*This chapter ended up being longer than I thought it would be! The middle-end of it will be the last smut chapter for a little while because there's a lot we have to tackle in the following chapters. So of course I had to make the smut scene a long one LOL. These characters write themselves at this point, because I didn't plan on it at all I swear! They just super freaks smh, so anyone can feel free to skip the middle-end of this chapter if you'd like. But after this chapter it's time to tie up some loose ends and get this couple moving forward with important discussions and meetings! This beginning of this chapter also has a cute Halloween element to it to celebrate the holiday. Stay safe out there, y'all!*

"You feeling okay?" Raffo asked as soon as they walked out of the ice cream parlor with a loaded cone in hand.

Ruth tried not to wrinkle her nose at the toothpaste flavor Raffo was currently licking away at and took a tentative swipe at her vanilla cone instead. She never understood the obsession for mint ice cream, but different strokes for different folks. And hers was good ole plain vanilla with a scoop of mini M&M's on top.

"I'm feeling . . . like I'm on the right path to being okay again," she admitted honestly, taking a nibble at the edge of her cone. She offered a hand to Raffo expectantly, and he took it with a peachy smile.

They were walking back to his apartment and taking their sweet time enjoying the crisp, Fall breeze and the different shades of the trees. It relaxed Ruth, and she thought she deserved a peaceful moment after the talk she had with Emily. Raffo kept up his end of the bargain and parked his car in the garage before they walked to a cute ice cream shop around the corner. Ruth usually never went over a kid's scoop of ice cream, but that day she got a regular scoop because why they hell not? She deserved it.

Raffo's presence warmed her soul, and she didn't know how she'd be feeling without him. Probably twenty times worse.

"That's fair," Raffo agreed.

"How are you feeling?" she redirected, taking another lick.

He furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "Oh—uh, I'm fine. I'm more worried about you. Why?"

Ruth shrugged. "It wasn't just me who was affected by her actions, Raff. I know you're more worried about me, but I still want to know that you're feeling okay."

"Oh," he murmured, touched. His eyebrows smoothed out and he drew the back of her hand up to his cool lips. "Thank you, aiukli; but I'm fine. I just want to focus on making up for lost time and being there for you however you need it."

The sweetest damn soul on the planet, Ruth was convinced. "Great! I have the perfect agenda for us then."

"Oh no," he mock sighed. "Let's hear it."

She ignored him.

"We're gonna finish this ice cream, walk into that store right there and buy a carving kit, carve my perfect pumpkin, watch a Halloween movie, and then you're gonna—"

Raffo interrupted Ruth with a sinister smirk, already reading her thoughts. "Say no more."

She grinned and worked on finishing up the rest of her ice cream. The store was littered with Halloween everything once they finally made their way inside. Pumpkin this, apple spice that, jack-o'-lanterns on every register, and orange and black streamers falling from the ceiling. Raffo grabbed the pumpkin carving set down the Halloween isle while Ruth grabbed a couple bags of candy for their Halloween movie night. The older woman at the checkout suggested getting a few gloves for the mess of gutting a pumpkin, much to Ruth's disgust, so they threw a couple of those in there as well.

"That's the one thing I'm not looking forward to," Ruth groaned as they piled into his apartment a short time later.

Raffo nudged off his shoes, glancing up at her. "What?"

"Pulling the guts and seeds out of the pumpkin," she sighed, eyeing it. Now she really regretted the size they got. Especially when she glanced down at her pretty dress.

"You'll be fine," Raffo teased. He lined up the table with newspapers and garbage bags while Ruth bent down to heave the pumpkin up into her arms and waddled over to place it on the table. He handed Ruth one of the pair's of gloves after putting his own on and patiently waiting for her to play her Halloween playlist. She got the "you're cute" compliment and tried not to boast at that.

The prettiest man alive found her cute. And she still didn't know how she pulled that one off.

Raffo held a hand out to her. "Small chainsaw, Nurse Semple."

