The Breeding Contract: Taboo Impregnation Erotica

The Craigslist ad was shockingly direct, which is probably why it caught my attention when so many others had failed to penetrate my consciousness during my late-night scrolling.

"Seeking virile male for natural insemination. No strings attached. $50,000 upon confirmed pregnancy. Must be STD-free, genetically healthy, and willing to surrender all parental rights. Discretion essential."

I stared at the screen for a solid five minutes, my hand frozen on the mouse, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. At twenty-eight, I'd spent the last decade building my construction company from nothing, turning my knowledge of hard labor and harder negotiations into a seven-figure business. But the housing market had cratered six months ago, and my creditors were circling like vultures over fresh carrion. Fifty thousand dollars would clear my debts and give me breathing room to rebuild.

More importantly, it would save my father's legacy—the small ranch outside Austin where he'd raised me alone after Mom died, now sitting in pre-foreclosure while I scrambled for solutions.

I clicked reply.

Her response came within hours. Professional, concise, with instructions to meet at a downtown law office the following Tuesday. No names exchanged. Just "Candidate #7" and "Principal." The clinical detachment should have warned me, but I was too desperate to care.

The law office occupied the thirty-fourth floor of a glass tower that screamed old money. I wore my only suit, navy blue and slightly tight across the shoulders from years of physical labor. The receptionist barely looked up as I approached, her manicured nails clicking against her keyboard.

"Name?"

"Candidate Seven. I have an appointment with—"

"Principal is running fifteen minutes late. Coffee is available. Please wait."

I sat in a leather chair that probably cost more than my truck, my knee bouncing with nervous energy. The other candidates—if there had been others—were nowhere to be seen. Maybe they'd already been processed, vetted, approved or rejected. The thought of being one of many men considered for this position made my stomach twist with unexpected jealousy, which was absurd. This was a business transaction. Biological function for financial relief. Nothing more.

The door to the inner office opened, and a woman stepped out who made me forget how to breathe.

She was approximately five-foot-six of pure elegance, wearing a charcoal pencil skirt that hugged curves I wanted to map with my hands, a cream silk blouse that hinted at full, heavy breasts without revealing them, and black stiletto heels that clicked authoritatively against the marble floor. Her hair was auburn, swept up in a twist that exposed a neck I immediately imagined biting. But it was her eyes—hazel, flecked with gold, intelligent and assessing—that pinned me to my chair like a butterfly to a board.

"Candidate Seven?" Her voice was whiskey and smoke, low and controlled.

I stood, suddenly aware of my calloused hands and the dirt under my fingernails that no amount of scrubbing had removed. "Yes. I'm—"

"Follow me, please." She turned without waiting for my name, her hips swaying with practiced grace as she walked back through the door she'd emerged from.

I followed, unable to tear my gaze from the way her skirt stretched across her ass, the fabric pulling tight with each step. She was perhaps thirty, maybe thirty-two, with the kind of polished beauty that came from expensive skincare routines and probably a personal trainer. The kind of woman who wouldn't have looked at me twice in a bar, construction dirt under my nails and sweat on my brow.

The office was spacious, minimalist, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. She moved behind a mahogany desk and gestured to a chair. "Sit."

I sat.

She didn't. Instead, she leaned against the desk's edge, her thighs parting slightly as she crossed her ankles, and I caught the faintest glimpse of black lace beneath her skirt before I forced my eyes back to her face. She noticed—of course she noticed—and a small, knowing smile played at the corner of her lips.

"Let me be direct, Candidate Seven. I'm Olivia Harrington. I own three hotels, a commercial real estate portfolio worth approximately forty million dollars, and a biological clock that is rapidly approaching midnight." She picked up a file—my file, apparently—and flipped it open. "You're twenty-eight, healthy, no genetic conditions in your family history. Your sperm analysis from the clinic I sent you to came back excellent—high motility, strong count. You're physically fit, which suggests stamina." Her eyes raked over me, clinical but with something else beneath, something hotter. "You have debts. Approximately two hundred thousand in business loans, another forty against your family property. You're desperate. Desperate men are controllable men."

