 
A Love Like Ours

By H. M. Irwing

This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, is entirely coincidental.

This book both in its entirety and in portions is the sole property of

H. M. Irwing

Copyright © July 2, 2020 by H. M. Irwing.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

ISBN: 9781005623531

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# Prologue

His lips were soft velvet that rasped across my skin as he grazed his way down my cheek.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured softly. I could only nod, accepting that all good things must come to an end. He had never been mine to begin with. He had only been there. Always there, just never mine. And now, he was leaving. He was sorry, yet he was leaving.

I stood back mutely. Why? Because that was what I was: a mute to all intents and purposes. I did not speak—not of things that mattered. I only made small talk. I only spoke of little nothings that all would forget.

Dale had seen through that. He had seen past the glamour, to what was beneath, and then, he had rejected me.

I turned away, refusing to let him see me cry. I had always known he would pick her over me—my bubbling cousin. My outgoing fun, loving, irresponsible, and flirty cousin. Did it matter that she was blonde and beautiful, while I was brunette and quite possibly _not_? That she could _at times_ be kind? Wasn't I already that and _always_?

Would any of that lessen my rage—my jealousy?

It wouldn't. Nothing could.

# Chapter 1

Five years after.

"Oh my God, Aria! I can't believe you just did that!" exclaimed Cynthia as she hurried along, tittering on the edge of her high heels, after me.

I couldn't believe it either. It wasn't every day I told off my pompous bosses and got away with it. I must have caught them on a good day. The pedantic idiots actually listened to what I had to say. Unfortunately, the meeting hadn't all been a win for me. When I proposed that we lease out our excess land banks to commercial farmers rather than opt for development, I should have known the forerunner to this option was none other than Justin Kay.

Gorgeous, incorrigible, and unforgivably rich Justin Kay.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I hated even thinking of him. He was a blonde Greek god that belonged in ancient times. Not because of his attitude to life, but because of his aristocratic good looks. I mean, who even sported a David-like profile anymore. They just didn't make them in that mould any more. And with reason! There was only so much palpitations a female's heart could take. Any more, and it's a straight off cardiac arrest and off to meet your maker. Not that I had no haste in wanting to meet mine. There were a _number_ of things I wanted to talk to _him_ about. Not the least of it was one Justin Kay.

But that was not why I hated his guts. He had the temerity to be best buds with Dale Carmichael. The very same Dale Carmichael who dumped me five years ago for my dear cousin, Linda Shubeck. Now, his wife—Linda Shubeck Carmichael.

I guess it wasn't really Justin whom I hated at all. It was the Carmichaels. Them, I hated with a vengeance. And it was them that I had to see year in, year out at the various family get-together. And in a close-knit family, there were plenty of such events to attend. It took all I had to face them with a grimace that could barely pass muster as a smile, as was still the case the last time we had bumped into each other.

After five years, you'd think I would have gotten over Dale throwing me over for Linda, but as fate would have it, glorious Linda blossomed with each passing year, and dickhead Dale only got hotter. It didn't make sense that evil should be so blessed. What was wrong with the universe?

Let's face it. It all came down to the luck of the draw, and I really had drawn the short stick. Figuratively speaking, I did not purport any great height to boast off. But at five feet four, I was no shorty either. My growing pudginess did not help either. It was hard to grin and bear it, or more progressively, grin and mean it when I had a shape like mine to compare Linda with.

She was all slim, gorgeous silhouettes. And I was a pear-shaped, melon-assed all woman. In short, I was my mother-in-the-making.

But we can't all be blonde stunners. I believed Justin Kay had already cornered the rights on that market. Anything else would simply _pale_ in comparison.

My own dark-brown hair and eyes to match didn't do much in casting me out of the ordinary either. But on good days, my thick, wavy hair stepped up in the face of dignity and did me proud. That, coupled with an astounding skill in makeup application, and hey presto, I had some convincing if self-delusional hope of not ending up looking like my mother in the coming years. Not that my mother was not amazing to look at. I was sure in her hay days, she'd been a stunner. Now, though, she stretched the limits of pudginess.

I shifted a hesitant hand down my own length, feeling my curves and bumps contorting the expensive line of my business suit to extremes, effectually redesigning the otherwise straight cut of my two-piece jacket and skirt suit. I narrowed my eye on Cyn, who invariably followed the drift of my hand with unseemly interest in her hazel gaze. Cynthia Waters, my assistant, while efficient in her work, was a scrawny fribble of a person and a humongous gossip to boot. I stopped my self-conscious appraisal of my person. There was no way I would allow her disparaging glance at my figure affect me or to let her make mountains of it on the grapevines. Not when I had actually taken measures to rectify the matter. This year would see a new me. No longer would I tumble down the spiral of despair, just thinking about my figure. Thinking of the clothes I could and couldn't fit into. Thinking of where to shop and where not to. Instead, I would do something about it. I had signed up with a fitness club. It would be the start of a new me. A great start to the New Year!

Now, if I could somehow contrive to ignore Justin Kay, his bright engaging baby-blue eyes, and his unbelievably rosy lips, and set about getting this deal over and done with.

"Cyn, you'll have to set up the appointment with Justin." I straightened my spine authoritatively and told her without preamble. I narrowed my gaze at her pointedly again, this time, meaning business.

"Thank you!" She squealed excitedly before staring off into space dreamily.

Yes, that was the reaction Justin produced in the opposite sex. The most eligible bachelor to walk the streets of Sydney. Not that he actually went about walking anywhere. Not when he had his selection of luxury cars to take him wherever he desired. His millions didn't hurt matters either, and to top things off, his dad passed on just a few months back, leaving him another pile of millions to wade through. It was bewildering really, but for some cosmic reason, shit like that kept happening to the rich. What was he now anyway? A freaking billionaire? Cosmos certainly thought so.

I drew a rueful breath as I watched Cyn walk dreamily off before I called after her bitchily in pretend disgust. "Snap out of it and get to work." Then, I marched off to do the same.

My office was my only accomplishment in that five years since Dale Carmichael dumping me—the point of my life I seemed to measure all things up against. Small, windowless, and stuffy, it represented more than my failed dreams. It was a shout-out-loud that my life had stalled ever since. Still, it was all I had. It not only ensured I had the means to butter my bread but that I had any bread at all. And if I wanted to retain this hold over my tiny office and all that bread, I more than needed this deal done.

I immediately set about resolutely dragging myself out my chair and set about getting the paperwork straight, ignoring an annoyingly persistent niggling at the back of my head as I did. The niggling thoughts of why I really wanted this deal done. Of why I had proposed _this_ deal in the first place, knowing the reason had nothing at all to do with this office or my job or anything other than satisfying my conscience.

A reason I did my best to ignore through its persistent niggling did its best to hinder my progress. But through sheer determination alone, I managed to roll up my sleeves and dig in to get the deed done, so when Cyn finally called in to say the meeting had been arranged for that afternoon, I was ready and raring to go.

I paused only to grab a quick bite of a Mars Bar to boost my energy and to stop by the toilets to freshen up. There, the urge to splash some water on my face almost got to me. But I refrained in time and resorted instead to reapplying my lipstick with renewed determination, this time choosing a scarlet shade of red that surely stated I meant pure business. Narrowing my eyes, I glared at my profile reflected in the bathroom mirror. It was time to face the facts. I had made my bed, and now, I must lie in it. This project was my doing, so I would face my demons and see it through.

Nodding my head with renewed purpose, I stalked out of the bathroom and then later out of the building with all the determination of a hunter seeking its prey. Bold and masterful, I stepped out into the crisp and clear morning air, pausing only to take in a deep, appreciative breath and admire the Sydney harbour views, letting my eyes rest on the peaceful, deep blue waters of the bay before I turned to face the tall-skyscraper-lined road, still jammed pack with morning traffic, in search for the elusive taxi. Wynyard train station was a short walking distance away, but at this hour of peak traffic, there wasn't much chance of getting on board the train. It was a good, long walk to Justin's from where I exited the train anyway.

Moments later, and a transport altercations besides, and I was in a taxi, on my way down to the pier front—a boutique development of stylish office blocks that housed millionaires playing at making yet more of it. As far as I knew, the entire row here belonged to Justin. It was a good idea if you wanted to avoid traffic and if you practically lived off your own private yacht, anyway. But for me, traffic had been pure torture in getting here from the other end of town.

I paid the fare then got out of the taxi, taking in a deep breath to calm a sudden case of the nerves, only to have a waft of clean sea breeze tantalise my nostrils, provoking leisurely thoughts of a sunny day at a beach. Then, the breeze grew stronger and set about ruining the neatly combed dressing of my hair. I bit back a silent curse, knowing my one place of pride had abandoned me, and stormed into the place as if I owned it, only to come to a jerky halt at the sight of what lay in front of me. The office layout was state of the art modern and spacious with, for some stupid ass reason, spindly stairs that led up to the CEO's cabin.

"Damn, Cyn!" I cursed my assistant pointlessly as was my habit in confronting any obstacles, be it her fault or not. Before drawing in another deep breath, I turned to face the seemingly endless flight of terribly narrow stairs.

But the clock was ticking, and I really didn't want to dilly-dally in delaying this any longer, so I gritted my teeth and trudged up the stairs to face my nemesis although that would actually be a misnomer. To be completely honest, Justin Kay had only ever been kind to me. Kind with his warm regard whenever we met and certainly kind in acknowledging my existence at all.

But it was that very kindness that stung.

Quite possibly because I desired _more_ than to have my existence acknowledges _and because I simply desired._ I was not going to apologize for that. I was a female. A female with needs. Hell, I was human, and with Justin Kay, that was all I needed to be. Gender didn't matter when it came to, obsessively if silently, adoring him. I doubted it mattered all that much to him either. The impossible man was more than overwhelmingly eligible to anyone, and the very worst of it was that he knew it.

"I'm here to see Justin," I finally huffed out, out of breath, to the scrawny looking receptionist perched precariously just beyond the steps. There was an OH&S issue here somewhere, one I wouldn't really mind exploiting, especially at the condescending smirk she shot my way.

"Your name?" she questioned pointedly.

"Aria. Aria Longbottom," I spat out, straight-faced. I had no choice. That really was my name.

"I'll let Mr Kay know you are here," she replied with an unprofessional smirk.

I gave her a dismissive nod that I just knew would irk and ambled over to the cushy corner. I was about to sit my ample arse on the red-velvet, soft surface of a lounge chair when the door beside me flew open.

"Aria!" exclaimed Justin as if he were more than excited to meet me. He came striding out of his office and, with nary a pause, had me wrapped up in arms in a warm hug.

A very decidedly warm embrace.

Hot even.

At least for me.

Justin Kay, born in Australia to an English father and an American mother, was blessed with all the charms and unqualified irresistibility that unique combination produced in abundance.

I was usually better prepared at dishing out the evasive manoeuvre, having encountered his exuberance many a time in the past before. But I blamed the endless bout of stairs I had so recently conquered for my more sluggish reactions. So, while I was mostly unsurprised to have him envelop me in a bear hug, I was still stunned to be there in his arms at all. And more so from all the delicious sensations invoked from his embrace. Sensations well remembered and decisively _ignored_. Usually.

At least, I tried.

Justin and I actually went back a long way—longer than the momentous moment five years ago, in any case. In fact, I think I piddled in his pool when I was five.

But it was definitely five years ago since I last stood this close to this man,... any man. As I mentioned, my evasive maneuverers were usually good. Too good. I unwittingly took a deep, steadying breath, in a helpless effort to claw back from some of the lost dignity. As I didn't doubt, my usually firm posture had all but melted into his firm, hard, and generally muscular body. It was a sigh of pure rapture that I held back with some difficulty as my senses was engulfed by the exquisite smell of his scent. Delicious! But then, the super-rich could well afford to splash out on the very best.

I breathed hard, greedily taking in my fill until he pulled back from me abruptly.

"You alright?"

"Um,... stairs," I said innocently, pointing to the evil behind me. It explained away my heavy breathing anyhow. I was not about to enlighten him on my fascination with his choice of fragrance.

"Come in." He hustled me in and shut the door behind himself. I moved to seat myself before his desk then deliberately busied myself with taking out the documents I had prepared and placing them before me. I needed a moment to regroup my senses and wear down the heat. But when I looked up next, I encountered the smooth, bronze surface of well-worked six pack abs.

"Wha?..." I shot up startled, eyes to clash with his clear entrancing blues.

"You don't mind if I work out while we discuss this, do you?" Justin whispered softly, the innocuous innocence of his wide, blue eyes screaming pure danger as he drew forward, leaning in to invade my personal space.

"I don't understand," I muttered, staring with blatant rudeness at his lovely exposed chest.

"I missed my morning workout, and I just hate how that makes me feel. A little off, you know," he said, his hot gaze meeting mine.

I nodded my head as if I knew, when I clearly didn't and then blurted out stupidly, "I'm doing Zumba!"

I watched as a fascinating smile spread across his handsome features. "Are you?"

I nodded, but then, his smile dropped away, and with it, the strange entrancement that had captivated me.

"I know why you did this, and I want you to know that I am grateful," he said seriously.

"I don't know what you mean,..." I started to say, but he cut me off.

"Don't you?" Justin stared down at me, his eyes entreating mine to speak the truth. I dropped my gaze and stared at my lap.

Justin looked earnestly down at me as he explained. "You overheard us. Dale and I were discussing my need for more land at my dad's funeral, and I saw you listening in. Then, your secretary calls mine a few months later to arrange a meeting to give me just that. I know you did this for me. I wanted to thank you." He stopped, waiting for me to raise my eyes to face the sudden intensity in his; then he continued. "But more importantly, I want to know why"

Shit!

I gulped down the lump in my throat. He could not possibly know. But I wasn't sure; that gleam in his eye said otherwise. I had felt a certain level of guilt over the years over what transpired between us that night Dale dumped me, five years back, and this had been my way to appease it and settle a debt. A debt he didn't even know I owed him, and I would rather have it kept that way.

"Look, I don't have much time. Could we just get right to the deal, and I'll be out of your hair, and then, you can do your exercises or whatever else it is that you do," I said obstinately.

He laughed outright. I wasn't joking when I said he was a merry soul, although I wouldn't hedge my bets when I say that was not true mirth in his tone. "You are an obstinate cookie, but I have this suspicion that only you can appease, and I want this settled, once and for all." He paused, taking a deliberate breath before continuing in an accusing tone. "It was you, wasn't it? That night at the costume party?" He stood up and reached down for me, yanking my cringing form to my feet before him. His grip on my arms tightened painfully as his face tightened with uncharacteristic ruthlessness, and then, he demanded, "Tell me it was you!" His breathing grew in ragged accents. "You, whom I held naked in my arms. Writhing beneath my own thrusting body as I took you. And I took you several times. More importantly, I took your virginity," he accused outright, sending a wave of panic and something else shivering down to my toes.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I finally got out, between heaving breaths. His words shook me more than I could tell.

"Well, then, I'll have to put this to a test the only way I can," he said, a determined glint coming into his eyes.

"Wha—" I was hauled to my feet and pulled into his arms before his lips came down, sealing over mine and drawing all rational thought processes to a halt. I could only do what I did before. I melted in his arms and returned him kiss for kiss and then matched him as his kisses grew heated and almost frantic.

I knew instantly when he realised his suspicions were true. His arms tightened almost painfully, and the ferocity of his embrace took on a new meaning. He was a serious mass of contradictions. Openly jovial and carefree on the surface, but with hidden wells of passion that, when tapped, sprang out of control into one mind-blowing orgasm after the other.

He lifted me up and spun me around to place me on his desk before he broke off the ravenous kiss and stared down at me in awe. But I didn't want the reality that would follow. No, I wanted the kisses that I had craved ever since that night I slept with him five years ago. I reached up and swept my fingers through the rich thickness of his overlong hair and gripped hard before I used it as an anchor to drag his lips back to mine. If all was about to get unravelled; I'd rather get my time's worth now before I was dismissed to oblivion.

I swept my lips over his and pushed my tongue to plunder his luscious depths. He tasted divine just as he had back then. But I never really had the chance to truly appreciate him then. I had been drunk of pain and hurting out of my mind and he, well, I guess he had been just plain drunk.

I could surprisingly recall the whole night as clearly as if it were yesterday. Dale had rejected me right outside Justin's apartment in the long private corridors that led up to his door, which vibrated with the thundering sounds of music blaring within. The party had already been swinging at full throttle, and we'd been late. I had been hurrying on before Dale tugged my hand to pull me to a halt. We'd been just a few steps from that door—just a few steps from the party within.

"What?" I'd asked hurriedly, for I hadn't wanted to be even later than we already were. Justin's parties were always a blast, and this one was a New Year's costume party. But Dale seemed insistent that we stopped for a while to discuss something he felt was important. It had been important. I'd tugged off my mask so I could pay better attention to what Dale had been saying. I hadn't been sure I was hearing it right. But then, what he said dawned. I was stunned to silence at first. Then just plain hurt. Wrecked with pure, unadulterated pain. Made more so knowing it had all been my fault. I had been the one to introduce Dale to my cousin. I should have known he would not have been able to resist her. No one ever could. But hearing what he had to say and then watching him walk away had torn my heart apart. I had mindlessly picked up the pieces and shifted the mask back into place, covering my pain ravaged face, and then, I had gone through that door and let myself into the biggest mistake of my life.

The most pleasurable mistake I had ever made.

One I had been longing for five years to repeat.

Justin's hands lifted to frame my face before he abruptly pulled us apart.

"We need to talk," he said through his passion-induced, pouty, red lips. There they were those delicious, red morsels I had so admired. I reluctantly raised my eyes to tear my attention away from more carnal pursuits and met his rapidly cooling, blue gaze.

I took one look at the stony expression that came over his features and knew I was done for.

"It was you," he said with dawning conviction. "The woman I slept with on New Year's Eve five years ago. I had thought it was you, but when I went to confront you the morning after, you snuck away like a thief in the night. You were blabbering about how sorry you were that you couldn't make it to my party. You freaking lied to me, and I had let it go, unsure as I had been to begin with. Now, you turn up trying to _buy_ me off with this offer of land banks? What do you take me for?"

That was left unsaid. By the both of us.

Still, when he put it like that, it sounded really shitty of me. But it had been just sex all those years ago. He was hot, smashed, and available, and I had been in a sorry state of mind. It had only been natural that I jumped his bones. Besides, it had been he who made the first move. Justin Kay, who had walked up to me with his drunken swagger and said, "Hey, babe, you look hot. Let's have some sex."

At the time, it had seemed like a good idea, but after four rounds or so, I began to see reason. I couldn't have revealed who I was to him, and my mask had amazingly stayed put while I had all but performed a feat of gymnastics on the bed with him.

The thing was I had loved every minute of being with him. Walking away had been hard. But I still had the pain of Dale dumping me running fresh through my veins, so it wouldn't have been fair to Justin for him to know I had blatantly used him to drown my sorrows.

Now, I shook my head at him. My brain on hyper drive, trying to locate ideas on how to escape my current predicament. I finally opened my mouth to refute his claims. Dishonesty was the only way out as far as I could see.

"Don't bother!" he snapped at me, obviously getting an inkling over what I intended. He reached around me and tapped something then spoke in my ear, making me jump. "I'm off for the day, Kate. Please cancel my appointments," he spoke to his receptionist before straightening up to stare down at me.

I moved immediately to shove him away. It was way past time I left. Whatever he had on his mind couldn't be good for me.

But the man was built like a rock, and my hands on his hot naked skin appeared to have a mind of their own in moulding themselves over him,... all over him. I found myself unwittingly drawing closer, my lips reaching forward of their own accord to press onto the wonderful expanse of pure hot man.

"Stop that," he muttered huskily in my ear. "Don't think... you can... distract me. Don't... think you... can get... out of this so... easily."

I lifted my head and opened my mouth to retort, but his lips swooped down to cover mine in an open-mouthed kiss that reduced me to a puddle of pure heat right there in his arms. Our lips met in more and yet more heat-inducing kisses. And they were affecting him as much as me if the tent in his pants were any indication.

I got instantly greedy for more.

I wrapped my arms about his broad shoulders and did my best to heft myself up high enough to have him support all of my weight in his strong arms. It was about then that disaster struck.

It was about then that his mother burst through the door.

# Chapter 2

"More sugar, my dear?"

"Huh?"

I stared up with some confusion at Mrs Lilian Kay. My mind was still reeling from the onslaught of lust that had been so rudely interrupted.

"As I was saying, my dears, I hope I didn't interrupt anything too important," said Lilian Kay, a small, knowing smile playing softly about her lips. "At, em,... your meeting."

My meeting with Justin Kay. Hmmm... Now, that meeting had gone about most unexpectedly.

"More sugar, my dear?"

I started up in puzzlement and then realised that I still had my hand up, holding the teacup, so I lowered it to my saucer and gave her a beatific smile. At Justin, I refused to look at all.

"Mum, is this really necessary?" Justin sighed in frustration. Things hadn't been going his way either. I smothered a smile at that and received his heated stare in response. My own swift response must have been on my face for the intensity of his gaze, well,... intensified. I gulped.

"Mum, we really need to go," he muttered, not taking his eyes off me.

Yes,... need is the apt choice of expression, here.

I could feel myself burning up with the need for him. Surprising really, for all it took was one heated look my way to have me squirming in my seat.

It was really fortunate that Mrs Kay dropped by when she had. Her interruption couldn't have been timelier. Justin had just straightened up _with_ me wrapped around him when the door to his office flew open with a flourish, jolting us out of our deeply consuming kisses.

It had taken some effort, but we had managed to re-channel our amorous attentions away from each other to take in the grand entry that was Mrs Kay. She had, of course, been delighted to catch Justin _en_ flagrante. Mrs Kay was always one to enjoy the dramatics. She had appeared quite pleased to see me there. Overly so, as I would have it, leading us to our present conundrum. Tea with Mrs Kay at her place of abode, no less. Normally, I would have been delighted at an impromptu invite to tea. A visit to any residence in McMohans Point was nothing to shy away from, and the Kays had resided there for a good, many generations. Their mansion as such put many other's to shame—upgraded with due loving care by each of the generations of Kay to reside there, the mansion maintained a modern yet classic feel of old and inherited wealth.

Only in present circumstances, a Q&A session with Justin's mum was something I could do well without. And then, there was the growing state of frustration that both Justin and I would rather be without. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

I never, ever should have agreed to tea, but like the whirl of a tornado, Mrs Kay had us both bundled in Justin' s car, following hers with muted disagreeability. Neither of us had wanted to deny Mrs Kay her slightest desire. Where those same large, baby-blue eyes on Justin served to invoke such feelings of pure unadulterated heat. On Mrs Kay, it had all the vile undermining guilelessness that Mrs Kay successfully honed into polished if well-worn weapon. It never missed its mark. And it hadn't then either.

With each of us down in a silent sulk, we had done her bidding and driven after her to her mansion for tea. It had been the most excruciating drive of my life. For the sulks had quickly worn away to the rising tensions of sitting in such close proximity with the most gorgeous man in the world. My heart had been racing, and my breathing hitched, so I dragged in a much-needed breath of relief when he finally pulled up under Mrs Kay's condo. I could not live through a ride back; that was for sure. I would have to simply make my excuses after tea and slip out and disappear in the empty streets below. Catch a cab maybe. I was sure if I tried,... tried really hard, I could get the fare reimbursed as an office expense.

_Or_ I could simply change my name and move to another country and make my grand escape, and none would be the wiser.

"So, my dear Aria, what brings you to kissing the life out of my poor Justin?" Mrs Kay's blunt question had me stuttering then looking helplessly to Justin for an answer.

But I should have known better.

"She was trying to wheedle her way out of admitting that she had knowingly and wilfully made full use of my body five years ago...."

"That's not what... I was there for business.... Justin was the one who,... who,..." I found myself trailing off, being unable to finish that line of reasoning. This was getting ridiculous. I glanced balefully at first, one pair of sky blue eyes, then at the other, not at all happy to be cornered by a pair of Kays like this. I shook my head, trying to clear out the cobweb of shocks that seemed to have shrouded my usually adequately functioning brain. There had to be a way out of this somewhere. There had to. If only I could actually think. But torn between the heated intensity of Justin's wickedly amused gaze and his mother's shrewd if equally amused ones, and I knew I was done for. The Kays were in league and narrowing in for the kill.

"But this is perfect. It's simply ideal, Justin," gushed out Mrs Kay ecstatically. "This is exactly what we are looking for. It's obvious you two care for each other." I opened my mouth instantly to deny that charge, but she raised a placating hand, indicating she would not be buying any explanations I had to give. "Oh, you may tell yourself all you wish—that your only intention is to atone for your sins in seducing and taking advantage of my poor boy five years ago—but I know better."

I couldn't help but openly sputter at that.

"And then, there's Justin. I'm sure he wishes to punish you for your presumptions in doing so in the first place. Enjoy it, no doubt, he did. And what better way to achieve both goals than with what I am proposing?" said Mrs Kay gleefully.

Justin seemed to have some inkling of what that was, but I, for one, was entirely clueless. Clueless and confused. Confounded. Was Mrs Kay really deranged, or had she in fact really just said all that she just did? And what was she proposing anyway? I turned my own version of large, puppy dog eyes at Justin in enquiry. Mrs Kay was not the only one who could pull at heart strings if the need so required. At my present, I desperately needed some answers. I had this uneasy feeling that these two Kays were trying to out-manoeuvre me at my own game. Not that I had been playing a game. But perhaps I should.

"You told your mother about us!" I said to Justin accusingly. "You invited her to come to your office when she did, knowing I would be there. You planned this."

"Not when she did. No, I can't quite get over her poor choice in timing," he murmured ruefully before shifting to adjust himself in his seat. I glared right at him. I was not having it—whatever it was. I didn't get played. Not anymore.

"Now, now," Mrs Kay intervened placatingly. "Let's not bicker over who did what and who did not. It's not as if Justin doesn't already want to marry you, but now, with the terms of his father's will to consider, I don't see what the problem is."

"The terms?" I murmured vaguely, feeling overwhelmingly bombarded with the unexpected.

"Yes, my dear. Justin must marry before he turns thirty, or he has to forfeit his inheritance. I always did tell you your father was not pleased with your philandering ways, Justin. This was really only to be expected."

I opened my mouth to gape uncomprehendingly at Mrs Kay before turning to assess Justin' s take on this bizarre statement, but his face was buried in his hands. I paused for a moment, almost feeling sorry for him. It could not have been ideal to have been left with one lunatic parent to deal with. It had been in my experience that you needed a minimum of two such parents to balance each other out. But then, I decided enough was enough.

"I really have to go," I finally said, having prevaricated long enough, listening to their absurdities. Marriage! I may have wanted to bed her son, but marrying had not entered the equation. It was time to make a graceful but swift exit.

"I'll drop her off," exclaimed Justin, raising to his feet swiftly as if that were something he simply had to do. Then, before either his mum or I could say another word, I was hefted onto my feet and prompted along out the Kay's mansion at warp speed.

His car was where he left it, parked out front. Once again, due to the state of mental health at that moment, I failed to notice the make and model of the car. He deposited me in my seat before swiftly moving around to the other side to shut himself in beside me. So, I found myself back in the unfortunate position I had sworn to avoid of sitting beside him in the close confines of his car. Instantly, I was engulfed by the sexual tension that resurfaced with a vengeance.

I was almost visibly trembling in need.

"It may not be such a stupid idea—what my mum is proposing," Justin said then through clenched teeth, his hands gripping tightly at the steering.

It actually wasn't. I could've even appreciated the diabolical plan at that moment. It was a win-win. I would have undivided, unrestricted, unadulterated access to that incredible piece of... man, and all for the price of one signature on a piece of paper, lawfully turning myself over to him, uniting us both in the eyes of god, for all eternity, with the merest "I do." Greed sunk its teeth in agonisingly. As far as vices went, greed was the one I unfailingly suffered the most. Greed for food. And now, greed for man. Not just any man, but this one. The very one I had been dreaming of, having wet dreams of, having sleepless nights over and just your average, general craving for.

"Huh?" I prevaricated, shifting uncomfortably in my seat.

"Did you even hear a word mother said?" Justin raised a brown in query before chuckling heartily at my reddened face. His husky laugh sent a thrill of pleasure to shoot down my spine.

"I think I may have zoned out as soon as she said I kissed you," I muttered quietly, not wanting to admit I had heard, understood, and trembled with desire in reaction. Mating, sex, or marriage: any of these words would do to thrill a reaction out of me, but only when used in the context of Justin Kay and me.

"But why? It's true you did kiss me. Seduce me," he said huskily, turning to stare intensely into my own lust-startled gaze.

I held myself stiffly to stop myself from jumping him.

"Look, what your mum has been suggesting is bizarre and, well, lunacy. I admit to practically raping you five years back, but let me remind you it takes two to tango," I said obstinately.

"I was a little drunk, and I can't exactly recall the whole of it. Tell me what happened," Justin said, finally putting the car into drive. I didn't think it safe to tell him the whole of it when he was behind the wheel, holding my life precariously in his hands.

But I guess it was the time I told him a version of it.

"You told me I looked hot. I flirted with you shamelessly. Then, you led me to your room, and I toppled you down to your bed, stripped you bare, and took advantage of your vulnerable state," I said brutally, creating a stunned silence in the car.

"That was not quite how I remembered that night," he said finally, throwing me a considering glance sideways.

"Oh?" I said non-committedly.

