Later that night, Nathan and Sydney were alone in the house. Rodine called Susan and invited her over; Susan opted to stay the night to give her father and Sydney some privacy. They were on the couch together, relaxing and talking about the day.

"You sort of spoiled her today, you know?" Nathan teased.

"Some pajamas and shower gel?" Sydney asked, stretching.

He laughed. "And the books at Target, the chocolate at…"

"I enjoyed it, Nathan, so did she. Is that so bad?"

"Not in the least…she's not…Sydney, I don't want to freak you out or anything, but I think she, no, we…" He sighed, feeling foolish. "We felt like a family today."

Sydney looked relieved. "Why would that freak me out?"

"Are we moving too fast? Everything's going so well…too well? Things aren't supposed to be so easy."

"Why not?" she asked. "If Susan wouldn't have been okay with things today I might have said yes, things are flying, red alert…but since things went the way they did…" She kissed him. "I love you. I have a little piece of home here now and I couldn't be happier."

"No?" he asked, his lips moving to her neck.

"Well, maybe." She moved to sit in his lap. "What did you have in mind?" Her cell phone rang for the first time all day. Since it seemed she was being given the room that she needed, she answered, thinking it may be important. "Sorry," she said to Nathan before hitting "answer." "Hello?…Will I what?…No!…Jess, I'm sorry if they're fighting, but they need to work it out on their own…Seriously?" She got up and began to pace. "No, cancel your date, I'm not coming home to clean up after them…of course I care about her, but I care about my sanity too, I'm sorry…What? No, do not give him the phone, Jess…David…excuse me? I have to what?…" Nathan's temper was beginning to flare. What was he saying to her? "No, and you know what? When I get home tomorrow, you and I are having a little chat and I can guarantee you're not going to like it." She hung up the phone, her face red with fury.

"Syd?"

"One weekend!" she yelled. "I can't have one weekend where I can't be bothered with other people's issues?" She looked at Nathan, her eyes desperate. "I'm one person…I get that they're fighting, but they decided to do this together, not me!" She was fighting against angry tears.

Nathan rose from the couch and went to her. "Use me," he whispered in her ear. "Let me do for you what you've done for me." He kissed her neck. "Take control…"

"Wh-what?" she was suddenly hoarse.

Nathan licked his lips. "They make you feel like you don't control your life…take control of something." He took her hand and led her upstairs. "You deserve to blow off steam just like you've let me…" He stopped, he had to; his lips were now otherwise occupied. Sydney was kissing him with wanton lust.

"I never got to be in control," she said in a heated whisper. She had Nathan's back to the wall of his bedroom, a definite change of pace. "Until you, I never had…" She refused to finish. Talking would bring tears and she didn't want that right now. If Nathan offered himself to her, she was going to take it. She pressed her hips against his. "This might be different than what you were thinking…"

"Whatever you need, baby," he panted.

"Bed," she said, the word almost desperate. Nathan went to the bed and she straddled him instantly. Her lips roamed his neck and her actions slowed. "My needs are different, baby…" She slid his shirt up over his head, leaving his pants in place. "You're okay with…"

He caressed her face. "Anything."

She left his body and got up from the bed, confusing him. "Close your eyes." He did as she asked. He heard her open his closet, but didn't peek. When he felt her lift his hand, he fought against questioning her…then realized she had secured his wrist to the bedpost. "Not kink, exactly," she said, moving to the other wrist. "Open your eyes."

Nathan's confusion was placed with undeniable arousal. She hadn't removed a stitch of clothing, but she had made it so he couldn't touch her…he was beginning to understand her needs. "I need rough satisfaction sometimes and you…you need the complete opposite, don't you?"

She smiled, thankful that he understood her so well. "I want…the want in you. Does that sound as ridiculous to you as it does to me?" He shook his head. "I was never given control, it was always taken…not by you, but…"

"Sydney, you don't have to explain." He looked at his restraints, his own ties, and smiled. "But I can tell you it's working."

"I'll be right back." She left him there and went to his bathroom with a small bag. It felt like an eternity before she returned…wearing lingerie for the first time in front of him. "I told you I got you a little something too."

