*****Sexual content*****

"Push this button to go, and move the controller like this to steer," Zack coached.

Val was looking at the small controller in her hand with consternation. They were currently sitting on some camping chairs in his basement apartment in front of a large TV. She had known as soon as she walked in that he lived alone, and furniture was not his priority. Alone, other than a scraggly black cat with a missing ear and scar running across her eye that was.

Val concentrated on the screen as a character on a floating cloud came down to start the race. Val mashed down the go button on the green light and watched all the cartoony characters speed by her mushroom man on a cart. Coming to a curve, she tilted her controller but rammed into the barricade. Getting back on course she immediately ran over what appeared to be a banana peel and her little dude spun out of control.

"You didn't warn me about bananas," Val yelled.

She jerked to the side on another corner and zipped by a monkey with a tie spinning out of control.

"Try to run through the boxes with question marks," Zack encouraged.

She followed his instructions and watched curiously as a previously blank slot cycled through different symbols before settling on three red shells. She peaked at Zack's screen long enough to see he was in first place compared to her measly eighth. Another racer, this one in a frilly pink dress and wearing a crown, came up and smashed into her player.

"Red shells, nice," Zack said. "Push this button and they'll surround you. They block things coming at you or you can shoot them at people."

Val followed the commands and laughed when the guy with a spiky shell shot straight up on impact. Seventh place, they were getting somewhere now. She giggled as she hit another banana peel and lost another shell but did not spin out.

Passing another racer, she started to admit the appeal of the game to herself. It was exciting trying to beat the other players despite all the setbacks. A thrill built as she moved up to fourth place and the floaty guy came back with a sign that said final lap.

A squid suddenly bounced across the screen and ejected a black smear that blocked most of her view. Val's racer started bouncing off obstacles she could not see and collided with another racer. She jumped in excitement as she climbed into third place and the smear fell away. She was neck and neck with another racer when she crossed the finish line and her mushroom man jumped for joy and second place appeared.

"Yes!" Val shouted as she pumped her fist into the air.

She exuberantly threw her arms around Zack and squeezed him with glee. Zack laughed at her excitement and hugged her back. Jolene, the cat, had jumped at Val's explosive movement but now looked at her disdainfully.

"Again," Val demanded.

"Okay, okay," Zack said. "I think I may have created a monster."

"Yes, this is way more fun than I thought," Val agreed.

She looked at the screen with determination as the countdown to the next race began. Following Zack's lead, she mashed down the go button slightly before the green light and shot off like a bottle rocket. She was riding neck to neck with him, violently jerking to the side on turns until the second lap when she found another banana peel.

Val screamed her agony as three racers zipped by and she tried to catch up. Zack gloatingly laughed until a missile struck him and he went flying off the screen. Val hooted triumphantly as she discovered the mushrooms gave her a boost of speed and climbed back to second.

Val was glad now for the torrential downpour outside. She had been bummed when Zack called off the hike he had promised her. She had been looking forward to the excursion all week and had wanted to see how the waterfall would compare to the Waterfall of Broken Glass. The picture she had looked up on the internet had shown a rainbow at the bottom, but she doubted it could compare to the multitude of prisms she was accustomed to.

She had also been looking forward to the escape to sort through the muddle of emotions she was experiencing. Alexander had been true to his word, stopping himself from any more inappropriate actions despite the hunger she still saw in his eyes. The more she saw him fight his urges during their new morning ritual of cooking lessons, the more she did not want him to hold back.

It had thrown her off the second morning when he had greeted her with a cup of coffee. The demon part of her had suspected an ulterior motive but the human part of her had been touched to see the effort he was putting forward. Each day the rest of the week had started the same. Alexander bidding her good morning as he handed her coffee, trying to cook breakfast and her saving the meal, and then him giving her a platonic hug and thanking her.

On top of that, he had been coming home on time instead of making her come to the office now. The kids had been regaling her all week with stories of what they had done with their father after hours. He had taken them to the movies, gone to the indoor garden on the thirty-third floor and played tag with them, and he had even built a fort in the living room where they had a dart gun war.

His whole demeanor seemed to have transformed and he was now mostly relaxed in her presence. He had become more engaged in their comings and goings, randomly stopping by to check up on them. He had become at ease with his children, often joking and laughing with them now.

More disturbing to her had been the feeling of belonging she felt. She found herself rising in the morning excited for her moments alone with Alexander and then her adventures with the twins. She no longer felt like an interloper in their world.

