It wasn't long before the police knocked on the door and took him into custody.

"Can I go, please," Maria begged, desperate to get out of the room where she was held captive.

"Sure, go ahead. Caleb is downstairs. You did great, hun," Constable Harry said, patting her on the shoulder. "You guys can finally get your lives back to normal now."

"I certainly hope so, Constable," Maria replied, giving him a tired smile. Now that her adrenaline high was dipping, her entire body ached, and she felt like she could sleep for days on end.

Constable Mathews, one of the lady cops that she hasn't met before, escorted her downstairs to make sure that she didn't fall down after all she'd been through. She tried to say she was okay, but after a stumble or two over her own feet, she gave up and accepted the help she offered.

When they reached the main floor, and she stepped out of the lobby doors, she took a deep breath, breathing in the fresh air. Maria spotted Caleb inside a cop car and raced over to him just as he was getting out.

"Get these things off me," he demanded, holding his cuffed hands out to the closest officer, relief evident in his features. As soon as he was free, he pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. "I thought I'd lost you."

Maria broke down crying. She'd never been so happy to see someone in her entire life. He'd become her rock, her cornerstone in this strange new world. "I was so scared."

"They wouldn't let me inside. I wanted to help. I wanted to rescue you," he said, framing her face in the palm of his hands, tears dripping down his cheeks. "What happened in there?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I just want to be with you," she replied, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Caleb took her hand and walked over to Constable Harry. "Are we free to go?"

"Yes, just keep your phones close in case we have any other questions."

With that, he waved down a taxi and told the driver where to go. In the backseat, he didn't care whether the cab driver could see or not, he pulled her onto his lap and slid his hands behind her neck, pulling her lips to his. She eagerly slipped her tongue into his mouth, holding onto his shoulders for support as she straddled him.

His dick hardened as she rubbed against him, making him crave to be inside her, to feel her warmth wrap around him as he took her again and again. He knew, without a doubt, that this was the woman he wanted to spend his life with.

"Marry me," he murmured against her lips.

"That isn't the most romantic of proposals you know," she said, her lips curling into a grin.

"Well, I just about lost you, and I don't want to waste any more time." He asked her before, but she wanted to wait until everything was over and now it was. He couldn't think of any other reason not to now. "Please."

Maria pulled back and studied him, her eyes glimmering in the dim light of the cab. "Only you and me forever?"

"There will never be anyone else as long as I live."

She wiped the tears of joy from her eyes. "I'll marry you, but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"My dad is big on this ask for my daughter's hand type thing."

Caleb groaned. "You want me to ask your Father if I can marry you?"

He couldn't believe that people still had that archaic way of thinking, but it was a small thing in the great scheme of things.

"Yes. It would mean a lot to him," she replied, placing her hands on his chest.

"What are the odds he'll say yes?"

Maria shrugged, her eyes twinkling with laughter. "It might take some convincing."

"Can't we just take off somewhere and elope?"

She slugged him in the shoulder as she climbed off his lap to sit next to him. "My parents would kill me."

"Did they mind you moving in with me?"

Maria turned to look out the window and mumbled, "They don't know."

"You never told them?"

"You don't know my parents. They are church going and strict to boot. I had a hard enough time moving to another town, let alone getting their permission to move in with a guy."

He could already tell that his chances of getting a yes from her father were slim to none, especially after he found out that Caleb deflowered his daughter. He leaned his head back against the headrest and groaned again.

"You'll survive. Don't worry," she said, resting her head against his chest, letting out a huge yawn. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close as the cab drove through the streets of Peterson.

She was just drifting off when the cab pulled up to his place. With Harley caught and put away for good, they could finally return to his home instead of staying with Nathan. He wanted to get her into his bed and show her just how much he loved her.

"Rise and shine, Tweetie," Caleb said softly.

"Does that mean I can still call you Sylvester?" she asked sleepily, her mouth breaking into a yawn. She could barely keep her eyes open as he lifted her from the vehicle. "I can walk."

"I'm sure you can, but I'm helping you along," he said, giving her a quick kiss as he kicked the cab's door closed. She looked pale and ready to sleep for week. And suddenly he felt like a heel for wanting her to expend more energy for him after what she'd been through. If all he could do was lay down beside her and hold her tight, then that was enough for him.

They had their entire lives for hanky panky, and he had a feeling a lot of lovemaking was in their future. His eyes suddenly widened and his heart skipped a beat as he looked at her again and then at her belly, and in that moment he almost dropped her. They'd been making love and he never used protection. In all his life, there was only one other time he'd made that mistake and it was with Karen.

They briefly touched on the topic of birth control, but he never really followed up on it, and now he felt stupid. Utterly and pathetically stupid. If she got pregnant, would Maria do what Karen did? Would she betray him like that? The thought twisted his stomach in knots, enough so that his second head decided to go temporarily into hiding.

