"Do you have a charger, for my phone?" she asked the uncomprehending boy behind the bar. "A charger? My battery…"

A man in a light suit on the other side of the bar turned towards her.

"If it's important, you can use mine."

Her face lit up as she recognized that voice, which she'd spent a year dreaming about. On her entire, long trip from Spain, she'd never really believed that she would find him, and yet here he was. Exactly where he'd once promised to take her.

She couldn't stop smiling as she rounded the bar, and as he stood up to meet her, his face reflected the same smile back at her. They stopped a few feet from each other. What did you say to someone you never thought you'd see again? He was the first to find his voice again.

"You found me", he smiled.

"I'm sorry it took so long", she said. "I'd put the cards away when you left… they were too painful to look at."

"I knew you'd come eventually", he said, taking a step closer.

"Have you been waiting for me here all year?" she asked, incredulously.

"Every day", he nodded.

She didn't know what to say to that. They stood looking at each other, suddenly a little awkward. A year was a long time, and the last time they'd seen each other she'd been chained up.

He cleared his throat. "Would you like to see my house? It's only a short walk down the beach."

"Yes", she said, "I'd love that."

They started walking side by side, and she suddenly realized that she didn't know this man… at all. She'd come all this way to meet a complete stranger. Sergio, she had to keep reminding herself, his name is Sergio. She wondered how much of Sergio was Salva, and how much of the Professor was Sergio. It was hard to reconcile the two in her head: sweet, shy, gentle Salva on the one hand, and on the other hand the dangerous, confident mastermind the Professor, who had asked her things like what she was wearing and if she'd ever faked an orgasm. Which of these two men was walking next to her?

He glanced sideways at her, and his eyes were full of joy and kindness. Salva, she decided. He must have shown his true self while he was Salva with me. He can't have acted the entire time. This was the man she'd fallen in love with.

They reached his house, which was built right on a quiet spot of the beach, and she loved it immediately. It was full of wood and open spaces, nothing ostentatious about it that screamed 'I'm rich!'. He waited for her in the middle of the living room as she looked around, looking at her like he couldn't get enough of her. She joined him and smiled.

"It's a lovely house."

"Are you staying at a hotel?"

"Yes," she said. "I'll go and pick up my stuff later."

He waved a dismissive hand. "I'll send someone to do that." Then he hesitated. "I'll… uhm… show you the guest bedroom."

She stared at him. "I flew halfway across the world for you and you're going to put me in the guest bedroom?!"

He turned red. "I didn't want to presume. It's been a year, I thought you might need some time to get to know me again."

In response, she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a soft kiss against his lips, tentative, tender. They broke apart and looked at each other for a long moment, then he suddenly swept her into his arms and kissed her fiercely, one hand in her hair, the other on her back, pressing her close to him. She opened her mouth and his tongue flicked over her lips, testing, tasting, and then he kissed her more deeply. She felt a fierce joy as the fire between them kindled again to a full blaze, taking her breath away, and she realized with a surge of relief that the mysterious force that had drawn them to each other in the first place was still there.

The rest of the world fell away and everything felt exactly right as he kissed her ever more passionately, and she felt a sudden overwhelming desire for him. When she bit his lower lip, he groaned and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bedroom (not the guest bedroom), stumbling a bit because they were unable to stop kissing.

They fell onto the bed together, and as he shrugged out of his jacket, she began unbuttoning his shirt. She couldn't believe how badly she wanted him, she thought, as her fingers trembled with eagerness as she undid his pants. For a year she'd been having dreams about him, very explicit dreams that made her wake up aching and frustrated, and now he was actually here. When they'd somehow both gotten rid of their pants, she pushed him down among the pillows and sat astride him, bending low to keep kissing him, her breasts pressed against his chest, her stomach against his. He wrapped his arms around her as she guided him inside her, and when she sank down on him, they both stopped breathing at the same moment, just for a second, at the inexpressible delight of their oneness.

She sat up and braced herself with her hands on his chest to increase the tempo, and he bucked his hips to take her deeper, making her moan. His hands were on her hips now, gripping her tightly, guiding her movements. She moved a hand to put her fingers on the sensitive spot between her legs, but he brushed her hand away and put his thumb there, drawing tight circles. She threw her head back at the immediate effect of his touch, her breathing coming fast now, and she was moaning with every thrust as she felt the tension inside her begin to build. She rode him harder, until he was showing signs of breaking soon. Their eyes met, and she whispered a soft 'yes', to which he responded by closing his eyes and gripping her hips even more tightly, and when she felt him shudder underneath her, she released her own carefully pent-up energy so they came together, trembling and gasping.