"Nope. I recall the seduction was mutual. I wanted you as much as you wanted me, and when I took your virginity, you called out my name and told me you loved me. We made love that night several times. I declared you the love of my life and proposed marriage. You accepted, and then, in the morning, I woke up to find myself in bed alone, wondering if I had actually dreamt the whole thing," he said with quiet seriousness as he moved the car patiently through traffic.

I breathed hard, feeling a familiar stone wedge itself back in the vicinity of my heart. I gulped down the sudden thickness to my throat and found myself even blinking away teary eyes. But then, I hardened my resolution.

"You did," I said. "Dream it, that is," I muttered stubbornly, feeling all of the guilt I had been experiencing ever since that night come over me afresh. But it was not just guilt I had felt that night. It had been more. I had said I loved him. I had said I would marry him. I had believed I meant it. Perhaps I did. It would certainly explain my inability to even consider bedding another man. To date anyone else even. It explained why the only man I thought of was him. My eyes prickled, and tears ran down my cheeks. I brushed it aside and drew in a deep breath.

"Are you crying?" Justin asked incredulously.

"N-n-nope," I sobbed as my guilt and suppressed feelings for him surged out anew in a mixed jumble of pure emotional mess. I recalled that night as clearly as if it had been yesterday. Justin had looked so devastated that next morning when he had come over to confront me and ask if the woman he had slept with the night before had been me. I had callously done what I thought then had been the right thing to do. I was, after all, on the rebound. What I had felt for him couldn't have been real, could it? He had been drinking and what he thought he had felt for me couldn't have been real either, or could it?

Now, I wasn't so sure.

His mum was proposing that we tie the knot—that we get married so that Justin may get hold of the trust his father left him, stipulating he had to marry by thirty in order to receive the money, or it would all go to some charity. Justin had no need for that money, and at twenty-eight, he still had some years to find the girl of his dreams and tie the knot.

There was really no need for me to even consider... "I'll do it! I'll marry you," I found myself blurting that out as an unexpected panic suddenly consumed me at the mere thought of Justin marrying another.

I turned to face him expectantly, only to catch sight of the grim set of his lips, but I refused to retract back those words. All his past girlfriends used to irk me to no end. Just knowing he was out there,... with them, had sent a pang of hurt I had no business feeling. Knowing that what he had said that night—that that proposal of marriage hadn't been real. But still, it had created a hidden well of expectations. I guess, inwardly, I had always thought him mine. I had only been using Dale as an excuse not to date when, in truth, I had always simply wanted Justin.

And this was my chance to finally have him.

"Let's discuss this inside, shall we?" Justin said as he moved to unhitch his seat belt and briskly open the door. Justin had fallen silent after my emotional outburst, and the atmosphere in the car had abruptly changed from sweltering heat to a big chill.

"Okay," I muttered meekly, already regretting my whole day.

I was not happy, and Justin looked a strange shade of grim.

But I had to see this through. It was time I faced my demons and put it to rest. I could use a break from always looking back and wondering what could have been. I was strangely pleased that I had done what was needed. I had declared in no uncertain terms my intent to marry him. It was now judgement time, and I would boldly go to the gallows if that were what he intended.

Justin had brought me to his inner-city based penthouse unit. I guess I was glad he hadn't opted for his yacht. I was already wobbly enough on my feet without having the unsteady tread of water beneath me. I followed him to the elevator, taking in the elaborately plush foyer, and stepped in beside him all cool and collected. My inner turmoil was hidden from all. Then, the door silently slid shut, enclosing us in the small, confined area. Abruptly, the driving emotions changed again, making a swift U-turn back to sweltering heat.

I held my spine stiffly and tried not to stare at him in the mirrors in front of me. But I felt his eyes trained on my back. I held my breath and was swiftly rewarded by his hand sliding down my spine to rest on my backside. Then, his heavy breathing was moist on the base of my neck, and his lips closed over the spot just as his hand clenched over my ass. I collapsed instantly into his arms, and his free hand was quick to come up around me and cup my swelling breasts. I moaned out loud then cried out for more as his lips shot up to my ear, where he crudely stuck his tongue in and reduced me to a puddle in my panties.

"Oh, sorry, excuse me."

I looked up into the startled but keenly interested gaze of Mrs Kelly Payton, the famous Women's Weekly tabloid editor. It would be just my luck to have her bump into us. She was the reason Justin's handsome visage was often splashed all over the front page of her weekly issues. I guess it should not be at all surprising to find she shared in the block he lived in.

I elbowed Justin behind me insistently, but he seemed reluctant to let go of his strategic grip on me. I wiggled, but he only tightened his hold. The hand on my ass didn't matter so much for it was behind me, but the hand gripping my boob was obvious to all three of us. I looked up with an 'are you crazy' expression on my face. But thenm he spoke.

"I'm sorry. I was just proving to my fiancée here," he said, pressing his firm rod against my ass, "that my hand can indeed cover her breasts whole."

I sputtered. _My breasts.... Fiancée?_

"Well, I take it congratulations are in order, then," exclaimed Mrs Keele sarcastically. It was obvious she did not believe a word of it. I didn't either.

"Yes, well, mother will be putting in the announcement in the papers soon," he said, and then muttered under his breath, "Probably this evening, in fact."

I gasped, feeling the walls in this already too cramped elevator pressing down on me, but the heavy hand still on my chest was proving restrictive. I subtly pushed at it, but he held firm, so I simply stomped on his foot.

"Ow!"

Unfortunately, Mrs Keele had been watching this exchange with avid interest. My breasts free, I was able to draw in a much needed deep breath.

"Nice," Justin remarked casually over my shoulder, watching them heave and then causing them to heave even more in renewed agitation. I wanted to clobber him over the head. Mrs Payton's handbag was looking to be a most suitable weapon. I couldn't even remember where I'd left my own. Was it still at Justin's office? His mum's place? Or in his car?

"God, this lift is slow," I blurted out stupidly, unable to take all this scrutiny anymore. Justin's ogling eyes, I didn't mind too much, but Mrs Payton's was damn scary.

"It's under maintenance, my dear. Didn't you see the sign on its doors before getting in?" Mrs Payton asked with some amusement just as the door opened, and she stepped out. We followed her out and realised we were all still on the ground floor. I watched as Mrs Payton moved on to the adjacent elevator and stepped in. She pressed the button to hold the door open for us.

I couldn't do it. I turned to bolt.

"Oh, no you don't," Justin said, grinning as he gripped my arm and hauled me in after him.

Not another elevator ride. I turned to scowl at Mrs Payton. "You didn't have to get into that elevator with us, you know," I snarled, ignoring Justin' s grip on my waist.

"And miss all the fun? I've never been so entertained in my life," she said, straight-faced before she burst out laughing.

Then, Justin started to chuckle behind me, and I moved to grind my elbow into his side, but he anticipated my move and dodged me. "You won't catch me falling for the same tricks twice," he murmured quietly in my ear. Somehow, I think he referred to more than just my jab into his side earlier.

Then, the door opened, and Mrs Payton stepped out. "Don't do anything I wouldn't," she said before she pealed out another round of laughter.

I maintained my hostile glare 'til the door closed us in alone,... again.

"Thank God," Justin muttered before I found myself pinned up against the wall with his lips devouring mine.

His soft lips moulded mine into every imaginable shape. His slick tongue pushed between my lips, wet and slippery, as his played tag with my own. I felt weak, languishing in his arms. The urgency of his initial kisses subsided when my response became as feverish. He had rubbed his hardness against me 'til I had cried out in anticipation, my panties damp with need. We slowed down to indulge in the sensuality of what we were doing. I felt myself floating away, still wrapped around him, and realised he was actually moving. We had reached his floor.

He shifted my weight in his arms as he fumbled with the door to let us in. Then, we were stumbling in, and again, his lips took on a frantic pace, devouring mine as he turned his head to keep thrusting his tongue into mine, ramming his hip against me. I felt the urgency spike up within me.

"Am I interrupting?"

I felt a snarl build up and rumble out against Justin's lips. Not again. Would it always be like this? Will our every attempt to fuck get interrupted by some random stranger?

"Cecile? What are you doing here?" asked Justin, looking even more annoyed than I. Not so random after all. I narrowed my eyes at her considerably but then recognising her, having seen her with him before.

"I came to see what was it that was keeping you from returning my calls. Or should I have said who was keeping you?" Cecile replied, staring unashamedly at the hard on Justin was still sporting.

"Get out of my apartment, and be sure to leave my keys on your way out," Justin said with a hard, uncompromising stare.

I felt sorry for Cecile. She had been Justin's on-again off-again girlfriend over the years, but I guessed she must've been used to his rudeness for her to keep coming back for more of the same.

I watched her march out without another word, her jaw tight and her head held high. I saw my future then, when I would be told to walk out that door for the newest flavour of the month. And I knew for certain the mood for getting laid was well and truly over.

"I—" I started to make my excuses to leave, but then, Justin turned around to face me. His zip was undone, and his briefs pulled low, uncovering his hard length. Then, he was moving towards me, his hand cupping his hard on as he pumped it. His lips came down crushingly onto mine. His other hand slid into my hair to hold me firmly, if a little forcefully, to him, and he was walking me backward, toward his room.

I didn't protest. I would have this off him then disappear again if I had to. I wrapped my arms around him and let him lead me to his bed, where he threw me across it and proceeded to pull aside my clothing. I clawed his clothes away as well; then, my thighs were pushed apart, and he was pushing into me. The delicious sensation of him sliding in had me jerking my hips up to take him all the way in. He growled out his frustrations and started hammering into me. I fisted my hands into his hair and clung on for dear life as he rode me,... rode us both to the heights of pleasure, screaming out my release to join the hoarse cries of his own.

"God! That was,... was,..." I was speechless and too content to think harder of the appropriate adjective to describe what I felt.

"Yep," was all Justin grunted beside me, and I nodded my head knowingly. I could relate.

We laid there just like that, unmoving for a while, before he moved to shift me closer. He snuck an arm beneath me and tugged me into his embrace. "Just to make sure you don't run out on me this time."

How could I after that mind-blowing orgasm? I mean, I may be stupid, but I wasn't that stupid _._ So what if down the road, Justin decides to dump me for some young hottie? I would have had my fill of him by then anyway. Hopefully.

"Let's move in together," I muttered, tasting his salty neck. He was covered in perspiration, and unfortunately, most of his clothing was still on. "Do you need help with removing that?" I interrupted his response, nodding to his dishevelled clothes.

"Thanks," he said, so I set about tugging off various articles of clothing. "You downgraded us from engaged to be married to a merely live-in a couple."

"Look, I'm not stupid enough to leave this," I said, indicating with a gesture that encompassed us. "We don't need to be married to fuck. We don't even know each other that well. We've known of each other a long time, but not personally. What if this is all we have, and outside of sex, we can't stand each other's guts?" I asked reasonably.

"I can see how that could happen," he agreed, narrowing his eyes at me pointedly. "But there is that little business of the inheritance I need to be married to claim," Justin reminded me.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot that," I said, slumping forward onto his sleek chest. I felt him stir below the waist and slapped his chest with the palm of my hand. I needed recovery time even if he didn't. This was only the second time I'd fucked—ever. Second, not counting the many times we did it that first time, of course.

"I say we do what Mum wants," he sighed.

How exciting. Not!

"We get married, and if it doesn't work, I can always count on you to run out on me," he said, beaming a wide grin at me.

"Not funny! Are you always going to hold that against me?" I asked, annoyed.

"But of course," he promptly confirmed.

_Slap!_

I hit his chest again and felt his cock surge against my entrance. I got wet—well, wetter.

"Okay," I finally hissed out, my mind drifting to focus on other more important matters like fucking the life out of the hot bod beneath me. I dropped my lips to suck on his neck, wanting to boldly mark him as mine.

"Ow! No hickeys please," he commanded. But I only ground my hips against his and sucked harder.

"Well, then turnabout is fair play," he said before he tossed me on my back then took my titties in his mouth and proceeded to suck hard.

I burst out laughing. "You cannot leave a hickey on my nipples," I said laughingly, but then, he shifted his lips to the top of my breast and sucked hard.

"Ow," I all but shrieked.

"There. We have officially exchanged hickeys as in marks of ownership. I guess that means we really are engaged," Justin said with a cute grin.

"You're crazy!" I shook my head at him then pulled his lips down to mine. I really needed to fuck right now. My arms reached around his neck, drawing him closer to me as my lips reached up to take his demandingly. He needed no further urging.

Running his hot lips down my neck and over my heaving chest, he settled in to suckle. Hungrily, he drew my nipple in, nipping at its taut peak and flicking at it with a wet tongue. But that, it seemed, was not enough, for he drew the whole in and suckled hard.

Whimpers and moans left my lips. I mewed helplessly, twisting and turning every which way, my hips lifting to reach out toward him, trying to soundlessly urge him back in. But he seemed bent on taunting me, no doubt still invoking his revenge at my running out on him all those years back.

Boy, did he hold a grudge! And hold it long. I groaned out loud when, abruptly, he left my aching breasts altogether. Rising above me, he grinned wickedly down at me. No doubt bent on blowing my mind away some more.

Sure enough, that was exactly what he did next. Scuttling down, he settled between my legs and opened his mouth over my apex and set out to make me sing. Discordant notes, filled ludicrously with foul letters, filled the air as I urged him on and banished him ruthlessly all at the same time. But his thrusting tongue, thankfully, didn't relent.

Flicking over my core as if he were the connoisseur to a deliberately fine cuisine, he ignored my less than inviting words as he worked me up to a blinding orgasm. But Justin being Justin couldn't just deliver the big bang without his own personalised touch. So just when I was about to float away on the highs he had provoked, the bastard pulled back.

"What the fuck, Justin!"

The furious diatribe that left my lips was better left unsaid. The deep chuckle that left his was better left unheard. I growled threateningly before tossing his laughing hide onto his back.

"Aria! Now look here. You don't want to do anything stupid...."

The rest of what he had to say faded abruptly away as his hands swiftly balled into fists, and he began to sing the same incoherent tunes he had wrung out of me only moments before.

Turnabout was fair play.

I bent my head and took him between my lips, tearing him away from this reality before deliberately sending him to another. But his trashing managed to dislodge me before I could achieve that feat. I was tossed back on my back with a vicious snarl before Justin buried himself deep, entering me in a single thrust, right up to the hilt.

I cried out in awe and wonder, my startled gaze meeting his determined one. His movements slow and deliberate, he moved to piston his hips and pound hard into me. Each enveloping thrust rammed into me with enough force to jar, rattling my teeth so that I bit my tongue, tasting blood, and cried out in distress.

"Shh, baby, I got you," murmured Justin huskily, even as he continued to pump into me ruthlessly.

The keening cry that left my lips had him hushing me again, murmuring soothing nothings on how he would give me what I needed and give it to me soon. I thrashed my head side to side, needing him to hurry it on. His long, hard strokes while pleasurable were too slow. I needed it fast. I needed him now. Lifting my hips, I met him part way, taking him in even as he thrust down into me. Our groans were mutual and heartfelt. Then, I was shoving him to the side, needing to be on top, to drive this encounter to an inevitable conclusion and drive it fast. I had no qualms in breaching any speed limits getting there.

Rising on top of him, I matched his wolfish grin with one of my own and proceeded to buck and swivel, riding him like an experienced bull rider at your average rodeo. Grinding my hips against his bucking hips, I rose and fell, riding him hard. His groans were audible music to my ears, urging me on. His hands rose to latch about my bouncing breasts, catching hold of my pebbled nipples and tugging hard to urge me desperately on.

I cried out in pleasure-pain that flooded down to my core, clenching harder about him as I grimaced in concentration, trying harder to derive absolute satisfaction. But then, the earth around me moved, and I found myself swivelled back to lie beneath him. Pumping hard and fast, his skillful thrusts turned rough and then sloppy as he lost all control of his movements and simply gave in to animalistic need. I panted hard, completely disorientated as his pounding hips all but drove me off the bed. Hanging awkwardly with my head off the sides and my torso pointing straight to the skies, I felt his thrusts lose their rhythm and then snap into a flurry of movements that set us both off like sparks to fireworks.

His heavy frame slumped down onto my own, thankfully pinning me into place and effectually stopping my slide to slump down onto the floor.

But my head, hanging over the side, began to stiffen my neck, so I lifted it to stare at Justin's delicious head, which was nestled on my large chest. I was glad I had what it took to cushion him comfortably.

I shifted uncomfortably beneath him, trying to ease down and bring my head back under the mattress support. But I was all but smashed into the mattress by his surprisingly heavy weight. Pinned down as I was, I could only appeal to Justin' s better nature.

"Get off, you ass. Let me up!"

Justin lifted a groggy head at that to gaze down lazily at me.

"Why?" he asked unrepentantly. "I like it better this way. I'm sharing the bed with the part of you that matters. I have all the best parts of you," he murmured appreciatively, before leaning down to tug at a taut nipple with his teeth, "with none of the nonsense that comes with your pretty head."

I reached out to slap the back of his head at that. He chuckled out loud before drawing away and helping me up. I rose onto unsteady feet and made for his bathroom on wobbly feet. A quick wash later, and I returned to find Justin already fast asleep. Having missed lunch for tea with his mother, and all these bouts of activity with Justin had my stomach groaning for attention. I left the slumbering Justin aside and made my way to the kitchen where I put together a quick meal and brought some in for Justin. I roused him from his sleep and ordered him to wash up then eat and climbed myself into bed to snuggle off into deep sleep.

The bright morning sun felt incredibly hot as it played into me from the large panelled windows that filled a whole wall. I winced at it, shuffling further beneath the covers and closer to the warm male body that was spooning into me.

Justin Kay.

Oh _my God!_

I turned to peer up at the reposed features of the most delicious man I had ever met. I shuffled around for a better look, drooling openly at his absolute beauty. Flicking out a tongue to lick at my lips, I realised I ached all over, and I was famished too. I had actually skipped dinner, busy as I had been in carnal pursuits with this man.

"Seen enough?" murmured Justin huskily as he abruptly flicked his eyes open before wrapping his arms around me to draw me close.

I grinned impishly down at him but firmed my chin. I wasn't about to go bananas over him, even if he was that delicious to look at. If I'd learnt anything about him in the past few hours, it was that the man was incorrigible and overly arrogant. He really didn't need my flattering him any further.

"I got to go," I said instead.

"Go where?"

"Home first, to change, and then work," I murmured, gazing at him adoringly. I know. I know, but Justin looked amazingly cute in the morning.

"What about my mother?"

"Your mother?"

"Yes. You know she has a wedding to plan."

"A _wedding?_ "

"Our wedding."

" _Our wedding?_ "

"Stop parroting me."

"Parroting you?"

"Aria, __ snap out of it!"

The last was accompanied by a rattling shake that jarred me. I moaned out pitifully. Not from the shake he gave me, but from the unbelievable events of the past few hours. I couldn't believe I had, at some point, unwittingly, unknowingly, and _unintelligently_ agreed to marry Justin. Or _had I?_

"Nope. There's no use giving me that look. There is no way out of this. My mother knows you. She _knows_ where you _live."_

"Is, ... is that a _threat?"_

"It's a fact! And for that matter, so do I, Aria. I know where you live too."

"You do?"

"I do."

I fell back, groaning in more pain. But Justin was undeterred.

"But more importantly, my mother knows _your_ mother."

Oh my God! That she did.

"I really gotta go," I managed to sputter out finally.

"Great, I'll see you for lunch."

I made an incomprehensible sound and rolled out of the bed. Shuffling around his apartment naked was unavoidable as I looked around for tossed around pieces of my discarded clothing. I was not about to cower around beneath a bloody blanket like some ancient Victorian.

I was saddled with fat and was not afraid to show it. Perhaps my unseemly bulges in the bright morning light might achieve what I hadn't yet managed—to set Justin Kay scrambling off running instead of me.

# Chapter 3

I made a rapid exit from Justin' s apartment, refusing breakfast or a lift, but only after I stopped by his car first to discover the handbag I had left there. Thankfully, all my files were in it. Perhaps, my encounter with Justin Kay yesterday hadn't rendered me completely senseless after all. But then, what could I make of my willingness to put myself out there and simply become his bride?

I shrugged off my more bewildering thoughts as I accepted his kiss of dismissal and returned it with one of my own. I headed out the building and onto the street sidewalk. It wasn't as if I were stranded in the middle of nowhere. Justin's penthouse was right smack on the water front, not all that far from where I worked, but I wasn't headed to my place of work. Nope, I was headed for my home and a quick change of clothes. Not catching sight of a taxi, I headed out to the curb and soon regretted my decision for not accepting a ride with Justin. Catching a cab in morning traffic was apparently next to impossible in these parts.

I scrambled through traffic on foot and made for the train station instead. My apartment block was on the other side of town, and I really needed to get home, ground myself, shower and change, eat breakfast, and then get back to work.

I hadn't a clue what was scheduled for today. My mind seemed strangely blank in that regard. I wasn't sure, but I think all that sex with Justin must have fried some brain cells. I mean, the man was hot, so I wouldn't put it past him.

I wouldn't put anything past him.

_How_ had it all gone so wrong?

I recalled vaguely my innocent intentions of getting him those land banks and settling a debt of sex without cause or reason, and before I knew it, I was _engaged_ to the man. He sure took punishment for slights caused to a whole new level if one could consider my taking advantage of his willingness to bed me while soused with drink. But I couldn't have imagined having had sex with him any other way. He was too way up there, and I was just me. Still, I should be glad, drunk or not, that night had been as memorable for him as it had been for me. Still, five odd years was a long time to linger before attempting a reconciliation. And to have that reconciliation end in marriage was even harder to imagine.

But all that had come about. And all just yesterday too. I shook my head in bewilderment, certain I must have fainted through some pivotal moment. One that realigned the fates and shifted the paths of my future.

And what was I going to tell my mum?

The buzzing sound was as incessant as it was annoying. I grimaced and shuffled through my handbag, looking for my damn phone. Groaning once more in despair at the sight of the caller id, I lifted the phone to my ear and managed a weak, "Hello, Mama."

"Darling? I have just heard the news. Oh my God! I am so excited for you. You're getting _married_ —"

Click!

I stared at the phone, appalled by my own actions. I couldn't believe I had just hung up on my own mother. How had she known anyway? And this fast too!

I grimaced again as my phone started to buzz incessantly again. I had to ignore the ringing phone. Instead, I tapped away a message on the screen, telling my mum I had to hurry and would get back to her later.

Much, much later.

My feet picked up speed, and all too soon, I was fighting my way in, onto the train. A short ride later, and I was among the throng of people marching out at my stop. I turned off toward the condo blocks nearby and made for the apartment block that had hanging gardens down its front.

Digging out my access card, I swiped myself in without hindrance and made for the lift. Tapping my feet impatiently, I urged it on, but like everywhere else, the morning traffic was at work here, too.

The doors opened to let out a slew of immaculately attired singles ready for work. With the block situated so close to the working city, no families lived here. The apartments were mostly leased by singles or unmarried couples. There were the odd few married or divorcees, but mostly, it was a block filled with eager beaver singles. The type that happily filed in the starting boxes for slots at the rat race.

I was part of that crowd. I was single. I was ambitious. I didn't believe in marriage—or boyfriends either.

Not after Dale. But I adored Justin. He made my heart beat hard enough to flutter right out of my heaving chest and get lost in the clouds in search of that blasted Cupid.

I entered the elevator and rode it alone to my floor. My feet were tired and leaden by the time I stepped out. I had to drag my weary body to my door and fumble with my keys to get in.

That it was just the start to the day didn't bode well for the rest of it. I flung my bags aside and then made straight for my unmade bed. The temptation to fling myself across it and sob my confused heart out was too strong to resist. So, I gave in to the impulse and did just that.

The phone began its incessant peals once again. I groaned between sobs and sniffed away my dripping nose as best I could before reaching out to answer it.

"He-hello?" I hiccupped pitifully into the line.

"Aria? Aria, darling! _Crying_ already? _For me_? We only just parted company. If you needed me that much, you had only to pick up the phone and call. I would have come right over and given you a shoulder to cry on and some heartfelt fucking at the same time."

I lifted the receiver away from my ear and did my best not to bawl my eyes out noisily at that.

"Go away, Justin. Just go!"

The man was impossible. The temptation to hang up on him was too great—only his voice was amazingly husky and sweet even if his words were coarse. The ass.

"Aw, baby, don't be like that," he murmured sexily into the phone, making me want to purr his name like a cat in heat.

" _Justin!"_ __ I groaned instead.

"You want me to give you a lift to work? I am all ready and was about to leave. Thought you'd appreciate the lift to battle morning traffic," said Justin, suddenly sober and business like. That he thought about me at all made my heart melt. Stupid tears washed down my cheeks again. He was beautiful: my Justin. Inside and out. Coming all the way across town in peak traffic to save me from the morning rush—I mean, who did that?

I blinked away more useless tears and cleared my throat before saying huskily into the phone, "Thanks, Justin. I'd love a lift to work. "

"Darling!"

"Huh?"

"Call me, darling. Nicely. "

"Da-darling," I stuttered, feeling overwhelmingly confused.

"Justin Darling!" he insisted.

"J-Justin D-darling," I stuttered.

"My Justin Darling," he murmured softly.

"Mm-my... what the _fuck,_ Justin!"

His sigh at that was audible.

"I'll be there in ten, so you better be ready," he muttered into the phone before hanging up.

I stared into the silent receiver. Ten? Ten minutes?

Oh _my God!_

Leaping off the bed, I made a mad dash for the bathroom. After the usual morning absolutions, I jumped into the shower and made a swift job of it. Then, I rummaged about my closet for that something special to wear. That office-wearing business suit that would somehow leap out of bounds for what it was designed to stun the lights out of one beguiled fiancé.

Unable to find any, I scrambled into one of my usual suits: a matching gray, knee-length skirt and jacket piece. I glared at my image in the mirror, regretting the zumba class I'd missed the night before.

Turning every which way, I examined the bulge that was my ample ass and thighs and grimaced in worry. But then, I recalled the bulges had served Justin well enough the night before, giving him an adequate perch on my person to hang onto so that he could hammer himself in at such exquisite angles.

The buzz on my phone told me my ride to work was here. I ignored my grumbly tummy and slipped into my high heels. Running a brush through my hair, I then ruffled my fingers through it for that tousled hair look, the only one I could manage in the given timeframe. I worked on my usual makeup and double checked my smoky eyes before swiping on my bright copper-red lipstick.

Slinging my bag onto my shoulder, I tucked my little, dangling pair of earrings into my lobe as I made for the door. The lift was empty on my way down. Having missed most of the work rush, I allowed myself to examine my look in the mirror, sucking my gut in and studying my image from all angles. Then, I applied more of the red lipstick and strode out onto the ground floor to go meet my ride to work.

Oh _my God!_

The explosive words left my lips on a gasp. The man wasn't pulling any punches, was he? Grinning behind the wheels of the hottest ride I will ever had seen was the hottest ride I had ever had.

I couldn't help my own besotted chuckle as I all but leapt up into the car beside him. Range Rover Evoque was my dream, and this one was custom fitted with chromium wheels, sports rims, and a steering powered by Justin Kay himself.

"Oh my God, Justin. What a ride!"

"Thank you. Thank you on all counts. And it's Darling Justin to you,... or Justin Darling. Take your pick. "

Justin muzzled his grin and shot a false serious look my way. I grinned wickedly back at him as he put the car into gear and pulled away into traffic.

"I have been giving it some thought, and I think I should come up with something a little more original instead of mere Justin _Darling,"_ __ I said simply.

"Oh?" Justin frowned out at the nasty traffic blocking our way.

"Yes! I'll run them by you, okay? How about Honey Bunny? "

"Hell no!" snarled out Justin, quite seriously.

"Cookie pie?"

"No!"

"Munchies babe?"

"Nope!"

"Peach love?"

"Fucking no!"

"Fuckmate?"

"You want to call me that in front of my mother?"

"Swollen Penis?"

"Oh my God!"

"Distended member?"

"You're creepy, you know that?"

"Cock Bollocks?"

"Stop!"

I grinned up at him, unperturbed by his outburst.

"I am trying to create the romantic vibe here, and you have lowered us down to rutting bulls," he murmured out tiredly with false distress.

I clucked my tongue at him in false sympathy and cooed, "Poor baby."

"Yeah, that'll do. Justin Babe!"

I bit back my groan at that. I couldn't believe I fell in so neatly. The man was good. Really good. The ride fell silent after that with me quietly venting and Justin quietly crowing at his win.

"I'll pick you up at one for lunch," said Justin as he pulled into the foyer.

"Sure, Justin Baby!" I mockingly cooed before I quickly got out. I was striding off through the revolving doors shortly after with a ridiculous grin on my face.

"Where have you _been?_ "

I bit back an oath as Cynthia hurried to my side. I had only just gotten in, my ass not even settled on my chair yet, and already, I was being plagued by the Cyn.

"I messaged David and Orlando yesterday. I was not feeling well," I said simply.

"One meeting in the morning, and you were gone the _whole_ day," said Cynthia, clicking her tongue disapprovingly.

"What part of _not_ feeling well do you _not_ understand," I snarled back threateningly. Cynthia was annoying in her need to dig and dig deep unnecessarily. Although her tenacious nose was never wrong in sniffing out deceit, I was not about to enlighten her to my whereabouts yesterday, or whom I was with, or whom I was doing or doing me, or anything else the like.

Justin Kay was still raw for me; the less who know, the better. Just then, my phone decided to ring. Throwing Cyn an unapologetic grimace, I thankfully lifted the receiver to my ear.

"Good morning, Aria Longbottom speaking. How can I help you? "

"You can get that delightful bottom to my office and explain to me what was decided at your meeting with Kay."

