Theo pulled the back door shut with a click that felt louder than a gunshot, then froze, listening. Nothing but the hum of the refrigerator and the distant murmur of voices from the living room. He crossed the driveway in his sock feet, gravel biting through the thin cotton, and slid into the passenger seat of Penny's Lexus.

The interior smelled like her—expensive perfume and the faint ghost of cigarette smoke she'd deny if asked. The engine was running, the dashboard lights casting her face in green glow. She'd rolled the window down just enough to watch the house, and when she turned to him, that sharp red-lipstick smile was already in place.

"You took your sweet time." Her hand landed on his thigh, fingers walking upward with practiced ease. "I was starting to think you'd rather stay in your room and think about the ghost."

"The ghost was very convincing." He watched her fingers climb higher, felt himself harden against the seam of his jeans. "Scared the hell out of me."

She laughed, low and dirty, and her palm pressed flat against his cock through the denim. "Liar." The locks clicked shut, one by one, a sound he'd come to associate with the beginning of everything good. "You know what I was thinking about while I was hiding in your closet?"

"The panties you ruined?"

"Among other things." She squeezed, and his breath caught. "I was thinking about how you looked when you came—that little gasp you make, like you're surprised it's real every single time."

His hand covered hers, pressing her palm harder against him. "And what else?"

The porch light flicked on, a sudden yellow bloom across the driveway. Penny's fingers froze mid-squeeze, her eyes going wide as a deer caught in headlights. Richard's silhouette filled the doorway, cardigan hanging open, squinting at the dark yard.

"Sam!" His father's voice boomed across the lawn. "Did you see where I put the remote? It was right here—no, it was—" The door swung shut, cutting off the rest of his sentence.

Neither of them breathed. Penny's grip stayed tight on his cock, a promise and a threat all at once, her knuckles white against the denim. The porch light clicked off. Darkness folded back around them like a blanket someone had pulled too tight.

"Jesus," she whispered, but her hand started moving again, slow and deliberate. "Your dad is going to be the death of me."

"You started this." His head fell back against the headrest, hips shifting into her palm. "You're the one who locked the doors."

"I'm the one who's about to owe you a new pair of jeans." Her fingers found his button, worked it open with practiced ease. The zipper's rasp was obscenely loud in the quiet car. "Consider these ruined too."

Theo's hand shot out, fumbling for the glove box. The latch gave with a soft pop, and a foil square tumbled out into his palm, catching the dim green glow of the dashboard. Penny's fingers were already working his jeans down his hips, the denim catching on his thighs, and the leather seat creaked beneath him as he shifted to give her room.

"Look at you," she murmured, her voice a low, teasing drawl as she wrapped her fingers around the base of his cock. "So eager you're practically vibrating. You'd think you hadn't seen me in a month instead of—" she glanced at the house, "—forty-five minutes."

"You're the one who texted about your panties." His breath hitched as her thumb traced the ridge of him, slow and deliberate. "I was just following orders."

She tore the foil with her teeth, a move that shouldn't have been as hot as it was, and rolled the condom down his length with practiced precision. "Careful," she said, squeezing just enough to make his eyes roll back. "You keep talking like that and I'll make you wait until we get to my place."

"Penny." He said her name like a warning, like a prayer, his hips bucking into her grip. "If you make me wait, I'm going to—"

Headlights swept across the driveway. Both of them froze, and Penny's hand went still around him, her knuckles white against the condom's edge. A car engine hummed somewhere beyond the hedge, and for one agonizing second, the beams crawled across the Lexus's interior like searchlights. Then the car passed, and the driveway fell back into shadow.

"Jesus," she breathed, but she didn't let go. "Your dad's porch light, a random car—this is like a nature documentary. 'The horny stepson and his father's wife's best friend, hunted by the suburban night.'"

"You're the one who locked the doors." His voice cracked on the last word as her hand started moving again, slow and torturous. "You could've just—"

"Could've what?" She leaned in close enough that her lips brushed his ear, her breath hot and sharp. "Could've left you with your hand and a sock like a normal guy? Where's the fun in that?" Her grip tightened, and she pumped him once, twice, a rhythm that made his vision blur. "Now be quiet. Your stepmother might hear you."