She collapsed on top of him, both breathing hard. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he whispered in her ear.

"I've dreamt of this moment every night for a year now, and yet it still managed to be better than I could possibly have imagined."

As their breathing slowed, she slid off him to lie against his side, her head in the hollow of his shoulder, one arm draped across his chest. He suddenly turned to her with an alarmed look.

"We didn't use a condom."

"Don't worry", she reassured him. "I'm on birth control."

He gave her a delighted grin. "You came prepared."

"Well", she replied, flashing him a wicked look. "You may not have wanted to 'presume' anything, but I came her with the express purpose of fucking you into oblivion."

His grin became even wider. "I can get on board with that." His tone became more tender as he kissed the top of her head. "I've missed you."

She looked up at him and kissed him on the lips. "I've missed you too."

He got out of bed for a moment to open a window, and a delicious sea breeze entered to cool them. When he turned around again, he saw that she was just pulling a sheet around her naked body. He held up a hand.

"Don't. Please. I want to look at you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, keeping the sheet firmly in place. "You've seen me naked."

"Only in the heat of the moment", he said, and she realized that it was true. She remembered their first time, on the couch in his fake workplace, hot and sweet, and when it was over, they'd pulled a blanket over themselves against the chill. She remembered their second time, in the bedroom of her house, quiet ecstasy in the dark so as not to disturb Paula or her mother. With a shock, she realized that this had only been their third time together.

He got back onto the bed with her, and she reluctantly surrendered her sheet to him. She was usually fairly comfortable with her body, but she wasn't twenty anymore, and his scrutinizing gaze roaming all over her skin as she lay defenseless beside him made her stomach flutter. He took his time, drinking her in.

"You're beautiful", he said simply, and she smiled at him. He lay down beside her. "I want to know every inch of you."

He kissed her forehead, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Do you dye your hair?"

"Yes", she said. "I got my first grey hairs about a year ago. I blame you entirely."

He grinned. "And I claim them proudly."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "I like your nose stud."

"Really?" she said. "I've been thinking lately that I might be getting too old for it. Maybe I should take it out."

"Don't", he said. "It suits you."

He ran his fingers over her jawline and down her neck, pressing a kiss to the hollow below her throat. He began to systematically explore her body, running his lips over her shoulder and down her arm, kissing the palm of her hand and every fingertip. He kissed his way down between her breasts, then traced a careful finger over the stretch marks on her stomach. She suddenly felt self-conscious.

"Well", she said apologetically, "That's what happens when you have a baby."

"You're beautiful", he repeated simply, then covered her stomach with kisses.

He pressed another kiss to the curls between her legs, then traced his mouth down the inside of her thighs. She giggled slightly as his beard tickled her.

He looked up in delight. "You're ticklish."

"A bit", she admitted.

"That's good to know", he murmured as he continued his exploration below her knees. "How did you get this scar?"

She knew he meant the small sickle-shaped scar under her right kneecap. "I fell off my bike when I was seven. I had to get three stitches."

He kissed it. "And this one?" he pointed to a white line on the inside of her left ankle.

"At the police academy. I tripped over barbed wire."

He kissed that one, too.

"Turn around."

She felt a little foolish, but did as he asked. He brushed her hair away and kissed the back of her neck, then trailed little kisses all down her spine. When he got to the bottom, he suddenly looked up in surprise. A small lotus flower opened up at the base of her spine.

"You have a tattoo!"

She grimaced. "From when I was young and stupid."

"I like it", he whispered, brushing it with his lips. "Very sexy."

He ran his hand over her buttocks and down her legs, hesitated for a moment, then tickled the soles of her feet. Her whole body jerked as she twisted away from him.

"Alright", she laughed. "That's enough."

He chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss, then leaned down on one elbow and looked up at her expectantly.

"Tell me about your likes and dislikes."

"What, like my favorite food and stuff?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You know what I mean. What do you like or dislike in bed?"

She suddenly had a flashback of an altered voice in her ear, saying: Tell me about your first time. Maybe there was a bit of the Professor in him after all.

"Wouldn't you rather just find out about my likes and dislikes as we go along?"

