“MOMMY, YOU LOOK so pretty!”  
 

Joohyun smiled at her daughter, who was looking up at her with wide, wondering eyes. “Thank you, sweetie,” she said as she put on dangling crystal earrings.  

As Joohyun looked in the mirror, she had to admit she did look pretty...and y. Since having Seung Ah, she never had reason to own a little black dress.
 

But when Seungwan had insisted on taking her to a nice dinner to celebrate her signing a big contract for work, she had gone out and treated herself.   

The dress hugged her curves and was sleeveless with an open back that showcased her skin subtly but eye cathcingly..which meant she'd also bought a new, lacy strapless push-up bra and matching . 

Her strappy heels had sparkly rhinestones, and she’d given her hair extra volume and done a soft, smoky eye shadow. 

“Where are you going?” Seung Ah asked as she climbed onto the bed.

“Out to dinner.” After smoothing on pale pink lipstick, Joohyun smiled at her daughter in the mirror.

“With Daddy?”

Joohyun smiled at her daughter in the mirror as she lightly misted perfume. "Yes, with Daddy."  

"Can I come too?" Seung Ah asked hopefully.

"No, honey, it's adults only," Joohyun replied. It was the first time in weeks they'd gone out without Seung Ah. "Yuna is babysitting you for a few hours and will put you to bed, so be good for her, okay?"
 

Seung Ah pouted slightly. "Okay."

"Hey, tomorrow is Monday and you’ve got school in the morning, so you need to get your sleep."  
 

The doorbell rang and Seung Ah's mood transformed into elation. "Daddy!" She scrambled off the bed and rushed to the door, knowing not to open it yet.  

Joohyun followed, admittedly nervous for Seungwan's reaction when he saw her dressed up, since he'd only seen her in mom clothes before. "Did you ask who it is?"

"Yes, it's Daddy!" Seung Ah said dramatically. "I told you!"

Joohyun checked the peephole and felt flutters in her stomach seeing his handsome face. Even after weeks together, the thrill hadn't subsided like with other men. 

"Okay, open up."  

Seung Ah flung the door wide and leapt into Seungwan's ready arms. He boosted her up as she hugged him tightly, always greeting him this way. Joohyun never tired of their sweet interactions.

"How's my girl?" Seungwan asked, attention fully on Seung Ah as he entered still holding her.

"I'm good!" Seung Ah said animatedly, then frowned. "But I missed you today."  
 

Usually Seungwan spent Sunday afternoons with her, but he'd called saying he had errands. Seung Ah had moped without him.

"I know, I missed you too, princess," he said, setting her down. "I'll come for dinner tomorrow and we can play Go Fish, okay?"

"Okay!" Seung Ah agreed, then tugged his hand. "Doesn't Mommy look pretty?"

Seungwan had been focused on Seung Ah and hadn't seen Joohyun yet. But he looked now, and by the time his dark, heated gaze traveled down and backup her body, Joohyun blushed and felt the need to fan herself.  
 

"Wow...you look...ing hot," he mouthed, avoiding his original vulgar description for their daughter's sake. "Amazing"

Joohyun laughed. "Thank you. You look very nice yourself, Mr. Son."  
 

His black slacks and white shirt with black overcoat accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular chest. She could have easily used ing hot to describe him.

Joohyun pulled her phone from her small purse. “Let me give Yuna a call to let her know you’re here, and as soon as she arrives, we can leave for our . . . ” She’d almost said date, but this wasn’t a date, she thought.

“Celebratory dinner?” Seungwan offered, his voice as direct as his gaze, as if he knew what had just passed through her mind and was catering to it.

“Yeah,” she said, and turned around as she put the phone to her ear as it began to ring, so she didn’t have to look him in the eyes, cause those deep, endless eyes of him – they made her weak, and Seungwan made her want things she knew better than to wish for.

"Yuna said she'd be right over." Glancing back at Seungwan, Joohyun relaxed seeing his attention was on Seung Ah. Things were good now.
 

