I wanted him now. I'd deal with regrets later.

I grabbed his head with both of my hands and crushed his lips to mine. He devoured me. Twisting into the kiss and deepening it, thrusting his tongue hard and fast, pressing the length of his body against mine. He thrust his hands into my hair and pulled until my head fell back and my mouth was free of his. My arms dropped and rested on his shoulders. I was panting freely, as I opened my eyes and looked into his, dark with desire. His lips were parted, his breath was heavy and all he said was, "Not here."

When Aedyn let go, I fell limply against the wall, trembling, and aching for more. He smoothed his hair and glanced around, like anyone in here would even care. I straightened and cleared my throat, peeling my back off the wall and tugged down the skirt of my dress. It wasn't really pushed up, but the mere remembrance of his hand being up there was what made me blush and feel exposed.

"Let's go." He commanded and grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward the exit.

We practically ran out the door and when the cool night air hit my red cheeks, I had a moment of reprieve and the thought struck me. I could still back out. It was just a kiss. Nothing irreversible had happened.

He hustled us to his BMW, determination stamped on his face. He drove the short distance to his downtown apartment in silence and before I knew it, we were there. I pressed my hand over the lump in my small leather purse where my ring created a bulge. Then I pressed my hand to my breast to still my racing heart, but all was in vain. By the time we were standing in front of his apartment door, my heart was exploding against my ribcage.

Chapter Twenty.

Lauren The minute my new black high heels hit the floor in Aedyn's modern downtown apartment, my little evening purse went flying. I tossed it-and my engagement ring-as far into a corner as possible, not wanting any reminder that I was about to cross the line with a man who was not my fiance.

The door had barely clicked shut when Aedyn pulled me into his arms. There was no time for small talk or the opportunity for me to say no. His mouth was on mine, crushing any remote ideas of faithfulness attached to my now hidden ring. I closed my eyes and gave into it. He kissed me hard and deep, dragging his teeth across my lower lip then pulled back to catch his breath. I raked my fingers through his soft hair, my body unable to control my desperate need for him. I'd wanted this the minute I laid eyes on him stepping out of his limo that day. I'd been dreaming-hot sex dreams-of the day I'd feel his luscious kisses on every part of my body. Now, I was so wet and turned on from his seduction, my mind was a euphoric blur.

"I need you, Lauren. Now." His voice was husky and commanding, sending rivulets of excitement chasing their way down to my core. I wanted him desperately too. There wasn't an ounce of self-control to be found in my trembling body.

With both hands, he took the thin straps of my red club dress and yanked them down. In one fluid motion, the top was at my waist. My breasts bounced freely, no bra containing them.

His eyes grew darker and he licked his lips at the sight before him, hungry for the taste of my already hardened nipples. In a flash, his hands were on me, pressing and kneading my flesh. The instant his tongue grazed the first nipple, my head fell back and I moaned. His tongue was exact and precise, making me even wetter, sending more electric tingles shooting between my legs.

His actions were demanding and short, his hands all over my body as if he didn't know what part of me to touch next. With my head spinning from desire, I wasn't sure if I even cared. I liked it hard and fast sometimes.

He growled as his hand found my sex again. "Let's make both our fantasies come true. I'm going to fuck you like I've always wanted and you deserve."

He pushed me in the direction of the couch, which was designed with high arms and plenty of pillows. I started to sit down, but he stopped me and spun me around so my back was to him. His hand pushed on my shoulder. His foot kicked open my legs open. When I tried to look at him over my shoulder, he just growled and pushed again, until I was bent over the high arm of the couch. I fell forward, my face finding one of the soft pillows and I heard him unbuckle his dress belt and then a fast zip. I knew he was already hard. I'd felt it as he ground against me when we kissed.