I cringed at the sound of my horribly inappropriate boss barking at me over the phone, but I did have to do some explaining, so I muttered shortly, "I'm on my way." Hanging up the phone, I grabbed my files and diary to head down to the bosses' domain. Shrugging off Cynthia proved to be sadly difficult, but a sharp corner later and several bends besides, I'd managed to lose her to a group of lost trainees.

I was huffing out of breath in my hurry when I crashed into David's office with a resounding thump.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I grimaced once more, closing the door carefully behind me. I looked up to find the elderly David Winthorpe, pompous and stately behind his desk, glaring at me from beneath his glasses.

"So what has been decided?" he questioned without ceremony.

That was just it. What _had_ been decided? Justin and I discussed everything that was irrelevant and decided on nothing at all, but apparently, no decision on my part was required in my marrying him, and so, taking a cue from that, I promptly said, "Oh he was ever so excited about the proposal, sir. He was fairly throbbing with excitement and more than eager to get started with all that plugging and ploughing. "

The lands were intended for farming, but that didn't stop my breath quickening from all the double _entendres_ that crossed my mind. My words sounded so dirty that I was practically panting with excitement of my own when the door opened to admit Orlando: my other boss. He was as arrogant and pompous as the first, only sadly much younger, hence not as distinguished.

He was, in short, a terrible flirt and a player.

His eyes swept the office and settled on me. As always, he, more than anyone, made me glad I was pudgy and unappealing enough not to rouse his attentions, for even with my unattractively plump form, I still had a hard time of it trying to dislodge his unwanted attentions.

His eyes narrowed interestedly on my heaving bosom, making me deliberately catch my breath. I'd rather stop breathing than have him ogle at me. I must have been turning fifty shades of blue, for I scratched at the surface of David's faint-to-the-point-of-nearly-non-existent empathy, and he promptly dismissed me.

I turned heel and all but ran for the door to gasp out a much needed breath. I leant over Mary, at the personal assistant's desk, and at her raised brow of enquiry, I muttered, "Ogling Orlando," by way of explanation.

At what promised to be an unexcitingly adventurous day, I wasn't all that surprised on reaching my desk to find my mum screaming out for attention from one vibrating phone. I sighed heavily, staring at it, knowing I couldn't avoid her forever, not with her already in the know about my supposed engagement to Justin Kay, bachelor of the year according to the local Cosmo's equivalent gossip columnist.

Things were moving along at rapid pace. I was already reeling from the backlash of it all. And the news wasn't even public yet.

But all my glaring seemed to have worked.

The phone fell silent suddenly enough.

I looked up then to lean back in my chair and stare unseeingly ahead. My mind went back to dwell on Justin Kay and his besotting appeal. He had me stupefied beyond reason. Why else would I have him dragging me along on this ride? Not a token of protest, even for something as foolhardy as _marriage._

We were barely acquainted, not in the intimate sense. I mean, other than the physical intimacy we shared, we were actually sadly out of touch with each other beyond the general gossips and occasional, more business than not, chats.

Five years and one shirtless smoulder later, and I had not only bumped hips with the guy more than once, but I was also bound to the man in forthcoming matrimony.

Strangely enough, my reeling thoughts seemed more than a little fixated with the bed side of our relations than anything else. The marriage didn't seem a real enough threat, but the urge to take him again, in the buff and all mine, was an undeniable temptation only the devils could be responsible for.

Sadly, life changing revelations were not appropriate to the workplace. Like a chaotic jumble of sounds designed to send the recipient off into bedlam, all hell broke loose about the communication technology around me.

I gasped momentarily in shock before, with a surreptitious look around, moving swiftly to start disconnecting it all.

The word was obviously out. Mother dear's patience only lasted so long. I spotted caller ids from friendly aunts and from those I knew but had never met. There was nothing like a wedding to bind family together and draw out the reclusive withering vines to blossom once more in the bosom of family.

# Chapter 4

I raked my hand through my already tousled hair and then proceeded to shut my mind to it and ignore it all. I had work to do, and now was as good a time as any to bury my head in it.

My first task at hand was to draft out a formal letter to Justin Kay, acknowledging his acceptance of my proposal—the property deal, not the marriage vows. No one actually proposed those vows anyway. It just sort of happened. Just like this property deal apparently.

I spent the rest of the morning tapping away at the keyboard like a lunatic. One would think I was some ingenious composer the way I had draped myself all over the keyboard. But a day away from the office left a pile of emails and correspondence to get through, and though pumped up as I was for some action, I knew Justin was not here to give me any. So there really was no time like the present to sort it all through.

But then, lunch did make its need felt. A missed breakfast and recent upheavals had a way of making my stomach rumble earlier than the appointed hour.

I picked up the phone, staring at its muted screen to note that _he_ __ hadn't called. I'd received calls from every Tom, Dick, and Harry, but not from one Justin Kay. Who did he think he was anyway? I spared a moment or two, scowling uselessly at the screen before me before my fingers involuntarily reached out to dial the number that was beckoning me.

I gasped at my own temerity but then was too late to do anything about it for the deep husky voice I had secretly so longed to hear was already rumbling in my ear.

"Darling! Just the woman I was thinking about," he said smoothly into the phone with toe-curling effect. "Missing me already, are you?"

I shivered with delight but then said snarkily, "I'm hungry. I won't be able to wait 'til one for lunch."

His laugh was rousingly sensual in my ears. "That's just as well. I haven't been able to dislodge mother from the chair in front of my desk all morning. This is as good an excuse as any. See you at The Talking Point in fifteen minutes. I could use a good helping of Italian cuisine. You did a naughty thing, keeping me up last night and making me miss my dinner, too. I need sustenance you know. Growing boy and all."

_Growing_? I was still grappling for a suitable put down when the line went blank. The arrogant ass!

Fuming mad, I rose to my feet, grabbed my bag, and stomped off to the designated eatery. I couldn't believe his gall to accuse me of,... and then to say all that in front of his mother,... and The Talking Point was maybe fifteen minutes to get to for him, but it was a good half an hour's walk for me. Which part of I-am-hungry was it that he didn't understand?

Anger, however, was good in that it helped one march the distance without much being aware of it. I was lucky I was mad enough, for I seemed to take no time at all to get to my destination and swing in through the doors of the classy joint before making my way to the table already occupied by two.

Arrogance was hard to live with, especially arrogance that came from actual achievements. That made me doubly glad Justin Kay, my fiancé, inherited it all the good, old-fashioned way. Arrogance included.

I studied the tilt to his head and the sardonic smirk he wore on his lips as he indulgently listened to his mother rattle on.

"Ah, there she is! The love of my life!"

Beaming megawatts of unbecoming smirk, Justin rose to his feet to bow magnanimously before me. I gritted my teeth and barred them just the slightest bit for his sake, and the rest, I widened for the true culprit behind recent events—his mum.

"Aria, darling, so good to see you again. I was just talking to your mother this very morning, and we both agreed this Saturday is best for the engagement. I was just telling Justin here..."

Whatever else she said got muted out by the roar of distress that filled my ears, blocking out sounds altogether. I was only thankful my screams had been limited to my head. My wide beam of welcome wavered before it flickered out altogether. I tossed a desperate and bewildered look at Justin, only to have him return a rueful one as he moved to pull out a chair for me.

I sat down abruptly, feeling more than a little winded.

"I hope you don't mind, darling, but I took the liberty of ordering the food earlier," said Justin with a charming grin as if that were the most important thing they had been discussing without me. Why was I here at all if my meal and my wedding were already being decided?

"What would you like to drink, darling?"

"Huh?"

"The waiter," said Justin pointedly. "He's waiting for your order."

I threw him a frumpy, flabbergasted look. _This,_ he waits for me to decide. My choice of drinks. I turned a relatively calm face towards the waiter and said, "Surprise me."

With barely a flicker of reaction, the waiter was gone, and his efficiency had to be admired for an unusual looking drink was placed in front of me only a short while later, possibly from an order that had been returned if the speed of the service was anything to go by. I took a tentative sip and had to choke back a cough from the strong alcohol content in the deceptive looking pink drink. I raised wary eyes to meet those of the waiter. The sympathetic glimmer in his explained it all. He was aware of the choice of conversation at this table, and why wouldn't he be? Mrs Kay was hardly whispering her plans for my upcoming nuptials.

My meal came shortly after, but I found my appetite had taken flight. Picking about my plate, I listened on with ever growing horror to the mammoth of wedding plans being laid out before me. Mrs Kay and my mum had apparently been busier than me this morning.

The conversation flowed freely between mother and son with me only chipping in when required. I felt exhausted just listening to them.

"Well, first things first, we need to get you a dress," said Mrs Kay, staring purposefully at me. "With only four days left, we're running it pretty close. Would you like to make the selection? If not, I will need your measurements."

"I-I..."

"46-34-48," volunteered Justin incorrigibly.

"What? No!" I exclaimed indignantly. But Justin's knowing smirk didn't subside. I glared at him before reluctantly agreeing to select my own dress.

"I'll take her shopping with me. I need a new suit, too. It is my engagement, after all. Plus, we need to get a ring," said Justin, volunteering his services readily.

I mumbled some suitable reply to that then promptly rose to my feet.

"Umm,... I gotta go. Work and all," I muttered, feeling more than a little tipsy from my drink.

"Yeah, I need to be getting back, too. I'll drop you off."

I shifted impatiently, waiting for the Kays to finish with their farewells, but then, Justin's hand slid down my back to settle around my waist, guiding me out and holding me steady at the same time.

I walked hesitantly by his side, torn with a multitude of conflicted emotions.

"I-I can manage," I mumbled out as we cleared the restaurant's entrance. Stepping out into the open, I dragged in a desperate breath, needing the fresh air to chase away that feeling of suffocation.

"Don't make this difficult. You know you need me," he said matter-of-factly. I ignored the clenching in my stomach at the thoughts that statement invoked.

"I don't! I don't need you," I lied.

"Well, if you don't _need_ __ me, you can't deny that you at least want me," was his sardonic reply.

I gingerly got into his car, feeling the effects of the alcohol running through myself. Buckling in with some difficulty, I turned to face Justin, needing to have a few things said. But that was about when Justin's mouth slammed over mine, wrenching a deep throated moan and several more besides. I was clawing and climbing all over him only a short moment later, so when the hammering on the window happened, I actually yelped out in surprise.

With a muffled oath, Justin wound down the window at his mum's insistence.

"None of that here, dears. Don't you have work?"

I groaned and buried my head in the crook of Justin's neck at his mum's unwanted advice. Listening to him fend her off, I couldn't help nuzzling further and taking deep breaths of his delicious fragrance. So exotic. Just like him.

"Aria? Aria? Mother's gone now," said Justin softly in my ear. I murmured something unintelligent in reply, and his chuckle vibrated through me.

"You're really intoxicated, aren't you? Not fit for work I think. I should just take you home with me, and we can finish this off from where we left off."

It took a moment for his suggestion to penetrate my passion-fogged mind, but then, I was leaning back and scrambling off his lap.

"Work. Work!" I muttered, knowing I had to get back or else risk losing my job.

I settled in and buckled up, ignoring his open laughter at my expense, and watched with undue admiration as he turned his attention to driving. He looked great behind the wheel with his strong hands gripping at steering and his manly presence all close and intoxicating.

A short while later, and he stopped before my place of work. Leaning over me to pull open the glove compartment, he dug out a Snickers bar and handed it over with a flourish.

"You didn't really eat much. Here's a snack to chew on until tonight when you can feast on me to your heart's content," offered Justin with his usual mischief.

I was torn between being touched by his thoughtfulness and outraged by his audacity. So, it was with a split mind that I clambered out of his car and waved him off.

It was only when he was gone, and I was already in the elevator, heading back to my floor, a suitable response suddenly struck me. But it was too late. That was becoming the lament with this entire Justin Kay episode. Too late to do anything but marry the man, it seemed; at least that was how my alcohol-fuzzed brain perceived it.

One thing was for sure; I realised with some conviction, alcohol and Justin shouldn't be mixed. If I wanted to come ahead in any of our future encounters, I would have to ensure I kept the two separate. Separate from me, that is. Not necessarily from each other. But then, recalling the incident five years ago, alcohol and Justin didn't mix well either. He wouldn't have bedded me if it had. And then, we wouldn't be marring now either. I shook my head, more than a little confused by it all.

Sighing unhappily, I relegated the past to the past and focused instead on my future. And the one thing in my future that I knew I couldn't avoid was work.

So I did what I was paid to do: buried my nose and kept it rooted in my list of things to do. I was fairly proud of my accomplishments when, at seven that evening, I stepped out of my office and took my-weary-self home.

Home where food waited for me. Home where bed called out to me. Home where the heart is.

Literally so, as I found to be the case, when I walked in to find Justin Kay lounging on my chaise.

"Justin!" I gasped. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you even get in?"

His smirk was wide and cocky. Brilliant pearly whites glowed beneath the lamplight.

"Well, you know us Eton boys cannot all be trusted. Sanctioned delinquents are what we are," he murmured wickedly with a mock British accent. He had been to Eton for but one term. The reference was uncalled for, and my frown clearly said it. With an indifferent shrug, he added, "I picked up the skill to pick locks and then some back in the good old days. It's apparently like riding a bike. You never quite lose it."

I'd forgotten about Justin's chequered past. He had undergone a rebellious teen much like anyone else, only with the backing of well-lined, deep pockets, Justin, in more than a few scraps, only to be bailed out by his reproving dad. His teenage years had been wild. And his family had relocated to New York for a bit and then on to London. I saw him sparsely around then, usually at the annual family gatherings. With my mom and his being school day chums, it was inevitable that we rushed over to greet them each and every time they flew down to Australia.

But despite that, Justin and I were barely acquainted. Other than a passing greeting, we had rarely exchanged more than a few words. Justin had been tall, thin, and gangly, in his teens, before the bulk of muscles set in and made him attractively lean instead. And I had been his opposite. A chubby bub that never really lost her baby fat.

We had been poles apart in every aspect, making me doubt our relationship now. What were the chances of something of value eventuating from this already messed up relationship? Could we even call it that?

"Are you going to come all the way in or remain in that doorway?"

I shuffled forward, a little warily. I found I didn't quite trust his cheerful grin. The man had to be the devil in disguise, luring me into traps like he did. Perhaps he'd done something to me even at that party on New Year's Eve. Crazy things happened at the brink of a new year. Crazy things happened around Justin, too.

I reluctantly let the door drift shut behind me. Its ominous click had the hair-raising effect of trapping me in with the devil. I watched him now as he confidently rose to his feet, his grin sly and cunning, his pace sensual and unhurried. He knew he had me cornered. There was nowhere to run or hide.

Justin ambled across, closing the distance between us. My feet automatically retreated 'til I felt the cold, hard wood of the front door pressed into my back.

The glint in his eyes spoke volumes of his intentions, sending shivers after shivers to spiral down my back. My head tilted back to better keep my eyes on his as he continued to move closer still. The warm puff of his air fanned across my face, and he leant down then to brush his lips roughly against mine.

That was when I realised I was already up on the tips of my toes. He held me up against the door with his weight pleasantly pressing into me.

"I should take you up against this door," he whispered to me huskily. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? You'd like me being naked, pressing into you, naked, against this door."

I felt my throat thicken and had difficulty gulping down desire as the vivid images his words invoked flashed through my mind, sending scalding heat flushing through my body. Lust pooled unbidden in the crevices between my thighs. I shivered and trembled, watching his own features contort with rising need.

My tongue flicked out in anticipation, needing his lips on mine and branding me with his essence.

But the loud beep that sounded by my ear was a shock down my system, warning me of unwanted guests. I jumped forward, meshing myself against him and pressing more intimately against his chest and into his arms.

"Ignore it," he breathed out shakily, effortlessly entrancing me into subservience until the loud coarse sound of my mum rang through the air, jolting my lips away from almost brushing his.

"Aria...?"

"Oh, God!" I breathed out. "It's my mum!"

"Aria Longbottom, you open this door right now. I know you're in there!" came my mum's shrill cry over the intercom.

I uttered a heartfelt groan and allowed my head to fall back with a resounding thud.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed painfully. Justin's laugh was warm and inviting as he leant over to raise his hand to rub at the sore spot behind my head. I found myself leaning into his hold and resting my cheek against his palm as his other hand rubbed me better.

But the incessant beeping was a rude interruption to a budding romance.

I reluctantly pulled away from his warm hands and went to press the button that would open the door below and let my mum in.

"I estimate we have about five minutes," muttered Justin.

"Huh?"

"Let's not waste it, shall we."

Warm lips enveloped mine, sending me spinning off into the realms of raw, thrumming passion. My breath caught as his tongue delved in hungrily to tangle languidly with my own, but the sensual heat of his actions proved too much for me, and I went wild to have his tongue thrusting hard and deep into me. My hands rose to bury my fingers in his thick, fair hair. I clutched fists full, tugging ruthlessly before kneading gently in tender ministrations.

The pounding on the door behind my hack shocked me back to reality. I realised then that I had missed the buzz of the doorbell entirely.

Justin's hands roved over me on the pretext of straightening up my rumpled clothing as his mouth reluctantly eased its plunder to softly withdraw, leaving my lips moist, swollen, and wanting from his attentions.

I moved to turn then, intending to open the door to my enraged relatives, but Justin's hands on me only lingered. Shifting his open palms, at first, to allow me ease of movement, they then fisted tightly over my aching boobs. My head fell forward to hit the door as the breath left my lungs in a whoosh.

"Let go," I breathed out finally.

"Make me," he whispered in my ear unrepentantly.

_Not again._ I groaned out loud and stepped back into him. He really was a quick learner, for his foot evaded my stomping ones, and he squeezed his fist harder, drawing a squeak of pain from me.

"Promise me," he murmured softly before sighing appreciatively as my backside rubbed into him, further inflaming his already engorged member.

"What?" I breathed out shakily.

"You and me... naked,... between the sheets,... tonight," he got out between pants of excitement as my hips continued to rock, pressing him up against my ass crack.

My response to that was to place my hand on the door knob and turn it, allowing the door to click open.

"I don't... respond well... to threats," I muttered before I pulled the door wide open with a jerk, thrusting Justin backward in response and dislodging his hands on my breasts in the process.

I had in place a wide if breathless smile as I said, "Hi, Mama!"

# Chapter 5

"Mama!" I cried out before flushing red. It always embarrassed me to call my mum 'Mama' in public, but old habits die hard. She'd been Mama all throughout my growing years and 'mum' didn't feel quite right.

I wrapped my arms around her plump frame even as she smothered me in a loving hug. Looking past her shoulders, I realised she was not alone. Dad had come with her and my little brother, Tom, and older sister, Janet, too. The whole damn family was here.

I really shouldn't have been so surprised. News of my pending nuptials was bound to stir up the family circus, rousing them out of their couch-potato lifestyle long enough to bounce happily with some excitement. My family loved me as I loved them. But they _were_ mad.

There was no other name for it.

"Dad!" I allowed him to smother me too before I passed him on toward the unsuspecting Justin, who was even now being choked for breath by my mum.

Mum and I sadly shared the same plump genes. Only my more slender form, at 38-34-40, not Justin's bizarre measurements of my proportions, was not quite up to her standards but only because her waist was really non-existent. Still, she was a good preview of what I would eventually become. I turned to peer over my shoulders at Justin's unguarded reactions. He'd known my parents since we were kids, but I doubted he ever evaluated the implications of my mother's proportions with regards to his future wife. My being in that role was fairly new and all.

My dad, however, was not fat. Large and tall, he made Mama and me feel unnaturally small.

I moved to embrace both Tom and Janet together. Tom was still at university, but he already had the build that showed he would be taking after Dad. Janet, while being of my height, was disappointingly thin. As for coloring, we were all dark haired but for Janet. Janet inherited her light-blonde hair and pretty, gray eyes from my mum's side of the family. It was odd that she was deemed fit to inherit the best of everything from both sides of the family.

But I never gave it much thought before. Not 'til now,... when I saw Justin beam a smile of greeting at my pretty sister. At twenty-six, she was single and not too young for him.

An acute sense of Deja Vu assailed my senses, sending me reeling back into the past to a pivotal point in time where I introduced my pretty cousin, also from my mother's side of the family, to my then fiancé Dale.

"Congratulations, darling! I am so excited for you."

I looked on at Mama's enthusiasm with some reservations.

"Thank you, Mrs Longbottom," Justin replied for me, beaming widely. Looking up at him, one would think he was glad of our upcoming wedding. I wasn't exactly sure if he were or why he was if he were.

"What's for dinner, Aria? I'm starving!" Tom didn't wait for my reply, but instead, he hurried off to the kitchen to ransack it for food. I felt my own stomach rumble.

"We were just heading out for dinner. I made reservations at Nasties." Once again, Justin rose valiantly to the rescue.

" _The_ Nasties! Oh my God! That's the place to be seen. I heard the waiting list to get a table is at least six months!" exclaimed my all-knowing sister excitedly. I turned clueless eyes to Justin at that. This was his ball. He rolled it, so he should field it. And he did.

"What can I say?" He shrugged his broad shoulders with false modesty. "I am a man of vast influence."

I couldn't help my unladylike snort at that and was rewarded, strangely enough, by Mama's frown. Her very severest from her repertoire of well-deserving frowns. I lifted a brow at her in a 'what did I do' look, but Mama ignored it to move into the living room and settle down on the chaises with a determined look. I turned to Dad, but he only shrugged his shoulders, as clueless as me.

Our suspense, however, was kept short, for as soon as we all settled, Mama began her usual lament. The one I had been hearing over the past five years. The one that turned me all shades of prune. The one about how I lost Dale and would never find another man willing to take on the job of wanting to marry me. For the first time, the desire to actually marry Justin burned strongly in my chest if only to silence this particular rant once and for all. I didn't see why she had to bring it up now. Why in front of Justin? Never mind that we had all, throughout the years, thought of him as a distant limb of our family. Having known the Kays for that long made that inevitable. But why must my own mama malign me to him now?

I sat there unmoving and silent, wincing at each horrid word she uttered. The usual flow of how I was too fat to land myself a husband and that she herself had been reed thin, just like Janet here, when she met and married Papa. Then, there was that fact that she'd been close to half my age when she tied the knot, and since Dale had dumped me, she had actually thought I would die an unmarried spinster. She was grateful! Grateful to Justin for proposing to me and saving me the misery of an unwed life. She was grateful to him for finally having a chance of having grandchildren.

The little self-satisfying speech could have droned on, as was Mama's custom, had Justin not swiftly stepped in to nip it in the bud.

"I applaud your motherly concerns, Mrs. Longbottom, but I assure you Aria and I are a match made in Heaven. The gods themselves had a hand in it by ridding the very devil in her unseemly life with Dale to bestow me a gift from the gods. I can't take any credit for the actions of a lord that's above us all, but I thank you all the same. I thank you for your _kind_ regard."

We all turned to stare agape at the smooth flow of utter rubbish that Justin had just uttered. Mother, of course, had been silenced and had managed only one word by way of a response.

"Eh?"

The conversation quickly deteriorated after that.

"Right! We really ought to get going." Justin took charge efficiently enough to rouse my family off their comfortably settled arses and march them efficiently out the door. Mother had regained her speech along the way and proceeded to spout off a list as she went. A list that covered everything from the wedding preparations that she and Mrs. Kay were making to embarrassing instructions for me not to bother with contraception if I were already sleeping with Justin because she wanted grandkids and wanted them real soon.

Come to think of it, I didn't think we _had_ actually bothered with contraception.

A round of farewell hugs took place after that, initiated by my hero Justin with one well-aimed squeeze that effectively left Mama too winded to say anything more. Then, after a sympathetic hug from Dad, a grinning one from Tom, and a pitying one from Janet, they were gone, leaving _me_ feeling winded as if I had just made it through a hurricane.

I turned gingerly to take in Justin's reaction to my incredibly _mad_ family.

"Well, that went awkwardly well," he said blandly. I stared into his carefully expressionless face with pure incredulity.

Taking the few steps necessary to close the distance between us, I stared up at the odd glint in his eyes as they twinkled down at me with false solemnity.

"You want to know a truth?" he asked slowly. At my hesitant nod, he sighed heavily before saying, "You're a lousy kisser, Miss Aria Longbottom."

"What?"

His grin was only more provoking.

"I am not!"

His knowing smirk didn't waver.

"Indeed, if I were, this would be the first I'd heard of it."

"Let me prove it to you, then," he said, inching closer still. In a swift move, I was wrapped up in his arms and mashed up against him. Now, I was panting out of breath entirely.

"How... is... this... proving... anything?" I panted out amidst melting kisses.

"Shh,... you... have... to... concen... trate."

_On what? Him?_ I was already doing that; a little too much as it were.

"Stop!"

I managed finally to shove him off. Standing there, breathing hard, I frowned up at him. "You fiend!"

His irrepressible smirk was back in evidence.

"Come now, darling," he cajoled soothingly. "You can't claim you didn't enjoy my demonstration."

"I can, and I will!" I exclaimed indignantly before reaching out to lug my bag off the sofa. I was wise to wait 'til I was already within the safety of my room before I peeped my head out of the half-closed door and claimed, "You, sir, are a horrible kisser!"

I slammed the door shut and laughed out hysterically at his dismal lunge to stop me. Whistling softly to myself, I first put in a call for the pizza and then disappeared into the shower where I broke into a full blown discordant aria.

The pizza arrived within the hour and still piping hot.

With a grunt of dismay, I dug out the change from my purse and resolutely opened my room door. Peeping out, I spotted Justin, jacket and tie discarded and lounging on my chaise as if he owned it. The baleful stare he turned my way was anything but happy.

Clad in my comfortable pyjamas, I inched out with my chin held high then strode boldly for the front door, driven by sheer hunger. I swung it open to be greeted by the mouth-watering aroma of barbecue chicken and bacon family-sized pizza. I could actually return the beaming wide smile of the cocky delivery boy, who knew he had his tip coming. As much as I wanted to bust his balls simply because I could, my thankful stomach wouldn't let me.

I found myself handing over the change, tips and all, without qualms and receiving the bounty that would satisfy my hunger and then some.

"I am not sharing!" I declared instantly as I turned to face off Justin Kay circling me and my bounty like an eagle eyeing its prey.

The box was swiped out of my hands a shocking instant later.

"Good! 'Cause neither am I!"

I watched in horror as he dug out a juicy slice, dripping with mozzarella, oozing down his fingers. His wicked grin widened into a gaping cave, circled with sharp-edged teeth that he promptly sunk into that slice.

"Nooooo!"

I lunged for the box even as I cried out my dismay, but he swung both himself and the pizza box out of reach so that I went flailing forward and out of control.

"That's it! I am so not marrying you!"

Heaving a deep breath, I burned pinpricks of fire that got discharged into steam when my fuming gaze clashed against his cool blues.

"Well, if you're going to be like that about it, I suppose I could share," said Justin magnanimously.

I grunted a meaningless response then grabbed the box right out of his hands. Moving past him, I made for my chaise to sit down and prop my leg up on the ottoman in front of it.

Justin settled down beside me and muttered, "Nice PJs."

I scowled at him already busy chomping hard on his next slice of pizza, while I hadn't even gotten started with my first. But I had a ritual I followed, and that usually involved a raspberry Fanta accompanying my pizza and a good show. I had to do away with the Fanta since Devouring Justin didn't give me time for a visit to the fridge, but I would not compromise on my good show.

I took a bite of my first slice as I got busy channel surfing, looking for something to settle on. Preferably something romantic or adventurous or both. That was when the remote got swiped right out of my hand.

"What are you doing?" Justin yelled, throwing me an incredulous look. "That was the footy finals playback you just skipped past."

An hour later, and I sat there still, in a daze. Munching the last of the cookies I dug out after we demolished the pizza and drank the whole two liters of Fanta besides, I saw my entire future flash before my eyes as vividly as if it were displayed in full high definition on my TV screen.

Night after night of the same for the next twenty odd years. Twenty only, because I doubted I could survive this any longer than that.

*****

The alarm was loud, piercing, and not mine.

With a grimace, I turned to nudge the snoring male beside me. Oddly enough, the finals of the rugby match had served only to return Justin Kay to his usual insatiable horny self. Something about the game itself must act as an aphrodisiac to its male viewers, for Cynthia had claimed just such an ending to nights spent with her boyfriend watching the game.

It didn't make sense to me, though. But then, nothing made sense anymore, especially as of late.

I heaved a heavy sigh as Justin's long and limber frame fell back onto the mattress with a grunt. The silence that reigned was lovely but short lived. Gentle snores rose from the once again slumbering man beside me.

I suppose he was tired out. He had over exerted himself on numerous occasions last night. The game had not only invigorated his libido but also stirred his creative side. Justin had been inspired in his modes of taking me from one height to another.

I was worked all over and under and had the many bruises, aches, and pains to show for it. Still, the pleasure had been enough to make me consider marriage to the man yet again. If these were the perks to game night, then perhaps, the game itself was not such a bad thing.

I grinned stupidly up at the ceiling, thinking about the many daunting things I had done to Justin last night. Kay had not been the only one inspired last night. But I doubted my inspirations came from the game. It was likely from the pizza more than anything else.

"We should get up."

I realized then that the snores beside me had quietened down. I turned to face him and was slammed anew with the shock of his handsome good looks. His blue eyes were surprisingly bright this morning. Probably the after effects of a night well spent and little rested. His wavy, blonde hair was wildly tousled from my mishandling, and his lips lush and swollen from my lavish attentions.

He looked good enough to be sucked again.

My mouth watered in contemplation. But it wasn't my lips that reached across to close over his. Instead, it was his, reaching out to slam across my own.

