Charlie woke the next morning in Bass' bed. Groggily, she glanced at the clock. Just after 6 a.m. She immediately noticed that Bass was gone. Charlie closed her eyes and squealed a little bit, remembering the night before. To say it was the best sex of her life drastically understated things. Bass compared to the guys she typically went out with or hooked up with—it was no contest. Sure, she told herself, since Bass probably had twenty plus years of experience on all of them, it made sense. Still, she couldn't help grinning at the thought of the things he'd done, what he'd made her feel. Whatever the reason for it, Charlie knew she was quickly becoming addicted to Bass Monroe.

Sliding out of the bed, Charlie glanced around for something to wear to go find him. She rejected the idea of putting her dress from the night before back on – too much like a walk of shame even to just go down to the garage. Instead, Charlie picked up the dress shirt Bass had worn out the night before. Slipping it over her shoulders, she quickly buttoned it up, savoring the smell of Bass, still strong on the fabric. Her nipples tingled to hardness at the primal reminder of him. The bottom of the shirt just reached her upper thighs, and she rolled up the sleeves to her forearms.

Making her way out of the apartment, Charlie emerged into the garage. Sure enough, there was Bass, working on a car, music playing softly. He'd put on a pair of jeans but was shirtless. Charlie admired the sight of him for a few seconds, then approached him from behind. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she pressed her lips to the center of his back, loving the feeling of his warm skin, the smell of him.

Bass pulled her around in front of him and took in the sight of her in his shirt. "That looks really good on you," he said in greeting, running his hands over her hips and waist, smoothing the fabric against her body. "Better than it's ever looked on me."

Charlie grinned. "Yeah, didn't feel like wearing a dress. You been up long?"

"Awhile," Bass replied vaguely. "I don't really sleep that much."

"You mind taking me home in a little bit?" Charlie asked. "I don't exactly want to be here when the guys start showing up for work."

Bass smiled at her. "Of course. But first…" he ran his hands up her arms, taking her hands and pulling her body against his. Then he kissed her softly, leisurely. Charlie planted her hands on his chest, scratching her nails lightly into his flesh. Bass probed her mouth with his tongue, humming with pleasure as she responded with enthusiasm, melting into him.

Charlie felt Bass run his hands up and over her breasts, feeling her hard nipples through the cotton. Then he lowered his head, grasping her breast in one hand to push her nipple out so he could suckle and bite it through the fabric. The white cotton immediately became transparent, and Charlie's dusky nipple was visible. She whimpered with pleasure as Bass gave the same attention to her other breast, running his free hand up her thigh and over her bare ass.

Slipping his fingers between her legs, Bass touched the wetness gathered there, partly remaining from last night, partly from this morning. "Mm," he moaned, stroking his fingers over her clit.

Suddenly, Bass twirled her around. He reached around her and slammed shut the hood of the car he'd been working on and pressed her up against it. As she bent forward, the shirt Charlie was wearing rode up, exposing her ass and pussy to the humid air of the garage. She felt the rough fabric of Bass' jeans rubbing against her from behind. "Charlie," Bass groaned.

She heard the sound of rustling fabric behind her and felt the hard heat of his cock between her thighs, rubbing against her wetness, not entering her yet. "You feel so good."

Charlie arched into him, rubbing against him, seeking friction, urging him to take her. "Bass," she said, reaching behind her to place him against her entrance, pressing back against him.

Bass held himself slightly away, warning her, "I don't have any…"

Shaking her head, Charlie replied, "I'm on the pill. It's okay."

At that, Bass gave a guttural moan and slammed into her from behind, pushing her down onto the car in front of him, riding her hard and fast. "Been thinking about this," he grunted. "Wanting you just like this."

"Me too," she gasped, pushing back against him. Charlie felt the cold metal of the car against her aroused nipples and arched her back so that Bass was hitting her deep inside, right where she needed him. Charlie suddenly realized she was close, then falling over the edge, coming hard, crying out helplessly with pleasure.

Bass must have been close, too. He slammed into her even faster and harder. Suddenly, he pulled out, and Charlie felt warm liquid on her lower back as he came, groaning deeply, grasping her ass firmly, almost painfully. Slowly, he released her, then grabbed a clean shop rag from a pile to the side of them and swiped the fluid off her back.

