There were no longer any barriers between us when it came to f.u.c.king, and I'm not sure if it's hormones or what, but lately she's been more aggressive when it comes to taking what she wants from me.

It was like having the old Zania back in my bed. The girl I'd taught to please herself, in anyway she liked with my body.

Tonight was one of those nights it seems, as I felt the shower door open as I buried my head under the water spray.

I opened my eyes enough to see her stepping in a little tentatively. She stopped when she saw me looking at her, and I reached out my hand for her, pulling her all the way in.

It had to take a lot of f.u.c.king courage for her to do what she'd just done. To approach me like this, and it made me soften just a little more towards her.

"What do you need baby?" I held her head in my hands so that I could feed off her lips, until she pulled away slowly and slid to her knees.

I threw my head back and closed my eyes when she started teasing my c.o.c.khead with her tongue.

One of her little hands wrapped around the base of my rod and stroked me into her mouth until I felt my seed rising in my sac.

"Pull off babe." She took her sweet time releasing me. "Stay there." I commanded her to remain on her knees at my feet while I stroked my c.o.c.k until I was ready to shoot.

I sprayed her face and chest with c.u.m before pulling her up, lifting her between me, and the wall and driving into her.

She screamed b.l.o.o.d.y murder and I stopped all movement. "f.u.c.k did I hurt you, the baby?"

"Uh-uh, you just hit that place." I hid the smile in her neck as I f.u.c.ked her with what was left of my hard-on.

It has been weeks since I've seen anyone except the two girls in my life. My days now, instead of being consumed with business meetings and spreadsheets, were filled with games played with my daughter.

Or morning rides together with her on her pony and me on one of my horses. I'd forbidden Zania to ride in her condition no matter that the doctor had okayed it.

That had led to me searching out a new doctor, because anyone that was dumb enough to give her that kind of advice, knowing what this child meant, not to mention it sounded dangerous as f.u.c.k to me, couldn't be very good.

She got stubborn on me though and refused to change doctors. Not that that would've swayed me, but there weren't that many female OBGYNs in our town, so I had to give in in the end. Though there was a new stipulation, she wasn't allowed to go there without me anymore so I could combat whatever the nut said that I didn't agree with.

Everything was coming along nicely. Mia wasn't getting any better, but neither was she getting worst.

It has been weeks since I've said a mean word to Zania, in fact I hardly ever thought about her past betrayal these days, and she seemed to be growing more and more relaxed.

Though we have yet to revisit the past, I no longer felt like it was between us in the same way it had been in the beginning.

When we turned to each other in the nights, there was less hostility now and more shared whispers.

Now when I was through loving her, instead of turning away I spent a little more time holding her, showing her without the words that I still found too hard to utter, that I appreciated her.

My step was lighter, and so was my heart as I approached the door. I was meeting her at my old condo to get the last of my stuff and then the place was going on the market.

Mia was home with the nurse that I'd hired to take care of her because I didn't want her mother overtaxing herself, and plus I felt better with a trained professional on hand in case my little girl needed help.

I heard voices as I reached for the door handle and something in the tone made me pull back.

"I don't know what game you're playing but you're not supposed to be here. I told you what would happen if you ever came back here or tried to contact my son."

"My daughter is sick I had no choice."

"How do I even know that she's my son's?"

"Because he's the only man I've ever been with."

"Likely story but I'm not buying it, no. Girls like you are never pure, with your wild big city ways.

You think I don't know how you trapped my son? I paid you a lot of money to go and stay gone. None of what you're saying now makes any difference to me."

Oh no Zania, you didn't f.u.c.king sell us out for money. There was a rustling sound coming from inside that I barely heard over the ringing in my ears.

"Here's your check, I never cashed it."

"You...what game are you playing now?"

"I left here because when you showed me all the information you had dug up on my family it scared me, to know that you had such a reach because of your wealth. Then when you threatened my grandmother I didn't think I had a choice."