My fingers flexed and raked across his back then as I automatically arched up against his taut, muscular abs with bruising intensity.

A moment later, his devouring lips left mine as he peeled himself away to position himself at my entrance. Then, he was slipping into my wet folds with too much ease, and my muscles clenched to hold him in tightly as he flexed his hips to draw back out. I made his exit painfully difficult for him and took fierce delight at studying his clenched jaw as he struggled for control over his raging needs.

" _Aria,_ " he panted my name almost pleadingly as he gave up his struggle to plunge back in mid-exit. His hips moved recklessly then, wildly bucking and shoving up against me as he slammed himself into me in a rhythm without tempo.

I cried out his name frantically as my own frenzy rose inspired by his.

" _Aria,..._ _Aria,..._ _Aria_...." His voice turned hoarse from chanting my name between ragged breaths. I was racked by a tidal wave of pleasure, caught unaware, and swept overboard. My screams of his name then resembled the cries of the desperate striving to survive the onslaught to my senses. It was only the echoes of Justin's replete moans that told me he had been right there with me every step of the way.

Complete and beyond satisfied, I raised heavy, languid lids a good while later. The intensity of our coupling had shocked me senseless. Turning my gaze, I found Justin's stunned gaze latch on my own.

Gathering me close, Justin tucked me in his arms, nearly smothering me in his fierce embrace.

I shivered and clutched at him as tightly.

We didn't say a word, feeling strangely raw from our sexual encounter. It had been more than mere sex. Thinking back later, I actually wondered had it ever been simply sex.

That we were explosive together was without question. In bed or out, we seemed to combust together in a fusion of heat and arousal. Be it a passion of sexual or temperamental nature, I believed we would always fuse and ignite.

We hadn't exchanged any words of love or expressed feelings for each other beyond those of lust, but the way he held me to him and the way I clung to him spoke volumes about how much we meant to each other. At some point during our short reacquaintance, we had progressed beyond the physical to something more, or perhaps, it had happened five years ago.

The tinkle of my alarm chose to sound then. It was relatively soft and soothing compared to the jarring tones of Justin's alarm. I snuggled back deeper into Justin's embrace after ignoring the initial jolt from the alarm, but the prickle of Justin's budding beard rasped me out of a mindless stupor.

I reached out to swat him into behaving, but behaving for Justin was really just misbehaving; so much so that I was gasping for air a short while later and squealing like a pig as his wickedly seductive, long fingers turned devilishly ticklish.

My second alarm chose to ring then, saving me from a certain, gasping death. I turned admonishing eyes to his laughing ones and was smothered this time by his suddenly wild kisses.

I shoved reluctantly then firmly at his chest and drew a deep breath when he finally released me.

"Alright. Go then," he pouted at me prettily. I grunted at him in return as I collapsed back on my side of the bed to simply breathe.

My fumbling hand reached out for the alarm, and I snapped it off into silence. I rose then and got out of bed to stretch. Justin followed me, yawning widely.

"I'll shower first," said Justin. "I'll be quicker."

"You're your own boss. You can afford to be late," I disagreed sleepily.

"Guess there's only one way to settle this."

Reaching out, he caught hold of my pebbled nipples to tug me up against him painfully. I cried out.

"Still going to disagree with me?" He quirked a wicked brow at me enquiringly.

"Jerk!" I spat out as he chuckled openly at my disgruntled face.

Smack!

I stood stock still in suspense as Justin jerked to a standstill. I turned my glaring gaze away from his backside, where the clear stamp of my hand was a visible smear of red on its cheek, to stare at my still smarting hand in some semblance of shock at its temerity.

Then, with a yelp of excitement I couldn't avoid, I ran out of the room and made for the kitchen as an equally smarting asshole took off to chase after me. I screeched with alarm as his hands almost closed around my arm. but I managed to evade and dodge his advance, and then, a quick feint later, curtesy of the footy match viewed unwillingly on the telly only just last night, and I scored a win, racing straight into the bathroom and slamming the door behind me and in front of one smarting bull.

*****

"You're late!"

I groaned out loud then looked up at Cynthia. An ever present sense of Deja Vu was not only becoming overwhelming, but overwhelmingly overdone.

I murmured some random excuse then made my escape for my office. I had project deadlines looming and little to no time to complete them all. I plunged right into work and stayed most of the morning immersed until the alert came on screen to remind me of a blasted management meeting. I hated those more than anything. They were about campaigning for support and favors more than anything else, and I was the least politically inclined.

I stopped by the ladies' room on my way to spruce myself up for the upcoming battle of wits and cunning. I had little of either, so I deliberately left a button undone and made do with my tits stealing the show.

It sure sent the scrawny gals tottering on heels, hightailing it out of the way, and I managed to secure the avid attention of every male management in attendance. Still, blasted Justin Kay remained top in my thoughts, nipping away at my moment of glory.

I was sailing out of the conference room an hour later, feeling rather more dispirited than usual. It all seemed so silly. These pointless battles, cleavage displaying, and needless taunting, yet the world was such that it thrived on the ridiculous. The more obscenity, crudity, the more the appeal.

My defection to my office was held at bay by the very worst of them.

David _fucking_ __ Winthorpe and Ogling Orlando.

"How was the management meeting?"

I looked up at Winthorpe, not wanting to face Orlando, whose gaze I was sure was fixated on my bosom.

"Just fine and dandy!" I exclaimed with false cheer. "I had actually wanted to make the announcement of my pending nuptials, but then, I thought I should let you both in on that secret first."

I stared up at Orlando, seeing the unhappy red flush to his ruddy cheeks at my announcement. The bling of a ring wasn't all for show. There was a certain amount of undeniable power that the band of metal on my wedding finger would afford. An invisible protection that kept philanderers at bay.

I felt that protection now like a warm glow, and the band wasn't even on my finger yet.

Justin Kay.

His name was ever a great sigh leaving my lips as I accepted the congratulations afforded me as my due and then turned my back on the two bosses.

# Chapter 6

I was knee deep in corporate muck moments later when the call I had been waiting for all morning chimed for my attention. I peeked at the caller id and couldn't hold back the wide grin that stupidly tugged at my lips. By now, the office grapevines had done its magic; the whole office knew about my wedding. It just went to show the bosses were the biggest goss of all.

"Hi," I found myself saying meekly into my mobile.

"Hi? The love of your life is calling, and all you manage is a miserly _hi?"_

I glared at the phone.

"What do you want, Justin?" I demanded forcefully.

His sigh was audible.

"What do you want, Justin _Darling_!" he prompted shortly.

I groaned inwardly at that then managed, "Nothing. Nothing at all. Only my name isn't Justin. Yours is."

His groan was audible.

"Fine. Here, talk to my mom!"

"Hello, dear? I just wanted to remind you your dress fitting is at six this evening. Don't be late."

"I won't." I listened to her chat on for a bit then felt my excitement shimmer again when Justin came back on the line.

I shivered, hearing his voice rattle something off to his mother before the line fell silent. I knew he was there listening. Waiting for me.

So, I said it, unable to help myself anymore.

"I miss you, Justin _Darling_."

"Damn!"

My lips twitched as I heard his frustrations clear down the line.

"God damn it!"

I grinned stupidly, staring at the heap of papers in front of me.

"How the fuck am I supposed to get on with work _now_?"

I chuckled openly at that.

"Darling Justin," I murmured tauntingly and laughed out loud at the explosive language that erupted down the line.

"God, I hope your mother didn't hear that rant," I said unsympathetically.

"You're evil. Taunting me like this. Pure unadulterated evil," he huffed over the line at me.

"I sure am, _darling_ ," I crooned over the line.

"Right, I am coming over," said Justin abruptly.

" _What?"_ __ I yelped in panic.

"I'll be there in twenty," he confirmed my horror. "And I'll bring lunch."

"You _can't!"_

I was swiftly rose to panic that only escalated over his next words.

"I am going to wine you, dine you, and fuck you senseless," he murmured almost angrily before adding, "in your fucking office."

I gulped in shock, staring at the phone in complete horror. I was instantly reduced to a puddle of nerves at his words, not all of which were in opposition to what he proposed. The very thought of it was exciting. Hearing his voice was exciting. I couldn't sit still and was all but squirming in my chair with mounting frustrations of my own.

The ringing of the phone was unusually shrill. I stared uncomprehendingly at the landline before I realized it was an office call.

"I have to go," I muttered regretfully into my mobile. "I have a call coming in on the other line." I was filled with disappointment. I had been all willing to indulge in some phone sex with Justin, but work sadly called. "You can't come over for lunch," I murmured softly before regretfully adding, "or for a fuck either."

"You have to eat," he murmured pointedly. "If not your office, then mine."

I stared, torn by his demands and the need to answer the damn call.

"Alright!" I exclaimed in a hushed tone, feeling strangely as if I'd agreed to the demands of the devil himself.

"Alright, _what?"_

"Alright- _lunch_. _Here."_ I didn't say more. I didn't dare. There was no knowing what he would do if he fully knew his effect on me. Work pretty much flew out of my mind after that, and I sat there mostly in a daze and daydreaming of Justin Kay. I wasn't sure what nudged me out of it, but when I did, I stared aghast at the time. It was less than an hour to lunch; to when Justin Kay would march through my doors to feed me _and then fuck me._

I wouldn't put it past him. He was rather impossible that way.

I scrambled up from my seat, unable to do anything as mundane as work anymore. I grabbed my purse and made a mad dash for the ladies' room. I needed to fix my appearance and touch up my makeup, fluff up my hair and fix up my dress.

I stared at my profile with some dissatisfaction. I looked like a stuffed-up prude. There was nothing remotely enticing in my button-up top, modest knee-length skirt, and matching jacket.

I reached out to undo another button. The one I had undone earlier was not enough. Not enough to make Justin go wild with lack of restraint before he tore the offending garment right off me. My hands trembled as I undid yet another.

I untucked then re-tucked my shirt, feeling awfully unisexual doing so. How was I going to feel sexy in this? I was overwhelmed by inadequacy, looking into the mirror. Groaning out loud, I ignored the odd looks thrown my way by others visiting the ladies' room before I set about righting my makeup.

This was ridiculous.

I had already bedded the blasted man more times than I could count in the past few days after a drought of five years. Surely I should be beyond anxiety over matters like my appearance.

I applied my brightest lipstick then dug out my eyeliner. Applying both, I grimaced at my reflection.

I looked like a hooker!

I swiftly buttoned up my top and slunk out of the toilets with my head held low. I didn't want anyone else to see me with my whorish makeup on. Nope, that right was reserved strictly for Justin.

I muffled an inwards groan.

Slamming back into my office after what seemed like an unusually long walk from the toilets, I groaned at the sight of my messed up desk. How was I going to even eat on the thing, let alone entice Justin into indulging in some dessert on it?

I set about grabbing piles of papers and stuffing them into folders. There was no time like the present to get on with sorting. I was tucking the last of the documents neatly out of sight when I glanced up to find Justin settled across on the seat before my desk and staring at me with heated eyes.

I followed his train of vision and took in my disheveled appearance. My shirt had been unbuttoned in the aftermath of a rush to clear up, and I had actually popped several buttons besides. My hair plopped in front of my eyes, and I rudely shoved it back. I wasn't certain, but as I was sure, fate was having a good laugh at my expense; my lipstick was likely smeared as well. I dropped my lashes in momentary embarrassment then, unable to help myself, lifted that mascara darkened length to stare out of my own soft-brown orbs at _my_ Justin.

" _Justin!_ "

Unknowingly, I breathed out his name in a soft, longing sigh.

His eyes darkened perceptibly. Then, he rose to his feet and strutted out to round the desk and stand in front of me.

"I don't know about you, but I wasn't exactly hungry for food. So I didn't stop on the way to get us any."

I stared at the empty desk in awe. Amazed at my powers in cleaning up and overcome with the fact there was no food.

"No food?" I asked, staring at him in bewilderment.

The slow shake of his head was strangely seductive, sending me leaning forward toward him. I stumbled over my own feet and landed pressed up against him. It was a swoon-worthy move that had me niftily plucked out of the air and meshed up against him.

The door slammed open.

The loud squealing could only have belonged to a pig,... _or Cynthia._

"Oh my God! I just heard the news. You're getting married!"

Her excited pitch was gratingly false.

"Is this _him_? Is this _your_ man?"

I looked up pleadingly at Justin. He didn't disappoint.

"My Godm but you're burning up! Positively feverish! I can't believe you defied doctor's orders to turn up to work today. Do you want a relapse? Is that it? Have you no consideration for the virus you might be inflicting on your poor, unsuspecting office mates?"

The impressive tirade went on even as Justin set about gathering my phone, bag, and jacket before proceeding to bundle me past a suspicious looking Cyn. I threw her the most croaked up look I could muster and even managed a false sneeze right in her face. Then, Prince Charming was ushering me out of the dragon-fielded tower and onto his awaiting carriage. I made googly eyes at him. I couldn't help it; that right there was reason enough to have me lose my heart over him. My very own suave agent 007 rescued me right out of a day at work.

"My place, I think," he murmured softly before reaching out across to buckle me in. His lips hovered hesitantly over mine before he drew back with great reluctance.

"I can't touch you until I get you safely behind my unit doors."

I saw the visible tremble to his hands as they gripped at the steering wheel and understood the strain he was under. I held my breath and did my best to ignore sexual tension so high that it no doubt seeped into the very fabrics of his car.

I was, by now, surely a pro when it came to riding in a tension-filled vehicle. However, unwinding the stiffened muscles after still took some getting used to.

I pried lose my desperate grip on the leather beneath my ass, certain I'd left behind the claw marks of my high-gloss nails. But it was better embedded in the vehicle's upholstery rather than in its handsome driver.

I stepped out onto the curb to welcome the chipper, cool air against my heated cheeks. Justin was swiftly at my side before moving ahead of me, no doubt to lure me in.

I followed in his wake like a mindless sex drone—here only to obey his every sexual command.

We were in the familiar confines of the lifts to his apartment—only this time, we made it a point to stand _apart_ and _refrain_ from looking at each other. At least I did. Him, I wasn't too sure, not if the pinpricks of pure heat I felt channeled at my semi exposed bosom were real.

I squirmed helplessly as the blasted lift took its time in carting us to our destination. Then, we were there, and Justin was inserting his key into the lock. The ominous click only served to notch up the heat to ridiculous levels.

I was already prying myself out of my gaping shirt and then kicking off my skirts before I was even fully through the door. Justin must have been of the same frame of mind, for when he rounded flush against me, we were skin to skin and inflamed.

His lips fell onto mine just as I rose to take him in. Our tongues tangled, plunging mindlessly in satisfying measures to slake our thirst after a long drought if half a day could be constituted as long.

I wrangled for control, tippy-toed and walking him backward into his room. My panties got torn off along the way and my bra shoved aside. I released my grasp of him long enough to shove him back and watch him fall onto his bed with cat-like satisfaction.

Then, I shrugged out of my restricting bra and simply pounced.

We rolled and tangled, each battling the other to do the utmost damage. Moans and muffled groans escaped our open-mouthed meshed lips in the incomprehensible language of lovemaking. Then, without ceremony, Justin slipped into my moist folds. Rolling us to our sides, he released my lips to lean back and thrust his pelvis harder into my own. I lifted a leg to drape over his hips, holding him close as he rocked sluggishly into me, never withdrawing completely nor penetrating fully.

He was clearly lost to all need for technique, and I didn't care either way for it. My aim was him. Him and only him, however I could have him. I strained forward, holding him so tight and making his thrusting movements irregular and extremely unsatisfying. But I couldn't let go, my need for his closeness warred with my need for completion.

So, he took the decision from me. Reaching out to grip at nipples still raw and aching from the assault of the great suction that was his mouth, he tugged at them painfully, making me draw back involuntarily.

He didn't release his hold despite my cries of distress and wiggles and jiggles to affect my release. Instead, he pumped his hips harder, murmuring soothing nothings and reaching out to blow at my aching tits.

"Feel better?" he murmured gently between swift changes of rapid-fire thrusts to languid strokes.

I shook my head mutely, unable to do more than gasp as his mouth leaned down between us to latch on my aching nipple and bathe it with his attentions. I shifted to offer him the other, and he rotated his attention between each sore mound. All the while, his hips continued to surge forward, shoving his length into my soaking folds.

We were both craving for release yet unwilling to let go of this aching sweetness of his sordid lovemaking in order to achieve it.

"You... need... _this_."

The heat flared out in the intensity of his gaze. His hips pistoned harder, emphasizing what _this_ was.

"You... need... me... in... you."

I could barely keep my half-mast eyes open enough to drink in the passion of his. He made me drunk with desire—drunk with need. He was just so intoxicating.

"Tell me," he urged insistently. "Tell me... what you... _need."_

I opened my mouth and moaned pitifully.

The tug on my breasts turned vicious, eliciting a cry of pain from my swollen lips. His mouth closed over mine, silencing me before lingering for drawn out taste.

"Shush, baby," he murmured gently at my whimpering cries as his lips left mine to explore my face. But I couldn't shush. His hands were still mauling my breasts. His hips were still pistoning relentlessly into me. I couldn't do anything but moan for more. More ruthlessness, even as I revelled in his languid, if punishing, love making.

My mouth drifted along a path of its own, unheeding of punishment if I continued. I had discovered, you see, his sensitive ears. My tongue flicked out at his lobe, turning his whimpering pleas to dark, vicious threats. I moaned into his ear as his nasty words only fanned my irrational excitement.

"You really want me to do that to you? Do you?" His angry threats made me restless. I realized I did want him to do all that to me. _All that and more_.

I reached out a wet tongue and stuck it right in. The howl he released was in time to his surge within my core. His pistoning hips grew frantic. I grinned victoriously at uncovering his obvious weakness. He would always and forever be putty in my hands because of it.

But I only rejoiced on that thought later. Much later. For I was too busy right now being fucked out of my brains by one raging stallion.

****

I decided some time later that I loved cuddling best.

The aftermath of turbulent sex was warm and comforting with a good cuddle. Spooning was the very epitome of a good cuddle. I rubbed myself further into the unresponsive nether regions of a continent called Justin.

Justin Kay.

I should stop sighing over his name. One of these days, he would actually hear me, and then, where would I be? His lap dog for life, obeying his every command without a wince or a whine. I couldn't let him know the power of great sex that he held over me. I was a free-thinking, independent woman. Leg shackles aside, there was no way he was binding me to him for life.

"Come give me a kiss," he murmured tiredly from behind. Obediently, I shuffled over to lean in and press my lips lovingly to his. We made out lazily for some time after that, both unwilling to let go of each other yet too tired to do more.

His idle fingers flipped absently at my tight nubs, totally oblivious to the pleasure pain in each sting they delivered. I winced, gritting hard so not to let him hear me moan about it. I was still sore and was threading a fine line to not stir him up into another backlash of raw passion.

Stifling a groan, I tried to shuffle my torso back out of reach. But his hands were quick, fingers splaying out to wrap firmly about my aching mounds. Justin looked down condescendingly at me. I was given a warning glare. One I heeded completely so held myself still.

His gaze didn't waver, holding onto mine 'til my back ached from the strain of leaning back to keep sight of his.

The grin that tugged at his lips then was rewarding. I beamed back a silly smile in return before Justin reached down to cover my lips with his own again. Then, I forgot myself. And more importantly, I forgot him.

Sure enough, my memory lapse was rewarded with Justin slipping in my folds unguarded for another run at the mill. We ground together then pounded and rummaged around before pummelling each other within inches of our lives.

I could only conclude we were both pugilists in our past lives. Pugilists and wrestlers, as I was certain many of our manoeuvres I had seen before—on _ESPN_.

This time, our coupling was a mixture of long and leisurely strokes, interspersed with frantic, short, sharp pummelling. I was certain when I floated down from the great highs later that I was bruised inside out and beyond recognition.

So I was doubly surprised to later find my reflection nothing short of glowing.

"You know," murmured Justin, a short time later. "I have always wanted a dog."

"A dog?" I shifted my head to look up at him, inadvertently dislodging his caressing fingers from where they had tangled up in my hair. Did he really mean the canine version, or was he merely referring to a sexual position? The first would have been totally out there, but the second was certainly doable. "What do you mean?"

"As a kid, you know. It has been something I always wanted," he said, shrugging his broad shoulders beneath me. I rolled with the wave then smiled down at him as I propped my head on my hand.

"But didn't you actually have one? A brown and black something or other?" I wasn't against dog,s but I didn't actually know a whole lot about them.

"You remember Gary? I had him as a pup when I was ten." Justin looked down at me consideringly.

There was nothing pup-like about that dog. He had been big—huge almost. And terrifying. To me at least. So, of course, I remembered him. He'd made barby day at the Kays a noteworthy experience. My frowning countenance must have communicated some of my thinking across, for Justin squinted off into the distance, clearly synchronising his memories to my own.

"Oh, that's right. He used to chase after you," said Justin, remembering before he broke off chuckling. I slapped his chest and wrinkled my nose at him, clearly not amused.

"He was a Rottie Staffy crossbreed. A little boisterous in his youth, but I loved him."

That stilled me. Not his words but the way he'd said it.

"What happened to him?"

"A road train smashed right into him."

I stared at him in shocked horror.

"It had been my fault. I had gone down to the Western Australia mines with Dad and had taken Gary along with me." He ran an absent hand through my tousled hair, no doubt trying to smooth down its rougher edges. "I was stupid. I hadn't been thinking. I threw a stick too far. It went right across the road. But the bend was sharp, and the road train travelled along it at high speeds, clearly not bothered about anything coming its way. Gary didn't understand it. He got spooked and wanted only to return to me. He made a run for it and..." His hands tightened painfully in my hair. "I have never kept a dog since. I couldn't," he said brokenly. "But with you here with me,... I think, I'd like to try."

His blue gaze was intense as he stared straight into mine. I stared back, feeling a unique mixture of protectiveness and aggression. I didn't like knowing he suffered. I didn't like knowing he was hurting.

"Yes," I said. "Let's get a dog."

I offered him a weak, unsteady smile of encouragement. It didn't matter if the dog were twice as large as Gary or chased me twice as hard. Justin had to have one. He simply had to.

# Chapter 7

"Getting married obviously agrees with you," said Mama, beaming widely up at me. "You should have taken my advice and done it much sooner."

I restrained myself from the eye roll I felt coming on. There had been one too many provocations in that regard; what with the Longbottoms and the Kays all gathered en masse and squeezed within the four walls of this elegant boutique. I glanced sympathetically at the harried attendant who had bravely taken us all on.

"Don't be a silly, Mama," chipped in my little sister unhelpfully from the back. "Can't you see it is this incredible creation that is making her look so good? _Anyone_ would look good in that. Engaged or not."

I sighed heavily at my reflection staring pityingly back at me. We were both in this together—my reflection and I. We had each other's backs. We would pull through it all together and be all the stronger for it.

I glanced every which way at my figure, clad in the amber gold swath of silk. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't me.

Then again, what _was_ me?

I shifted restlessly, only wanting it all over and done with. I didn't want to admit it, but I had an undeniable urge to rush on out and back into Justin's arms. Things made sense in his embrace. This whole ruckus actually looked inviting when viewed from within his arms.

But he was not here. In fact, he was much to be blamed for my being here and suffering at all. Not only had his mother actually organized the whole dress selecting affair, but she had invited my mama and sister to join in. But the very worst of it was Justin's desertion. He had driven me here then left—simply left me in the merciless folds of the family. How evil could he be? And to think I was actually setting off to marry that,... that....

"Would you like to try on the organza now?" piped in Janet unhelpfully.

Really? Organza?

I would look like a floaty, frothy bubble in organza. There was no way I was letting that fabric touch my person. Janet, as always, only looked at her skinny frame in helping me choose my clothing. I would really do better without any of them here at all. Mrs. Kay had on a matching, amber two piece and was busy staring at her profile. Janet was clearly eyeing the maroon organza for her own petite frame and Mama,... Mama was still too busy staring balefully at me as if I had done something wrong.

I turned around to catch the assistant's eye. I nodded towards the dressing rooms. Once out of sight behind the curtain folds, I caught the hand of the poor, bewildered woman and tugged her after me to lock us both in the changing cubicle.

I turned then to look at her terrified face. I grimaced what I hoped was a passably comforting smile at her before saying, "Look, you have my measurements now. You know what I look like. And you most certainly know the difficult family I have to please. This is your field of expertise, so tell me what I should wear. No, show me what _you_ think I should wear. I will try it on here, and we'll close the deal." I moved then to unlock the door, urging a swift departure and telling her to be quick about it.

I regretted not asking her to unzip me first before sending her off. Spending much of my waiting time shrugging out of the dress, I was glancing balefully at my ungainly figure when the assistant popped back in, carrying an elaborate creation. It was long, pale, and mustard green, surely the color of the swamp. But the fabric was exquisite; it featured intricate lace and bead works and was form fitting, too. I shuffled awkwardly into its silky depths, with some assistance of course, and was surprisingly pleased with the end result.

It was nothing short of _me._

"I'll take it!" I beamed a happy smile at the attendant then allowed her to help me shrug out of it.

Engagement dress down; now, there was only the engagement itself to go. With it only a day away, I didn't have a long wait, for which I was exceedingly thankful, as the butterflies in my stomach surely couldn't be borne for much longer than a day.

****

Dinner was Italian—a quaint pasta place around the corner where the Longbottoms and the Kays gathered to roast in the heat. I lifted the thin fabric of my blouse to fan myself hard as I stared up the stubborn reverse cycle vents overhead.

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" Justin queried the waiter sweating profusely before us.

"No," he said, shaking his head before lifting a clutched serviette to mop his damp brow before he added in thick bush accent, "The repairs can only be done tomorrow. It's after hours now."

"Well, we are starving, so at least hurry along the food," said Justin, his own Aussie accent drawing out into a ridiculous drawl.

The waiter stepped back and rushed away to carry out his orders as the table of relatives erupted into an abysmal display of noise pollution. I met Justin's blue gaze over the hub and found his fixed on mine with an unusual serious intensity.

I quirked a brow inquiringly up at him, and he nodded his head toward the exit. I rose immediately to my feet. The outside was looking amazingly inviting at this moment.

We were out the door and halfway down the block, intent on making our great escape before common sense caught up with us. I stopped then to fall back against a cool, brick wall and take in deep, calming breaths. Justin doubled back two paces down and joined me. His stance relaxed as he stood, looking down, drinking me in with his eyes. The sultry sounds of jazz belted out slow and sensual from the club next door.

I stood there, basking in the dim lights strewn across the streets from the pale glow of its neon signboard. The air was still—hot.

The change in temperature was unexpected and then not unexpected. At this time of the year, the glow and heat of summer beckoned. And in the season's change, bitter chills and sweltering heat could both mold together in a day. Today was nothing unusual.

What was unusual was Justin Kay and me. As unusual as night is to day, as frost is to heat, as magnificent is to paltry. Looking at him now, all lazy, smirking, and casual elegance, I was reminded once more of the zumba classes I kept on missing. An utter waste of hard earned money.

Looking at me now, a wicked smile tugged at the corner of his luscious lips, matching the incandescent glow to his blue eyes. He was positively, connivingly evil. The devil incarnate. There was no other logical reason for him being so irresistible. I couldn't possibly liken him to an angel, not after experiencing a round or two in his bed. There had been nothing angelic about him there. And here, in the dark, he was surely a demon. Darkly sensuous and impossibly irresistible.

I shivered.

"You look like you need a hug," he murmured gently, contradicting his handsome devil image. I sighed and reached out to tug him close. It didn't matter—angel or demon—he was all I wanted. All I needed.

His hands were warm on my back, molding me closer 'til he was squeezing me breathless. But I didn't mind. The hug felt great. Who needed to breathe anyway?

Apparently, I needed to if only to stop the light-headedness that swamped me from merely being in his arms. I lifted my delicate nose out of his shirt front and stuffed it instead at the crook of his neck. Sniffing hard at his tantalizing scent, I breathed a happy sigh of relief.

"You're so delicious," I murmured absently.

"You need food," he murmured laughingly in my ear as I continued to nuzzle into him.

"Hmmm," I murmured appreciatively.

"I haven't exactly told you this, but I want you to know... I am happy... with you and I. With us. I can't wait to make you my wife."

My throat thickened, and I found myself all choked up hearing those words. It was not a declaration of love, but in many ways, it was so much more.

"I am happy, too," I said simply. I was surprised to find it true. "I am happy with you."

I was, too. In his arms was only bliss. His arms now tightened about me. We stood there like that for a while, held in each other's arms and nothing more. It was warmer being held like this, but the heat no longer mattered. The sweat pouring down our backs meant nothing.

"There you are!"

Janet's squeal was, as always, an annoying interruption. "The pizza is ready!"

We unwound our limbs from each other enough to allow for the slow walk uphill. I didn't notice the slight slope. I was still too wrapped up in my contentment with Justin.

But Janet's next words, as we approached the restaurant, shattered that peace.

"Oh! You'll never guess who walked in after you left. Dale and Linda! Mama asked them to join us. Isn't that exciting? "

I followed silently behind Janet's peppy steps into the dingy restaurant where the mouth-watering aroma of our dinner failed to raise a rumble of appreciation in my empty stomach. I couldn't help turning accusing eyes at the cause of my missing appetite.

"Dale." I bared my teeth in a not so welcoming smile and turned to encompass Linda with the same look. There was no way I was affecting two separate smiles for each of the assholes. They could share the misery of the one I did offer or slink off with none at all.

