Calina dug her blunt nails into the skin of her neck, right over the site of Matt's kiss. Then she dropped her hand and prepared to face the music.

Italy was the last remaining secret between them. Or, at least, the last one that had any bearing on their relationship. Matt still didn't know the extent of her actions as a mind-controlled Black Widow - but as he and Katya kept telling her, she wasn't responsible for those sins.

Her actions as Calina - the free and culpable woman - were the only ones that mattered. Matt had a right to know about those - especially now that he'd given her a second chance.

As she'd stared out of the windows just now, thinking about that last remaining secret, Matt had kissed her. Almost in the exact spot Ranieri had contaminated with his lips. As if he'd somehow known what she was thinking - and what she was keeping from him.

It had solidified in an instant what she needed to do:

Come clean.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "What happened in Italy? When were you in Italy?"

Calina took his hand and led him over to the couch. They sat and faced each other, an identical tableau to the one from early today.

It seemed this couch was quickly becoming the official designated spot for difficult conversations.

Calina held Matt's hand in both of hers and stared down at their intertwined fingers as she told him the story. "About six weeks ago. We, um, found one of Volkov's associates - a man called Salvatore Ranieri. He was actually the financial backer of the whole operation - and he lived in Italy. He lives in Italy." Calina frowned as she tripped over her words.

Matt used his free hand to stroke her cheek. "Hey, its okay. Take your time."

Calina leaned into the contact for a brief moment, then continued. "We needed the information on his laptop to help us locate Volkov. So I volunteered to get it. I was best suited of all the Widows to infiltrate Ranieri's home and get close enough to him to steal the data."

She felt Matt tense up. "By 'close enough', you mean..."

"He was holding a party in his mansion. So we faked an invite and I attended under a false identity. I made sure to catch his eye, then convinced him to take me up to his room."

"Okay," Matt said slowly.

There was still tension in his frame - she could feel it in the way his hand was locked around hers - so she hurried to explain. "When we got upstairs I drugged him, then cloned his devices. But before I managed to knock him out, he- he..."

"What?"

"He touched me," Calina admitted.

"Where?" he grated out. "Where did he touch you?"

Calina spared a quick glance at his face, and could see his jaw was clenched and a deep frown marred his forehead. "You're angry," she said. "I knew you would be. I'm so sorry, Matt. Please forgive me. I know I don't deserve it - you've already given me this second chance, and now I'm asking for another. I wouldn't blame you-"

"Shut up, Calina."

Calina snapped her mouth closed, cutting off her rambling apology.

Matt cradled her cheeks with both hands and tilted her face up, pressing a kiss to her forehead. The gentle action was at odds with the irritation in his voice. "I am angry," he said. "But I'm not angry at you."

Calina frowned in confusion. "Why not?"

"Because you didn't do anything wrong."

"But I- I seduced another man."

"Did you sleep with him?"

"God, no!"

"Did you kiss him?"

"No."

"Did you want to be with him?"

"No."

"Do you want to be with anyone else?"

"No. How could you ask that? I only want to be with you."

"That's why I'm not angry at you." He stroked his thumbs across her cheeks. "I'm angry that you were put in that position again. I'm angry about how upset it made you."

When she frowned in confusion, he shook his head at her. "Do you think I can't put two and two together, sweetheart? That was the night you called me, wasn't it? On the burner phone?"

Calina dropped her eyes and nodded. "I- I didn't want to go through with it. I hated being back in that role again, so I gave in and called you. I needed to hear your voice, to remember why it was necessary. To remember that everything I did...was to get back to you."

Matt pulled her forward and kissed her, the move sudden and desperate. His hands slid from her cheeks into her hair, where he gathered the silky strands in two fistfuls. His tongue swept into her mouth, as if claiming her.

And she wanted him to claim her. She wanted to feel like she was his again. And she wanted him to know that he was hers. That she wanted no one else but him.

So she met his intensity and desperation with her own. She kissed him back and scrambled onto this lap, needing to feel him against her. He groaned as she sank down on to his hardening cock, and she swallowed the sound with satisfaction.

"Where did he touch you?" Matt repeated, his hands raking over her back.

In answer, she grabbed one of his roaming hands and moved it lower.

"Here?" he growled.

