Her eyes snapped open at the sound of her phone chiming on the kitchen counter.
She closed her eyes and stretched her neck, and purred loud at the feel of his mouth planting a kiss there, the rough stubble brushing the sensitive skin, giving her goosebumps as it traced down to her chest, her nails scratching across his scalp.
"What time is it?" she asked, squinting her eyes against the morning sun rays stinging her face through the open blinds.
He pulled away, raised his eyes at her, his brows arching. "Seriously? This is what you're thinking about right now?"
Smiling, she reached around his neck and pulled him close. "Sorry, my mind's all over the place." She hummed as their lips met.
"Keep going and I just might consider forgiving you," he whispered into her mouth as he slipped a hand down her stomach, her thighs spreading open for him before she knew it, her lower abdomen pulsing like she hadn't been touched in forever; till she couldn't take it anymore, pushed him onto his back, her chest pressing to his as he seized her hips, grinding her onto him unhurriedly, till he stretched and filled her entirely, the overwhelming sensation sending tears to her eyes.
She took his hands and guided them up to her waist. "Hold me," she whispered close to his ear, his stubble rough against her cheek; a hot current running up her spine each time he squeezed her waist. "Tight… yes…" she let out a breath.
"Like this?" he teased, tightening his grip more.
"Yes…"
"Gods, you're driving me crazy…" he whispered against her neck and dipped lower to catch her breast in his mouth.
She moaned and cursed, drunk from pleasure, her brain gone under his touch for she didn't know how long; not long enough. It never was.
When she finally forced herself to leave his arms a long while afterwards, she threw the robe on and, on her way to the bathroom, grabbed her phone from the island counter.
"Here's the footage you asked for," the text said. Good ol' Macy; how she managed to get her hands on people's CCTV monitoring — she didn't know and didn't want to know. But for this — she owed her one.
She tapped on the video and dragged her fingertip to fast-forward, till a huge, strikingly familiar figure of a man appeared on Gazpo's driveway and dropped a yellow envelope at the front door. The face was blurry, but once she zoomed in, it was clear as day. "It was you…" she whispered, feeling life slowly drain out of her.
"What?" He frowned.
Blindly, she placed the phone back on the counter and walked over to the sink.
The bed creaked, his steps resounded behind her back.
She was sure she'd smash his face when she turned around, but nothing of the sort happened; she just stared at him, numbly, as he frowned at the phone screen.
He grunted, his brows arching. "I don't know what the hell this is, but this ain't me."
She pressed her eyes close for a moment. "I'm such a damn idiot," she muttered, frowning when a sudden wave of nausea hit her; she barely made it to the bathroom.
He yelled something, his voice thundering, reaching her from the living room.
A while later, when she walked out of the bathroom, she found herself alone in the room.
Catching her breath through open mouth, she rested her palms on the counter, furious; but only at herself, for the ripping feeling in her chest, so sharp it made her vision blurry.
Well, she had to get a grip because there was no time for it now.
She sprung her pocket knife open and slipped it between the two floor planks under the window. Drawing a breath in, she lifted the lid of the metal vault, revealing exactly what she'd placed there ten years ago; several passports, a Glock 19, and quite obscene amount of cash she'd never bothered to count, which was burning her hands now when she remembered where it came from.
If it was just her, she would only take some. But it wasn't just her; not anymore. And no amount of money, no matter where it came from, was too much when it came to ensuring her child's safety; both now or if anything were to happen to her in the future.
This baby only had a mother now.