The restaurant was a little over an hour away. “To ensure no one sees us that we don’t want to see us,” James had explained. That sentence alone had made her lose a little of the excitement she’d held, but it was fine. This was what she’d agreed to.

Dinner was at a quiet restaurant with dark lighting and full of people all dolled up. Cora didn’t receive a single glance back as she passed by. The waitress never once looked at her like she suspected that Cora wasn’t a real woman. When she expressed her surprise to James at that, James gave her a confused look and said, “You are a real woman.”

Cora hadn’t known what to say to that, how to explain how much hearing those words meant to her, so she just sipped her glass of wine to give herself time to think. “I just meant, passing as a woman. Like, no one’s looked at me like I’m fooling them.”

James’ frowned and pushed his menu away. “Cora.” She looked up. James was leaning forward. His voice was lowered and serious. “You can use whatever terminology that you feel most comfortable with. But if you’re a woman, then you’re a woman. You’re not ‘passing’ as a woman, because you are a woman.”

It was too much to hear. Cora cast her mind for something else to talk about. “So, Wes once mentioned that you’ve never been in a serious relationship?” Which. Wow. Great job, Cora. That wasn’t an awkward way to bring it up at all.

Luckily, James seemed more amused by it than anything. He leaned back and chuckled which lightened the previously serious atmosphere. “Yeah, not for a long time. I was too busy to worry about it for a long time and then it just felt like I was out of the game.”

“Too busy?”

“Wes was only twelve when our parents died. At the time I was living in an apartment above the bar that I was struggling to make payments on. I used our parents' life insurance to pay off the bar, buy a house, and the rest went into savings for Wes to have once he graduates. Originally it was going to be for his college, but the kid’s always been too damn smart for his own good.” James took another drink of his wine. “I focused on making sure he was taken care of so any of my shit took a back burner. I suppose once he was in college I could have started trying again, but I’d done it alone up until then so I didn’t really feel a need, you know?”

Cora didn’t know. She’s always wanted to find someone to be with, someone who was perfect for her. She couldn’t imagine living a life alone. She also couldn’t imagine taking in a younger sibling and completely shifting her priorities like James had.

She’d already had proof of how much love James had and gave out. How accepting he was. How selfless. This was just more… more proof that James was who she wanted to be with. For real. Forever.

Dinner flew by. Conversation was comfortable as they flitted from topic to topic. They skipped the desert. They skipped the after-dinner plans of an evening visit to the botanical gardens to see the christmas lights that were put up just the day before. Neither of them wanted to wait another moment and it was already over an hours drive back.

James drove with a hand on Cora’s thigh. Every now and then he’d skim down to her knee then up and under her dress to the top of her thigh. He never touched her where she was aching to be touched. Just ran his fingers close enough that she could shift into it if she wanted to, but she stayed still and let his hand do the work.

By the time he’d pulled into the driveway, her cock had been leaking a steady dribble of precum. Her lace was soaked where the head of her cock was pushing against them. She didn’t have the patience to wait for James to come open her door for her again like he wanted to. She met him halfway around the truck and let him pull her up into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist. His hands were under ass, kneading the cheeks, as he carried her up the steps.

She didn’t want to get down so he could unlock the door and apparently he didn’t want to let her down. He braced her up against the door and lowered her just enough so she could feel his cock pushing up against her own.

“I’ve wanted to do this all night,” James panted into her neck as he thrust against her. “God, you look so good.” His lips parted against her neck and his teeth scraped down just on the right side of painful.

Cora didn’t want the night to end with them getting off like this. She tightened her legs, enjoyed the groan that pulled from James, and whispered in his ear. “Take me to bed.”

James hurried to listen. He kept her braced against him with one arm under her ass. Cora focused on sucking a mark into his neck and enjoyed every hitch of his breath when she sucked just a little harder.

James kicked the door shut behind him. She heard the keys clatter to the floor as he continued on his journey. The way he held her up against him with one arm as he crawled up the bed made her cock jerk in excitement.

That’s where things changed though. Cora wasn’t sure what caused it, but the almost frantic way James was attacking her mouth slowed. The thrusts against her, leaving her cock begging for more, pulled back.

They undressed each other. Cora’s hands shook as she got each button undone on his shirt. She jerked his undershirt out from where it was tucked in and ran her fingertips over each hill and valley of his abs. They tensed under her hands. “Baby,” James muttered. “Lay back.”

