You're allowed to want this
The apartment was dim, warm from the glow of the bedside lamp and the scent of clean laundry and her shampoo still lingering in the air.
Karen moved through the room like she lived there—and at this point, maybe she did. Her presence was everywhere now: her hoodie thrown over a chair, a half-empty bottle of lotion on the dresser, earrings laid out like they had a place. Frank had never said it out loud, but he’d stopped counting the nights she stayed over. It just felt right.
They still hadn't done anything more than kissing and light petting, and he was okay with that. But she was beginning to spend every night sleeping in the same bed with him, and Frank was a weak man.
She had that post-shower softness to her, glowing skin, damp hair in a bun, wearing an oversized T-shirt—his T-shirt—that fell just a little too short over her thighs. Frank was trying not to stare. Trying to be respectful. But fuck, he was losing the battle every single time she walked into the room.
She was the most beautiful part of his life and it wasn't even a contest. Karen Page made him weak to his fucking knees.
He was still on the bed, leaning against the headboard, flipping through channels on mute just to have something to do with his hands. When she walked in, everything else kind of blurred.
“You good?” she asked, the soft rasp of her voice settling deep in his chest.
He nodded, barely. “Yeah. Just thinking.”
Karen arched a brow, stepping closer. “You’ve been doing that a lot.”
She climbed onto the bed and crawled toward him slowly, knees parting on either side of his thighs, settling over his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. It kinda was now. Which was a thing in itself.
“I’ve been thinking about you,” he admitted, voice rough. “About this.”
Karen’s eyes flicked across his face, her hand rising to brush along his jaw. “What about it?”
She was getting scared. On one hand, Frank didn't usually bring up his issues until she pushed him. On the other hand, she didn't think there was any issues to be had.
“That I want you so bad it hurts,” he said, breath-catching. “But it’s not just that. I want you. All of you. And I haven’t wanted someone like this in a long time. Not since…”
Oh. The emotional stuff, she could do.
Karen kissed the corner of his mouth. “I know. And I know how often I say this but I'm not trying to replace Maria. I have so much respect for her. But this… it’s ours. It'smcompletely different and separate from your marriage. You’re allowed to want again.”
They spent many nights in this apartment talking about Frank Castle the father and Frank Castle the husband. Frank got to a point where he could talk about his family without it feeling like ripping open a wound. He felt safe with Karen. He trusted his family with her.
He would tell her about the trips he and his wife planned to take but never found the time. Or stories he used to read to his baby girl long after her bedtime. He even told her about the time he found Frank Jr wearing his uniform.
He nodded at her words, voice shaky. “I do. I really do.”
Karen found herself feeling bold at those words, she knew. He was ready. And so was she.
“Then have me.”
Frank let out a slow, ragged breath. She always said things like that—so direct, so damn sure—and it made him feel like gravity didn’t work right. His hands slid under the hem of the shirt, finding her waist, skin warm and soft. He tugged her closer.
She kissed him first—deep, slow, messy in the way that meant neither of them wanted to stop. Her fingers threaded into his hair, tugging just enough to make him groan, his body already responding to every little shift of hers. She rocked forward slightly in his lap, and he bit down on a curse, hands gripping her tighter. She could feel him growing by the second and the thought made her body heat up.
“Tell me what you need,” she murmured, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes.
“You,” he rasped. “I need to touch you. I need to feel you.”
“Okay.” She kissed him again and let his hands wander her body.
He peeled the shirt over her head, slow like he was unwrapping something sacred. His eyes stayed trained on hers until she gave a slight nod of her head.
His gaze traveled down her bare chest, eyes full of hunger and a need she hadn't seen before. His hands followed, thumbs brushing the curve of her breasts and a groan escaped his lips. His fingers pinched at her nipple before his mouth replaced them—soft kisses first, then firmer, lips wrapping around it as she gasped above him.
“Fuck, Frank…” she breathed, hands braced on his shoulders, rolling her hips into him.
He was noticing small things about her that he didn't have the privilege of knowing before. The way her tone would get gravelly and rough when she wanted him as much as he wanted her. The heat of her on top of him and the feeling of her skin on his.
He looked up, completely undone. “You’re so beautiful.”
She smiled at that, feeling more nervous than before. Karen leaned down and kissed him again, deeper now, bodies pressed tight.
She reached down and tugged his shirt up, fingers brushing his stomach, tracing scars and muscle and old memories. She would linger on certain marks more than others, the ones she patched up. She almost could smell the antiseptic in the room. Karen spent many nights wishing he would give up the war and stay in her apartment with her. And now that he had, there was the added pressure of keeping him here.
"Hey." He said, lifting her chin to meet his eyes.
"You okay? We can stop at any time. I'm in no rush, ma'am."
She felt herself slip out of her old memories. He was just as nervous as her, and that made this a hell of a lot easier.
"I wanna feel you." She said, starting to slip her hands back down his chest.
He let her undress him, too—slow, shaky hands working his waistband until he kicked off his boxers and they were skin to skin.
For a moment they stayed there, fingers caressing each other's scars. She felt his head move as he laid a kiss to her shoulder where a burn mark was placed.
"Where's this from?" He said, a scent of caution in his tone.
She could have lied or told him to move on. But she didn't.
"My dad." She said, plainly, gauging his face for a reaction.
His jaw clenched but he remained silent. His fingers moved to her face and he held her in his arms.
Frank pulled her close and laid a soft kiss on her lips. A promise. Nobody gonna hurt you again. She believed him.
