“Herman, stay, don’t move,” Kinsley whispers. “No, no, come back. Herman . . . Herman.” She groans in frustration, sets something down on the bed, and pads off down the hall. I keep my eyes closed because whatever she’s planning, I don’t want to spoil it. “Herman, it’s Daddy’s birthday, which means you need to give him your present yourself.”

Daddy? Uh . . . not sure about that.

Unless Kinsley is calling me Daddy, then I can get on board.

“Now sit and be a good boy.” Herman snorts and I hear him lie on the ground. “That will have to do,” Kinsley sighs and then steps closer to the bed where she starts to rub my bare back.

It’s Sunday, the day before we leave for a road trip, and of course, my birthday. Kinsley went to bed giddy last night with everything she has “planned.” Frankly, I’m nervous. I haven’t been doted on for my birthday ever since . . . well, ever since I left Woodland. Ever since I left Kinsley behind. Every year she always sent care packages and called. But actually having someone fawn over me like I know Kinsley is going to do, will be different.

“Hey you, wake—”

I roll over and snag her, bringing her down onto the bed with me and trapping her to the mattress, my body hovering above her.

“Good morning, babe.”

Her eyes narrow. “Were you awake this whole time?”

“Maybe.” I smile and look down at Herman whose ears are pooling around his head. “Don’t call me Daddy to the dog.”

Her cheeks redden. “I don’t call you that. Herman does. I don’t have the heart to tell him differently.”

I roll my eyes and bring my mouth to her neck where I start kissing her. Already hard, I start to nudge her legs open when she stops me.

“Hold on, we’ll get to that.”

I glance down at my dick and then back up at her. “Babe, my cock is ready.”

“Yes, I see that . . . and feel it. But just give me a few seconds, okay?” She holds up her fingers and I nod, because once again, I’ll give her anything she wants.

On a heavy sigh, I let her roll away, and I lie back on the mattress, my cock aching. Standing again, she tightens the strap on the green silk robe she’s wearing and she spreads her arms out to the side. “Happy birthday, Maddox.”

Despite my erection, I place both arms behind my head and smile at her. “Thanks, babe.”

“Herman and I got you presents and we’d like you to open them. Can you sit up?”

Doing as I’m told, I shift my body so I’m leaning against the headboard and my legs are stretched out in front of me. Kinsley hands me a present in a bag and says, “This is from Herman.”

I look down at the floor and ask, “You got this for me, old man?” I reach into the bag and pull out a squeezable baseball. Chuckling, I squeeze it a few times but he does nothing. “Wow, he’s so overjoyed, we should calm him down.” I reach into the bag one more time and pull out a picture frame of Herman in my suit, with that droopy face of his looking beyond pathetic.”

“It’s for your locker. Herman wanted you to remember him when you’re out there, getting ready to be the best daddy you can be.”

Jesus Christ.

“Why do I have a feeling Herman is never going back to the shelter?”

Kinsley bends down to pet the old guy on the head and covers his ears. “How could you say a thing like that after he gave you such thoughtful gifts?”

“My apologies.” I hold up my hands and set the gifts on the nightstand. “I wasn’t aware he was a permanent resident.”

Kinsley rolls her eyes. “Who are you kidding? The minute he walked into this apartment, you knew he wasn’t walking back out.”

Truth.

“Denial can do funny things to you.” I reach down and pet Herman on the head. “Thanks, old man. I’ll hang the picture in my locker, just for you. Never say Daddy never did anything for you.”

“Best friends,” Kinsley says with her hands clasped in front of her.

I settle back on the bed and nod at her. “What’s your present? Is it you naked?”

Kinsley picks up the other gift on the bed and holds the flat present to her chest. “Now buying you something is hard because you’re rich and can get whatever you want. So I put some thought into this.”

“Babe, I just need you. That’s all I want.”

“I know, but I still wanted to give you something. I hope you don’t think it’s stupid.”