He'd have to get her tested as soon as possible. He knew she was clean health wise since she was a virgin when she came to him, and he was clean after his last check, but why the hell didn't the need to use protection cross his mind was beyond him. It wasn't like he was a kid for god sakes. He knew the risks.

Laying Maria on the bed, he sat down on the chair and watched her, her hair flowing across his pillow, her eyes already closed as she breathed out a cute little sigh. The sound wrapped itself around his heart, drawing him even further into her spell, but there was that little inkling of distrust that waged a war within him.

She wasn't like Karen, but he knew Maria came from a strict home and after everything she's been through, she might not have the strength to reveal one more thing if she somehow wound up pregnant.

But she did agree to marry him, so maybe that would tip the scale. If they got married, kids were inevitably a part of that deal. Right? Would she think the same thing if he brought up the topic?

He couldn't peg her as someone who would murder their child, but he knew that a frightened woman was capable of anything, even things they wouldn't normally do otherwise.

Oh god. He needed a drink. Standing up, he left the room and walked over to the bar, pouring himself a glass of whisky. He didn't generally go for the hard stuff, but tonight it suited his mood. Once he had his drink, he sat down on the couch.

The thought of her being pregnant kind of excited him. They were getting married after all, but the fear of what she might do if she found out before they tied the knot worried him. Should he talk to her or let it flow naturally?

He knew for sure though that if she wasn't on birth control, he would have to wear the stinking condoms until they were officially trying for kids. He hated the things. You could hardly feel anything. Flesh against flesh was the best feeling in the world. There was nothing like her muscles clamping down on his shaft, the feel of her arousal coating him, warm and wet. Just thinking about it made him harden.

Caleb wasn't sure how long he sat there for, contemplating sex, life, death, and babies, but it was long enough for the ice cubes in his whisky to melt and the liquid to grow warm. Running a tired hand down his face, he laid his head back and a quick flash of a little girl with Maria's hair zipped through his mind.

She was the spitting image of what he thought Maria would have looked like as a kid, and one name entered his mind, Ava—like a bird. It would always remind the two of them of how they met. He knew then what their first daughter would be called. Just then, a hand dropped on his shoulder and he looked up into Maria's sleepy face.

"Are you coming to bed?" she asked shyly.

"I didn't want to disturb you," he said, pulling her onto his lap. She was no longer wearing her daytime clothes. She only had a blanket wrapped around her body naked body. Caleb found an opening and ran his hand along the bare skin of her leg, discovering the moisture in between.

Her head rolled back and she moaned at his touch. "Consider me delightfully disturbed."

"How are you always wet and ready for me?"

"My body likes you I guess," she replied, stifling a yawn.

"I should let you sleep. You've been through a lot today."

"I want you now, Caleb," she said. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard her loud and clear.

Letting the blanket fall from her shoulders, he unwrapped his present, taking a moment to savor her smooth skin against the back of his knuckles. Tossing the blanket to the floor, he helped her straddle him. "Don't have to tell me twice."

Reaching down, Maria unbuttoned his pants and pulled down the zipper. Her hand slid inside and took a hold of his erection, carefully freeing it from the confines of his boxers. "Looks like you are always ready for me too," she said, running her finger along the length of him before lowering herself onto him, taking him deep inside her.

He watched as her eyes closed and she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, biting on it as she rocked against him. Taking her breast in his hand, he lowered his mouth, running his tongue over her nipple before sucking gently.

He felt her contract around him as he did so and the ache in his loins increased a hundred fold. Knowing she was hot for him made him almost shoot his load already. But he wanted to wait, wait until she cried out with her release.

Think math questions. What's the square root of pie? Just then, she leaned back, changing the angle and her hand dropped to her clit. He sat mesmerized as her hand moved in hypnotic circles. He could even feel the movement against his cock.

Pleasure built inside him, like a dam waiting to burst."Wait, Maria. Stop," he moaned, his shaft pulsating almost painfully as he tried to hold off, but it was like trying to stop a tsunami. Once it started its journey, one was powerless to stop it. "I'm coming, hun. I can't help it."

"Me, too!" she cried out, bucking against him again and again as her body rocked with orgasmic convulsions, her muscles gripping him hard, intensifying his own release. And just as he shot his seed into her, he remembered his resolution to use a condom.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, his head resting between her breasts, both breathing hard. He couldn't believe that even after the struggle in his mind from before that he still forgot to use his proper head. Could there be a part of him that didn't care if she got pregnant, ready to accept the possibility of being a father again?

He needed to know where she stood on the topic. Before he even pulled out, he said, "Hun, we need to talk."

----

A/N

Men! They always pick the worst times to talk, eh. *Lol*