“SHE’S ASLEEP, FINALLY.” Zach closes the door behind him and rubs his eyes. He blows all the air out of his nostrils before sitting down on the edge of the bed. I sit up on my knees and slide my hands over his shoulders. He groans in contentment as I start massaging him, starting around his neck and moving outwards towards his shoulders. He leans his head back against my chest and I run my fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp in small circles.

“That feels so good,” he breathes. “I hope she sleeps through the night tonight.”

“Me too. She’s been pretty good this past while.”

Our daughter, Ella Mary Lockwood, was born seven months ago tomorrow. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sleepless nights, diapers, laundry, cuddles, laughter, love, happiness. Zach’s eyes are closed and he groans again as I run my fingers along his scalp, massaging near his temples and then back through his hair.

I slide my hands down and let them hang in front of his chest. I nuzzle my head in the crook of his neck and kiss him, inhaling that spicy musk that I fell in love with the first time I smelled it. Zach reaches his hands up and interlaces his fingers in both my hands. We stay like that, interconnected and intertwined for a few silent moments.

This must be the definition of happiness. He’s wearing nothing but his boxers, and I’m in underwear and one of his old t-shirts. Our daughter is asleep in the other room and the baby monitor is quiet. We’re perfectly comfortable, perfectly intimate, perfectly happy. There’s a stillness between us that’s completely peaceful.

Zach squeezes my hands gently and then turns his head towards me. His lips find mine and he lays a soft kiss on them before turning towards me and falling backwards, pulling me down on top of him.

I giggle and yelp as he kisses me, his arms wrapped around my body. I sit up onto my elbows and brush a strand of hair off his forehead.

“I love you,” I say.

He smiles. “Not as much as I love you.”

He kisses me again, deeper this time. His hand fists into my hair and he inhales deeply as our lips crush together. I moan gently and I feel his chest rumble in response. His other hand is on the small of my back, sliding down slowly toward my ass. He dips his fingers underneath my underwear and squeezes my ass gently. I grind myself into him as I feel my desire for him start to awaken.

I trail my fingers over his shoulders and down his chest. My fingers hover over the scar on the left side of his chest. The edges of it are rough and the line of skin in the middle is smoother than the rest. I move down and bring my lips to the patch of smooth white skin. I kiss him gently and he groans, running his hands over my shoulders and down my arms. I shiver under his touch and then run my own fingers over his chest.

Every touch between us is delicate, soft, intimate. Our fingers barely graze each other’s skin but it almost feels like the sensation is heightened because of it. I sit up on my knees so that I’m straddling Zach’s body and pull off my shirt overhead. I can feel his cock getting hard underneath me and I grin.

“You’re quite a DILF,” I say.

Zach raises an eyebrow. “DILF?”

“Dad I’d like to fuck,” I respond with a laugh. I trail my fingers down his chest one more time, feeling every bump of his abs along the way. His cock pulses underneath me.

“I guess that makes you a MILF,” he says, watching my hands as they move over his skin.

“I guess it does,” I answer.

He flicks his eyes up to mine and I feel my panties starting to soak through. Every heartbeat sends a small surge of desire through my core. I trail my fingers up and down Zach’s chest and he shivers, closing his eyes and moaning underneath me. His cock presses against my groin as it throbs.

He grips my thighs with his hands to pull me down onto him. I move my hips back and forth gently and bite my lip as I watch his mouth fall open.

“You’re teasing me,” he says.

“Yeah,” I breathe. I can’t think of anything else to say, all my attention is on the sensation of his hard cock rubbing against the fabric of my panties and the feeling of his fingers sinking into my thighs. He slides his hands up and squeezes my hips between them, helping me grind onto him a little bit harder.

I love this. I love the lack of urgency. I love knowing that we can take our time, that we can enjoy every move, every touch, every moan and all it does is make it sweeter. I love the way he runs his fingers over my thighs, over and back, over and back, just as I grind my hips on top of him. I love feeling the pulse through his cock just as my own blood is flooding towards my center. I love feeling my panties soak through with my wetness, and I love watching Zach’s eyes roam all over my body.

He makes me feel like I’m the most attractive woman he’s ever seen. He makes me feel like I’m the only woman in the world.