She liked their routine - regular visits, dinners, him mowing her lawn, watching him bond with their daughter. And at night. . . well, there was nothing routine about the way he ed her.

Seungwan definitely wasn’t strictly a missionary kind of man, though even when he was, he always managed to make her feel completely and utterly satisfied.

Everything outside the bedroom with Seungwan felt balanced, calm, and predictable, just how she preferred.

She tried to be practical about their arrangement and affair. She didn't have expectations beyond what they'd established, knowing it was the easiest way to avoid heartbreak when the newness wore off and he moved on.

The sitter arrived and after kissing Seung Ah, Joohyun headed out with Seungwan, his hand resting on her lower back. She was startled to see a brand new SUV at the curb instead of his sedan. 
 

"Is that yours?" she asked.

"Yep. I was out buying an SUV today that'll be easier for Seung Ah's carseat," Seungwan explained, unlocking the car so he could open the passenger-side door for her. "Thought we could take it for a test drive tonight."

Joohyun slid onto the leather seat, impressed by the expensive new vehicle. Seungwan hadn't had to take Seung Ah alone yet, but she was glad he was thinking ahead.

She had no idea where Seungwan had planned dinner and was impressed when they arrived at the exclusive Gyeongbokgung restaurant on the top floor of the Lotte World Tower in Seoul.
 

Seungwan had secured a window table with a stunning panoramic view of the illuminated Seoul skyline at night.

He had chose an expensive bottle of champagne, and after they ordered their food, he made a toast for her new job.
 

They talked about his work and the projects he was working on, and how Hyunbin and his friend Mark were dealing with being new daddies.
 

She, Seung Ah, and Joohyun had gone to Hyunbin and Yejin's house a few days after their baby boy Junki was born, so Seung Ah could meet her new cousin. 
 

Joohyun had brought a gift, and when Yejin said she should hold the baby while opening the present, Joohyun felt very emotional remembering when Seung Ah was little and cuddly.
 

But seeing little Junki in Joohyun's big, strong arms made her heart feel funny, and how Seung Ah talked so sweet to the baby and gently touched his tiny fingers.

“It’s funny how tired Hyunbin and Mark look coming to work in the morning cause their babies keeping them up all night,” Seungwan said with a smile. 

“It's definitely an adjustment,” Joohyun said after drinking her second glass of champagne, then looked at Seungwan sitting across from her.
 

The only light was from the candle on their table. He said it was a celebration dinner, but everything felt really romantic and close...like a date.  

Seungwan was smiling at her, looking relaxed and so handsome, and she just wanted to enjoy the night without thinking too much.

They already ate a delicious dinner, and didn't want dessert, and after their dishes were taken away, Seungwan poured the last of the champagne in her glass for her to finish.

Joohyun raised her eyebrow at him. “Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage?” she teased. 
 

“Are you?” Seungwan asked with a light, raspy laugh that made her s feel funny and her s tight. “Getting drunk?”

“No.” She the taste of the drink from her bottom lip, almost groaning when his eyes went to . “I just feel good, though I sure drank most of that bottle.”  
 

“I’m good to drive, so enjoy. Tonight is all about you, cause you deserve to be spoiled.” Then Seungwan gave her a smirk that made her shift in her chair. “And if you think this dinner was awesome, wait till we get home and have dessert. I can’t wait to eat mine,” he said with a knowing look.

The y things in his words made heat and wanting and so much need swirl through her. “I think I’m ready to go have dessert now.” 

“Me too,” Seungwan said, just as excited.  
 

He paid the bill, and fifteen minutes later, they were in his SUV heading back to her house for dessert.

The and wanting filling the small car was almost touchable on the ride to Joohyun's.

Every time Seungwan breathed in, he could smell her perfume...and her other smell showing she was excited, and it didn't help that she kept shifting in her seat and rubbing her legs together restless. 

He really didn't mean for their night to get y so fast, but he guessed it was his own fault for saying what he did about dessert.