I put my hands out, palms flat on the seat of the couch, in order to raise my torso and steady myself for what I knew was coming next. And I wanted it; at least I thought I did. I was wound up so tight by his fiery kisses that my body was aching. Yet, when he bent me over, a little pang of hurt ricocheted through me at the same time. The push of his hand had been a little too hard and everything was happening too fast. I didn't mind rough, but there was a fine line between sexy rough and downright mean. Something in his actions told me this wasn't entirely playful. It was a payback.

"Aedyn..." I tried to rise up in protest, but there was that terse push again.

"Hold still."

In a fast and frantic motion, his hand pulled what was left of my little club dress over my ass, and I felt his warm hard shaft pressing against the skin on the back of my upper leg.

"But I..."

"Just hold still." His voice was deep, filled with a wildness that was unfamiliar to me. He yanked my panties down hard, their thin fabric stretching to its limit, and then pushed my legs farther apart with his knee.

Suddenly, I felt foolish. This wasn't how I'd pictured it at all. This felt like punishment sex and although I probably deserved a little revenge for turning him down years ago, I didn't deserve this kind of treatment. I braced myself and buried my face in the pillow. I could hear him breathing hard behind me and then he stopped. He slumped forward and gently laid his head on my back.

"Wait," he said between breaths. "Not like this."

He gently straightened and turned my body to face his. He cupped my now, tear-stained face in his hands and looked into my eyes. The tears were a combination of hurt and rejection. I could take being used for some kind of one-time buddy fuck, I'd wanted it too. But like the rest of my life, my reality was so far apart from my dreams.

I didn't even know how to express the pain I was feeling. I came here knowing there were no strings attached, but I didn't realize how desperately I wanted him to care about me. I knew he wanted to fuck me. I secretly wanted him to love me. The way he'd manhandled me just moments ago made it clear that he didn't.

"Lauren..." His lips brushed each cheek, kissing away my tears. "Oh, Lauren, this isn't what I wanted. I'm sorry for my selfish behavior. I thought that if I... well, I thought that bringing you here and spending time together... I'd get over the bitterness of your rejection years ago."

I couldn't stop the tears from falling even faster. The concern in his eyes was my undoing. I sobbed, great gasping heaves that left me unable to breathe. He pulled me to his chest and let me get through it.

Finally, when I calmed, he stroked my hair and said, "I thought I'd put all that behind me. I'd moved away, created a successful business, life was perfect. Then, I saw you in the sandwich shop and I realized I never really got over you. In fact, seeing you again made me want you more. I thought if I fucked you, just one time... you know, catch the one that got away... that I'd be fine and we both could go on with our lives."

I sniffed, my tears drying as I listened to his confession. I cleared my throat, trying to make my voice work. "And now?"

He blew out a warm breath. "Now that you're here, all I want to do is take you to my bed and make love to you, slowly and softly, more than ever, but..."

His lips pressed to mine and he kissed me in a long sweet kiss that quelled the trembling in me. He pulled back from the kiss and rested his forehead against mine. His voice was low when he said, "We don't have to do this. I shouldn't have asked you to come. I... I..."

A wave of warmth washed over my body. I pulled back, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "I want you too, Aedyn. I want to make love to you."

"But what about..." This time, I was the one silencing him before he said the name I didn't want to hear right now and ruin it with the reality of what I was doing. When I removed my finger from his lips he said, "No regrets?"

"No regrets."

I smiled as he wrapped his arms around me, then swept me up and carried me into the bedroom. My heart jerked in my chest as my feet left the floor. I buried my head in his neck and he cradled me in his strong arms. The smell of his cologne, added to the heat from his body, making an intoxicating mixture. I was limp in his arms, rendered defenseless against my desire for him.

Aedyn laid me gently on his bed and then stood back, watching me wiggle out of my half-removed club dress while he undressed. His eyes raked over my body, drinking in every inch of my bare flesh as more of it became exposed. He tossed his clothes aside and stood at the edge of the bed, piercing me with laser blue eyes... eyes brimming with desire.

"You're beautiful, Lauren. You always were, but now, even more so."

