“You can’t be serious,” Russ blurted out giving Avery a long look. He shook his head at her insinuation and found himself standing before her in a state of disbelief. “Avery we’re not over.”

“Yes we are,” she mouthed stubbornly, her dark eyes looking beyond where he stood fearing that he could read right through her straight into her heart if she met his sad, green gaze. “Russ we can’t keep carrying on like we’ve been trying to hold onto something that’s not there anymore…”

“Not there,” he repeated taking a bold step forward. Before she could push him away, he pulled her into his arms, his mouth plummeting in over hers and kissing her long and hard.

His tongue teased over the crease in her lips feeling her whimper in response to him. Her knees buckled forward, nails scratching over his shoulders as he pulled her up off the ground into his arms more completely. He felt her tangle her fingers through his hair yanking on it tightly before he spun around to press her in against the wall. Pushing his body in closer to her, he felt her arch into him a jolt of electricity dancing between them threatening to overtake any ounce of logic or anger Avery had within her.

“Russ no,” she pushed her hand into his abdomen causing him to pull away from her ever so slightly, “This isn’t going to change anything about what I’m feeling right now.”

“This just proves that there is something very much here between us,” he explained in a husky tone dragging the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip in a slow, determined movement that sent tiny thrills racing over her every synapse.

Leaning in closer to her now that she’d slid out of his arms, Russ was very aware of her body’s natural response to him. Twining a piece of her long, dark hair in his fingers, his green eyes fixed on hers in a defiant move almost daring her to turn away from him--to look away from what it was that was still very alive between them.

“Russ, this isn’t going to work,” she explained in a shallow pant, her heart doing flip flops in her chest.

Her eyes settled in on his lips remembering what it had been like kissing him seconds earlier. That thought caused another flood of sensations to lick up over her body reminding her of all the oh so passionate moments they had shared with one another in the past. She felt his hand inches from her body, yet it felt like they were a world apart. They were still so very close and…

“We can work anything out as long as we still hold onto one another,” he spoke up encouragingly, leaning forward to steal another drawn out kiss from her lips. She whimpered against his mouth, the muffled sound buzzing against him as he squeezed her in to him once more.

“This is insane,” Avery mouthed against his lips, pushing him back into the wall they’d been standing at with one another. Despite the hurt and anger rushing over her, she felt Russ reach out and peel Kevin’s jacket that she’d still been wearing away from her shoulders. She in turn popped open the front buttons on his tuxedo shirt, sliding her hands in to feel the warm, muscular planes of his chest. His palm flattened out over her back, easing up underneath her shirt until his grip on her tightened and he thrust her forward causing her to crash into him.

“I love you,” he explained with a hot, wild kiss, feeling her squeezing his powerful chest, her hands curling off over his shoulders, to push his shirt down his arms.

Furiously he shrugged out of his shirt and jacket feeling them fall from his upper body. The jacket lay on the ground in a heap while his shirt hung over his backside by one small part that was still tucked in his pants. Her nails scratched lightly over his spine while his tongue teased and tantalized hers, remembering only too well how long it had been since they’d connected with one another. His finger tips danced over her soft curves cupping her breast in hand.

“Mmm…” she purred arching up into him tangling her fingers into his hair as his kisses tapered off over her neck, gently biting on her shoulder. She curled her leg around his waist, squeezing him closer to her as his lips teased over her collar bone bringing her bra strap down over her arm while his finger dipped inside to touch her and tease her in the hopes of reminding her of all the desire and passion that they’d still possessed between them even after time and distance had kept them from one another.

“I love you so much,” he whispered warmly, his words vibrating over her excited skin, while feeling her tremble beneath his touch. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her up to him, his lips meeting hers in a harsh, aggressive union--only this time she was returning his passion--nibbling on his lip while her hands dropped down to the front of his pants, pulling and tugging at the zipper in a frantic movement.

“I love you,” she confessed in spite of herself working like a madwoman to get him out of his clothing as his palm flattened out over her bottom to squeeze her gently. Yes, she was furious. Yes she’d been prepared to throw him out, but right now all she wanted was to take out everything that she’d been feeling for the last few months on him--to unleash all the rage and anger that she’d carried with her all this time. She wanted to let loose of the confusion--of the mixed emotions and hold onto the one thing she was certain of--being with him. She wanted to touch him and taunt him, tease him until neither one of them could stand it any longer. Wiggling her hips, she helped him pull her skirt up over her body pooling it around her waist.

“Avery I…” Russ mouthed remembering why he’d started this seduction--the reason why he’d kissed her in the first place, but now as they were pawing at one another, fighting desperately to give in to desire, he realized that things had spun out of control taking a new life of their own between them.

“Don’t say anything,” she begged of him, her brown eyes yearning and needy. She pushed his undone pants down over his hips taking his boxers with the movement. She dropped her gaze down to take in the magnificent evidence of his arousal before her. She licked her lips before drawing her leg around him and dragging him to her in a forceful movement. “Please don’t say anything right now at all to ruin this.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Russ admitted in a strained voice sliding his fingers out over her thigh, feeling her body on fire beneath him. His lust driven gaze penetrated hers once more seeing her hunger for him riding wild inside of her--just like he’d felt as they inched in closer to one another.

“Just shut up and kiss me,” she blurted out thoughtlessly yanking roughly on his hair as he pressed in over her, burying himself inside of her at her urgings. She tipped her head back crying out as her nails sank into his flesh, breaking the skin with one swift movement. Their mouths met again in a ferocious union breaking forth the setting for the insanity they’d slipped into with one another. Avery clenched her leg around him longing for something more--something powerful that she remembered only existed between them, but as Russ began to comply with her request, she heard something that broke her concentration from behind them.

“I take it things are going well in here considering that all is quiet which can only mean that,” Kevin’s voice roused from the hallway where he turned into the living room only to discover the two of them in a rather ‘intimate’ position with one another. His brown eyes widened and his jaw dropped before he let out an apologetic gulp. “Oh damn. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…it’s just that Erin was asleep and…I’m um…I’ll be…away…”

Kevin spun on his heel and turned towards the kitchen hoping that Russ had a beer or something stocked inside after the blunder he’d just walked unwittingly into with his friends. He shuffled his feet quickly trying to give them some privacy when Avery snapped back into the moment.

“What was I thinking,” she shook her head damning herself after Kevin’s arrival brought reality crashing down over her. She tipped her head up to see where she’d had Russ by the shoulders, her palms flattened over his smooth skin and in that moment her face grew red with a mixture of embarrassment and upset.

“I’m sorry,” Russ took a step back quickly adjusting his pants in the hopes of reclaiming any dignity about the situation that he no doubt lost when Kevin walked into the room, “I didn’t mean to get things so out of control. It’s just when you said that we didn’t have anything between us, I was desperate. I wanted you to see that…”

“That what?” she challenged biting down on her lip as she pulled her blouse in over her once again, “That we can connect incredibly on a sexual level? Russ, news flash here. That’s not the problem. The problem is that you and I can’t have a relationship with one another when there’s no trust. When you can’t be honest with me.”

“Avery, I’m being as honest with you as it gets,” he pleaded with her making a small step towards her only to watch her pull away as if they hadn’t just been as one moments earlier. “Avery, I love you and I know you love me.”

“Sometimes love isn’t enough especially when it’s surrounded by secrets and lies,” she blurted out tears returning to her dark eyes as she ran out of the living room leaving Russ to realize that even though they’d made progress with one another, the way that Cameron had dropped the bombshell on Avery tonight had done something to cause more damage than Russ feared he could ever repair. Sinking onto the arm of the couch, he closed his eyes trying to get his breathing back to normal as it seemed in a matter of moments he went from heaven to hell with the woman he loved and he feared there was no getting out of it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So,” Grady breathed in deeply feeling Deana’s head resting against his chest as he looked up toward the ceiling, curling his arm tighter around her. “How was the aggressive part of me? I think it came out pretty good.”

“You the aggressive one?” she laughed seeing him shrug his shoulders before letting out a small laugh and she bent down to press a small kiss in over his chest gently nipping at his nipple making him arch forward into her. “I think I was the aggressive one bucko.”

“You were the aggressive one?” he questioned about to tease her further before nodding again seeing the way that Deana’s brown eyes stared out into his. “Okay, so what if you were the aggressive one? I was never given the chance to be aggressive.”

“You don’t seem very aggressive to me,” she pointed out before shrugging her shoulders looking up into his green eyes seeing him frown before she let out a small laugh reaching up to touch the side of his face gently. “Don’t worry, a lot of people aren’t aggressive.”

“Yeah, well you don’t fit in that group,” Grady hissed feeling a small pain in over his chest as he looked at the scratches she just had given him during their love making. “Your rough and I love that about you, but damn are you good when you are aggressive.”

“Baby, I don’t have to be aggressive to be good,” she teased her lips in over his again before pausing and pulling away from him slowly. “Though, right now. I think I’m hungry for something, so I will be right back.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he replied seeing her get up off the bed and walk out into the hallway leaving the door wide open as he let out a small sigh. Looking around the room he decided to do some looking around as he noted that maybe he should learn a few more things about Deana. “What can we find here.”

Quickly getting up off the bed he knew that she would be getting back soon so he went toward her dresser pulling open a drawer to push around a few things only seeing clothes as he let out a small groan not knowing what he was looking for. Looking up, he saw a picture before him with Deana, Don, and some guy hold a dog he had never seen before. From the picture he could tell that Deana was much younger and the guy had to be around the same age as her. He had blue eyes that seemed to almost match Don’s as Grady tilted his head to the side.