She nodded, still grinding her lower body against his. Matt flipped up the end of her borrowed shirt and placed both hands on her ass. He kneaded and squeezed her cheeks, the rough movements hovering on the pleasurable side of pain.

Calina revelled in the harsh strokes, as Matt erased the touch of that foul Italian. She tipped her head back and moaned as Matt coupled each squeeze with a thrust of his hips against hers.

"Where else?"

She tilted her head to the side and bared the spot behind her ear.

"Here?" The word vibrated against that sensitive patch of skin as his lips hovered over it.

At her nod, he bit down.

She gasped as his teeth pressed into her flesh, the move so unexpected, and so different from their previous encounters. Those had been slow and tender and loving, and exactly what she'd wanted in those moments. But right now? Right now, she wanted this. She wanted to revel in this darker side of Matt. She wanted to be marked by him. She wanted to come out of this sore, and bruised and feeling like every inch of her had been stamped by his touch.

Matt obviously felt the same. He replaced his teeth with his lips and sucked hard on the abused patch of skin until she knew she'd be left with a visible reminder of this moment for days to come.

He eventually released the suction and bathed her skin with his tongue before dragging his mouth up to her ear. "Where else?" he whispered.

Calina could barely think. She dragged her memory back to that room in Italy and replayed the incident. Then she touched the side of her breast - the only other place on her body that Ranieri had managed to violate.

Matt replaced her hand with his, stroking the curve of her breast and cupping the mound in his hand. He placed his mouth over the peak and breathed against the material of the shirt. The focus of heat made her tight nipple ache.

Then his mouth disappeared. His hand disappeared. And her shirt disappeared.

Matt whipped the garment over her head and threw it to the floor behind her. Then his mouth was against her bare skin, and he laved her breast with the same savage, wonderful attention as he did her neck.

Calina writhed on his lap, her own hands roaming over as much of Matt's skin as she could manage. She grabbed fistfuls of his hair, scraped her nails over his neck and dragged her fingers over the muscles of his arms.

"Where else?"

Calina shook her head. "Nowhere," she managed to whisper.

Matt palmed her thighs, his fingers digging into the taut muscles. "He didn't touch you here?"

Calina shook her head again.

"What about here?" He spread his hands over her abdomen, then curved his fingers around her waist, clutching at her skin. He used his grip to pull her against his cock in one sharp, all-too-fleeting movement.

Calina moaned as the insistent, impatient need between her legs began to build and build. She tried to rock against him again, but he held her back with his grasp on her waist.

"Answer me, Calina."

"No," she gritted out. "He didn't touch me there."

"What about here?" Matt shoved one hand beneath the waistband of her underwear and plunged two fingers inside her.

Calina cried out as every muscle in her body went tight. Her thighs clenched around his. She clamped down on his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin, as he brought her to the brink with that sudden move.

His clever fingers curled and pressed into that spot, then his thumb swiped over her clit...and it was all over.

She broke on a sob, her toes curling with the pleasure as it bloomed within her. Matt continued to press against her nub, prolonging the sensation, building it back up with rougher and quicker movements until she came again.

Oversensitised now, she pulled away from his hand, panting and shuddering as the aftershocks sparked through her body. She sat back on Matt's thighs, her hands still clutching at his shoulders in a death grip.

She watched in a daze as Matt brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked on them. His tongue darted out to lick at the moisture and he closed his eyes in obvious rapture at the taste.

That sight alone caused another aftershock to rock through her.

"Stand up," Matt rasped.

Calina doubted her legs could support her, but the command in his voice was too powerful to ignore. She scrambled off his lap and to her feet. Matt skimmed his hands down her sides, hooked his fingers in her panties and dragged them down her legs. His hair brushed her abdomen as he reached down to guide her feet out of the scrap of lace. She brushed her fingers through the soft strands and waited for his next instruction.

It came silently this time. He pressed his fingers into the back of her left knee, urging her leg up so her foot rested on the couch beside him. The movement opened her core, baring more of her, putting her at his mercy.

He dipped his head back down and breathed deeply, moaning as more of her scent filled his senses. He flicked his tongue against her skin, just above her mound, his intentions clear. But she jerked back. "I- I can't," she stuttered. "I can't take any more."

"It's okay. I'll be gentle," he murmured against her skin. "I just want to taste you. I need it."