"Small chainsaw, Dr. Leflore," Ruth teased, handing him the tool from their pumpkin set.

He laughed at that. Much to her relief, he took the liberty of cutting the bottom of the pumpkin out with jagged edges that at least did the job. Once the top was off, Ruth scrunched her nose and attempted to walk away, but he stopped her, of course.

"Nuh uh, I don't want to pull the guts out just as much as you. So bring that ass back over here and help me," Raffo huffed.

Ruth pouted, but walked her ass back and helped him pull the strings of pumpkin and seeds out, both of them taking turns. At one point, he playfully pretended to put a handful on her gloved arm and she stifled her gag with a squeal. "RAFF!"

They finally finished up the disgusting part of carving a pumpkin before turning it around and trying to figure out what they should carve into it. Raffo suggested the typical jack-o'-lantern face since it was easier, but Ruth picked a Winnie the Pooh head, which couldn't have been much harder. She sketched the design out with the marker that came with their kit, earned Raffo's approval, and they both took turns cutting through it.

Finally after an hour, they finished their first pumpkin together to "Monster Mash". They both stepped back to marvel their work, mostly Raffo's with the carving, but she did her best and kept him distracted by talking when she wasn't drawing or carving. Ruth grabbed the candle to go underneath the pumpkin while Raffo grabbed Winnie the Pooh's head and left it out front of his apartment door.

"Good work, Raff," Ruth said, pressing a kiss to his broad chest after they threw out the guts and gloves in the apartment building's garbage shoot by the elevator.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pressed a warm kiss to the side of her head. "You too, baby."

Ruth practically purred with the nickname and fought through the warmth piling between her legs already. She wanted to eat dinner, eat some candy, and watch a movie before any funny business, and she was going to stick to it. Food, dessert, entertainment, and dessert again.

They ended up going with chicken and rice bowls since it was quick to make along with their own cups of chai tea. Raffo argued she could share hers, but if there was one thing about Ruth, she hated sharing her two favorite things. Chai tea lattes and food. And sometimes Raffo.

They settled next to each other comfortably on the couch with their food in their lap and drinks on the coffee table. "Okay, what movie?" Raffo asked her, raising a questionable eyebrow.

Ruth pursed her lips. "Hmm, either The Nightmare Before Christmas or Beetlejuice or—"

She didn't even finish that sentence. Beetlejuice was on in an instant.

She stifled her smile and leaned back against the couch, enjoying their delicious meal. She thought she was a pretty decent cook, but Raffo? He could easily be a chef for Gordon Ramsay, even if he didn't make high-level foods. Everything he cooked just looked and tasted delicious. He even looked and tasted deli—

Ruth mentally stopped herself. She needed to get a damn grip on herself. IUD or not, she needed to calm down with the sex. No matter how hard it was to keep her hands to herself around him.

She turned her attention back to the TV, giving it all of her attention. It didn't take long for her to get enthralled in the story playing out before her as she munched away at her bowl until there was nothing left.

Raffo drank his tea and watched alongside her. She eyed him suspiciously when his gaze lingered on Barbara for a second too long a couple times and she playfully nudged him. She couldn't really blame him though; Barbara was just as attractive as her counterpart Adam.

Raffo innocently looked over at her. "What?" he asked, putting his cup on the coffee table. She didn't miss the way he licked his lips to catch the flavor and a spark of heat from before settled in the pit of her stomach.

"You've got a bit of drool right there," Ruth teased, pointing to her chin. He shook his head, chuckling at her antics.

"What can I say? I have a thing for curly hair and brown eyes," he winked.

She pouted, though there was no jealousy in her at all. She just enjoyed messing with him. "I thought you only had a thing for my curly hair and my brown eyes," she emphasized, curling her finger around a long ringlet that framed her face.

