, fumbling the entire way as we sneaked in kisses and caresses. At the foot of the bed, Chris undressed me with deliberate speed, and with a solitary point of his index finger, he motioned for me to get in.

I climbed beneath the covers and checked the bedside clock, noting that it was almost lunchtime. On a typical day, I would have been headed over to my parents' house to eat, which was borderline pathetic as an adult. It made me feel a lot better that on this day, instead, I would be making love to my new boyfriend. This was my life the way it should have been all along. I rested on my pillow with my left arm bent behind my head and propping it up a bit, watching Chris as he shed himself of all his clothing.

He ended with his underwear, yanking them down as his massive erection sprang free. Without thinking, I reacted by parting my legs beneath the covers, which Chris noticed. He laughed and I grabbed a hair elastic off the bedside table, shooting it at him like a rubber band. I missed terribly, the elastic landing somewhere in the far corner of my bedroom, which only made him laugh harder.

"Don't make fun of me," I pouted.

"You're adorable," Chris said. "I don't laugh at you; I laugh with you."

"Except I'm not laughing," I said.

Already done with that conversation, Chris crept into bed, slipping under the covers and lying beside me. I turned to him, anticipating a kiss or a tender rub, but, instead, he rolled on top of my body, his stomach pressed against mine. I lifted my left leg out of the way and he reached between our bodies, steadying himself long enough to glide inside of me. I expected to feel him move, to feel him working into a rhythm, but he stilled. He lay stationary, running his fingers through my hair as his fully erect penis throbbed inside my body.

I slithered like a serpent, but Chris caught my hips and shook his head. He brought one hand up to my face and stroked my cheek gently enough to bring tears to my eyes. When he noticed this, he kissed my eyelids one at a time, returning to rubbing my cheek. "You know I'm never going to do anything to let you go again, don't you?"

"Yeah," I murmured breathlessly. He felt so good and warm in my body. I just wanted him to fuck me already and get rid of the sexual tension that hovered between the two of us. "I know."

"You may as well get used to me, because I'm yours for life."

He said this with a sly grin, which I returned with one of my own. "I'm yours, too."

"For life?" he asked.

I nodded. "For life."

"You want a baby," Chris said next, more of a statement than a question.

I pursed my lips and studied his expression a moment, unable to read him. "I do."

"Do you want me to give you one?"

"Maybe someday."

"How about right now?"

"Now?" I gasped, both of my brows rising. Chris chuckled, but I was no longer laughing. "I...Chris, I'm on birth control. I can't get pregnant right now."

"The pill?"

"No, it's the implant, remember?" I asked, trying to jog his memory. Pure adrenaline rushed through my veins. I almost couldn't believe this conversation was actually taking place on the very day we had gotten back together. "I told you about it before, but it's been a while, so you probably forgot. It's good for three years, er, a little over two years now, I guess."

"How do you take it out?"

"I go to the doctor and they remove it. Why, Chris?"

"Take it out."

"Now?" I rushed out, my eyes fluttering from panic. "I can't. I would have to make an appointment and go in to see my doctor."

"How soon can that happen?"

"I don't know off the top of my head. Maybe a week or two? Whenever they can fit me in for an appointment, but, Chris, I'm not taking it out. Not just yet."

"Well, why not?" he asked. Chris leaned in and kissed my lips softly. "You want a baby and so do I. I want to make you a mother. Go take the implant out when you can and we'll start trying."

"That's crazy!" I shrieked, my fists clenching as anger began to well up inside of me. If Chris wanted to be together again, he needed to be reasonable, and carrying on a silly discussion like this wasn't a good start. "Are you even hearing yourself? We just got back together after a really brief and rocky relationship, and you want me to go to the doctor, after our first day of being back together, and get my birth control removed so we can have a baby? Are you insane?"

"No," Chris said, gulping as a frown settled between his brows. He looked hurt, the pain shining brightly in his eyes, and for a second, I felt bad, but only until I remembered how foolish he was being. "You said on the phone you loved me, and I love you, and we both want to become parents before it's too late, and I just thought..."

"You thought what?" I asked, more gently this time. I even rubbed his shoulder to make him feel more at ease. "What makes you think this is a good idea?"

"I just don't want to lose you again, and if we have a baby together, you'd always be connected to me. Even if you left me again, you'd always be the mother of my child, and we'd have a connection that would last forever, and I need that right now, because I'm really starting to feel like I'm gonna die alone, and you have no idea how scary that is."

"I don't want you to be with me because you're scared of being alone. I want you to be with me because you love me," I responded. By no means did I believe that Chris was back with me for the wrong reasons. I knew he wanted a shot at us being "us" again, if that makes sense, but I also wanted to provoke some thoughts that would make him see more clearly. "Wanting a connection to me isn't a reason to up and have a baby you're not quite ready for yet."

"But I want a family."

"Well, I know that, and we'll both have families someday, whether it's with or without each other. We'll get there, and I understand what you're going through, because I get so impatient sometimes, too. It's hard seeing other people have their babies and get married, because it always makes you feel a step behind, but it'll be okay. We have to let our time come naturally, right?" I said. "A lot has happened with us and we need to give it time."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, kissing my neck. "I just want to be good enough for you. I want to be worthy of giving you a baby or marrying you one day."