God, she couldn't resist him when he said things like that. And the way he looked right now - cheeks flushed and lips wet - he was too fucking hot to deny.

So she braced herself on his shoulders as he leaned down and licked between her legs. He started low, away from her oversensitive clit, lapping at the moisture over her lips and on her thighs. He bathed her skin with hot strokes and hummed with pleasure as he worked. She could almost feel the vibrations, her nerve endings so alive to his touch. He kept licking, moving closer and closer to her core, his grip on her ass tightening as he tilted her up to his mouth.

Then he was there. His agile, wonderful tongue entered her, and the sudden burst of pleasure dragged a moan out of her. She felt his smug smile against her sex as he continued to worship her with his mouth.

And her body betrayed her completely. Despite her earlier protests, she surrendered to the moment. She started grinding against him, small, tight movements that she couldn't control, as she chased another climax.

He noticed the change, and urged her on. One hand skimmed up her body to cup her breast, and he tweaked and played with the tight nipple as his other hand stroked over her ass and down her thigh to the sensitive skin behind her knee.

And his mouth moved too. He dragged his tongue slowly, slowly up, until he reached her aching clit. He circled around the tight, throbbing nub, teasing her with feathery, barely-there touches until she groaned in frustration.

"What do you want, Calina?" He spoke the words against her, his voice bathing her in heat.

"You," she moaned.

"You have me."

She tried to thrust against him, seeking the pressure from his tongue, but he held her in place, both hands now clamping her hips.

"What do you want?" he asked again. He sounded maddeningly calm while she was crawling out of her skin with need.

But his body betrayed him too. The fingers pressing into her skin trembled. Sweat beaded at his hairline and his hard length tented the fabric of his sweats. He needed her as much as she needed him. But it was clear he wouldn't give in to his own desire until he satiated hers. So she put them both out of their misery. "Make me come, Dusha moya, please."

It was a command and a desperate plea all at once.

And it worked. Matt's tongue went from teasing to determined in an instant as he stroked and pressed and flicked at her clit. He shoved himself off the couch and sank to the floor, his strong arms keeping her steady as she staggered back at the sudden movement. The new position gave him more leverage, and he used it to full advantage, narrowing all his focus to that tiny spot between her legs.

Within moments, she was rising to the peak for the third time. Her breath came in pants and gasps as he worked his magic. She grasped his hair between her fingers and pulled on the strands, trying to anchor herself as her body flew apart. She came on a cry, her whole body shuddering as she tipped over the edge.

Her legs turned to jelly and she collapsed down onto Matt's lap in a boneless sprawl. He took her weight with a grunt and held her tightly. All she could hear was the rush of her heartbeat pounding in her ears, and all she could feel was her core clenching around empty nothingness as the climax pulsed through her body.

She wanted that emptiness to be filled. She wanted Matt inside her.

And she wanted to make him feel the way she felt right now.

She fumbled with the waistband of his sweats and dragged it over his erection. She took a second to admire the thick, hard length before she wrapped her hand around him, pressed up on her knees and guided him inside.

He moaned, a long, masculine sound, as she sank down. Her walls gripped him, the spasms tightening around him, and she relished the feeling of fullness. She slid up slowly, teasing him the way he'd teased her, then dropped down to the hilt, taking all of him inside. He clenched her to him, one hand on her ass, the other under the curtain of her hair, grasping the back of her neck.

She set a slow, languid pace as she rode him. He met each downward slide with a thrust of his hips, grinding his cock into her. She tipped her head back, loving the sensation of being wrapped up in him, surrounded by him.

His tongue darted out to lap at the beads of sweat gathering at the base of her throat. "I missed you," he whispered against her heated skin. "I missed you so much, sweetheart."

"Me too," she breathed, rocking faster and faster. He raced with her, the grip on her ass tightening as he moved with her.

Until he inevitably needed more.

He surged up to his knees, twisted the two of them to the side, then laid her flat. The moment her back hit the hardwood floor, the pace skyrocketed. His powerful thighs drove him into her again and again, each thrust forcing a gasp of pleasure to escape her lips. She hitched her legs up and around his waist and held on as he lost control.