“Who are you?” Grady opened the picture and flipped it over to the other side seeing the writing on the back of the picture before catching the name. “Jason? Is this the mystery guy? Blue eyes, dark hair and a muscular form. He doesn’t look shorter than me, but he could be. Kind of looks…,”

Setting down the picture Grady noticed Deana’s diary out of the corner of his eye as he reached out for the dark red book that lie on top of her dresser. “Let’s see if this guy is really the one you have been gushing over the last few hours.”

Opening up the book he flipped through a few pages before hearing a noise coming from the corner of the room and he let out a small gasp dropping her diary to the dresser and jumping back toward the bed.

“What was that?” Deana walked back into the room with some cut up apple pieces as she saw Grady pulling the blanket over him tightly and his green eyes widened. “What did you just do?”

“I had to stretch,” he shrugged his shoulders before looking down to his chest trying to think of something to say before shaking his head slowly. “After you being so aggressive I was ready to get my muscles going, but I must have fell back to the bed kind of hard. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she half laughed getting back into the bed next to him and pulling the covers in over herself. Taking a small bite from her piece of the apple she set the bowl in the middle and motioned for him to take some. “You can have a piece if you want.”

“Gee, an apple,” he half laughed grabbing an apple and placing it into his mouth before offering up a wide smile. Slowly chewing he let out a small nod of satisfaction. “Sweet and a bit sour, exactly what I love.”

“Now are you talking about me or the apple?” she teased seeing him arch his eyebrows up before reaching for another apple and she grabbed his hand before he could go on any further. “I think I could be as sour as you want me to be.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Grady questioned with a small laugh feeling her slide the piece of apple in over his chest and her mouth followed the movements of the apple. “Deana, hold on a second.”

“Just relax Grady,” she hushed him gently pushing her hand into the center of his chest pushing him back into the bed as she pushed back the sheets a little bit. Moving the apple in over his abdomen she pressed her lips in over his stomach, hearing him let out a long breath. “You’ll love this Grady, I know it.”

“Deana,” he went to say something else before letting out a long breath and resting his head back in against the pillows feeling her mouth move in over him and her hand gripping onto him tightly. “Oh God.”

“Hey Deana,” Grady heard a deep southern male voice erupt through his ears as his eyes popped open seeing the door to bedroom open and the male he saw from the picture walk into the room with a bag over his shoulder. “I came here and I didn’t tell you, but what the hell are you doing?”

“Jason,” Deana gasped seeing him drop the bag to the floor pulling his cowboy hat off his head as Grady stumbled to grab the sheets trying to cover himself up as the man moved closer into the bedroom. “What are you doing here?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Heather snuggled in over Kyle, placing a tender kiss over the center of his chest as they lay together tangled up in sheets somewhere near the bottom of her bed after they’d had their way with one another delving into passion again and again. Now as the sheet hung dangerously low near Kyle’s hip leaving very little to the imagination, Heather couldn’t help but place a tiny kiss over his warm chest, tasting the sweetness of his skin over her lips.

“So now that we’ve got that out of the way, maybe we could get back to that whole matter of your trying to assault me outside of your apartment,” Kyle teased massaging her spine gently. He raised his head up from the end of her bed and looked down at her, “What was that all about?”

“I thought you were going to be someone who was going to rob or murder me,” she explained after a moment’s contemplation, “No I take that back. I was just ticked that I couldn’t find my keys.”

“Obviously,” Kyle laughed lightly thinking about how frazzled she’d been when she’d arrived home to see him again, “Although there was certainly something sexy behind your eyes when you were all worked up like that.”

“Oh so you liked me worked up, eh?” Heather propped herself up on her elbows and wiggled her brow at him.

“Oh I don’t know,” he shrugged ever so slightly bringing his arms up behind his head and watching her with a casual expression, “I mean sure I guess there’s something to be said about a woman who isn’t afraid to express her emotions--even her violent ones in this particular scenario, but still…”

“You love my every mood shift,” she taunted reaching out to pinch at his nipple, causing him to jerk up off of the mattress just a bit from underneath her. She leaned forward to tease her tongue over his chest before smiling up at him, “You like me wicked admit it.”

“I like you any way I can get you,” he growled wrapping his arm around her waist and moving to pin her beneath him on the bed. Hovering over her, he saw the laughter behind her green eyes and it caused him to smile widely, “And from where I stand or rather lay for that matter, I’ve had you at the top of the bed, somewhere near the middle and at the bottom it would seem. So I think it’s safe to say that we’ve kind of worked out this whole bed thing from all angles.”

“Oh really?” she arched a curious brow reaching out to wrap her arms around his shoulders in a tentative movement. “Does this pose a problem for you?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Kyle stretched his arms out bringing them down on the bed and bouncing his hands beside her causing the mattress to spring up and down with a creaking sound. “If we keep up what we’ve been doing, I’m pretty sure that we’re going to break this.”

Heather let out a small laugh, “You’re feeling a bit overconfident aren’t you?”

“Nope,” he shook his head a proud grin sweeping in over him, “I’m just speaking the truth. A man like myself isn’t going to take things lightly once he’s started warming up.”

“Ah so that’s what you call it,” she couldn’t help but tease him. “Here I thought I had you all warn out and I was really starting to rethink this whole marriage thing given that you hadn’t really lived up to your end of the bargain.”

“Excuse me?” he blinked down at her, “And just what end might that be?”

“Well, I seem to distinctly recall something about your promising me something that went on all night long,” she scraped her nail over his shoulder gently, “and I must say I’m rather disappointed in just how short the moment was when push came to shove.”

“I’ll have you know that there was nothing wrong with my pushing and shoving, but hey, if you’d rather we call it quits now,” Kyle rolled onto his side moving away from her, “We can work that one as well.”

“Perhaps we should,” she sank back into the twisted blankets, closing her eyes as she felt satisfaction curl in over her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, “Chalk it up as a blunder and just go our merry way after tonight’s disappointment.”

“I think you’re right,” Kyle nodded in agreement as Heather opened her eyes again to see him sliding out from underneath the barely there blanket. She propped herself up on her elbows and curled her lips in a pout watching his retreat.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” she snapped at him, a disapproving stare in her green eyes. Though as she looked over the lines of his body, her gaze settling in over his oh so perfect bottom, she couldn’t help but admire every perfect inch of him.

“Well since it obviously didn’t work out like we hoped, I figured I’d just leave and find someone else who doesn’t have a complaint,” he glanced over his shoulder to see her staring at him. Unable to resist the urge he started to flex in front of her, posing in such a way to elicit a reaction out of her. However laughter wasn‘t the one that he‘d been hoping for.

“Oh God,” she rolled onto her side kicking her feet out from beneath her. “Kyle you are such a dork.”

“I’m a dork,” Kyle raised a curious brow before curling his arm out in front of her in a classic body builder pose. “Admit it, you want some of this. You can’t resist me.”

She laughed louder than before, tears threatening in her eyes, “Oh yeah you’re such a big dork.”

“I’ll have you know this big dork is going to make you pay for saying that,” he plummeted onto the bed beside her, his body bouncing the mattress with such force that the legs grew shaky beneath them. A split second later the bed came crashing down to the ground with a loud thud.

Heather’s eyes widened, but before she could say anything, she bounced from the bed to the floor with a hefty roll. She took the blanket with her finding herself stopping near her bedroom door. Her eyes narrowed up at him as he sat on the center of her bed with a goofy expression.

“Hey you can’t say you weren’t warned,” Kyle shrugged his shoulders simply before rolling over onto his back. He pushed himself up on his knees and curled his finger at her, “Come here.”

“No way,” she shook her head adamantly getting up on her knees as well, “You’re dangerous.”

“No more dangerous than I’ll be if you make me go over there and grab you,” he wiggled his brow at her suggestively, a small grin cracking over his jaw line.

“If you could even catch me,” she giggled in response rising to her feet and issuing him a challenge, “I’ll bet you that you can’t find me and even if you could you wouldn’t be able to catch me.”

“Oh you’re so on,” Kyle decided with a laugh of his own moving to his feet again, “I think I owe you for the time you tackled me in the fountain at the Ashford place.”

“Fine, then you’re on. We’ll play a little game of hide and seek and the winner takes all,” Heather decided placing her hands on her hips and puffing her chest out to see the way that Kyle was watching her with a ravenous expression.

“I plan to,” Kyle assured her, his hazel eyes touching her in all the places that his hands had a short while ago.

“So we’ll go on the count of three. One, two…” before Heather could get the last word out Kyle sprung across the room seizing her in his arms and pulling her up off of the ground.

“Kyle that’s not fair,” Heather kicked her legs out in the air feeling him spin her around the room while keeping her close to his chest.

“Who said I was going to play fair,” he growled nibbling on her neck while carrying her back over to the bed again. “Did I say you could leave just yet?”

“Who said I was going to wait around for your permission?” she wiggled in his arms trying to get loose, but before she could escape she felt him drag her back down to the floor with him, moving over her so that she was trapped beneath him.

“I think it’s about time that I give you something to remember,” Kyle informed her, a determined expression burning behind his intense eyes. His fingers danced over her skin, touch stirring up the same feelings of passion that they’d experienced with one another before only this time he was a man on a mission. He placed his hand on her thigh before settling in over her a bit more comfortably. “I think I’ve got something to prove to you after your misplaced jabs at my stamina.”