"Sorry," he apologized as she pulled her shirt back in place. "Wasn't sure if you wanted me to…"

Charlie laughed. "It's fine. I could use a shower, anyway."

"I think I've got room for two in mine," Bass said, taking her by the hand. "Come on."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Charlie didn't return to the garage until Thursday, three days later. She didn't hear from Bass in the intervening time. She tried not to let it bother her, telling herself that he was older and had started dating in a time before people had their phones constantly in their pockets. Bass probably thought it was no big deal for them to go a couple days without talking. Guys these days thought if they didn't text or tweet you every three hours, you would forget who they were.

When she showed up to the garage, Bass didn't come over to speak with her right away. But when she met his eyes, he smiled knowingly at her, and she returned the same. As she got settled in to her tasks for the day, he came by and they talked and flirted a little bit. Not enough so anyone would notice, but enough that Charlie felt a hot blush paint her cheeks and excitement curl in her belly. Whatever this was between her and Bass was a delicious secret.

At one point, Charlie was helping out George, who was tinkering with the car that she and Bass had fucked on earlier that week, and Bass walked by. The hot stare he gave her flustered her so much, she dropped a heavy wrench on George's foot. As she apologized profusely, she saw Bass chuckle slightly and keep walking.

The day flew by, and at the end of it, word started spreading around that Bass and Miles had offered to take anyone who was available out for a few rounds of drinks at a bar nearby, the same place Charlie had gone with Jason. Once they were at the bar, Charlie had fun chatting with a few of the guys, sipping on a beer. After awhile, she looked around for Bass and spotted him playing pool. She sauntered over to the group he was with, studiously casual. As she drew close, she heard two of the guys groaning.

"Ugh, can't believe the old man took us down again…" one of them complained.

"This blows," the other agreed, handing his pool cue over to another of his friends.

Bass just stood there, smirking. "Tried to warn you guys."

The next couple of guys stepped up. "Okay, you should have to play with a teammate, too. Not fair you getting to take every shot."

Raising his eyebrows, Bass said, "You really think that's going to slow me down? Alright, Charlie, play with me."

Charlie had just brought her beer up for a sip and choked slightly. "What?" she said, wiping the corner of her mouth. "I suck at pool."

The guys Bass was about to play looked happy to hear that, and Bass shook his head. "I'm sure you're fine. Come on." He took the glass of beer out of her hand and set it on a nearby table, then pulled her toward him. Eyeing her up and down, he mused, "Let's see…" and selected a cue off the wall and handed it to her.

One of the other guys, John, broke, and Bass nodded toward Charlie. "You're up."

Sighing, and fully prepared to make an idiot of herself, Charlie looked over the table and found a shot that seemed passable. Bending over next to Bass, she tapped her cue inexpertly into the cue ball. It rolled wide of her target, spinning across the table, bumping a few balls but ultimately doing nothing. Charlie's breath caught as Bass trailed a hand over the curve of her hip as he stepped around her. "Not bad," he commented.

Blake, their other opponent, laughed and stepped up. He quickly smacked the cue ball into two accurate shots, sinking two of the striped balls. "Alright, now we're on a roll, he gloated." He got one more in before his final shot went wide.

Then it was Bass' turn. Charlie watched as his face turned into a mask of concentration as he scrutinized the table. Then he leaned over and, with that careful control he seemed able to turn on at will, tapped the cue ball with just enough force to send one ball reeling into a pocket. Then another. Then another. Then another. As he lined up his shots, he furrowed his brow and at one point bit his lip. Charlie thought she'd never seen anything so simultaneously sexy and adorable. Overall, he sank six balls before missing a corner shot.

John sank one more for his team, then Charlie was up again. Bass had stepped over to a table a few feet away from the game to sip his beer, and she felt her ass tingling as she bent over in front of him. She couldn't help but grin and roll her eyes. He must have been staring hard.

Charlie saw that John had lined up an incredibly easy shot for her, right in front of the middle pocket. Tension bunched in her shoulders, she whacked the cue ball. Miraculously, it hit just right, and her shot went in. Charlie shrieked in triumph and stood up, turning toward Bass. His face broke into a triumphant grin, and he looped an arm around her waist, pulling her in for a celebratory squeeze.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "See?" he addressed the guys. "I'm not the only one who can kick your asses." Charlie shook her head modestly, and he released her.

