#mes fics

You blinked. The man who'd picked up had a nice voice. Deep and raspy. It was so unexpected that it left you speechless for so long that the man had to repeat himself. 

“Uh, yeah, hi. Sorry, um… I need a tow? I slid on some black ice and crashed into a snowbank. The car’s still running, but I have a flat tire, and it’s pitch dark here, and the other towing services I called are all busy, and, and—” Without realizing it, you’d started to panic at the idea of yet another failed call, the words rushing out of you hastily while your voice moved up an octave.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s alright, ‘kay? It’s gonna be alright,” the man gently cut in, his voice lowering some more and turning soothing. “Are you hurt in any way? You said you ran off the road?”

Surprised by the question that the others hadn’t asked, you shook your head before remembering to answer. “No, I, um, I’m fine. I was driving slowly, and the snow’s pretty soft. I’m just stuck.”

“Okay, good. That’s good. Now, where are you?” 

Feeling a rush of warmth toward the man and his reassuring voice that carried through the whole car, you looked down at the phone between your hands and pulled up the location you'd also given to the other three towing services.

“Westchester. I was driving down the Saw Mill River Parkway near Dobbs Ferry.”

The man hummed thoughtfully, and for a minute, you thought that he would tell you that he couldn’t make it either. 

“Not gonna lie, Ma’am, the road was closed not long ago ‘cause of the blizzard, and it’ll still be a good hour before anyone can get there.”

You let out a small laugh at his apologetic tone. “The other towing services told me that it would take them at least three to four hours. So trust me, one hour already sounds like ten minutes by this point.”

“Yeah, unsurprisin’, I’m afraid. With this weather, we’ve all been called a lot.” You heard some clicking, probably a keyboard. “Right, can I get your name and car information, please?”

Feeling better now that you knew that you wouldn’t stay in your car all night, you quickly rattled off your information while the wind howled outside and brought more snow with it.

“‘Kay, now here’s what’s gonna happen. I just sent a text out to my guys. See which one might be nearest to your location. And if they’re all busy, I’ll come myself, yeah?” 

“Hope it’ll be you,” you blurted out without thinking and went as far as slapping your hand over your mouth at the slipup.

“Beg your pardon?” There was surprise in the man’s voice but also a note of amusement that had you groaning under your breath. 

“No, I mean, whoever’s fine, of course. I… just,” you sighed and looked at the ceiling. “I’m sure people have told you before, but you have a very nice voice.”

A low chuckle met your ears, which had your face flushing with warmth. “Do I?” The question was genuine. 

“Please, I don’t believe for one second that no one's ever told you.”

“Not as often as you seem to think, but thank you.” There was some rustling and a loud clunking from the man’s side of the line. “Okay, as I said, it should be around an hour. Snow’s really pickin’ up.” 

Happy for the change of subject, you sighed in relief at the information that someone would be coming soon. 

“Thank you, that’s… that’s great.” 

“No problem. We’re doin’ our best.” He was quiet for a second. “You comfortable? I mean, not too cold or nothin’?” 

Smiling at the concern, you pulled your feet up and wrapped your coat around them as best as possible. “As comfortable as I can be in this cramped space. But yeah, the car’s warm enough for now. I tanked up yesterday, so all in all, I guess I’m lucky I can leave the engine on without the risk of running out of gas before someone gets here.”

“That’s good. Turn on the hazards too if you haven’t already done it. It’ll be easier to find you.”

“Okay, done,” you informed him after reaching for the double triangle button and pressing it. 

“Good… Now you just have to wait and—”

“Will you stay on the line with me?” you said in a rush, suddenly feeling anxious at the idea of only having the roaring sound of the blizzard for company on this dark road before you shook your head at yourself in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, forget I asked. You’re busy, and you don’t need to hold my hand from a distance. I’ll be—”

“I can do that; stay on the line with you.”

“Oh… Yeah?”

“Sure. If it makes it easier on you. I got another line people can call… But check how much battery you still got, yeah? Just in case.” 

“Good thinking.” You looked at the screen and saw that it still had seventy percent left. Again, small mercies in this shitty situation. “Seventy percent. Think I’m good.”

“Alright. Keep an eye on it just in case until you’re out of there.”

You smiled to yourself. You could tell that this wasn’t his first rodeo, which had you relax some more against the seat. “I will.”

You were both quiet for a bit, with only the sound of the storm outside and the noises coming from his side of the line over the speakers.

“Thank you for doing this, uh…” you stopped, realizing that you didn’t get a name earlier. 

“Frank,” he revealed with a smile in his voice. 

“Thank you, Frank. I really appreciate you for doing this.”

“Like I said, it’s no problem,” he replied warmly, except that this time, he didn’t call you ma’am but used your first name instead. And, oh, hearing it with that voice was making you feel embarrassingly hot all over. Especially with his voice coming from all sides of the car.

“I really should’ve stayed home tonight,” you said with a small sigh, aiming for a casual conversation to recover from the effect his voice saying your name had on you.

Frank chuckled softly, which also set your stomach aflutter. You wondered what he looked like, if his appearance measured up to his voice. He hadn’t said anything about being the one to get you, so you unfortunately might never find out. 

“Why didn’t you? Stay home.”

Groaning, you pulled on the lever to lower the seat into a more reclined position. 

“A date.”

“From your tone, I’ll take that the weather wasn’t the only thing that was bad, huh?”

You scoffed. “Believe me, compared to that date, the weather feels like sunshine… And the worst part?” You continued, feeling angry again. “I knew it was a bad idea as soon as I got there… I never go on double dates. It’s always so awkward. And I was right. I was feeling like a third wheel because clearly the guy wasn’t interested and was flirting with the waitress the whole time… So now, I’m sitting in my car in a fucking blizzard and wearing a stupid dress that was too expensive in the first place, while he’s probably having a jolly good time back there.” You let out a long and heavy sigh as you finished your rant, feeling suddenly bone-tired when all the anger fled your body after getting it all out. “Shit, I’m sorry, Frank… I didn’t mean to take out my frustration on you.”

“No need to apologize. You sounded like you needed to get this off your chest.” 

“Mh, I guess I did, yeah… You’re really good at this listening thing, you know?” you laughed softly, feeling better now. 

“Comes with the job, I guess. A lot of people need to vent or just talk when they get into an accident or their car breaks down for some reason.”

“Mh, fair enough, yeah… You’ve been doing this for long?”

“Roughly ten years or somethin’, yeah.”

“And it’s your shop?”

A low laugh. “What makes you think that?”

“The way you said my guys earlier, I guess, and how you handled the whole thing.”

Frank’s silence had you laughing.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Spot on, yeah,” he chuckled, clearly surprised but amused by your reasoning.

The conversation kept flowing like that, with you asking questions about his job or either of you exchanging little details about your lives. If not for the wind getting louder outside, you could have almost forgotten that you were stuck in your car in an uncomfortable dress. 

“Not that I’m not appreciating our little chat, but do you have the tow’s ETA?” you asked after a while, checking the time and charge left on the phone. 

Frank laughed lightly. “Any time, really.”

At the news, you sat up in your seat and turned around, as if expecting to see headlights. Which you actually did. 

“I can see headlights,” you cried out, feeling a giant sense of relief at seeing them. 

“Okay, you’re almost out of there.”

You sighed deeply. “Thank you, Frank. I…” you trailed off, happy to get out of the car but also sort of sad to let the voice go. 

“See you in a sec,” was the last thing you heard before a loud whooshing sound howled through the speakers and the line disconnected. 

Huh?

Your attention was distracted when the headlights stopped next to the passenger door, and you heard the truck’s door open and close before a dark figure appeared in front of the lights. There was a loud tap on your window that was followed by the door being yanked open. You huddled deeper into your coat as this brought in the snow and icy wind, the howl of it almost deafening in intensity. The tall figure replaced it immediately, though, revealing a smiling, bearded man in a thick winter coat and a beanie, which were already covered in a layer of snow. 

“Hey, you holdin’ up okay in there?”

At the sound of that voice, you exhaled sharply with a short laugh of surprised awe.

“Frank.”

His smile turned soft. “Let’s get you outta here, ‘kay? Got a blanket in my truck.”

“Yes, please.” 

“I’ma get to your side. Grab everythin’ you need ‘n make sure to cover up as best you can.”

Nodding in understanding, you watched as Frank closed the door and moved out of the light to walk around the car. He tapped on the window again, indicating for you to get ready, before he opened it. Bracing for the cold, you grabbed your purse and tucked your head into the coat as you took Frank’s outstretched hand to help pull you out. You gasped as the cold enveloped you instantly, the wind and snowflakes hitting your face from all sides. 

“Come on, just a few feet to walk ‘n you’ll be back in the warmth,” Frank shouted over the roar of the wind as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders to herd you toward the tow truck. 

The walk was short, but by the time you made it to the passenger side of the truck and Frank had helped you up, you were beyond freezing and shuddering like crazy. Thankfully, the heater was on high and blasted you with a gust of warm air, which made goosebumps erupt on your whole body. Meanwhile, Frank hurried to his side and climbed in. 

“You okay?” He took you in with a quick glance over your body. “Here, put this around you.” He unfolded a large blanket and leaned toward you to drape it around your shoulders and bundle you up. “Okay… Better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” you breathed through shattering teeth as the man fussed about you. 