Seungwan always wanted Joohyun, that was clear, but tonight was meant to be about wining and dining her, and romance, and them as a couple—even though she tried to say it was just a celebratory dinner, not thinking of it as the date he planned it to be.  
 

After almost three months of being in her life, Seungwan wasn't okay anymore with pretending they weren’t together during the day, then having really hot mind-blowing at night—only for him to go home after instead of staying until morning like normal adults do.

Her excuse was always Seung Ah...but that's all it was.  In truth, it's just an excuse to shield her emotions, not her daughter’s.

Seungwan was truly ready to take the next step with Joohyun, the one that helped them build what they had now into something deeper and way more steady.
 

Whether she wanted to believe it or not, they were really in a relationship...but now he wanted the promise to go with it, along with freedom to show affection openly with her and not hold back kissing in front of Seung Ah, or anyone else for that matter.

Seungwan did everything he could to show he was a man she could depend on, that being a dad to Seung Ah was his top thing, and that he was the kind of guy who wanted the whole package...with her and Seung Ah.  

Tonight, he meant to tell Joohyun how he felt about her. He knew she cared about him. Hell, he’d like to believe she was even falling in love with him.
 

But now knowing about her family history, and the men who had come before him, he had a feeling that finding a way past her walls and defenses was going to be like attempting to tear down the Berlin Wall. Difficult, with a whole lot of resistance.

But Seungwan was willing to try, because Joohyun was worth it.

“Are we almost there yet?” she asked in a low, sultry voice that made him grin, because it matched their daughter’s impatience when they were going places.

He glanced at her, groaning at the way she was biting her lower lip, and watching as her fingers trailed down the perfect vee of her neckline that with the plump curves of her s. “Soon,” Seungwan said through gritted teeth.

He returned his gaze to the road, maintaining a tight grip on the steering wheel to try and keep his hands to himself until they were alone in her bedroom, but when she reached out and grabbed his hand, then brought it over to her side and placed it very high on her thigh, his good behavior evaporated.

Seungwan didn’t know if it was the champagne that was making her so brazen, but did it really matter when he was more than willing to indulge her in whatever game she was playing?
 

When she guided his flattened palm beneath the hem of her dress, then all the way up to that sweet spot between her legs, it was all he could do to concentrate on the drive home.

She pressed his fingers against her and rubbed them along the soft, swollen flesh he could feel through her soaked .

She shuddered when he came in contact with her and massaged a little harder, a little faster, through the wet silk. “Seungwan,” Joohyun panted as her head fell back against the seat, her legs open wide and her hips pushing shamelessly against his fingers as he played with her.

“Don’t stop . . . please don’t stop,” Joohyun begged.

Somehow, when they arrived at her place, he managed to maneuver the car to the curb, but Seungwan had no choice but to retrieve his hand to shut off the engine.
 

As soon as he severed contact, Joohyun made a frustrated sound in the back of , clearly a little miffed that he’d brought her to the edge but hadn’t pushed her all the way over the peak.

“That was cruel,” Joohyun complained with a sultry pout. “I was so close.”

Seungwan gave her a hot, seductive smile. “You’re not coming until I’m buried so deep inside of you and all I can feel is you wrapped completely around me.” Until she felt every part of him become a part of her . . . heart, body, and soul.

Joohyun released a soft moan. “Then let’s hurry, because I want that, too.”

Feeling himself throbbing, Seungwan was totally on board with the suggestion, but as he looked into those big brown eyes he realized that he wanted tonight to be different.
 

That instead of a quick , he wanted to make love to Joohyun . . . with her knowing exactly how he felt about her.

Seungwan gently Joohyun's warm cheek with his fingers - a touch that was initmate but not ual. "Joohyun, there's something I need to say," he told her, and saw uncertainty come over her expression.
 

Joohyun was smart enough to guess what he wanted to bring up. 

And she wasn't ready to hear it. Joohyun quickly shook her head no. "I don't want to talk now, Seungwan," she said in a desperate voice. "Please."