He considered this. "I'd rather get this straight from the start. Unless you'd prefer to have mediocre sex for a few weeks while I figure things out."

She threw him a sensual look. "I think it's been pretty great so far."

"I don't want 'pretty great'", he said. "I want amazing. I want earth-shattering. I want you to come so hard you forget your own name."

She swallowed hard and felt a tingle between her legs. This was definitely the Professor speaking.

"Alright", she conceded. "What do you want to know?"

"A lot", he said eagerly. "Can I get my notebook?"

"For God's sake Sergio", she said, half amused, half annoyed. "You're not in school!"

He ran his fingers through his hair with an embarrassed laugh, and suddenly she saw Salva again. It's like he's two different people, she thought. She couldn't figure him out. She rather liked that.

"Okay", he said, an attentive look on his face. "Do you have any particular dislikes I should be aware of?"

She considered this for a moment, then suddenly remembered how she had hated her ex-husband's tendency to put his tongue in her ears. She'd been too polite to say anything the first few times they slept together, and after that it had seemed impossible to bring it up: hey, you remember that thing I've been pretending to enjoy for the past few weeks… well actually I hate it. She wasn't going to make the same mistake with Sergio.

"Don't stick your tongue in my ear", she said decisively.

He raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't going to, but alright, noted." He leaned in close to her and nuzzled her ear. "But what if I do this?" He nibbled her earlobe, and she felt an unexpected stab of pleasure shoot through her.

"Yes", she murmured. "I like that. Do it again."

He obliged her, then moved down to kiss her neck. "How about this?"

She sighed in enjoyment and tilted her head to give him better access. "That's my weak spot", she admitted. "If you want to turn me on, that's the way to go."

He glanced up at her in delight. "That is very useful information, Inspectora, thank you. I'll be sure to abuse it at every available opportunity."

She laughed, then felt her arousal begin to stir as he continued kissing the side of her neck.

"Alright, stop it", she smiled. "You're getting me all frisky again."

He didn't stop. "Is that a bad thing?"

"I suppose not", she said, leaning her head back so he could kiss her throat. "But I thought you were learning about my likes and dislikes?"

He looked up. "That's true. A good student shouldn't allow himself to get distracted."

He nuzzled her one last time, then moved down to her chest.

"How sensitive are your nipples, on a scale from not-at-all to don't-touch-them?"

"Medium, I think."

He closed his mouth over one of her nipples, and it hardened immediately. She gasped as he sucked.

"Like this?"

"Harder", she breathed, while a little fire started between her legs. "A little more… Oh! Yes, just like that."

Just when the pleasure reached its peak, he stopped, and she sighed in disappointment.

"Good to know", he said, seeming to make a mental note.

He moved further down her body, and she held up a warning finger.

"If you start testing things out down there, you'd better finish what you start."

He hesitated. "I have a confession to make. I've never done that before."

"You've never done what before?" she asked, confused.

He colored. "Cunnilingus."

She stared at him. "You're telling me you've never gone down on a woman before?"

He shook his head.

"Why the hell not?"

"I've never had the opportunity."

A suspicion dawned on her. "Sergio… how many women have you been with before me?"

He colored even deeper. "I'd prefer not to say. It's rather embarrassing."

She felt suddenly alarmed. "Don't tell me you were a virgin before we met?!"

"No! No", he hastened to say. "But I haven't had that much experience."

"All right", she said slowly. "I'll guide you through it."

He nodded eagerly. "I know the theory," he said, "but please tell me if I do something you don't like."

She spread her legs and he lay down between her thighs. The apprehension she felt vanished immediately as he pressed his mouth against her and began exploring her with his tongue. She murmured her approval. He moved upwards slightly and she uttered a soft 'yes' when he found the center of her pleasure. He started drawing slow circles around it, and she shuddered.

"It's more sensitive on the right side… your left", she whispered, then gasped as he moved his tongue and began stroking up and down. "Yes… yes, there exactly." She gripped the sheets as he continued, and when he entered her, first with one and then with two fingers, she sighed in pleasure at the added sensation. Suddenly he removed his mouth, seeming focused on his touch, feeling around inside her.

"Are you looking for something?" she asked him, rather impatiently.

"Your G-spot", he murmured, intent on his task.

"Don't waste your time", she said gently. "My ex-husband always said the female G-spot is a myth."

