Grundoon's stood as empty as a keg at a homecoming after-party. Ryan and Felix entered the barely lit bar, greeted by Def Leppard playing quietly from a jukebox. Ryan smiled when he saw Drew stocking the cooler with beer. He knew Shelly wouldn't be tending bar that early on a Monday, which could have incited a small scene.

"Hey, Drew.

Drew lifted his head and grinned. "Ryan, you bastard. Where've you been?"

"I don't make it a habit of drinking before noon," Ryan said as he walked Felix to a barstool.

Drew glanced at his Fitbit. "Noon is on its way, so you're safe. Who might dis lovely lady be?"

Drew abandoned his duties at the cooler to reach over the bar and shake Felix's hand. Most women found Drew hot. He kept his body in shape and wore his hair in tight cornrows, but Ryan figured it was Drew's Jamaican drawl that attracted them. Women loved foreign accents.

"This is Felix," Ryan said, wrapping a jealous arm around her. "She's staying with me for a few days."

"A few days, huh? It must be serious." Drew winked at Felix. "What's your poison?"

Felix grinned at Ryan. "You really are a man whore, aren't you? I'll take a gin and soda with a shitload of limes, please."

"The usual for me," said Ryan.

As Drew made their drinks, Felix snaked her hand inside the back of Ryan's shirt until her fingers met with the top of his jeans. A moment later, her mouth was on his ear. "Has anyone ever told you you have a gorgeous ass?"

Ryan smiled, happy he could be a distraction. He'd been worried Felix would have a hard time shaking the disturbing events of that morning. "You better be careful, Miss Taylor. I might cite you for lewd and lascivious behavior."

"What's the punishment for that?" she said as she licked around the curve of his lobe.

He felt himself getting hard but managed to employ his poker face. "I've got a pair of handcuffs at the apartment."

Drew slid Felix's drink to her and she took a sip, bringing her cold mouth to Ryan's ear again. "I can't wait that long. I want to be punished now."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Meet me in the bathroom." She glanced at the restroom sign and all the blood that had been operating Ryan's brain flooded to his dick. Felix slid off her barstool and sauntered away while Ryan stared after her. Apparently, she was serious about making the day count.

"I've got to handle a situation," Ryan said as Drew brought him his drink.

"You're a slut, you know dat."

Ryan felt a little embarrassed as he went after Felix. Drew didn't know Felix was not just an easy lay. As he slipped into the women's bathroom, Felix ambushed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and jamming her tongue down his throat.

"What's gotten into you?" he said, when she finally let him come up for air.

"What do you mean? Haven't you ever fucked a girl in the bathroom of a dive bar before?"

"Felix, I'm not going to fuck you in the bathroom."

"Why not? There's no one here, and I want you more than I've wanted anything in my life, which includes my Harley."

Ryan fastened his arms around Felix's waist and locked her in a stare he hoped came across as serious, not seductive. "I want you too. I want you so bad it hurts, but I don't want our first time to be here. Let's go back to the bar and enjoy our drinks, then we can head to my place and see what happens."

"What if Fulton is waiting at your apartment to take me to prison?" Felix's eyes doubled in size, reminding him of a Siamese cat under attack. "What if we don't make it back to your place? The assholes could be right outside the bar, waiting to shoot us on the sidewalk. I don't want to die before I know what it feels like to... to be with you."

Tears flooded her eyes, and she grabbed a handful of his shirt, bringing her lips crashing into his. She kissed him passionately, whimpering as she dragged her tongue through his mouth, stifling sobs as she pressed her mound into his groin. He wanted her as desperately as she wanted him, but this was not the time or place to give in to their libidos.

"Felix, listen to me," he said as he smoothly pulled away. "Nobody is going to kill us, and Fulton has promised to leave us alone until tomorrow. We don't have to finish our drinks if you don't want to stay. We can go straight home and do whatever you want." He walked her to the sink and yanked paper towels from the dispenser, handing them to her. "Wipe your face. Drew is going to think I beat you."