His eyes met yours as he finished making sure that you’d be warm before he leaned back in his seat and out of your space, although his eyes lingered on you for a few seconds.

“Gonna check on the car, yeah?” He jerked his head toward your car, which, you now noticed, was covered in a thickening layer of snow. 

Nodding, you watched Frank maneuver the truck until its rear was to your car before Frank jumped into the blizzard again. You turned around and looked through the small window in the back of the truck, but you could barely make out Frank’s figure, only hearing the sounds of metal on metal and the motor of the towing wire. Rubbing your arms to rid you of the cold, you started gnawing your bottom lip as more time went by, worrying that Frank would get hypothermia from staying outside for so long. However, just as you were about to fight your way into the cold again to tell him to leave the car where it was and come back inside, Frank appeared in the window of the driver’s side before the door opened and he climbed in. He was covered in snow and clearly shivering. 

“Shit, you must be half frozen.” You slid the blanket off, but Frank stopped you and tugged it back around your shoulders. 

“Keep it. I’m fine, don’t worry. I’ll be warm in no time.” He removed the beanie and threw it on the dashboard, revealing a thick shock of dark, disheveled hair that went perfectly with his short beard. His looks very definitely did measure up to his voice. 

“You sure? You were out there for a while. I’m pretty warm by now.”

Frank shot you a smile that had even more warmth spreading through you. “I’m good… Now let’s get you home, yeah?”

Smiling in turn, you nodded as Frank put the truck into drive and started the slow way back into New York. 

“Thanks for getting me out of there so fast,” you said after a few minutes of comfortable silence. 

“No problem. Couldn't very well let you freeze out there, could I? Not after that lousy date.”

You snorted out a laugh and nodded vehemently. “I appreciate you taking that detail into consideration for choosing to save me.”

Frank glanced your way with a small grin. 

It took a while to get into the city, but you kept up a steady conversation like you had over the phone, except that his voice was even better to listen to up close than through the car's speakers. That, and you could watch him. It was nearly dark in the truck, but you saw enough of his face to observe his facial expressions as he talked or listened.

“Shit, you can barely tell where we are,” you commented a good while later, sitting up straighter in your seat as you looked around yourself when you drove through your neighborhood and to your place. During your conversation, you found out that Frank’s repair shop wasn’t too far from your place, so he offered to drive you home straight away. Which you were glad about, since the snow was falling so hard that you could barely make out anything. You could consider yourself lucky that you only had a minor crash with how the weather was going and that the road was still manageable here. “Oh, there, that’s my building.”

Frank stopped the car and put it into neutral before turning toward you while you rummaged through your purse to get your keys. 

“I’ll call you as soon as I get the new tires, ‘kay?”

You nodded in acknowledgement but frowned when you didn’t find your keys where you usually kept them. 

“Something wrong?” Frank asked after several seconds of silence filled with you going through your purse more and more frantically. 

In the end, you upended the whole thing next to you on the seat and went through your stuff until you were sure that you’d checked everywhere. 

“I can’t find my keys,” you whispered in anguish, lifting your wide gaze to Frank. 

“Lemme check the car.” 

Before you had the time to say anything, Frank was out of the door and jumping onto the back of the truck to climb into your car. It took a few minutes, but when Frank sat back next to you, snow in his hair and beard, you knew from his expression that he had come up empty-handed. 

“You sure you had them with you before you left?”

You nodded and covered your face with a miserable groan. “Yeah… I saw them when I left the restaurant earlier. I must have lost them in the snow when I got out of the car. My neighbor has a spare, but she’s out of town.”  

You cursed into your palms. What were you going to do now? You couldn’t ask Frank to drive you to a friend. It was the middle of the night in a freaking blizzard, and your friend who lived the closest lived half an hour away on a good day.

“I got a pretty comfortable couch.” Your head snapped to Frank, who was watching you with an awkward smile and lifted a hand, palm up. “I know you don’t know me or nothin’, but if you don’t know where to go…” he trailed off with a one-shoulder shrug. 

“That’s… that’s very kind of you. I…” You glanced up at your building and then back at Frank, with his genuine smile, his deep voice, and honest eyes. 

No, you didn’t know him, but your gut was telling you that it was okay to trust him. 

“Thank you, I really appreciate it… You’re the only reason this evening isn’t a complete shitshow.” 

Putting the car back into drive, Frank chuckled lightly. Another little while later, Frank slowed in front of a garage entrance that had a Castle Repair and Towing sign hanging over the entrance. A young man came out of an office as soon as Frank drove into the large garage and climbed out of the truck.

“Everyone still out?” 

“Yeah, I just sent Jim out again,” the young man explained, looking toward you as you got out of the truck as well. 

Frank rapidly glanced your way. “Listen, Peter. Gonna let you handle things for a bit, yeah? Gonna settle my guest upstairs. Lost her house keys in the snow.”

“Oh,” Peter sent you a grimace of understanding. “Sure.” 

“Okay, come on up. This way.” Frank led the way to a staircase off to the right of the garage, which meant that Frank had to be living just above the garage. 

You climbed a flight of stairs that opened on a small corridor that had only one door, which Frank unlocked before showing you in. 

The apartment was an open living area with large windows that probably made it a luminous place during the day. The kitchen sat to the left, and the living room to the right, where there were also two doors that had to be the bathroom and the bedroom.

Still huddled in the blanket, you put your purse on the couch and unwrapped the blanket before you removed your coat as well since the apartment was well heated. You slowly looked around yourself before meeting Frank’s gaze, which clearly was in the process of coming up from giving you a once-over. You felt your face warming at his expression. It was appreciative but not in a way that made you feel uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, really.

“Your date really should get his eyes checked. You look beautiful.” Frank met your eyes with an attentive stare before looking to the side with a small shake of his head, then took off his own outside gear, leaving him in dark denims and a forest green sweater. 

Eyes widening briefly at the fierce statement, you smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

Frank nodded silently before he seemed to shake himself.

“D’you wanna take a shower? Warm up some more. I got some shirts I could lend you.”

“That would be great, yeah, thanks. I can't stand being in this thing anymore,” you laughed, handing Frank the blanket and your coat as he moved forward to take them from you.

Frank hummed in acknowledgment and glanced at you again, his eyes moving up and down your body like earlier.

“Shame, though,” he muttered after a few seconds, his eyes finally moving away from you as he turned and walked to the door to hang up the coats before he went to what you realized had to be the bedroom. 

You bit down on another pleased smile as you watched him enter the bedroom. Maybe the dress had been a good choice after all.

Frank came back a minute later with a fluffy towel and a shirt that looked like it would fit you. 

“Bathroom is just through there.” He pointed to the other door. “I’m gonna prepare the couch while you shower.”

Nodding as you took the clothes with a soft thank you, you headed into the bathroom. It was a simple room, but well-kept and clean, with a deep tub that looked like you could have a great soak in it. Glancing at yourself in the mirror, you rubbed under your tired eyes where the makeup had smudged. Sighing, you removed your shoes and pantyhose along with your underwear, then lifted your hands to the back of your neck to reach the zipper and begin opening the dress. However, as with everything tonight, things just couldn’t be easy. About halfway down your back, the zipper got stuck. Try as you might in this uncomfortable position, neither pulling it up nor down helped. Of course, the zipper was still too high for you to manage to pull the dress off without tearing it. If you’d been home, you’d have done exactly that, but you didn’t have any other clothes to put on for your trip back home, meaning that you couldn’t just rip it off your body. Staring at your reflection with an exasperated look that quickly transformed into defeated embarrassment, you took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom. 

“Frank?”

You found him in the living room, where he was preparing the couch for you. He lifted his gaze, and his eyebrows rose as he saw your face. He straightened. “What’s up? Something wrong with the shower?”

“No… I… um…” Closing your eyes, you turned your back to him. “The zipper is stuck, and I can’t properly reach it, so… would you mind giving me a hand?”

You couldn’t see him anymore, but you heard some rustling before he replied.

“Sure.” 

Frank came to stand behind you, but he didn’t move immediately. If not for the heat coming off his body, you wouldn’t be certain that he was there at all. His fingers grazed the skin on your back when he reached for the zipper, the touch gentle, but since you hadn’t seen him move, it pulled a soft gasp of surprise out of you. As Frank fiddled with the zipper, you stared ahead and tried not to think about the fact that a handsome guy had his hands on you and was basically helping you undress.

“Damn, that thing got snagged real good,” Frank mumbled while his fingers twisted and pulled at the material to get the zipper slowly free.

“Honestly, by this point I wish you would just rip it off.” You shrugged before realizing how this might sound. You sighed. “I mean figuratively, you know, ‘cause I’ve been in it for hours? But it’s also okay if it tears a little as long as I can get out of it… by myself.” 

You felt stupid as soon as you added the last part. However, by the end of your awkward ramble, Frank was laughing, the sound amused but not mocking. 

“Got it,” Frank acknowledged, his voice low and rumbling. “Just a little tearin’.”

You rolled your eyes at yourself and leaned your head forward. Embarrassed or not, Frank’s voice still did things to you when he spoke in that soft rumble. Pressing your lips together, you chose to stop talking lest you say anything else to embarrass you. 