"So why didn't you use the money for her operation?"

"I couldn't do it, I couldn't cheapen what we had, not even to save my grandmother. Now my own daughter is dying and there's nothing I wouldn't do for her. And that, that's what scares me, because I don't know what you would do this time to get your way."

"I'm glad to see you still know who's in charge. Now you do as I say and you and your whelp will be fine until it's time to leave, and trust me my dear, you will be leaving.

I don't know what fairytale my son has been spinning for you, but nothing has changed. He's going to marry Camille and when the time is right she'll give me the grandchildren I want."

"Are you sure about that? I seem to recall six years ago the two of you had me half convinced that she's what he really wanted. Funny, I've been gone all this time and he still hasn't married her yet."

"Minor details that's all. Now, are you prepared to do as I say? Or you know there's another alternative to this little scenario. How about I convince my son to take your daughter and he and Camille can raise her as their own?"

"You really are an evil woman. How could you hurt your own son like this? If you truly loved him as you claim, you would want him to be happy. You would've seen how in love we were and that would've been enough..."

"Such emotional claptrap. I'm not evil, I'm just a very wealthy woman who does not wish to see her son waste his life or his resources on some little n.o.body like you.

You've met Camille, you know she's perfect for Cord in a way you never will be. She's beautiful, from a good family and her father has the right connections to see my son on his way to the governor's mansion or even the Whitehouse."

What the f.u.c.k was she talking about? I was dying to get in there, but something still held me back. Though the man I am was f.u.c.ked if he'd leave his woman in that situation, I had a feeling that this was the only way I was going to get the whole story.

I was only getting bits and pieces but it was enough, and though it broke my heart just a little to leave her in there to deal with that s.h.i.t, I knew I needed this, we both did.

"Stay away from my daughter you evil witch? I might've let you scare me away last time, but since you're a mother yourself who claims a great love for your son, you would know that there aren't any lengths I wouldn't go to-to protect my child.

I would never let that woman have my child. It must really burn the two of you up that he's with me and Mia. Well you know what, I might've been stupid before, but not this time.

I'm really glad I got this chance to see what you've done to him, or tried to do. He's nothing like the person I loved, it took me a while to figure it out, but you tried to turn him into you.

But guess what, I love him enough to stay and fight this time, to see that that doesn't happen.

Now kindly get out of my way, I don't want to be here a minute longer."

"Not so fast..."

I'd heard enough and pushed the door open. "You cold hearted b.i.t.c.h get the f.u.c.k away from her."

Mom ran over to me, tears at the ready. "Oh thank heavens you're here son, you heard her then? She's been saying the most horrible things..."

"I'm talking to you not her you b.i.t.c.h, what the f.u.c.k did you do to her?" I pushed her away from me willing myself to calm the f.u.c.k down before I gave myself an aneurysm.

My heart was pumping and my blood was up. Never in my wildest dreams have I ever imagined a day would come that I would want to strangle my own mother.

I was never as mad as I was in that moment. Mad, hurt and f.u.c.king lost for all of ten seconds.

She tried hugging me or turning my face to hers, I wasn't sure what it was she was trying to do, and neither did I care; again I pushed her away from me.

"Back the f.u.c.k off." She looked at me like I'd slapped her, which I was pretty f.u.c.king close to doing.

"Come here Zania." I held my arm out to her and she came. A little tentatively, but she came.

It all made sense now, the pieces of the puzzle that I couldn't fit together.

Why a girl who I knew down to my soul loved me, had left me for no reason, without a word of warning.

Oh yes, it was all falling neatly into place now. Like that one night coming onto the end when I'd stayed inside her for hours.

I remember it now, the way she had clutched at me, the hunger that was inside her as we rolled around on the bed together. I'd never seen her that hungry, that desperate for me.

And the tears, the tears I'd mistaken for tears of joy, because that hadn't been the first time she'd cried in my bed. But always before it was because she was so happy that we'd found each other.