“I was just saying what you told me and what reality really was,” she sighed watching him slide her leg up on the mattress. He leaned forward to place soft butterfly kisses over her thigh before he settled in lower on the bed.

“Your perception of reality was far from being the reality we have between us,” Kyle circled her inner thigh with his index finger, “but rest assured I’ll find a way to make you eat your words.”

“Is that right?” she leaned forward feeling his lips press in over her smooth skin. He pressed a kiss over the soft curve of her hip before his fingers settled in over her warmth between her thighs, his words buzzing over her abdomen. He leaned forward to press a small kiss on her hip, smiling at the tattoo she still had there that bared his name. He traced it lightly before tipping his head up to look at her, “Have I ever told you how sexy you look from this angle?”

“I don’t think you’ve had the opportunity to do so before tonight,” she felt a blush rise over her as his lips eased in over her once more.

“Well if I do recall you told me once upon a time if I decided to run away with you that Sarah would murder me--something along the lines of she would do something with my tongue,” Kyle tipped his head to the side seeing that her body grew flushed no doubt with embarrassment and anticipation.

She nodded biting down on her lower lip gently, “That’s right,” she spoke up in a low, throaty tone, “and you told me if she cut your tongue out you’d still find ways to entertain me.”

“That I did, but tonight I think I’m going to work on finding new ways to have you thankful that she never had that opportunity. After all I‘m known to be a man of all action when the right moment comes along and believe me honey tonight I found the perfect opportunity to display all of my skills over and over again,” he promised leaning forward in the first hint of things to come between them. She arched back into the blankets reaching out to ball the material in her fist as Kyle followed through on his promise to show her just how talented he truly was.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Angela lay out over the center of the bed thinking about how her brother had locked her inside. While she’d tried to get his attention and get him to open up, it had been no use considering that Cameron was as stubborn as ever. Perhaps it was for the best, she thought to herself feeling a heaviness carry over her at the reality she found herself surrounded in. Closing her eyes she thought back to everything that had happened in the church parking lot, but as her mind drifted over the past, she found herself slipping back even further than she’d anticipated.

“I want you to be there tonight Kevin,” Angela pleaded with him, placing her hand over her swelled abdomen, “You know how much this means to me.”

“Of course I do, but your father needs me tonight,” Kevin explained with a heavy sigh dread behind his eyes. He reached out to Angela pulling her into his arms and squeezing her closer to him, “I promise you though that I will be here before midnight and who knows maybe just maybe Santa will bring another present home for you.”

“If I recall correctly,” Angela eased her arms around his muscled torso, “the last time you said that, I found myself in this position being round and fat.”

“I happen to like you this way,” Kevin bent down to place a kiss over the side of her neck causing her to burst out into a small round of laughter when his hands dropped down over her abdomen, “Besides let’s face it sweetheart you’re not fat.”

“Tell me that in the morning when I can’t see my feet because my ankles have swollen,” she sighed shifting in his arms and leaning in against his chest. She felt his hands press in over her stomach tenderly as he placed another kiss on her soft skin.

“In the morning I’ll be reminding you all over again how lucky I am to have you and our baby in my life Angie,” he promised in a loving tone, “You two are a dream that I never thought would happen for me, but now that it has I feel like the luckiest man alive.”

“It’s only going to get better for us. I promise you that,” she arched her head back to steal a kiss from him before pulling away, “That is if you can find your way home before Santa arrives with his sleigh.”

“Tonight I’ll be home in time to share Christmas with the most beautiful woman in the world and our little one,” Kevin promised massaging her abdomen gently, “and when I get back maybe we can consider that New Year’s surprise we have planned. Who knows? Maybe if we go that route then your father won’t be so against us.”

“Kevin, you know how he feels,” she spun in his arms facing him once again, “If he finds out that you’re the father of my baby, then…”

“I don’t like lying to him,” Kevin frowned down at her, “Anyone with eyes can see how much I love you and the longer we keep him in the dark about this…”

“The safer you are,” she touched the side of his face, worry behind her dark eyes, “If my father had any idea that you and I were in love with one another, then I know he would have you killed. He would hurt you and I couldn’t live with that.”

“When you’re my wife he’ll have no choice, but to accept us,” Kevin promised her taking a look at the clock. “Angie, I hate to leave, but…”

“I’ll be right here waiting for you when you return,” she mouthed feeling him slip out of her reach. She watched him walk to the doorway before he turned around and pulled her into his arms once again.

“I love you Angie. Don’t you ever forget that,” he whispered warmly against her lips kissing her one last time before the night would change their lives forever.

Angela’s eyes snapped open as her memories turned to when she’d lost their daughter. That night in itself had been one that had taken away any hopes and dreams she’d had about happiness in her life. When she’d lost their daughter it had started this downward spiral she was on in her life and it wasn’t until she’d met Brant that she’d felt like she was alive again. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, she thought back to that instant connection she and Brant had with one another. Sure, it was completely unexpected and off the wall, yet it was something that had gotten into her system and made her want to believe in love all over again.

“If you could have anything in the world,” Brant’s voice questioned beyond the rain that was pouring outside of the bedroom they were lying in with one another wrapped up snugly in his sheets after they’d found themselves lost in one another. “What would it be?”

“Honestly,” she questioned tipping her head up to look at him, her fingers moving over his chest in small, leisurely strokes.

“Haven’t you figured it out by now that’s what I’m always looking for from you,” he replied, a curious grin easing over his lips. “From here on out I want to keep it that way between us. I know we didn’t have the best of beginnings, but maybe now that we’re getting this second chance we can finally do things right.”

“I think we’re well on that path with one another,” she couldn’t help but smirk thinking about the passion that they’d shared with one another. Dropping her head back down again, she felt his arm curl around her and she snuggled into the warmth of his chest. Her fingers played over his heated skin thinking about how good it felt to have his arms around her. “If I honestly could have anything in the world right now it would be to spend forever with you just like this.”

“It does sound nice,” Brant agreed before teasing her, “though you might get a bit hungry and even a little sore if we didn’t move.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” she swatted at his chest playfully. “You and I both know full well that I’m trying to tell you that I’d want this--I would want for us to be together just as we are now feeling the world ahead of us and knowing that everything is as it should be.”

“I always feel that way when you’re in my arms,” he admitted tentatively, his finger tips dancing over the small of her back in lazy circles. “When I’m with you it’s the first time in my life that I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not. You love me for who I am flaws and all and that says a lot for us.”

“Yeah it says that I’m insane,” she wrinkled her nose before placing a kiss over his chest.

“Insane or not, it shows me that you love me,” his fingers eased up into her dark hair, “just like I love you.”

“I do love you,” she whispered inching up to collect his lips in another kiss as the storm outside was secondary to what it was she was feeling lost in his arms.

Now as Angela looked around the empty room in her brother’s home, she wondered how she could be so very wrong about two men who meant the world to her. It didn’t seem real that they would be doing things to hurt her--to destroy her world after all that had happened to bring them together. Kevin had protected her time after time--had dedicated his life to helping her and Brant, he’d made her feel so very alive when she’d hit rock bottom. He had loved her--had given his everything to making her happy, yet Cameron’s words hung over her and she wondered if perhaps there was some missing piece of the puzzle she hadn’t seen yet--something that she may never see if she remained locked up under her brother’s control.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Brant get down!” Don whispered reaching out to tug on Brant’s arm in an abrupt fashion. He felt Brant move to the ground beside him before he pointed up at the lights above. “Someone is watching up there. Look!”

“Where?” Brant questioned surveying the estate grounds to see if someone was out there watching.

“In that room there,” Don pointed up to a lighted room near the top of the building before them, “I think they must’ve heard us.”

“I don’t think so,” Brant frowned shuffling in beside the set of bushes that Don had dragged them into. “I mean okay so maybe they are checking things out, but I don’t think that they spotted us.”

“I’m not so sure,” Don eyed the person wearily watching as the man in front of them seemed to be centered in looking out above where they were kneeling.

“I’m sure he’ll go away,” Brant decided feeling a bit unconvinced himself as he thought about finding Angela. “Give it a minute.”

“Really?” Don blinked back at him with a sarcastic tone, “Gee, um what did you think I was going to do? Get up and streak across the lawn?”

“That would certainly be one way to distract Cameron’s goons,” Brant shook his head and shuddered at the thought, “but seriously we need to formulate some kind of plan.”

“Call me crazy, but shouldn’t this have been something that came to us, oh I don’t know say back in the car?” Don tossed out at him in an impatient tone, bending down closer to the ground when a light swept overhead just passing by them.

“At the time I thought I knew what I was doing, but now,” Brant shook his head feeling a nervousness settle in over his stomach, “Maybe I should’ve given this a second thought.”

“Yeah especially considering that there is no way in hell that we’re going to be able to sprint across this lawn right now to get back to the car,” Don reminded him catching the way it seemed that security was buzzing on the estate. Don opened his mouth to say something more when a small popping noise surrounded them. His blue eyes widened as he turned to Brant, “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Brant admitted listening for the sound again only to feel the first spray of something shoot right in the center of his chest. He fell back onto the ground, hitting a patch of mud with his rear end as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

“Man are you okay,” Don questioned worriedly crawling in his hands and knees over to where Brant had fallen.