Following your lead, Frank kept silent as he concentrated on his task, only muttering faintly here and there when the zipper stopped moving again. However, he had to have leaned in closer to check on what he was doing at some point because you could now feel his breath on your shoulders. You bit your bottom lip at the proximity, at the light touches on your skin, both from his fingers and his breath. It took your whole focus not to react. Then he made a sound of victory, his breath hitting your nape with a sharper gust, which caused a shudder to run through you. 

“You cold?” Frank asked, his voice low and far too close to your ear now, one of his fingers sliding over a couple of inches of your back as he indicated the goosebumps where the zipper had finally relented and moved all the way down. 

Closing your eyes again, you shook your head as another shudder rolled through your body. “No,” you breathed. “Not cold.” 

“No?” he hummed thoughtfully. “Then what?”

This time, his mouth was right behind your ear as he spoke. The sound of his low voice and the puff of air against your sensitive skin had you letting out a tiny, involuntary moan. You bit your lip as you felt your face burning with both arousal and embarrassment. Opening your eyes again, you slowly turned your head to the side until you could almost see him.

“You're doing it on purpose,” you breathed with a hint of reproach.

“Doin’ what on purpose?” 

There was a smile in his voice, and you finally turned enough to look at him meaningfully, your back touching his chest. 

“Frank.”

When you found his eyes, you saw them darkening with lust by the second as he stared back at you intently. His smile, though, was tender when he reached up to stroke a thumb along your cheek, still observing you quietly. Waiting.

“Please.”

Because there was no possibility that you didn’t want him, you tilted your head in such a way that your lips were closer to his. You felt a flutter of satisfaction when Frank’s eyes fell to your mouth.

“Shit,” he whispered under his breath just before he finally closed the gap. 

You groaned and leaned further into him, letting your eyes fall shut while you let yourself sink into the kiss. It was slow and heady, with Frank's lips catching yours or sucking at your bottom lip before he lazily slid his tongue against yours with a hint of coffee on it. The position might not have been the best, but you weren’t inclined to change it. Leaning against Frank’s warm and strong body completely made up for how you had to keep your head twisted to kiss him. Frank seemed to think along these lines, since there was absolutely no hurry in his movements, as if he were savoring each of them and was happy to keep you like this. He kept up the same pace when he slid his lips along your jaw and to your neck, before kissing his way behind the ear he’d spoken into earlier. You groaned and tilted your head to the side for Frank’s questing mouth, shivering from the continued attention. Meanwhile, Frank’s hands, which had kept the dress up after he managed to open it, let go of the material, which slid down your body, leaving you fully naked. You let out a short gasp as cool air hit the front of your bare body, causing your nipples to pebble even more than they already were after Frank’s attention on your neck and shoulders. As his hands splayed over your body, fingers tickling over your breasts, stomach, and thighs, Frank was the one who groaned this time. 

“Just look at you,” he rasped, caressing you with reverence all over, thumbs catching over your nipples on his way down and enjoying the soft sound you made. “What a fuckin’ idiot. Lettin’ you leave. So fuckin’ beautiful, sweetheart.” 

You moaned at the new wave of fierceness in Frank’s voice. At the honest compliments. It had your body thrumming with affection and desire. 

“I’m all yours now,” you heard yourself saying. Which was wild. Only a few hours ago, Frank had been a total stranger. And he still was. But there was something about him that made you feel like you could give yourself over to him. It didn’t matter if it was only for tonight. It didn’t change the fact that this felt good, felt right. 

“Christ,” Frank hissed, wrapping his arms around you and touching his forehead to the back of your head, his body flush with yours and making you feel his own arousal pressing against you for the first time. “Com’ere.” He pulled away and caught your hand, leading you backward toward the couch. 

He sat down on it and pulled you down with him until you were sitting on his lap, back to chest, his hard length trapped between your bodies. As soon as you sat down, Frank spread his legs, which forced you to open them as well, your legs splayed on either side of his thighs. Slowly reaching up to circle your throat with one hand, Frank had you leaning back against his chest and tilting your head toward his. His other hand was resting on your thigh, drawing slow circles on it. You couldn’t remember ever being this exposed, with you fully naked while he was still dressed, but it wasn’t a bad feeling; you didn’t feel vulnerable. Just the opposite. He’d been the one to tease you, but with how he was staring at you right before he kissed you again, you knew that Frank would do anything you asked of him. Considering the way Frank touched you, you might not even have to say anything at all. The fingers around your throat were loose, just there to keep your head close to his, but the hand soon moved with the other. Slowly. You let out a shuddering breath when Frank’s hands started at your shoulders and traveled down. It felt ticklish, but you didn’t try, nor did you want to twist away from the touch. Your skin rose where his fingers passed, and when he gently caught your nipples between his fingers and pulled at them, you gasped into his mouth while your back arched into his hands. 

“Frank,” you breathed, simply needing to say his name, but Frank sealed your lips with his again and dove his tongue between them, taking your breath away. 

All the way down his hands moved. Over your sides and belly, toward your mound, before separating to stroke your thighs. By then, you were mostly unable to keep up with his mouth, trembling with need while sighing and moaning continually. When one of Frank’s hands finally drifted between your legs, you bit your lip in anticipation, feeling already on the edge. There, too, he went slowly, trailing his fingers from the top of your mound before slipping between the outer lips, which had your breath catching as you waited for his fingers to keep going. When they passed over your clit and through your soaked flesh, you let out a whooshing breath that turned into a groan of pleasure. He did it a few times before he used his middle finger to circle your clit lightly. Your legs trembled, but Frank’s other hand was gripping one thigh tightly, keeping you still against him. 

“Frank,” you repeated, turning your head toward him while you writhed on his lap, feeling his cock jerking against your ass. 

“Shh, I got you, sweetheart.”

His fingers slid lower, and two of them sank deep into you. Your back bowed away from Frank as your head flew back against his shoulder with a little scream. Until now, your hands had remained by your sides or rested on Frank’s arms, but they were now gripping onto his forearms tightly, your nails biting his skin when Frank began plunging his fingers in and out of you, curled at the perfect angle. 

“That’s it, that’s it,” Frank was rumbling against your ear and kissing your neck, keeping you in place with his other hand wrapped around your waist as he basically fucked you with his fingers. 

When your orgasm hit, your breath caught on a sharp gasp, and your whole body went taut with pleasure while Frank talked you through it. Once you came out on the other side of your peak and rode the content feeling of afterglow, you sank into Frank, drained in the best of ways. With a drowsy smile, you let Frank curl his arms around your middle while he breathed against your neck. Closing your eyes, you let yourself drift for a bit. That was until Frank shifted slightly under you, which made you realize that he was still rock hard. 

Moving slowly since your legs were still wobbly, you removed them from over Frank’s thighs and more or less managed to sink to the floor at Frank’s feet, once Frank released you when he noticed your wriggling. You looked up at him with a small smile as you got more comfortable on your knees. Frank watched you intently, his chest rising and falling more quickly when you lifted your hands to his jeans. 

“Up,” you said with intent, tugging at his pants to get him to his feet. 

Swallowing noticeably, Frank did as asked and got up. You sucked in your bottom lip as you stared at the large outline of his dick in the jeans. You were the one to swallow this time, now all the more eager to open the pants. As you reached up to do exactly that, Frank slid his fingers against your cheek until he was cupping it. Still working on undoing the button and zipper, you looked up at him, finding him staring at you with the sort of desire that left you breathless. His thumb gently stroked over the corner of your mouth, but you slightly turned your head and kissed it. Frank’s hand stilled briefly before he slid his thumb over your bottom lip. You watched each other while you finally pulled his jeans and underwear down over his erection. You didn’t look at it, though, too focused on Frank’s eyes, and opened your mouth when his thumb pulled down your lip. It was a clear invitation, and Frank accepted it gladly. With a small groan, Frank slowly pressed his thumb between your lips and onto your tongue. You sucked on it. Not hard, just enough to be a hint of what was to come. 

“Fuck,” he breathed in his lowest tone yet as you wrapped a hand around his length while still sucking at his thumb, the sound he made causing a wave of arousal to run down your spine. 

With his gaze still locked with yours, Frank pulled his thumb out but kept his hand where it was. This was the cue for you to lean in. You didn’t take him in your mouth, though. Not yet. Instead, you stuck your tongue out and slowly licked around the tip. You used a mix of shorter and longer passes, which had Frank grunting and breathing faster. Loving the effect you were having on him, you finally pulled the tip between your lips and sucked. Frank hissed and had to close his eyes for the first time, breaking eye contact. After how expertly he’d played with your body, it was a heady feeling to be able to give back in the same way. All you wanted was to hear how good you made him feel. As you slowly took him deeper and bobbed your head, Frank’s fingers slid away from your cheek and into your hair. They tightened there sporadically, as if he was unable to help himself. And you loved it. It wasn’t possessive; it wasn’t there to keep you in place. His hold was more like an anchor for him as he let you set the pace and do as you pleased. When his hips began to move, you moaned and looked up, finding him staring at you again. The thrusts were shallow, barely moving further than the middle of your tongue, but you curled your fingers tighter around him and worked in counterpoint. Frank’s mouth parted as he breathed harder, his eyes closing for a moment as the sensations intensified. When his gaze fell on your face again, you could tell that he was barely holding on by a thread. 

“I’m close, sweetheart,” he warned, his voice sounding rough and slightly strained. 