Zach sits up and wraps his arms around me, pulling me in to his lips. His mouth devours me. He kisses my lips, my neck, my collarbone. He takes my nipples between his teeth one after the other and nips at them gently, sending a thousand tiny shocks straight down between my legs. He runs his hands down my spine, over my ass and spreads my cheeks when he squeezes.

I’m ready for him, and he hasn’t even touched me. No, I’m not ready - I’m aching. My body is screaming for him. Every nerve ending is crying out for his touch, for his skin, for his cock.

“I want you,” I say, panting into his ear.

Zach pulls his face back and stares deep into my eyes. I see a grin forming on his lips and the aching in my center intensifies.

“I want you,” I say again.


***ZACH***


Those three little words set my body on fire. Harper has no idea what she does to me, how badly she makes my cock throb for her. Every time I see her, I see something new that makes me fall for her a little bit harder. One time it was the way the light caught her hair as she laughed. Another time it was the way her freckles changed color when she blushed. Right now it’s the way she’s looking at me, as if she’s drunk off my touch.

Maybe she is. I know I am. My head is spinning and every sensation is more intense than usual. My hands find her waist and I flip her around so that my body is on top of hers. She moans and giggles and my cock grows a little bit harder.

I hook my fingers into her panties and finally rip them off her. I can see the glistening wetness between her legs and my cock pulses once more. I feel like I’m about to explode. I rip my own underwear off and spread her legs. I press my body down onto hers and she wraps her arms and legs around me.

Our bodies are a perfect jigsaw puzzle. We were made for each other. I just know it. My cock is pressed against her slit and all I can think of is how much I want to bury it inside her. I just want to spread her legs wide and plunge myself into her so that her walls grip onto my shaft and make the blood run thicker in my veins.

Instead, I move my hips back and forth so that my cock just teases her clit. She moans and grinds into me, wrapping her hand around my neck and digging her fingers into my skin. It’s a small, sharp pain as she grabs my neck but it only makes my cock harder and my pulse faster.

It feels so good to be this close to her it’s almost making me dizzy. I’m torn between wanting to just explode inside her and wanting this feeling to last as long as possible. Harper shifts her hips and I feel the wetness between her legs against my groin. I can’t take it anymore. I reach down and move my cock in front of her opening.

Harper shifts her hips again and looks me in the eye. She bites her lip in that way that always drives me wild and I can’t take it anymore. I drive my cock into her, unrelenting, inch by inch, until I’m completely buried inside her. The second my cock in completely inside her I let all the air out of my lungs and groan.

Her mouth is open in a silent moan and her head is thrown back. I can feel every contraction of her pussy around my cock and every heartbeat through her body. I drag my cock back out and plunge it in deeper.

This time her moan isn’t silent. She gasps and her whole body contracts. Her fingers dig into my neck a little bit more and she moans. The sound vibrates through my whole body and urges me on until I’m driving my cock into her harder and deeper and faster than I thought was possible.

Harper gasps as we fuck. I watch the way her perfect lips open and her jaw curves upwards. I watch the way her eyes gleam and her skin almost glows from within. My chest grows until I’m panting and I feel like my whole body is bursting.

“I love you, Harper,” I pant. I stare at her eyes and watch as her gaze turns from pleasure to passion. “I love you so much.”

She digs her nails into my neck and the pain instantly transforms to pleasure.

“I love you, too,” she says between gasps. My cock is bigger than it’s ever been before, driving deeper into the woman I love than I thought was possible. She closes her eyes and I feel her moan before I hear it. Her whole body contracts and I feel her walls spasm over and over as she calls out my name. I love it when she comes on my cock, but I know I won’t last more than a second longer.

I come hard just as she shouts my name for the hundredth time. My whole body is alight with pleasure. The orgasm is coursing through my veins and every muscle in my body contracts at once. I moan with Harper, wrapping my arms around her and holding her body close to mine. The electric shocks keep flowing through my veins long after my orgasm has subsided. We lay there together, unmoving, for an eternity.

Harper is the first to stir underneath me. She runs her fingers down my side and sends a shiver through my body. The breath comes back to my body and I kiss her shoulder before sliding over to one side. I drape my arm around her and groan.