Then the next day she was gone. No note, no explanation, nothing. Just everything that was hers, gone, leaving me only with the memory of her face.

I took that face in my hands now and saw it all in her eyes. I hurt for her, for what she must've gone through dealing with this monster.

I felt so much love and hate in that moment, hate for a mother who had deceived me, and love for the woman whom I'd falsely accused of doing the same.

"Why didn't you tell me what she was doing to you baby, why? Why did you let me go on hating you when...?"

My mind replayed everything I'd done since she came back. I felt sick to my stomach at the way I had treated her, someone I had once sworn to love.

I pulled her face into my chest and held her there as I kicked myself in the a.s.s. I knew it, all along something inside me had known.

"Oh f.u.c.k, have you any idea how I feel right now? I struck you, I wanted to destroy you to make you hurt as much as I..." I turned to the room's other occupant.

"You, get the f.u.c.k away from my family and stay way. You ever go anywhere near her or my kid again I'll have you arrested. Get out of my sight..."

"But son, I only did what I thought was best." She clutched the pearls around her throat and I thought, 'what a cliched f.u.c.king thing to do'.

"I'm not your son. You almost cost me my f.u.c.king daughter not to mention what you did to my woman. Now get out and tell that other viper to look over her shoulder because she's next.

I might draw the line at decking you because you played a part in my being here, but I have no loyalty to her. She's f.u.c.ked."

"Cord you can't."

"Right now you barely stand a chance of surviving this s.h.i.t, stick around and you won't, I guarantee it." My voice was cold and low as I glared at her with all the hate I'd once held for Zania.

"You disgust me. How could you have watched me suffer for so long, thinking the worse about her, doubting my own judgment?

You subjected me to five years of tasteless, baseless mediocrity with that plastic toxic b.i.t.c.h you picked out because of her f.u.c.king bank statement, as if I needed it.

But you know what your absolute worst crime was? Not only did you cost me the woman I love, you cost me six years, six years of happiness with my wife and kid.

Get out and don't set foot at Helmsworth Enterprise again or I'll have you arrested for that as well. We're through."

"You can't cut me out of the business that business has been in this family for generations."

"That's right the Helmsworth family, you married into this family I was born into it remember? And as the president I say you're no longer welcomed." I turned my back on her until I heard her making her way to the door.

I turned and watched the woman I'd trusted more than any other human being alive leave my home a dejected sh.e.l.l of herself, and I felt nothing, nothing but hate and a taste for vengeance.

"Cord, I don't think..."

"Kill it, it's done; nothing you can say can make me feel any different about the situation. And you should've come to me you should've trusted me. Why the f.u.c.k didn't you?"

"I couldn't, I was so confused, and everything they said seemed to make sense at the time. Then when she involved my grandmother I knew that she wouldn't stop until she got her way."

"I'll let you off the hook only because I know how scary she can be, but if you're ever that f.u.c.king stupid again I'll tan your a.s.s."

She laughed, like really laughed for the first time since she'd been back. It was the first time I'd heard that sweet sound in six years.

"Don't laugh. I'm not joking." I tried to play the heavy but inside my heart was doing cartwheels.

"I'm not laughing I promise."

"Liar. Don't expect me to just forgive you for not trusting me either, for letting them destroy what we had."

"I didn't know what else I could do at the time. Like you said, your mother can be very formidable, and I was afraid of what she would do to my grandmother."

I pulled her in close and held her, and all that pent up love I had inside crept out and into the kiss I gave her.

There was so much said in that one shared kiss, so much that was hard to put into words.

I released her mouth when we both needed to come up for air. I didn't speak for the first five minutes, and neither did she.

We both just stood there basking in our newfound freedom to hold each other like this with no barriers.

"I'm sorry she did that to you my princess, and I promise you that I'll make it up to you. But the fact still remains, you f.u.c.ked up. You were in a relationship with me, not with my mother; you should've come to me."

"I know that now but at the time she was so convincing, they were so convincing."