I bristled at that, my spine straightening. "I'm not—"

"You're here, aren't you?" She set the file down and leaned forward, her blouse gaping slightly to reveal the lace edge of a cream-colored bra against pale skin. "Here's the arrangement. You move into my guest house tonight. For the next three months, you will be available to me whenever my ovulation tracker indicates fertility. I will not be taking fertility drugs—this will be natural cycle tracking, which means we may have multiple attempts per month, or we may have only one window. You will perform on demand, without complaint, without emotional attachment. When I conceive, you will sign documents terminating your parental rights permanently. In exchange, you receive fifty thousand dollars and my attorney's guarantee that no future claims will ever be made against you."

She said it all without blushing, without stuttering, her hazel eyes locked on mine with the intensity of a predator studying prey.

"That's... clinical," I managed, my voice rougher than intended.

"I'm a businesswoman, Candidate Seven. Romance is for novels. I want a child. You want money. The biological method is simply the most efficient delivery system for both our goals." She straightened, moving around the desk to stand before me. From this angle, looking up at her, I could see the pulse fluttering in her throat, the slight dilation of her pupils. Clinical, my ass. She was as nervous as I was, just better at hiding it. "However, I should clarify. I don't want a turkey baster or a clinical extraction. If I'm doing this, I'm doing it properly. Natural insemination means exactly that. You will fuck me, Candidate Seven. Frequently, vigorously, and with the specific goal of filling my womb with your seed."

My cock twitched in my pants, hardening rapidly at her crude language delivered in that cultured voice. I shifted, trying to hide my reaction, but her gaze dropped to my lap and that smile returned, sharper now.

"Good. Physical compatibility matters." She extended her hand. "Do we have an agreement?"

I stood, towering over her by nearly a foot, and took her hand. It was small, manicured, with a coolness that suggested poor circulation or nerves. "I have conditions."

One elegant eyebrow arched. "Do you?"

"Your medical records. Full disclosure. And I want to know why me. You could hire any sperm donor from a catalog."

Her hand tightened in mine, and for a moment, her composure cracked to reveal something vulnerable, almost frightened. "I tried the catalog route. Three failed IUIs, two miscarriages from IVF with anonymous donors. My reproductive endocrinologist believes the issue may be... compatibility. My body rejects foreign genetic material unless there's sufficient chemical attraction. Pheromones, essentially." She released my hand and stepped back, her armor sliding back into place. "You smell like cedar and sweat and something else. Something my body recognizes. When you walked in, my heart rate increased by twenty beats per minute. That's not romantic, Candidate Seven. That's biological imperative."

"And if your body rejects me too?"

"Then you're fifty thousand dollars richer for three months of fucking a woman who knows exactly what she wants in bed." She moved to the window, her back to me, and I watched her shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. "My address is in the envelope on the desk. Be there by eight PM. Bring an overnight bag. You'll be staying for the duration."

She didn't turn around, dismissing me with the angle of her spine. I picked up the envelope, heavy cream paper with an address in the hills west of the city, and left without another word.

Olivia Harrington's estate sat on twelve acres of manicured wilderness, the main house a modernist glass and steel structure that looked like it belonged in Architectural Digest. The guest house was smaller but no less luxurious—a single-story cottage with exposed beams, a stone fireplace, and a bed large enough to host an orgy.

I arrived at 7:45, my truck loaded with everything I owned that fit in two duffel bags. A housekeeper met me at the door, showed me the kitchenette, the bathroom with its rainfall shower, and the bed with its Egyptian cotton sheets. She informed me that Ms. Harrington was dining with business associates and would not be available until 10 PM, at which point I should present myself in the main house's master suite.

"Present myself," I muttered, unpacking my meager belongings. "Like a stallion at auction."

But I showered anyway, scrubbing the construction dust from my pores, shaving carefully, and wrapping a towel around my waist at 9:45. My reflection in the bathroom mirror showed a man I barely recognized—eyes too bright, cheeks flushed with anticipation, cock already half-hard at the thought of what waited in the main house.

I hadn't had sex in eight months. Between the business collapse and the stress of impending bankruptcy, intimacy had been the first casualty of my collapsing life. Now I was being paid to perform, to fuck a beautiful woman with the express purpose of breeding her, of planting my seed deep in her fertile womb.

The thought made my cock throb painfully against the towel.

The main house was unlocked. I found the master suite easily—double doors at the end of a hallway lined with abstract art that probably cost more than my truck. I knocked once, twice.

"Enter."

She sat in an armchair by the window, wearing a silk robe the color of midnight blue, her hair down now, cascading over her shoulders in auburn waves. A glass of wine sat untouched beside her, and she held a tablet showing what looked like a calendar with colored blocks.

