"When we go home, I want to go with you. To yours."

Lucas couldn't help it. With all the lights and noise and blood and gore, he laughed, remembering that he'd told her to wait and see how the night went before committing to their future.

Even in the darkest of times, she brightened his world.

Chapter Seventeen.

Two days later It took a while for Ellie to get her wish. Turned out they had to file a zillion reports, do paperwork out the ass and then talk to a bunch of doctors. Both the physical kind, so Lucas could get stitched up, and psychologists, who helped her deal with her PTSD following the incident.

They'd spent the first night in the hospital under observation.

No one had bothered suggesting that they be kept in separate rooms. Hell, different beds were even out of the question.

Lucas had stayed with her the entire time, and she had returned the favor. She'd listened to him talk about the burden of taking a life and wondered again at how much he'd sacrificed for her.

By the time they made it to his house late the next day, they then endured a parade of well-intentioned visitors-Ryan first, of course, then the rest of their friends-and officials who dropped by to ask questions, snap pictures, record statements or even just to see if they were okay.

After nearly two full days had passed, Ellie and Lucas respectfully asked for some breathing room.

Finally, finally, they were alone.

Ellie had taken a shower and pulled one of Lucas's faded T-shirts over her head. She toweled off her hair as she wandered downstairs then into the sunroom, where he was lying on one of the couches, staring at the painting she'd started before they'd left the house on the night of the thwarted heist.

"How are you doing?" she asked quietly.

"Okay." He patted the space beside him and she accepted the invitation without question, stretching out next to him with her head on his chest and their legs entwined.

Lucas no longer flinched when she touched his residual limb.

"You sound about as talked out as I am." She smiled softly as she traced the ridges of his muscles with the tip of her finger. It distracted her from the sight of the fat bandage wrapped around his upper arm. The terror she'd felt when she thought she'd lost him... She shivered.

"Everything's all right now, E," he promised, completely in sync with her.

"But it almost wasn't." She had tried not to think about it but, honestly, she couldn't get her mind off what might have been. How unfair it would have been. "I just found you, Lucas. I don't want to lose you."

"Not gonna happen." He rubbed her shoulder then down her back. The motion, intended to be soothing, did something entirely different to her instead.

Something about their near miss made her need to reconnect with him on a carnal level.

Ellie hummed and rocked against him.

A thought occurred to her and she shared it without reservation. He wouldn't judge her. "You know, this is the longest I've gone without an orgasm since I got free from Morselli and the Scientist."

"Shit, E. With the chaos, I didn't even think about that. You should have told me what you needed." His hand wandered to her ass and squeezed. She liked the possessive flair to his touch. She wanted to belong to him. In all ways.

"Honestly, it didn't occur to me. And even now it feels kind of different. I want you, Lucas. But...it's more like because I just do than because I need relief."

"I noticed you didn't have any nightmares last night either." He tipped her chin up so he could stare into her eyes.

"I feel like, maybe, they might start to fade, now that I know the guard isn't out there anymore. And because he got what he deserved." She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry if that makes me a horrible person."

"It makes you honest." He sat up and hauled her onto his lap.

Ellie straddled him, laying her face on his chest, her forehead touching his neck. She could see his pulse pounding there and it made her want to celebrate. They were still alive. Survivors.

"Lucas, I need you," she whispered.

"Thank God. I didn't want to pressure you after everything, but I'm dying for you, E." He stripped the shirt over her head and dropped it on the couch beside them. "For some confirmation that we're both still here, and that we're in this together. Long term."

"You can't get rid of me now," she confirmed.

Putting her hands on his cheeks, she cupped his face as they kissed. This time their interaction was slow and gentle, long and lingering.

As if they both realized they had all the time in the world together.

Ellie knew nothing was powerful enough to separate them now.

She lifted up on her knees, giving him room to slide his athletic shorts down and off his legs. He wasn't wearing his prosthesis since it tended to tear up the furniture, though it was nearby. It had come through their ordeal unscathed, and the irony of her bird design having helped to free them wasn't lost on her.

"What's that smile for?" Lucas asked.

"I'm not scared anymore." And it was true. Despite any additional trauma they'd endured, she'd quit looking over her shoulder so much. "Everyone kept telling me how strong I was to have survived what I went through, but now...with you...I actually feel like I am. We can make it through anything, Lucas, as long as we stick together."

"I like the way you think." He buried his fingers in her hair and let her grind her bare pussy over his hard shaft, which rested against his abs.

For the first time with him, she didn't feel frantic. Something had shifted in her to sublime and she hoped he noticed it too.

Lucas reached between them and tipped his cock up. "Ride me, E. Nice and slow, huh?"

"Yes." That was exactly what she craved.

So she aligned their bodies then sank onto him, letting gravity do the work for her. After sliding down his entire length, she sighed, holding him entirely within her.

Only when they began to kiss, their mouths savoring more than devouring, did she allow herself to move in time to the rhythm they set. They maintained that pace for longer than she could imagine, watching each other enjoy being connected so tightly.

But, eventually, even Lucas couldn't hold out. His abs began to tighten beneath her, giving her something to stroke her clit on as she swung her hips over him.

"E, I want to try something," he groaned.

"I hope you have lots of lube if you're planning on"-she made their ridiculous sign for fucking-"me in the ass right now. I'm relaxed, but..."

Despite his obvious intense arousal, he laughed. Though it kind of sounded like a launt-a mix between a laugh and a grunt. "Not that. Though for how often you bring it up, maybe that will be fun for next time."

Ellie kissed him. "Whatever you want. I'm sure you'll make anything you do to me pleasurable for us both. I trust you."