The words hit him like a slap, sharp and wrong and impossibly hot. His fingers dug into the leather seat, knuckles straining, as she worked him with practiced ease, her thumb swiping over the head of his cock in a way that made his hips stutter. "You're going to kill me," he managed, the words barely a rasp.

"That's the plan." She smiled against his neck, her teeth grazing the skin just below his jaw. "But not tonight. Tonight I'm just going to ruin another pair of your jeans."

Penny's hand became a blur, her grip tightening as she worked him fast and merciless, the wet sounds of her palm sliding over the condom filling the car. Theo's head fell back against the leather seat, his jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached, and he shoved his fist against his mouth just as another set of headlights swung around the corner and crawled across the Lexus's windshield like a slow, deliberate eye.

The light slid over their faces, catching the wild shine in Penny's eyes, the twist of her knowing smile, the way her red lipstick was already smeared at the corner. She didn't slow down. She sped up, her thumb swiping over the head of his cock with a precision that made his hips jerk off the seat, and the headlights lingered for a beat too long, as if the driver could somehow see through the glass to what her hand was doing.

Theo bit down on his own knuckles, tasting salt and the faint metallic tang of fear, his breath coming in sharp, ragged bursts through his nose. The car crept past, its taillights bleeding red into the dark, and then the driveway plunged back into shadow, the only light now the dim green glow of the dashboard and the faint yellow spill from the porch light Richard had forgotten to turn off.

"Still with me?" Penny whispered, her voice a low, teasing purr against his ear. She squeezed him harder, a deliberate, punishing pressure, and his whole body shuddered. "Because you look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm—" His voice cracked, and he had to swallow before he could try again. "I'm fine. Just—don't stop."

"Don't worry, baby." Her thumb traced the vein on the underside of his cock, slow and torturous, and she watched his face with the satisfied patience of a cat. "I wasn't planning on it."

His hand left his mouth and found her wrist, not to stop her, just to hold on, his fingers wrapping around the delicate bones there. She let him grip her, let him anchor himself to her, and the simple pressure of his hand on her skin seemed to shift something in the dark—her smile softened, just for a second, before the mischief snapped back into place.

"You're so close," she murmured, reading the strain in his face like a map. "I can feel it. The way you're twitching in my hand—" She squeezed again, and his breath punched out of him. "You want to come so bad, don't you?"

"Penny—" It came out strangled, almost a plea, and she laughed, low and dirty, her grip loosening just enough to make him ache.

"Not yet," she said, her lips brushing his ear. "Not until I say so." And her hand started moving again, slower now, a deliberate, dragging rhythm that made his vision swim, the headlights of another passing car sweeping across them like a lighthouse beam searching for something it would never find.

Penny's hand slid away, leaving him hard and aching in the sudden cool of the car's air conditioning. Theo's hips chased the loss for half a second before he caught himself, collapsing back against the leather seat with a sound that was half laugh, half groan. "You're actually evil. You know that, right? Certified, clinical evil."

She was already reaching for her purse on the floorboard, the leather strap sliding through her fingers as she pulled it into her lap. "I'm practical. There's a difference." The clasp opened with a soft click, and her phone came out, screen already lighting up as her thumb scrolled. "You ever snuck out of a second-story window?"

"What?" The word came out strangled, his brain still catching up to the fact that her hand was no longer on him. "Penny, I'm going to die if you—"

"You'll live." She didn't look up from the phone, her thumb moving in lazy circles across the glass. "I know a place. A friend's cabin, upstate. She's in Barcelona until spring, and the key's under a fake rock shaped like a turtle. Very classy."

Theo stared at her, his jeans still open, the condom a cold, tight reminder of everything she'd just walked away from. "You want me to climb out of my bedroom window like a teenager sneaking out to see his girlfriend?"

"I want you to climb out of your bedroom window like a man who's about to get the best head of his life in a cabin that smells like pine and regret." She finally looked up, her red-lipstick smile sharp in the green dashboard glow. "You in or not?"

"My dad's porch light is on." He gestured weakly toward the house. "My stepmother thinks I had a ghost in my room. You're supposed to be inside drinking wine with her right now."