"You're early," she said, not looking up.

"You're beautiful," I replied, the words escaping before I could stop them.

Her eyes lifted to mine, and something shifted in their depths—surprise, maybe, or pleasure. "Take off the towel."

I dropped it. My cock sprang free, fully erect now, thick and veined and curving slightly upward toward my navel. I was well-endowed—eight inches when fully hard, with substantial girth that had intimidated some partners and delighted others. I watched her gaze track down my body, linger on my straining erection, and her lips parted on a soft exhale.

"Approximately," she murmured, almost to herself. Then, louder: "Come here."

I crossed the room, acutely aware of my nudity, of the way her eyes tracked the movement of my muscles, the swing of my cock. When I stood before her, she didn't touch me. Instead, she set the tablet aside and stood, her robe falling open to reveal that she wore nothing beneath it.

Olivia Harrington naked was a revelation. Her breasts were full, heavy, with large pink nipples that tightened visibly under my gaze. Her waist nipped in before flaring to hips that looked made for gripping, for holding while I thrust deep. And between her thighs, a neat thatch of auburn curls glistened with evidence of her arousal.

"You said I smell like something your body recognizes," I said, my voice rough. "You smell like honey and heat. Like a woman who needs to be fucked until she can't walk."

Her breath caught. "This isn't about romance, Candidate Seven. This is biology."

"Then let's be biological." I reached out, my calloused hand cupping her breast, thumb brushing over her nipple until she gasped. "When was your last period?"

"Twelve days ago." Her eyes fluttered closed as I rolled her nipple between my fingers. "My cycle is regular. Twenty-eight days. I ovulate on day fourteen. Tomorrow. And the day after."

"So tonight is..."

"Preparation." She opened her eyes, and they were dark with desire, her professional composure cracking. "I need to be ready. My cervix needs to be stimulated, my uterus needs to contract. The more aroused I am, the more receptive my body becomes."

I understood. She wanted foreplay with a purpose, sex as science with pleasure as the delivery mechanism. But as I pulled her against me, feeling her soft breasts press against my chest, her belly against my rigid cock, I knew it would be more than that. For both of us.

"Bed," I ordered. "Now."

She went, climbing onto the massive platform bed with its white linens, lying back against the pillows with her thighs slightly parted. I followed, crawling over her, caging her beneath me. For a moment, we stared at each other—strangers, soon to be joined in the most intimate way possible.

"Your name," she whispered. "I want to know your name when you fuck me."

"Ethan," I said. "Ethan Cole."

"Ethan." She tested it, her tongue touching her lips. "Fuck me, Ethan. Make me ready for your seed."

I started at her neck, kissing and sucking until she writhed beneath me, my hands mapping her body—full breasts, narrow waist, the swell of her hips. I avoided her pussy deliberately, building the anticipation until she was panting, her fingers tangled in my hair.

"Please," she whimpered, the professional businesswoman gone, replaced by a desperate woman. "Please, Ethan, I need—"

"What do you need?" I growled against her breast, taking her nipple into my mouth and sucking hard.

"Your mouth. Your fingers. Something. I'm empty, I need to be filled, I need—"

I moved down her body, spreading her thighs wide, and looked at her pussy for the first time. She was wet, glistening, her labia swollen and parted to reveal the pink flesh within. Her clit peeked from its hood, begging for attention. And her entrance—tight, pulsing, the gateway to where I would plant my child.

I dove in.

She screamed, her back arching off the bed as I licked her from bottom to top, flattening my tongue against her clit before circling it with the tip. She tasted like heaven—sweet and musky and uniquely her. I ate her like a starving man, thrusting my tongue into her hole, fucking her with it, then returning to her clit to suck and flick while I pushed two fingers inside her.

"Yes, yes, yes," she chanted, her hips bucking against my face. "There, right there, don't stop, please don't stop—"

I curled my fingers, finding the rough patch of her G-spot, and rubbed while I sucked her clit between my lips. She came with a wail, her pussy clamping down on my fingers, her juices flooding my chin. I didn't stop, working her through the orgasm, then pushing her toward another, and another, until she was sobbing with pleasure, her body limp and trembling.

Only then did I rise over her, my cock weeping precum, and notch the head against her entrance.

"Protection?" I asked, though we both knew the answer.