Nathan tried to move, forgetting that he couldn't. "Oh…Syd…" It was simple, tasteful, and undeniably sexy. There were only two pieces, a black and pink corset and black satin panties, but that was enough. The only other thing she put on was a fresh coat of dark red lipstick. She climbed back onto the bed, crawling toward him.

"I want you to want me until it hurts," she purred. "That's my release." She began to press her lips to his body, each one slow and wet, leaving her lipstick behind…marking him as hers. "I want you to beg to touch me…" She ran her hands up his clothed thighs, avoiding his evident arousal. "…to kiss me…" She watched his biceps flex and she smiled, going to them next. "So strong…so safe and protective." She slid her tongue along his muscles. "Will you always keep me safe, Nathan?"

"Always." His chest rose and fell steadily, she knew he was concentrating and that he could easily slip from the knots she'd made if he wanted to…he was playing her game and she loved him for it. "Please kiss me."

She bent and kissed him, her mouth closed. "Like that?" He shook his head. "Oh…more?" She bent down again, taking his lower lip between hers, sucking gently. His hips bucked. "You are so…" She slid her tongue along his, hungry. They shared the same air for several minutes, neither able to get enough. There was sexy, then there was this. Sydney had only ever fantasized about having this sort of control in the bedroom, while Nathan would be fantasizing about it almost daily from here on. She shifted her body, positioning her clothed sex on his, but letting them only just touch. She slid along him, the fabric of her panties making the task easy. She felt him, hard and twitching beneath her and she closed her eyes, reveling in it. "You are making me so wet, baby."

He smiled. "Good."

"Let's see…" She moved off to his side, making him whine at the loss of contact. She spread her legs, just enough to touch herself through the damp satin. "Mmm…do you like this?" she asked, not a trace of innocence in her voice.

"Fuck, yes," he answered, unable to choose his words more carefully. "More…"

She began to rub circles over her clothed clit. "I dream about you being inside of me…I've never had a lover like you before…oooh…" She bit her lip and let her hand sink below the band of her panties, two fingers stroking her bare sex. "…and I never will." She brought her fingers to Nathan's lips and he gladly took them into his mouth…her taste made him pull against the ties. "Do you want me?"

"Yes…God, yes…"

She slid his pants and boxers off of his body, leaving him exposed and vulnerable. "So hard…to be you right now," she said with a wink. She skimmed her tongue from the base to the tip of his arousal, making his breath hitch and his hips thrust up from the bed. She grabbed a condom from the nightstand and prepared him, then took her time undressing; each and every move deliberate. "Do you ache, baby?" He could hardly breathe, let alone answer her. She lowered herself onto him gradually, making them both want more contact. Once he was deep within her, she began to move. She tried her best to go slow, but she needed the release. Nathan could only watch as her body rose and fell with a quickening pace. She cried out as she came, collapsing onto his chest. Their bodies still connected, and Nathan unmoving, she reached up and untied him.

His arms immediately wrapped around her, comforting her. "Better?" he asked. She nodded, smiling into his skin. He rolled them onto their sides, remaining inside her. "You feel so good, Sydney. Everything you do to me..." His hips began to pump gently. "…is so good." He kissed her, needy; passion, lust, and romance combining.

She draped her leg over his hip. "Deeper," she begged.

He grabbed her hips, driving himself into her as far as he could. He gently bit between her neck and shoulder, the place that always made her gasp. "Tell me what you need."

"I have it," she said honestly, her heart racing. "Make me come for you."

He increased his pace and felt her begin to constrict around him. His lips at her ear he murmured, "I love you, Sydney. No matter what we do or how we do it, know that." She moaned into his skin, nearly crying from the pleasure flooding her body. His words were always perfect. He found her lips, kissing her as he joined in her release, his hips thrusting erratically.

They stayed in that position, unmoving, for nearly ten minutes, neither saying a word. Nathan saw the look in Sydney's eyes and began to get concerned. He brushed her hair away from her face and was about to ask a question when she answered it herself. "I want this to be home."