Raffo's eyes sparkled with mischief. Before Ruth could get a grasp as to what was happening, he reached over to where she was sitting and pulled her over to his lap. She straddled his hips instantly, her dress bunching up around the tops of her thighs. His hands soothingly ran along the outside of her smooth thighs and she shivered.

"Aww is my baby jealous?" he teased, massaging them. She bit back a moan.

"Maybe," she lied, arching forward so her back curved and her large breasts distracted him. He watched the movement with lust swirling in his starry gaze. "What if I am?"

Raffo bit his lip as she twirled her fingers into his hair. "Then I'd say you're sexy when you're jealous," he whispered, hissing through his teeth when she tugged his head back, exposing his throat to her.

"Am I?" she murmured, pressing a warm kiss to his neck. He swallowed under her crawling and a soft, strangled groan pushed through his lips.

"You are," he agreed, his hands inching farther up her thighs that widened for him subconsciously. His fingers brushed against her wet center and he groaned again. "Baby, let me take care of—"

"Shh," she whispered into his ear. Her tongue eased down his neck and her lips didn't stop their route to his powerful jaw. She did, however, have to wrap a shaky hand around his wrist to stop him from stroking her as she got wetter and wetter on his lap.

Once Ruth knew his squeezing hands would not stray from her thighs again, she moved her nimble fingers back to his shirt's buttons, eager for the bronze skin beneath it. "I wanted to do this all day," she sighed dazedly against the corner of his jaw. Once his shirt was finally open, she ran her fingertips along the incredible expanse of muscle without hesitation. He shuddered.

"Ruth," he pushed out harshly as he ground his teeth. His fingers flexed tightly around her thighs, making her sigh deliciously in his ear.

"So formal," she teased, grinding herself over the hard bulge pressing to her center. Fuck, it was torture for the both of them, but man did she love being in control sometimes. The role reversal turned them both on beyond belief, and she fucking loved it. "Is that what I like to be called?" she whispered, digging her nails into his back.

He leaned into her touch with a shiver. "N-no," he panted as she swiveled her hips and brushed against him again, lighter that time.

"If you call me by what I like, then I'll let you touch me again," she purred, resting her thong clad ass on his knees. She moved the front of her dress up and flashed him her soaked underwear.

His eyes darkened with unfiltered lust. He went to move his hand towards her center but she stopped him again with a grip of his wrist.

"Who am I?" she challenged, using her other hand to release the tangle of curls from her messy bun.

Raffo's eyes softened for a moment with an emotion she had seen that morning when they were messing around before breakfast. It was enough to force her into an invisible chokehold, and she didn't know what to think at such an intimate pull. And when his words bled into her ears, she all but swooned.

"My baby," he whispered, and that time, she didn't stop his hand from snaking between her quivering thighs. "Tell me what you want me to do," he said, giving her back the reigns. She slowly smirked, knowing he liked her being in control for now.

She gripped his wrist again and drew his hand to the area she needed him most. She impatiently moved her underwear to the side and instructed him to draw up two fingers. He did so without question and she moved her hovering hips down over him, hissing as she slowly slid down onto those long fingers. A strangled, groan shot through his lips at the feel of her tight, wet heat sliding over his suffocating fingers that curled and stretched beneath her. A dreamy glaze coasted over his vision, matching hers.

Watching Ruth use Raffo's fingers to get herself off was one of the sexiest sights either of them had ever seen. She moved one of her slender hands over her clothed breast and palmed it as she rested her other hand behind her. She rolled and used his fingers to make love to herself, and he watched on in pure amazement.

"Raff baby, right there," she whimpered as he helped angle his finger to slam repeatedly against her G-spot. Her body trembled.

And then Raffo's wild eyes grew ravenous, his fingers stilling just when she realized her mistake.

Well, that was fun while it lasted, she thought to herself as her sexy Raff baby came to the surface. The words triggered a hunger in him, a hunger that shook Ruth's dripping world and made her impossibly hotter. He moved his wet fingers out of her and she couldn't stop the whimper from leaving her lips.