"Good. Because I'm about to come in you."

"Yes." She loved feeling his liquid heat inside her.

"But then I'm going to keep fucking you," he proclaimed.

"What?" She blinked a few times, trying to make sense of his words despite the Sex Offender-induced lust that hazed her logic.

"You've noticed it too. Right?" he asked, though he didn't stop thrusting up into her. Neither did she pause the rocking action of her hips in his lap. "That when I come in or on you, it fades. The SO effect."

"I noticed." She didn't give a shit right now, though. All she wanted was to come with him. Once was plenty when it was a solid twelve out of ten on the fuck-of-a-lifetime scale.

"Well, this time I want to see what it's like to make love to you. The regular you, not the enhanced you, which I also adore, by the way. Please don't think I have a problem with that."

She understood perfectly. "You want to see that, drug or no drug, I still want you beyond reasoning?"

"Yeah." The idea alone must have been blissful to him. He closed his eyes and said, "Just thinking about it is going to make me come, E."

"Go ahead."

The tempo of her riding increased, using her channel to lure him into giving them both what they wanted. She used her muscles to squeeze him, hold him and grant him ultimate pleasure while she kissed him reverently and brushed his hair off his forehead with every scrap of tenderness she could muster.

Then she whispered in his ear, "I want to feel you flooding my pussy, Lucas. Come on; do it. Give me your come."

"Fuck!" He stared directly into her eyes as he gave himself permission to do as she'd asked. He surrendered to his release and pumped her full of his semen.

Like ice on a sprained ankle, it soothed her. Taking away the fiery edge of her passion.

And though she'd been too focused on him to climax simultaneously, her need receded. It didn't hurt when he paused to resituate them. Or at least that's what she thought he was doing.

So she flung her arms around him and squeaked when he tipped them forward and brought her to the floor instead.

Something crinkled beneath her. She realized he'd spread her out on the tarp she used beneath her easel to make sure she didn't ruin the carpet.

"How do you feel?"

"So far, so good," she assured him. "Other than kind of frustrated. The normal sort. I was close, Lucas."

He chuckled at that, a completely self-satisfied, male sort of sound that had her toes curling. "I'm getting to that, E. But, first, I thought I'd make a little art of my own. I need a couple minutes to recover, you know."

"I thought you were a superstud. Isn't that one of the skills they teach you in spy school? Like James Bond 101 or something?" She loved teasing him.

"Do you think it's smart to sass me when you want to come and I have this?" He stuck his tongue out at her and pointed to it.

"Mercy," she said then laughed.

"Oh no, not yet." He grinned up at her. "Your eyes are so lovely right now. Bright like the sky. I'm sure I'm not going to hurt you if I take my time here."

"You jerk!" She wasn't really upset and he knew it.

In fact, it sounded sweet to be able to lie back and enjoy the ecstasy he gave her, without having to rush to an orgasm or a dozen just to keep her system in check. Though, honestly, that could be fun too, this time she wanted something different.

Expecting his mouth to seal over her pussy and for him to use his very talented mouth to massage her, she let her eyes drift closed. So she was surprised when something cool and squishy draped across her left breast.

Ellie levered up onto her elbows. She looked at what he was doing-painting her, in a way. Another squirt of acrylic from one of the tubes nearby decorated her collarbone. Various hues of blue and green splattered across her body as he dipped his fingers in the mess he'd made and began to use it to adorn her skin.

"What are you doing?" She couldn't help but crack up. "Have you lost your mind?"

"I think you're a masterpiece, and you should look like one." He shrugged. "Besides, it seemed like it would feel interesting."

She could vouch for that.

His fingers glided all over her, leaving a dab on the tip of one nipple before wandering off to draw a heart around her belly button.

As his hands twisted and played in the goop, he settled in between her legs and nudged her thighs wider to accommodate his broad shoulders. He ate her with the same enthusiasm he showed for his newfound artistic skills.

His lazy swipes drew out her pleasure and she appreciated every extended moment, since she was so used to rushing for the summit. Eventually, though, he proved too good.

And this time, when she rose toward orgasm, he made sure that he didn't stop short.

It was almost odd for her to feel the rush of climax without the feral urging from Sex Offender for her to take more. If he had stopped there, she would have been fulfilled.

But he didn't.

Lucas rose above her. He winced. "E, will you give me a hand here?"

He held his palms out to her, showing her the streaks and blended colors he'd dyed himself with as he embellished her. Glad to help, she reached between them, took his cock in hand and guided him to her body, where he belonged.

They moaned together as he slid home. And when he leaned forward and applied his torso to hers, the paint suddenly seemed genius. It enhanced the slide of their bodies, swirling the colors he'd applied earlier.

She loved the vibrancy he brought to her life. In every aspect.

This was no different.

Ellie hugged him to her in every way she knew how. Her legs locked around him, her hands scratching gently up and down his back and her pussy clenching on his cock as he thrust into her, slightly less evenly as he began to really enjoy himself.

"Will you let me see you come, Ellie? The real you?" he practically begged. "Show me that you love this as much as I do."

Well, that was an easy request to honor.

Ellie left herself open to him all the way to her soul. She hoped he could read the absolute rapture in her eyes. This was special. Unique. Something only they could elicit from the other. It wouldn't matter if she'd never taken Sex Offender.

They would spark brightly every time they collided like this.

Instead of ramping up his pistoning, Lucas slowed, torturing them both with long, languid glides that were no less pleasurable for being intimate and thorough, instead of frenzied. Both were amazing in different ways.