Already, his erection was massive as I gazed at the sheer bulk of it. I parted my lips and took in a sharp breath of air. I wanted that inside of me, in my mouth to taste its long glorious length, inside my body in every possible way. My eyes jumped to his abs, perfectly tight, where every hollow of skin rose and dipped perfectly. The sight of him thrilled my every sense and I felt as though I would burst apart. Even my clit was throbbing with anticipation.

He walked over to the light switch near the door and lowered the dimmer switch until the lights were nearly out. "I want to see your lovely body squirm and twist as I pleasure you. I want to watch your beautiful face as I make you come." He walked back to the bed and crawled over me, pinning my arms over my head, his hard body hovering over mine. "I still want you, Lauren, and I don't mean just for sex. You're mine tonight. I've never stopped thinking about you. All those years... I've never forgotten. How could I forget this?"

Before I could speak, he pressed his lips down on mine and his tongue plunged into my mouth, filling it with its sinful flavor. Instantly, my body ignited. I was beyond holding back now. Aedyn was superior in every way, making me hotter than I'd ever known possible. With every kiss from his lips and every touch of his hand, I was propelled to a more intense euphoria. A drug-like haze of need enveloped me, and the last shred of reticence I'd had about cheating were finally washed away in a tidal wave of desire.

Aedyn let go of my arms and I slipped them around his neck, tangling my fingers into the hair at the back of his head. I pushed and twisted into his kisses, matching his every advance with equal need, wanting to taste him like this forever.

He broke the kiss, then used his tongue, licking and kissing a trail down to my breasts. As his mouth found my nipple, a flood of warmth pulsed through my body. With each strategic flick, he teased my nipples into hardened peaks of dark flesh. This was carnal bliss and I thought I might even come from him licking my nipples alone. He was virile male perfection at its best.

I grabbed his head with both hands and pulled him to my mouth, kissing him hard. This time I was the aggressor, pummeling his mouth with my tongue, and sucking on it the way I wanted to suck his cock.

His hand grazed over my heated flesh and found its way to my folds. His fingers twirled and rubbed me as we kissed. I could barely breathe and I had to snatch a breath just to survive between each fiery kiss. His raging hard-on was weeping at the tip, crying for more, raging against my thigh where I felt its wetness. It was pulsing. He needed to be in me and I was just short of begging him to do it.

He pulled back enough to position the tip at my opening. "You're not getting away from me again," he said as he thrust his thick cock into me. The air whooshed out of my lungs in a satisfied groan and he pushed deeper, filling me, until I could feel his balls smacking against my skin. Oh God, it felt so good, so right. In that instant he turned my thoughts. I could have this. Aedyn could be mine... if I wanted.

He rose up on his knees and his cock slid out. Then he leaned back, and entered me again from another angle, positioning his cock inside of me to hit my g-spot. I was trembling, aching for release and he was masterfully winding me up to the top. He stroked me this way until I was writhing and twisting the sheets in my fists. I cried out, "Make me come, Aedyn. Make me come."

Just when I thought I was about to come, he pulled out again. I whimpered as my orgasm stalled, but he didn't leave me hanging long enough to lose it. No, he knew exactly what he was doing, taking me to the edge and then pulling me back. He pinned me again with his body and plunged into my wet folds. The mere pull from his cock as he drove it in was all it took. A mere puff of wind would have done the trick, but I was catapulted over the edge as soon as his body touched mine.

I screamed his name as the spasms wracked my body, quaking with pleasure sensations as they rolled over me. A fierce groan bellowed out of his throat as he slammed into me, stroking fast and hard, until he found his satisfaction and climaxed while inside me. It was then that I realized we hadn't used a condom.

He rolled off me and pulled me into his arms. We rested, then he got up and got us a drink. When he climbed back into bed, we talked for a while, cuddling and whispering sweet things in each other's ear. Then we made love again, and he made me come over and over. I was astounded. He was so hot and virile; like there was some mysterious power he had over me. And me over him.