She hands me the gift and I open it up while saying, “Trust me, I won’t think it’s—” I stare down at the sketch pad and charcoal and then back up at her just in time to see her drop her robe to the ground, leaving her completely naked. “You said you always wanted to draw me naked, so, here you go.”

I swallow hard, my eyes roaming her body, my fingers itching to pick up the charcoal. Yes, my dick might be hard and I might want to bury my head between her legs and make her come until she’s screaming my name, but that’s nothing compared to the need I have right now to draw her.

“Seriously?”

She nods. “Seriously.” She goes to the bedroom door, gently ushers Herman to the living room, and then shuts the door. “Where do you want me?” she asks, not looking the slightest bit insecure.

My mind is spinning with ideas. I’ve thought about this moment so many times in my head ever since she moved in, and I keep coming back to this one pose.

“On the ground,” I say in a gruff voice. “Looking up at me, as if I’m getting ready to spread your legs and enter you.”

I watch as her chest starts to rise and fall more quickly.

“Next to the bed?”

I nod and throw down the comforter and a pillow to make her more comfortable. When she’s on the ground facing up, I get her in position, bending her knees and twisting her legs together. I drape an arm over her stomach and the other I position near her mouth and say, “Lightly pull on the corner of your lip with your finger. Yes, just like that.” I step away and stare down, my fucking fantasies coming true. “Fuck, baby, you’re perfect.”

Sitting back on the edge of the bed, I open the notebook, grab a piece of charcoal, an aesthetic I’ve worked with before—but only when I’m home because of the mess I make on my fingers—and start sketching the curves of her body, focusing on the outline first.

She doesn’t move, but stares at me intently as I sculpt and mold her body on paper. My fingers fly across the white space, streaking it in black, smudging the dark marks into lighter gray, swooping, curving . . .

My mind goes blank as time disappears, leaving me with nothing but my beautiful girl staring up at me, and my hands making magic that no one will ever see. It’s for my pleasure only. I watch as her eyes grow heady, her chest expanding at a more rapid rate. I feel my crotch stir from her taut nipples, and even though I’m lost in the moment, it doesn’t stop my body from becoming more aroused.

I swoop the charcoal around the paper, creating her breast and then I focus on her nipple, staring intently at her and then back at the page. I try to make the point as distinct as possible given it’s one of my favorite parts of her body. And then I move up to her lips, replicating the fullness. Her nose, how it has a perfect slope, and then her eyes, heady and yearning. And that’s where I stop. My hand pauses, my eyes connect with hers. We stay like that for a few breaths until I move the sketch off my lap and toss the charcoal to the side as well. I fall to the floor, on top of her, and she welcomes me with open arms. My mouth descends, and I capture her lips in one fell swoop.

Her legs spread beneath me, and I lift up long enough to enter her. Once I’m inside, I push into her . . . slowly. I twist my hips, and she meets my thrust with her own. When we collide, it feels like goddamn magic.

I push off the floor with my left hand and I bring my mouth to her breasts where I lap at them, pinch them, letting my charcoal-coated fingers mark up her porcelain skin.

“Yes, Maddox,” she says in a breathless tone as her hips rock faster. “I feel all of you, every last inch.”

“You’re perfect,” I mumble. “You’re so goddamn perfect for me.”

I move back up to her mouth where I dive my tongue deep inside and tangle with hers. Sparks shoot through the backs of my eyes when I feel her clamp around me when I thrust in. I groan into her mouth and say, “Again, baby.”

When I thrust, she clenches, and I nearly see God Himself.

“Fuck. More, baby, every time.”

I pound into her and she squeezes. I lift so I can watch our connection, so I can see me going in and out of her, observing her arousal coating my cock, see her pussy glisten in the early morning light. It’s sexy as fuck and when I make eye contact with her again, I can see she’s just as turned on from the sight.

“I want you deeper,” I say, while I flip us over again, her on top.