I take off my bra.

“Oh, Jesus?—”

When I take my jeans off, Ted climbs on the bed. “Tell me, “He grinds out. “Tell me what you want from me, Winnie.”

For a moment, I don’t have an answer. My head is too busy, too full of him to focus. But he’s waiting, hovering over my body like he really could stand up and leave, and I am throbbing, desperate, in agony?—

“I want you to fuck me,” I say. “I want you to get naked. I want you to put your cock?—”

He kisses me. Unlike the one at my door, this one is hard—all pressing muscle and teeth. I revel in it. I grind against him, my panties damp against his slacks, and I want him, I want him, I want him?—

We get him out of his clothes fast enough. The bedroom is dark now, and neither of us thinks of turning the light on. Instead, I watch Ted through the sliver of moonlight from my window and the warm red glow of my alarm clock. He’s beautiful.

I’ve never used a condom before—I’ve never had sex before. But I don’t want to tell Ted, too afraid that it’ll make him rethink this choice. Instead, I carefully tear open the package and slide it the best I can over his hard, huge cock.

He’s big, bigger than I would have imagined possible. It would take two hands to cover him. I can’t imagine how he will fit in me.

I lay back on the bed, hoping he’d take charge. And, thankfully, he does, carefully covering my body with his.

“Winnie are you sure?” he asks, eyes closed and body trembling.

I am already close, I think. He’s massaging my clit with his thumb, and I think I could do anything if he just kept up that motion.

“Please,” I whisper. “Yes, I’m sure; please fuck me?—”

Ted presses into me, and I see stars.

The sharp sensation is momentarily uncomfortable—not painful, just new. But my body adjusts almost instantly, and I move forward because Ted is still massaging me. As he begins to move in and out, my whole body erupts.

I come hard and fast, clenching around Ted’s hard cock.

“Oh, fuck!” He gasps. His hips rock forward fast, in and out, repeatedly, as my body thrums with pleasure. It barely takes any time at all before he kisses me, a loud, low groan escaping his chest as he explodes into the condom.

When I collapse against the bed, panting, Ted looks at me with wonder on his face.

“Winnie…” He doesn’t finish his sentence.

I feel full. I feel satisfied.

He takes the condom off, frowning at it. I wrinkle my nose—I would have thought it’d be neater, but my thighs still feel wet and sticky. Sex is weird.

“This was a perfect birthday,” I murmur before promptly falling asleep.

By the time I wake up, my body is sore but still delightfully warm; the sun is starting to shine through the windows. Ted isn’t anywhere to be found. Instead, a birthday card on the nightstand is signed with a T.

CHAPTER 1

Ted

TWO YEARS LATER

The heat of Lake Las Vegas is the same as when I left two years ago.

I knew it would be. I always mention the heat when people ask me about growing up in a small Nevada town. It’s the first thing I say. The summer sun would feel like a natural hand on you, sweat and heat and flesh.

Still, it surprises me. The collar of my once crisp white shirt feels tight on my throat. Underneath the nice suit I’m still wearing, I can feel the sweat stick to my skin. My toes are sweating. Beside me, walking in chunky, uneven steps, my fifteen-month-old daughter’s hand keeps slipping in and out of mine, too sweaty for us to get a proper grip on each other.

Thankfully, we’re already at the house. My parents’ property, where I grew up, is a long, expansive strip of land. The house is old, built by my great-great grandfather, though each generation has expanded on it.