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Søren slaainst the wall and wrenched her skirt up In seconds he was deep inside her Nora wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on to him as if her life depended on it, and in that ain…if she ever walked away froh to coernails into his shoulders, gasped his naave herself over to the brutal thrusts that would leave her bruised, inside and out

When she came, she breathed his name with her eyes closed And even after he’d spent himself inside her, he still held her in his arms, pinned to the wall

"My little one," he whispered as he kissed her cheek, her eyes

Slowly he pulled out of her and lowered her to the floor They straightened their clothes as their bodies disentangled Holding her breath, Nora waited

She didn’t have to wait long

Søren took a step backward And then another

"Hands and knees," he said and Nora knelt gracefully on the floor

He’d asked her two years ago on their anniversary how she would come back to him if she ever returned to his bed

If you come back to me, little one, will you run, or will you crawl?

I’ll fly, she’d answered

Tonight as she returned to him, she crawled

Michael spent nearly three days in Griffin’s bedroom They cali back into bed The second night together, Griffin strung Michael to the bedpost and flogged hiht Nora had a vicious flogging ar his wrists tattooed hadn’t hurt thatscared hi with Griffin The sex part took a little getting used to but the incredible pleasure of having Griffin inside hi The S&M they would figure out The love…the love he had no complaints about Michael basked in Griffin’s love, ed it in, let his heart that had been so thirsty for affection drink in every drop Every ht he said the same And all Michael had to do was come anywhere near Griffin’s reach if he wanted to be pulled into the twoarms he’d ever encountered in his life Ever since his suicide attempt, Michael had felt near-constant loneliness, anxiety, and a sense that while people like Father S and Nora would understand him, no one ever truly loved him But with Griffin he finally felt loved, at peace and safe

But on day three, Griffin did and said the one thing guaranteed to shatter Michael’s bliss

"I don’t do secret relationships, Mick If we’re going to do this, I want to meet your mom Pack up We’re out of here"

The words were said in a tone that brooked no challenge Michael had known it was too good to be true anyway Once Griffin sa truly huins were--the tiny house, the ten-year-old car in the driveway, the shabby furniture--he’d realize how different they were and how little Michael belonged in Griffin’s world