"Aria!" I found myself in the unacceptable position of being on the receiving end of an unwanted hug from the abomination that was my ex—Dale. Then, to make matters worse, his lips landed on mine in a moist, smothering, puke-worthy encounter.

I was actually thankful to Linda for not so subtly nudging him out of the way to embrace me instead. She dropped me a kiss, too—one on each cheek.

I was seized with an overwhelming desire to immerse my face in disinfectant _and_ get a facial. One from Justin would do. Instead, I pulled the twitch in my cheeks into a wide, teeth baring-grin that hopefully warned them off from indulging in further assault on my person.

"I can't believe you're getting married!" Linda gushed at me with what was surely false enthusiasm. I saw through her and definitely saw through her choice of words. What did she mean, she can't believe I'm getting married? Does she think it's an impossible feat altogether?

I watched Justin get accosted by the two next. He fared much better than I, dodging all slobbering altogether. But that was more by luck than actual finesse. Dale naturally was not about to kiss him. He didn't swing that way. Not as far as I knew anyway. The kiss assault on me had been forewarning enough. Justin niftily sidestepped Linda's advances so that he all but cowered behind me out of reach. They had to make do with a handshake.

I was torn between admiration over his dodging skill and jealousy that he had gotten off scot-free. I shouldn't have to have been the only one who suffered here. But meeting Justin's gaze showed me he was unsympathetic to my plight. While he didn't quite grin openly at my expense, the twinkle of unfounded humor was unmistakable.

I took one of the two seats available. With added company, two more chairs had been situated at our table but far apart from each other. For the first time in five years, I found myself seated next to Dale with Linda on his other side as lucky Justin was swift to corner the only other available chair at the far end.

I eyed his good fortune resentfully. Some people just had all the luck.

Resolving to stay mute and eat fast so that this horrendous dinner would be over quicker, I took my seat with good grace.

_In a_ way, I was fortunate, for Mama had taken the conversation lead, sparing me the need to say anything at all.

But Mama was Mama.

So naturally, she thought it fortunate that Dale and Linda would be there for my engagement, and she went on to express her gratitude for it.

I did my best. I really did. I did my best not to squirm in outright embarrassment over the whole situation, but my stubborn cheeks remained decidedly flushed as I bit into my slice of pizza, opting to demolish it by hand rather than arm myself with a knife and fork. Sitting this close to Dale and Linda made my holding a utensil of any kind hazardous to their health.

The meal dragged on... and on.

I found, after a few forced bites, my hunger came back with a vengeance, and in doing so, enabled me to blissfully forget the occupants of the dinner table as I got busy eating my scrumptious meal.

I finished my dinner too soon. Eating quickly proved to be a poorly calculated plan, for I found myself stuffed to the brim and idle besides.

The idleness, I suppose, could have been borne but not the full stomach it seemed. Not especially when Dale seemed bent on making conversation and decided on a bile-inducing topic of discourse.

"I am glad," said Dale, grinning warmly up at me.

"I am glad you're getting married. Linda and I have always felt a little bad about the way things ended between you and me, but I am happy to see you're finally moving on. Even if it did take you five years to get over me," he added with a light chuckle.

If that wasn't a puke-worthy comment, I didn't know what was. I didn't want to embarrass myself further and actually relive the contents of my stomach on his well-deserving face, so I gulped down hard before my panicked gaze scrambled away to the other end of the table where Justin sat contentedly chewing the last morsel of his meal. His fork clattered to the plate as his gaze locked in on me.

He was on his feet an instant later before he rounded the table to look down urgently at me.

"My God, Aria! I had that teleconferencing with Houston that I needed to get to tonight. I can't believe I had completely forgotten it. Let's go. I have twenty minutes to get home and online."

I stared up at him, completely bewildered, before I realized this was Justin rescuing me from Dale... _again._

I beamed up a heartfelt smile and was up on my feet in an instant. I bade my goodbyes while Justin dashed off to settle the bill, and then, we were off, arm in arm, with me tottering happily at his side.

I must be unusually dense, for I didn't instantly get it. But after ten minutes or so in the car with Justin, it became clearly apparent. He was _angry_ —with _me_.

The stiff jaw and crumpled forehead were a dead giveaway. His heavy breathing only emphasized it further.

"Are you, ... are you upset?" I stuttered out meekly.

"Upset? About what?" His voice was hard though he mockingly denied his obvious anger.

"I don't know," I muttered unhappily.

" _Don't you?_ Don't you really? They were walking all over you, and you did all but lie flat on your ass to be trampled on. I didn't like it! I fucking don't like it!" he spat out furiously.

The whole atmosphere became explosively charged in the small confines of the four-wheel drive vehicle. In hindsight, I should have waited 'til we were back home.

"You're exaggerating," I feebly deferred. I wasn't _that_ bad.

"I could have gone out there and bloody stomped on you, and you would have only smiled at me demurely, not even bothering to tell me to _stop_."

I turned to stare at him, aghast. That made a horrifying picture. He made me sound like a mat. A freaking doormat!

"I'll have you know I have flayed into Mama countless times," I declared boldly.

His chuckle was mean.

"It's not your mama you were freaking besotted with."

That just rubbed me raw. _But_ he had it right. Five years was absurd. Especially for an asshole like Dale. But it hadn't been about Dale. Those five years had been about Justin. Not that he needed to know that. I was already doormat enough for him; no need to roll out the freaking red carpet as well. But as always, my temper got the better of me.

"For the fucking last time, I was _not_ moaning over losing Dickwad Dale for five fucking years. I was too absorbed over losing _you_ to give _him_ more than a cursory thought."

"Losing _me_? _Losing me?_ You walked out on me. You freaking ran away. You didn't lose me! "

I groaned feebly at that. Word play _? We were having our first fight, and he wanted to do wordplay!_

"Lose, ran, what does it matter? It's in the past. Let's just leave it there," I muttered quietly.

"If it was in the past, you wouldn't have let him say what he did and get away with it. You wouldn't let any of them walk all over you like that. You would stand up to them," he said quietly with a serious undertone that I found incredibly sexy.

Shaking my head at my inner thoughts, I said in reply, "I don't say anything, because I'm not bothered. I don't bother, because they don't mean anything to me. I don't care one way or the other what they think of me."

It was true; there wasn't a single person at that table I wanted to impress.

"Not even me?" asked Justin softly with quiet menace.

Except him.

The car pulled over to plunge into a drive that led to the underground parking. Justin's place. I was kinda glad we landed up here. Justin's place was way better and more spacious to accommodate a good old-fashioned fight. I threw open the car door as soon as it slid into the park and was glad to escape its suffocating confines. I couldn't believe not too long ago I thought the Evoque luxurious and damnably sexy. But at that moment, both the car and its owner needed my hidden expertise in neck wrangling. Not that I had that expertise, hidden or not. Not that the car had a neck either.

I stomped on my heels, a painful experience, and made for the elevator ahead of Justin, too furious to see the change that overcame him on trailing after me.

If I had looked carefully at the mirrored walls of the lift on entering, I would have seen the anger was gone from Justin's face, and his eyes were trained on my bouncy bum that insistently jiggled with each angry step I took.

But it was my furiously spinning around to face forwards and catch sight of Justin's ogling eyes shooting up to catch the last bounce of my heaving top that sealed my fate.

The doors closed behind him as he stepped forward, crowding in on me. I didn't realize it at first, but when my back hit the mirror, my eyes jolted up in surprise to snag his.

The glint in their blue depths was unmistakable. The sardonic curve to his ever-present smirk became invitingly sensual, and my mind turned predictably to mush.

"You're looking terribly hot. Maybe you should strip," suggested Justin with false casualness. I gasped out loud in bewilderment before my temper shot up to the rescue.

"You'd have me strip _here_? In the _lift_? Where anyone could join in or watch through the _security cameras_?"

My voice rose with each word 'til I all but snarled out the last two.

His open palms smashed onto the mirror on either side of my head with enough force to almost shatter it. Luckily, it didn't. It had obviously been built to withstand—with something like this in mind.

"I don't freaking care. The whole fucking world could see you buck naked, but nothing is stopping me from giving you your just desserts!"

"My just... what? What are you going on about?"

The rest of what I had intended to say ended abruptly as a ripping sound rent through the air. The air felt strangely cooling and somewhat refreshing, for the instant it took me to realize what the _freak_ had done.

I followed his own astounded gaze to train my eyes on my heaving bosoms. My very much exposed bosoms. I couldn't help it; not the very female yelp of dismay nor the hands that rose immediately to clutch at my torn shirt.

I looked up then to find the blue gaze of my would-be fiancé looking anything but repentant over his actions.

The door behind him clicked open just in time, saving his ass from what was coming to him. Not that the opening doors deterred it at all from happening. Nope, the delay was just that: a postponement of the inevitable. 

# Chapter 8

I retaliated in kind, my hands reaching up to rip open his shirt. The feral grin he shot me was my reward for my bold actions, but I didn't stop there. My hands latched instantly onto his waistband, swiftly undoing his belt and then unbuckling his jeans and drawing down his zipper, all the while keeping my gaze trained challengingly on his. He didn't disappoint. He turned around tauntingly to afford me the view of his well curved, exquisitely formed, delicious piece of ass, clad in a well-fitted pair of jeans. I reached out with a vengeance.

"Ouch!" he mock grumbled at the involuntary sting.

My flaming open palms swung back to slam forward again, this time with more effort, and I was rewarded a yelp in earnest then. But then, he shot me an unrepentant grin over his shoulder. I narrowed my eyes in intent and bared my teeth in what was very possibly the most wicked grin ever to cross my face. He accepted my challenge with another grin and jogged back, his eyes silently urging me to keep up with him.

I steadily met his backtracking strides. Matching him pace for pace, I advanced intently upon his swiftly retreating form. Only it wasn't fear of reprisal that sent him scooting backward but the anticipation of the assault to come. Mine over him.

The door clicked open behind his back, allowing him to stumble back into the quiet elegance of his home. I strode in boldly after him. Finally, allowing the tattered shreds of my shirt ends to fall apart and even going so far as to shrug out of it as I swiftly reached back to slam the door shut and automatically locked, I advanced on my retreating prey once more.

Stalking, I decided, was fun, but I must not have been doing it right if one considered the amount of pleasure Justin was deriving from my advancing form.

I reached back again, this time to unhook and unzip my skirt. I shimmied out of it as I went, sending it flying off with a high kick.

His wolf whistle was low and tantalizing but not as cunning as my seductive stride or the delicious pout I wore on my moist lips. I watched Justin's tongue flick out to wet his own with some anticipation.

But I was not having it. This was my scene of seduction and my means of extracting punishment.

"Strip!" I ordered with whiplash consistency. A sharp sting before the bite and round it up with a kiss him better. It was the recipe for sure destruction, and at this moment, that was all I desired in bed: a complete demolition of our senses in pursuit of pleasure.

Articles of clothing began to fly every which way as Justin reached out to loosen and remove them. I watched with burning heat, shifting in uncomfortable awareness of every inch of skin exposed from each item removed.

My mouth was watering, so I gulped down hard several times before he was done. Then, for some reason, a shift in power happened. Or perhaps I had been deluding myself that I had power at all. Whatever the reason, I found myself suddenly the prey as Justin moved forward, stalking me with predatory intent.

I didn't really know why I retreated back, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would have said it was the glint of quiet menace coupled with unadulterated lust that shone clearly from his expressive blue eyes.

I gulped down some more before desperately turning to make a run for it.

I had no doubt I would be in a world of pain if he caught me.

I panted hard, dashing around his furniture, trying to evade him. Running around in my undies was disconcerting but not as difficult as doing it in heels. I found myself teetering off balance as his finger snagged onto my bra strap. A snap later, and it fell loose before sliding off altogether.

We both stood there in shocked silence. Justin gazed on with raw appreciation, and I moved instinctively to cover up. Then, his gaze swept up to clash with mine in renewed determination. With a yelp of pure fear, I took off again to skilfully dodge his advances, though I doubted it was all the doings of my skills. It was more likely his own distractions that kept him just a pace behind at every point, allowing for my victorious cries on escape and his grunts of dissatisfaction over the near misses.

"Running won't help you," he warned threateningly, his chest heaving from heavy breathing. My gaze dropped down to indulge in distractions of my own before I huffed out my own husky response from behind the safety of the couch.

"Why not? It has been helping thus far."

We had arrived at an impasse. Having been around the sofa a couple of times already, I could safely claim it offered no solution to my current predicament. In fact, it may even have served to whet my appetite for more. Perhaps being _caught_ was not such a bad thing. It would certainly serve to relieve the insistent ache at the apex between my legs. I shimmied uncomfortably as my own lust-filled eyes settled on Justin's hooded ones, sending a blast of frosty shivers and raising instant goose bumps over my heated skin. It was an erotic contrast. Frosty heat.

I was unaware of the moan that slipped from between my trembling lips until a deeper, darker echo of it came back to greet my ears.

I took off then and made a blind charge for the bedroom door. The intent had been genius in its simplicity. _Get in the room and lock the door behind me._ But running blind as I was, with all my senses attuned and working on overdrive on the naked and aroused man panting hard after me, it was inevitable that my disorientated sense of direction had me crashing into the door, boobs first, instead of gliding smoothly through its wide, inviting elegantly framed open gap.

"Ouch!" I yelled as I fell back with a heavy slam right on my ass.

"Are you... okay?" Justin panted down at me, clearly out of breath. But it wasn't all that running that rendered him breathless. Having all his blood rush down to his engorged member could have that same effect too; that lightheaded feeling of insufficient air.

My gaze rose to fix hungrily at that part of him. I lost my train of thought then, and apparently, he did too, for we both simply panted hard, gazing stupidly at each other. _We were supposed to be angry with each other about something._

I think.

"Here. lLt me help you up," he murmured hoarsely before reaching out both hands with a menacing pincer-like intent to get his fingers latched onto my pebbled nipples.

"Oh, _fuck,_ no!" I yelled and swiftly scrambled out of the way to rise to my feet on my own without his _help_.

"Why? You still need your punishment. Don't think you'll be getting out of that," he whispered huskily, still heavily turned on and hung in a bad way.

I eyed him suspiciously. "No way am I tolerating a punishment from you or anyone else."

"I assure you it's me and _no_ one else."

I scowled mightily at him, doing my best to ignore his enticing nudity.

We stood there, staring each other down for all of the two seconds required for the sluggish flow of oxygen-rich blood to reach Justin's brain and help him make a very important connection. There was no longer any sofa between us.

The lunge that came promptly after that was, while not unexpected, still surprising. The shock of his skin against mine stifled all rationale thoughts and communications altogether. Instead, raw, inexplicable, muffled sounds of rutting animals punctuated the air with primal need.

I was swiftly tackled back to the ground, and his lips slammed instantly, latching onto my own.

We twisted and wrangled, both aiming to get on top. When Justin reached out to tear my panties off, I was quick to raise my legs and reach up to impale myself on his staff.

We wrestled again, pace uneven, unsynchronised, and urgent. His lips left mine aching and sore as he moved down to latch on my aching mounds with vicious intensity. A cry of pain was swiftly followed by more as I retaliated in kind, using my fingers to tug at _his_ pebbled nipples.

We tossed over again and again, rolling over and reaching for the dominant position. The battle was on, but the pistoning hips didn't relent.

Lust overrode all else, even the need to make a point. Instead, Justin focused on stabbing forward his point, already in his favor, again and again. I was generous. I let him have this win but resolved to acquit myself better in future wars.

I spasmed and contracted about him, wringing him dry even as I cried out my release. His hoarse cries echoed in my ears.

The silence that filled the room soon after felt oddly embarrassing. To Justin, too, it appeared. I stared at the red flush about his ears and knew mine fared as badly.

"I am sorry," I found myself saying in earnest. His startled gaze met mine. "You were right. I should stand up to them. I shouldn't let Linda, Dale, or even Mama dictate to me."

The grin that emerged across his handsome face was entirely charming. I found myself smiling back, captivated.

"You learn your lessons well," he praised magnanimously. "I can't say as far as punishments go that this had been my intent," he murmured before rotating his hips against mine appreciatively. "But I can't say the results haven't been unsatisfactory on any count."

He was lucky I was too drained to do more than reach up a feeble hand to swat at him.

I turned my eyes away from where they narrowed onto his wicked grin, to stare up at the inviting bed, not two feet away, and wondered just how I was going to muster enough energy to haul ass up onto it.

The tender lips brushing across my forehead sent a tightening in the vicinity of my chest. I reached absently to rub at it as I lifted my heavy lids.

****

"Good morning, darling."

His voice was soft as it was warm. I reached into him, curling my body closer against his. The palm of his hand reached back to slide down my back and curve around the shape of my arse.

"You like this?"

"Hmm... yes," I cooed against him contentedly.

"How about this?" he murmured before brushing his lips across my ear. The heat that flooded through my core was instant and intense. I moaned out loud before flexing my hips against his.

"Uh... uh," he tutted reprovingly. "Not just now. Not if you're planning on missing our engagement. "

"Huh?"

I pried my eyes open at that and glanced about in confusion. Yesterday had passed by in a blur. I had woken up late in the morning in Justin's bed, unsure how I actually got there. Despite Justin's assurance that he had lifted me onto his bed and tucked me against him for the night, I still felt there had been a little more to the story. The sore backside I faced the next day was explained away by Justin's insistence that the aches and bruises were from my fall, not at all from his waking up in the middle of the night to furiously paddle at my bottom before just as furiously taking me again, ... and then, _again_.

Either way, I spent most of yesterday sore and grumpy. Grumpy over the events of today—my engagement.

Justin helped me through it all as best he could—dropping by at work to take me out for lunch and taking me out to the local bar so I could get drunk and simply pass out.

So it wasn't a surprise that I should wake up this day physically aching all over from last night's romp and having a raging headache, too.

I was surprised to find I was not in my room or Justin's either. In fact, I didn't recognize the room I was in.

"Where are we?" I asked Justin softly.

"At the Kay homestead, remember? This is where the engagement party is," Justin explained to me carefully as if he were speaking to a two-year-old infant. I frowned at him then groaned as my head thumped harder for my efforts.

"Oh yeah," I muttered unhappily. I vaguely recalled the conversation the day before when his mother duly informed me of this brilliant plan. It had been hard, you see, to secure a venue that could suitably fit a crowd of five hundred odd.

While the Kays themselves were not a large family, Mrs. Kay's side of the family was quite the opposite.

Shouts of laughter and noisy conversation could be heard seeping beneath the old oaken bedroom door. The bedroom itself was spacious and luxurious.

I nimbly got out from under the heap of bedding I had been buried under and gingerly pattered about, looking for some form of clothing.

Justin's chuckle was filled with hilarity. "You really have no recollection of the night before, do you?"

My brows ruffled in a frown as I concentrated hard on thinking back.

We had some drinks at the bar; then, we stopped by my apartment. My bag had already been packed and waiting. Justin grabbed it and my dress, still covered in a dress bag, and went down to load it up in his car. Then, he had come back for me. I dozed off in the long drive here and came to only when Justin was carting me in. We had been greeted by Mrs. Kay and countless cousins, uncles, and aunts that belonged to Justin's side of the family. Rather than heading off straight for bed, Justin had seated me in the lounge room and joined in with the merriment of the family gathering. I understood that a lot of them had lost touch for a long time and were taking the opportunity to catch up.

I had sat there, staring at everyone and busily sipping away at the drink pressed into my willing hands. I must have gulped too hard and too fast, for the next thing I knew was this morning.

"What was in that drink?" I asked simply.

Justin shrugged his answer and made for the large doors that opened into a walk-in wardrobe. I followed him in, looking about for my clothes. I found them easily enough and swiftly slipped into a nighty and a fluffy robe. I needed to shower and wash up before I got dressed to face the day ahead.

Justin disappeared around another door only to appear a short while later with an aspirin and a glass of water. I took it gratefully and gulped it down.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Justin only had a moment's warning, which he effectively used to leap into a pair of pants before we were ambushed,... _by his cousins._

The bedroom door flew open, and they all stampeded in.

I found the ground shift beneath my feet before I was borne away on the strong arms of his cousins. They stopped at the bathroom door, lowering my feet to the ground with a stern warning to be quick about it. I didn't linger. Rushing like mad, I finished with my toiletries in record's time. Showered and refreshed, I donned the nighty back on and tightened the knot of the robe at my waist before I gingerly emerged from the bathroom.

A plate with breakfast, consisting of two slices of bread with jam was placed in my hand. I was sat on the edge of the bed where I found Justin deep in conversation with yet another of his cousins. With so many of them about, I was slowly beginning to identify one from the other.

I finished my meal, completely unaware of eating it at all. Then, my gaze fell on the clock.

"What the fuck?" I gasped out loud, staring at the clock hands in shock. Justin's grin at my reaction was infectious, and mild chuckles erupted around the room. It was freaking three in the afternoon. I had exactly three hours to get ready for my own engagement party.

I rushed about then like mad, trying to get ready amidst a building crowd of spectators in my room.

"But isn't that exactly what every girl wants. Tall, dark, and handsome? While Justin here is the odd one out, being fair of hair, his nature is surely dark enough to warrant an inclusion in that category."

The tittering laugh that followed that ridiculous statement raised my hackles. I turned to peer over my shoulders at the blonde vixen coming up to my Justin, even as she spouted off such nonsense. True, all the McGill men seemed to be dark of hair, with Justin taking after his mom in coloring, but his nature wasn't dark—only sardonic and arrogant with a wicked sense of humor that he strangely delighted in, _especially_ when it came to provoking me.

I tore my glare away from the green-eyed blonde clinging to my Kay as I frowned up at the elusive Aunt Milly who suddenly felt it was her exclusive duty to pepper my face with compact powder. Why was she doing this? Why was she even here? Who was she even? _Why were they all here?_

The crowd in the room was overwhelming. I struggled with the curlers, trying to get them all on then, instantly giving up, getting them all off while Justin's relations bumped into me from all sides. It felt decidedly awkward to be the only one half-dressed in the room. I didn't see why they were all here at all. The party was downstairs, and this was just the engagement; there was no need to witness the partially dressed affianced-to-be shuffle around, trying to get ready.

"What do you think, Aria? Is the tall, dark, and handsome the real appeal?" Justin Kay made the mistake of seeking me out to join this silly line of conversation. Taunting me was just begging for trouble, especially after the mess I had found myself in because of him.

"Tall, dark, and handsome is only as appealing as the fiction it's featured in. As one who should clearly be in know, surrounded as I am with many who sport such charms, dark haired or blonde, I can safely say that it's the arrogance that comes with the package that is best left out of the scenes."

"Ouch!" Justin rolled his eyes back dramatically and laid both hands on his heart where I had figuratively just stabbed him. The titters that followed his actions came to an awkward pause at his next choice of words. "You slay me, woman. With one fell swoop, you slayed us all," he exclaimed dramatically, wickedly including his fellow cousins in his splayed hand gesture.

I did slay them all, sadly though, only with useless words. What wouldn't I give for a sword in hand at this moment, especially when I took in the full-length view of me in this slinky, clingy, turquoise dress Justin insisted I wore for our engagement. What happened to that seaweed green dress I had picked out myself? Had its color been too ghastly for them? Them being the mums who orchestrated this shenanigan. I stared at my profile unblinkingly.

The bulges and love handles that stared back at me made me wince and turn away. Arms over my shoulders, Justin turned me back around, positioning me 'til I faced myself again.

"Here, love. Try this angle," he offered inconsiderately.

I lifted my gaze to give him the death glare at that, but his chuckle was unrepentant. I turned my frown back to take in the vision before me. My eyes widened a bit, and I tilted my head to better study the pose. The damn fool was right. I did look better at this angle. Taking a deep breath and drawing my stomach in, I studied my image again before thrusting my ass further out, cocking my head and pouting my lips.

"Ahh, that's a worthy pose, too. You would do well to strut about like that at the party downstairs. At least it will ensure that you are always at your best and picture perfect besides," he murmured softly into my ear, and my hiss of displeasure had him chuckling again. He, of course, looked splendid. Carelessly handsome and arrogant in knowing it.

I sucked in my breath again, this time, at the pain in the comparison of him and me. Just looking at the two of us in the mirror, and I realised we were a joke. Something of what I was thinking must have shown on my face, for Justin spun me around and drew me into a dramatic low dip before descending to take my lips. Not in his usual ferocious intensity but in a quiet, gently invading kiss that sent the warmth of his affection seeping down my veins.

The room cheered at the drama before all emptying out together. It was a miracle at that. I was finally ready to descend in all my splendour upon the unsuspecting guests below. In a way, I was almost glad most of Justin's closest friends and relatives had already seen me and knew what to expect in the woman that would be descending those stairs draped over his arms. I had this bizarre fear that they would all hiss in disappointment at watching his golden gloriousness be paired off with frumpy me.

My hand held in place in the crook of his arm, I walked down beside him to the crowded floor where we were promptly swallowed whole by the crowd of well-wishers and relatives. Justin, it seemed, was well loved by his throng. I wish I could have said the same about my own.

His wicked sense of humor and often misplaced sarcasm went oddly well with the easy grin he readily wore on greeting his guests. My tight grimace must have looked like I had eaten a prune and was not at all pleased about it.

That analogy was not far from the truth. Making our rounds on the floor, I found myself meeting a countless number of Justin's ex's. Despair was swift to engulf me even as the wide spread of my lips only got impossibly wider. Pride was difficult like that. Willing to lose out on all hope but unwilling to relent on the image.

I kept my expression clear and pleasant as, time after time, I was congratulated on the good catch I had made; on landing the king among the fish; on accomplishing the impossible in ensuring the most eligible bachelor was a bachelor no more.

Oddly enough, I found none of it heartening. So, it was with watery eyes I finally accepted the overly large diamond ring thrust towards me on a bended knee. Ostentatious. There was nothing else to say about it.

The weight of it was that of manacles latching my fate to his for all eternity. The smile grew harder to maintain, and it wobbled on and off. This time, it was Justin who craved the drink and Justin who accepted rowdy cheers after cheers spurring him on to drink yet another. Two minutes into the engagement, and already, he was overindulging into obscurity. Perhaps that was not such a bad idea after all. But the mild thrumming behind my forehead reminiscent of last night's overindulgence had me sipping my own champagne sparingly.

"Aria!"

It was barely midnight, and the party was already thrumming to a rowdy beat. I turned to the summons of my name. "Jane!" I exclaimed, instantly throwing myself into her arms with a little too much enthusiasm.

My childhood on-again off-again friend: she was here for my engagement, so apparently, we were _on_ again. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"I am, too. It was time you set aside your foolish infatuation with Dale and moved on with your life. And what a catch!" Jane praised me, beaming up at me proudly. My smile wavered once more.

"Have you met my husband, Jimmy Carr?" said Jane, clutching hard to the tall, impressive looking man beside her. I murmured some suitable reply but felt yet more disheartened than before. Jane got married yet never invited me. Why was she here then attending my engagement? To mock me? To slight me by bringing up old stories like Dale?

I moved on swiftly. Then, catching sight of Dale and Linda making their way toward me, I turned to the nearest exit and made my way toward the back of the house. I walked through the busy kitchen and exited through the back door, into the inviting coolness of the unassuming dark.

# Chapter 9

"Aria!"

This time, I didn't stop at the call of my name. I stepped on, my high heels sinking into the soft, damp earth as I made to cross the vast gardens.

"Aria!"

The steely undertone to the masculine was unmistakable.

I stopped but refused to turn around.

"Where the hell are you going? Leaving your own engagement party? Leaving me?" Justin grabbed my arm, swinging me around to confront me suspiciously.

" _Air_ _!"_ __ I spat out furiously. "I was going out for some air."

Justin stared down at me. His expression was not entirely visible in the moonlit night, an otherwise romantic setting wasted on a couple without romance and a couple who literally only coupled.

I reached out to grasp the gigantic stone draped across my dainty finger and moved to toss it back at him.

"Oh, no you don't! There is no way you are walking out on me this time. I won't let you." The quiet menace in his voice was now actually threatening. So much so that I stumbled back a step, triggering his own advance as he moved to swiftly close the distance between us 'til there was none left at all.

"What do you want with me?" I moaned out pitifully, the despair I was feeling welling up recklessly. I shoved back to break free, but his hold only got tighter. His grip on my shoulder was unnecessarily rough and painful. I felt sure that the bruises forming would be visible in my sleeveless dress.

"Let me go," I muttered, struggling against his hold. I lifted both palms up to push at his chest like mad.

"Let you go?" he murmured darkly. "Never!"

His grip on me tightened, and I was rattled some more.

"I will never let you go," he said through clenched teeth. "Do you hear me? I want you for my wife!"

I felt the tears prick at my eyes before the waterfall started. Helplessly weak, I went lax in his arms to slump up against him as sobs started to rack through my not quite fragile frame.

His arms went around me then, and the menace left his voice as he began a barrage of soothing nothings cooed into my ear. The gentle flow of his soothing words was a sheer contrast to the harshness of before.

I didn't understand.

Did Justin care? Or didn't he?

Did I care?

Buried as I was, face first against a massive torso, I did the only thing I could. I used the time between the racking sobs for some quiet reflection. But my thoughts were too muddled at first. Then, I felt Justin's hands pushing through my tumbled hair to rake through it. Again and again, I felt his strong fingers part through it like waves. The effect was strangely hypnotic. Soothing. Entrancing.

I stopped sobbing, which was good. Only I had stopped thinking, too. The wrenching tightness in my chest became suddenly too much to bear. It was almost as if my heart were trying its level best to leap out of my chest and land with a splat at his feet.

That thought made me oddly sad, so its rapid beats slowed down to sluggish thuds of an irregular beat. A stone was surely trying to wedge itself in. Helpless to do anything else, I rubbed my chest to his, willing the pain away.