Raffo wasted no time in leaning forward, swallowing the sound with the curve of his tongue and the shape of his lips against hers. His kisses left her dizzy with the sweet taste of chai still lingering on their tongues.

"Get out of that dress or I'm ripping it off of you," he growled darkly, his teeth tugging her bottom lips into his mouth.

Now that it was finally his turn, she could use his alter ego name all she wanted. "Whatever you say, Raff baby."

She purposely tugged her dress up as slowly as possible, resulting in something that both surprised and enticed her. His hand firmly came down from behind and slapped her ass, though it wasn't hard enough to actually hurt her. It was just enough pressure to remind her who the boss was and that she better get her shit in gear. A small gasp left her lips, which was promptly followed by the pushing of her ass in his hands, her dress already over her head and tossed to the side. Despite how big his hands were, there was too much soft flesh for him to grab it all completely.

"Do it again, Raff baby," she purred. "You know you wan—"

He did it again but harder than the first time. She moaned his name that time like the vixen she was and he enjoyed every damn moment of it. He unclipped her bra with one hand, tossed it over the couch, and then gripped a handful of her ass to move her forward. His lips latched onto a freely released nipple with an eagerness that stole her breath away. Her back arched, and she gasped out, her fingers wanting to wrap into the silky strands, but he spanked her again when she tried.

"Raff," she whined, her fingers gripping the couch instead.

"What baby?" he whispered, flickering his tongue against her erect nipple.

"Let me touch you," she breathed.

He chuckled darkly and left a love bite next to her nipple. "Nope," he murmured huskily, his lips crawling up her body until he got to her ear. She soaked his pants now; there was no doubt about it. "Only good girls get what they want."

Ruth shivered, absolutely in love with his dirty mouth. If he kept talking like that, she didn't even need him to touch her. She could get off on his words alone if she wanted to.

"I've been good," she fibbed, whimpering when his thumb ran over her sensitive nipple. He pinched it at her blatant lie and she gasped in his ear.

"No, you haven't," he drawled, his voice smooth as honey.

Before she could fight her case, he picked her mostly naked body up and took them to his bedroom. He flipped her over onto her front with her feet touching the ground again as he bent her over. Her fingers tightly gripped the bedsheets when he kissed along the curve of her spine and almost collapsed into the bed completely if it wasn't for his hands holding her hips in place.

He finally moved his lips from her skin, allowing her to breathe again. Those fucking lips were too intoxicating for their own good. She faintly heard his pants fall to the ground and her heart raced in anticipation. She'd been thinking about sex with Raffo all night, and she was more than ready for him to destroy her until she could barely remember her own name.

"Why were you wearing these today?" Raffo growled, his fingers running along the thin material and snapping it against her skin, causing her to jump.

Ruth turned around and looked up at him through her cascading curls, watching the desire make itself known through her lashes as she licked her lips. "I wore them for you, Raff," she said, her lips curling innocently.

He clenched the material into his hands and pulled the string up, watching her ass swallow it almost completely. His guttural groan met her ears when she playfully leaned back into the tight material, enjoying the way it pressed against her throbbing clit. She rolled her hips into it and he rewarded her with a slap to her ass cheek.

"You should wear these more often baby," he purred, using the string to command her like a marionette. He used it to move her along his length, watching her ass ripple for him as he nestled himself between her wet folds. "So pretty."

She moaned his name, moving to palm her breast as Raffo rubbed himself against her flesh. The thick shaft nearly pushed her over the edge and she tried to move her damn thong out the way. But Raffo slapped her again with his free hand.

"R-Raff, I want—"

"What the fuck did I say about that?" he demanded, his voice gruff.

She could get used to dominate Raff, she thought, biting her bottom lip as she grew even wetter. She was practically dripping down her thighs at that point, but he didn't let one drop go to waste. His fingers followed the wet line and he pushed it into his mouth, sighing in satisfaction.