"You are good enough, hon," I said, taking his face in my hands. "You're a wonderful man. I might want a baby with you someday, just not today, if that makes sense."

"If I don't have a family soon, I'm never gonna have one, Steph."

"Don't be silly. Yes, you will."

"I won't," he said, his lips trembling as he stared into my eyes. It didn't take a genius to see this was a legitimate fear of his.

I started to respond but held back, wanting to think my words through before I pushed them out into the open. I never got a chance to say what I wanted to say. Chris raised up on his hands, pulled back a bit, and hurtled into me. I curled my legs around his waist and allowed him to kiss me, hanging on for the ride. Unlike our first time together, Chris looked me straight in the eye every moment that we weren't locked in a kiss, and also unlike the first time, he held me when we finished making love.

He held me so tight.

The following morning, I awoke still safely tucked away in his arms, and I faced him, kissing his lips. I smiled when his eyes fluttered open, and I used my thumb to fluff his blond eyelashes, so light they were almost transparent. Chris kissed me back when I moved my hand, and his hand disappeared back under the covers, a moan escaping me when he cupped my vagina, lightly rubbing up and down the space between my legs. I pressed my face against his sturdy, muscular chest and let out a hearty yawn.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning," I answered back.

"About last night..."

"Chris, it's okay. You don't even have to explain. I get it."

"I know, but I just want you to understand I was overwhelmed with seeing you again and being close to you again. I got carried away because I care so much about you, but after sleeping on it, I know my idea was crazy, and I wouldn't expect you to go along with it. I think it's just that I lost you once, and I know how horrible that was. There were days when I wanted to just wither and die so I wouldn't have to suffer anymore without you. I don't want to ever go through that again, and I thought if we had...you know..."

I stroked his messy hair. "It's like I said, you really don't have to explain. I get it."

"Do you, really?"

"Yeah, I do. I know exactly where you were coming from, because I've been there before."

"As long as you're sure. I don't need you thinking I've gone crazy or something. It was just a temporary lapse in judgment," Chris explained.

His thumb brushed up and down my clitoris, and I sighed. The funny thing is I think he hadn't realized, up until I reacted, that he was stimulating me at all. It was a simple, thoughtless motion, but once he saw he had me right where he wanted me, he decided to have fun. We both had fun. He slid down my body and disappeared beneath the covers, pleased when I called his name only seconds after his tongue invaded my insides.

After I climaxed a few minutes later, Chris stayed under the covers, kissing and stroking the insides of my thighs for so long I lost track of time. The whole morning was getting away from me, but I closed my eyes and dozed off against my pillow, coming to every so often when Chris would welcome me back into his warm mouth or rub me to completion with his fingers. Eventually, I drifted off again and was snapped awake by my ringing phone. I had almost forgotten where I was altogether until I noticed the giant lump under the covers, my blanket obstructing the view of Chris's body as he pleasured me off and on. I rubbed the spot where I thought his head was, and he answered that by kissing the inside of my thigh.

I checked the clock and saw that little over an hour had passed since Chris and I had initially woken. Running my hands over my face in a poor attempt to wake myself up, I grabbed my phone and took the call. "Hello?"

"Stephanie?" my dad's gruff voice said. Right away, I was snapped to attention, almost as if he had trained me to be that way. In a sense, he had. When Mr. McMahon spoke, I listened, just like every other one of his loyal employees. The fact that we were related hardly mattered, although it did sometimes get me special treatment.

"Oh, hi, Dad," I said.

Now, Chris denies it to this day, but I would swear to it that the second he realized I was on the phone with my dad, he made it a point to get me to crack. He was toying with me in the worst way. He covered my already heated core with his mouth and began sucking, hard. Hard. I fumbled and smacked at his head over the covers to get him to stop, but this only made it worse.

His tongue rolled over me like a snake, and I pressed my eyes shut, trying not to pull any faces that were too crazy while I was on the phone. I couldn't very well display awkward sex faces while I was talking to my dad. That was just gross. My dad's voice broke through my crumbling resolve. I flexed my toes and suppressed a mewl. Chris's tongue worked over me like a windshield wiper on the highest speed setting. God, I hated him right then.

"Stephanie? Stephanie, are you there?" I heard Dad asking. Up until then, I hadn't realized I had stopped listening to him. Oops.

"Dad, yeah, I'm here," I said, a sense of urgency in my tone. I just wanted to get him off the line, plain and simple.

"And are you listening to me?"

"I missed what you said, sorry. I just woke up and I'm out of it," I covered. "Can you repeat it?"

"I asked when you're coming back to work. I spoke to Mike and he's concerned about you, thinks you need to get back into your old work routine, and I can't say that's a bad idea. When are you coming back?"

"I don't know," I rushed out. I pressed my lips together and screamed internally when Chris began switching off between his finger and tongue, licking my stub, then running his finger over the exact same spot. He alternated between the two at a lightning fast pace, and I made a mental note to kick his ass once my phone call was over. By now, I was certain he was doing all this on purpose to mess with me.