Popping off with your mouth, you kept up the pace of your hand, making your movements longer as your hand covered his whole length now. Frank licked his lips in between ragged breaths as you stroked him towards release and groaned deep in his chest when you tilted your head back and offered your throat. 

“Fuck,” he gasped out loudly as he came, his cum landing all over your chest and breasts in hot jets. 

You immediately gentled your strokes on his cock, keeping the motion light as you carried him through orgasm. He stared at you, panting, but he remained silent for a few long beats. The hand that had stayed in your hair through the whole thing returned to your cheek, and he stroked his thumb along it. His eyes took in the mess on your chest, and he suddenly looked contrite. 

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he muttered, letting go of you to do up his pants. 

You laughed. “Don’t be. I liked it, and I need to take a shower anyway.” 

Frank grunted with a half smile and helped you back to your feet before he stooped low and retrieved your dress from the floor. He stared at it before looking at you with a small, embarrassed chuckle as he handed it to you.

“Christ, this kinda went out of hand, huh?”

You laughed. “I guess… Of all the things that I could have imagined happening tonight, this sure wasn’t it.” 

“Yeah… you gotta know that when I offered you to stay here, I didn’t mean it—”

“Oh, no, of course.” You waved your hand dismissively. “I didn’t think you were.”

“I just…” Frank glanced at your face and then your body that was mostly hidden by the dress now. “The phone call…” he trailed off again, but you didn’t need him to finish the sentence to understand what he meant.

“Yeah,” you breathed, watching him right back. “Me too.” 

You watched each other for another moment before Frank cleared his throat and stepped back toward the entrance door.

“Right. Need to check on the team. See if everythin’s okay.”

“Of course. I’ll be in the shower.”

Frank glanced toward the bathroom door and then at you, his attention making another zap of awareness shoot through you. You laughed, not feeling embarrassed about your choice of words this time. 

“You know what I mean.”

Frank laughed under his breath and nodded. 

“Help yourself to whatever you like if you’re hungry or thirsty. I’ll see you later.”

With a small thank you, you watched him leave the apartment and went into the bathroom to finally take that shower. He came back upstairs while you were in the process of drinking down a tall glass of water, dressed in the long T-shirt that Frank had lent you.

“Everything okay? Do you need to head back out?”

“No, all’s good. Still got two guys out there, but they just called in, so we know they’re fine. And Peter’s on shift tonight, so he’ll take care of the rest.”

“That’s good, then.”

Frank nodded. “I’m gonna take a shower… Be back in a sec.”

Smiling at him, you retrieved your phone from your purse and sat down on the couch, realizing that the blanket and pillow that Frank had put out for you were now lying on the ground after your fooling around. Putting everything back in place, you sent out a quick text to your friend to let her know that you were back home. You'd tell her the specifics later. While you scrolled through social media, you noticed that it was close to two in the morning. You’d left the restaurant four hours ago, but it felt like a whole year had gone by. Inclining your head over the back of the couch, you stared at the ceiling when the bathroom door opened and Frank came out. Turning your head in his direction, you saw that he was dressed in a threadbare red t-shirt and a pair of light grey sweatpants. He looked ridiculously good in this. 

“Comfortable?” Frank asked while walking up to you.

You grinned and nodded while petting the couch. “You didn’t exaggerate.” 

Chuckling, Frank took a step back and was about to turn away from you when he stopped and looked ahead, thinking. 

“You know…” he frowned to himself before he glanced at you. “My bed’s pretty comfortable too.” 

Biting down on a slowly forming grin, you hummed in a put-on thoughtful way. 

“Well, I guess I need to find out if that’s true as well.” 

Snorting, Frank extended a hand to pull you up before he led you into the bedroom. 

“Hey,” you smiled softly as he lifted his head when you walked up to him. “The usual? Or can I interest you in something else today? We have a new apple pie. Freshly made this afternoon.” 

“Yeah, uh… just the usual, please.” His eyes briefly met yours with a smile while his hands fidgeted with the napkin dispenser.

“Sure thing. Coming right up.”

You put on a brighter smile than you were feeling when he nodded and turned his head toward the window again, his smile fading to be replaced by a neutral expression. Turning on your heels, you went through the process of preparing the coffee, glancing at him a few times while sucking in your lower lip. 

“There you go.” You placed the tall cup of coffee in front of him a couple of minutes later. “Enjoy.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” He instantly took a long sip of coffee and hummed appreciatively. 

“Let me know if you need anything else.” 

As always, he nodded, but you knew that he wouldn’t call on you again. 

During the next hour, the coffee shop began emptying until the man was the only person left and you were the last of the staff. It wasn’t the first time that this had happened. On these evenings, you always tried to keep as busy as possible as you cleaned up for the next day so he would stay as long as the time allowed before you had to officially close, not wanting to make him feel like he had to leave. Unfortunately, tonight he got up before you were fully done.

“Thanks for the coffee, ma’am.” He came up to the counter and placed the empty cup in front of you. 

“Sure, of course.”

“Have a good night.”

He turned around, heading for the exit before you had the chance to reply. But his eyes… Before you could think about it, you hurried around the bar and straight up to him. He stopped at your approach, his eyebrows furrowing. You didn’t think, just moved until you were in his space and wrapped your arms around his middle. The man froze, his whole posture rigid. Neither of you said anything, but he didn't pull away. He stood there, clearly unsure of what to do. Then you pulled him in tighter. 

“It's okay,” you whispered. Not “it's going to be okay,” not “you're okay,” because you had no idea of what was going on. But you could tell him that it was alright to let go.

And he did.

His arms wrapped around you, and a long, pained, barely audible sound came from him as his bearded face pressed against your neck. He curled into you, his arms tight around you but still so careful not to hurt you. 

You didn’t say anything, only stood there, eyes closed, while you rubbed slow circles into his back, and he didn't loosen his hold on you. When he ultimately let go, he stepped away with his eyes fixed on the ground, his fingers twitching at his sides. 

“I,” he cleared his throat uncertainly, a small frown curling his brow. 

“See you tomorrow?” you jumped in, smiling gently when his eyes finally met yours. 

His gaze wavered, blinking to the side, before he nodded slightly. “Yeah… tomorrow.”

He turned to the door, his hand on the handle to push it open, but stopped again and shifted his body halfway back to you. 

“Thank you.” His voice was rougher than usual, and again, his eyes only very briefly met yours, but you still saw the genuine gratitude in them.

Swallowing at the growing lump in your throat, you sent him a small smile before you managed a quiet, “Any time.”

With one last nod, he walked through the door and away. 

In the end, he only came back one week later instead of the following day. You had almost believed that your unsolicited hug had ended up putting him off and stopped him from coming to the coffee shop anymore. 

When he walked past where you were already tending to other customers, he shot you a small but warm smile that had your heart speeding up unexpectedly. Once you’d taken your customers’ order, you walked straight to the man, who’d already sat down with his newspaper. He sat as hunched forward as usual, but he was watching you approach instead of staring into the street. 

“Hey,” he said first, his fingers clasped in front of him on the table. 

“Hey, glad to see you back.” 

“Yeah.” He frowned for a moment, his eyes getting a faraway look before he focused them back on you. “Yeah, was out of town.” 

By his expression, you could tell that something must have happened while he’d been out of town, but you chose to go along with his more relaxed demeanor, as forced or not as it might be. 

“The usual, I take?” 

“Yeah, please.”

Smiling, you nodded and started for the counter but stopped when the man called your name. Not ma’am, but your actual name. Turning toward him again, you could only stare at him, too stunned to say anything. 

“You still have some of that apple pie you talked about last time?” His smile was warm, his eyes tentative, and you knew that something had shifted inside him.

At last, a grin stretched your mouth as you nodded enthusiastically. 

“One coffee and a slice of apple pie. Coming right up.”

“Frank,” he volunteered, unprompted. 

Frank's eyes rose from the phone to look at you with a surprised look. To be honest, you hadn’t even meant to say anything, but his half-dejected and half-exasperated expression had triggered your desire to help.

“I mean, I’m always the one my family and friends ask when it comes to stuff like that, and, um, if you’re in a hurry, I could, well, I could… check it out?” you rambled on quickly before trailing off uncomfortably when you realized that you offering your help meant that you’d been listening to his conversation. “Uh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“You’d do that?” Frank cut it with an obvious look of relief as the elevator came to a jerking stop when it reached the first floor. He didn’t even seem to have picked up on your babbling. 

“Uh, yeah, sure. It’s no problem at all.”

The doors slid open, but neither of you moved to get out as you stared at each other. 

“Don’ wanna make you late for work, though. But if-”

“No, no, you’re fine. I’m always out the door super early anyway, so…” You shrugged with a shy smile.

“Appreciate it.” The small, grateful smile that Frank sent you had warmth pooling in your belly and heat creeping up your neck. 

He nodded his head toward the lobby, motioning for you to follow him, before he stopped near the mailboxes and handed you the phone. Taking it with a smile, the first thing you noticed was that he didn’t have any kind of password set up to access his phone, but looking at Frank, you sincerely doubted that anyone wanted to try to steal it from him. Tapping on the overview button, you tried to hide your grimace at realizing that he had at least a dozen apps open. You quickly closed them all at once and almost laughed at the amount of storage it freed up. Clearly, Frank wasn’t big on phones. As you methodically worked your magic on the phone, you tried to ignore Frank’s attentive gaze on you as well as his large presence in front of you. 