"Yeah, yeah, see if you can do that again," Blake taunted her good-naturedly.

She couldn't. Blake was up, then Bass again. This time, he wasted no time finishing things off, showing no mercy in downing the rest of the balls. As soon as the eight ball disappeared, Bass turned to Charlie, smug, and said, "Couldn't have done it without you."

Swatting his bicep, she chastised him, "Sure."

Bass just laughed. "You up for another?"

Charlie shrugged, but then noticed Miles sitting in a booth in the corner by himself, looking even broodier than usual. "Think I'll pass," she answered. "Gonna go keep Miles company."

Following her gaze, Bass nodded. "Yeah, do that."

Charlie wandered across the bar and plopped herself down across from Miles. "Mind if I sit?"

Glancing up, Miles' eyes widened in slight panic. Hiding it quickly, he shrugged. "Go for it."

Charlie smirked. "Yeah. Thanks." Miles just stared at her blankly. "Better start thinking now," she added.

"Thinking?" Miles asked.

Charlie knew she was being a brat, but her frustration with Miles had gotten hard to hide. "Yeah, coming up with an excuse to get out of this conversation. At the shop there's always a customer, or a tire to change, or a computer glitch. I'm just wondering what you'll come up with to avoid me this time." The bitterness seeped through her voice loud and clear.

"Charlie," Miles said, catching on to what she was talking about. "It's not like that. I'm sorry I haven't had more time for you…"

"What, in the last three years?" Charlie cut him off. "I've been basically down the street for three fucking years, and until this job thing I don't think we even saw each other. Oh yeah, you gave me a ride to the airport that time." She tried to sound dismissive, but even to her it sounded like she was asking for an explanation.

Miles took a healthy sip of his drink. "It's complicated. There's a lot of weird history with me and your parents."

"Yeah, no shit," Charlie said. "Probably explains why I basically never met you growing up, why I even knew I had an Uncle Miles in Chicago because I saw my mom's Christmas card list my junior year of high school. But what does that even mean, weird history?"

Miles' gaze was a little hazy as he stared off into the middle distance. He'd been drinking hard and heavily, and Charlie's approach had just sped him up even more. Finally, he said, "I had an affair with your mom."

Charlie was floored. Not because she thought her mom was some paragon of virtue, but she always just seemed… asexual. Not the type to bother having an affair, as that would imply some need for sex. Charlie shuddered. Yuck.

"And so they've hated you for my whole life?" Charlie said. "The affair must have been a long time ago."

Miles frowned. "Yeah. A long time ago. Like 23 years ago."

Charlie froze. "What did you say?"

Miles dragged his eyes up from his glass of whiskey and met hers, blackish brown on greenish blue. "The affair. It was 23 years ago."

She was no dummy, and as the pieces crashed into place, Charlie started to panic, not sure how to react. Denial? Anger? Hurt?

"Are you saying… what? You're my…" she trailed off, unwilling to even say the words. It couldn't be. This rangy, surly, garage-owning stranger could not possibly be her father. This was all a bizarre joke. She tried uselessly to ignore the tiny voice in the back of her head that had always been there, telling her she didn't feel like she fit in with the rest of her family, like her mom and dad always preferred Danny to her, like they sometimes resented her.

"Yeah," Miles said shortly. "So there you go. Now you know. The big family secret."

Charlie objected, "You can't know anything for sure. She could have been with my dad in that time, too. They were married. There would be no way to know I'm… yours." She spit the last word out as if it tasted bad.

At that, Miles chuckled slightly. "Come on, don't you know your mom at all? I got a phone call about two days after you were born, demanding a hair sample. I think she made me overnight mail it. DNA testing confirmed it that week."

Charlie buried her head in her hands. "This cannot be happening." Then she lifted her head, glaring accusingly. "If you knew, why didn't you ever come see me? Try to be part of my life? Isn't that what dads do when they split from the kid's mom? Weekend visits, trips to the zoo, all that shit?"

Miles rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "No. Your mom made it clear I was never to contact you, not to be part of your life. She and your dad decided to work things out, and I was the collateral damage. Or, I guess I brought it on myself. Either way. I was a Marine, deploying for a year at a time, moving every other. What kind of life could I have given you, what kind of dad could I have been?" He sighed heavily. "It seemed like the best thing at the time."