As Val came in second place for a third time, she also considered the conundrum that was Zack. He was sweet and kind. While Alexander had been the scalding hot burner, Zack was like the pot of water that slowly heated over time. He was just as crazy as Alexander but in a different way.

Worse, her body was screaming for relief from all the torment but finding a random partner had lost all appeal. She was also battling with the new concept of how her actions may upset someone else. The thought of finding a one night horizontal partner somehow felt like it would be a betrayal to him.

"I've never dated anyone before," Val blurted out.

Zack froze on his controls and Val's character zoomed by to claim first place.

"You never went on a date...before me?" Zack asked in disbelief.

"No, I have," Val said exasperated. "I just always fucked them then forgot them before."

Zack blinked several times as he tried to process the information. He set down his controller and rotated to her, giving her his undivided attention.

"So, to be clear, you have been on several dates," Zack stated. "Just not with the intention to get to know someone beyond their body for the night."

Val was embarrassed as a flush crept up her neck. She found herself unable to meet his eyes as she nodded her head. That had been perfectly normal in Hell, now she found herself doubting her own upbringing for the first time.

Zack put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up to look at him.

"Hey now," Zack coaxed. "I'm not judging, I'm just trying to understand."

There was a stinging in Val's eyes, and she realized with dismay she was crying. She had never felt shame before, and she did not like this rock hard feeling in the pit of her stomach. She did not like that she suddenly had doubts about herself and might come up short in his opinion.

Zack leaned in and kissed away the tear that escaped and started to trail down her cheek. Warmth suffused her at the tender action, and she was even more confused. He held her face in his hands as he looked her square in the eye.

"It doesn't matter Val," Zack said.

Something unlocked in Val at the words and a weight she did not realize she had been feeling suddenly lifted off her shoulders. Zack rotated her body to face him and pulled her close, moving her legs to wrap around his hips as he hugged her.

"You're telling me this for a reason," Zack said. "What is going on in that brain of yours."

"I don't know the rules, I don't know how this works," Val told him.

Zack laughed gently as he leaned in to kiss her. He laughed again as he pulled away, but Val tried to pull him back for more.

"This works however we decide it works," Zack told her.

"I don't know what that means," Val complained.

"It means there is no rulebook per se, we get to make up our own rules," Zack said lightly.

"So, it is okay if I have had sex with someone else since our first date?" Val questioned.

"Have you?" Zack demanded, pulling back slightly.

Val shook her head in denial but was acutely aware of the sharp jab in her chest at his withdrawal. Zack let a low growl as he suddenly kissed her with a possessiveness she had not experienced from him before. The slow burn that had built up over the last couple of weeks exploded into an inferno.

Val kissed him back with a ferocity and desperation she had never experienced before. She grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it up. Zack broke away from the kiss long enough to yank it over his head and discard it before repeating the action with her.

He rolled to the side while kissing her and cushioned the back of her head with his hand. The cold floor underneath her was a stark contrast to his heat on her front. She shivered as he pulled back and looked down at her.

"Is something wrong?" Val asked when he stayed there.

"I want to kiss every inch of you, but I can't decide where to start," Zack rasped.

Val smiled as she pulled him back down and guided his lips back to hers. Needing air, she broke the kiss and pointed to the base of her jaw.

"How about here," she suggested.

Zack smiled and kissed her lips before training to the spot she had indicated.

"And then?" he asked.

His free hand traced up her side and Val found herself moaning as she trailed a finger down her throat to her pulse point. Zack's lips obligingly followed as his hand traced back down to her hip and squeezed. Another moan escaped as his lips followed the path of her finger along her collarbone.

Zack reached up and began pulling the strap of her bra down and she arched up. He reached under her to fumble with the clasp as his mouth followed her finger to the swell of her breast. Val felt ready to explode by the time he successfully unhooked the bra.

Val sighed in relief as he began pulling her breasts free and tracing a spiraling path inward to one nipple. His lips blazed their way across to her other breast and he finally flicked his tongue across the tight bud. Val arched toward him again as she delved her fingers into his hair and moaned again.

"I could listen to that all day," Zack told her.

He grinned up at her wickedly before returning his attention to her breast and taking the whole nipple in his mouth. Val dug her nails into his shoulder as she writhed under his ministrations. Zack let out his own groan as she lifted her hips and rubbed against his hard length.