“Okay, think you’re all set.” You handed him the phone with a satisfied grin, which he returned with an awed expression that you found incredibly endearing. 

“Shit, that was fast. I really need to pick up my game with this. It’s embarrassin’.” He tapped around on the screen, probably opening the file the person on the phone had sent him earlier.

You couldn’t help your little laugh at his sheepish look. “Don’t be. I just spend a lot of time with phones and computers, so I know my way around them.”

Frank smiled at you and nodded before he frowned in thought and threw you a considering look. 

“Hope it’s not too much to ask, but… You, uh… You think you could take a look at my laptop? It’s an older model, and it’s worked fine, but it’s been actin’ up recently. I’d pay for it, of course.” 

You bit your lip on a smile at his tentative question. How could this big, intimidating-looking man be so cute? 

“Yeah, no problem at all, but you don’t have to pay me anything. I’m glad to help. Just lemme know when you want me to come over.”

He chuckled with an audible sigh of relief and ducked his head. “Thanks, that’s… yeah, really appreciate it. Uh… Tomorrow evenin’ work for you… Say, I dunno, 7?”

“Works for me.”

“‘Kay… but I really feel like I should pay you for it… I mean, I dunno how long it’s gonna take.” He licked his lips while his eyebrows pulled together. 

“Tell you what… Buy me a pizza and we’re even, yeah?” 

Frank’s mouth moved into an amused smile. “Deal.”

“I have one condition, though.” 

Frank tilted his head and arched one eyebrow at your lifted finger. 

“The pizza better be from Lombardi’s.” 

For a second, Frank didn’t move but then began laughing softly, a grin lighting up his face as he nodded approvingly. 

“You got it, sweetheart. You got it. Wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

Your stomach flipped around in your belly, and another wave of heat suffused your face at the endearment. And you were going to spend an evening sitting next to Frank while having pizza and repairing his laptop? 

Then Frank’s phone began ringing, which helped bring you out of your thoughts about tomorrow. 

“Yeah?” Frank drawled after picking up. There was a small pause in which you almost turned and left him to it, but Frank caught your eye as he smirked. “Yeah, no need for that. Opened the file already, so I’m good.” Another pause and a small laugh from Frank. “Might have found your replacement… Yup… Seems good at what she does, and she’s much nicer than you.”

You snorted at the obvious back-and-forth going on with Frank and his friend, to which Frank grinned at you as he finished talking and hung up. 

“Okay, don’t wanna hold you up any longer,” he said and lifted the phone as the two of you began walking towards the exit. “Thanks for that. You really did me a solid with this.”

“Any time.” 

His smile was warm, knowing that you meant it. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah, tomorrow.” 

With one last smile, Frank wished you a good day and walked down the street while you headed the other way. 

Pizza and Frank. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough. 

As the blade got closer to you, Frank shot the man in the hand, which caused him to drop the knife with a shout of pain before tumbling to the ground among shouts of surprise from the gang surrounding you. 

“You lay one finger on her, and I’ll carve you out like a fuckin’ pumpkin,” Frank growled menacingly as he loomed over the cowering man. 

“Frank,” you gasped in warning, but Frank was already reacting as another guy attacked him from behind. 

Frank sidestepped him and threw his elbow into the guy’s nose before he shot him in a kneecap, sending the howling man to the ground as well. 

The rest of the gang didn’t even try to fight when they saw Frank’s infamous body armor and scurried away like the rats they were. In all truth, Frank wanted nothing more than to put a bullet into the heads of the two guys at his feet, but your presence stopped his trigger finger. You’d already been mugged, and Frank didn’t feel like adding the sight of a corpse to tonight's scares. Instead, Frank crouched down in front of them, sneering at their panicked attempt at retreat, and retrieved your possessions. 

“Get the fuck outta here before I change my mind ‘bout lettin’ you live,” Frank growled to them under his breath. 

With a whimper of fear and with one limping, they managed to get up and vanish into the back alley. Once he was sure that they were gone, Frank turned around to check on you, but you were already throwing yourself into his arms. Frank caught you with a small sound of surprise, his arms going around your back and pulling you close as you squeezed him tightly. 

“Hey, you’re okay, sweetheart?” he whispered into your hair. 

You sighed and nodded against his shoulder before pulling away and looking at him with a relieved smile. 

“Yes, thanks to you… I usually carry a mace, but I switched bags a couple weeks ago and forgot to put it in the new one.” 

Then suddenly seeming to realize who you were talking to as Frank held out your purse for you to take, you dropped your gaze with a shy smile. Frank wanted to groan then and there. There it was. 

“You want me to drive you home?” he found himself asking, because he had really no intention of leaving you just yet. 

“Oh, uh… that’s…” you started, and Frank could tell that you were fighting between agreeing and politely refusing. ”If you don’t mind?” 

Frank smiled to himself at your answer and leaned the tiniest bit into your space, if only to see your eyes widen and your breath catch. “I don’t,” he said in a low voice, before his eyes tracked the movement of your tongue as you licked your lips until he locked eyes with you again. 

“Okay,” you breathed. “Thank you.” 

With a small nod, Frank smiled and led the way out of the alley and to his van, then opened the passenger door for you. Not surprisingly, the drive started out quiet except for you telling him your address. He could see you fidgeting with your purse and shooting him quick glances. 

“Did you have some, um, business around here?” you asked after a few minutes. 

Frank glanced at you and saw you staring at the skull on his breastplate, which made him realize that it was the first time that you’d seen him dressed like this. He ended up only nodding with a small sound of confirmation lest he say anything that might suggest that his mission was on the other end of the neighborhood and he actually didn’t have to come all the way up here. 

“Something bad going on?”

Frank shot you an amused half smile. “Who’s askin’? You or the reporter?” 

The question was clearly unexpected, but it had you grinning and then laughing a second later. 

“It’s off the record… But why? Would there even be a chance that the Punisher gives an interview?”

Frank snorted. “I doubt the public would appreciate it. I already had enough trouble with these fanboys runnin’ around lately.”

“I don't think so, actually… I’m not trying to say that you should give an interview or anything, but trust me, people would be interested in what you’ve got to say.”

He shrugged with a grunt. “People are just curious assholes, always looking for the next story to sink their teeth into.”

You hummed noncommittally. “I guess.” 

Taking his eyes from the road to look at you, Frank saw you watching him with a contemplative frown. It was when you realized that you were staring and that Frank had caught you doing so that you dropped your gaze and looked to the other side while sucking in your bottom lip. 

“Didn't mean to offend you,” he muttered, realizing how you could have interpreted his words.

“Not at all… You are right to some extent. But I think that it’s also that curiosity that will make people really listen.” You shrugged. “If it’s just about selling a story, about sensationalism, then yeah, it’s this morbid curiosity we all have that will get people to read but also dismiss the news just as quickly. But that’s not what I wanna write about or why I went into journalism. It’s more your standpoint I’d be interested in… what you stand for… what you’re fighting for.” You went quiet for a beat before adding, “But anyway, don’t worry, as I said, it’s off the record.”

Frank nodded with a thoughtful hum. From what he’d heard from Karen when you still used to work together, you had a similar approach to journalism as her, and he respected that. If he were to answer anyone’s questions, it would be yours. 

“So… you always work this late?” Frank asked, wanting to bring the focus back on you instead of him.

“Mm… depends on the news. I mean, stuff doesn't only happen between 9 and 5, right?” you pointed out with a small grin. 

Frank huffed a short laugh. “More like before and after.”

Laughing in agreement, you suddenly sat up in your seat and pointed at the next intersection. 

“Oh, that’s my street just there.”

Following your instructions, Frank drove down the street to your apartment building and came to a halt in front of it, engine still running. You looked out the window and then back at him, catching your bottom lip between your teeth as you did so before glancing down. Frank watched you quietly, waiting you out, although he was almost bursting with the need to touch you. 

“Did you want to come up and have some coffee or something?” you finally asked tentatively. Hopefully. 

“Yeah… I’d like that,” he smiled, and wanted to groan with how you beamed at his reply. 

“‘Kay, then you can park just down the alley here.” You pointed to the side of the road.

Frank quickly did so, and soon you were both getting out of the van and inside the building, where you climbed the stairs to reach your apartment. 

Once through the door, you glanced around the entryway before looking at Frank with a nervous expression. He had to look so out of place in your cozy little apartment, wearing his full outfit, as if ready to head into battle. 

“Um, so, the living room and kitchen are through here.” You pointed at the little archway to the right that opened on a small living room. “The bedroom and bathroom are down the hallway. I, um,” you trailed off as you hung your purse onto a hook on the back of the entrance door. “I just wanna quickly hop in the shower… and get the… the…” You rubbed your arms with an obvious shudder as you trailed off, and Frank instantly knew what you were trying to tell him. 

He slowly came closer and gently placed his hands over the round of your shoulders, where his thumbs moved up and down soothingly. “Hey, hey, of course… Take as long as you need, ‘kay?”

It said a lot about how affected you’d been by what had happened in the alley, because instead of your usual shy reaction when he was so close or touching you, you only sighed in relief and stared at him with an affectionate smile. 

“I won’t be long,” you still assured him, but Frank only nodded and watched you walk down the small corridor. 