“What the hell was that?” Brant asked seeing the sprinkler head that was now furiously working like mad to water the already drenched lawn after the earlier rainstorm in town.

“I think Cameron’s bringing out the heavy artillery,” Don couldn’t help but joke just as another sprinkler head shot up right between his crouched body and nailed him right in the groin.

Don toppled backward onto the ground with a loud thump and Brant watched the light above shift over them. Quickly Brant scrambled to get over to Don before he could make a sound. Clamping his hand over his friend’s mouth before he would wince, Brant lay down beside him instructing Don to keep quiet. Don’s blue eyes seemed to cross in a moment of pain while a shower of water shot out over the both of them moving with the path of the light. Once the light disappeared Brant removed his hand from Don’s mouth.

“We really can’t stay here all night,” Brant decided contemplating his next move. He looked up to the window that Don had pointed out, but realized that the man who had been there earlier had disappeared. “Now’s our chance.”

“Just where are we going?” Don questioned in a high-pitched tone, unable to mask the pain that the surprising sprinkler had inflicted upon him.

“Over there,” Brant circled over to the far end of the estate motioning to where the light had just zipped away from.

“Why? What’s over there?” Don couldn’t help but ask using his arm to roll over onto his stomach to see what Brant was pointing at.

“She is,” Brant explained seeing Angela in one of the previously empty windows. She was looking out in another direction than the one they were in, but it was all the encouragement Brant needed to keep pushing on in his mission to find her again. He tipped his head to the side and looked to Don, “You ready for this?”

“Do I have a choice?” Don groaned wondering if he and Brant would truly find a way to reach Angela or if once everything was said and done if the two of them would wind up in more trouble than they’d started with in this situation.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I don’t think I have been to a place like this in years,” Hunt informed Mindy with a small laugh as they walked into the doors of a club, getting their hands stamped as they walked through. “I seriously think the last time I did this it was me and Nate sneaking into one of these because we were too young.”

“The last time I was at one of these things I saw Chase nearly naked,” Mindy let out a small laugh as she shook her head slowly and looked over at Hunt seeing his nose wrinkle in the response. “It wasn’t the best memory, but it was one to keep when it came to having a funny moment.”

“That’s just plain gross,” Hunt laughed walking through the doors of the club further before looking around the area and taking in a deep breath. Seeing the way that the lights flashed through his eyes he took in a deep breath trying to find any glance of Trisha and Chase. “Where do you think they are?”

“They said to just wait right here and they will find us,” Mindy informed him with a small shake of her head before thinking of all the things that Trisha had told her over the phone. “I don’t know how they know when we were going to be here, but I guess they do.”

“Mindy, hey,” Mindy heard Trisha’s voice behind her as she turned to face her friend feeling her friend wrap her arms around her and she let out a small laugh. “Glad you two could actually make it.”

“You wanted us here so here we are,” Hunt boasted proudly moving from behind Mindy and seeing Trisha let go of her long enough to give him a small hug. “We hardly get out so I figured this would be a cool place to hit up.”

“That you’re right about my friend,” Chase agreed setting his hand against Hunt’s shoulder lightly before taking in a small breath and nodding over toward the bar. “Good drinks, good music and you can dance all night. I think it’s great.”

“It’s really great,” Trisha agreed seeing Chase smile and she wrapped her arm around his torso feeling his arm wrap around her shoulders and she nodded back toward the dance floor. “We were waiting for you, just didn’t know how long it would take you to get here.”

“Well, we’re here,” Mindy stared up at Chase seeing him offer up a small smile before pulling Trisha in closer to him. “Did you get a haircut?”

“Yeah, you like it?” Chase questioned running his right hand through his short hair, feeling a bit different having the shorter hair after having it that long for a while. “I know Trisha likes it, but I don’t know if I made a bad choice or not.”

“I don’t like it,” Hunt blurted out seeing Trisha looked out at him with a confused look and he looked down to Mindy seeing her frowning up at him and he shrugged his shoulders letting out a small laugh. “It makes you look younger than me now.”

“Aren’t we around the same age?” Chase questioned with a small laugh seeing Hunt half nod before looking down at Mindy and Chase let go of Trisha for a minute resting his hands against his hips. “Now, come on. What were you saying? I looked old with my other hair cut?”

“You just look a lot younger now,” Hunt pointed out with a small shake of his head wrapping his arm tighter around Mindy before letting out a long breath. “Now I just look a whole lot older than you is all.”

“Trust me, you both look good,” Trisha reached out to gently hit Hunt in the stomach hearing him let out a small laugh before shrugging his shoulders. “How about we head over toward the bar because I have one hell of a story to tell you.”

“Really what’s that?” Mindy let go of Hunt long enough to walk beside Trisha leaving the two men to follow behind them. “Don’t leave me waiting girl, what is it?”

“Okay, so I went to your crush’s wedding,” Trisha informed Mindy seeing Mindy stare out at her before looking back toward Hunt and Chase who had been talking and they didn’t overhear anyways. “You know Kyle Houston.”

“Right, but he’s not my crush,” Mindy let out a hesitant laugh before shrugging her shoulders and motioning Trisha to go on with her story. “He’s really not my crush just go on with your story. How was the wedding?”

“Okay, whatever you say,” Trisha let out a small laugh before taking a seat on one of the stools next to the bar and she shrugged her shoulders. “Anyways, it looked nice and everything, but boy did Kyle leave an impact. I guess that Sarah girl was cheating on him and boy did he get her back.”

“Sarah was cheating on him?” Mindy questioned with a gasp seeing Trisha nod slowly and she covered her mouth before placing her hand over her chest. “Oh my, what a bitch to do something like that to someone so great. No wonder Kyle didn’t want to get back with her.”

“Well yeah,” Trisha glanced at her for another second before taking in a deep breath and thinking things over slowly realizing that Kyle really did give it to Sarah there. “He made this tape and played it for everyone to see so everyone could know what a whore she really was. It was great, I wish I knew how to pull out revenge like that. He is amazing.”

“He sounds it,” she let out a half laugh before feeling a hand move in over her shoulder before she looked back to see Hunt behind her and she smiled back at him quickly. “Poor Kyle, but at least he got her back.”

“I think he did a number on her,” Chase half laughed seeing Mindy nod slowly as Trisha ordered a drink from the bar and Chase moved forward to take a seat next to Trisha. Leaning forward he looked to Mindy. “When I mean he took a number, I think everyone got something bad today. Even Kevin.”

“Your crush Trisha?” Mindy questioned feeling Trisha hit her in the center of the chest with the back of her hand, not hard enough to hurt but to sting a little bit. Letting out a small laugh she shook her head slowly seeing Trisha glaring out at her. “I guess I won’t ask.”

“Okay,” Hunt half laughed seeing the look on Trisha’s face before feeling a buzzing in his right pocket and he pulled out his cell phone looking down at the number and he gave Mindy’s shoulder a small squeeze. “I have to take this, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, we’ll be right here,” Mindy gave him a small smile before he nodded and walked back toward the back of the dance floor where no one was. Looking at the number one last time he took in a deep breath and pushed the talk button. “I thought I told you to never call me unless I called you.”

“Hunt,” Brooke’s voice came out from the other end as Hunt shut his eyes tightly not believing that he actually answered the phone to her when he swore he would never have any intention to do so. “I was just…,”

“I don’t care what you are doing Brooke, I’ll call you, just leave me alone,” Hunt ended the call turning off his phone in the process knowing that tonight he wanted to spend with Mindy and he wanted to have a good time. There was no way that with Brooke calling and interrupting him again like all the other times would he actually have fun. Clearing his throat he made it through the crowd and back toward Mindy setting his hand on her shoulder. “Sorry, that was a call from work.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh man,” Kevin let out a small groan rubbing at his eyes as he just saw what he really never expected to walk into with Russ and Avery. Taking in a long breath he looked over toward the ground seeing Russ and Avery’s cat staring up at him with his big green eyes. “Boy did I make a mistake in walking in on your mommy and daddy. I should have just stayed with Erin.”

Looking around the kitchen Kevin walked over toward the refrigerator and pulled it open looking inside to see if maybe Russ had some alcohol considering the mood that he was in today.

“Great,” Kevin let out a long breath reaching forward to grab a cherry coke before closing the door and walking over toward the kitchen table and taking a seat. Opening up the can he took a small sip of the drink before feeling something land in his lap and he slightly choked on the liquid. Setting his drink down he saw the cat sitting in his lap and looking up at him with it’s big green eyes. Still not knowing it’s name he moved forward to grab the name tag in his fingers softly seeing it's name before smiling brightly. “Hey Rusty, how you doing little guy?”

Reaching out Kevin caressed Rusty’s ears gently seeing the way the cat moved it’s head into the caress of Kevin’s fingers and Kevin smiled looking over the rust colored cat before him. He never really thought about getting a pet before, but if he got a cat like this that would be really cool.

“Thank god you don’t have claws,” Kevin half laughed feeling the cat press it’s paws in against his chest to lean up and lick at his chin gently as Kevin turned away letting out a small laugh, pulling the cat into his arms. “You sure are friendly aren’t you?”

“How is it that every single person in my family seems to fall in love with you right away?” Russ’s voice echoed through the room as Kevin looked up to meet the glance of Russ’s green eyes while he slowly pet Rusty’s head, feeling Rusty settle in against his chest while Kevin held him. “I don’t get it about you, I really don’t.”

