Ashley pulled into her now-customary spot at Iron Grip Academy early Saturday morning. The gym was quiet at this hour, open mat officially starting at ten, but the building accessible from eight for members with key fobs.

Carlos’s car was already there, as promised. Ashley felt the now familiar flutter of anticipation as she gathered her bag, the gi inside more a prop than a necessity for today’s “training.”

The front door was unlocked and the gym silent. Ashley made her way through the empty space, past the vacant front desk, toward the main training area. She found Carlos there, not in his office as expected, but on the mats, going through a series of solo drills, his movement fluid and powerful even without an opponent.

He looked up at her approach, a smile spreading across his face, transforming his usually stern features. “You came,” he said, as if there had been doubt.

“I said I would,” Ashley replied, setting down her bag at the edge of the mat. “I’m trying to be someone who keeps her promises.”

The irony wasn’t lost on either of them. The woman betraying her marriage vows claiming integrity in her commitments to her lover. But Carlos didn’t comment on the contradiction, simply extended a hand, inviting her onto the mat.

“No gi today,” he suggested, eyeing her gym bag. “Just us.”

Ashley understood his meaning. Today, there would be no training, no technical instruction as foreplay, just the acknowledgment of why they were really there.

She nodded, slipping off her shoes before stepping onto the mat in her leggings and fitted long-sleeve shirt. Carlos was dressed similarly in compression pants and a rashguard.

“The gym is ours until ten,” he said, taking her hands and drawing her closer.

“Two hours,” Ashley calculated, her body already responding to his proximity, to the promise in his dark eyes.

“More than enough time for what I have in mind.” Carlos’s hands moved to her waist, warm and firm through the thin material of her shirt. “I’ve been thinking about you. About us.”

The simple admission, the use of the word “us,” sent an unexpected warmth through Ashley’s chest. This thing between them had begun as purely physical, an attraction, an indulgence, a forbidden pleasure. But somewhere along the way, in the texts between meetings, in the moments of conversation that punctuated their physical encounters, something more had begun to develop.

“I’ve been thinking about you too,” she admitted, her hands resting on his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart beneath her palms. “More than I should.”

Carlos studied her face, his expression serious now. “Having second thoughts?”

“No,” Ashley replied honestly. “That’s what scares me. I should be feeling guilty, conflicted. And I do, sometimes. But not enough to stop.”

“Good.” His hand came up to cup her face, thumb tracing her bottom lip in a gesture that had become familiar, almost a ritual between them. “Because I’m not ready to let you go.”

His words sent a thrill of something dangerously close to happiness through her body. Ashley leaned into his touch, her eyes holding his, letting him see the truth of her response.

Carlos lowered his head, capturing her mouth in a kiss, his tongue sliding past her lips to claim her with confidence. Ashley responded eagerly, her arms winding around his neck, pressing herself against his body.

They sank to the mat together, Carlos guiding her down with gentleness, his body covering hers as they continued to kiss. His hand slipped beneath her shirt, warm against the skin of her stomach.

“I want to take my time with you today,” he murmured against her lips. “No rushing. No hiding. Just you and me.”

The sentiment was romantic in a way their previous encounters hadn’t been, suggesting something beyond physical release. Ashley nodded, a lump forming in her throat at the tenderness underlying his words.

Carlos tugged at the hem of her shirt, a question in his eyes. When she nodded again, he pulled the fabric up and over her head, revealing the simple black sports bra beneath. His gaze traveled over her exposed skin with appreciation before he lowered his mouth to her collarbone, trailing kisses along the delicate structure, then lower, between her breasts, down to her stomach.

Ashley’s hands found his head, fingers threading through his short hair as he explored her body unhurriedly. When he reached the waistband of her leggings, he looked up, meeting her eyes as he hooked his fingers beneath the elastic.

“Yes,” she breathed, lifting her hips to help as he pulled it down her legs, taking her underwear with it in one smooth motion.

Now naked except for her sports bra, Ashley felt a moment of vulnerability under Carlos’s intense gaze. They’d never been fully naked together on the mats before, the openness of the space adding a new dimension of exposure despite the privacy he’d assured.

Carlos seemed to sense her momentary hesitation. “You’re beautiful,” he told her with sincerity. “Every part of you.”

Before she could respond, he lowered his head, pressing a kiss to her inner thigh, then higher, his destination clear. Ashley held her breath as his mouth found her pussy, his tongue parting her folds with patience, exploring the sensitive flesh thoroughly.

Unlike their previous encounters, where urgency and time constraints had dictated a direct approach, Carlos took his time now, mapping her responses, discovering what made her gasp, what made her thighs tense, what drew those small, helpless sounds from her throat. His hands held her hips, not restraining but supporting as he concentrated entirely on her pleasure.

Ashley surrendered to the sensation, her body relaxing into the mat, her mind emptying of everything except the feel of his mouth, the skill of his tongue as it worked her clit with varying pressure and speed.

