Grace came in the form of dark rivers of loopy coils and wispy black lashes against molten gold skin.

Divinity shaped itself in the curves of smooth flesh that radiated enough warmth to rival that of the sun. A roadmap could follow the intricate edges of each swell and rounded turn, and you'd still get lost because you were too caught up in the view.

Heaven rested on full, rosy lips that were only pried open mere hours ago as the sweetest sounds escaped from between them.

Ruth was like a blasphemous form of religion and Raffo was the fool that blindly followed his sacrilegious idolization of perfection. His fingers hadn't listened to his warning of keeping his hands to himself, as he drifted the tips of them over her back as she sleepily laid across his bare chest. Her floral scented curls were layered with a subtle hint of coconut, and he couldn't help but lie there longer, inhaling blessed whiffs of it every so often.

She stirred underneath him and he paused his absentminded coasting, his fingers stilling in between her shoulder blades. It took a few seconds, seconds Raffo was rather impatient waiting for, but finally, her long lashes fluttered open and she greeted him with the sweetest swirl of honey-brown. His favorite shade.

The color had been all wrong when he dated Diana from his office. She was pretty, sweet, and patient for him. Even keeping her opinions to herself when she saw his ex on his phone's lock screen or at his bedside table. And despite her kindness, she still wasn't Ruth to him; hence why he couldn't get past more than three dates and one extra night of sex with her. She was a little lighter than Ruth, smaller with less of an hourglass shape and smaller in the matching assets part, and her eyes teetered on the edge of being more hazel than brown. Beautiful, but hard to accept when Ruth was still who he wanted.

Even their sex felt bland. She was too willing to let him do whatever he wanted rather than taking control of any part of that night. Though Ruth didn't care about giving him the reins either, she wasn't at all shy about touching him, taking control when she wanted to, and letting him watch her come undone for him. Hell, she enjoyed that shit. There was nothing wrong with being timid, but when he and Ruth spent the entire night catching up, he realized now that he was really done for. Absolutely fucking ruined. And no one else was going to ever do it for him again.

Raffo moved his hand from her back and drifted his knuckles over her flushed cheek. She blinked the sleep from her eyes at first and took a minute to register who she was looking at and where she was. Eventually, her blush spread out like a fan and a tired little smile tilted the corners of her lips up. It was the most adorable sight Raffo had ever seen.

"Morning," he whispered. The only plus side to falling asleep a few hours before was the lack of morning breath, as they had cleaned up a little before falling asleep in the early hours after dawn.

"Good morning," Ruth whispered back. She went to shift her body to the side of him and winced, a sore groan pushing through her lips. Raffo stifled a smile as she rolled off of him with a tender gasp. "Fuck."

"What?" he asked innocently, sitting his own sore body up. He swiveled himself over the edge of the bed and planted his feet on the ground.

"You did this to me," she accused. He looked back at her like she'd just sprouted two heads.

"You have no one to blame but yourself. I told you what that "Raff baby" bullshit did to me after the second round," he scoffed playfully, completely unashamed. Not that he was complaining; that shit was sexy as hell. She fucked around, and she sure as hell found out.

Ruth's seductive little grin pulsed him back to life. "I didn't realize you liked it that much, Raff baby," she crooned, running her fingers between her exposed breasts. He dove for her and she squealed, launching herself to the other side of the bed to escape his greedy hands, but losing immensely. He grabbed her giggling body and she pushed at his shoulder half-heartedly.

"Raff," she partially moaned, though her fingernails digging into his back only encouraged his wet kisses over her exposed collarbone. He moved in between her thick thighs and grabbed one of her hands from his hair to weave his fingers through hers. She allowed him to position their clasped hands above her head while his lips crawled down her humming body.

The heat of her soft center on his skin grew wetter the further down he went. He made a few stops along the way, kissing and sucking her hardened nipples into his mouth. She arched into him, encouraging him with whimpers and moans. He never knew that he was one for praises during sex, but boy was he wrong. So, so wrong.

Ruth's arousing words of encouragement and that fucking "Raff baby" she kept calling him drove him absolutely crazy. It was the sexiest thing she could have ever called him, and what made it even better was the thought of it being all his. No other man or woman would ever be her "Raff baby". The nickname belonged to him and him alone.

"You feel so good, Raff baby," she gasped, rubbing herself against Raffo's taut abdomen. She tried and failed to move her hand from his grip and the sexiest whine known to man slithered blissfully into his ears. "I want to go down on you too," she pouted. He moved his teeth from her nipple and wondered where the hell the woman of his dreams had been all those lost years.

"Please," she begged, making him even harder than he already was. She rounded her eyes, and he knew right then that she could ask him to burn the world down and he'd gladly do it for her with that look; no questions asked.