"No." Her eyes were glazed, her lips swollen. "Never. I need you bare, Ethan. I need to feel you spill inside me. I need your cum in my womb."

I pushed in.

She was tight, despite her arousal, her muscles fluttering around my intrusion. I groaned, my forehead dropping to hers, fighting for control. "Fuck, Olivia. You're so tight. So hot."

"More," she demanded, her nails digging into my shoulders. "Give me all of it. I want to feel full."

I thrust deep, bottoming out in one stroke, my balls slapping against her ass. She cried out, her legs wrapping around my waist, her heels digging into my lower back.

"Yes," she hissed. "Yes, fuck me, Ethan. Fuck me like you mean it. Fuck me like you're trying to put a baby in me."

I did.

I set a brutal pace, pounding into her, the bed slamming against the wall with each thrust. She met me stroke for stroke, her hips rising to meet mine, her breasts bouncing with the force of our coupling. The room filled with the sounds of sex—wet flesh slapping, our mingled moans, the creak of the bedframe.

"Touch yourself," I commanded. "Rub your clit while I fuck you. I want you to come on my cock."

Her hand flew between us, her fingers circling her clit frantically. I felt her tighten around me, her muscles rippling, and knew she was close.

"I'm going to come," she gasped. "Ethan, I'm going to—"

"Come," I ordered. "Come on my cock, Olivia. Milk my seed from me."

She shattered, her scream echoing through the room, her pussy clamping down on me like a vise. I kept fucking her through it, chasing my own release, the pressure building at the base of my spine.

"I'm close," I warned. "Olivia, I'm going to—"

"Inside," she begged. "Please, inside. Fill me up. Put your baby in me."

That did it.

I thrust deep one final time and exploded, my cock pulsing as I emptied rope after rope of hot cum into her unprotected womb. I kept coming, more than I ever had, as if my body understood the mission and was delivering every drop it had stored. Olivia moaned beneath me, her fingers digging into my back, her pussy milking me dry.

When I finally collapsed beside her, both of us panting and sweat-slicked, I looked over to find tears streaming down her face.

"Olivia?" I reached for her, panic rising. "Did I hurt you?"

"No." She turned her head, her smile watery but genuine. "That was... that was perfect. I could feel you. I could feel every pulse. It was... it was everything I needed."

I pulled her against me, spooning her from behind, my cock still semi-hard and nestled against her ass. "Tomorrow," I murmured against her hair. "Tomorrow is ovulation."

"Tomorrow," she agreed, her voice already drifting toward sleep. "And the day after. And however long it takes."

I held her as she fell asleep, my hand resting on her belly where my seed already swam, seeking its target. And I knew, with a certainty that terrified me, that three months would never be enough.

I woke to an empty bed and the sound of the shower running. Sunlight streamed through the windows—morning, then. I stretched, my muscles aching pleasantly from last night's exertions, and smiled at the memory of Olivia coming apart beneath me.

The shower turned off. A moment later, she emerged wearing a fluffy white robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. She looked different in the daylight—softer, younger, with a flush to her cheeks that hadn't been there yesterday.

"Good morning," she said, businesslike despite the intimacy we'd shared. "I trust you slept well?"

"Like the dead." I sat up, the sheet falling to my waist, and watched her eyes drop to my morning erection with satisfaction. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she admitted, a hint of color rising in her cheeks. "In the best way. But we need to discuss today's schedule."

"Schedule?"

She moved to the dresser, pulling out lingerie I tried not to imagine her wearing. "My ovulation predictor kit indicated a surge this morning. I'll ovulate within the next twelve to twenty-four hours." She turned, holding a sheer black bra and matching panties. "Which means we need to be strategic."

"Strategic?"

"Multiple inseminations during the fertile window increase probability of conception." She said it clinically, but her hands trembled slightly as she hooked the bra. "I want you to ejaculate inside me at least three times today. Possibly four, depending on your refractory period."

I stood, crossing to her, and took the panties from her hands. "I think I can manage four," I said, my voice dropping. "But only if you're properly motivated."

"Ethan, this isn't—"

I cut her off with a kiss, my first kiss of her, and felt her melt against me. Her lips were soft, yielding, and she tasted like mint toothpaste and something sweeter. I deepened the kiss, my tongue sweeping into her mouth, my hands finding the clasp of her bra and undoing it.