I'd never experienced this kind of desire from a man, or within myself. I never knew I was capable of more than one orgasm, or anything like this.

Aedyn was indeed a god, and as the night turned into the wee hours of the morning, we made love in nearly every position possible, off and on, until my skin was red and raw, and I was spent and exhausted.

Chapter Twenty-One.

Aedyn "I thought you would have gotten rid of all this furniture by now," Aunt Melissa said as she stepped into the living room. She looked around my father's house and wrinkled her nose. "It smells musty in here."

It contained the same furniture, minus the one lamp I had given Aunt Melissa. It was gone, but the end table, couch and matching coffee table were still there, along with the box of photographs sitting where my aunt had left them. I ushered her in and motioned for her to have a seat, but she remained standing on the grey carpet.

"I've changed my mind. I'm considering fixing up the place. Who knows, maybe I won't even sell it... just yet." Logic told me that keeping the house would probably be a mistake.

After our weekend together in Chicago, Lauren had put her engagement ring back on. I saw it on her finger on the plane ride back to Iowa and pretended not to notice. I knew what she was doing when she took it off at the club. She was either toying with the idea of what it would feel like to leave him, or she just wanted to relieve her own guilt. Whichever, Lauren had a mind of her own and no matter how much I cared for her, she had to make her own choices.

Although our night together had been special to me, and had been filled with crazy wild sex, I was afraid I'd been a fool for her all over again. At least I was happy to have the memory of holding her in my arms and having my dream come true, if even only for a while.

Aunt Melissa smirked. "What would be the point of that? You won't come back often enough to use the place."

I raised an eyebrow in reply. "Oh ye of little faith. What's with all the disbelieving looks?"

She responded with a big smile. "It's a miracle you're even here again this soon. It's usually years between visits for you. What happened? Why the change of mind?"

"I don't kiss and tell." I said with a sheepish grin.

"Aedyn Dell Cumberland, you are a devil. You're up to something. Remember Mister, I know you better than you know yourself."

"I just want to be happy for once in my life. Am I wrong to want that?"

"I know, dear. I see the look on your face. The heart wants what the heart wants."

It was unbelievable, the way my aunt could read between the lines. I swear she knew I was referring to Lauren. Hell, she was spot on. Or maybe my aunt knew about Lauren. Information traveled fast down the gossip channels in this small town.

I couldn't stop thinking about Lauren. My plan had backfired on me. Big time. Instead of getting closure and shoving Lauren out of my mind, thoughts of her still reigned supreme.

"Give it time, dear."

I smiled and shook my head, trying to shake away my doubts. "Well... at least I can dream." I moved an empty packing box from a chair for her to have a seat. "Can you stay awhile?"

"No, dear. I just dropped by to see how tall the weeds had grown in the front yard. When I saw a car in the driveway, I figured it was you." She patted a plastic bag from the hardware store that she'd dropped on the coffee table when she came in. "I was going to plant these geraniums out front, but I'll let you do that now. I've got to be going."

"Okay. I'll try to get them in the ground before I leave. I'm not sure how long I can stay, my work has been suffering with me gone. Besides, you know me, I don't have much of a green thumb."

I gave her a hug and watched as my aunt's faded Oldsmobile backed out of the driveway. My thoughts turned back to the house as I shut the screen door. If I was going to fix up the house, I needed to get busy so I could get back to Chicago where the pile of work I'd ignored was growing to critical mass.

I fell into the worn cushions of the couch, exasperated. If I truly wanted to keep this house, I should be making a list of supplies to start the many repair projects, but instead, thoughts of Lauren intervened. I leaned back and closed my eyes, going over in my head the miserable plane ride back from Chicago and the significance of her wearing the ring again.

