We said goodbye to Eddie and Julie at about midnight. We got into the car, Acker's hand on my thigh again.

"You know, I got nothing from you except a chance to look at that notebook." He spoke.

"Don't worry, I have a real present for you." I winked at him and his hand moved a little higher.

"I guess I know what kind."

"No." I grabbed his hand. "Trust me, you don't." I turned onto the road.

"Do you know where you're going? You took a wrong turn towards the apartment." He frowned.

"I'm going right." I looked at him. "We're not going back to the apartment."

"Hmm. Any chance we go away from the people and fuck in the car? Because you won't hear me complain." He laughed. "It will be the perfect gift."

"What are you talking about? You have that every day. Or at least whenever you want." I laughed.

"And I wouldn't mind anyway."

"Oh, hush." I punched him in the shoulder. "Lean back, close your eyes, and rest before we get there."

"Whatever you say, love." He rested his head and closed his eyes as he circled my thigh with his finger.

The journey took about fifteen minutes and I was probably more impatient than Acker when we got out of the car.

I put a scarf over his eyes so he couldn't see where we were and led him to the building in front of us.

I slowly helped him up the stairs to the second floor and stopped in front of the door, at least until I unlocked it.

We went in, darkness in the whole room. "You can take it off," I told him as I walked over to the light behind him.

"Oh, wonderful. Dark room." I rolled my eyes at his words and turned on the light.

He looked around the empty apartment.

To the right was the kitchen, and straight ahead was the space where the living room should be. There were two doors on the left side. One led to the bedroom and the other to the bathroom, in which there was another room, a smaller wardrobe.

It looked so empty, but I can already imagine the colors and the furniture.

"Maya, what is this?" Acker frowned and looked at me behind him.

"Happy birthday." I bit my lip.

"Are you kicking me out of our apartment?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No." I laughed and walked over to him. "This is our apartment."

"You...you bought it? For us?" He looked at me confused.

"It was pointless to have two rooms when we sleep in one bed, don't you think?"

"Maya this is..." He looked around. "This is amazing, but you didn't have to." He looked back at me. "It had to cost..."

"Don't worry about that." I jumped into his speech. "Killian helped me. It's kind of a gift from him too. But I take all the credit for the idea." I pointed my finger at him. "So? You like it?" I bit my lip nervously, waiting for his answer.

He looked so serious that I didn't know what was going through his mind. I couldn't read it.

"Shit, Maya." He ran to me, lifted me in the air, and kissed me passionately. "Of course I like it. I love it." He kissed me again.

Thank goodness.

I laughed and pulled away. "And you haven't seen the best yet."

"What? A bedroom and you naked in it?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No." I giggled and patted him to let me down. When he did, I straightened my dress, which had flown up too high. "Come." I grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the apartment.

"I don't think there's anything better than you naked in the bedroom, love."

"Oh shut it, Acker." I dragged him further down the stairs with a smile on my face and stopped on the first floor, in front of the glass door that led inside.

I opened them and we walked in.

The first thing to be seen was the backlit, black, reception desk. He looked at it confused. Today he is slowly catching up.

I shook my head with a laugh and pulled him into the room on my right hand. I turned on the light and leaned over so Acker could see inside.

It was a large enough room that was painted a dull black color. There was a leather sofa in the middle and a table on wheels next to it.

Now he must know what it is.

But just to be sure... "It was with the apartment. I thought it would be a wonderful space for your work." Proud of myself that I managed it, I proudly held my head up. "I've been hearing about you opening your own tattoo parlor for the past three months, but you couldn't find a building close enough to your apartment. Now it's only one floor up."

He could look anywhere. On the room, we are in. Explore it properly here, but no. He was looking straight at me. As if nothing else existed.

"So?"

"Maya Marie Carter." I swallowed hard when he said my full name. "I fucking love you." He walked up to me and kissed me, almost knocking the breath out of my lungs.

"So you like it?" I laughed.

"I'll show you how much I like it." He lifted my ass into the air and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

He placed me on the cold leather and remained positioned between my legs.

He slid his hands to my thighs, which he moved up, under the hem of my dress.