"Bed," I whispered against her mouth. "Now. We can be strategic after I take the edge off."

She went willingly this time, no pretense of business, just a woman eager to be filled. I took her from behind, her hands braced on the mattress, her back arched to present her pussy to me like an offering. I entered her slowly, savoring the wet heat of her, the way she pushed back to take me deeper.

"Touch yourself," I told her, gripping her hips. "I want to feel you come around me."

Her hand disappeared between her thighs, and I felt the flutter of her fingers against my shaft as she rubbed her clit. I set a steady pace, not rushing, letting the pleasure build gradually. This was different from last night—less frantic, more deliberate. Each thrust was designed to stimulate her cervix, to coat her walls with my precum, to prepare her womb for the flood to come.

"Ethan," she moaned, her head dropping forward. "You feel so good. So deep. I can feel you hitting... hitting..."

"Your cervix?" I angled my hips, thrusting upward, and felt the slight resistance as I bumped against her entrance to the womb. "Right there?"

"Yes! Yes, right there. Don't stop. Please don't stop."

I kept that angle, grinding against her with each thrust, stimulating her most sensitive places. Her moans grew louder, more desperate, her fingers working frantically at her clit.

"I'm going to come," she gasped. "Ethan, I'm coming, I'm—"

She clamped down on me, her pussy spasming in waves that dragged a groan from my throat. I fucked her through it, holding back my own release, wanting to prolong this moment. When she finally went limp, I pulled out, ignoring her whimper of protest, and flipped her onto her back.

"Again," I said, sliding back into her slick heat. "I want you to come again before I fill you."

"I can't," she protested weakly, but her hips rose to meet mine.

"You can." I hooked her legs over my shoulders, changing the angle so I rubbed against her G-spot with each thrust. "And you will. Because I need you as aroused as possible when I breed you, Olivia. I need your womb sucking my seed deep, pulling it into your fertile egg."

"Oh god," she whimpered, her head thrashing. "Don't talk like that. It makes me... it makes me..."

"What?" I demanded, pounding into her now, chasing my own peak. "What does it make you?"

"Want it," she sobbed. "Want your baby. Want to be pregnant with your child. Ethan, please, please give it to me—"

I exploded, my cock pulsing as I flooded her for the second time in twelve hours. I kept thrusting, emptying every drop, then collapsed over her, my weight pressing her into the mattress.

We lay like that for long minutes, my cock still twitching inside her, our breath mingling. Finally, she stirred beneath me.

"That was... that was two," she said, her voice muffled against my shoulder. "We need to... to do that again this afternoon. And tonight."

I raised my head to look at her, this complex woman who was somehow both ice queen and passionate lover. "Olivia, I'm going to fuck you so many times today that you won't be able to think straight. By tonight, you'll be so full of my cum that it will be dripping down your thighs with every step. Is that strategic enough for you?"

Her eyes darkened, her tongue touching her lips. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, that's exactly what I need."

The morning passed in a blur of activity. Olivia had work calls, emails to answer, decisions about her hotels that couldn't wait. I explored the property, marveling at the pool, the gardens, the sheer wealth that surrounded her. But my mind kept returning to the bedroom, to the woman who was currently ovulating, whose body was ripe and ready for conception.

At noon, she found me by the pool, wearing a sundress that looked innocent but hid the fact that she wore nothing beneath it.

"Lunch," she said, her eyes raking over my bare chest. I'd been swimming, my skin still damp, my shorts riding low on my hips.

"I'm hungry," I said, but I wasn't looking at the sandwich she carried on a tray.

"Ethan, we should eat first. Maintain your strength."

I took the tray from her hands and set it aside, then lifted her onto the outdoor table, pushing her dress up to her waist. "I am eating," I said, dropping to my knees before her.

"Oh god," she breathed as I spread her thighs. "Ethan, someone might see—"

"Then be quiet." I buried my face in her pussy, already wet and swollen from this morning's activities. I licked her clit, sucked her labia into my mouth, thrust my tongue into her hole to taste the mixture of her arousal and my previous deposits.

She bit her fist to muffle her screams, her hips bucking against my face. I brought her to the edge quickly, then backed off, repeating the torture until she was begging incoherently.

"Please, Ethan, I need you inside me. I need your cock. I need your cum. Please, please breed me, make me pregnant—"

I stood, freeing my erection, and slammed into her in one stroke. The table creaked dangerously, but I didn't care. I fucked her hard and fast, my hands gripping her hips, my eyes locked on where we joined, watching my cock disappear into her again and again.