"Here? Does it hurt here?" Justin questioned me huskily, his hand reaching up between us to splay across my heaving chest. I felt him rub—not at my tits as I would have expected him to do, but at the exact point where my heart suddenly began trying its level best to fall onto the palm of his hand.

I knew then he understood _my aching heart_. Understood it because _he felt it, too_.

My own hand crept up between us to cover the exact spot on his. The rapid thuds I felt hammering in his chest echoed in my own. Sending him a tentative smile, I leaned my head back down to place my ear over it. The sound of his beating heart was oddly endearing. I felt my lips twitch up in a ridiculous smile as I rubbed at the spot, doing my best to soothe his ache away just as his hand was soothing mine away.

His lips reached down to brush over my forehead.

"You never said," I murmured out breathlessly, feeling excited and overwhelmed all at once.

"I told you _five years ago_. It's not my fault you choose not to remember or to _believe_ either," he muttered pointedly. I shivered. The disappointment in his tone was obvious, but I found myself caught up in the other timbre to it.

Warmth. Pure unadulterated love.

Justin Kay loved me.

"So are you going to say it?" demanded Justin with only the slightest note of impatience seeping into his tone.

I smiled at him and murmured a lazy, "Say what?"

His hand rubbed threateningly over my derrière. I bit my lip to hold back a chuckle.

"That you love me," said Justin pointedly through gritted teeth.

"But I said it already," I murmured petulantly before giving him a demure look from beneath my lashes. Then added tauntingly, "Five years ago." I grinned, throwing his own words back at him.

The growl of pure impatience that rumbled down my ear had a deliciously enticing effect that I was sure wasn't intended. I shivered.

"Don't make me throw you over my knee," he threatened warningly. That just raised my hackles.

"Oh, so you can fall back on a five-year-old drunken declaration, and I can't?" I all but hissed out at him. "I won't tolerate double standards. What's good for the goose is good for the gander... or whatever. "

Did I just call myself a goose? I had wrenched myself out of his arms mid-torrent and now stood hands on waist and feet stomping in indignation.

His sigh was clearly audible.

"We have guests. We should go in. We can _trash_ this out later _tonight_... in _bed."_

I didn't miss his very obvious innuendos; they just riled me up further, so I opened my mouth to let loose another tirade, but his own open mouth crashed down on mine instead.

We tongue wrestled for domination a bit before our overwhelming warmer feelings got the better of us.

Heat flowed and ebbed as we basked in our feelings for each other. It was strange, knowing that the feelings had been there for five long years, and yet, it was only the acknowledgment of them that brought about this sudden change to our kisses. It was no longer just vapid devouring of one another but a sheer appreciation and gratitude even for the freely given and the freely accepted.

A loving kiss.

A kiss with our hearts open to each other. Bleeding for each other added a new dimension to what I thought had already been way too hot to handle before. I was positively being scorched whole now, inside out, by his lingering attentions.

The languid slide of his tongue against mine had a slippery effect on the wet heat between my thighs. I found myself shifting more than a little restlessly.

"Soon, baby. I will rub it better," he murmured hotly. "I will have you soon." If anything, his words only served to spike up the heat even more. So much more that frustrations reigned when his moist lips finally left mine alone and bereft. I felt a little dose of revenge was in order.

"Okay, Justin Darling," I breathed out tantalizingly before wrenching away and skipping free of his instantly outreaching arms.

I threw back my head and laughed openly at the disgruntled swearing that flooded the silent night behind me as I made my way happily in to finally rejoice in my engagement party.

As far as engagement parties went, mine hadn't been too dull after all. I had actually begun to enjoy myself after my and Justin's nondeclaration of the depths of our feelings.

Also, the two flutes of champagne thrust into my hands one after the other did a lot to banish away any lingering boredom. So what if I didn't know half of the people here? So what if they didn't know me either? I decided, after slurping the last bit of the light golden drop from my tiny flute, that I would change that status quo. I would go mingle.

That, like nothing else, brightened up the party. Justin's own red, alcohol-flushed face always hovering over my shoulders made it all so much better.

We danced. We laughed. And we mingled. Of course, two hours later, I still didn't know half the people at that party and had even gone so far as to forget the other half that I did know.

"Come, baby," urged a deep voice beside me. "It's time to get to bed."

I mumbled out gibberish and waved him off. But his warm arms persisted about me, wrapping around me and hauling me up onto unsteady feet.

I allowed Justin to guide me along. Using his own unsteady body as support made for many falls and throbbing disappointments along the way. But despite it all, we made it. We made it to our bed in the end.

Falling uncomfortably into a heap, I was almost asleep again when Justin's prodding hand nudged me awake.

"Nope. Not like that. Strip out of your clothes first," he instructed, his words more than a little slurred.

"Do I have to?" I moaned out pitifully before batting at his questing hands moving to assist where I desisted. Through much fumbling and not a little elbowing, we were both without clothes and snuggled against each other beneath the comfy, thick coverings.

We slept then, deeply and sated, with our lot in life 'til the wee hours of the morning, which turned out to be not an hour later.

I woke up at that point to feel Justin thrusting against my core with some urgency.

"Justin?" I managed to mumble out inquiringly between thrusts.

"Take me," he urged huskily, "Take me... all in." His voice heavy with sleep and hoarse with want was as hypnotic as his seducing thrusts.

"Feel me," he whispered hoarsely. His breath burned hot puffs of air against my sensitive ears. "Feel me... inside you." His hips swivelled and moved in emphasis of each word. I moaned out loud and surrendered to his lead.

His need triggered my own, and soon, we were both in the throes of fulfillment. I sighed contentedly after as Justin moved to snuggle me back into his arms.

"Praise me," he murmured softly, each word dripping with smug if drowsy contentment. My lips tugged up at the corners lazily as I grinned sleepily over the audacity of his command. But I was not one to shy away from giving praise when it was due.

"You are a great,..." I paused thoughtfully to ponder further, " _dancer._ Your hip thrusting is truly inspiring," I murmured mockingly.

The grunt he returned at that told me absolutely nothing. The light snores he emitted right after, however, said a lot.

****

Sunday was a day of rest.

So that was exactly what we and the rest of the occupants of the house did. But the penetrating sun that seemed to have battled its way through the drawn curtains didn't agree with that. So it was with some grumbling that I finally stirred.

I found that I lay flat on top of Justin Kay. A sleeping and reeking Justin Kay, who sent my senses reeling from the pungent smell of alcohol that drifted off his heavy breath. Heavy because I lay on his chest. I crawled off with some difficulty. It was difficult only because of my pounding headache and because of his arms wrapped around me like a vice.

I fell face first with a grunt onto the soft pillow as I finally managed to free myself enough to topple off. It was then that I realized I stank, too.

The usual routines of daily ablutions took twice as long, if not more, when hung over. I vowed then never to drink again. I was actually a little shocked that I had drunk so much at all. But then, I recalled the celebratory nature of the night before.

I couldn't help the lopsided grin that insistently tugged at my cheeks despite the ache from the effort. _Justin Kay loved me._

Wrapped in a towel, I moved back over to the bed to stare down at his angelic face, angelic only because he was still fast asleep. Staring at him made my breath catch as warm feelings sent silly tingles down my spine and stirred my blood.

My heart thudded and swelled painfully 'til it matched my aching head. Then, I reluctantly moved away in search of medication to dull the aches in my head, not those of the heart. My heart ached with the overwhelming sweetness of my love for Justin. There was no cure for that.

Finding no means of relief from the bathroom vanity, I tugged on Justin's robe and cinched it at my waist before moving silently and deliberately slow out the room and down the stairs. Despite my best efforts, I was still holding my head with both hands when I finally made it to the kitchen. There, what faced me sent the dull thud in my head into a raging warfare of pounding intensity.

" _Dale?_ " I gasped his name with a loud groan.

"Hey," said Dale, draped in a robe and thankfully wearing pj's.

"Hi," I muttered, still holding onto my head for fear of it falling off and rolling out of reach.

The awkward silence after that was not unusual. It was always like this whenever we'd encountered each at family gatherings in the past. It had hurt a lot at first because before our breakup, we had been close. Our heads had perpetually been bent together in animated discussions. We had been _that_ close.

But I saw now that those discussions had been animated only for me. Dale had never returned even the slightest of my affection. I had been in love with my own imaginings of him in my head, not who he truly was. Did I even know that person?

"Did you have something you wanted to say?"

I stared at him.

I realized I had been staring a good while only after his prompting. "Aria? "

I smirked at him then, ignoring the thudding pain in my head while not releasing the physical hold I had on my head.

"You're different," I murmured absently, already feeling ridiculously ecstatic that I was in no way bound to this ninny.

The smug look that crossed his face was puke-inducing as he preened himself to imagined praise. Perhaps I had not been the only one to imagine things in my past relationship. Perhaps Dale had had imaginings of his own about me. Did we all see what we wanted to see? Not what was real? Was it like that with Justin and me, too?

I ignored his grinning mug and went to reach for another type of mug, one into which I poured some aromatic brew of hot coffee.

"Here, try these," said a deep voice behind me.

I spun around in slow motion to stare at the vaguely familiar stranger facing me. In his hands was the capsulized life-saving tonic of pain relief. I hefted out a relieved sigh and reached out for it gladly. Popping it in my mouth, with some haste, I accepted the glass of water he also proferred and gulped the lot down.

"Thank god!" I murmured gratefully.

"You're welcome," said ... _God?_

I stared at the man before me with renewed interest. He certainly had the Adonis good looks purported to be the face of the gods so he could very well be.

"You are indeed my savior," I said theatrically, almost bowing my head in appreciation. Stopping in time when the pain made its searing-self known. My groan was guttural and heartfelt. His grin was swift and appealing. I was certain if I hadn't been besotted with Justin, my heart would have fluttered with interest anew.

"It was the least I could do," he murmured self-depreciatingly, "even if you did steal my coffee."

"Oops!"

I widened my eyes with false horror and not much regret. That was what happened if you left your freshly brewed coffee lying around unattended.

His chuckle was genuine, and I found myself smiling back at him.

"You know, if I had known you were so criminally inclined," said handsome, "I wouldn't have flirted so much with you last night."

Eh?

My baffled look had him roaring again in unbound laughter.

"She flirted with me, too," said another handsome Adonis, walking into the kitchen behind me. I gasped and spun around, feeling more than a little stunned.

"You don't remember, do you?"

_Remember?_ All I recalled was Justin Kay. Always and forever Justin Kay. I tore my bewildered gaze away from their amused stares and took a deep gulp of the steaming brew still nestled between the palms of my hands.

Oh _my God!_

Memories of my flirting the night before came back to me with a vengeance.

"Why are you all so dark haired, dark eyed, and darkly brooding?" I had asked Ash the night before in a drunken slur while leaning back against Justin's familiar, hard chest.

It hadn't been flirtation. Not in the real sense. Ash, I now recognised, was the cousin whose coffee I had stolen. I sipped at it some more while peering over the rim of my mug.

"Harry and Ash," called out the love of my life, "stop harassing my fiancée."

I turned then to face my saviour, my reason for breathing and, in short, my whole world: Justin Kay. It was odd how a mediocre sense of understanding could change the perspective of one's entire existence. I had been free and living life to my own tune, but knowing how Justin felt about me changed it all. Knowing he returned my feelings spun my world on its axis.

I now lived for him, as he did for me.

Naturally, with Justin being Justin and me being me, that tender sentiment, or any tender sentiments, couldn't last for more than two minutes at a time.

"You could have fucking woken me up. God, I could use a pain killer, an honest to God atomic-powered pain killer," Justin groaned plaintively before reaching down to absently brush his lips across mine in passing. I looked down then to find my hands devoid of the morning dew-of-life I had been so carefully nursing. My eyes narrowed to find the red mug floating about the kitchen in Justin's grasp. The sound of the last of the ebon black brew being slurped out of existence made my heart spasm in sheer pain. And my head, too.

"That was my cup of coffee," I wailed out loud before wincing from the sound of my own voice hitting my sensitive ear drums.

"Was," Justin nodded agreeably.

The chuckles that filled the kitchen at that were all decidedly male. To have four men laughing at my expense was not conducive to a good start to Sunday.

I turned heel and left. My determined strides took me back upstairs, unheeding the lovely panoramic views that this exquisitely positioned mansion extended through its wall to wall glassed panelling. That would have to be appreciated at a later time.

# Chapter 10

It was only a couple of hours later, when packed and freshly showered, that I stood staring out at the incredible view. I was all dressed and ready to make my way back to the city.

"Stay," Justin murmured softly, nuzzling at my shoulders. He had spent the better part of his few hours awake catching up with long-lost relatives. Not that they had been actually lost or anything.

"Laundry," I murmured back gently if a little sarcastically. His sigh swept across my naked shoulders. Clad in a bustier blouse that clung over my breasts and floated freely over my ample hips in skin-toned pastels, I gave all the appearance of being partially naked. I shifted impatiently, my skinny blue jeans rustling thickly with my movements before I turned to draw Justin's lips to my own. We kissed as always in an open-mouthed onslaught.

Being freshly engaged had a strange effect on me. It made me want to stamp my mark of ownership all over him. The possessive light in his eyes said he felt the same. All the more reason to spend this night apart. We had been inseparable ever since we came together. That couldn't be healthy.

Wrenching free, I turned away to pick up my bag and head for the door. Breathing hard, my voice was husky but determined. "Goodbye."

I was hitching a ride with a party of Justin's cousins. They would drop me back at my place, where laundry and a lonely dinner in front of the TV awaited.

I had to leave. I had work the next day. Work I could no longer avoid unless I wanted work to start avoiding me. So I left and then later spent that night feeling terribly bereft for my efforts.

The big-O Orlando, was the first to corner me at the office the very next day.

"Aria!"

I swiftly muffled an outright groan.

"Orlando, you're early," I murmured with a wide smile. I had gotten up and swept into work early today for the precise reason of avoiding any encounters like this.

"Maybe I didn't leave at all," he murmured with a sly laugh.

I gaped at him.

It was Monday; he couldn't have spent the weekend here. But he did look rumpled up, and there were rumours that he liked to bring his paid companions here for some of his more absurd roleplaying fetishes.

I watched as his gaze dropped to take in my heavy top. Even covered up in a jacket as I was, Orlando could never resist an opportunity to leer.

I shook my head at him. I figured he was resolute in remaining unlikable because the world has learnt to just deal with it. There was no longer a need for effort in liking someone. Worse, there was no longer a need to be liked at all. In fact, one was better off being unlikable. No one believed the likable anymore. Too many pretentiousness having given it a bad name and all. They were considered overdone, old style, and even deceitful.

Orlando was to all intents and purposes extremely _not_ likable at all. He was sadly honest in that way. Therefore, I had to offer him some measure of respect for being honest to his true nature.

Still, there was no reason to encourage one of the more time sensitive monologues that he seemed bent on delivering. But as luck would have it, he had already begun.

"You have been sadly remiss in turning up to work in the last week...."

I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, unconsciously jiggling my top and retaining his keen interest to continue with his monologue.

"So you see, tardiness is unacceptable, but I am ever so willing to look the other way if you offer the _right_ __ incentives."

"Huh?"

I had lost him at the very start, so his look of great expectations left me seriously confused.

I watched acute disappointment cross his face at my clear inattention. But I seriously didn't have time for this. Offering him a bright, if vague, grin, I said, "I have to go."

Then, I turned away and made for my office with hurried pace. Thoughts of the work piled up and meetings I had to attend turned me almost frantic in my haste.

I pushed aside doors baring my way and made all but a mad dash for the sanctity of my office. Within its cool confines, I immediately moved towards my desk and slumped gratefully into my swivelling, high-back, ergonomic designed chair.

The phone began to appeal for attention almost immediately. My already rattled nerves only rattled further as I gingerly lifted the receiver to my ear.

" _Hello?"_ I asked almost hesitantly.

"Aria? Aria Longbottom!"

"Mama!" I exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Don't you Mama me! Linda told me all about it. How you completely ignored her and Dale at your engagement. Have you forgotten all the attention they gave you at _their_ __ engagement? A full-blown speech was dedicated to you, praising you for uniting them and being the instrument of Cupid in uniting two loved ones in marriage... or some such like that. I don't really remember, but there may be a DVD. I don't know if they recorded their engagement on film. Do you know if they did? Anyway, how could you ignore them like that? Abandoning them at your party and relegating them to a corner, of all things. They spent the whole night there by the drinks bar. How could you? Linda is family! You hear. Family! She's like the daughter I never had..."

I had held the ear piece away from my sensitive ears at the start, but the piercing tone of her lament traversed the distance so that I heard every noun and syllable. Mama _must_ hate me. That was the only explanation I could come up for her insensitivity. Her one-sided view of all that had happened between Dale and me. Why would she even bring it up now? I was over it. Over him. Over unscrupulous-cousin-Linda.

But Mama always had to drag it all back. The spite. The embarrassment. The hideous engagement speech.

A speech I should have returned at my own engagement. For as I was the conduit to Linda's uniting with Dale, then she was the reason Dale dumped me, sending me tumbling off into bed with Justin.

_Justin Kay_ _._

It was almost odd how my every thought, the good and the bad, always ended up with his name being reverently whispered from my lips.

Justin Kay.

Once again, the mere thought of my saviour rescued me. The phone strategically slipped from my grasp to settle back onto its cradle. The silence from that served only to jolt me back into action. I tapped on my computer and dug in to attend work.

The phone rang several times throughout the day. Thankfully, none of it was Mama, but sadly, the calls weren't from Justin either.

It was only when I had finally called it a day at midnight that my phone buzzed with a message from him.

Justin: Thinking of you, babe.

I took heart from Justin's message and from the fact that it was midnight, and he was still up, too. He must have had as busy a day himself. He probably had to wade through heaps of piled up paperwork needing his attention.

We had both been playing truant with work and both reduced to childishness in our new-found infatuation with each other. I felt young. Not that I wasn't, at nearing twenty-five.

I slung my bag over my shoulders and headed out of the eerily silent building that I worked in for the taxi waiting patiently for me on the curb.

"Hi," I muttered, letting myself into the front of the taxi. I murmured my address and sat back with a tired sigh. That was all the opening Mr Cabman required. In a gentle spew of words, Mr Cabman took the twenty minutes' drive to my place to give me a brief, well-rehearsed summary of his life to date.

On paying my cab fee and exiting at my apartments, I already felt as if I were intimately acquainted with his still schooling sons and daughters. I offered my thanks for the ride and wished him a good night before hurrying out of the chilly night into the foyer to my apartment block.

Moving past the usual security measures, the short lift ride, I was anxious to let myself in so I could go collapse onto my bed. Slamming the front door shut then turning to lock up, I spun back to take in my little unit devoid of Justin.

In the short time we'd been together, he'd already reduced my once prized possession to mere rubbish. Not only was the unit looking ridiculously small and shabby, but it was also sadly lacking one critical ingredient of all that was joy: Justin Kay's presence.

With a heartfelt sigh, I made for the kitchen, shedding clothes as I went 'til I was devoid of any at all. I took hold of my favourite mug and filled it to the brim with water. Then, I tilted my head back and chugged it all down thirstily.

Slamming the mug back onto the counter, I moved away for the bathroom next, resolutely going through the motions of cleaning my teeth and all that before rushing out to toss myself onto my bed.

"Ouch!" I screamed. High pitch and embarrassingly long before determined hands covered my mouth and silenced me.

"Fuck, _Aria!"_

_Yes,_ do.

"Justin!" I said instead, on instantly recognizing his voice.

"Hell yeah. Who else, goddamnit _?"_

I frowned up into the dark. There was no call for such rudeness. I flopped around, turning to tell him so, but his lips slammed down on my... _nose._

" _Fuck!"_ __ I yelled out this time.

Justin's chuckle was hearty and unfortunately catching. I found myself rubbing my sore nose and laughing uproariously with him.

"Oh, God!" I murmured faintly, trying to catch my breath but feeling strangely light hearted. _Justin Kay was here._

This time, I felt both his hands descend on me, trailing up from where they haphazardly landed, one on my arm and the other quite strategically on a tit. I lost my breath as one hand decided to linger where it landed while the other moved up, contouring over my shoulders, up my neck, to slide into my hair and grip hard. Tugging my head back, his mouth landed on mine to steal my wrangled cries and make it his own.

Desperation grew. I shoved myself against him, trying to urge him into taking me fast and hard, but Justin was already lost in the throes of his own rising passions and didn't pay much heed to my pleas.

His frantic yet long, voluptuous kisses finally left my lips sore and aching for his return. Those lips brushed over my cheeks to heat up a hot trail along my jaw and down my neck to make it back to the aching breast he was so ruthlessly mauling.

Lifting the plump mound up to his hungry lips, he settled in to suckle on it with complete abandon. The cries that left my swollen lips now were wrangled, discordant pleas that were painfully hoarse on the ears.

But my throat felt dry, thick, and aching like the rest of me. My hands scrambled desperately over his back and into his soft, lush hair to clutch him hard to me and then to tug, wanting to haul him off. My cries were now soundless puffs of air leaving my gaping lips as his lips continued to tease and taunt mercilessly.

I was beyond a cerebral being at that moment. I was all nerve endings in an endless pool of passion and nothing more. I writhed in his arms, my voice lost to passion. I could only use my body to demand what I wanted.

"This?" he muttered thickly. "You want me to do this?"

He thankfully didn't await my response but promptly shifted his attentions to my other breast where he proceeded to lavish the same passion upon its unsuspecting crown. My hands moved instantly from his hair, from clutching his head close to framing his handsome face and attempting to shove him off. I gritted my teeth at the acute sensations assailing my body from the suction pull of his lips on my taunt and throbbing nipple. That he brought his teeth into constant play left me only silently screaming. I couldn't wait to get my voice back so he could _feel_ __ those screams himself.

Retaliation was a strong driving force within me. Only I didn't have the strength to overpower him and toss him on his hide to have my way all over him. Not when my own limbs were already terribly weakened from his administrations. Bitter tears of frustration fell uselessly from my suddenly drenched eyes. But this was no place for self-pity. This was also no place for fair play. So I did the only thing I could. I bent awkwardly backward, inadvertently thrusting out my chest further for his ravishing lips and receiving his mangled murmurs of appreciation for my efforts as I reached out slyly and grabbed a ruthless hold of his.

" _Oh, God! I love_ you.... _Fuck,... Aria!"_

And just like that, the tables were turned.

"Oh _my God! I love you.... I love you. Dear God! I fucking love you. "_

I lifted my head from beneath the covers to face him triumphantly. 101 ways to get my recalcitrant husband-to-be to say I love you. I should write a book on it.

I beamed brightly at my satisfied fiancé.

****

Two weeks more, and we would be one for life. It was a scary thought but one bound to be filled with sweetness as much as pain. Indeed, my body throbbed in an acute sentiment over the later. Last night had been a nuke disaster on our senses. Mine was still reeling from the many highs and lows Justin vengefully led me through. He wasn't at all pleased to be the first of us two to say _I love you._

That he had sung it out loud in a falsetto had me grinning evilly and thinking back to the red flush of embarrassment that had scalded his cheeks at that first high. I had felt it first. Hot cheeks against my palm, swiftly drawing on my need to see him. I had inched out an unsuspecting hand to snap on the light so that I could crow in laughter over his obvious embarrassment.

But that only led to round two in the ring of passion. I couldn't, in all honesty, claim to have come out the winner there. But I could safely say I had withstood the might of his onslaught quite satisfactorily. _I_ didn't end up breaking into an aria of my love for him, not for the lack of trying on his part. But then, he didn't know of the secret ailment I suffered at his hands. The terrifying torture of the temporary mute that his skilful hands and lips wrought upon me.

The god-awful inability to speak at all, emitting only hoarse sounds that made me sound as if I were on the brink of death was hardly a close relation to the open declaration of love.

We had both fallen into the deep sleep of the well-worn out. My faithful alarm woke me this morning but not Justin. He had still been lost to slumber, so I decided to take advantage of his vulnerable, naked state and have my way with him.

I mean, what woman wouldn't want to wake up to a worshipful declaration of love? Again!

# Chapter 11

I bit back on a sudden grin when Justin finally emerged from the room to join me for breakfast. His sullen face was priceless, a total contrast to his usual smug swagger.

"You know that doesn't count, don't you?" he began immediately to double back on his earlier declarations of extreme fondness, aka love. I narrowed my eyes at him in open threat.

But he was undeterred. "You know men tend to say things they don't necessarily mean during sex."

He did _not_ want to go there.

"Anything to get into a gal's pants and all that."

Then again, maybe he did. If it were open warfare that he wanted, then _bring it on!_

"You're _pushing_ damn close to losing this breakfast here," I murmured softly and tauntingly as I continued to peer up at him through narrowed eyes. His eyes fell to a feast that would satisfy the most discerning stomach. Something Justin's was far from. I heard his rumble of appreciation before he lifted a warm and loving gaze back at me.

I bit back the smirk that threatened to spread my cheeks wide, knowing he would not appreciate my laughing at him.

He sat down immediately to grab his fork and knife. The grilled Italian seasoned butcher's sausage gleamed invitingly up at him. He sunk his fork into one end and sliced off a chunk before spearing it and bringing the meat to his sensual lips. I watched those lips close over the fork and swiftly stuffed a chunk into my own to fob off an emerging moan.

I chewed slowly and contemplatively before I cocked my head at an angle to say, "So I suppose you want this back, huh?"

At his enquiring lift to his brow, I explained, "The ring."

I lifted my hand to wiggle my fingers at him.

"You said you lied. That you really didn't love me. That you only wanted, and I quote, _to get into my_ pants,... __ which I may add just meant that you wanted to borrow a pair. To which I would have said something like sure, but it won't fit you. Anyway, I digress. Here," I murmured, reaching out as if to pull off my ring.

His fork dropped onto the plate with a clatter before he rose and rounded the table in one fluid move. His hands closed over my shoulders like a manacle, and then, he was hauling me up onto my feet.

"I fucking love you, damn it! Don't you ever say anything like that again! You're marrying me," he spat out furiously, accompanying his words with a furious shake. I felt my teeth rattle even as my lips spread into a wide smile.

"Now, _you say it,"_ he stated firmly, breathing hard in his agitation, shaking me threateningly again.

I lifted my long, darken lashes to peer up at him wickedly, and then said, " _Make_ _me."_

His lips reached down to close possessively onto mine in a kiss that was rough as it was emotional. I felt my throat clog with unshed sobs and my eyes water with unbidden tears. I clung to him _hard. With all the love I felt for him._ __ I bit back the urge to say those words.

I wouldn't and couldn't give in so easily.

The kiss was turning wild. Too deep, too quick. Justin must have realized we were snowballing straight back to bed. He jerked his head back and ripped us both apart. I stood there, trembling in the aftermath of our showdown.

"This is by no means _over._ __ Payback will be mine," Justin muttered out shortly. I nodded my head mutely. I didn't think it was the time to tell him that payback could never be his—not if he kept that up as his means. He really ought to pay more attention to me. If he did, he would know our little bouts of passion often left me speechless. Literally. I could never spew out my love for him in the throes of passion. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to keep him trying.

And I didn't want to spoil his joy in finding that out for himself, so I merely nodded my head at his plate and managed a hoarse reminder, "It's getting cold."

Justin moved back to resume his seat, and I mine.

Flashing his cutlery across the plate, he made mincemeat of his breakfast before walloping the lot up. The clocks were ticking, and our dalliance had done us no favors. I worked swiftly to consume mine and joined him by the door.

His lips pressed to mine quick, urgent, and yet restrained. It made me feel small and delicate, surrounded by all that was purely male. Then, he was gone with me zipping after in his wake.

Justin drove me to work and gunned his engine impatiently as I leaped out. I was still calling out my goodbyes when he burnt rubber to take off like a bat out of hell as further down the road as he could manage in the traffic-stalled roads of the morning rush.

I turned then to face the block littered with blockheads like me. Suits that mindlessly followed orders in pursuit of nothing. I quickened my pace and caught up with the throng that invaded the elevators. Pressing myself in amongst the rest, I thought back to last night and this morning.

I was being mean. I knew that. To deny Justin my declaration of love for him was positively evil, especially now that I had wrangled a confession of his feelings for me not once or twice, but thrice. The exquisite thrill hearing that he loved me was beyond anything I had ever experienced.

So, knowing that I denied him that thrill made me feel bad.

But only temporarily.

It had been his idea first to fall back on a five-year-old drunken declaration of our love. Just because I tricked him into saying it first did not mean I should give up on the battle altogether—not when the price was so exquisite. I couldn't wait to see what techniques Justin drummed up in my pursuit. What schemes he devised! What trickery he deployed. I didn't doubt that it would all turn on, overpowering the senses. I didn't mind going speechless beside him.

He could work me over to that state any time, any place.

Ping!

As if on cue, the elevator doors opened on my floor, and simultaneously, my phone pinged with a message. I pushed and shoved my way out then swiftly walked to my office before closing the door and leaning against it to check on the message I instinctively knew was from Justin Kay.

_Justin Kay: Always thinking about you._ __

I smiled widely with the warm flush his words gave me.

Justin Kay: Oh, and don't forget... I have plans for you.

Just like that, the warm flush turned to full blown heat.

Justin Kay: See you in my office at lunch.

My heart stuttered in my chest as excitement built once more. I didn't doubt he would try something at lunch. I just didn't have a clue and was getting damn impatient to find out.

I pushed off from leaning against the door and crossed the small place to round my table and take a seat.