After he heard the bathroom door shut and the shower turn on, Frank walked into the living room and looked around himself. The kitchen and the living room only had a small U-shaped bar counter separating them, with wood floor paneling framing the kitchen while the living room was fitted with carpeting. The kitchen was neat but clearly well loved, and Frank smiled at the espresso machine standing proudly in the center of the counter. The living room, though, was another story. Although it was obviously just as loved as the kitchen, it looked on the smaller side, but the impression only came from the number of books and newspapers stacked against the walls since the bookshelves were already crammed full and overflowing. The couch, which had one side pressed underneath one of the two large windows, was slightly too big for the room, but it looked like it might be one of your favorite pieces of furniture. Several throws and thick pillows were strewn all over it, and the couch itself was wide and long enough to be the perfect place to nap or spend a whole night on. Which, considering your job, you probably had many times while working on an article. As he let his eyes drift, the wall closest to the archway caught Frank’s attention. He walked up to it and inspected the little collection of framed news articles displayed all over the wall before reading through a couple as he noticed that some articles were your own. 

When the sound of the bathroom door opening and your soft footsteps padding over the floor reached him, Frank turned his head to see you appear in the archway. You came to a stop as you saw him standing in front of the articles, and Frank couldn’t find anything to say as he took you in. Between the gorgeous dress Frank had seen you in at the party and the casual work clothes you’d been wearing earlier, the clothes you’d chosen to put on now were very basic. However, they didn’t make Frank want you any less. You’d gone for a simple combination of a tank top and checkered shorts that barely grazed the top of your thighs, but it was the skin-fitting tank top that caught his attention. Your nipples were showing through it, indicating that you weren’t wearing anything underneath. A flashback to the party hit Frank in the gut, remembering how you’d moaned and squirmed under his touch while he’d been playing with your nipples. Frank sucked on the inside of one cheek, not wanting to give away how much you were affecting him in case you were still shaken by what had happened earlier. But then you started moving again, with your eyes meeting his for a brief instant, and just like that, Frank knew. He knew that you’d picked this outfit deliberately, and most likely because of the same memory that he was recalling. It astounded Frank how you were able to convey so much with just one look. At first, as you’d passed him, your eyes had been lowered shyly, your bottom lip pulled between your teeth again. But then you’d looked at him, your eyes locking with his, and the heat and want in them had been unmistakable. 

With his eyes tracking your movements towards the kitchen, Frank stood there for a moment longer. He slowly smirked. So you wanted to play. 

Pushing away from the wall, Frank made his way to the kitchen at a slow and measured pace, his footsteps almost silent despite the heavy combat boots. He came to a stop inside the kitchen and leaned against the bar, standing only a few feet behind you. From how your head briefly moved to the side, you were aware that his attention was on you.

“D’you want coffee?” Your voice was low and falsely even, which had Frank grinning to himself and stepping up just behind you. 

“Yeah, coffee’d be great, thanks.” In turn, Frank’s voice was a lazy drawl, spoken only an inch away from your ear as he pretended to look over your shoulder at the espresso machine you were standing in front of. 

He wasn’t touching you, but you uttered a tiny gasp, and your skin pebbled as your back straightened as if about to lean against him. His dick, which had already started to harden when he’d realized that you wanted him, pulsed in his pants at your reaction. The only thing holding him back from actually touching you right this instant was the fact that he wanted to draw this out as much as he could. And he knew that you would let him; even wanted him to. 

With your back still to him, you only nodded and opened a cupboard to grab a cup before going through the motions of preparing Frank’s drink.

“You take anything in it?” you continued breathily after the coffee machine had done its job, turning your head just a fraction toward Frank. 

“Like that’s fine, thank you.” 

Taking a reluctant step back so you wouldn’t bump into him with scalding coffee, Frank let you turn around and hand him the cup. 

“Thanks.” 

Not moving away any further and basically crowding you against the counter, Frank took a sip while keeping his eyes on you. He hummed appreciatively, to which you looked down with a small smile. One thing was becoming obvious to him tonight: he would have to make you work on eye contact because he needed to see each and every expression going over your face.

“What about you? You’re not drinkin’ or eatin’ anythin’?” Frank asked after a few seconds, seeing as you hadn’t made anything for yourself.

You bit your lip and shrugged. “I’m not really… hungry.” 

And damn, you were playing a dangerous game tonight since you lifted your gaze to Frank’s with a clear message when you said the word hungry. 

“That so, huh?” 

You smiled with your lip back between your teeth and shrugged with one shoulder. Frank finished his cup and leaned to the side to reach next to you and place the cup in the sink. He then let his eyes drift over you and smiled. You so visibly waited for him to do something that Frank felt the urge to tease you even more. 

“Y’know, maybe I should leave… You gotta be exhausted.” 

You blinked rapidly in bewilderment, a hint of panic entering your eyes. “Oh, um, no, I’m fine, um… you really don’t…”

“Don’t what?” 

“Don’t have to leave,” you breathed. 

“Yeah?” Frank ducked his head to force you to make eye contact with him again. 

“Yeah, I… um,” a pause, your lips parting for your tongue to wet them. “I haven’t properly thanked you for tonight.” 

On any other day, Frank would have waved your thanks away, but tonight, he knew that there was more to your words than simple gratitude. 

“No need,” he shrugged lightly, waiting. 

“Please?” you requested softly, finally meeting his eyes for real. 

Frank’s cock got harder at the way you stared at him. 

“Hm,” Frank leaned closer. “You have somethin’ specific in mind?” 

You visibly swallowed and licked your lips as you stared at him with a mix of shyness and lust.

“Um, you maybe could—” you started, only to cut yourself off and frown to yourself. Taking in a deep breath as you glanced at Frank, you then slowly breathed out before you tried again. “I want you to fuck my mouth.”

A zap of heat hit Frank right in the groin. Like the first time at the party, hearing you state exactly what you wanted turned Frank on even more. Moreover, from your pause just now, you had obviously remembered that Frank preferred it when you clearly stated what you wanted. Good. 

“‘s that right?” His hand moved up to cup your jaw and slide the thumb over your bottom lip. “Mm, you sure were eager to get me into your mouth last time.” 

Your eyes took on an expression of embarrassment at his words, but you nodded in agreement nonetheless, your tongue dipping out for a second to lick the pad of his thumb still on your lip. Frank’s nostrils flared at the touch, the only sign of outward arousal so far—from what you could see anyway—considering that he’d spoken in a purposely casual tone. 

“Show me how you’d do it,” Frank rasped, pulling on your bottom lip before spreading the saliva you’d put on his thumb over your lip, then sliding his thumb into your mouth and over your tongue. 

When he pressed his thumb down into the center of your tongue, your mouth automatically closed around the digit, while you continued to stare at him with those expressive eyes of yours. Clearly, you hadn’t expected that reaction from him and thought that he’d let you get to your knees immediately, but that wasn’t what Frank had in mind. There was no hurry, and Frank intended to take his time with you tonight. 

“That’s it,” he hummed as you started to suck around his thumb, drawing your head back and forth slowly, until you gasped faintly when Frank pushed down onto your lower teeth and made you drop your jaw open. He withdrew his thumb but quickly replaced it with two fingers. You blinked at him with your pupils blown, opening your mouth wider as Frank slid his fingers further inside and then back out to the top of your tongue. Drawing your lips shut again, you made a soft noise around his fingers as you began sucking around them, which had Frank biting down on a groan. He watched you keenly when he added a third finger and reached for the back of your throat. You instantly gagged and gasped loudly as he pulled back, resting the three fingertips on your bottom lip. 

“If you really want me to fuck that pretty mouth, then you better relax that throat, sweetheart.”

You panted shallowly and nodded with your eyes shining with want.

“I do,” you breathed out earnestly and licked at his fingers again in invitation. 

“Shit,” Frank said in a rough voice. “You’re so fuckin’ eager.”

With this, Frank sank his fingers back into your mouth, and while you did gag again, you didn’t let him pull out anymore. 

“Yeah, that’s it, Attagirl.” 

As he’d expected, while lust burned in your eyes, when the praise crossed his lips, you instantly closed your eyes to avoid Frank’s stare, your embarrassment returning despite your mouth still avidly working on his fingers with little moans of pleasure. As Frank had decided only a few minutes earlier, though, that wouldn’t do this time. 

“Oh no, you look at me,” Frank rumbled, closing the full distance between you until he had your body pinned against the counter for real. Your eyes snapped to his, and Frank hummed in approval. “You don’t look away ever. I want your eyes on me at all times, got it?” At your nod, Frank smiled and tipped his head to the side before he said his next words. “Good girl.” 

Frank’s smile transformed into a grin because he could visibly see you fighting to keep your eyes open and fixed on him while your body squirmed and your hands moved to grip the counter behind you. He didn’t leave you much space to think about it, though, because he stuffed his fingers all the way in, causing your eyes to water and tears to spring forth as you choked and gagged around his fingers. Saliva ran out of the corners of your mouth and dripped down your chin, but you kept your eyes open as best as you could under Frank’s approving gaze. 

When he pulled out, you gasped in lungs full of air, panting heavily as you leaned against the counter. Frank groaned softly at the sight you made and smeared some saliva around your lips. “I think that was enough practice, huh?” 

Nodding eagerly, you dropped to your knees and stared up at him expectantly. “Please.” 

Frank cursed under his breath and nodded. “Yeah, go ahead, sweetheart.” 