Her orgasm built slowly, a gradual ascension rather than a sudden peak. When it finally claimed her, it was with a depth that made her cry out, her back arching off the mat, her hands fisting in Carlos’s hair as waves of pleasure radiated outward from her core.

He stayed with her through it, his movements slowing but not stopping as she rode out the aftershocks. Only when she stopped shaking did he relent, pressing a final kiss to her inner thigh before moving back up her body.

“That was just the beginning,” he promised, his face hovering above hers, his expression a mixture of satisfaction and hunger.

Ashley reached for him, pulling him down for a kiss that tasted of her own arousal, her hands tugging at his rashguard. “Your turn,” she insisted, wanting him as naked as she was, wanting the full skin-to-skin contact they’d never fully experienced yet.

Carlos sat back on his heels, pulling the compression top off in a single smooth movement, revealing his muscled torso. Ashley’s hands went to his chest, fingers tracing the definition, exploring the terrain of his body appreciatively.

“These too,” she said, tugging at the waistband of his compression pants.

He complied, standing briefly to remove the remaining clothing, his erection springing free. Ashley took a moment to admire him, the powerful muscles of his thighs, the flat plane of his stomach, the impressive length of his cock standing proud from the nest of dark hair at its base.

“Come here,” she invited, reaching for him as he knelt between her legs once more.

Instead of covering her body with his, however, Carlos guided her to straddle him, supporting her weight as she settled onto his lap, his cock pressed between them but not yet inside her. In this position, they were face to face, intimate in a way that transcended the purely physical.

“I need to see your face this time,” he explained, one hand coming up to cup her cheek. “I need to watch you come apart for me.”

She leaned forward, capturing his mouth in a kiss that conveyed everything she couldn’t articulate. The growing complexity of her feelings, the depth of her desire, the confusion and certainty that coexisted in her experience of him.

Carlos’s hands moved to her hips, guiding her as she lifted slightly, positioning herself above his cock. She then sank down slowly, taking him inside, holding her breath due to the stretch, the fullness that still surprised her despite their previous encounters.

Carlos groaned, his hands tightening on her hips as she seated herself fully on him, his cock buried to the hilt inside her. “So tight,” he murmured, his voice strained. “So perfect.”

Ashley began to move, establishing a slow rhythm, her ass rising and falling on his length, her hands braced on his shoulders for support. In this position, she controlled the pace, the depth, but Carlos was far from passive. His hands guided her movements, his hips rising to meet her on each downward stroke, his eyes never leaving her face.

“That’s it,” he encouraged as she found an angle that made her gasp. “Right there. Take what you need.”

Ashley increased her pace, chasing the building pleasure, her nails digging slightly into his shoulders as the sensation intensified. Carlos’s hand slid between them, his thumb finding her clit.

“Carlos,” she moaned, her rhythm faltering as a second orgasm approached. “I’m going to come.”

“Yes,” he urged, his thumb pressing more firmly against her clit, his other hand supporting her hips as she began to shake. “Come for me, Ashley. Let me feel you.”

The combination of his words, his touch, and the deep penetration pushed her over the edge. Ashley’s orgasm crashed through her with unexpected force, her inner walls clenching rhythmically around his cock. She shit her eyes tight and continued to move through it, riding the waves of pleasure, her body trembling with the intensity.

Carlos held her close, supporting her weight as she collapsed against his chest, her breath coming in short gasps against his neck. For a moment, they remained joined, her forehead resting on his shoulder, his hands stroking soothingly up and down her back.

“That was… intense” Ashley said, then shook her head, words failing to capture the experience.

“I know,” Carlos replied, understanding without explanation.

After a moment, he shifted, still hard inside her. “Turn around,” he suggested. “On your hands and knees.”

Ashley complied, moving off him and positioning herself as directed, the mat firm beneath her palms and knees. She felt exposed in this position, vulnerable in a way that heightened her residual arousal despite her recent release.

Carlos moved behind her, his hands warm on her hips, his cock pressing against her entrance once more. “Still okay?” he checked, the question another small reminder that beneath the dominant exterior was a man who cared about her pleasure.

“Yes,” Ashley confirmed, pushing back against him. “Don’t make me wait.”

He entered her in a single, smooth thrust, filling her completely, drawing a moan from both their throats at the sensation. This position allowed deeper penetration, his cock reaching places inside her that made her gasp, her head dropping between her shoulders as pleasure built again.

Carlos established a rhythm that was controlled yet forceful, each thrust driving her slightly forward as she pushed back to meet him. His hands gripped her hips, holding her steady, guiding her movements to match his own.

“Your pussy feels amazing,” he told her, his voice rough with exertion and arousal. “So tight around my cock. So wet for me.”

She arched her back, changing the angle slightly, taking him even deeper with each thrust. “Harder,” she urged, past the point of restraint. “Fuck me harder, Carlos.”