He braced one hand on the floor beside her head and hooked the other over her shoulder, keeping her in place as he pumped his hips against hers in a relentless, delirious, exhilarating rhythm. She held on, letting him use her body to seek his own release, urging him on with whispered encouragement. "That's it, mi amor. Harder. Just let go, baby."

With one last powerful thrust, he came.

He stayed locked within her for a few moments as he recovered, and she relished the feel of his warm, hard body covering hers. Then he rolled off her, and the two of them lay together on the hard wood floor, their hands entwined.

Calina licked her lips. Swallowed, and searched for her voice. "I like your version of taking things slow."

Matt laughed, and she smiled at the joyous, carefree sound. She really loved making him laugh.

He tugged on her hand, pulling it towards him until he could press a kiss to the back of it. "Maybe we just give ourselves today? Then start slow tomorrow."

Calina shook her head, still smiling widely. "That doesn't exactly make sense."

"Nothing about us doesn't make sense."

"That really doesn't make sense," she giggled. She felt almost drunk with joy. Giddy and silly and so, so happy.

It was such a stark contrast to the last time they were both sprawled out on this floor - not least because she was completely naked this time, and basking in afterglow. Back then they hadn't even been friends. She'd spent weeks obsessing over him from afar, but he'd rebuffed even her mild attempts to get close to him.

Until that one fateful night...

"What are you thinking?" Matt asked softly.

Calina told him the truth. "I was thinking about the last time we were here - laid out on this floor, sweating and panting."

"Sweetheart, we've never done it on the floor before. Not that I haven't thought about it - I have, believe me. As well as the kitchen counter, the shower, that wall over there, the dining table-"

Calina swatted him with the back of her hand and laughed at his list of fantasies. "I meant the fight we had. After I was dosed with the mind control serum."

"Oh that."

"Did you ever think we'd go from beating each other up, to screwing each others brains out?"

"Yes."

The answer came immediately. And with such certainty, it made Calina frown and stare at his profile. "Really?"

"Really. Why do you think I fought against us so hard? Deep down, I knew we would always end up here. Right from the start."

She scoffed. "From the start? Are you saying it was love at first sight?"

"That would be quite the feat for a blind man," he joked. "It was more like love at first scent."

He brought her wrist up to his nose and breathed deep. "I fucking love the way you smell." His voice dipped into that low register that drove her wild, and when he trailed a line of kisses down the sensitive skin of her forearm, she felt the spark of passion reignite.

For the fourth time.

God, he was going to be the death of her.

He rolled to his side and continued the trail of kissed along her collarbone, and down between her breasts. He nuzzled her belly, his stubbled jaw catching on her soft skin. The tiny scrapes and scratches only added to her growing desire.

"What are you doing down there?" she asked, her own voice sounding deep and husky with lust.

"I figure if we're going to start slow tomorrow, we'd better make today count."

He started inching lower, his destination and intention clear.

But it was her turn to play. She was conscious of the fact that she was completely naked, while he was pretty much fully dressed - evidence that she hadn't had her chance to enjoy his body to the fullest.

But round 2 was going to change that.

She stopped Matt's downward descent by tugging lightly on his hair.

He looked up and frowned at her. "You don't agree?"

"Oh I agree. But I have something different in mind."

The frown turned into a dirty grin. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

Calina rolled the two of them over, until he was the one on his back and she was straddling his thighs. "Well, you mentioned something about a shower. And the dining table. And that wall over there...but first, I want you naked."

"That can be arranged," Matt replied, whipping his t-shirt over his head.

Calina survey the expanse of skin, all the more beautiful for the marks of survival that scarred the surface. Then she hooked her fingers in the waistband of his sweats again, dragged them down his long legs and flung them aside.

She took in the full effect, wishing she was an artist and could capture his beautiful form in ink and paint for all eternity. While she looked her fill, Matt laced his fingers behind his head and relaxed under her scrutiny. The move accentuated his muscled arms and tightened the ridges of his six pack, making him look even more delectable.

Which meant he probably did it on purpose, the cocky bastard.

Calina smiled and shook her head. "Enjoying yourself?"

He shrugged. "I'd enjoy myself more if you touched instead of stared."

Calina scooted down his legs until her mouth was even with his hardening erection. "Oh, I'm going to do more than just touch."

She wet her lips, dipped her head, and fulfilled her promise.