"And yet." Penny held up her phone, the screen lighting up a map with a pin dropped in the middle of nowhere. Her finger tapped the glowing dot. "I'm here, you're here, and your dad's remote is still missing. The universe is basically begging us to make bad decisions."

He looked at the map, then at her, then at the dark shape of the house where Richard's silhouette had appeared ten minutes ago. The porch light flicked on again, a yellow eye blinking awake, and both of them went still, watching the front door. It didn't open. Just the light, burning against the night.

"That's not ominous at all," Theo whispered.

"That's your dad looking for his reading glasses." Penny's voice was low, steady, her eyes still fixed on the house. "He does it every night. Ten minutes of shuffling around, then he gives up and watches TV with the volume on mute because he can't find the remote."

Theo turned to look at her, something shifting in his chest. "How do you know that?"

"Because your stepmother told me." She tucked her phone into her bra, the screen's glow dying against her skin. "She also told me he sleepwalks on Tuesdays. We have a forty-minute window, minimum, before anyone notices we're gone." Her hand found his thigh again, high up, her thumb brushing the inside seam of his jeans. "So I'm asking you one more time, baby. You in or not?"

The porch light clicked off. The driveway went dark. Theo's answer was to reach for the door handle, his bare feet already finding the gravel before his brain caught up with the rest of him. Penny's laugh followed him out into the cold night air, low and victorious, and somewhere behind them the house settled into its familiar, oblivious silence.

Theo's hand found the back door handle before his brain caught up, yanking it open with a force that sent the door swinging wide. He tumbled into the back seat in a graceless heap, his bare foot catching on the seatbelt buckle, his jeans still gaping open around his hips. The leather was cool against his overheated skin, and he was already reaching for her, his fingers closing around her wrist and pulling.

Penny came with a startled laugh that she swallowed almost immediately, her body folding into the back seat on top of him in a tangle of limbs and expensive perfume. The door slammed shut behind her, and the dome light flickered on for one agonizing second before dying, plunging them into darkness. Her knee found the spot between his legs that wasn't his cock but was close enough to make him hiss, and she didn't apologize.

"You're going to get us killed," she breathed, but her hand was already sliding down his chest, finding the waistband of his jeans, hooking her fingers into the denim. "What part of 'forty-minute window' didn't you understand?"

"The part where you had your hand on my cock and then just—stopped." He arched up into her touch, his hips finding a rhythm against her palm. "You can't do that to a guy and expect him to think clearly."

"I can do whatever I want to you." She said it like a promise, her teeth grazing his earlobe. "And right now, what I want is for you to be quiet." Her hand wrapped around him again, the condom still in place, and she gave him one slow, deliberate stroke that made his vision go white at the edges. "Can you do that for me, baby? Can you be quiet while I make you come?"

He nodded, his jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached, and she rewarded him with another stroke, then another, her grip tightening with each pass. The car's suspension creaked beneath them, and Theo realized distantly that the sound was him, his hips driving up into her fist, the leather protesting every movement. She was watching his face in the dark, her eyes catching the faint green glow of the dashboard, and her smile was sharp and knowing.

"That's it," she murmured, her thumb swiping over the head of his cock in a way that made his whole body shudder. "You're so good for me. So desperate. You'd do anything right now, wouldn't you?"

"Anything," he managed, the word barely a rasp. "Penny, I'd—"

A light swept across the driveway. Not headlights this time—something closer, more deliberate. A flashlight beam cut through the car's windows, white and blinding, and Penny's hand froze around him mid-stroke. Theo's heart slammed against his ribs, and he felt her weight shift, her body pressing him down into the leather as if she could make them both invisible.

Footsteps crunched on the gravel. Slow. Measured. Coming closer.

Penny's hand clamped over his mouth, her palm warm and slightly damp, and she shook her head once, a sharp, silent command. The flashlight beam crawled across the back window, sliding over their tangled bodies, and Theo realized with a distant, horrified clarity that they were completely visible—sprawled across the back seat, his jeans around his thighs, her skirt hiked up, the condom still gleaming in the light.

The footsteps stopped. The beam held steady on the window.

And then Richard's voice, muffled through the glass: "Honey, did you leave the car running?"