He snorted. "Just because he couldn't find it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist." His face lost its look of concentration as he softly breathed "Ah!". The next moment, he pressed upwards, and a startled cry escaped her lips. He pressed again, and she gripped the sheet convulsively with another involuntary moan.

"What the… how are you doing that?"

In response, he pressed his mouth to her again, and she was rendered helpless by the combined sensations. She tried biting her lip in an attempt to stay quiet, but she found it impossible not to cry out as he pressed harder against her, picking up a smooth rhythm with his fingers and tongue. Before she really knew what was happening, her body started trembling and she had only a second to draw in a breath before the most exquisite orgasm of her life crashed over her. He kept going, and wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her body, shaking her to her core. Eventually he eased up, and the sensation faded gradually, sending occasional shuddering aftershocks through her.

She pressed her hands to her face and laughed giddily.

"What the fuck, Sergio. Are you kidding me? I thought I was supposed to teach you."

She glanced at him, sitting up with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"I told you I was familiar with the theory." He came to lie beside her and stroked her stomach. "Not bad for a first try, right?"

"Yeah", she agreed weakly. "Not bad…"

He kept caressing her as she recovered, and she started feeling that he was looking much too smug. She decided to throw him off-balance.

"To get back to my earlier question", she started mischievously. "I still want to know how many women you've been with."

He gave her a pained look. "Do I really need to answer that?"

"No", she said, "but I'm really curious."

"First tell me how many men you've been with", he countered.

"Six", she said promptly. "Not including you."

He nodded. "That's a good number. Experienced but not slutty."

"Now you tell me your number."

He sighed deeply. "Three."

She raised her eyebrows. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You misunderstand me", he corrected her. "Not three women. Three times."

She stared at him. "Are you telling me that, before we met, you'd only had sex three times in your life?"

He nodded.

"With how many women?"

"Just the one."

She quickly closed her mouth and tried to think of something to say that wasn't deeply insensitive.

"Was she a girlfriend?"

"I wouldn't call her that", he said honestly. "I mostly initiated the relationship because I was curious about sex. The experience was rather disappointing, and when it didn't get any better with subsequent tries, I ended it. I found the whole thing rather unstimulating. In fact, for years I suspected that I was asexual. Now I realize I'm probably demisexual."

"What does that mean?"

"That I only enjoy sex with someone I have an emotional connection with. And that's never happened before… until I met you. I can perform without being in love, but the experience is rather lackluster. Not like with you." He nuzzled her neck. "With you there are fireworks."

She smiled. "But how the hell are you so good if you've had so little experience?"

He blushed. "I've read a lot. I've always been interested in the subject as an intellectual pursuit."

"How sexy."

"I think so!" he laughed. "Nothing sexier than some hardcore stimulation of the intellect. So I've read a lot of books on the subject."

She gave him a sly look. "And watched a lot of porn?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Pornography is boring. You turn on your computer and there it is. There's no challenge. Now…" he turned to her, cupping a breast, gently grazing her nipple, "finding out how you work, what gives you pleasure, that's a challenge. And finding out how to make you happy for the rest of my days… well, that may just be the biggest challenge of my life."

She was rendered speechless for a moment. "You mean… you want me to come and live with you… here?"

He gave her a surprised look. "Didn't I make that clear from the moment I gave you those postcards?"

Her heart was beating fast, but she wanted to make sure. "You do realize that I would have to bring my mother and my daughter."

"Raquel", he said earnestly. "I bought a house with four bedrooms. Who do you think the other ones are for? My invisible friends?"

Her throat felt suddenly tight. She realized that she hadn't allowed herself to believe before.

He looked down at her uncertainly. "I mean… if you want to."

She hugged him so fiercely he pretended to beg for mercy until she released him again.

"I suppose this attempt to choke me means yes?"

"Yes", she breathed. "I know it's crazy but… yes."

They simply held each other for several long moments. Raquel felt like she should do something to thank him. Then the perfect idea entered her head.

She gave him a sly look. "Sergio… if you'd never done… that with a woman, am I correct to assume that nobody has ever done it to you?"

He swallowed hard, coloring again. "You are correct."

"Oh," she smiled. "Then I've got a treat for you. You're not the only one with skills in that area, my friend."

She got onto her knees and he protested weakly.

"Really… Don't feel obligated…"

She kissed his mouth closed. "Don't talk. Just enjoy."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and was soon lost from the world.

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