I needed my arse safely perched on a chair, for the sexting I was about to embark on was going to heat things even further by several degrees.

****

Sexting was fun. Not necessarily as fun as the real thing, but it was a worthy adversary to foreplay. It _was_ foreplay.

I gasped as the screen to my phone flashed with a message again. Reading Justin's words had me suffused in heat.

Justin: Take a look at your nipples and tell me if their pointed. Peaked for my attention. For my mouth, hot and moist all over it. For my tongue, warm and wet all over it. Look at it now and tell me what you see.

I glanced down furtively at my pointed nipples. It somehow embarrassed me to glance down at them, even in the private confines of my little office. The workplace didn't, as a rule, ring true where privacy was concerned. Yet I emboldened myself and lifted the scooped neckline of my bodice to better view the results. There was no refuting it. The peaks were pointed and pebbled besides, just as Justin proclaimed they would be.

Darn and double darn!

I lifted my phone closer to the edge of my nose and furiously tapped a response that would hopefully create a tent in Justin's own clothing although I doubted he could manage twin peaks himself. But the rise of his flag pole would be victorious enough.

His reply was swift and aggressive. I was damp and soaking with anticipation by this time, so the insistent peal of my office phone caught me off guard. I jerked to attention, recalling once more that I was to all intents and purpose still at work. My eyes settled on the digital clock on my desk, and I gasped out loud. It was well into my second hour at work, and I had not even begun anything at all.

I grabbed the phone.

"You're late," came the clipped tones of _fucking Orlando._ __ I really should stop all the quaint names I labelled my bosses with, but not at this moment. At this moment, I frantically searched through my organizer to discover what exactly I was late for.

The _fucking presentation._

I bit back a groan and mumbled into the phone that I was on my way.

Shit!

I was lucky I put in those extra hours last night, as the Power Point was ready. I merely had to go present—something I was supposed to have rehearsed this morning and perfected by now.

Justin Kay was going to be the death of me and the death of my job, too. And not necessarily in that order.

I reached into my drawer and pulled out my perfume before liberally dabbing it all over me. The musk of my arousal was still strong to my nose, but I knew it was only in my head. Just another level of anxiety to add on to what I was already experiencing.

Reapplying my lipstick that Justin no doubt mauled off in this morning's kisses, I threw back my head, grabbed my laptop, and walked out of my office.

An hour and a half later, and I was skulking back in, trembling in the aftermath of what had been a corporate bloodbath. Three executives had been axed on the spot and several more down the line. The meeting had been brutal. In relaying the summary of my reports, both of which I had prepared only the night before, the magnitude of what I had been unveiling became clear to me. It was equally clear to the execs attending the meeting.

Going through screen after screen of damning reports with graphs and charts to support them, the direction of blame had become appallingly clear.

Orlando, being the younger and more volatile of the two owners, was swift to wield the ax and slay the guilty where they sat.

I had been once more been reduced to an inability to speak. This time, it was from a revulsion that I had been the cause that brought it on. That had not gone unnoticed by me or anyone else in that boardroom, most especially not the three who received the blunt end of my report.

I hadn't realized the brutal impact that my honestly worded report would have. I hadn't taken the time to smooth over the ripples my report blatantly emphasized. While the report was accurate, it had been unforgivingly so.

I sank back into my chair, recalling the last words Orlando had spoken to me before I slunk out of the boardroom, ashen faced.

"Good job, Aria! Very precise," he had praised, involuntarily damning me further in the eyes of all the executives remaining.

I was still reeling from his words now. _Good job?_ __ How could it have been good to cost the livelihoods of so many? To think I had actually likened those areas of the company to diseased limbs to a tree that had to be axed or else. Orlando had taken my word for it and dropped the blade, beheading those divisions altogether. I could just imagine the escalating effect of that one swift stroke. The whole division would be clucking about like a headless chicken.

I remained hiding in my office for the remainder of that morning, only venturing out for a much-needed toilet break when I could no longer avoid it. The death looks I received then made it clear that enrolling in a witness protection program was not only needed but necessary to my continued survival.

"I am going to _die,"_ __ I groaned out loud, staring at my pale image in the mirror. Digging around the makeup kit I brought with me, I began to add color to my cheeks and then my face in general. I found myself responding to my earlier excitement with Justin and hiding away from my more recent realities. The makeup on my face reflected that change in thoughts.

Eyes became sultry smokiness, still flashing the hues of banked embers, and my lips sported sensual heat that wanted to wrap around a certain part of the anatomy of a certain man.

I stared at the new image staring back at me with some resignation. I really should stop thinking so much about that man. He was the reason all this happened. His being constantly on my mind was affecting every aspect of my life.

My gaze roved over my now sultry features with some resignation before it drifted down to take in my incongruous attire. Office chic and sultry heat could only work if one bent to the will of the other.

Sultry won, hands down. I reached up to unbutton the top of my shirt down to my cleavage and stood back to study the effects. My heat levels spiked at the possibilities that view offered, but I was still unsatisfied. I needed the full treatment to get back on top of things and bolster my courage to face an office full of adversaries. I firmed my chin and retreated to a stall to fix my image further.

Satisfied with the new me, I decided to surprise Justin with an early lunch.

The stairs up to his loft of an office left me once again breathless and, this time, even a little sweaty. I must have put on some weight since my last visit. I really had to go attend those blasted zumba classes.

"He's in a meeting," said that same receptionist coldly.

Her eyes roved over me with not a little hint of disapproval. I didn't care. I knew I looked like a tramp. But then, I _was_ here to _get_ some, so the analogy was not only apt but welcome.

"I'll wait," I murmured benignly before turning to take my seat; only I found that I couldn't wait. All the way here, my mind had been replaying over and over our sexting that morning. The things we threatened—no, promised—to do to each other had swiftly spun out of control. The impossibility of half of it had me so worked up that all he needed was to thrust his spear into my already soaking folds, and I would be screaming the building down. Or trying to in my usual hoarse cries.

I shifted uncomfortably where I sat, beyond tormented to be this near and yet so impossibly far from Justin. I stood up and paced; then, unable to deny myself any longer, I walked past the startled assistant and intruded on Justin's meeting.

His eyes swiftly flashed to mine. The initial annoyance at my interruption swiftly snuffed out as he took in the obvious heat in my glance, not to mention the flush to my cheeks. I watched with trembling awe as his eyes suddenly widened, taking in my sultry makeup before swiftly drifting down to take in the rest of me.

There was an immeasurably long pause, during which I became increasingly aware of another two pairs of eyes appraising me with equal interest.

I tore my gaze away from Justin Kay and cast it fleetingly over the two men seated before him. Not taking in much of their appearance.

"Sorry to interrupt," I murmured absently before turning my gaze back to Justin's.

"I'll just take a seat here while you finish up," I said huskily. I took a seat on the white chaise and crossed my legs, flashing my heels and hopefully nothing else as I did so.

The meeting dragged on and on....

Purposefully.

I narrowed my eyes at Justin's obvious ploy. The two men were shifting in their seats as uncomfortably as me. It was obvious they felt that palpable sexual tension that overlayed the two of us from our fleeting but frequent glances to our heavy breathing.

Mine was no longer due to the multitude of stairs I'd had to scale to get over here. It was him. All him.

Finally, the tension proved too much for him. He shot to his feet abruptly, bringing their inane discourse to an abrupt halt as he proferred a firm handshake and urged them out with the customary closing, even tossing in a ribald joke that his _lunch_ was waiting.

I was not amused. So _not amused._

Having locked his door, he turned to me. I watched his quiet approach then and noted, with mouth-watering provocation, that he didn't stop. Not until he was pressed up against me.

"I can't believe you did it," he murmured hoarsely, referring to his earlier sexting taunt to have me appear braless and panty-less in his office.

I thrust out my chest in proof that I had indeed done just that. My taunt nipples poked into him. But he was not satisfied—not until he reached in the three buttons open gaping front of my shirt to travel down and cup the heaving bosoms for himself.

"Hmmm," he murmured appreciatively. "I can see you obligingly forgot to don your bra, but what about your panties? Do you have them on still?" he breathed out his question heavily. I was now feeling his ribcage slam against mine with each slow, dragging breath he took. He appeared to suffer from the same ailments as I, for I too struggled to draw in a ragged breath.

His other hand moved across my waist to slide over my back, not stopping 'til his hands slid beneath the waistband of my skirt to curve over the firm flesh of my backside. He paused then, drawing in a deep, hesitant breath before his hands spasmed. One squeezed my breast and the other the fleshy curve of my bum.

I moaned out loud breathlessly and shifted my feet impatiently.

"Shh, baby," he soothed. "I will make it alright," he murmured, rubbing at the aching flesh he had been violently squeezing only moments earlier.

"Does it hurt here? Want me to kiss it all better?" His husky tone was as hot as the breath he fanned onto my ear. I wiggled against him frantically, nodding my head and pleading for more.

" _Yes! Please,_ Justin... _darling! Please!"_

" _This?"_ __ He stopped his soothing rub to pinch at my nipple and ass brutally. I yelped at the surprising jolt of pain cutting into intense pleasure before the tide of pleasure overrode it, sweeping back in again. I was sure I would die there, a melted puddle at his feet. It was only his strategically placed hands that kept me up on my feet still. "You want more of _this?"_

His fingers tugged at my aching nipples, making my head fall back on a moan as the hand that pinched my ass resumed to rub and knead it better.

"Yes! Yes!" I breathed out frantically. "More."

"Abstinence. Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder," Justin murmured softly in my ear, stopping his provoking nuzzling. The hands at my breast and ass stilled then left my heated flesh altogether.

I stared up in bewilderment as he took a determined step back, then another.

" _Abstinence?"_ __ I all but screeched at him.

His lips twitched in a painful smirk. This was costing him as much as me. But I couldn't mistake the steely glint of determination in his eyes.

"Say the three magic words, and I'll take you so deep and so hard that you'll be crying out a river of cum."

I saw red!

_Abstinence?_ I had waited five years too long already for him. I knew that was irrational thinking, especially as I was the cause of the five years of missed opportunities. But deny it all through I may, there was no getting around the facts, and the facts were I was my Mama's daughter.

My face was suffused with the red flush of mutinous anger as I continued down the path of this debacle. "I can make you do it!" I proclaimed spitefully. "I can make you _fuck_ me."

I couldn't help the shiver that ran down my spine at that thought. Visions of bondage, of Justin all trussed up and powerless to stop my sexual assault had me wavering on my feet with renewed vigour. He was _mine!_

"Go ahead!" Justin was swift to call me out on it. He unbuckled his belt and pulled down his zip. Reaching in, he pulled out his inflamed meat to wave it at me, tauntingly.

"Go ahead. Suck it! Take me in your mouth and make me come," he shot back daringly. "But it's not going to change anything. I won't fuck you, not even if you begged me to."

My mouth watered in anticipation. But I resolutely stiffened my spine. I was no weakling to give into my ravenous needs.

I stood there, fighting off the wave of lust in an onslaught of pure stubbornness. I was my own worst enemy.

I needed to cool off before I did something stupid like launch myself at him and wilfully take advantage of him. He certainly had no trouble in bringing out the beast in me.

What I didn't understand was, why did it have to be today? I'd had a shitty day thus far and had been really looking for some much-needed Justin Kay time, and this... is what he does. Ultimatums and I don't go well together. Ask anyone who knows me, and he'll tell you the same.

I thought Justin knew me despite us only _knowing_ each other for less than a month.

I spun around dispirited and angry to head out the door but not before I caught the flicker of acute pain across his face.

What was I doing?

I blinked back tears of self-inflicted emotional pain and pure frustration.

I _love_ __ that man. And he _loves_ __ me, too. I had to say it. ___I had to._

I realized that I had already exited his office and was now facing the flight of stairs that was my enemy. I smiled beatifically at it then turned heel and bounded back.

I threw open his office door, startling him where he still stood. Reaching out to lock it behind me, I didn't take my eyes off his gorgeous face. My heart melted at the sight.

But anger and frustration were still running strong in my blood, so the words we had both been waiting for me to say came out rudely. "I love you! I love you, damn it! I freaking fucking love you, Justin Kay."

I was ripping out of my shirt, a move I sorely regretted later, and launching myself across into his welcoming embrace.

My hands reached out to hammer impatiently at his back. I wanted it deep and hard, hard and fast, and I wanted it now.

I had come here with _great expectations,_ but Justin had other ideas. His shoulders shook with unconcealed laughter, inadvertently causing friction of his shirt-covered chest against my already sensitized nipples. I stamped my foot impatiently.

"Will you fucking stop laughing and fuck me now?"

"My poor, horny baby," Justin Kay tutted sympathetically down at me.

"Hey, you don't know what kind of shitty day I have been having. I deserve to get some," I muttered unhappily then sniffed back a sob. I didn't know why, but just being in Justin's arms turned the normal, rational me into a mush of emotions. Not always lust. That is to say, not wholly lust.

"Hush, baby," he soothed concernedly before adding, "You want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. I wanted to forget it.

Just then, the intercom buzzed, and Justin's skinny receptionist intruded on my private little pity party.

"Your two o'clock is early," her voice rang out professionally before it turned coy. "Do you want me to send him in?"

I glanced down swiftly at my torn bodice in dismay.

Justin untangled himself from my clingy limbs and returned to his desk. Then, he simply said into the phone, "I'm busy. He can wait."

He was back in my arms an instant later. My limbs resumed their clinging hold. It was like he never left.

"I should just go," I muttered pitifully. His smile was toe-curlingly warm and womb-toastingly hot. Reaching a hand into my gaping bodice, he lazily flicked a taunt nipple into an active ache that ran core deep. I shifted uncomfortably, squirming impatiently for more.

"Sh-sh," he intoned huskily while his naughty fingers did everything else but soothe. Both my breasts were untucked out of my gaping bodice. Wild and free, they bobbed enticingly beneath his hooded gaze at each heavy breath I dragged into my suddenly starved lungs. I arched my back, sending them shoving upwards more insistently at Justin Kay.

He didn't disappoint. Dropping his head to close the distance, his lips parted to latch onto one throbbing peak before alternating with the other. And then, he got busy drawing out hoarse sonatas and arias from my untrained vocals before they faded away altogether into mute soundless wrangles.

His lips left me aching and sore before he moved up to settle back on mine.

"There, take that as a down payment to your payment in full tonight," he murmured finally with an ominous glint in his eyes that warned me he was violently turned on if still excessively angry.

_Angry over what?_ I was the one being tormented and left high and dry.

Some of my befuddlement must have shown on my face, for he leaned down low again to bring his hooded gaze back to mine.

"You took your time to say you love me. So I am going to take my time to fuck you," he spat out furiously before his gaze dropped back hungrily to drink in the sight of my heaving mounds. This time, they heaved with a different kind of agitation.

I narrowed my eyes at him threateningly, my hands reaching out of their own accord to catch hold of his. His startled eyes flicked back to mine. Holding his gaze, I lifted his hand to my lips and began to kiss and lick all over it.

"What are you doing?" he groaned. Then, at my unrelenting attention, he chuckled huskily. His amusement was clear in the sparkle of his eyes.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing," I murmured, trailing my lips over and down to the centre of his palm. "Don't mind me."

"Fuck!"

I smiled into the palm of his hand as that little kiss tipped the scales. His hands were quick to grip my waist. With a swift flick on the hook to my skirt, he drew down the zip, and the whoosh of silk told its own tale.

I stepped out from its folds and sent it flying with a flick of my heels. Then, I reached up to toss off my top. Completely bare, I reached out to help him. Justin was already out of his shoes, pants, and undies; I loosened his tie but didn't remove it and set to unbuttoning his shirt.

Clad in nought but his loosened tie and socks, Justin came at me like an enraged bull. I was actually torn between turning tail to run screaming at the determined look on his face and leaping forward to conduct a physical assault of my own.

His lips smashed down on mine, and I did my best to clamber up his tall frame. But either his skin was too slick for my hold, or I was just plain bad at climbing; I couldn't get both my feet off the ground. I hopped on one even as I wrapped the other around his waist. His hands were quick to take advantage of the open invitation between. I reached out for him in swift retaliation, drawing a hissed breath and a muffled curse from his lips still crushed to mine.

Then, he got busy untangling my limbs from his before he dragged me back to his desk and turned me over it.

Grasping my hips between his hands, he dug in tight before hauling me up onto my toes 'til I was high enough for him to slide in. My breath left my lungs in a long exhale as he slid home. He fit in snug and tight and up to the hilt.

But he didn't linger. His hips moved instantly, flexing out only to ram back in with increasing force. Hoarse cries of encouragement tickling at my throat had me all choked up so that I gasped and moaned instead.

But I was determined to say it, to tell Justin Kay that I love him, to tell him again and again at each stroke of his strong member in my silken wet folds. The buzz of excitement cleared enough after my first orgasm so that I heard his own chant ringing in my ears. Through clenched teeth, he held firm, riding my waves of release as I spasmed tormentingly about him.

" _I love you!"_ __ he chanted hoarsely as he started to pick up his pace again to continue relentlessly battering at my core.

" _I love you!"_ __ I gasped out clearly. Having ridden the wave of release, I found I could be coherently heard. So I began a chant of my own, telling him of my love, of my lust, and urging him on 'til I was swiftly peaking again. Then, my voice faded into hoarse cries of satisfaction.

Justin joined me on that peak then fell limp against me, crushing me back down onto his desk. His hands were back on my breasts now. They hand moved up from my hips to get a better grip to help his pistoning angles. That he chose to tug impatiently at their taunt peaks was a side dish in pursuit of the main course.

****

I could safely say we made a hearty meal out of our lunch break even though the rumble in my stomach insisted otherwise.

I was hard pressed to move, sitting so comfortably on his lap like this, my bare ass pressed against his equally bare thighs. But my lunch break was almost over, and I would be late getting back to the office, especially if I had to detour past a deli and grab some lunch on the way.

But Justin Kay made moving even an inch apart from him damn difficult. After our lovemaking, he had gathered me up in his arms and moved to the chaise before sitting me on his lap to cuddle. I snuggled deeper into his embrace, reveling in his wide, warm hands brushing back my hair, running down my back, and generally petting. I all but cooed in smug satisfaction. Justin Kay was mine and I, his. There was nothing that could make me happier.

Except, of course, a wearable shirt.

I grimaced at the thought of my ripped garment. What had I been thinking? I frowned down at the relaxed, pink male nipple that was only a brush away from my lips. I released a pent-up breath on it and watched it tantalizingly pebble.

"I should go," I said sadly to it and watched it tighten further in response.

"No," said Justin mildly.

"Yes," I said simply.

"No," said Justin again.

"Fuck," I muttered, too tired to argue. I shifted on his lap before rolling off, back onto my feet. I stretched gingerly, feeling a lot as if I had been worked over by a truck.

"I need a shirt," I said, looking longingly at Justin's own discarded shirt, resting still where it landed on the floor.

"No," grunted Justin, following my gaze. I turned back to pout at him. But I was fairly new to pouting and may not have been doing it right, for Justin merely lifted a brow at me condescendingly.

"You should have thought of that before you set about ripping off your shirt caveman style," he reprimanded tightly.

That just rubbed me raw.

I bounded away from him to pace up and down restlessly, cursing the stiff-necked fool that was my fiancé and contemplating alternative options with regards to my attire—or lack thereof.

His sigh was audible and over my shoulder. I spun around angrily to face him head on. Lust had been dealt with and was no longer clouding my judgment, but even so, I found myself doubling back and taking in the mind-numbing sight of him all bare and clad only in socks and tie. I reached out to tug at that tie simply because I could and offered up a mischievous smile at him.

I guess he must have wondered about me blowing hot then cold then hot again. But he didn't say anything. He only leaned in to flick a finger against my nipple and then reach down to capture my cry of pain with his open-mouthed kiss.

I was released a long moment later.

"Wear my gym clothes. There's a brief in there too. Wear it," he said, moving off to toss his gym bag at me.

I accepted the bag and dug around for the shirt, surprised to find one there at all. If I recalled correctly, he enjoyed bench pressing shirtless.

I heaved a happy sigh at the sight of the large, baggy t-shirt then grimaced at the underpants I found next. But his scowl told me not to argue. Justin was already dressed back to his immaculate self when I emerged from under his giant shirt. The only thing I was glad of was that it covered the brief I had on. I looked silly in it.

But the heat in Justin's eyes said otherwise. I swiftly looked away and dragged on his track pants. I couldn't possibly go back to work dressed in this.

But then, only a short while later, I realized I didn't need to, for waiting patiently outside of Justin's office was Ogling Orlando and David _fucking_ Winthrope.

I was soooo _freaking fired!_

# Chapter 12

"Miss Aria Longbottom," drawled out Orlando tauntingly. I could see the brains behind his beady eyes doing overtime, taking in my apparel and the lack thereof. He no doubt put two and two together and found a lot wanting.

"Hi," I said feebly.

"Fancy finding you here," he murmured, his tone sardonic.

"Where else would I be but joining my fiancé for lunch?" I muttered shortly. I saw his gaze drop to take in my attire.

"The pasta spilled over her clothes. I was just taking her back for a change, but since my next appointment is here, take my car, Aria. You can fetch me after work."

I reached out automatically to grab the keys he tossed at me.

Turning to smile up pathetically at my two bosses, I shifted my bag more comfortably on my shoulder and all but ran out his door. I sped down the blasted stairs, doing my best not to stumble over the bottom of his pants and tumble head over heels the rest of the way.

I left Justin to do his magic. Wheeling and dealing was his forte. Although I had to admit it was mine too.

I was _so fired._

Despite Justin's best efforts, I sort of _knew_ that outcome was inevitable. But as it ain't over until the fat lady sings, I still had to make the mad dash across the city and save my ass so to speak.

I drove through crazy traffic then dived into the first vacant spot I found a bloody block away from mine. Then, I hoisted my bag, grabbed my drooping waistline, and scrambled ahead at breakneck speeds for the block that housed my little unit.

A swift change and another mad dash later, and I was back behind my desk, starving and trembling as I bent my head studiously over my work. I called it a day after nightfall. Dinner demanded my attention like nothing else. I snuck out of the building successfully without triggering any alarm. The place was deserted, devoid of the rabble rousers who wanted my head on a platter for various reasons and most, importantly devoid, of the bosses themselves.

I made my way to the lonely car parked on the curb and drove to the nearest restaurant to grab an order for two. I couldn't face cooking that night, and I knew Justin was bound to be hungry too.

I tapped him a message that I would be there in ten then moved out onto the streets devoid of traffic. It was a relief to have the whole street to myself. I blasted some music and rocked to the beat, lip syncing the words so that I didn't ruin the music. This was the first time I could actually enjoy myself behind the wheels of Justin's Evoque. Then, I was pulling up along the curb beside a patiently waiting Justin. He was swift to open the door and get in.

"Drive," he instructed.

I drove.

"Take a left."

I gave him a startled look as I approached the intersection but didn't question him. I took the turn as he'd demanded. Soon, I was pulling up in a car park beneath his block. I got out of the car and followed his swift strides, making for the lift. I could see he was preoccupied, but then, I kind of was too. Only I didn't quite know what about.

He tugged loose his tie and undid his cufflinks. Pocketing the little-bejewelled trinkets, he folded his arms and leaned back against the elevator walls impatiently. I shifted on my feet, hunger pangs causing me to alternate between glancing down at the packed food and then back up at Justin. Both enticements were too irresistible to deny.

The door slid open to our floor, and I fell into step behind him, my eyes trained on his delectable ass as I followed him out. We were in his spacious apartment, elegantly furnished and filled with luxury. I made straight for the dining area and laid my goodies to rest there. Then, I went to get the plates and wine glasses.

Justin was already discarding his shirt. Unbuttoned and half off, he moved on to disappear into his bedroom. The shower could be heard a short while later.

Then, as soon as I had the dinner warmed up and ready to go, he was back clad in his pj's. He tossed me an old t-shirt. I left to go have my own shower. I emerged a short while later clad only in his shirt, and we settled down to dinner.

I sipped at the wine he poured me and stared up at him. I realized then that I could get used to this. Starting my day and ending it sleeping in Justin's arms.

That was exactly what I did a short while later. Snuggling close within the warm clasp of his embrace, I dived into the oblivion of deep, contented sleep. But I woke up in the middle of the night, frantic and with a pounding heart. I laid there, eyes open wide, staring into pitch darkness. It hadn't been a nasty dream. Anxiety?

I turned and tossed restlessly, trying more to rouse Justin out of his own deep slumber rather than to get myself back to sleep.

But like a _man,_ __ he slept the sleep of the dead.

So I rounded on him instead, flattening myself against his long frame. I swept my arms about him and clung hard.

But he only slept on.

My sigh was heavy and exasperated as it left my lips in a hot puff only to slam uselessly against his sculpted back. I laid my temple against his skin and groaned painfully at my own stupidity.

I had been anxious in my sleep. Worried about my job. Having missed the bosses the afternoon before, I didn't know what to expect. But I should have known better than to turn to Justin— _a man—_ in the middle of the night for some consolation.

But I must have done something right, for the sound of mumbled words rumbled out from him.

" _What?"_ __ I whispered out in the dark. I didn't know why I kept my voice hushed; there was only us around.

"R ye well?" he slurred sleepily at me as Justin rolled over in my arms to settle down on his back.

"Perfectly well," I muttered out shortly. Daftness did not constitute an illness. I was apparently suffering from an intense variety of the former. I watched as my sarcasm misfired, and Justin puffed out a breath to sink back into deep sleep once more.

I gritted my teeth and barred a grrr of dissatisfaction. Instead, I reached out for my phone. Finding it was only four in the morning, I muffled a groan then bit back a curse to find a message from my mother blinking on the screen. We were to attend dinner tonight at my aunt's place. My dad's eldest sister was ten years his senior and positively senile. I closed my eyes and shoved my phone away at the vision of what a dinner with her would constitute.

One thing was for certain: if Justin could survive Aunt Penny, then he must really love me. Really, really... love me. I closed my eyes and rolled to my side, feeling sleep once more weigh heavily down on me.

But just as I was sinking back down into deep sleep, Justin rolled beside me. Turning to press his morning staff to the plump curve of my ass, I wiggled my hip, unwilling for him to mistakenly lunge up the wrong hole. Jerking my hip back, he slid home with too much ease. I couldn't help it; just being near him had me perpetually wet and horny. His hot lips fell to the curve of my shoulders, moving up to nuzzle hungrily at my neck. I turned my torso awkwardly, willing him to take my offer of a teat instead.

The position was wild, one that gave me a muscle spasm, which I decidedly ignored. The pain was a small price to pay for the pleasure. And it was a pleasure that I was after. His hand slid up from his firm grasp of my hip to curve about a weighty breast as he obligingly leaned over to take in an aching tit. Mauling my nipple with his wet mouth, I reveled in his slobbering as his hips continued to hammer consistently into mine.

"Oh fuck, Justin," I moaned out pitifully, as the position I was in reduced me to helplessly receive his ministrations. I grasped blindly at his overgrown blonde locks, willing him to take my desperate lips in a wildly consuming kiss, but his attentions remained fixated on my ravaged blossoms. I whimpered and whined as his not so tender assault continued. But then, the pumping of his hips grew stronger, turning wilder with a flurry of rapid jabs, alternating with slow, languid thrust as his need grew to match the frantic pace of mine. I was no longer merely receiving his attentions but tossing my ass back into his thrust and rudely taking as much as I could in a quest to achieve completion. His lips left my breasts then to breathe raggedly into my ear as his hips continued to slam up into me. My face was buried now, muffling my cries into my pillow, and his grunts were deep and erotic, a vibrant echo in my ear that trembled down my blood into my pumping heart.

Then, completion came. Sweet and exquisite. Slamming our hips, we held together, straining into each other as he roughly pumped out the last of his essence deep within me. I was breathless and fainting before his weight relented enough to allow me up for air.

"God, I love your pussy," he murmured hoarsely through ragged breaths of his own. I jolted against him as his husky words dragged out the last of my spasms. "I love you—everything about you. Every part of you," he continued murmuring, almost worshipfully.

"I love you, too," I muttered fitfully. Tears soaked my eyes, wanting to pour out a torrent for no other reason than to express my mindless happiness.

"Hush," he murmured huskily. Reaching out, his skilful lips rained kisses over the side of my face. I was still lying on my front, pressed into the mattress by his weight. But I didn't want to dislodge him yet. "You love my cock, don't you? You love having me take your pussy, pounding in you... _hard._ "

I could feel his length still in me he was semi hard and was looking more and more pumped up by the minute. I could see he was getting preoccupied with a second round.

"I do. I love you inside me," I found myself saying, oddly shy. I batted away the tears and then felt him ease out of me. He turned me to face him before nudging my legs apart again and settling his length back inside me. We were linked once more, together as one. I wrapped my arms and legs around him. Holding him to me even as he simply laid there, burrowing his face into the crook of my neck and breathing me in.

"I can't ever go on without you," he said suddenly. His words stilled my beating heart. I slid a rough hand straight into his hair to haul him back. My other hand moved firmly to cup his cheek.

"Don't you talk like that! I am yours. I will always be," I said firmly. There was no possibility of him ever being without me. He needed to know that. "I am your leech. I am stuck on you for life, sucking your lifeblood to live at all. Without you,... I am _dead."_

I stared up at him seriously. There was no way he could ever be without me, and the sooner he realized that, the better. His chuckle was husky and deep, sending a sensuous thrill from where he was still connected deep within me.

"Only you could make such a romantic declaration sound so god damn awful. A leech? Really?"