“How is that always so good?” I say.

Harper chuckles. “It just is.”


***HARPER***


The baby monitor makes a noise and I groan. It feels like I’ve only slept ten minutes, but when I glance at the clock, I see it’s been over eight hours. That must be a new record.

I glance over and my heart jumps when I see the bed empty. I sit up and look around the room, looking for any sign of Zach. My heart starts beating faster.

“Zach?” I call out. “Zach?” My heart is pounding in my chest and the adrenaline is pulsing through my veins. He’s probably here, probably just in the kitchen or the bathroom. I know he is. I try to talk myself down but ever since I was taken hostage by my ex-coworker, I hate being alone. I hate surprises, I hate the unexpected.

Ella makes a noise over the baby monitor and my heart jumps into my throat.

“Ella!” I yell, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. My heart is thumping and the panic is closing my throat. I’m on my feet, about to rush over to the nursery when I hear the door open. I whip my head around only to let out a sigh.

“Zach.” He’s holding Ella in one arm and a steaming mug of coffee in the other.

He grins. “Get back in bed, you. It’s her seven-month birthday and you get breakfast in bed.”

He puts the mug down on the bedside table and hands our daughter to me.

“You scared me,” I breathe. I take her in my arms and bury my face in her neck, blowing all the air in my lungs out against her skin. She giggles as my lips vibrate against her and the sound sends a warm current of love straight through my chest. Zach grabs her tiny foot between his fingers and gives it a wiggle. The panic in my chest subsides and bit by bit my heart rate goes back to normal.

“I didn’t want to wake you,” he says gently. “You haven’t slept that long in months.” He pauses. “Did you have another dream?”

“No, not tonight. But I just woke up and you weren’t there and I panicked.”

Zach places a warm hand over my leg and kisses Ella’s temple. She makes a noise and a bubble of spittle forms on her lips. The three of us laugh when it pops. I glance at Zach and I see his eyes filled with worry as he looks at me.

“I’ll be fine,” I say. “Just still a bit jumpy. I don’t even know why, you’re the one who got stabbed! Nothing even happened to me. It’s been over a year. I should be over it by now.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Harper. It was traumatic for all of us, you’re allowed to be affected by it.”

Zach rubs my leg, squeezing it gently between his fingers. His other hand brushes Ella’s thin auburn hair away from her forehead.

“I thought I was okay but ever since Ella got here it’s like my paranoia has gone into overdrive. It’s like I’m so happy I’m afraid it’ll all get ripped away from me.”

As if she can sense my tension, Ella turns toward me and touches my face with her tiny hand. She jerks forward and brings her face against mine and I smell that sweet baby smell on her skin. A wave of calmness starts to wash over me.

“Neither of us is going anywhere, Harper,” Zach says softly. “Except me. I’m going to the kitchen because there is a tray of breakfast with our names on it.”

“Breakfast in bed!” I exclaim, laughing. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“Only the best for my girls,” he says with a wink.

He walks away and I turn back to Ella, putting her down on top of my legs. She’s smiling and cooing and looking all around the room, grabbing her feet with her hands and giggling. I tickle her and my heart melts as I watch her laugh and move with me. I could stay like this forever.

Zach comes back through the door carrying a tray that he places down gently on the bed beside me. Eggs, French toast, bacon, fresh fruit, it’s all there. I have no idea how he managed to cook it all without me waking up.

“Wow,” I breathe. “All this for a seven-month birthday? I can’t wait to see what the one year birthday will be.”

He grins. “Let’s eat.”

Before we dig in, he leans over and kisses my lips. It’s a short, tender kiss but it makes me feel like the luckiest woman in the world. My fear and paranoia evaporate and I stare into his eyes before turning back to Ella.

“You have the best dad in the world, Ella, do you know that?”

“Best mom in the world,” he corrects. Zach reaches over and she wraps her fingers around his thumb. He laughs and I watch the way his eyes crinkle at the corners and the way his whole body softens when he touches her. My heart melts all over again and I sigh, wondering what I did to be so lucky.

Zach kisses my shoulder and then turns to the food. “Alright but seriously, I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

I laugh. This must be what true happiness feels like.