Not really bothering to hide the mark that Tariq had left on her neck, Hannah threw on a simple cream-coloured tank top and a pair of light blue jeggings.

She had combed her hair up in a carefree pony tail before heading downstairs. As she made her way towards the kitchen, she heard Tariq and Damien laughing.

"There's sleeping beauty!" Mikayla smiled.

"Morning everyone," Hannah said.

Cheerful replies greeted her as she walked over to the large kitchen island where Mikayla stood, eating a breakfast roll. Humming to herself, Hannah began making a sandwich of her own out of the various things that had been laid out. Her tummy grumbled in anticipation as the scent of bacon filled her nostrils.

Damien and Tariq were sitting at the kitchen table chatting about stocks. Hannah could not help but notice the way in which Tariq would subtly glance at her ever so often. It caused her skin to tingle, the memory of his hands on her making the corner of her lips twitch.

She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling, doing her best to ignore him while she stood and ate her breakfast. She did not dare look at Mikayla, who by now was staring holes into the side of Hannah's face.

"Sooo, you just gonna waltz in here with a hickey the size of Antarctica on your neck and act like nothing happened last night?" Mikayla hissed softly as she moved closer to her best friend.

After swallowing, Hannah finally looked at Mikayla, her blue eyes gawking, "Well, I thought it was self-explanatory?"

"No way woman, we're taking this breakfast to go. I want details, now!" Mikayla grabbed her best friend and dragged her out to the balcony, making sure to close the door behind them.

Hannah muttered as she leaned against the railing, looking out at the city of London, "Could've at least let me finish eat my breakfast inside first."

Scoffing Mikayla replied, "Nope, you can eat outside! Let me not remind you of your reaction the first time Damien and I had sex."

Hannah had the audacity to snicker right there and then, not being able to stop herself at the memory. "How could I forget; you almost raped the poor man in his office.

"I did not!" Mikayla grumbled while shaking her head, "Don't try to change the subject! I thought you didn't do repeat performances? Not that I'm complaining at all, but I am shocked as shit right now. I might have actually believed you if you had told me you did it to yourself. But seeing Tariq's face light up the way it did when you entered the kitchen suggests otherwise."

"I swear, that man does not understand the meaning of being discreet," Hannah complained.

Mikayla suddenly smiled as she teased, "Well I'll be honest, Damien and I were craving some of the left over Luqaimats early this morning. So, we decided to head down into the kitchen to get some. However, we were greeted with Tariq's ass ploughing into you on our kitchen counter. You seemed to be enjoying yourself immensely."

Hannah's right hand came up to massage her temples as she momentarily closed her eyes, "Did you put something in the food by chance?"

"W-what!" Mikayla exclaimed, "Seriously? You're trying to blame this on the food. Good thing we didn't have any alcohol last night otherwise you'd have claimed to be drunk." She laughed a bit as she asked, "Can't you just admit that you wanted to fuck him again and leave it at that?"

Roughly taking another bite of her sandwich, she chewed aggressively to avoid replying. However, Mikayla continued to openly stare at Hannah until the blonde was forced to replay what transpired over the last few hours.

Mikayla's eyes widened, "I think I'm going to go out on a limb here and go as far to say that maybe subconsciously you might like him a little. After all, besides the repeat performance you've never not used a condom. So, the fact that you're riding him bare speaks volumes to me. But I won't push my luck so soon and harass you too much about it."

Hannah coughed as she mis-swallowed, Mikayla grinning as she patted her on the back.

"So, since you're doing it raw now, you'll definitely need to remember to use another form of birth control. Are you still on the pill or have you decided if you'll be switching to the implant?" Mikayla questioned.

"After going over the pros and cons, think I'll just stick with the pill. I've been using it for years and my body is accustomed to it," she replied then went onto probe, "What about you? Have you and D decided when you'll stop taking yours?"

Smiling a bit Mikayla said, "I know I was giving you talk the other day for trying to turn me into a baby making machine. But Damien and I decided that I'll stop taking the pill once we're married. The gynaecologist said that I could become pregnant almost immediately, but given the fact that I have PCOS it could take a few tries."

"Yay! I'm gonna be an aunty!" Hannah grinned.

"Hopefully," Mikayla shyly said.

Polycystic ovary syndrome otherwise known as PCOS was a condition that Mikayla had been diagnosed with. It affected a woman's hormone levels and women with this condition often produced higher-than-normal amounts of male hormones. This hormone imbalance causes them to skip menstrual periods and made it harder for pregnancy to occur.

As such, Mikayla often felt a bit insecure about her fertility.

Noting the expression on her face Hannah reassured her, "Don't worry Miks, have faith in your body, everything will be fine. Yes, you have PCOS, but you've never tried getting pregnant so you don't know if it'll be difficult or not. Just try your best not to think about anything negative. I'll be right there to support you in any way that I can."

With a sigh she nodded, "Thanks Hannah. Speaking of support." Mikayla teasingly went onto say trying to lighten the mood, "Worst case, if things don't go as planned, you can always be my surrogate."