Your fingers were on his pants barely a second later, working them open without dislodging the belt carrying his weapons. The first contact of your fingers around his length as you pulled him out of his pants had Frank grunting at the back of his throat. He watched you avidly as your eyes displayed just how much you were looking forward to taking him into your mouth. 

“Hm… Maybe I should give you my kneepads,” he chuckled low in his chest as you licked your lips. Your eyes rose to meet his with an inquisitive expression. “Cause I plan on keepin’ you like this for a bit.” 

Your mouth moved soundlessly, and your eyes blinked a few times, but Frank didn’t miss the little expression of excitement before you looked at his cock again. Frank allowed the break in eye contact, if only because you began stroking him up and down, but not for long. 

“Look at me,” Frank intoned, his voice calm but so naturally authoritative that you could only comply. 

You knew exactly what he wanted and kept your eyes dutifully on him as you leaned forward to lick over the crown. 

“Yeah, that’s good,” Frank rasped while he watched you lick your way around the glans and down his length, making sure to never look away from him. “That’s real good.” 

What was making it better was watching you struggle with keeping your eyes open while he praised you. You were clearly embarrassed by your reaction to the whole situation but simultaneously loved every moment of it, so obviously turned on as you pressed your knees together while your free hand gripped the edge of your shorts. It was a strange dichotomy that Frank enjoyed playing with. 

“Ah, Christ,” he grunted as you suddenly shifted and took him deeper into your mouth, his cock sliding over your hot tongue. But it was the sheer need in your eyes to make him feel good that had him cursing and his hips finally moving. 

That’s what you’d been waiting for all along, since you moaned around your mouthful, only his cock muffling the otherwise loud sound. A second later, he had you gagging faintly, though, as he slid all the way to the back of your throat. Frank stroked the fingers of one hand into your hair at the top of your head and tilted your face back to change the angle. He leaned slightly down as he stared into your wide eyes, your mouth held around his length.

“Let’s see what you’ve learned.” 

With this, Frank pulled back to the entrance of your mouth before he moved his hips forward again and didn’t stop until he was pushing against your throat. Your eyes watered like earlier, but you kept your jaw relaxed and eagerly sucked around him each time he drew back. Watching you raptly, Frank upped the pace and began to fuck your mouth like you’d wanted him to, his focus on your own watchful eyes. 

“Fuck, you’re bein’ so good for me, sweetheart. Look at you,” he groaned, his words cut off here and there by his thrusts. 

And just like that, your eyelids shut, squeezing together as you moaned and visibly shuddered in pleasure. 

Growling under his breath at you breaking the one rule he had for you tonight, Frank’s hand tightened in your hair and pulled you off him completely. “Open your eyes.”

You gasped sharply at being ripped away from him, while your eyes opened immediately to apologetically stare up at him at his rough tone. “I’m so sorry, Frank,” you panted with a croak in your voice. “I didn’t mean to… I, I just—” 

“Pull up your top,” Frank cut in, his tone allowing no refusal. 

You blinked at him a few times and then very slowly took hold of the hem of your tank top, which you lifted until your tits were exposed. Frank made a sound of satisfaction at the sight, his length twitching as you waited for more. 

“Touch yourself,” Frank continued, his voice back to his low and casual rumble. 

Your eyes widened faintly, and you uttered a tiny whimper that Frank knew was your special brand of embarrassed and aroused again. With your eyes locked with Frank’s, you lifted your hands to your tits and drew your thumbs around your nipples before thumbing over them. They were already hard from arousal, but they perked up even more as you slowly caressed them. Frank wrapped his other hand around his cock and lazily stroked himself as he watched you. Your eyes quickly dropped to what he was doing, but Frank didn’t mind the brief moment you looked away from his face since you moaned as you saw him jerking himself off to what you were doing to yourself.

“Pinch them,” Frank commanded, and swallowed a groan as you complied immediately, which caused you to moan loudly only to bite down on your bottom lip. 

“Frank, please,” you pleaded desperately as you pushed your chest forward and into your own hands while rubbing your thighs together. 

“Shit.” He pulled your head forward again. “Open your mouth.” The last part was unnecessary, really, since you were already opening your mouth again and wrapping his cock in wet heat. 

This time, Frank didn’t hold back and pushed his cock to the back of your mouth and tilted your head until he was at the perfect angle to move inside your throat. You choked, and your throat fought the intrusion, but you didn’t try to pull away, nor did your eyes move from his, although tears slid down one side of your face. He thrust back and forth, keeping you still, until he hissed and cursed when he finally managed to slip down your throat for real. 

“Fuckin’ perfect like that, sweetheart,” he praised in a raspy voice, mesmerized by your wanton gaze as you took him in while still playing with your nipples. 

You were nothing short of breathtaking as you keened, the sound high, while you squirmed on your knees, obviously trying to get some friction. But that’s why Frank needed to stop. Otherwise he was going to come in your mouth, and he had other plans for tonight. It was with an inhuman amount of willpower that Frank tugged you off him, groaning deeply at the saliva coating his whole length and dripping down your chin. You stared at him with confusion, going as far as to try to lean forward to get him back between your lips, but Frank reached down to grab your arms and pull you up instead. 

Despite your shaky legs, Frank had you across the room and on the couch in just a few short seconds. You fell into a sitting position, staring up at him with surprise in your eyes, but Frank ignored it and bent at the waist to take hold of the waistband of your shorts. Gasping, you slumped against the back of the couch as Frank pulled and forced your hips up to practically rip the shorts off you. Your breath caught a moment later when he dropped to his knees between your legs and wrapped his arms under your thighs to pull your hips toward the edge of the couch. Fuck, the sight you made, all wide-eyed, lips swollen, hair a mess, and not to forget, your nipples looking deliciously puffy. His dick leaked a string of precum from how much he wanted to take you apart, hear you cry out, hear you beg. 

Then his eyes dipped between your legs, which had you squirming in his hold as if you wanted to close your legs to stop him from seeing just how much you had enjoyed yourself in the kitchen. 

“Fuck, sweetheart,” he husked as he took in just how slick your skin was. “Suckin’ my cock made you this wet, huh?” Frank lifted his gaze to meet yours so he could see your expression when he slid a thumb through your wetness and smirked as your lips parted on an almost silent gasp. 

When he started rubbing small circles around your clit, you gasped again, but more loudly this time, and jerked your hips into his touch. He hummed appreciatively when he pulled his hand away to contemplate his thumb before he looked at you again and lifted it to your face. 

“Open up.” There was no mistaking the tone of command, since your mouth instantly dropped further open with a tiny moan. “There, that’s right. Taste yourself,” he continued with a soft rumble as you obediently sucked on his thumb. “Good girl.” 

Frank took in a deep breath and, for once, was the one who had to close his eyes for a second to calm his raging need as your legs trembled while you fought with your instinct to shut your eyes at the praise. 

“F-Frank?” you managed breathlessly, after Frank pulled his thumb out from between your lips, your eyes wide and staring at him with a hint of uncertainty. Christ, he had to look slightly crazed with how you looked at him, but you just had this indescribable effect on him. Everything about you pulled him in and made him want more of you. 

“Remember,” Frank finally said, his voice so low it was almost a growl. “Eyes on me at all times.”

That was the last warning you got before he shouldered your thighs and dove between your legs. The first taste of you on his tongue had Frank groaning into your wet skin. He’d gotten a sample of it during the party when he’d licked his fingers clean after making you come on them, but it was nothing compared to sliding his tongue directly through your drenched flesh. It was only made better through your cries of pleasure as your arms first flailed around, as if unsure of where to place them, before your hands gripped the side of the couch. Through it all, you managed to follow Frank's command of keeping your eyes on him, although you clearly wanted to close them, if only from the onslaught of pleasure coursing through you. Frank could tell by the way you were biting down hard on your bottom lip and squirming under his mouth. Pushing for more, Frank held your gaze as he suckled on your clit before flicking it with his tongue, which had you uttering a small sob of pleasure that in turn had his cock pulsing with need. But he wasn’t finished with you yet. 

“Play with your nipples,” he said into your flesh, satisfied at the small keen slipping past your lips. 

Your hands squeezed the couch pillows under them before they moved and rose to your heaving chest. You pinched your nipples hard and rolled them between your fingers, earning a low growl of satisfaction from Frank directly into your flesh. The sound he made, as well as you teasing your nipples, had you throwing your head back with wide eyes and a shout of sharp bliss. 

“Yeah, just like that, sweetheart,” Frank gritted out, his voice slightly muffled, while he had to grasp you tighter around your thighs as you practically vibrated under both of your touches when the pleasure was about to consume you. “Fuckin’ gorgeous like that.” 

In the end, it was his words that pushed you over the edge. The orgasm hit you so hard that your whole body seized up and your voice locked in your throat for a few seconds before you began shaking and gasping loudly. 

“Frank… Oh, fuck, Frank,” you breathed, your eyes glassy but unwavering as you stared at him, beautifully unable to look away. 

That’s what had Frank’s control finally snapping. You weren’t fighting to keep eye contact anymore and, instead, were completely unable to look at anything but him. 

“Fuck,” Frank ground out, moving up to lean over you and guide himself between your legs. 