She moved her hands lower until she felt her fingers trace his shaft. His body tensed but he didn't move her. Frank was not a lean man. He didn't have soft features or a "pretty face". He had a nose that had been broken so many times that it was starting to lean. His skin was covered in unhealed scars and there was not an inch of this man that was muscle. Working at a construction site every day will do that to you.
She loved it.
Her hands began to grab his length, teasingly and cautious. His eyes stayed on hers before a smile appeared on his lips.
"Not yet."
She paused, confused.
He flipped them over and she found herself giggling under him.
"What are you doing?" She teased with a smile on her face.
"Let me take care of you." He whispered above her. She nodded and he laid a smooth kiss on her lips. Deep. Yearning.
Then, without wasting another second, Frank dropped to his knees, yanking Karen to the edge of the bed.
Karen yelped, her legs instinctively moving to rest over Franks's shoulders, her hand reaching down to tangle into Frank's hair.
"Fuck," Frank breathed, his eyes wide, pupils blown, the sight of Karen's dripping cunt making his cock throb in his jeans. "Look at you," he murmured, dragging his palms along the insides of Karen's thighs, teasing at the crease of her hips. "So fucking beautiful."
Karen shuddered, her hand gripping Frank's hair a little tighter. "Frank."
Frank hummed, leaning in and kissing her inner thigh, making sure to rub his beard against the soft skin there. Karen let out a small noise, her legs squeezing around his shoulders, her hips twitching up against nothing.
"Easy, sweetheart," Frank murmured, trailing kisses up her leg, his mouth leaving a wet, warm path in its wake. He could feel the heat coming off Karen's cunt, it was the most amazing thing he could have ever experienced.
Frank leaned in, inhaling deeply, his nose brushing against her folds, the tip of his tongue darting out to taste her.
Karen's breath hitched, "Fuck. "
Frank licked another long stripe over her folds, the taste of her going straight to his head, making his cock throb. He groaned, his hands squeezing Karen's thighs, his mouth pressing open-mouthed kisses along her slit, lips lingering on the little mole on her labia.
She whimpered, her hips bucking, her fingers digging into Frank's hair, yanking him closer. "Mm, please."
He leaned in, tongue slipping inside her, his beard dragging along the insides of Karen's trembling thighs. Karen cried out, her back arching, her legs shaking, her grip tightening in Franks's hair.
Frank groaned, burying his face deeper, his tongue working in and out, licking her open, making a mess of her. His cock ached, trapped beneath his jeans, but he couldn't even care—not with the way Karen was writhing beneath him, her voice hitching, her breath coming fast and ragged.
"Fuck!" Karen jolted, her hand twisting into Frank's hair, yanking him impossibly closer. "Oh, god—fuck, right there. Right there. Please."
Frank hummed, his fingers digging deeper into Karen's thighs as he took Karen's clit into his mouth, sucking gently.
"Frank!" Karen keened, her body shaking, her heels digging into Frank's back. She was babbling now; words half-formed, voice strained and broken, body trembling as Frank's tongue moved relentlessly against her. "Don't stop. Don't—"
"Frank, please, I'm—fuck. I'm gonna—"
Frank growled, his hand snaking down, two fingers sinking easily into her. Karen cried out, her body jerking, her hips bucking.
Frank groaned, his tongue dragging over her clit, his fingers pumping steadily, curling, searching.
And then, with one last, desperate curl, Karen's whole body spasmed, a choked sob escaping her throat, her legs locking around Frank's head as her cunt clenched around his fingers.
Frank didn't stop.
He fucked her through it, his tongue and his fingers relentless, his mouth working against her until Karen was writhing, crying out, her voice cracking, her whole body shaking.
"Fuck! Fuck, Frank, please!" Karen whimpered, her hips bucking, her fingers yanking his hair. "Oh, god. Fuck. Please. Stop. I can't—I can't—"
Frank shook his head, keeping at it. He wanted to stay like this forever, buried in Karen's pussy, tasting her, making her cry out and tremble. He wanted to see how many times he could make her come. He wanted to take her apart over and over again until Karen was begging for him to stop.
"Frank, please," Karen sobbed, her whole body shaking, her fingers yanking his hair.
And then, only when Karen finally started to come down, when her hips finally stilled, her breathing ragged and uneven, and her face a blotchy, tear-stained mess, did Frank slow down.
He pressed one last, lingering kiss against Karen's pussy before pulling away, his lips slick and wet.
Karen was staring at him, wide-eyed and stunned, her chest heaving, her cheeks flushed bright red. She looked utterly wrecked, and the sight of her—so beautiful, so vulnerable, so perfect—made something ache deep in Frank's chest.
Frank kissed the small parts of her he missed as he moved back up her body. She was weak to this man, but she did her best to stay awake.
He finally got back to her lips and placed gentle kisses on the sides of her mouth, before deeply kissing her. She found her body moving languidly, and like water.
He smiled on her lips before sitting back up to look at her. He moved her damp hair from her forehead and placed a kiss on it before getting off the bed.
"What are you doing?" Karen asked, a little confused and a lot delirious.
"Go to sleep." He said, slipping on his boxers.
"No no I'm awake." She protested, with that stubborn look on her face.
He smiled and walked to the bathroom, coming back with a wet rag.
He cleaned her off while saying sweet nothings in her ear,
"You did so good, sweetheart. It's time to rest now. I'm not going anywhere."
He got in the bed behind her and held her. Her head laid gently on his chest and she felt herself drifting away when she heard,
"My angel, Karen Page. What am I gonna do with you?"