Mark’s key turned in the lock at seven sharp. The basement door swung inward, light spilling down the stairs in a soft golden rectangle. Emma was still on the futon, legs parted, the spot between her thighs glistening from the earlier hours of waiting. She didn’t move. She simply looked up at him, the collar tight against her throat, her hair loose and tangled from the pillow.He stepped inside, shut the door behind him, and locked it with the familiar click. The sound echoed once and then the basement felt smaller, sealed, theirs. Mark crossed the three steps in two strides and stopped in front of her. He didn’t speak right away. He simply reached down, hooked two fingers under the hem of her sweatpants, and tugged them slowly down her legs until they pooled around her knees.“Fresh,” he said, voice low. “Been wearing it all day?”Emma nodded once. The words *Emma is yours* were still fresh on her tongue from the night before, but she kept them inside. She didn’t need to say them out
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