"You taste so fucking good, baby," he rumbled, his tip now kissing her clit.

Ruth flew her head back, one hit away from coming all over him. Her whimper caused him to snap her drenched underwear, and she gasped loudly, having not expected that. He pulled her up again before she could finish and spun her body around.

She wrapped an arm around his neck to steady herself, her eyes taking in the sexiest man alive who stared at her like she was his entire world wrapped up in one delicious body. There was nothing she wanted more than to lean forward and kiss the hell out of him, when she remembered he ripped her underwear into two sad halves on the floor.

She pouted. "I thought you loved them?" she murmured.

"I did," he confessed, bending down to swoop an arm under her knee and pulling it up so her leg rested on his arm. Her eyes widened, knowing exactly what position he was trying to do. So much for being able to walk that week. "But not as much as I love you without them."

Ruth tightened her arm around his neck and made a strange sound that was caught between a gasp and a squeal when he slowly nudged himself up into her. Her eyes squeezed shut, and he gave her a minute to adjust to the new position, before moving himself in a little more. She was shaking now, her lip pushing between her teeth at the foreign feeling that battled between pleasure and discomfort.

She was squeezing him so tight that he had to reel in his groan of ecstasy as he retorted to sweet talking her to get her to relax.

"Relax baby," he cooed through clenched teeth, wrapping his other arm around her waist to steady her. She unclenched a little, and he pressed a sweet kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Good, aiukli. Now let me see those pretty eyes."

That one made her soften more as she fluttered her heavy eyes open. He eased himself almost completely in now and she released a heavy breath she had been holding, relief flooding through her as pleasure became the primary emotion once again. Raffo's cheeks were flushed from keeping patient with her, his eyes illuminating under the kiss of the moon through his window.

"Good girl," he rewarded her after she got her bearings. His hand fell from her waist to grip her protruding ass cheek and gave it a squeeze, making her clench around him. He cursed under his breath.

Raffo's first thrust made her head fall back and a whisper of a moan to bewitch her lips. His sigh shook her to her core. "Fuck, you were made for me," he mumbled dreamily.

She was made for him? More like he was made for her! Ruth's had good sex with almost all of her sex partners, Emily included, but sex with Raffo was otherworldly. There were no words to describe the passion, the dominance, the seduction, the enticing excitement of it all. She couldn't imagine Diana only wanting to stick with missionary when it came to that man, because he could have Ruth in a fucking pretzel and she'd still be begging for more. There was nothing better than a partner who knew exactly what they were doing with a body they knew inside and out.

He ran the tip of his tongue up her exposed throat and she pushed her hips forward, meeting his thrust that time, causing them both to shudder.

"Raff," she cried, tightening her arm around his neck. Her swollen lips trembled with curses, his name, and whimpers beyond comprehension. The new position he put her in took out all streams of coherent thought and left behind a panting woman without words.

"You look so beautiful like this, baby," he hissed, as she dug her nails into the back of his neck. Her curls tumbled all around them, spilling in dark rivers as she watched him through dark lashes. She was sure the feral lust in his eyes reflected hers.

"D-don't stop," she nearly wailed. He slammed against her favorite spot and if it hadn't been for him holding her up, her knees surely would have buckled.

"You want me to come in this pretty pussy?" he cooed, slapping her ass and she quivered. She was one thrust—or should she say word—away from coming undone.

"Please, Raff baby," she moaned, rolling her hips into him as he angled himself to go even deeper. Her free hand grabbed her breast, and he watched her fingers pinch and roll her nipple with envy.

It only took two more thrusts for Ruth to spasm and scream his name, her pussy throbbing around him. He followed right after with a sloppy slam that nearly had their teeth chattering. He groaned her name long and rough in her ear, his hips slowing to measured thrusts. Leaning forward, he captured the lips that had been calling his name all night and swept her up into a tidal wave of sweetness.

*****