"Come for me," I demanded. "Come on my cock and I'll fill you again. I'll put another load of baby batter in your fertile womb."

"Yes! Yes! I'm coming, Ethan, I'm—"

She clamped down on me, her orgasm ripping through her, and I followed immediately, spurting deep inside her, painting her cervix with my seed. I kept thrusting, making sure every drop found its mark, then pulled out to watch my cum leak from her well-used pussy.

"Beautiful," I murmured, dipping my fingers into her and spreading the mixture of our fluids over her thighs. "Marked. Claimed."

She lay back on the table, her chest heaving, her dress bunched around her waist. "Three," she panted. "One more. Tonight. Before I sleep."

"Oh, we're doing more than one more," I promised, helping her up and smoothing her dress down. "I'm going to fuck you until you pass out, Olivia. Until my seed is swimming in your womb and your egg has no choice but to surrender."

She shivered, her eyes dark with desire. "Promise?"

"Guarantee."

That night, I made good on my promise.

We started in the shower, the hot water pounding down as I took her against the tile, her legs wrapped around my waist, my cock buried to the hilt in her welcoming heat. She came twice before I released, flooding her with another deposit.

Then the bed, where I explored every inch of her body with my mouth, my hands, learning what made her gasp, what made her moan, what made her beg. I discovered she loved having her nipples sucked while I fingered her, that she could come from penetration alone if I angled just right, that she had a spot on her neck that made her shiver when I bit it.

By midnight, she'd lost count of her orgasms. I'd come four times, each load seemingly larger than the last, as if my body was rising to the challenge of breeding this woman.

"Last one," I said, positioning her on her hands and knees, her ass in the air, her pussy glistening and swollen. "I'm going to fuck you slow and deep, Olivia. I'm going to make you feel every inch as I plant my seed in your fertile womb. And when you wake up tomorrow, you'll know you've been bred."

"Yes," she whimpered, pushing back against me. "Yes, Ethan. Breed me. Make me pregnant. Fill me with your baby."

I entered her slowly, inch by inch, feeling her walls flutter around me. She was so wet, so open, so ready. I set a languid pace, each thrust designed to drag against her sensitive spots, to build the pressure gradually until we were both trembling.

"Ethan," she moaned, her head dropping to the pillow. "I can't... I can't come again. It's too much..."

"You can." I reached around her, finding her clit with my fingers, rubbing in tight circles. "Come for me one more time, Olivia. Come on my cock while I flood your womb. Give me your egg. Let me fertilize it."

"Oh god, oh god, I'm... I'm..."

She shattered, her scream muffled by the pillow, her entire body convulsing with the force of her climax. I felt her pussy milking me, pulling my release from me, and I let go, erupting inside her with a roar.

I came and came, more than I thought possible, my cock pulsing for what felt like minutes. When I finally pulled out, a flood of our combined fluids followed, proof of how thoroughly I'd filled her.

I gathered her against me, spooning her from behind, my hand resting on her lower belly. "Sleep now," I murmured. "Let my sperm find your egg. Let the magic happen."

She was already drifting off, her body limp with exhaustion, a satisfied smile on her lips. "Ethan," she whispered. "Thank you."

I held her until her breathing evened out, then lay awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering what the hell I was getting myself into. Because three months wasn't going to be enough. Not with this woman. Not with what was growing between us that had nothing to do with contracts or money.

The fertile window passed, and we entered the dreaded two-week wait—the time between ovulation and when a pregnancy test would show results. Olivia became distant, professional, throwing herself into work with a desperation that spoke of anxiety she wouldn't voice.

We still slept together every night, but the urgency was gone, replaced by a different kind of intimacy. I learned that she liked to be held after sex, that she fell asleep instantly if I stroked her hair, that she woke up grumpy without her coffee. She learned that I hummed while cooking, that I preferred showers to baths, that I had a scar on my knee from a construction accident when I was nineteen.

On day ten of the wait, she found me in the guest house, packing my tools. I'd been fixing a loose step on the main house's deck, needing something to do with my hands.

"You're handy," she observed, leaning against the doorframe.

"My dad taught me." I didn't look up, focusing on organizing my wrenches. "He was a carpenter. Built the house I grew up in. The one that's in foreclosure now."