He grabbed one of the pillows and placed it under her head, freeing his hand to trail down her abdomen and pop the button of her jeans. She whimpered as his mouth released her nipple and cut a line down her stomach as he began tugging on her pants. Val lifted her hips and helped push as he yanked her panties down with them and discarded them as well.

Zack sat back on his heels and drank in the sight of her laid out before him. He leaned forward and balanced himself over her with one arm while the other hand skirted along the length of her body. She had been engrossed in the feelings he had been evoking from her body but now she noticed the slight tremble of his hand, the hesitancy about what to do next.

"Zack, we don't have to do this if you don't want to," Val whispered. "I'll still like you."

Zack let out a self-derisive laugh before giving her a languorous kiss.

"Am I doing that poor of a job?" he asked her.

"No," Val protested. "I'm just giving you an out before you take away all my brain function."

The way Zack smiled down at her in that moment had her juices flowing as her desire coiled tighter.

"Show me how you want to be touched," Zack pleaded.

The desperation she was feeling leeched out in his voice and her desire increased tenfold. Val reached up and pulled his lips back to hers as she guided his hand south. She groaned as his fingers slid between her folds and grazed the bud of her womanhood.

"So wet," Zack crooned. "That means I'm doing good."

"Yes," Val laughed. "Very good."

Val felt confidence building in Zack as he explored her core with his fingers and began trailing back to her breast with his mouth. One of his fingers dipped inside her and her hips bucked reflexively as she moaned louder. Sensing success, he dipped a second finger in while his thumb lightly circled her sensitive nub.

He was driving her crazy with his explorations as his lips kissed and licked a path down to the crease of her hip. He nudged a leg to the side and kissed the sensitive flesh on the inside of her thigh. Val dug her fingers into his hair and guided his mouth to replace his thumb.

Zack's mouth latched onto her and suckled lightly before he began flicking with his tongue. Val began to squirm uncontrollably as she felt her climax nearing and he placed an arm across her lower belly to lock her in place. Val screamed as her release rocketed through her body and she strained to breathe.

Zack looked exceedingly pleased with himself as he lifted himself back up and crawled up the length of her. Val was trying to get her breathing and heartbeat back under control as she reached down to undo his pants. She wanted more of him, she wanted all of him.

"I'm still doing good?" he asked with a smile.

"I can't feel my lips and toes," Val said breathlessly.

"I'll take that as a yes," Zack said.

Val pushed his pants past his hips and gasped as his hard length sprung free. Zack closed his eyes and slowly released his breath as she grabbed hold of his velvet lined steel and slowly began to stroke up and down. Bringing up her legs, she used her feet to help push his pants down while continuing to stroke.

Zack looked down and watched her hand stroking him as he kicked off his pants the rest of the way. Val widened her legs as she grabbed his backside with her other hand and guided him to her entrance. Zack clenched his jaw as he slowly began sliding into her until Val lost her patience. She hooked a leg around him and pulled him in tight.

They both gasped as he filled her completely. He put his forehead to hers and closed his eyes while he slowly started to withdraw. His skin shone with perspiration as he started sliding in and out of her, trying to match the rhythm of her hips.

Zack halted abruptly and glared at his pants as his phone suddenly started ringing. Val turned his head back in her direction and kissed him deeply, tasting herself on his lips. Zack resumed his motions, tilting his hips slightly as he fully seated himself, eliciting new moans from her.

He growled as his phone began ringing again and he tried to ignore it. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her hips as he brought up his legs for better leverage. Val sensed he was trying to hold back as the cords of his neck strained and she felt his cock pulsing within her.

His movements became more determined as he pulled an arm from under her and reached between them to stroke again. Her body strained as she felt another orgasm building quickly. She dug her heels into the floor and began pushing against his thrusts to take him deeper as he sat back and watched their movements.

"You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he told her.

On his next thrust, the dam building in Val broke and she called out his name as pleasure exploded through her. Zack grabbed both her hips as he thrust in one more time and stiffened as he spilled into her, throwing his head back as he let out a groan with his release. He let out a triumphant laugh before he looked down at her with a grin ear to ear.

"I was scared I would explode as soon as you touched me," he admitted.

Val found herself laughing too but suddenly stopped at the sound of Zack's phone ringing again. Zack angrily reached over and dug out his phone from his pants and turned it off. He looked back at her apologetically.

"Someone must have called out, that is my boss," Zack explained. "I have no intentions of leaving this place anytime soon though."