He complied, increasing both pace and force, his hips snapping against her ass with each forward drive, the sound of skin meeting skin echoing in the empty gym. One hand left her hip, tangling in her hair, pulling just enough to arch her back further, to assert his control while giving her the intensity she craved.

Ashley felt another orgasm building, the relentless stimulation of his cock pushing her toward another peak despite the sensitivity from her previous releases. Her arms began to shake, partly from supporting her weight, partly from the overwhelming sensation.

“I’m getting close,” Carlos warned, his rhythm becoming more erratic, his breathing harsh behind her.

“Make me come again first.”

Carlos groaned at her words, his hand leaving her hair to reach around her, fingers finding her clit. “Come on my cock one more time,” he demanded, circling the sensitive bundle of nerves as he continued thrusting. “Let me feel you.”

His cock filling her completely and his fingers working her clit pushed Ashley over the edge. She screamed out his name as her third orgasm tore through her, her inner walls clamping down on his length, her arms giving out as she collapsed onto her forearms, her face pressed against the mat as pleasure crashed over her.

Carlos followed her down, his chest against her back, his thrusts becoming more desperate, more uncontrolled as his own release approached. At the last moment, he withdrew, his cock sliding between her ass cheeks as he stroked himself to completion, his release spilling hot across her lower back.

Carlos then reached for his discarded rashguard, using it to clean his cum from her skin.

They collapsed onto the mat together, Ashley turning into his embrace, her head resting on his chest, listening to the gradually slowing rhythm of his heart. Carlos’s arm wrapped around her, holding her close.

“That was…different” she said, unsure of the right words.

“Different,” Carlos echoed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “But in a good way.”

Ashley nodded against his chest, understanding what he meant. There had been a shift in their dynamic, a deepening that went beyond the physical, that suggested dangerous territory ahead. But in that moment, nestled against his warmth, the consequences seemed distant, less important than the connection they’d just shared.

“We should get cleaned up,” Carlos said, though he made no move to release her. “Open mat starts in forty minutes.”

Reality intruded once more. Schedules, obligations, the other lives they both maintained outside this bubble they’d created. Ashley sighed, reluctantly pushing herself up, already missing the warmth of his body against hers.

“My car during the week?” Carlos suggested as they gathered their scattered clothing, his tone casual despite the intimate proposal. “I know a place we can park. Private enough.”

Ashley hesitated only briefly before nodding. The progression seemed natural now, from locker room to office to mats, and now to the world beyond the gym’s walls. Small steps that were carrying her further from the security of her marriage, deeper into this parallel existence that both thrilled and terrified her.

“I’d like that,” she said, and meant it, despite the complexity, despite the risk, despite the certainty that this path led nowhere good in the long run.

Carlos smiled, that rare transformation of his features that still caught her by surprise, that still made her heart beat a little faster in her chest. He pulled her close for one more kiss, gentle now, almost tender.

“So would I,” he replied simply.

They showered separately, in different locker rooms, erasing the physical evidence of their encounter while carrying the memory of it in their bodies, in the satisfied looseness of their muscles, in the lingering sensitivity of well-used flesh. By the time other students began arriving for open mat, Ashley and Carlos were both on the training floor, engaged in what appeared to be a technical demonstration of the day’s focus technique.

No one watching would have guessed that just an hour earlier, she had been crying out his name as he drove her to multiple orgasms on the same mats where they now maintained a professional distance of instructor and student. No one would have seen the subtle glance they exchanged, the promise of future encounters, the deepening connection that was rapidly becoming about more than just physical release.

No one except themselves knew the truth, that what had begun as a forbidden indulgence was evolving into something far more dangerous, far more significant, far more likely to destroy the careful compartmentalization that had allowed Ashley to maintain her double life thus far.

As she drove home later, her body pleasantly sore, her mind replaying moments from the morning, Ashley admitted to herself what she’d been avoiding. This wasn’t just sex anymore. There were feelings involved now, complicated and confusing, but undeniably real.

Jacob was waiting when she arrived, his face lighting up at the sight of her. Open, trusting, loving in an uncomplicated way that contrasted sharply with the turbulent emotions Carlos evoked. He kissed her in greeting, told her about the book he’d been reading while she was gone, asked about her training with genuine interest.

Ashley answered his questions with half-truths, showed him a technique they’d allegedly worked on, discussed the progress of her jiu-jitsu journey in terms that were technically accurate if fundamentally misleading, all while carrying the secret knowledge of Carlos inside her. His touch still fresh on her skin, his taste still in her mouth, his words still echoing in her mind.

Two men. Two lives. Two versions of herself, increasingly difficult to reconcile.

Something would have to give, eventually. But not today. Today, she allowed herself to exist in both worlds, to accept both connections, to postpone the inevitable choice that loomed on the horizon like an approaching storm.