Penny's hand clamped over his mouth so fast her wedding ring caught his lip, her body going utterly still on top of him. She shook her head once—a sharp, predatory motion—and mouthed the words with exaggerated precision: *Don't move.*

The flashlight beam held on the window like a searchlight on a prison yard. Theo's heart was a jackhammer against his ribs, and he could feel Penny's pulse hammering through the palm pressed to his mouth, a frantic counterpoint to her frozen stillness. The condom was a cold rubber band around his cock, and the absurdity of it—the sheer, pants-around-his-ankles absurdity—made a hysterical bubble of laughter rise in his throat. He swallowed it down, tasting copper.

Richard's silhouette shifted, the beam dropping to the gravel at his feet, and Theo watched the man's shoulders rise and fall in a sigh that carried even through the glass. The flashlight swept once more across the Lexus's hood, then arced toward the house, catching the edge of the porch light. The beam died. The porch light clicked off. Darkness folded back around them, thick and sudden as a curtain.

Penny's hand didn't leave his mouth until the front door creaked open and shut, and then she peeled it away slowly, her fingers leaving a damp imprint on his lips. She was still straddling him, her skirt bunched around her thighs, and when she spoke her voice was a ragged whisper, all the teasing gone from it. "He's going to check the kitchen. Then the garage. Then he'll find his remote in the fridge and go back to bed."

"You've done this before." Theo's voice came out hoarse, and he could feel the condom starting to dry against his skin, a cold, uncomfortable reminder of exactly where they'd been. "You've actually—you've done this before."

"I've watched your stepmother do it." Penny's hand found his chest, her palm flat against his sternum, pressing him deeper into the leather. "Every Tuesday. Like clockwork. He loses the remote, sleepwalks to the kitchen, finds it in the butter dish, and goes back to bed." She leaned in close, her lips brushing the shell of his ear. "Forty minutes, baby. We've got thirty-eight left."

Her hand slid down his chest, past his stomach, and closed around him again—the condom still there, still tight, still a promise. He hissed through his teeth, his hips bucking up into her grip, and she rewarded him with a slow, deliberate stroke that made his vision blur at the edges. "Now," she murmured, her voice a low, dirty purr, "where were we?"

Theo's hand found the back of her neck, pulling her down until her forehead pressed against his, and he could smell her perfume and the faint ghost of cigarette smoke and something else—something sharp and hungry. "You were about to make good on that promise," he said, and his voice was steadier than he felt. "The one about the cabin. The key under the turtle rock."

Penny's smile was a white flash in the dark. "You remembered the turtle."

"I remember everything you say when your hand's on my cock." He held her gaze, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw. "It's the only time you tell the truth."

The smile flickered, just for a second, before the mischief snapped back into place. "Careful, baby. I might start thinking you're sweet." Her grip tightened, and she pumped him once, twice, a rhythm that made his hips stutter off the leather. "And I don't do sweet."

But her hand didn't speed up. It slowed, dragging, torturous, and she watched his face with an intensity that made his breath catch. The car's engine ticked as it cooled, and somewhere in the house a light flicked on—a yellow square in the darkness—and then off again. Richard, wandering. Richard, oblivious. Richard, forty minutes away from forgetting this night ever happened.

Theo's hand found her wrist, not to stop her, just to hold on, and he felt her pulse hammering beneath his thumb—fast, frantic, alive. "The cabin," he said, and his voice was barely a rasp. "When?"

Penny's smile sharpened, and she leaned in close enough that her lips brushed his ear. "Saturday. Your dad's got a golf tournament. Your stepmother's got a client lunch." She pulled back, her eyes catching the faint green glow of the dashboard, and her hand tightened around him in a way that made his whole body shudder. "And I've got you. All night. In a cabin that smells like pine and regret."

She kissed him then, hard and quick, her teeth grazing his lower lip, and when she pulled back her lipstick was smeared at the corner. "Now be quiet," she whispered, her hand starting to move again, slow and deliberate. "Your stepmother might hear you."

Theo's laugh came out as a strangled wheeze, his hips bucking involuntarily against her grip. "You know," he managed, the words tumbling out before his brain could catch them, "it'd be a shame to waste this condom."