“Um, I’m sorry?” Kevin muttered seeing the look in Russell’s eyes as he looked down to Rusty who had seemed to fallen asleep against his chest while he held onto him and Kevin shrugged his shoulders. “ I guess I just have an effect on people.”

“I wish I had your secret,” Russ groaned walking over toward the fridge and pulling out a cherry coke too, taking a seat across from Kevin at the table as Kevin looked away from him. “Seriously, Avery likes you, Erin is in love with you and my cat looks like it thinks you are the best pillow around here.”

“Well, Rusty is cute,” Kevin smiled rubbing the cat’s ear gently before meeting Russ’s glance again and he found himself just a little bit uneasy. “You know, I’m sorry for whatever I walked in on there. I really didn’t mean to and if I would have known, trust me I would have just stayed in there with Erin.”

“Kevin don’t worry about it, it was an accident,” Russ waved his hand in the air sinking down in his chair before reaching out to his drink and taking a long sip. “Under normal circumstances I would have killed anyone for being around Avery naked, but since it was an accident and I like you don’t worry about it.”

“Gee, that’s real comforting,” Kevin gulped down before shrugging his shoulders and looking across the table offering up a half smile. “With what was just going on though, that means you have to be doing better with her now though, right?”

“I wish I could say that,” Russ answered in an upset tone as he leaned forward on his elbows seeing Rusty adjust in Kevin arms before Kevin moved his arms closer around him so Rusty wouldn’t fall off. “She locked herself in the room and won’t come out. It seems no matter what I try, she isn’t happy.”

“That’s not true she loves you and you love her,” Kevin blurted out seeing Russ look up at him before shrugging his shoulders and gently moving the drink back and forth on the table. “Russ come on you can’t give up. I know that Avery can probably be just as stubborn as Angie was, but don’t make the mistake I did plenty of times. I tried to give up, I can go talk to her if you’d like.”

“Kevin, really,” Russ began taking in a deep breath and thinking about all the years he had spent in love with Avery knowing how stubborn she could be, but also how soft her heart was. “We just need to give her time. That’s all.”

“It will get better,” Kevin tried to assure Russ seeing him shrug his shoulders before taking another sip from his drink and Kevin thought back to the look on Avery’s face while he was with her in the rain. “Russ, Avery is amazing any man with eyes can see that. Just the way she smiles, the way she acts--the way she looks at you. That’s the one thing I know she loves the most is you. You two belong together more than almost anybody and if anyone can make up I know you two can.”

“Thanks Kevin, but this is bigger than most anything we have fought about before,” Russ pointed out seeing Kevin frown before Russ tapped his fingers against the desk knowing that what he did was wrong. “I should have just told her and then none of this would have happened. If I would have told her she would have never been upset.”

“Well if that was the case then blame me because I encouraged you to keep your mouth shut and that’s my fault. I didn’t see the pain it would cause you both Russ, but come on don’t blame yourself here,” Kevin tried to encourage him a bit more meeting Russ’s green eyes before nodding slowly and biting down on his bottom lip. “I hate Cameron, I can’t believe him. This is so wrong.”

“Did you really kill Angela’s husband?” Russ questioned seeing Kevin look down toward the sleeping cat in his arms as Kevin failed to answer and Russ saw the color draining from Kevin’s face. “Kevin come on, you can tell me. I know that if the case was against me and I was doing it for Avery, nothing would stop me.”

“Yeah, I killed him,” Kevin nodded slowly looking up to meet Russ’s glance as Russ stared out at him and Kevin gently pet Rusty’s head slowly. “I didn’t intend to, but I did. I loved her, he tried to kill me that night and wanted to kill her, so I killed him. I killed her husband, not like she was that faithful anyways.”

“Well you didn’t do anything that bad. You killed him for the woman you loved, there is nothing wrong with that,” Russ tried to convince Kevin seeing Kevin stare up at him for a moment as if he was confused by what Russ was saying. “It’s not like you killed anyone else--that I know of.”

“Right,” Kevin cleared his throat uneasily before taking in a small breath and looking around the room before shaking his head slowly. “I should have never killed him that night, I should have never held onto Angela like I did. If I wasn’t so stupid, I would have never touched her when she was married, I would have never cared.”

“You saved her life Kevin and you loved her,” Russ added seeing Kevin’s brown eyes meet his as Kevin took in a deep breath and looked back down toward Rusty. “And from what it sounds like she still loved you when she was married to Cary.”

“Right,” Kevin thought about all the nights he had spent with Angela never wanting to let her go and now he couldn’t seem to understand what was wrong with her. “It’s sad that I hate her now. This is just as much her fault as it is Cameron’s. She’s the one who caused me pain and she is the one who killed me inside. I was just her toy when she wanted it and falling in love with her broke me more and more each day.”

“I guess the two of us know what it’s like to be confused,” Russ took in a long breath seeing Kevin nod slowly before standing up with Rusty still in his arms. Seeing Rusty slightly wake up in Kevin’s arms, Kevin bent down to press a small kiss against the top of the cat’s head before feeling it stretch out in his arms. “Where are you going?”

“Trying to not be confused any longer and I hope you do the same,” Kevin gently handed Rusty over into Russ’s arms as Rusty’s green eyes stared out at Kevin. “I’m going to find Ria and tell her how much she means to me. I don’t want to lose, I can’t lose her--she means too much to me to let her go. I’ll see you later, I hope everything goes through smoothly.”

“Thanks,” Russ nodded watching Kevin slowly walk toward the door and pull out his keys before walking out the door and leaving Russ alone with only his thoughts. “He’s right, I’m not going to let her stay mad at me. I love her too much.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Do you have any idea how clichéd this is?” Heather shook her head popping her head into her bedroom to see her bed on the floor after Kyle had jumped on it and broke the frame. “I mean how many soap operas do you see where they are all talking about breaking a bed because the sex is so utterly fantastic and neither one of them can get enough of each other?”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I happen to think that there is some truth behind all of those clichés,” Kyle prompted from where he stood behind her sliding his arm around her waist. His lips traveled down to her neck nibbling gently before his hazel eyes fell to the heap of blankets on the floor, “Besides you said you were looking to redecorate there, so in my breaking the bed I was just helping.”

“More like acting like a monkey,” she couldn’t help but laugh leaning back into his arms and feeling the warmth of his chest surrounding her, “Though I have to tell you that you really can’t take credit for being a sexual god that broke the bed considering that I think you were busting out some kind of wrestling move when you did that.”

“I was showing off some of my finer moves,” Kyle teased nibbling on her shoulder while his fingers tapered off over the front of the robe that she was wearing. She turned in his arms shaking her head at him.

“If those were your finer moves, then I would hate to see you on a bad day,” she couldn’t help but tease thinking about how much fun she’d truly had with him before and after the bed fell to the floor.

“If your damned headboard wouldn’t have decided to take a leap forward we could still be exploring all my finer moves,” Kyle sighed heavily thinking about the crash that had nearly wiped the both of them out with the oversized headboard finally losing it’s battle with gravity.

“That’s okay,” Heather sighed casting another look over her shoulder at the bed, “I think we pretty much explored all that there was to explore in there for today.”

“All that there was,” Kyle shook his head at her before squeezing her in closer to him, “Oh no my dear we’ve only just begun in that department.”

“I thought you were tired of the bed,” she wiggled her brow at him before sliding her arms around his neck. She felt him pull her off of the ground and up into him so that their lips could meet in another kiss.

“Tired of the bed yes,” he nodded in confession before his tone took on a low, rumble, “of you--never.”

“That’s a good thing because you did just propose to me and I did say yes,” she wiggled her finger in front of his face, “With this ring it means that you’re stuck with me.”

“Gee, what a position to be in,” he feigned disgust wrinkling his nose at her, “A whole lifetime with you. Whatever will I do?”

“I think you’re just going to have to deal with it, but I am warning you now if you even think about backing out on this wedding we are going to have, I won’t let you live long enough to find your way into another woman’s bed,” Heather teased biting on his lip in a light nibble before pulling back. Her fingers tapered off into his hair as she memorized the lines of his face.

“I think that’s next to impossible Heather because there isn’t anything that could keep me from marrying you--not even the misunderstandings we had in the past,” Kyle promised turning on his heel and carrying her down the hallway towards the living room. “Besides, the way I see it you’ve ruined me for other women.”

“Ruined you?” she frowned at his comment. “Just what does that mean?”

“It means that since I first met you I have compared each and every woman in my life to you,” he admitted carrying her over to her plush, white sofa and taking a seat while bringing her into his lap. He readjusted his position kicking his legs out over the cushions and keeping her on his lap so that they could relax with one another. “Ah yes this is very nice. This will work.”

“Of course it will. It’s imported Italian leather,” Heather commented on her sofa, thinking about the time and effort that had gone into picking it out, “but still let’s get back to this whole you’ve compared every other woman to me.”

“It’s true,” he admitted with a sheepish grin, “and admittedly I tried to find someone who could fill that void you left in my heart, but it was impossible. In fact I didn’t realize how impossible it truly was until I saw you again in Coral Valley.”

“Really?” she arched a curious brow before leaning forward, her long, blonde hair pressing in over her shoulder to tease over the side of his face. “Tell me more.”