Even though Mikayla's tone had been playful, Hannah's was not as she held her best friend's hands in hers as she said, "Miks, if it came down to that, I'd be honoured. You wouldn't even need to ask."

Mikayla choked back a sob as she laughed and suddenly hugged Hannah thanking her. The two women held each other tightly, happy tears in their eyes.

Wanting to brighten the mood even more, Hannah added between chortles, "No need to thank me Miks, you know for you I'd let you do anything to my body. Even if it means ripping my vagina apart to bring forth my Godchild."

"Oh Hannah..." Mikayla's tears spilled onto her cheeks as she laughed even louder while hugging her best friend even tighter.

————— ▲ —————

Back in the kitchen, Tariq and Damien watched the women as they talked on the balcony.

"No secret what they're chatting about," Damien chuckled softly.

Tariq nervously laughed; his eyes unable to look away from Hannah as she leaned against the balcony railing. He could not help but smile when he saw her enter the kitchen. She was so beautiful and his eyes were immediately drawn to the mark that he left on her neck.

A part of him was surprised that she chose to flaunt it. He would have thought that she would have tried to cover it up.

During the short time that he knew her, Tariq was beginning to realise that Hannah was as genuine as they came. She said what she meant, even if a bit rude at times, and did not bother to hide her actions. What you saw is what you got and it was something that he truly respected her for. The sound of Damien's voice brought Tariq out of his thoughts.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! You just met Hannah and you're already making googly eyes at her? I've never seen you look at a woman that way. This is a first!" Damien's said.

"I know, it's all new to me too," Tariq replied.

Shaking his head slightly, Damien continued, "You're my best mate and all but let me tell you. I was not expecting to see your naked ass in my kitchen this early morning. Not to mention seeing you and Hannah together like that, what the hell?"

Laughing softly as his left hand ran through his hair, "I know it's crazy! Friday night was the first time I've ever been so reckless. And you know that I always use a condom."

Using condoms had been engrained into Tariq from a very young age. Not just for health reasons, but also as a personal security. He had been taught that many women would try to get pregnant on purpose, in order to try and get access to his family's money. That was the main reason for using condoms, that and his family preferred if he did not have any children out of wedlock.

Tariq even went so far as to not even cum inside of a woman if it could be helped. A sort of double fortification as he liked to call it. Yet with Hannah, he not only went in bare, but he came inside of her, repeatedly. The thought of her being pregnant with his child not even scaring him one bit.

"Shit, I'm so fucked," Tariq muttered to himself in realisation.

Damien had a flabbergasted look on his face, "Wait! You went in raw!" he exclaimed before asking, "Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?"

Tariq ran a hand over his face as he grumbled incoherently. Damien could tell that his best friend was developing feelings for Hannah and fast.

"Tariq, that's not like you at all!" he said.

"I know, I know! It's like I said, things just got crazy Friday night and then last night," he heaved a sigh, "the same thing happened. A few times actually and I don't regret it at all. I might be in love."

"Or lust, but hey who's judging." Damien said with a grin as he looked out at the balcony.

With a smile on his face, Damien fondly remembered his own encounter with his fiancée Mikayla. When he first saw her, he could not help but feel an immediate pull. However, it was when she first walked into his office asking for a job that he knew what he felt for her was more than lust. He knew that he had to have her, no matter the cost.

Damien could tell that his best friend was going through something similar. The emotions that played across Tariq's face were clearly evident, and anyone could tell that the man was feeling something for the feisty blonde.

Looking back at Tariq, Damien had to ask, "You know that I will support you with anything. But you are aware that this is Hannah Elizabeth Cupid, right? Stubborn as an ox, potty mouth, and to my knowledge not looking to be tied down, ever. Are you sure you want to pursue whatever it is you're feeling?"

"Do you think it makes sense?" Tariq asked.

"Since when does anything involving feelings, hormones and women ever make any sense?" Damien chuckled his reply.

As Tariq gazed at Hannah once more, he mumbled, "True that my friend, true that."

"Although, if memory serves me correctly, your Jida Aziza is going to have a fit. You're supposed to bring home a nice and quiet Muslim girl remember?" Damien jested.

"Or Catholic," Tariq added with a laugh, "which I believe Hannah is if I remember last night's conversation properly."

"She is, though the jury is out on her being nice and she's definitely not quiet." he joked some more.

Tariq laughed some more as he said, "True, Hannah is definitely not the kind of woman that Jida Aziza would expect me to bring home. But Hannah is the type of woman that grows on you, you can't help but love her bluntness."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. And well, where Jida Aziza is concerned, you know very well that your grandmother loves you dearly. She'll get over it, in fact, you can always tell her that you couldn't help but follow in your father's footsteps," Damien said with a grin then enquired, "So, I take it that you'll be staying in London longer than originally stated?"

Without taking his eyes off of Hannah, Tariq simply nodded.