Penny's eyebrows arched in the dashboard's dim glow, her hand stilling around him. "Is that right?" The tease in her voice was razor-thin, cut with something hungrier. "You want to put this thing to proper use?"

"I want—" He swallowed hard, his fingers finding the hem of her skirt where it bunched at her thighs. "I want to be inside you. Right here. Right now. While your best friend drinks wine in my dad's living room and he wanders around looking for a remote that's in the butter dish."

She stared at him for a long moment, her lipstick-smeared smile spreading slow and dangerous. "You know, for a law student, you make a very compelling argument." Her hand left his cock and found the back of the passenger seat, pulling herself upright with a grace that defied the cramped back seat. She swung one leg over his hips, her skirt riding up to reveal the dark lace of her panties—the new pair, he realized with a jolt, the ones she'd texted him about. "But I'm driving this negotiation."

Theo's hands found her hips as she settled over him, the heat of her through the lace making his jaw go slack. "I wouldn't dream of objecting."

Penny reached down, hooking her fingers into the waistband of her panties, and shimmied them down her thighs with a practiced roll of her hips. "Good. Because I've been thinking about this since Halloween," she murmured, guiding the condom-sheathed head of his cock to her entrance. "About how you'd feel in the back of my car, all desperate and needy, with your dad ten feet away."

Theo's breath caught as she sank down onto him, inch by agonizing inch, her warmth enveloping him in a slow, deliberate glide that made his vision blur. "Christ, Penny—"

"Shh." Her hand pressed flat against his chest, pinning him to the leather as she began to move, a slow, grinding roll of her hips that had him gripping the seat seams. "You wanted this. You asked for it. So you take it." She leaned forward, her lips brushing his ear, her voice a hot whisper. "And you take it quiet."

He nodded, his jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached, as she rode him with a lazy, torturous rhythm that made the car's suspension creak with every shift of her weight. The leather groaned beneath them, and somewhere in the house a light flicked on—a yellow square in the darkness—and Theo forced himself to look away, to focus on the impossible heat of her, the way her cunt gripped him with every roll of her hips.

"That's it," she breathed, her nails raking lightly down his chest. "You feel that? The way you fill me up?" She squeezed around him, a deliberate, punishing clench that made his hips jerk. "You're going to be thinking about this all week, aren't you? At your desk. In class. Every time you see me across the dinner table."

"Penny—" His voice cracked, and he bit his lip hard enough to taste copper, his hands tightening on her hips. "I can't—you're going to make me—"

"Not yet." She slowed, grinding down on him in a slow, circular motion that made his eyes roll back in his head. "I said we have thirty-eight minutes, and I meant it." Her smile was sharp and knowing in the dark. "We're going to use every single one."

Theo's hands found her hips, and before she could protest he twisted, driving her down onto the leather seat with a force that knocked the breath out of her. The condom-sheathed length of him stayed buried inside her, and the angle shift made her gasp, her eyes going wide in the dashboard's dim glow. He pressed her thighs apart with his knees, settling deeper, and the car's suspension groaned beneath them like it was complaining about the weight of bad decisions.

"Well," Penny breathed, her voice ragged but her smile sharp, "that's one way to take control of the negotiation."

"You said I take it quiet." He leaned down, his lips brushing the shell of her ear, his voice a low rasp. "You didn't say I had to take it lying down."

He pulled back, almost all the way, until only the head of his cock remained inside her, and then he drove forward with a deliberate, punishing thrust that made her back arch off the seat. Her head hit the armrest with a soft thud, and she bit her lip hard enough to taste copper, her nails digging into the leather upholstery as she fought to stay silent. He did it again, slower this time, grinding against her clit with every inch, and her breath came out in a shuddering hiss.

"You're going to kill me," she managed, her voice barely a whisper, her fingers finding the hem of his shirt and gripping it like a lifeline.

"That's the plan." He grinned down at her, all crooked teeth and wild eyes, and she wanted to slap him and kiss him in equal measure. "But not tonight."