I was probably grasping at straws, but I knew how she felt when we were making love in my bedroom. That wasn't just the effects of the alcohol or the thrill of someone different. The way she looked up at me when I held her in my arms, there was nothing false about that. So when I saw she'd put the ring back on, I hoped what she had told me was true. She said she put it on so, when Chip saw her, she wouldn't have to tell him right away that she wanted to break up.

"I'm scared," she had said, twisting the ring round and round. "I know that sounds pathetic, but it will be better if I let him down easy."

"What are you afraid of?" I asked, although I already knew. What she told me next, proved my instincts to be true.

She was practically in tears when she talked about it, how controlling he was and how easily he could fly off the handle over little things. She spoke of how he undermined the things she said, leaving her to feel stupid and uncertain.

"If you leave, he can't hurt you anymore." My argument sounded reasonable in my own ears. But I'd never been a woman, had never been terrified of another person. I was a long way from walking in her shoes.

I changed my plans for her and brought her back on my private plane myself, not wanting our night together to be tainted as a quick, wham bam, thank you ma'am. Spending any more time in Granger, away from my work was putting a tremendous strain on my company, but I did it for her. I didn't tell her that though. I tried to give her an out. I went into asshole mode, told her I'd over-stepped my boundaries and that I hadn't meant to tempt her away from Chip, or get her all turned around. Then, I called my driver to take us to the plane.

Yes, I realized this could be a repeat of high school all over again. Hell, it probably would be, and end the same way... me with a broken heart and Lauren skipping off with the brass ring she'd always wanted. But at least this time, I hadn't kept my feelings secret.

My hope, no matter how feeble, was that she needed time to sort through her feelings and then she'd find a way to break off the engagement. That's what I told myself anyway, to appease my heartache. I had money; a nice apartment in downtown Chicago and I wanted to give her the world. I'd just have to be patient.

Hell, I'd waited this long, I could wait longer and then, if she didn't come around, at least I gave it a chance. If I'd learned one thing from this whole experience it was to stop being a wimp, say what you feel and let destiny take its course.

Oh Jesus, look what she's done to me. My thoughts rocketed back and forth to opposite extremes, changing by the minute. It felt like the game played by pulling the petals off a Daisy; she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not... I was so fucked.

I opened my eyes and blew out a breath. Get yourself under control, man. I pushed myself off the couch and ran my hand through my hair. There was nothing else I could do now, except bury myself in working on this house until the slow sands of times passed and my future would be revealed. It was in Lauren's hands now.

I grabbed my car keys and decided to go to the hardware store to buy the lumber I needed to rebuild the deck on the back of the house.

I parked in the back then walked around to the front, headed to the diner for a bite before picking up the supplies. As soon as I came around the corner of the building, I saw them. There was Lauren and Chip, standing on the sidewalk in front of his insurance office. I should've walked away, but the heat in their conversation roused my suspicions. Chip was talking loudly and pointing a finger in Lauren's face. As I picked up my pace and walked closer, I knew this wasn't going to be good.

Chip's voice cut through the air as he yelled, "You fucking bitch. You lied to me."

"No Chip, I was wedding shopping. I..."

"Shut up," he interrupted her and grabbed her by the upper arms, shaking her hard. "Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie. Did you fuck him? Tell me the truth."

I was close enough now that I'd clearly heard what he was saying. Chip's face was contorted and red with anger.

"What's going on here?" I interrupted and pulled Lauren out of Chips line of fire, blocking his verbal assaults with my body. "Don't talk to her that way."

"This is none of your business, asshole. I know how to deal with my woman. Get the fuck out of my face."

Chip pushed past me so he could yell into Lauren's face when he spat, "You slept with him, didn't you... you whore." Without warning, Chip's open hand made contact with Lauren's face, sending a sharp crack sailing through the air. She reeled back, stumbling into the brick wall of the building, her hand to her face and her mouth open and gasping.

I grabbed Chip by the shoulder, spun him around and caught him with a good right hook straight to the jaw, punctuated with one word, "Motherfucker."

Chip staggered and fell backwards. His hand flew to his jaw, holding it in place.