Charlie shook her head slowly, still absorbing everything he was saying. "No," she retorted. "That's bullshit. You have a kid, you be a dad to your kid. You don't get to pawn her off on your fucking brother."

"Jesus, Charlie, I wasn't pawning you off," Miles exploded, pounding the table. "I thought about you every fucking day. Wondering if I did the right thing. If I should just show up on your doorstep one day. 'Hey, Charlie, I'm your dad, wanna go grab some ice cream?'" Charlie thought she could see tears gathering in his eyes. "I fucked up. I know that. I'm not here to make excuses to you."

"Good, because I don't want to hear them," Charlie said, feeling tears gathering in her own eyes, her voice growing thick. "God, I never should have listened to Bass. He was the one who told me I should talk to you about this family stuff in the first place."

Miles' mouth hardened into a thin line. "Yeah, Bass has been on me to tell you ever since you came to the garage. Not that it's any of his fucking business."

Charlie felt the room tilt around her again. "Bass knew?" Even as she asked the question, she knew the answer. He and Miles clearly told each other everything. Even if neither of them bothered to tell her. Tears stinging in her eyes, Charlie pushed herself up out of the booth, leaving Miles behind, sitting with his head in his hand.

Bass was standing between her and the door, chatting with one of the guys. As she blew by him, he reached out and grabbed her arm gently, "Hey, you okay?" he asked, his eyes alight with concern.

"You knew," she spat. "Don't fucking touch me." She yanked her arm away and barreled toward the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bass set his drink down on the bar, say a few words to the guy he was with, and follow after her.

Charlie burst through the door to outside with Bass quick on her heels. "Charlie, hey," he barked, but she didn't turn around, pausing at the curb on the narrow sidewalk, looking up and down the street for a cab. She'd had a few too many to be comfortable driving, and there was no way in hell she was staying there.

"Charlie!" Bass walked around her to stand in front of her in the street, then backed her up against the brick wall of the building. Charlie wouldn't meet his eyes. She tried to push past him to walk away, but Bass put his arms up on either side of her, effectively trapping her between him and the wall.

"Get the fuck OFF of me," she said, shoving him, then punching him in the ribs, hard.

"No," he said darkly. "Beat the shit out of me if you want, Charlie, but you're not running away. I'm not going to let you be alone right now."

"I'm fine," Charlie said sarcastically.

"You're not fine," Bass said. "Trust me, I know. When something blows apart your world as you thought you knew it, you're not fine. And you can't trust yourself not to do something crazy." He paused, then in a low voice, pleaded with her, "Please, Charlie."

Finally, her tears started flowing freely. "How could you not tell me? You knew? That he's my dad?"

"I knew," Bass confirmed. "Fuck, I don't know. It didn't seem like my place. I told him over and over he should tell you. I'm glad he finally did."

Charlie sobbed, shuddering, relaxing into the wall in front of Bass. She knew he was right. It would have been wrong for her to hear it from Bass.

"Shhh," Bass said, pulling her into his arms. "Baby, I'm so sorry."

Just then, Miles strode out of the bar, looking up and down the street. When he saw Bass holding Charlie, he stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth falling open in shock. "What the fuck?" he demanded, walking toward them aggressively. "Bass?"

Bass pushed Charlie to his side, slightly behind him, and stared Miles down warningly. "Not now, Miles. We will do this, later, I swear, but not now."

Something in Bass' voice, or maybe the high emotion of the night, caused Miles to back down. "We will do this later," he said harshly, still staring at Bass and Charlie, standing together. Bass nodded and took Charlie's hand, leading her down the street, back toward the garage.

When they got there, Bass said, "I really don't want you to be alone, but if you want to go home, I'll take you. But I'd rather you come upstairs with me."

Charlie, who still hadn't said anything, just nodded, sniffling. Once they were in Bass' place, he settled her in on his sofa with a blanket, and he went to the kitchen to make tea. "You want food?" he called.

Charlie realized she was starving. "Yeah," she called. "Whatever's fine."

Bass reemerged from the kitchen a few minutes later with a steaming cup of tea and a heaping sandwich. "Hope this is okay, it's pretty much all I know how to make."