He set a rhythm, deep and unhurried, each thrust a slow, deliberate claim that made the car's suspension creak in time with his hips. Her legs wrapped around his waist, heels digging into the small of his back, pulling him deeper with every stroke. The leather beneath her was cool and slick, and the smell of her perfume mixed with the salt of his sweat, a heady cocktail that made her head spin. She could feel every inch of him, the way he filled her completely, the way his pelvis pressed against her clit with each grinding thrust, and she had to shove her fist against her mouth to keep from crying out.

"That's it," he breathed, his forehead pressed against hers, his voice a ragged whisper. "Take it quiet, Penny. Take all of me."

She bit down on her knuckles, tasting salt and the faint metallic tang of her own blood, her eyes rolling back as he hit a spot that made her vision go white at the edges. He was everywhere—his weight pressing her into the leather, his breath hot against her neck, his cock driving into her with a rhythm that was both punishing and impossibly tender. Her free hand found his back, nails raking down his spine, and she felt him shudder, his rhythm faltering for just a second before he regained control.

"You like that?" she whispered, her voice a wrecked, breathless thing. "You like it when I mark you?"

"I like it when you're quiet," he shot back, but his hips stuttered, and she knew she'd found the crack in his armor. She did it again, dragging her nails down his back harder, and he bit down on his own lip, a low, guttural sound escaping his throat.

His hand found her mouth, palm pressing flat against her lips, muffling the sounds she couldn't quite contain. She could feel the tremor in his fingers, the barely restrained force behind them, and she parted her lips just enough to let her tongue trace the lines of his palm. His eyes went dark, and he drove into her harder, faster, the car's suspension creaking in protest as he chased his rhythm. She bit down on the fleshy part of his hand, not hard enough to break skin but hard enough to leave a mark, and she felt him twitch inside her, a shudder running through his whole body.

"Fuck," he breathed, the word barely a rasp against her ear. "You're going to make me—"

"Not yet." She said it with his hand still over her mouth, her voice muffled but unmistakable, her eyes locked on his. "I said we have thirty-eight minutes. And I meant it."

He groaned, a sound of pure, desperate frustration, and she felt his hips slow, his rhythm turning torturous, grinding against her clit with every deliberate stroke. She rewarded him with a clench, a slow, rolling squeeze that made his jaw go slack, and she smiled beneath his palm, sharp and knowing. "Now," she murmured against his fingers, "let's see how quiet you can be."

Theo's hips bucked against her, desperate and mindless, but she'd gone nearly still—just the barest rock of her pelvis, just enough to keep him hovering on the edge of something catastrophic. His fingers dug into her thighs, knuckles white, and he could hear his own breathing, ragged and wet, filling the car like steam.

"You said you wanted to be inside me," Penny murmured, her voice a low, teasing drawl that made his skin prickle. She leaned forward, her lips brushing the corner of his mouth, not quite kissing him. "And here you are. Inside me. And you know what I want?"

"Anything," he rasped, the word tumbling out before he could shape it. "Penny, I'll do—"

"I want to hear you say it." She rolled her hips once, a slow, grinding circle that made his vision blur at the edges, then stopped again. "I want to hear you beg for it. Not 'anything.' Not some vague promise. I want you to tell me exactly what you need."

He stared up at her, his chest heaving, sweat beading at his hairline. The dashboard light caught the sharp line of her jaw, the knowing curve of her smile, and he knew she was enjoying this—the power, the pause, the way she held his pleasure in her palm like a coin she might drop or keep. "I need—" His voice cracked. "I need you to move. Please."

"Please what?" She tilted her head, all mock innocence, and her inner muscles clenched around him in a slow, deliberate pulse that made his hips jerk involuntarily. "Use your words, baby. You're a law student. You know how to make an argument."

"Please ride me." The words came out in a rush, hot and shameful and true. "Please, Penny, I need you to ride me until I come. I need to feel you—" His breath hitched as she shifted her weight, the head of his cock pressing against something that made stars burst behind his eyes. "—Christ, I need to come inside you. Please."

She watched him for a long moment, her smile softening into something almost tender before the mischief snapped back into place. "There it is," she breathed, and then she moved—one slow, deliberate grind that knocked the breath out of him, her hips rolling in a circle that made the leather seat creak beneath them. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

He couldn't answer. His head fell back against the armrest, his jaw slack, his hands gripping her hips so hard he'd probably leave bruises. She rode him with a lazy, torturous rhythm, each stroke a slow, grinding claim that made the car's suspension complain, and she watched his face with the satisfied patience of a cat who'd just gotten the cream.

