The rumble of laughter from his chest warmed me. “One day, Evie, that’s all I’m giving you. Tomorrow your pussy is back in the game. We clear?”

I smacked his hands away, the hands that were doing their best to distract me by playing with my boobs. “You’re lucky I love you or else that ‘we clear’ bullshit you’ve got going on would put me out of bounds for at least another day.”

He gave me another gorgeous, very distracting grin before leaving me to walk into the bathroom. “If you change your mind, I’ll be in here taking care of business but you’re more than fuckin’ welcome to come and give me a hand,” he yelled out as he moved out of sight.

I shifted onto my back and relaxed into the bed. Maybe if I closed my eyes, I could catch some more sleep while Kick did his thing in the shower. A couple of minutes later, I sat up. Who the fuck was I kidding? Knowing what he was doing only served to distract me so I got out of bed and headed into the kitchen.

I’d made us both toast and coffee by the time he joined me ten minutes later. I eyed him with a smirk. “You all good, now?”

He shook his head playfully at me and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me to him. “You do realise when I take care of business it’s nowhere near as satisfying as when you do it, right? Which means I’m gonna be so frustrated by tomorrow, and that means I’m gonna have to bang the absolute fuck out of you to relieve my frustrations.”

I laughed, and with all the innocence I could feign, I asked, “Is that one of those ‘we clear’ statements?”

“Fuckin’ hell,” he growled, his eyes flashing his need for me, “your smart mouth is going to get you into trouble one day, baby. But fuck, if I don’t love it.”

I kissed him and then slapped his hands away from my waist. “I made you breakfast so you have to be nice to me.”

He stepped away from me and reached for his coffee. Taking a sip, he muttered, “I’m always nice to you. I’m not sure the same can be said about you.”

I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore his grumbling. “What are your plans for today?” I asked as I carried our plates to the table.

He followed with the coffees. “I’ve gotta head over to a friend’s place and help him with a bike engine he’s rebuilding.”

“Is that one of the guys from the club?” I asked, loving the fact he was being so open.

“Yeah, Nitro. I’ll probably be there most of the day. What are you up to?”

“I’m catching up with Maree. Shopping and lunch.”

He leant forward in his seat and caught my lips in a kiss. “Can I have you tonight?” he asked, his eyes staring intently at me.

“You can have me every night, Kick,” I said, holding his gaze, “but remember, no sex. I wasn’t kidding when I said I needed a break. It’s been months since I’ve had sex, and you’re seriously wearing me out.”

“Contrary to what you might think, I don’t just want you for sex, sweetheart. I want a date with you tonight.”

His words caused butterflies in my stomach. “I’d like that,” I said softly, my heart swelling with love.

Heat continued to flash in his eyes. “Good,” he said with a nod, “and baby, I never want to hear another word out of that pretty little mouth of yours about the fact you’ve had sex with anyone but me.”

I grinned. “Okay, I can manage that,” I agreed, fucking loving his jealousy. It was probably not something I should love and definitely something I would never encourage by flirting with another man, but it told me how much he adored me.

And I loved that.

***

“Oh my god, Maree, you’re too much!”

She grinned at me and drank the remainder of her coffee. Shrugging, she said, “How am I supposed to say no when a man tells me he wants to fuck me into next week? Hell, I’m not passing this opportunity up.”

She’d just filled me in on her plans for tonight and tomorrow. A guy she’d met at the gym this morning had flirted with her and talked her into a date that would obviously last them until Monday morning. I finished my coffee and agreed. “I don’t blame you, I would have said hell yes, too.”

“Yeah, except you have no need for first dates or one night stands anymore. Now you’ve got Kick to service you,” she said with a wink.

I groaned. “Oh god, that man . . .”

She quirked a brow. “What’s he done now? Please tell me he’s got the stamina of an elite athlete.”

I laughed. “He really does. My vagina is so damn sore today, like it’s never been sore before.”

It was her turn to groan now. “Fuck, don’t tell me that. You can’t tell a woman who isn’t getting regular sex that your vagina has been worked into exhaustion. That shit isn’t fair.”

“Sorry, babe, but you asked,” I said as I stood and put my sunglasses on.

She stood as well and said, “Yeah, I guess I did. I’m happy for you, Evie, you deserve happiness.” I heard her genuine happiness for me in her words.

I smiled and gave her a hug. “Thank you, I’m happy for me, too.”

“Okay, I’ve gotta go and have a pedicure and wax to get ready for my sex marathon. I’ll call you on Monday and let you know if he matches your man’s skills.”

I laughed and watched her go. She’d done what I’d asked her to do after Jeremy’s funeral – she’d given me space to work through my grief without constantly checking in with me. I loved her for it, but it was good to get out and spend time with her again.