“Well for starters,” his finger tips teased at the side of her robe, pushing the thick, white, cotton material down over her shoulder, “you have no idea how hard it was not to try to kiss you when I saw you. I mean yeah I know I thought I had the hots for Sarah, which only proves I’m an idiot, but still.”

“Hey, we all make mistakes,” she replied drawing lazy circles over his chest. “I’m the queen of them remember?”

“Yeah well even so if I would’ve listened to my heart all those years ago, we could’ve avoided all of this separation and heartache,” he confessed his fingers fanning out over the side of her face. “The truth to the matter is Heather that when I’m with you, I find myself wondering how it was that I was able to make it through those years without you.”

“I found myself wondering that very same thing,” she sighed leaning into his touch before her palms pressed in over his chest feeling his heart beating beneath her touch. “Though I do know one thing. I never want to experience that ever again.”

“Neither do I especially when I have the most beautiful woman in the world here in my arms,” Kyle whispered arching up to meet her lips half way in a kiss. As their mouths parted he couldn’t help but tease, “and not just because you let me break your bed.”

“Oh don’t think you’re going to get away with that without consequences,” she joked back feeling him reach for the knot on her robe’s sash, “because I fully intend on having you pay me back for that.”

“Really?” he raised a curious brow, “And just how did you intend for me to do that?”

“Well I was going to take it out of your salary,” she joked further feeling him loosen her robe tie, “but then I realized I don’t pay you enough to afford that bed, so maybe we’ll have to work out…other arrangements.”

“Hmm,” he murmured lazily, watching the tie on her robe fall beyond her waist, “I suppose now is a good time to tell you I’m game for whatever payment plan you had in mind right about now.”

“Somehow I didn’t doubt that,” she smiled down at him sliding her hands over his chiseled abdomen before refocusing on his perfectly sculpted chest, “I’m quite certain you’re up for working off your debts.”

“Very up,” he added in a low, primitive tone reaching for her hips and grinding her in over him to let her know full well just how up for the task he was feeling.

“I can see that,“ she confessed letting out a long sigh while rocking her body over him in a not so subtle movement. She felt him peel her robe away from her body to reveal her nakedness to him all over again. Seeing the way that his eyes swept over her, taking in every line and curve, she couldn’t help but feel a heat rise over her.

“You know baby, Augustus Ashford was so wrong about you,” he sat up straighter lips tracing over her collar bone before he whisked the tip of her breast between his lips. His words hummed over her skin causing her to writhe over him, “You don’t have a damn thing you need to change about these.”

“Kyle,” she purred his name feeling his kisses grow hungrier, more intense with each skilled caress of his tongue over her not-so-perfect breasts as Augustus had referred to them. However, with Kyle causing so many erotic reactions to coil over her, she knew full well that it couldn’t get any better than this.

“You’re absolutely perfect,” he mouthed arm curling around her waist to reach out for her bottom. He lifted her up just enough to discard her robe before he coaxed her to straddle his hips. His hazel eyes beckoned hers again before he urged her in over his hard, aching need. Easing her in over his body, he let out a low, sound of satisfaction at the way they fit with one another. His finger tips eased over her back memorizing every curve of her as her green eyes fixed on his, “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

“Is that right?” she questioned a low moan building in the back of her throat as he guided their movements with one another. His hand urged her up and over him, sliding them together with perfect fluidity while her pulse raced.

“That’s right,” he nodded in agreement eyes wandering over her body, taking in all of her as he focused on their completion with one another. “Unless of course taking you in another way includes various places around your apartment that we’ve yet to try out.”

Heather arched her head back rocking her hips over him as he continued to fill her. She pressed her hands over his shoulders giving herself a little more control of their tempo before she spoke up in a low, shallow pant.

“I think we’re doing good so far in the living room,” she mouthed dropping forward to bring her lips to his in a crashing kiss. Her nails bit into Kyle’s shoulders as his hold on her hips grew more possessive, far more commanding than it had been when he’d first brought forth the contact between them. She could feel things building between them, moving from slow and steady to fast and frantic and before she knew it she found herself soaring to the heavens with him inside of her. Dropping her head down on his shoulder, Heather found herself riding the sensations he’d awakened inside of her until he too was lost in their passion riding it out until the very end.

“Yeah,” Kyle finally blurted out once his breathing returned to even. His fingers played over Heather’s damp skin hugging her closer to him while his nose nuzzled the side of her neck, “I’d have to say we’ve done very well in the living room.”

“No ego there, right,” Heather teased laughing lightly into his shoulder, the warmth of her words buzzing hotly against his skin.

“With you I think it’s the both of us that make it so damn good,” he confessed thinking about how much he enjoyed finally being able to be free to be himself with her. This was what he’d waited a lifetime for and now that he had her everything was perfect. It was what he’d hoped for and more. It was finally…

“Heather babes,” Kellen’s voice shrieked through the room causing them both to sit up with a start, “where the hell are you?”

“Not again,” Kyle rumbled in a groan looking around the room half expecting Kellen to ogle him, but he soon realized that while he and Heather were making love they’d paid no attention to the ringing phone, which had activated the answering machine. Letting out a sigh of relief, Kyle dropped his head back onto the arm of the couch, “Thank God.”

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for a while now. Where are you?” Kellen demanded in a pinched shriek.

“If only he knew,” Heather couldn’t help but laugh laying against Kyle and feeling his arm around her.

“If he did know he’d be on his way over to peep in on us,” Kyle shuddered at the thought, “Call me crazy, but right now I really don’t want a repeat of that now that things are going so well between us.”

“Neither do I,” Heather confessed listening to the sounds of Kyle’s heart beating beneath hers, “but I’m sure when he sees I’m not here, he’ll just get over whatever is bothering him.”

“That’s it. This is my tenth phone call to you and I’m getting no where. Your cell phone is off and you leave me no choice. I’m coming over. I have your spare key and…” Kellen explained into the phone causing Kyle to tense up at the thought.

“Okay that’s it. We’re not going to stick around for this one,” Kyle decided firmly hearing the machine cut Kellen off. “The last thing I want right now is for him to come on over and catch us like this especially when we’re just finally being able to enjoy this.”

“I can always call him back and let him know that I’m okay,” Heather suggested giving Kyle a long look. “I can tell him that we’re together and…”

“And then he’ll still come over,” Kyle shook his head in refusal before a thought sparked in his head. “Right now I want to avoid that at all costs which makes me see I have no other choice.”

“No other choice about what?” Heather questioned catching the strange expression on Kyle’s face. “What are you thinking?”

“You’ll see,” Kyle revealed with a grin knowing full well just what he was going to have to do in order to keep Kellen from spoiling the one night he’d waited over fourteen years to share with Heather.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gabriella paced around the hallway thinking about the stupid actions that lead her brother to the very position he was in. While she’d wished that Diego would be smarter than the average man, it was more than abundantly clear that his thinking with something other than the brain God had given him had landed him into a very unsavory place. Now as she continued to pace around the hallway she contemplated going to get a coffee or something while Diego was with one of the nurses. She was about to walk off when she spotted Sarah around the corner. Immediately she rushed forward ready to continue her verbal assault on Sarah.

“I thought I told you to get out of here,” Gabriella snapped at Sarah, her dark eyes glaring down at the woman that stood in front of her.

“I don’t care what you said. I’m not leaving Diego. Not when he needs me,” Sarah protested stomping her foot down while finding herself fully prepared to take on Diego’s sister. “I don’t know what it is that you think makes you the authority around here, but…”

“For starters my brother is in the hospital because he was stupid enough to believe that a lying skank like you would actually be worth taking a second glance at. First you break the heart of the man who was going to marry you with your cheating and now because he left you, you’re running to my brother just begging for a shoulder to lean on,” Gabriella stepped up to her facing off against Sarah, “but I have news for you missy. It’s not going to happen. You’re not going to manipulate my brother any further than you already have. Sure, he might’ve been blinded and burned by you once, but I’ll be damned if I let you push your way into his life again especially when we both know that you don’t care about Diego.”

“You don’t know the first thing about my relationship with Diego,” Sarah scoffed in response glaring down at Gabriella.

“I know enough to know that fidelity didn’t run true with you and your fiancé, nor did you think enough about my brother to do things the right way. Plus with what that person said at the church about you, it sounds like you have plenty of other bedmates to lean on to. Go use one of them as your crutch because I’m not going to let you drag my brother down any further than you already have. That girl shot him today because he was stupid enough to fall for you.”

“Diego loves me and whether or not you want to face that, the fact to the matter is that he and I belong together,” Sarah tried to argue with her only to watch Gabriella shake her head and laugh.

“The only man you belong with is the kind that you can pick up in a sex shop that comes in a box and you can take it home for personal pleasures because that’s about all it seems you need a man for. You don’t care about love or respect. Hell, you don’t even respect yourself enough to just admit you’ve been caught in your game. No one wants you around and no one is going to put up with this. I’m sorry, but as much as you would like to lead the world to believe you care about Diego, the fact to the matter is that we both know that’s an outright lie.”

“You can’t stop me from seeing him,” Sarah attempted to push her way forward only to feel Gabriella shove her in the shoulder.

“The hell I can’t,” Gabriella shoved her once again, “If you even think about going near my brother, then so help me what happened at your little joke of a wedding will be child’s play compared to what I’ll do to you.”

“Is that a threat?” Sarah arched a doubtful brow watching as an infectious laugh grew from behind Gabriella’s lips.