"Maya." There was a slight warning in his voice.

"Surprise?" I laughed as his hand slid to where the panties were supposed to be, but there weren't any.

"Shit." He groaned in agony. "All fucking evening." He squeezed my thighs tightly. "You should've told me."

"That wouldn't be a surprise then, would it? Now show me how much you like my present." Those were the words that got him over the edge.

He grabbed the hem of my dress, yanked it out from under my ass, which left a bit of pain, and pulled it over my head.

That's when he noticed that I didn't even have a bra on.

I think I created a beast.

He looked at me like he wanted to destroy me. In the best way, of course.

He threw my clothes somewhere on the ground and kissed me. I slid my hands to his belt while he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it over to my dress.

Through the hem of his underwear, I started massaging his erection and bit his lip, making him moan and I couldn't help but smile.

He eagerly took off his boxers himself, grabbed my thighs, and pulled me to him.

"You are a walking temptation."

I slid down to his cock with my hand and guided him to my opening, feeling his tip almost inside me. I moaned just from the little sensation between my legs.

"Please." I moaned.

"No. You don't have to beg for anything. Not today. Today I'll give you everything you want. The whole fucking world if you want it, love." Before I could open my mouth to say something, he entered me in one swift movement.

I screamed in pain and pleasure at the same time and dug my nails into his back.

"Fuck." He cursed before he started moving inside me. "I've been thinking about this all evening. When I finally have you all to myself."

"Acker." I groaned and bit my lip. I'm incredibly sensitive and it won't be long before I fall to pieces here.

I dropped one hand from his shoulders and supported myself on the seat below me. I gripped the edge tightly and arched my back, which Acker took as an invitation to my breasts, where he latched onto my hardened nipples.

More curses escaped my lips at the touch of his warm mouth and tongue. And when he gently bit down and pulled, I saw stars for a moment.

I desperately tried to push him closer to me by pressing into his back with my heels.

I want to feel him more deeply. I don't care if it's possible or not. I need it.

He gave me everything he had. With each thrust, I got closer and closer and it wasn't long before I started to clench around him.

This only made him intensify his thrusts. He tried to hold me firmly in place and started kissing me again.

When his hand went to my clit, a single circular motion was all I needed before I reached an orgasm that left my legs shaking.

I felt Acker, not far behind me, as he literally gave me everything he had with the last thrust.

I felt so full that I never wanted him to move.

His head dropped to mine and we both breathed deeply.

"I can safely say you liked my present." I laughed exhaustedly.

"More than you can imagine." He smiled.

"I'm glad." I breathed a sigh of relief. "I love you." Those words just felt right.

"There are no words to describe how I feel about you, Maya." He grabbed my neck and looked into my eyes. "No words in the world can express what you mean to me. And they never will. There will only be a feeling. But I'll make sure you know..."

I smiled and put my hand on his cheek. "You're supposed to say, I love you too, you idiot." I laughed.

"I love you." He smiled. "And I'll make sure you know it every day." He kissed me.

This was not my plan. I should have remained single and enjoyed life to the fullest. But then he came. With his dark eyes and devilish smile, he just stole the heart I didn't know I had.

And he gave me something I haven't had in a long time.

Home.



I can't believe this is the second book in this series I've already finished. (Well, third if you count Enemies at first sight.)

Where did all that time go?

I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The next book in the series is His Challenge, which will be about Finn. As you may have noticed in this book, he was only mentioned. Why? Because if you remember, Finn went to Portland back in His Assassin book.

So that means we're going to go back to when Lyssa was alive and it's going to drag on for the year she was presumed dead.

Yes, it's a bit complicated, but I hope you get the hang of it.

Another thing I want you to know about the next book is that I will probably start publishing it after the summer holidays, but I don't know for sure.

It is also because of the fact that there is a lot, but also because of the content of the book. I decided to focus on the mental health of both Finn and Lexi (the female lead).

I want to include things that have happened to me as well and it will not be so easy to write about them.

So give me some Friday ;)

I wanted to thank each and every one of you for reading this book. I really appreciate it. <333

Hope to see you at the next book ;)