"You're so pretty when you beg," he whispered, leaning his body up so he could tug her bottom lip in between his teeth. And she really was.

How one woman could taste and look so fucking good was beyond him. And to have said woman begging to suck him off pushed him further onto Cloud 9. He had half a mind to ignore her pleas and continue loving her withering body. He was eager to have her taste on his tongue again, and the thought of her wet and tight had him in a chokehold.

But then she just had to hit him with that damn—

"Please, Raff baby," she purred, licking her lips as she eyed the current object of her affections resting hard against her inner thighs. "I want you."

And he couldn't resist that.

So, he came to a compromise. He laid on his back for her and watched her eagerly reach for him when he grabbed one of her thighs. She halted her actions in confusion, but allowed him to help her straddle his head so she was exactly where he wanted her. His face pressed to the warmth of her folds, sighing softly at the view he completely missed.

"Oh," she whimpered as his tongue flickered out and ran up her wet slit. Fuck, was he addicted, and he had no plans to take his ass to rehab. He needed as much of his baby as he could get.

Raffo honestly didn't think Ruth was going to go through with what she wanted based on how much she enjoyed him eating her out. But he nearly choked when she leaned forward and wrapped those tantalizing lips around his dick and moaned, vibrating him.

"Shit baby," he hissed, his hips automatically bucking towards the back of her throat. She hummed in response, and moved him back out briefly to run her tongue over the slit on his tip. He grumbled lowly as she wrapped her hand around the base of him and moved it in sync with her mouth. She tried to swallow more of him in, but struggled to fit exactly every inch into her mouth, though she didn't stop working towards her goal.

The siren pulled back just enough to look back at him watching her and she smirked, licking his pre-cum from her lips like it was the most delicious thing in the world. He shivered, an action that didn't go unnoticed. "Hmm, you taste so good, Raff baby," she promised, her voice raw with seduction. Her perfect curls fell over her shoulder and spilled in ringlets, caressing flushed brown cheeks and dipping into those sultry eyes of hers.

Fuck, did he love her. He loved those eyes, those unruly beautiful curls, those lips, that sickly sweet smile, those flushed cheeks. He could stare at her, completely mesmerized, forever.

Ruth bent over more to go back to what she was doing and he was once again enticed by the sight above him as he followed the curve of her round ass briefly, before refocusing on what he needed to finish. Eager to have her clench around his tongue again, he wrapped his arms over her hips and pulled her down further, spreading her thighs more on either side of his head. He hungrily sucked, licked, and nibbled at the wet lips and flesh that glistened and tasted so damn good as he worshipped her.

If she allowed it, he'd stay there all day. She could be his breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert, hell the whole damn buffet. And when his tongue started to get pulled, and she grew even wetter, he knew she was close.

Thankfully, with the expert twirl of Ruth's tongue and the vigorous sucking of her inner cheeks, he wasn't far behind. But he was determined to finish her first. So he increased the pumping of his tongue, enjoying the way she tightened around it, and moved to suck at her clit. Her thighs shook, her body quaked, and she came hard against his mouth.

It was only when she withered and cried out around his dick with one hand lightly squeezing his balls, did he finally release himself into the back of her throat, her name falling out in a dark groan. The name that he absolutely couldn't fathom being without ever again. A name that forever branded his tongue in the most sinful ways.

"Fuccck me," she drawled as his tongue dove back in and out of her, only pausing when she stopped pulsating around it. Her hips had slowly rocked in time with it, helping him ride out the last second of her orgasm before he finally moved his arms from her hips and released her.

Raffo licked his lips dreamily. He could fall asleep and wake up between those thighs forever and he'd never tire of it. And when he turned to a spent Ruth, she looked like she wouldn't mind that exact same thing; just reversed. Especially when her tongue lazily traced over her fingers, collecting every drop of him without once breaking eye contact.

He reached over, intending to grab her again. But much to his dismay, she actually succeeded in rolling away. "Nope! We need to shower, Raff. We got things to do," she winked, standing to her feet.

His eyes traced over her naked body and he knew he was gonna have that ass in the shower again. Especially when she moved those hips and that round ass of hers swayed temptingly at him. Purposely, might he add. She laughed loudly at him picking her up, but those giggles soon turned into whimpers and groans and cries as he slid her over his dick in the shower.

He sighed in content. He was home again.

*****

An hour later, Raffo was finally clean and dressed as he made his way to the kitchen; refreshed and hungry. Ruth was finishing getting ready and checking her work emails, so he thought he'd find something suitable for the both of them. Opening up the pantry door, he found a box of pancake mix and maple syrup. He supposed it would have to do.

He prepped the mixture and the pan before scooping the batter and making a weirdly round shape. His sisters hated when he didn't make their pancakes with some sort of design, claiming it was boring, so he usually made it a point to shape something out of the batter. And when he thought about the person of his affections, he found himself forming a heart with the batter.