Seungwan thought about saying what was on his mind, to get it out in the open of what they are. But with Joohyun so suddenly in fight-or-flight mode, he decided it wasn’t a discussion he wanted to have in his car.
 

That it would be better to have inside the house once the babysitter was gone.

Seungwan remained quiet as they exited the vehicle and walked up to the front porch together. Once inside, Yuna assured them Seung Ah had been well-behaved and asleep in her room.

Seungwan paid the teenager generously, then walked her outside and made sure she made it to her place across the street safely, before returning to Joohyun, who was waiting for him in the living room.

As soon as he closed and locked the front door, she was pushing him a few steps back while shoving his jacket off his shoulders, open and hot on his. No, she clearly did not want to talk, and was using as a diversion.

Somehow, he found himself backed up against the nearest wall, her hands working frantically to unbuckle his belt to free him.
 

Passion and lust had never been an issue for them, but there was a palpable urgency to her seduction that had never been there before, and the fact that she was ready and willing to strip him where Seung Ah might catch them told him how intent she was on avoiding any conversation.

As her fingers curled around length and she began him in a tight fist, Seungwan realized he had two choices.
 

Let this continue where it was heading, toward a fast, mindless so she didn’t have to think, or take control of the situation and make love to her.

Seungwan opted for the latter, because one way or another, this night was going to end with Joohyun knowing exactly how he felt about her.

He pulled his mouth from hers, and Joohyun made a small sound of distress in the back of as he ended the kiss. “We need to take this into the bedroom,” Seungwan said huskily, and her gaze cleared just enough to give him a nod of understanding.

He led the way, and as soon as the door was closed behind them, they were stripping out of their clothes.

As he watched, her dress fell to the floor, and lust seared through him when he saw what she wore beneath . . . tiny black lace and a matching bra that pushed her s up like an offering.

Normally, he’d take the time to slowly strip away the y lingerie and savor everything it revealed, but she didn’t want slow and seductive, as was evident in the way she was already unhooking her bra, then shoving her underwear down her legs.

Completely , she laid back on the bed, and he was right behind her, his clothes strewn on the ground as he rolled on a and joined her.

Without any preliminaries, because he’d already felt how ready she was for him out in the car, Seungwan entered her in one fluid that had her in extreme pleasure.
 

Eyes closed, Joohyun arched her back, wound her legs around his waist, and grabbed at his , urging him to take her harder, faster, deeper.

He deliberately did the opposite and slowed down, grinding against her every time he pushed into her with just enough control to keep her on the edge.

Joohyun writhed eagerly beneath him, desperately trying to quicken his pace, but he pinned her body more securely to the bed, restricting her movements until he was ready to let her come.

Her lashes fluttered back open, her dark, sultry eyes searching his. “I need you, Seungwan . . . please,” Joohyun whispered, so much passion in her voice.

With his forearms braced on the bed beside her, Seungwan buried his hands into her hair, tangling it around his fingers and forcing her head back so her gaze remained locked on his. “I want more than your need,” he said, his tone rough around the edges. “I want your love, Joohyun.”

Panic flared across her expression, and she tried to shake her head in denial. “Seungwan . . . ”

“I love you,” Seungwan told her before Joohyun could refute his claim. “I just wanted and needed you to know that.”

Her eyes were wide, and knowing she needed time to process his declaration, he drove back into her, finally allowing her body the pleasure it sought and giving her mind something else to focus on.

Again and again, she moaned from the  s until she started to and took him along for the overwhelmingly intense ride.

Over the next few hours, Seungwan didn’t give her time to think or obsess or worry about the words he’d spoken to her.
 

Instead, he showed her how much he cared and how much Joohyun meant to him, in the wayhe thoroughly worshiped her body, until she was so exhausted she fell into a deep sleep in his arms. 

He held her close, knowing he’d have to leave soon, and told himself that tomorrow would be soon enough to figure out where to go from here.