She listened. James moved down. His hands were slow and warm as they ran up her calves and gripped her thighs. He pushed them open and shoved her dress up so her lace covered cock was on display.

“Fuck, baby. Do you know how good you look like this?” She thrust up into the gentle touch but he pulled back. When his mouth covered her cock, lace and all, she cried out and pushed up. She needed more. Wanted more.

James pulled away and stretched from the bedside stand. He fished out some lube and anticipation coiled tight inside her. She’d stretched herself some earlier in the shower. She’d been hoping they could… Hoping they would.

Wet fingers slipped under the back of her panties. As his mouth covered her again, one finger pushed in. She didn’t know she wanted to push up into the heat on her dick or down onto the finger slowly stretching her open.

One finger turned to two turned to three. Her panties were soaked from her precum and James’ mouth. They were both breathing heavy as James sat back but kept his fingers twisting and stretching her out. His pupils were blown. His lips shiny with spit and parted.

I love you. Cora stared at him as her heart swelled in her chest. His lips twitched up as though he knew what she were thinking. As if it were written across her face. “I want you,” she said. “Please, James.”

James hesitated. His fingers stilled inside her. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I love you. “I’ve been sure for so long.”

James pulled his fingers out leaving her feeling strangely empty. He reached back to the bedside table and pulled out a foil packet. He tossed it on the bed next to him and reached down to slide her panties off. Then up as he helped slip off the dress. The pearl necklace sat in the hollow of her throat though and neither of them made a move to take it off.

Anxiousness fluttered in her stomach as James ripped open the packet. James rolled it down his dick, but didn’t make a move to push forward. He ran a hand up her bare thigh and gave her an understanding smile. “We don’t have too. You can say stop at any point if you’re changing your mind.”

I love you. She knows. That’s the thing. She knows. At any point in this entire relationship, she could have slightly expressed that she didn’t want to do something and James would have immediately stopped. He would never have held anything against her or accuse her of leading him on. “I know,” her voice was hoarse. “I want this. I want you.”

The hand on her thigh tightened slightly, then slid underneath. She followed James’ lead and let him lift her legs into a good position. The snap of the lube had her catching her breath as James reinserted his fingers.

“I’m ready, can we, please?”

James made a low noise and then she felt him nudging against her entrance. The blunt tip of his cock was a bit larger than the three fingers had been, but there was no pain as he slowly pushed in. His eyes bored into hers, care, compassion, love. She felt a knot grow in her throat as her vision grew blurry. She blinked away the tears before they could fall, but James had obviously noticed. He stilled completely, only halfway in her.

“Does it hurt?” His voice was soft. His hand traced a soothing pattern on the back of her thigh.

“No.” Cora’s voice was thick. “No. It’s just a lot. Don’t stop.”

He didn’t start back up though. Instead he lowered himself so he could kiss her. “You’re gorgeous,” he murmured between kisses and slowly started pushing in again. “You’re perfect, you know that?”

Cora swallowed hard. “Keep going.” She couldn’t even kind of mask the emotion in her voice. I love you.

James did. Slow and steady thrusts inside of her, each one pushed her closer and closer to the edge. Every brush of his abs on her cock had her breath hitching as heat coiled tighter and tighter.

“So beautiful. So good for me.” James was either pressing kisses to her face, her neck, her shoulders, or whispering words to her. “Fuck. Baby, so good.” His hips stuttered. His breath hitched.

I love you.

His hand moved down to grip her cock. He stroked her slowly, in time with his hips.

I love you.

“So perfect,” he muttered one more time and it pushed her over the edge. His hips stuttered again then slammed forward twice. “Fuck, sweetheart. I. That was perfect.” His voice was shaky against her neck. Their stomachs were stuck together from where she’d shot. James pressed more kisses where his lips were resting against her. He was holding most of his weight up and his slowly softening dick was buried in her ass.

Cora buried her face in his shoulder as he reached down and slowly slid out of her. He lay her legs down and pulled her in tight. They ignored the come that cooled on their stomachs. Cora’s chest felt like it might break open. She felt like crying. She felt… She felt too much.

“Are you ok?” James asked and Cora realized she was trembling. She nodded against him.

That hadn’t felt like just sex. It was more. He had to have felt the same as Cora. He had to. James didn’t say anything else. Just stroked her back and held her tight. Cora didn’t even realize she was falling asleep. One moment she was coming down from the onslaught of emotions, the next she was out.