A pair of arms slid around Raffo's torso not long later, and his body relaxed as Ruth pressed herself closely behind him and rested her head on his back. He wrapped his left hand tenderly around her forearm and fought the urge to spin around and kiss her.

"Everything okay with your job?" he asked, flipping her pancake.

"Yeah, they miss me," she shrugged.

His breathing faltered. He waited a pause, and then quietly asked in a strained voice, "Do you miss them?" Raffo tried to sound casual, but it didn't sound casual. His voice was too uneven, his heart pounding too fast, and his soul already going into hiding before another piece of it could be torn from him.

Ruth soothingly rubbed his chest. "Yes and no," she admitted. "I miss some of the patients and my coworkers, but those hours? They were killing me before I got here, and I haven't missed that part of work too much. Or the paperwork, bleh."

She paused.

"And besides," she added, squeezing her arms around him. "I'm having too much fun being here with you to worry about work."

Raffo relaxed at that. "Really?" he questioned, pleased.

"Really. It also helps that you have that big—IS THAT A HEART?" she squealed, poking her head around his body to eyeball the buttery deliciousness waiting for her.

He chuckled. "Not gonna finish that sentence, huh? And yeah, it's yours."

Ruth's pretty eyes flew up to his and a teasingly beautiful smile graced her lips. "You're just asking for a round seven aren't you, Raff baby?"

He licked his lips. "You offering?"

She snuck out from behind him to grab her fork and plate instead. She poured a generous amount of syrup to the top and set to snagging a bite first. Her sigh of content made him smile, especially when she turned her sugary lips up to him for a 'thank you' kiss. He leaned down and kissed her, listening to her giggle of delight as he nibbled at the syrup off her delicious mouth.

Ruth broke away with a small gasp. "Raff, you're gonna burn that pancake if you don't stop kissing me like that."

"Who cares about a damn pancake when you taste so much better?" he winked, watching her squirm in her dress.

Raffo hadn't noticed what she looked like at first when he moved to kiss her, but Ruth was stunning. Well, she was always abnormally gorgeous, but that day in particular, she looked radiant. Her curls were gathered in a messy bun on top of her head with escaped tendrils caressing her sweet face. The natural make-up enhanced what beauty was already there, and the dress she wore was the icing on the cake. The maroon lace hugged her figure, cinched by a matching belt around her middle, and flowed almost to her knees. She looked soft and elegant; a combination she always wore well.

"You look beautiful," he complimented, catching her off guard.

Ruth smiled, a dark red blush swirling in her cheeks. "Thank you," she beamed. "So do you."

He'd never look as lovely as her, but he smiled all the same and took the compliment. He finished up a few more pancakes and then set up the table with Ruth's help. She got them both cups of water to wash down the sweetness of the syrup and then happily joined him at the table. His stomach growled, but he still had half a mind to thank the Creator for her bountiful mercy and then dug in.

Ruth took a few more bites of her new pancake, happily but quietly chewing, before hesitantly looking up at him. He furrowed his eyebrows. "What's wrong?" he asked after swallowing a mouthful of pancake.

Ruth shifted in her seat, her eyes falling on the outside world below them briefly, before turning back up to his concerned gaze. "I was gonna ask if you still wanted to come with me to talk to Emily. Today."

His eyes widened a fraction. "Oh."

"I know you probably weren't planning on it being so soon, but I want to get it over with as soon as possible so I can keep moving forward. And . . . I want her to apologize to you."

He sighed out reluctantly and ran his fingers back through his hair that was still slightly damp from the shower. An apology wasn't going to do shit for him, but he understood the sentiment. Not many people had apologized to Raffo in his life. Not even from the ones who did him wrong most of his life. The only person who actively worked to prove he deserved apologies to was Ruth, and he appreciated the hell out of her for it. Apologies were important to her, and Raffo living an equal, fair treated life was always her goal. It humbled him, and reminded him that he was constantly in the presence of an angel on earth.

His angel.

And besides, he'd do anything for Ruth. So if all she needed was for him to show up and be there for her, then that was exactly what he was going to do. Even if he didn't like it.

"Okay," Raffo agreed.

The dark cloud of uncertainty cleared from Ruth's springy expression. She eagerly leaned forward to kiss him with sugary kisses that made his vision fuzzy and his mind dizzy. He should have been cooked her pancakes, because he couldn't seem to get enough of that buttery, maple taste on her tongue. He wrapped a hand around the back of her head and kept her there, snatching the flavor from her like a thief in the night. Her scant 'thank you' was lost, her body already going slack.

Raffo couldn't get enough of the damn sensual woman, and he loved that she couldn't get enough of him in return.

*****