“No sweetheart that’s a promise and one that I will fully intend to keep if you push me to it. Now stay away from Diego,” Gabriella warned before stomping off in the other direction ready to do what was needed to keep her brother from landing himself in anymore trouble!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Listen, I don’t know who the hell you are,” Grady looked over the man before him seeing the muscle mass of a man standing in front of the bed. The man’s blue eyes met his as Grady looked over the clothes he was wearing seeing the red button down shirt he was wearing hanging down with two of the buttons unbuttoned at the top and a pair of worn out blue jeans that held tightly on his form. A pair of cowboy boots matched his outfit as Grady took another look at the face before him noticing that the outfit totally did not match the form of this guy before him. “Really, who the hell are you?”

“What is wrong with you?” Jason totally ignored Grady’s question as he stared out at Deana seeing her holding onto her sheet tightly. Throwing his hands up in the air he shook his head slowly before pacing back and forth slowly. “I come here to find you with a grandpa in bed?”

“Jason,” Deana hissed seeing the look in the blue eyes of the man before him as Jason glared over at Grady, seeing Grady look away from him. “Get out of here now or I swear…”

“Yeah, I’m not going to do that,” Jason shook his head over and over again before letting out a small laugh. “I am not about to leave this room to let you continue what you were doing with this old guy. That’s just gross Deana, that’s real gross. The last guy was bad, but this one is old enough to be your father.”

“Hey,” Grady threw his hands up in the air seeing the younger male before him meet his glance as Grady went to stand up, but realized he was still naked and he wasn’t about to get up in the middle of the room with the stranger here. “I’m not that old.”

“Right, the wrinkles on your face agree,” Jason half smirked before looking over toward Deana and seeing the way she stared out at him. “If Zane was here, my god what would you do if he walked in on you?”

“Is this…,” Grady paused thinking about the man he told her about when she had talked about Zane’s father in the past and he stared over the man before him. This guy looked like a pure vision of a football player and he was about to get up from the bed. “Is this the guy that got you pregnant? Is this Zane’s father?”

“Yuck,” Grady heard both their southern accents as he looked between the two seeing Jason resting his hands against his hips as Grady tried to take in the scene before him.

“Grady,” Deana took in a deep breath staring out at Jason before closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. “Grady, this is my younger brother.”

“Younger by about ten minutes,” Jason blurted out seeing Deana glare out at him as Jason shook his head over and over again. “Obviously I am much more mature than you though because I wouldn’t let an old person take advantage of me like you have.”

“Wait, what? You two are twins?” Grady let out a small laugh looking between the two taking in over both of their features. Deana had blonde hair, she was short and had brown eyes. Jason on the other hand was pretty tall, had blue eyes and dark hair. “There is no way the two of you are twins, you look nothing alike.”

“Yeah, we’re not identical you idiot,” Jason muttered rolling his eyes seeing the way Grady looked out at him as Jason slightly turned his hips. “We do have a birthmark I’m sure you’ve already seen though on our ass. It matches if you want to see.”

“Jason, I swear I’m going to kill you,” Deana got up from the bed as Jason let out a small groan turning around as Deana went for her robe putting it on quickly and Jason covered his sight from her with his hands. Grady quickly got up from the bed pulling his boxers on before looking over at Deana. “Grady, I’m so sorry about my little brother.”

“I’m your twin brother you idiot,” Jason shook his head before turning to face them again seeing the way Grady stared out at him and Jason shook his head slowly. “Mom would be so upset with you. In fact, I’m highly disappointed in you. Where is my nephew? Is he a witness to all this pornography that is going on?”

“Jason, I swear I’m going to kill you,” Deana moved forward again as he walked out into the hallway and stared out at Grady as she gently pushed into the center of his chest. “What are you doing here anyways?”

“I’m here to stay sis. Coral Valley sounded so nice in your last message so I decided to hit the road and come on over here hoping to get piece of that nice life,” Jason looked over to Grady who was only wearing his boxers and he let out a disgusted sound. “Not a piece of that though. That’s gross.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh man, I love going to those kinds of things,” Trisha let out a long breath as she pushed open the doors of her mother’s house and set the keys down on the table before closing the door behind Mindy. “I love seeing Chase dance, he is so good at it.”

“I wonder why,” Mindy half teased seeing the way that Trisha stared out at her and walked over toward the couch falling down to one of them as Mindy sat down on the other across from her. “Maybe that’s because he was a professional stripper. That just might be a biggie there.”

“Yeah, well don’t point out the obvious,” Trisha threw a pillow at her newfound best friend as Mindy let out a small laugh seeing the way that Trisha stared out at her. “Why did you say that thing about Kevin?”

“Because you’ve said he was your dream guy time and time again,” Mindy pointed out seeing Trisha nod slowly before Mindy let out a small laugh and laid back against the couch. “I guess you could call it payback.”

“Well, I guess there is nothing wrong with a little bit of the truth. I was kind of creep anyway when I was younger,” Trisha informed Mindy doing the same as her lying back against the ouch. “I mean honestly I was like nine and I used to always like watch him make out with Ria it was actually really gross. When I got older though, any type of glance I could get of him, oh man would I take it. He has the hottest butt I have ever seen and oh my god his down below is nice. I mean Chase is nice down there, but Kevin is just really nice.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. How big?” Mindy questioned seeing Trisha hold her hands up in the air looking before nodding slowly and Mindy shook her head slowly. “Just know then, I’m not interested in getting hurt there. It’s not my thing, but on the flip side--if he wasn’t going out with your sister and there was a chance you could have him. You can totally have him, he’s all yours.”

“Thanks, but that’s not going to happen,” Trisha half laughed seeing the way Mindy looked over at her as Trisha rose to her elbow. “And if Kyle Houston was totally free, he is so yours. What do you like about him anyways?”

“He’s just sweet, has nice eyes, a nice smile and he is just overall a really nice guy,” Mindy explained smiling at the thought of Kyle before shaking her head slowly. “As much as I like him though, I am in love with Hunt. He’s the only man for me.”

“That’s so sweet,” Trisha boasted grabbing her pillow from behind her head and letting out a long breath. “Even though I seem like it, I really don’t go for a lot of guys. Chase is my only one, I just like to look. That’s all.”

“I know,” Mindy half laughed before looking over at her best friend and taking in a deep breath trying to think about all the things Trisha has ever said. “I really do, you’re a great person.”

“As are you Mindy,” Trisha yawned thinking about the long night she had and she thought about Chase and how he had to go and do a few things before seeing his dad the next morning. “I’m glad you came over here tonight to hang out. I get lonely sometimes.”

“Me too,” Mindy informed her with a long breath thinking about all the events that had taken part in her life thus far. “I hate being alone so I wouldn’t leave a friend hanging. Never.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So what’s on your mind?” Chase questioned noticing the curious expression on Hunt’s face. He watched Hunt open his mouth to speak before a scowl pressed over him. He groaned before Chase realized he’d pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Something wrong?”

“No, not at all,” Hunt replied with a heavy sigh turning the volume down on the ringer before looking over at his friend once again, “I guess you could say that today is a day of awakenings.”

“That sounds cryptic, but in a positive light,” Chase replied leaning back further in his seat, “Care to elaborate?”

“For starters,” Hunt held up his cell phone looking at the caller stopped in their attempt to reach him. He opened up his phone and deleted the call log before finally deciding to just turn the phone off, “This was a mistake that just kept coming back to haunt me. Time and time again I did a lot of stupid things. Before I met Mindy I was a different person. I had this completely other life that I realize wasn’t even living before Mindy and I crossed paths. I kind of felt like I was living a double life if you will…”

“I can relate to that one,” Chase couldn’t help but joke before shaking his head, “You have no idea how much I stressed over telling Trisha about my being an exotic dancer. I mean sure it wasn’t on my top list of career paths, but it sort of fell into place while I was working my way through school. Most women either get turned on or freaked out about the job, but even those who think it’s hot sooner or later decide it’s just not.”

“Trisha’s not like most women,” Hunt noted with a small shake of his head, “She is rather unique.”

“I know,” Chase replied with a wide grin, “which is probably why I enjoy having her around so damn much. I think she’s crazier than me, which is a very rare thing in this world.”

“Scary thought,” Hunt couldn’t help but tease before growing suddenly serious, “although I’m not sure Mindy would be so forgiving about everything I did before we met one another.”

“Did you kill someone?” Chase tossed out offhandedly.

“Of course not,” Hunt shook his head before frowning.

“Are you gay?” Chase questioned wrinkling his nose at Hunt.

“No, I’m not gay,” Hunt’s frown intensified. “Far from it.”

“Hmm, well if you’re not a murderer and you’re not gay, yet you’re worried about Mindy thinking you have something horrible behind you that could only be one thing. Are you married?” Chase threw out again with a tip of his head.

“I’m not married,” Hunt paused for a long moment before contemplating the question for a long time, “although I was hoping to eventually work my way into the matrimonial sense. Preferably sooner rather than later.”

“No kidding,” Chase’s eyes widened as Hunt reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. He opened it up to show Chase, who promptly reached for it with wide eyes, “Damn it’s huge. If Trisha sees this, then I’ll never give up dancing because I’ll never be able to afford anything even remotely close to this size any other way.”

“It’s not that far out of your reach if you try Chase,” Hunt shook his head at Chase before laughing. “Truly…”

“Hmm, well since you put it that way I have to admit I’m not sure Mindy will forgive you considering you must’ve robbed a bank to be able to have that one,” Chase jabbed further before laughing. Hunt put the ring box back into his pocket before Chase spoke up, “So you’re really going to take the plunge with Mindy, huh?”