Felix checked her face in the mirror and used the towels to dab her eyes. "I think I'm losing it, Ryan. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing anymore."

He lifted his hand to her cheek, brushing his knuckles across her skin. She felt impossibly fragile. He hated those bastards for taking away the last three years of her life and making her a nervous wreck. "You're not losing it. I promise to help you get on the right road. It might be bumpy at first, but we'll take the road together. Okay?"

"Okay." Felix flung her arms around his neck. "You're an amazing person. I'm such a fool for not seeing it back when we were kids."

"Thanks, but I don't think you would have had that opinion of me when we were kids. I was kind of an ass back then."

They returned to the bar and enjoyed their drinks while Drew smiled wryly at them. Neither Felix nor Ryan corrected him for misinterpreting their brief encounter in the bathroom, and they left Grundoon's hand in hand. They talked about random, unimportant stuff on the way back to his apartment, but Ryan couldn't stop thinking about his offer to do whatever Felix wanted to. He didn't want to make love to her just because she thought they might not get another shot at it, and the threat of an awkward encounter hung in the air like drugstore cologne.

When they arrived home, Felix made for the refrigerator and stood in front of it, while Ryan tucked his laptop into a drawer to avoid potential flashbacks for her.

"We should think about lunch soon," she said. "Any suggestions?"

He walked up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist. The fact that it felt completely natural freaked him out a little, but it also gave him an awesome chill. "Do you like Indian food? Curry Palace isn't far from here, and they deliver."

"Do they have chicken vindaloo?"

"I think so. There's a menu in that drawer." Without taking his hands off her hips, they scooted toward the drawer together. Felix pulled the menu out and perused it while Ryan rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You smell like me," he said as he buried his face in her hair.

"Does that mean you're turning yourself on?" She chuckled as she craned her neck to kiss him on the cheek.

"I'm very turned on by my smell, right now."

Felix spun to face him, wedging her leg between his crotch. "Would you be satisfied with a female version of yourself?"

"Okay, that's just too weird. You look nothing like me."

Her hands lowered to his ass and the maneuver got Excalibur's attention. "Should we order food now?"

"That's up to you. How hungry are you?"

"Very hungry, but what I want is not on the Curry Palace menu."

Slipping her hand between their bodies, Felix caressed him through his jeans, rubbing and fondling until he caught himself moaning. She lowered the zipper and slid her hand down the front of his underwear, curling her fingers around Excalibur. He thickened under her touch.

"You have no idea what you do to me," Ryan breathed.

"Oh, I think I do. Which reminds me. You still haven't collected your reward."

She pulled him free of his jeans and sunk to her knees. Her warm breath caressed his head, triggering a surge of precum. This seemed to excite her, and she wrapped her hand around him, licking her lips before sweeping her tongue over the swollen tip. His immediate reaction was to stroke himself as she opened to take him, especially when she glanced up with a wicked smile. He knew she wanted to get him off as much as he wanted to feel her mouth around him, and he gave her license to call the shots, closing his eyes as she sucked him in.

Dragging her tongue up and down his length, Felix steadily took him deeper, while he held her head in his hands, gently pushing in time with her movements. Her mouth was so hot, and her tongue never stopped working him, bringing a fresh rush of adrenaline with each pulse, luring him until he was on the verge of filling her. Damn, she turned him on.

"Felix, I... I'm..." His weak plea only seemed to encourage her, and she grabbed the base of his dick, swallowing him further. He couldn't believe how quickly she had him ready for release. Was it the sensation of his head stabbing the back of her throat, or the thought of her taking him that far? With a teeth-clenching groan, he shot his load against her tongue, jerking without restraint as she took it all.

When the throbbing subsided, Felix stood and rinsed her mouth in the sink, drying her face with her shirt before offering him a satisfied smile. "So, there was some mention of Indian food?"