Charlie cracked a smile and reached for the food. "It's great, thanks." She added, "Do you care if we just watch TV? I don't really want to talk."

Bass nodded and flipped on the TV, running through channels until Charlie voiced her approval. Then he set the remote down and pulled her feet into his lap. They sat comfortably like that for a long while, not saying anything, just being together.

Finally, Charlie started to rub her eyes. Sitting up, she asked Bass, "Do you mind if I stay? I'm sorry, I'm really tired all of a sudden."

"Don't be sorry," he said. "I want you to stay, of course. Come on." He led her into the bedroom, where she collapsed onto the bed, peeling her jeans off and stretching out under the covers in her tank top and underwear. Bass stripped off his jeans and shirt, turned off the lights, and climbed in beside her.

Charlie scooted over until she was flush against Bass, with him spooning her. Obligingly, Bass wrapped his arms around her, nestling one leg between hers and resting his cheek in her hair. Charlie felt Bass' chest rise and fall against her back. She felt so safe, so protected in his arms.

"Thank you," she said quietly, not sure he would hear her. "For taking care of me."

"I'm glad you let me," he replied.

Charlie nodded, shifting even closer to Bass. As she did, she felt his hardness behind her. Her heart thudded slightly, and she rubbed against him, her thin cotton panties allowing her to feel him behind her. Charlie turned slightly toward Bass and reached behind her, grasping his dick through the thin cotton of his boxers.

Bass pushed his pelvis into her hand reflexively, but said, "We don't have to do this. We can just go to sleep, it's fine."

Not relenting in her stroking, Charlie breathed, "Maybe I don't want to go to sleep."

Bass groaned and pulled his boxers out of the way, putting his naked cock in her hand. Charlie still had her back to him, so the angle was a little awkward, but she firmly jerked him, feeling the precum off his head wet on her hand. After a few more seconds, she released him and pulled her panties down and off her legs, kicking them free of her feet. Then she pushed her ass out toward Bass in invitation. She heard him put on a condom, then he was back against her.

Bass rubbed his cock along her slit, gathering her wetness before pushing into her slowly. Once he was firmly seated inside her tight heat, he wrapped his arms around her again, kissing along her neck as he thrust inside her, slowly, almost reverently. Charlie felt like she was completely surrounded by Bass as he wrapped himself around her and pushed inside her, filling her.

Charlie closed her eyes and lost herself in sensation as Bass pumped in and out of her. As he did, he murmured into her ear, "So beautiful, Charlie… So perfect… you feel amazing. Fucking love being in you, love being with you like this." He seemed unable to stop talking, telling her in every possible way how gorgeous she was, how she made him feel.

Charlie basked in it, soaking in his words and his touches as he ran his hands gently over her breasts, her stomach, her arms. It felt like a totally different Bass from the dominating, imperious man she'd had sex with before. After several minutes, he reached down and rubbed her clit as he fucked her steadily. When her orgasm took her, it was a sensation of warmth, starting in her pussy and spreading throughout her body, leaving her boneless, sated.

Bass continued to thrust into her. "Gonna come, baby," he murmured into her ear. "Gonna come from fucking you, God, feels so good… so hot, so tight. Charlie, I… I…" His breath caught, and she felt him still against her, deep inside her, then release with a groan.

Charlie felt Bass' breath in her hair as he came down from his high. He continued kissing her neck gently every so often, otherwise lying quietly. Charlie realized that over the last few hours, Bass had made her feel more cherished than she had felt in a long time, maybe ever in her life. And on the very night she needed it most. Tears gathered in her eyes for the second time, but this time they were tears of gratitude. Bass Monroe was turning out to be more than she'd dared hope for.

Forcing herself not to think about Miles – her dad? – or her parents – her mom and Ben? – Charlie finally drifted off to sleep in Bass' arms.

A/N: Thank you all so much for all the lovely reviews, they mean so much! So that was the big reveal about Miles and the family – it's canon now, so shouldn't be too surprising, but next up will be Miles dealing with finding out about Bass and Charlie, and Charlie really absorbing what it means that Bass knew all along that she's Miles' daughter. I love hearing your thoughts, they really help shape the story and are such good inspiration and motivation!