I cup her head and slide my dick between her lips, deeper and deeper until she digs her nails into my thighs. My eyes shutter closed, and my hips move, rolling and thrusting as I fall into a familiar rhythm. Ivy moans around me, and my balls draw tight, and every muscle goes rigid as I slide in and out of her mouth, skating the knife’s edge of my release and trying to draw it out. Nothing has ever felt so fucking good.

A choked growl gets caught in my throat as I start to come, trying to pull back, but she holds me there, swallowing my release as it spills into her mouth.

When I drag my softening cock from her lips, part of me feels ashamed, and the other depraved part of me couldn't be happier.

She smiles up at me, quite proud of herself for getting my resolve to break.

"You better be ready for the end of week six, Mr. De La Rosa," she tells me. "I won't let you out of this bed."

42

Santiago

"Santi." Mercedes squeezes me tight in her grasp, and I return the gesture, patting her back awkwardly.

She glances up at me, half laughing, half crying over my attempt at a hug.

"I've missed you so much," she blurts.

"I know," I tell her. "I've missed you too."

She holds me at arm's length, examining me. "You look... different."

I shift, dragging a hand through my hair and shrugging. "A lot has changed."

She nods stiffly. An acknowledgment, I think. I had hoped in time, she would come around to the idea of Ivy being a permanent fixture in my life, but I suspect it will take a while until she no longer sees her as a threat.

"When can I meet my niece?" she asks, eyes darting over my shoulder to where Ivy is waiting in a chair with Elena.

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," I answer hesitantly.

My sister's face falls, and guilt eats at me. Judge steps forward, settling his hand at her lower back. I don't miss the action, and when he notices my eyes on him, he clears his throat and removes it.

"Mercedes will behave," he assures me. "And she would very much like to meet her niece, if you'll let her."

I glance back at my wife, remembering the fallout from their last encounter. We already have enough to contend with today, and I'm not sure I want to add more stress or tension. But when Ivy meets my eyes, she smiles as if she's aware of my predicament. It's uncanny how she has come to know me so well. How she can read me like nobody else.

She rises from the chair slowly, rocking our daughter in her arms as she approaches. I meet her halfway, my palm settling against her hip as I lean down to whisper in her ear.