Your eyes widened, and your hands grabbed for his shoulders with a sharp gasp when Frank pushed inside you inexorably, not giving you the slightest moment to recover from your orgasm. He grunted when he bottomed out, ducking his head and closing his eyes as your still fluttering walls gripped around him. You felt perfect, all wet and tight heat. When he opened his eyes again, Frank found you looking back at him with glazed-over eyes and panting out short breaths. Putting one knee on the couch for balance, Frank braced himself with his hands on each side of you and snapped his hips forward with a deep grunt. You cried out sharply and squeezed his shoulders. He wasn’t going fast by any means, but each thrust was deep and powerfully precise, pushing you harder against the back of the couch and ripping cries and moans out of you that were quickly getting louder. After one particularly hard thrust, your hands suddenly flew up to cover your mouth and muffle the loudest cry yet. 

“Hands down,” Frank grunted, his gaze locked with yours. Your eyes turned panicked, and you whimpered, your hands hovering over your mouth, but for the first time since you’d started this together, you didn’t comply. 

“Frank, please.” 

Narrowing his eyes, Frank snapped his hips hard again and lowered his face toward yours. “Hands. Down.” 

Your eyes actually rolled back into your head in pleasure, but you pressed your palms over your mouth again and shook your head. Licking his lower lip and observing you intently, Frank took each of your wrists in one of his hands and pressed them down onto the couch, wondering what had suddenly caused this shift in you.

“No, please, Frank,” you gasped, eyes pleading when he began pumping in and out of you again. “The neighbors… Please… they’ll hear me.” 

Frank laughed, the sound rough and breathless. So that was the reason. “Let them.” 

You shook your head with wide eyes, embarrassment written all over your face. However, the reason that had Frank not stepping down was how you tightened around him at the suggestion. 

“No?” Frank gave you another hard thrust and grunted in his chest. “When I can feel you squeezin’ me so nice ‘n tight at the thought?” 

“Oh God,” you moaned, your voice high and desperate. “No, I… that’s not…”

Chuckling at your denial, Frank was about to gather both of your wrists to press them over your head for better leverage when his peripheral vision caught sight of the reflection in the window next to the couch. With the sky now fully dark and the living room light illuminating the place, the windows reflected the room like a mirror. As an idea struck him, Frank pulled out of you, which had you making a sound of surprise, followed by another when Frank tugged you up before turning you around. Next, he removed your tank top and placed you right in front of the window, with your knees against the couch. You stared back at him through your reflection, eyes large and chest heaving. Frank crowded you against the couch, forcing you to kneel on it and face the window, while he kneeled behind you. 

“Hands in front of you on top of the couch,” Frank commanded, staring at your naked form against his still fully clad one, weapons and armor in place, only his fly open. The difference had him releasing a harsh breath. The things you did to him. 

“Frank,” you breathed, pleaded, and didn’t move. 

“Hands…” He leaned forward until his chest was brushing your bare back and spoke every word deliberately and directly into your ear. “In front of you.”

With a shaky breath, you finally did as told. 

Frank hummed, pleased. “Attagirl, now keep ‘em there, got it?” 

Whimpering, you nodded slowly, only to breathe a soft, “Yes,” at Frank’s raised eyebrow in the window. 

“Lemme tell you what's gonna happen now,” he continued, his voice as rough as sandpaper with how he was forcing himself to get the words out before touching you. “I am gonna fuck you and make sure that everyone in this building hears you. And you, you’re gonna be good and watch yourself in that window.”

Your whole body was trembling and your eyes were wild, but Frank knew, without a sliver of a doubt, that you were fully on board. 

“Are we clear?” Frank rumbled into your ear as he pushed you slightly forward with one hand between your shoulder blades to tilt your hips back while simultaneously taking himself in hand to place his cock against your entrance. 

Swallowing hard, you stared back at him through the reflection and uttered a whispered but still clear, “Yes.” 

“Good.”

And with that, Frank took hold of your hips and pushed himself all the way back inside you. Your head shot up with a sharp gasp, and your fingers tightened on the pillows. Using his hands on your hips to guide you back onto him each time he thrust forward, Frank managed to fuck you even harder than before. The sounds of the skin of your ass smacking against his bare pelvis were joined by the clacking of the rifle magazines strapped to his body. But these sounds were ultimately drowned out by your screams and moans of pleasure, which were interspersed with a repetition of his name, like a plea. But never a plea to stop. You were trying your damnedest to keep your voice down, keeping a death grip on the couch, but Frank kept his laser-like focus on you through it all, never allowing you an out and making good on his promise. It was when Frank shuffled his knees and changed the angle of his thrusts that you shrieked and suddenly bit down on your bottom lip to stop more of them from coming out. Instantly, Frank let go of your hips and reached in front of you to wrap a hand around your throat to pull you against his chest. You gasped when the position had him slotted deeply inside you, while his thumb lifted to your mouth to pull your lip from between your teeth. 

“None of that,” he warned, his eyes boring into yours through the reflection. 

Making a high sound in your throat, you obligingly let go and kept your eyes on his. Tilting his head, Frank watched you back as he rolled his hips, grinding them hard against you and making his cock rotate inside you. You groaned and panted roughly against him, which had his eyes dropping to your tits. While he kept his hand around your throat, he slid the other one around your side and thumbed over your nipple. 

“Look at you,” he rasped, his cheek pressed against yours, and pinched your nipple. 

It took you a second, but then you obediently dropped your gaze from his and onto yourself. While he’d been fucking you hard, your eyes had actually stayed on him. But that wasn’t what he’d planned. 

“Look at yourself, all bared for me.” Frank rolled the nipple between his fingers before pinching and pulling at it while he swiveled his hips at the same time. “Beggin’ me to stop, but actually gettin’ off on me havin’ you like that… Playin’ with your body and makin’ your pussy ache for more…. And lettin’ everyone know.”

Frank hissed a second later as you clenched around him tightly, while your whole body shook against his and you let out a long moan, sounding both embarrassed and so incredibly turned on. 

“Frank… Frank, I…” You stared at him, at the hand on your throat, and at the one on your chest. “Please… Yes.”

Without another word, Frank sank his gaze into yours in the same way that he sank all the way inside you once more with one hard thrust. When he picked up the pace of his powerful thrusts again, you let go of any restraint and screamed and sobbed in utter pleasure, giving over to him pounding into you. Simply put, you were beautiful, and Frank was the one unable to look away. Using the hand around your throat, Frank tilted your face to the side and sucked at the juncture between neck and shoulder, grunting and panting against your skin. When you exploded around him, your inner walls pulsating and squeezing around his thrusting length, Frank automatically bit down with a rough grunt of pleasure and watched you come undone. It was only when your high was subsiding that Frank let himself go as well. He was about to pull out so he’d come over your bare ass when one of your hands shot out to stop him. His eyes met your pleading and pleasure-drunk gaze. 

“Come inside me, Frank… Need you to fill me up… Mark me… Please.

How could he even begin to refuse you when you looked at him that way while saying those words?

With a half-formed curse, Frank grabbed your hips again and fucked hard and fast back inside you, letting your sharp cries of overstimulated pleasure guide him before he was thrown into his own release. He came with a loud grunt, his hips colliding with yours once, twice, thrice before he stilled as he pumped you full. 

He let his forehead fall against your nape and breathed deeply, his eyes closed as he let the pleasure slowly simmer down until it had him simply buzzing contentedly. His fingers were holding your hips loosely, but he finally moved them around your waist as he kissed the back of your neck. He smiled to himself at the small shudder running through you at the touch. 

Although he didn’t feel like moving, Frank finally sighed and carefully slid out of you. A slow gush of cum followed his length and traveled down the inside of one of your thighs. Frank’s eyes were drawn to it, and for a second, he felt the urge to press it back into you with his fingers. Lifting his gaze to the window to see your reflection, Frank noticed that you were looking at him, but over your shoulder, your lids at half-mast. From your expression, Frank knew that you’d been observing him as he watched his release drip out of you, but also that you knew what he’d been thinking of doing and that you wanted him to do it. Fuck, you were going to drive him crazy. With a steady gaze that he was faking because he was feeling wild with how you were looking at him, Frank reached between your thighs and gathered his cum on two fingers, which he then pressed deep inside you. 

“Oh God,” you said with a tiny cry, your eyes closing briefly before looking at Frank again as you bit your lip.

“Com’ere,” Frank ground out, pulling out of you again and grabbing you by an elbow to pull you up into a standing position in front of him. 

As if you knew what he wanted, you immediately opened your mouth when his cum-covered fingers appeared in front of you. Frank hissed when you licked and sucked around him, then brought his other hand to the back of your neck to pull you in. He removed his fingers from your mouth and replaced them with his lips. This caught you by surprise, since, as Frank realized in that moment, it was the first time that he’d really kissed you except for the tiny peck at the party. The surprise only lasted a second, since you wrapped your arms around his waist and kissed him back eagerly, the kiss tasting of the both of you. Frank stroked his fingers along your nape and sighed deeply when the kiss came to an end, stopping with his forehead touching yours. 

“Guess I do owe you an interview now, huh?” 

This had you choking on a laugh before you dissolved into a giggling fit, leaving you to laugh against him. Frank chuckled softly and pressed a kiss into your hair. 

“I’d be honored,” you grinned at him as you leaned away a bit to look at him. “But some details should stay… off the record.” 

You said it with your smile still in place, but Frank still saw the little flicker of your familiar shyness creeping up. 

He leaned in and kissed you again, softly. “Works for me.”