"Well, have you even given it any thought?"

"Not yet, no."

"Stephanie?"

"Yeah?" I half-asked, half-yelped.

"What's going on with you? First you up and leave Mike, which we need to have a serious talk about by the way, young lady, and now you can't answer a simple question about work? Is everything okay there?"

"I'm fine!" I exclaimed.

"Do I need to send someone to come check on you?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

I had to physically pull the phone away from my ear and press the speaker into my pillow to muffle any noises as I panted, covering my mouth with my hand to quiet myself as I climaxed again, spilling out into Chris's mouth. I stroked the back of his head over the covers as he kissed me dry, and I shifted beneath his body weight to a slightly more comfortable position. After steadying my breathing, I picked the phone back up, only to find that my dad was already gone. The screen lit up seconds later with a new text message.

I don't recall his exact words, but my dad had basically told me he was worried and since I had gone unresponsive on the phone, he was sending someone to check on me. That someone could have been the police, or the paramedics, or a family member, or even a family friend. I had no clue. All I knew was I had a very short amount of time to make myself presentable and to be ready to answer that door. Chris was still nibbling on me, so I sat up a little more, stroking his back now.

"Okay, sweetie, that's enough for now. You just made me worry my dad because I wasn't answering him on the phone, and now he sent a text saying he's sending someone to check on me. I have to get cleaned up, and you need to stay hidden away," I said. When Chris didn't respond, I pulled the covers off our bodies and my eyes softened as I looked down at his bare one. He was already nodding off against my thigh now, his lips still moist from my body's evacuations. I scratched tenderly at his scalp. "You poor thing, you're all tired out."

"Stay in bed with me," he said. Chris grabbed at my wrist, but I had to pull away.

"I have to get up now. This is all your fault, actually, if you want to be real about it," I said, only partially teasing with him. "You can't play those games with me when I'm on the phone."

"I wasn't playing a game; I was making a woman out of you."

"Okay, well you can't do that when I'm on the phone with my dad, of all people."

Chris smirked, light laughter leaving him in easy waves. He was still resting on my thigh. His response came out a scattered mumble. "Can you imagine his face, the look on Vincent Kennedy McMahon's face, if he knew his daughter was in bed with me? If he knew what I was doing to her body at the same time he was having a phone conversation with her? Hilarious."

"Hey," I said, stricken by his words, my heart clenching in my chest, "I thought you weren't on revenge mode anymore. I thought you wanted to be with me just because."

When Chris's eyes flashed, it became clear that he realized how wrongly his words could have been taken, and he finally picked his head up, reaching out toward me. I grabbed his hand and kissed the top of it. "Oh God, Steph, I didn't mean it that way. I came back here because I wanted you more than anything. I didn't mean for it to sound like I'm after revenge. I don't give a shit about that anymore. I only care about you. I was just making a joke, but it was stupid. A stupid joke."

"It's okay," I said.

"I've dreamed of getting you back ever since the day we broke up. All I did was miss you this whole time."

I smiled and nodded. "I know."

"I guess I have to let you up now?"

"Yeah," I said, running my fingertips over his cheek, "you do. We'll have plenty of time later, though. I'm going to try to take a quick shower before they get here, whoever 'they' are." Chris laughed freely and I sent him a playful glare. "I hate you right now. This is all your fault."

"Sorry."

"No, you're not."

"Okay, I'm not," Chris teased, poking me in the thigh.

He crawled up the bed and puckered his lips. I kissed him one last time before I got up and went to the bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind me to make sure there wouldn't be any interruptions in the shower. I had to get myself ready for whomever was to show up on my doorstep. I had only enough time to get dressed and comb my hair before the doorbell chimed.

I left my hair loose and wet, hanging well below my shoulders. I passed Chris, who was still grazing in the center of my bed, and pulled the covers up to his chest, kissing his cheek as he dozed lightly, his eyes partially open but narrowed to slits. I pulled up on the bedroom door but didn't close it all the way, since I wouldn't be inviting my mystery visitor up, whomever they were. By the time I got halfway down the stairs, the bell rang another three times.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I groaned. My bare feet left light indentations on the carpet as I padded across the living room, and when I opened the door, I was shocked to see a familiar, bright face smiling back at me. Shocked because it had been a while since the two of us were alone together in a room. "Oh, it's you!"

"You okay? I heard something might be wrong, or that you weren't answering the phone or something?"

"No, it was a misunderstanding. I'm good to go."

"Good, good. Can I, uh, come in for a few minutes and talk?"

There was no need for him to ask, as I never would have turned him down, but he was polite like that. I tucked some dampened hair behind my ear and pulled the door open, stepping aside so he could enter. "Come on in, Shane. I can make some breakfast and coffee."

"Cool."

Shane stopped just inside the front door and greeted me with a hug and a kiss on the forehead. I guided him into the kitchen, casting a final concerned glance toward the stairs.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Chris's luggage sat unmoved at the bottom of the staircase.

Oops (again).