“I know it might seem sudden, but I’ve learned the hard way that life isn’t about waiting around for things to happen. It’s about taking chances and moving forward, which is exactly what I plan on doing with Mindy. I know I need to talk to her about a few things that I haven’t been up front about and hopefully when everything is said and done she’ll still want to share her life with me,” Hunt finished closing his eyes and thinking about the woman he loved.

“If you flash that rock in her face, then I don’t think she’d even contemplate saying no,” Chase laughed lightly seeing something cross behind Hunt’s face, “but in all seriousness you two are good together and I know you make Mindy happy. Getting married seems like the next logical step. Why beat around the bush about it? Just do what feels right in your heart and make the both of you happy. You’ve got the ring, you’ve sort of got the nerve from what I can tell. What more do you need? I say go for it!”

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right,” Hunt finally decided feeling his contemplations about his past coming to an end. Yes, he’d made mistakes but those mistakes wouldn’t keep him and Mindy from being happy together. He’d pushed that former life he had behind him and wasn’t about to go back. “I’m going to do it. I’m going to ask her to marry me as soon as I can. No more hesitating.”

“There’s the spirit,” Chase cheered him on laughing as it was clear that his friend was on top of the world at the thought of going for the gusto and proposing to Mindy. Chase just hoped it turned out the way in which Hunt was hoping for when everything was said and done!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Russ walked to the bedroom door where he knew Avery would be waiting. He thought about his talk with Kevin and hoped that things would work out for him and Ria just like Russ was hoping for with Avery. Of course the hard part in both cases would be in getting through to the women that both men had loved now that they’d felt betrayed. Gently knocking on the door Russ hoped to find a way to appeal to Avery again especially after it was clear that they still had so much between them.

“Go away,” Avery’s muffled voice started from behind the door. Russ reached for the knob only to discover that she’d locked him out, which wasn’t as much of a surprise as it should have been.

“Avery please open up. We need to talk,” Russ began with a heavy sigh, “I know that you’re upset about everything and I’m sorry about what happened before. I know I let get things out of hand, but…”

“Russ I can’t do this right now. I don’t want to talk about this. I just want you to go,” Avery explained in a shaky tone from where she sat on the bedroom floor with her knees up against her chest.

“Avery this isn’t going to help anything. If I leave it’s only going to lengthen this gap that we already have between us,” he started reaching out to touch the door wishing like hell that he could be holding her instead. “If we don’t deal with this now.”

“You didn’t want to deal with this before Cameron brought it up and now that he has, well it’s my turn to push it aside for a little while. You kept this secret to yourself for far too long, so why can’t I do the same?” she snapped back at him wiping at her face in an attempt to keep the tears of confusion from settling in over her all over again.

“Avery,” he spoke her name once again, “our avoiding this is only going to make it worse. I know I should’ve told you sooner about what happened on the island, but I was afraid. It was a stupid thing to be considering that I have always known that I could tell you anything. I’ve always trusted you with my heart and every part of me, so it was stupid of me to think that I couldn’t confide in you about this. It’s just that…”

Avery sat up straighter hearing silence on the other end of the door. She closed her eyes remembering what it had felt like to be with him in the living room feeling the passion that was still very much alive between them. It was as if nothing tonight had happened--as if what Cameron had said at the church was never there, but deep down she knew it had been. Russ had lived another life that he’d kept from her and now…

“I didn’t tell you in part because I thought I was trying to protect you, but when it gets down to it, you were right. I was a chicken. I was a fool to try to hide something like that from you and maybe on some level I was trying to protect myself,” he paused searching for the right words. “Deep down I was guilty about what I’d done. I knew it was wrong and yet I’d done it anyways. I was so stupid about things and I wish I could’ve taken it all back. If I would have had my memory then I never, ever would’ve been with her. If I only would have been smart enough to see the truth that was in front of me back then--even before that…”

There was another silence.

“Avery, I know that what we lost was a direct result of my actions. We lost everything we had because I couldn’t let things go. I couldn’t just walk away when I knew that there was danger out there--only in chasing down the bad guy, I didn’t see the real threat between us. I didn’t see the forces working against us until it was too late and now I’ve let them win,” Russ sighed heavily placing his head in against the door, “Avery I love you and I never, ever intended to make you unhappy. All I want is for you to be able to feel like you did before--like we did before when we were together and life seemed like it was finally working out in our favor.”

Avery said nothing just held her legs to her chest as her tears returned to her.

“Avery I love you and Erin more than anything. You both are my world and I would do absolutely anything for you,” Russ sighed, a heaviness sweeping in over him as he felt his heart sink, “even if it means giving you this time alone that you want. If it’s really what you need, then I promise I won’t argue with you, but if you have any doubt in your mind what so ever about my going away--if you want to talk about this, then I swear to you I will do everything in my power to try to fix this for us. Avery if you would just give me another chance…”

“I can’t Russ,” Avery broke into full blown tears burying her head in her hands, “I just can’t.”

“I love you Avery. I always have and I always will,” Russ offered up in response before Avery was met by silence once again.

She wiped at her face remembering all the good times that she and Russ had with one another. From their first kiss to their wedding, they had something incredible--something that not even her mother could have taken from them. Even in ‘death’ she’d felt connected to him--felt as if he was and always would be the only man for her. No one else had ever made her feel as he did and in thinking about the love that they shared--about the daughter that their love had created, Avery felt her heart start to race.

“Russ,” she spoke his name in a panic as she rose up from the ground. She reached for the door opening it up and expecting to see him seated outside in the hallway. Instead however she found a single, pink flower that was from one of the vases they’d had out front. Bending down she picked it up to see a small note attached alerting her that he’d be at his parents house if she changed her mind followed by the three words that caused her to fall to pieces--I Love You. Unable to stand the fact that she’d finally pushed him away, Avery sank to the floor holding his note in her hands as her tears carried over her from knowing that from here on out nothing would ever be the same.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You’re sure this is the one?” Don questioned looking up at the part of the estate that stood darkly in front of him and Brant. There was a thick, green ivy that climbed up the side of the wall with a white, picket fence of sort moving with it into the night.

“I’m positive,” Brant nodded moving forward ready to scale the wall if need be to reach Angela. “It was that window I saw her in before.”

“Yeah, but the light’s out. What if she went into another room? Or what if you try to get up there and find Cameron with a gun instead?” Don questioned worriedly, “Brant I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to just leap into this blindly.”

“In case you haven’t noticed we’ve already taken the leap,” Brant nodded to their surroundings, “All I need you to do is stay over there by that hedge and keep an eye on things. If you see anything strange or someone coming, then you just have to throw one of those pebbles at the window to let me know to get moving.”

“You mean if Angela even bothers to let you inside,” Don pointed out with an air of skepticism in his tone, “She might not be too thrilled to see you climbing in her window especially since it looks like it’s closed.”

“You let me worry about that. You just focus on keeping guard and if things look like they are too much to handle,” Brant informed him with a worried expression, “Then you call the police and get them over here.”

“Um in case you didn’t notice we’re soaked. My cell phone got a lawn bath and I don’t think it’s going to work,” Don held his phone up to show Brant it was dripping within his case.

“Okay, then take mine,” Brant reached into his pocket only to discover he’d left his phone in the car. “Damn. I don’t have mine either.”

“Fine, then just do us a favor and don’t get us killed,” Don warned watching Brant start to climb up the side of the house. Reaching for one of the pebbles Don tossed it in the air absentmindedly and wound up hitting Brant in the back. The impact caused Brant to slide down the wall nearly falling off as Don rushed forward holding his arms out.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Brant questioned feeling Don reaching for his feet to break his fall.

“I was just practicing,” Don explained with a shrug, “I didn’t mean to hit you man and…”

The light overhead went on and both men fell to silence.

“Someone’s coming,” Don finally whispered seeing the window that Brant was headed for glow above them. “Someone’s in there.”

“Hopefully it’s Angela,” Brant thought aloud moving up along the wall with a newfound determination. He saw the curtains pull back and just as he was almost up to the window, he heard the sound of his opening. Closing his eyes he prayed that it wasn’t Cameron or a gun like Don predicted. A millisecond later he heard Angela’s familiar voice.

“Is someone out there?” Angela’s voice questioned as she looked down to see Don on the lawn. A puzzled expression swept over her as she tipped her head to the side to look at him, “Don is that you?”

“Um no it’s not. It’s a…” Don quickly searched around the area and leapt behind the hedge. “It’s a tree. It’s just a tree.”

Angela let out a small groan before shaking her head, “Um Don trees don’t talk, remember?”

“Oh right,” Don stood up grudgingly realizing he’d been spotted, “Well I um…”

“You what?” she questioned arching a curious brow. “Did Brant send you here?”

“Not exactly,” Don replied as Brant popped up to the window causing Angela to jump back with a small gasp into the room. She watched Brant push his way into the window falling to the floor with a thud as she glared down at him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she questioned harshly moving back towards the door as she watched a very wet Brant pull himself off of the ground and dust himself off.

“I came over here to talk to you and I’m not leaving until you listen to me and hear me out,” Brant explained with a newfound determination as he stood before her ready to expose Cameron’s lies for what they truly were once and for all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

...to be continued...