"That's it," she murmured, her voice low and dirty against his ear. "You're so good when you beg. I might have to make you do it more often."

He bit down on his own lip, tasting copper, his hips rising to meet her in a desperate, stuttering rhythm. "Then I'll beg," he managed, the words barely a rasp. "Every time. Just keep doing that."

Her smile sharpened, and she leaned down to kiss him—hard, quick, her teeth grazing his lower lip. "Deal," she whispered, and then she sped up, her hips finding a rhythm that made his vision go white at the edges, and the only sound in the car was the creak of leather and the wet, desperate sound of his own breathing.

Theo's hand shot up to grip the headrest behind her, his knuckles going white as Penny's rhythm turned merciless—fast and grinding, her hips slapping against his with a wet, desperate sound that seemed obscenely loud in the quiet car. Her breath came in sharp, ragged gasps against his neck, and he could feel her clenching around him, that first telltale flutter that meant she was close. "That's it," he rasped, his voice wrecked. "Come on, Penny. Let go. I can feel you—"

"Not without you." She bit down on his shoulder, hard enough to leave a mark, her voice muffled against his skin. "You come with me, or we stay here all night." Her hand found his jaw, forcing his face up to meet hers, her eyes wild and dark in the dashboard's glow. "I want to feel you fill me up. I want to hear you lose it."

He was already there—teetering on the edge, every nerve screaming, his hips driving up into her with a desperate, stuttering rhythm. The car's suspension creaked in protest, and somewhere in the house a light flicked on, a yellow square in the darkness, but he couldn't look away from her. "Penny," he choked out, her name a plea and a prayer. "I'm—"

"Do it," she commanded, her voice cracking on the last word. "Now, Theo. Right now." She clenched around him, a slow, rolling squeeze that ripped the breath from his lungs, and that was it—he came with a strangled groan, his hips bucking up into her as the condom flooded, his whole body shuddering beneath her. She followed a heartbeat later, her inner muscles milking him through every pulse, her head thrown back, a sharp, bitten-off cry escaping through her teeth as she rode out the waves.

For a long moment, neither of them moved. The only sound was their breathing—ragged, wet, filling the car like steam—and the distant hum of the refrigerator from the house. Penny collapsed onto his chest, her forehead pressed against his collarbone, her hand still gripping his shoulder hard enough to bruise. He could feel her heart hammering against his ribs, a frantic counterpoint to his own slowing pulse.

"Well," she managed, her voice a wrecked, breathless thing, "that's one way to negotiate a settlement."

Theo laughed, a hoarse, exhausted sound that turned into a wince as she shifted her weight. "I think I left part of my soul on that seat."

"Good." She pushed herself up, her lipstick completely gone now, her hair a wild mess around her face. "Now you'll have a reason to come back." She reached down, peeling the condom off with practiced ease, and tied it off with a snap that made him flinch. "I'll keep this as a souvenir."

"Please don't." But he was already grinning, the crooked, helpless grin she'd learned to recognize. "That's evidence, Penny. Literal, physical evidence."

"Relax, counselor." She tucked it into her purse like it was nothing, like she'd done this a hundred times—which, he realized with a jolt, she probably had. "I'm a professional at disposal. Your dad won't find it unless he's looking for it in the bottom of my handbag." She paused, considering. "Which, knowing your dad, he might be."

He dragged a hand through his hair, the condom still a cold, distant memory, his jeans still bunched around his thighs. "Saturday," he said, the word tasting like a promise. "The cabin. The turtle rock. You and me."

"You and me," she echoed, her smile sharpening back into its usual knowing curve. She reached for her purse, pulling out her phone, and he watched her thumb fly across the screen. A second later, his own phone buzzed in his pocket. "There. I sent you the address. Don't lose it." She leaned in, her lips brushing his ear one last time. "And Theo?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure you pack condoms." She pulled back, her eyes glinting in the dark. "I'm not sharing mine."