I grinned unrepentantly up at him. Shrugging my shoulders, I said, "If the shoe fits and all. _The leech_ was totally apt. I couldn't imagine anything else that could be so apart of you that it would appear you've grown a second limb. That's how close I see you with me."

"Can't I be the leech in your analogy then?" he asked sweetly.

"You can," I murmured before shifting my hips up to pump on him pointedly. "You're already stuck with me."

His chuckle was now wicked and matching the naughty smirk on his delightful face.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you, too."

"No," he said, his face tightening as his hips started to jam hard into me again. "I mean I really, really love you."

I grinned. "I really, really love you, too."

We were up to the peal of his alarm only a short while later. Feeling pleasantly bruised and battered, I gingerly climbed out of bed and made straight for the bathroom. We bumped into each other along the way, stopping only to mesh our lips and rub each other's bottoms with roving hands. I shoved Justin away as he made to follow me in. I drew the line at pooing in his company. Even though he insisted shitting was completely natural, and I shouldn't feel ashamed about it. I told him to go fuck himself and slammed the door in his face.

We stopped by my place along the way for a quick breakfast and a change of clothes for me. Then, he dropped me off at my office and left me to my fate with an uncaring wave and almost evil smirk that I longed to kiss away. He was awful. I didn't know why I loved him. It made no sense whatsoever.

I hunkered underneath my jacket and hunched over to sneak into the building undetected. I soon found my efforts were unnecessary. The office was determined to ignore me as much as I was determined to hide from them. That made for one decidedly awkward ride up in a crowded lift. We all poured out onto our respective floors and went our own ways. Not a word of greeting was exchanged with me. I was blatantly shunned. I didn't see why. It wasn't as if I had been a genuine tattletale. The report had been more factual than anything else, but the grapevine had its own way of twisting things out of proportion.

I decided to set the cold shoulders aside and focus on the mountain of lava that was expected from the two bosses. I seriously doubted they would set aside yesterday's blatant misconduct without some sort of set down. Still, my conduct had been clearly out of their jurisdiction. It had been over lunch break and at my fiancé's office too.

But I sort of knew logic like that would not really matter. Not to the bosses anyhow. Two hours later, I discovered reprieve was the order of the day. The bosses were away, interstate attending client meetings. I yipped with joy and spent my day blissfully doing my work in unexpected peace and serenity. But all good things must come to an end, and the end of that day saw me heading home alone to get ready and then Justin dropping by to fetch me off to my aunt's for dinner.

Half an hour later, and Justin Kay was happy basking in altogether too much feminine attention.

"Oh, don't you think his smile is absolutely devastating? I can hear feminine hearts breaking all over the place," gushed Justin's new adoring aunt-in-law. Justin's incorrigible grin only widened further at my elderly aunts' endorsement.

I didn't know about mass destruction, but I knew his sensual smirk was capable of mass distraction. That he blatantly blasted it about the room at the poor unsuspecting women within was nothing short of shameless.

But I accepted his mischievous wink with a helplessly adoring grin of my own.

I couldn't believe him. Watching Justin turn my relations into putty in his hands was downright insulting. Surely someone in my family could withstand his obvious charms. Not me certainly, but someone else surely.

But nope. Not that I could see. I watched them all, men and women, succumb to his easy ways and grunted with more than a little jealousy.

The party finally progressed from intoxicating cocktails to dinner. It was just before that, my elusive cousin showed her face. Hers and Dale's.

I should have known better than to expect a meal without the indigestion that these two turning up brought in their wake. I honestly didn't know why I cared anymore. It had been ages since they'd betrayed my trust. Yet still, it stung as if it happened just yesterday. I hated their unintentional power over me.

My spine stiffened automatically as the pair moved around the old-fashioned furnished room, making their way slowly across as they greeted every and anyone that claimed the remotest blood relations along the way.

"Aria!"

Finally, they reached me with wide, beaming smiles as fake as them. I widened my own in paltry imitation. I was no good with false affection. Mine was always the real deal or none at all.

My wide beam wavered then faded. I stood there frowning instead.

"A week and a half left until the big day," gushed my cousin with false enthusiasm. I grimaced before turning to look at her. Where was Justin when you needed him?

"I bet you're just counting the days," said Dale, chuckling softly.

"Oh, I am sure this one won't run out on her. After all, he has made it past the engagement," reassured his wife. I stared at my cousin and Dale with unconcealed hate. Fuck them and their stupid asses.

"Look," I said simply, provoked beyond reason. "I realize I never actually said it. But all these years, I have been thinking about it, and I can't restrain myself any longer."

Dale and my cousin, Linda, watched me with some anticipation. I could clearly see the glimmer of unconcealed glee in the depths of their shallow eyes.

"Thank you," I said earnestly to Linda. "Thank you both." I turned to encompass Dale too.

Then, at their continued baffled looks, I sighed and explained further, "Thank you for saving me from the biggest mistake of my life. Marrying Dale would have been right up there alongside Hitler, Osama, ISIS, and the atomic bomb."

I didn't wait for their response. Instead, I scurried off in search of my recalcitrant husband-to-be, only to find him lurking behind an array of fronds, doubled over and laughing his hide off at what he had clearly heard me say.

I stared fumingly down at him before I glanced at my watch and decided to forgo dinner altogether and attend that elusive Zumba class instead. I was certain there was one scheduled to begin in the next twenty odd minutes or so. I spun on my heels and simply left. Justin could do the honors of excusing my abrupt departure. It was not as if I had a choice. I was too freaking furious to do much else.

I was almost at the taxi stop when Justin caught up with me. Still heaving with soundless laughter, he took one look at my disgruntled face and set off again in a spat of unbridled hilarity.

"I can't believe you walked out on your own party," he managed finally to get out between bouts of mirth. I stomped my foot down at him.

" _My party?_ __ No one even acknowledged I was there. Everyone was busy gushing over Justin Kay!"

"God, I love your jealousy!"

"I am not jealous!"

His wide smile said clearly that he didn't believe me.

"I am not!" I insisted.

His grin didn't waver, but this time, he moved to wrap his arms around me in a comforting embrace... like I was a retard!

I moved to shove him off. My face contorted in my vile temper, but his face was contorted too, still in avid laughter. I shoved uselessly at his shoulders then hammered harmlessly at his back. My limbs felt strangely too weak to do him much damage. Being in his arms had that weird effect. I was reduced to mush without even his trying. It was all so unfair.

"You're impossible," I muttered faintly.

"I know," he chuckled huskily before drawing me tighter within his embrace. We stood there for some time, at the taxi stop, wrapped in a bear hug that promised to liquefy my bones altogether.

I was pure Jell-O when he finally deigned to release me. Wobbling like a top where I stood, I accepted his arm offered for support and clung onto him like a limpet.

He just brought out that weak feminism in me, making me want to bask in his strength and adoring gaze. I easily forgot my ire and forgot even that I was fuming at all.

We walked arm in arm back to the car where he opened the door to the passenger side with a flourish and swept me a bow in welcoming me in. I giggled and then dived inelegantly in. The door slammed gently shut on my still upraised rump so that I moved swiftly to settle myself in my seat. Buckling up, I sunk back in the comfy seat and gazed stupidly at Justin. I watched his every move with a besotted intensity as he did nothing more than buckle himself in.

This was getting purely ridiculous. I wet my lips sometime later, still staring at Justin staring lazily back at me. His gaze, not unlike mine, drifted over my curves, lingering at his favorite spots but otherwise not touching. My own hands were clenched in a fist as I tried very hard to do the same. The grit of my teeth was a dead giveaway. But his chuckle this time was not as light-hearted as before. Instead, the sounds that came out were almost hoarse.

The car was swamped with the sexual tension of two mating dogs. Only we weren't mating _yet._

And the opportunity to do so melted completely away at his next choice of words.

"Mother wants us to spend the weekend at the farmhouse with her. Can you take Friday off?"

I stared up at him mutely. I didn't say that I might have forever off when I get back to work tomorrow. I couldn't dodge the bosses forever and the reprimand that was surely heading my way. Even so, that wasn't entirely the mood killer.

"A weekend with your mother?"

"Three days. We leave Thursday night."

I nodded my head tiredly, knowing that I had to. There was no way I could avoid _getting to know_ __ Mrs. Kay. That I tentatively knew her already didn't matter. I didn't yet know her as my would-be mother-in-law.

She would surely lay down the law, not to mention a heap of her expectations along the way. I was, after all, marrying into the Kay family.

I took a deep breath and offered up a wide, beaming smile, determined to let Justin see that I was o-Kay about it.

Justin Kay was uncharacteristically merry all the way backm and since he was happy-go-lucky by nature, that was seriously saying something. It wasn't his odd, seemingly unprovoked occasional chuckle that gave him away. It was the whistling while he drove, off tune and somewhat shrill, that told the tale.

We returned to Justin's unit from the failed dinner engagement. Home-fed on measly slapped together peanut butter sandwiches and bathed; then, we were ready for bed. As always, I dived in headfirst and minded the consequences later.

Now, I watched surreptitiously as Justin meticulously tucked in every corner, determined to imprison me beneath the confines of his silky bed covering. My earlier attempts at seduction had gone awry. In fact, Justin had leaped up, dragging his pants up, shouting uncle before I even got in a satisfactory taste.

He was up to something. All that merry laughter and now denying me sex had to mean something. Was he over me already? Or did he just plan a more salacious torment? It was sometimes hard to tell what Justin was really thinking.

"Justin!" I whined pitifully. If he was balking on us soon, I wanted all I could get before he bailed out. Reneging on our deals was my forte. I didn't appreciate him getting the better of me. But I was pathetic. I would take what I could get while I got it. Who knows? It could take five more years of celibacy before he allowed me into the touching distance again.

"Uh...uh," said Justin, mildly shaking his head with an unrepentant grin.

"What _are_ you doing?"

I watched with keen interest as his hips started to rock to some imaginary music. Then, his lips parted, and I recognized the husky strains of the music he hummed before his sensuous lips actually formed those erotically haunting words. His tone deep and husky, the wealth of his emotions was clear in the enunciation of each word.

'Kiss Me' by Ed Sheeran could never sound better than the way it fell from Justin Kay's lips.

I now knew why he had me bodily restrained like this. But he should think again if he actually thought this would hold me.

I had never had anyone sing to me before other than my mom and dad when I was a kid, but this.... this had my heart sobbing. I struggled out of the fabric holding me and scrambled up onto my knees. My gaze was fixated on him as he moved about the room, hips swaying to the imaginary music and expression taut as his words built up to a climax. I rode the wave of his song, strained along its strains and stretched against his highs, and then, we crested the peak together. With me trembling alone on the bed and he shaking where he stood.

"That was... that was,..." I choked off, beyond words to describe something so beautiful. He was just so blindingly beautiful.

I sat there, simply staring, drenching myself with thick droplets spilling over from my wet eyes to splash down my wet cheeks.

I hated crying.

But I loved him. I so heartbreakingly loved Justin Kay.

# Chapter 13

Right.... So, I'm fired.

Nope, that sounded a little harsh even when I said it only in my head. I took a deep breath and huffed up another step. I was sure these blasted steps only got longer each time I climbed it. What sort of sick pervert had stairs to his blasted office?

Damnit!

I glanced up at the last few steps and cursed anew. I was supposed to have my little speech perfected by now; instead, I got side-tracked griping about the damn steps. Perhaps if I had actually made it to that blasted Zumba class, I might have had less to gripe about. But then, I would have missed out on Justin's incredible performance. My hips automatically swung to the tune of his song even as I completed the last lap and landed before the daunting receptionist Justin still employed.

Gritting my teeth, I strode up to her desk and said in no uncertain terms, "I need to see Justin."

"He is in the conference right now. Take a seat."

We clashed eyes then, each eyeing the other threateningly, but as always, the stairs had drained the better part of my vigour. So I turned heel and marched off to take my seat instead.

My mind went inevitably back to last night.

Justin Kay had _romanced_ me _._

A romantic serenade followed by some endearing cuddling. We spent the night cooing besottedly at each other. Dozing off in the wee hours of the morning, the shrill alarm had us leaping out of bed in frantic urgency for work. All warm thoughts had fled as we completed the by now usual morning routine of clambering all over the city from his place to mine as we made ready for the day ahead.

Then, he kissed me off at my building and took off in a mad dash across the city to make his own morning appointments. I had gone back to lovey-dovey mode after that kiss and all but swept into my office, riding on the high.

Twenty minutes later, and I was shuffling about, sniffing back the tears at the contents of the envelope I found unopened on my desk.

Orgasm Orlando opened my door a moment later to reiterate the contents of the letter in words I couldn't possibly misunderstand.

So I blew my nose, sucked in my guts, and packed up my belongings—belongings that I tossed into the first bin I crossed on the way out before I made my way here to Justin's office to break the news.

What if he didn't want me anymore? What if last night's serenade was it? I knew it was dumb for me to keep thinking the end was hovering near, but I couldn't help it. The last good thing that had happened to me hadn't lasted. Track records indicated that this wouldn't either.

I sat there twiddling my thumbs and went back to planning what I needed to say. Then, the door opened, and Justin was there, drawing me into his exuberant hug before taking me in to his office. I didn't even notice the others that filed out.

"I-I lost my job."

Saying it out loud felt bad. I felt instantly like a loser. I also felt incredibly like a charity case, a pet project belonging to the indulgently rich.

I looked up to find Justin Kay looking unusually dark and foreboding. He looked almost unrecognizable. I wouldn't have known it was him if I had not seen the change from happy to furious in a dark instant.

I tore my gaze away to look down at my feet and noted that I should have at least waited 'til we had moved away from the door. But at least it was closed shut, keeping the prying ears and eyes of his blasted receptionist at bay. I would have died if she'd heard my declaration.

As it was, I was dying slowly and painfully from the inside out simply because Justin now knew it. Knew my failure.

"What the fuck happened?" he spat out furiously, and I started to fall over myself, explaining. He raised his hand and called a halt. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything."

His tone was hard and unyielding, scaring me more than I thought he could. I opened my mouth and, for the first time, poured it all out. The beginning, I found, panned back to a long time ago, longer than I had ever realized. In relaying it all, I saw a pattern emerge. I saw the cause and effect. And worst of all, I saw the future I would have had, _had I not been fired_ at all.

Things were looking decidedly better as my voice grew hoarse and finally fell silent. I accepted the glass of water he pressed into my hands and gulped it all down thirstily. We had, at some point, manoeuvred to the chaise and now sat side by side on it. I longed to be on his lap instead. But Justin's expression was still dark and decidedly closed off. He was doing some heavy thinking, and I found I finally preferred the carefree Justin above all else. I liked him worry-free and on top of things. Seeing him worry made me worry too. And that was just a tad more weird to process than was usual, especially as my worries were now officially gone. Gone with the loss of my job.

I couldn't believe those fucking fools fired _me_.

I sat there, mutely shaking my head as I quietly sipped at my refilled cup. It was some time later when the sound of Justin's voice shocked me out of my maudlin state.

"You should have told me. So much has been happening to you and never once you thought to share it with me," said Justin softly. I could tell he was trying not to let it show, but my actions had hurt him.

I looked down at my lap then shrugged my shoulders. "I hadn't wanted to worry you."

"In sickness and health. That is the union we are headed for. We share everything. Going forward, you speak to me of your fears and your worries, you hear?"

I stared up at his furious face and felt my own rage rise in response.

"You want my _fears?_ Well, _you're_ __ my greatest fear of all. Losing _you_ __ will kill me. The _thought_ of losing you kills me _every_ day," I breathed out, beyond enraged.

" _Lose me?_ What the _fuck?_ ___I_ am the fucking one so worried that _you_ will walk out on _me!"_

We stared at each other speechlessly for a moment. We were so messed up!

"I am fat. I have bulges you don't even want to know about. My worries are legit!" I exclaimed indignantly and then fell silent to ponder it all at his promptly raised brow.

"I have seen you naked many times. Any bulges you have, I have already fondled. I haven't run off yet," he said with deceptive mildness.

I took a step back and stared up at him warily. It was in his tone, barely discernible, but there nonetheless. That steely determination to have his way: it was what made him so successful at what he did.

It defied reasoning that this fun loving, immaculate man could be so damn serious when he put his mind to it. But he was serious, now and often enough, to get the job done.

I shivered as he advanced; closing the distance between us 'til his face was right in mine. "You are never escaping me. Ever. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better. We _are_ __ getting married in a little less than over a week now. There's no escaping that fate. There's no escaping _me."_

_Put it like that, and I actually believed him._ __ It was that steely glint in his eyes that shook me to the core. _And_ __ made me soaking wet besides.

"I am sorry, _"_ __ I whispered huskily, feeling all tear-clogged again. I hate being reduced to maudlin tears. I was better than this, surely beyond self-pity. But I was doubly glad all the same when Justin gathered me close so I could bury my head in his chest. I flattened my nose in it and bit back sobs as he pulled me in closer. I was snug up against him with his face nuzzling in my hair a moment later. He smelled divine. I could lose my job every day just to bask in this.

But it was slowly dawning on me that I didn't have to. Justin Kay was mine, just as I was his.

I tightened my fist against his back to avoid digging my claws into him in a painful display of ownership. But Justin appeared to have no such qualms. His fingers spread as he dug his hands into my hair, tracing my scalp before he clenched them into fists to yank me back shockingly and take my lips in furious possession.

His lips pressed onto mine possessively, arousing emotions I hadn't thought possible, given my depressive mood. But I found that sadness didn't last with Justin, for company and horniness couldn't stay away in his presence either.

But Justin had other ideas on mind.

"I know it's early yet, but let's go get lunch and while away the day doing nothing."

He didn't wait for my response but set about canceling appointments and making arrangements, and then, we were off to have _fun._

The bar __ he stopped by was quaint and as rustic on the outside as it was on the inside. The place was shrouded in darkness and lit only sparsely to give the vibe of nightfall. I forgot it was still not quite noon as I sank my teeth into the juicy burger-with-the-lot that the bartender popped in front of me. We were two of the handful of patrons who were actually eating. The place was primarily a bar rather than a diner.

I polished my plate clean with a swiftness that surprised even me. But Justin, while matching my pace, wasn't quite ready to go.

Instead, he ordered himself a drink and got one for me, too. I opened my mouth to argue that I hadn't wanted a drink but then softly shut it at the blatant love I saw in his gaze. He was killing me. Always killing me. Softly.

My heart felt full as I blindly took the drink placed in front of me and brought it up to my lips. My eyes instantly watered, and I choked before accepting the water the sympathetic bartender popped within my reach.

Justin had no problems in downing his then asking for another.

Two hours later, and still we sat there.

I should have never let him talk me into this. Drinking alcohol like water was something I would never do again. Naturally, I hadn't forgotten the only other times I had gotten drunk before. Still, it was rather difficult to resist temptation when I was seated right up at the bar with an open tab at my beck and call.

I glanced down at the overly smooth, non-bubbling cocktail of rich green hue that still sat in the exquisite little glass in front of me.

Then, I turned to face my already tipsy husband-to-be.

Justin's solution to drowning my sorrows sat in the numerous bottles with an endless variety of concoctions designed to create that false sense of bliss. Potions to chase away any amount of blues. Blues I no longer felt at all, the very last flashes of the color driven away by Justin's obvious love for all that was me.

He was clearly not in his right faculty. No doubt, he had need of these concoctions more than I did. How could perfection love me? I turned away from staring with utter bemusement at the love of my life to face myself staring back at me in the mirrored paneling behind the bar.

I could not see it. I could not see the attraction he had for me. Well, I had tried my level best to spare him a painful future, but the man seemed determined to tumble down the rabbit hole and drag me along with him. Far be it for me to deny him _anything at all._

I lifted the brittle stem of the tempting brew and sipped tentatively. I could do with the blank oblivion the drink promised, but I hesitated to indulge.

It was already a month since Justin first started ploughing my fields unsheathed to sow his seeds. Chances were one may have taken root by now. A junior Kay would be very welcome. The thought left me reeling. It may be too early to do the tests yet. I didn't really need the tests anyway. Either way, I would know soon enough. Either outcome would only become more apparent with time.

"You should sit down," said Justin, concernedly taking in my pale countenance.

"I am already seated," I assured him, smiling faintly at his cute drunkenness. I turned to the other glass of clear water and took a tentative sip of that next.

The woozy feeling didn't leave. I decided enough was enough. The sun would be setting soon, and I didn't want my dinner at this joint.

"Let's go," I insisted, not for the first time. But this time, Justin decided to comply. Getting up shakily to his feet, he fished in his pockets for a set of keys that he tossed at me. "Here, you drive."

I nodded my head, glad he was being sensible about this, and took up the keys. Settling the tab, we headed back out.

Impeccable gloom met us at the exit. With the sun in hiding and the clouds busily not really helping, I was rather glad to note that the day shared my sting in losing my job. The wind rustled past, determined to blow up what was left of my dignity. I held down my skirts with one hand and propped Justin up with the other as I guided him toward his car.

Settling him in, I decided to drive back to my place instead of his. I needed the comfort of familiar walls, even if I needed Justin more. I didn't see why I couldn't have both. Justin didn't protest as I drove past the turn off that led to his place and instead took him back to mine.

I helped him up then led him in and settled him on the chaise before I went to soak myself in a long, hot shower.

I sat back in my bath and thought back to what Justin had said. The warm water around me was comforting as I replayed over my moments with him.

He'd astounded me.

As always.

The shallow facade he constantly wore was too deceptive. I kept forgetting the well of emotions residing within. I had as always done him a disservice. But I doubted I could have done otherwise. Not when his dazzling smile was all too unfailing in dazzling my thoughts away.

But Justin had needs too, as I found out today. He needed to be loved, to be trusted, and to be believed.

He needed to know that I did all three.

As far as my job was concerned, there would be others, and if there weren't, there was nothing to stop me from venturing out on my own. I was literally capable of anything. I had landed Justin Kay in my lap after all. Unwittingly through that may have been, it proved nonetheless that nothing was above me. All I had to do was reach out and take what I wanted.

My hands lazily scrubbing at my limbs now rested on the ungainly swell of my stomach. Fat was the least of my worries. What if it was something more? I hadn't given much thought to babies at all. Being preoccupied with all that drama at work, the work itself and then the magnificence that was Justin Kay left little time for anything else. But I thought about it now and found an infant Kay more than pleasing. More like welcoming. I welcomed the new addition with open arms and an open heart.

I pondered a moment over what to tell Justin. There really wasn't anything to tell other than my period being late. But it had been late before. I wasn't bonking anyone then, though, let alone a boisterous Justin Kay, insistent on going commando every single time.

At this rate, I should be filling a nursery in no time. He deserved to know his efforts might not be in vain.

And motherhood was a full-blown job on its own accord. It was apt that I embrace it now when I was already otherwise jobless.

I sighed heavily then rose out of the cooling water. Standing under a spray, I washed away the remaining froth of soap then emerged to towel vigorously dry and then shuffle naked to my bedside.

Justin now lay on my bed, still fully dressed and _snoring._

I stared at him pensively and decided to let him sleep it off. There would time a plenty to drop the juice on his head when he woke up in the morning. I would have preferred the brightness of day to better take in his expression anyhow.

I reached down to tug off his boots and roll off his socks, then reached up to unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. Then, the real work began. The tugging and grunting. Heaving heavily, I vowed to attend Zumba at the very next opportunity... _after I delivered the Kay brat I may be carrying._

I didn't doubt he or she would be a brat. With Justin for a father, it would be impossible not to be. I grinned in relish at the image that came to mind. Justin cooing over a newborn. He was a softie through and through.

My eyes rested on his worn briefs valiantly struggling to cover his massive package. Even flaccid, he was more than a mouth full. Not that I had measured or anything. Perhaps I should?

I slipped my fingers beneath the elastic band and tugged at it, reaching back to pinch his ass when the fabric got stuck, and he refused to budge. His hips shifted a little, but it was enough for me to slide the offending scrap of material off. I liked my man bare and available. Easily accessible for feasting with my eyes and all else.

With his bottom half naked, I now had to contemplate his top. The jacket would prove a feat.

I clambered up the bed on all fours. With my hands and legs encaging him, I crawled up his length to sit up with my sex resting comfortably on his. I reached out then to unbutton his shirt and uncuff his sleeves. I would have to haul off both shirt and jacket simultaneously.

I sat back to stare at him. There were many ways we could manoeuvre this. I considered each option contemplatively before nodding decisively. As always, the blatantly obvious choice was best. Wrestling the damn thing off him was it.

I leaned down flat against him, shoving at both coverings at the same time 'til they were bunched up at his shoulders. Then, I hauled a shoulder up, using my weight to tug him up as I struggled to shove the sleeves off his arm. Letting him fall back, I fell against him, relieved to have gotten one off. The other was easier, and I got to it as soon as I had my breath back.

I sat up finally. Job was done and the accompanying sense of satisfaction replete.

But the unmistakable poke between my thighs alerted me that perhaps satisfaction was yet to come.

My eyes jerked to find his grinning down at me, the light of arousal unmistakable in their depths.

"I've never really wrestled with a naked woman before," smirked my incorrigible Justin Kay salaciously. "I like it."

What? He wrestled me naked all the time.

Justin's wicked smirk was, as always, _irresistible_ , capturing my attention and holding me in place. I did my best. I really did. I did all I could to resist the tingles that swept down my spine, the goosebumps that ran over my skin like a rash, and the hot flush to my cheeks that wouldn't relent.

I sat there, staring down at my naked Justin. Watching him staring right back at me, I knew the expression on my face mimicked his. Eyes shimmering half-mast laden with lust, lips moist and pouting, demanding attention.

My breath puffed shallow air then dragged air in deep as the sexual tension entrapping us continued to rise. His length was solid, hot steel that my own heated core readily wept over. My hips flexed on their own. Rubbing myself against him, almost absently, I lost myself in contemplation over all that was him.

I watched as his breath caught and eyes darkened before his hand smoothed its way over my hip, up my back, to wrangling itself in the depths of my tousled hair.

I drew in another shaky breath, knowing I'd need it soon enough. Then, his fist tightened in my hair, and my head was nudged insistently to drop down to his. My lips parted over his even as his did over mine. Our open-mouthed kiss was slow and deep, a patient ravaging that built in intensity and commanded our senses completely.

Then, the wail of my phone tore through us both, shredding the sexual tension in half. I leapt up with the jolt, only to land back against his hardness.

"My phone,..." I muttered, trailing off as I took in the renewed determination in his eyes. I acted swiftly, swinging back and out of reach just as he lunged for me. My laugh rang out whole and hearty at his frustrated explicit.

"Tsk, tsk. Language!" I admonished.

"Leave it and come back here!" he ordered, scowling hard in frustration.

I chuckled again and then danced out of reach. Following the sound of the ringtone, I made for the living room where my bag rested, tossed on the counter where I discarded it on coming in.

"Hello?" I said into the line, not checking the caller id first.

"Aria?"

I stifled a groan on recognizing my mama on the line.

"How are you, Mama?"

"Never mind me. You won't believe who I bumped into this afternoon. Reverend John," said Mama excitedly. I grimaced unhappily, knowing instantly that this was the beginning of a very long conversation.

"Aria, are you listening to me?"

I grunted a response.

"I told him all about you. And how you finally caught yourself a man...."

I grimaced even more at that. She made Justin sound like a trout.

"That the wedding was in a week or so..."

I sighed impatiently at that. A little over a week was suddenly too long a wait.

"And do you know what he said?"

I mutely shook my head at the receiver.

Unfortunately, Mama caught my soundless response as only a mother could and continued on as if I had spoken.

"He said _abstinence!"_

I coughed at that. A sound she chose to mistake as a gasp of intrigue.

"Honest to goodness, that was exactly what he said. He said the secret to a happily wedded life is abstinence before your nuptials. I called Mrs. Kay right away and told her what the good reverend said, and she readily agreed. She will give you separate rooms when you get down to the farmhouse tomorrow. But I want you to start right now. It may already be too late with there being just over a week left, so you have to start now. Tell Justin to keep the hanky-panky 'til after the wedding. "

Abstinence?

Damnit!

The urge to hang up on my mama was strong, but I conquered the force and withstood the rebellion. Murmuring some vague response about needing to go pee, I finally did hang up on her before returning back to the room. Doom and gloom were written all over my face.

"What? What the _fuck_ happened now?"

I could see he was still riding the wave of frustrations strongly and bit my lower lip in response. I was uncertain how to progress.

"Er,... um."

"Just spit it out," he insisted, already rising to his knees in agitation. My mouth went instantly dry in a drought that could only be brought on by an awesomely naked gorgeous man on his knees.

It was a snap-worthy moment for me. And as luck would have it, the phone was in my hand!

I lifted it up to fiddle with the screen, and then, _snap!_

The flash was surprisingly bright. I stared at his startled look captured on screen and grinned, momentarily diverted from the news I had to break.

But the creek of the bed jerked my eyes back up to him. Too late. He was already advancing swiftly at me. I shuffled back then lifted my phone again to _snap! Snap! Snap!_

I yelped as I evaded his outstretched arms and dodged his reaching hands.

We ran around the furniture 'til I was out of breath from the running and the laughter.

He appeared a little winded, too, either still wearing the strain of the drink, or he had a sore need for Zumba also.

"Who was it?" Justin asked finally, bringing my mischievous thought back to the news I had to relate.

Shrugging my shoulders as if the news I had was of no purported interest, I said, "Oh, it was just my mama. She was telling me she bumped in with Reverend John earlier today, and he said..."

"He said _what?"_

I merely stared right back at him. He heard me the first time.

"Why?" he grumbled plaintively. "Why is everyone nosing in our business? Do I go around yanking back other people's libido? Our sex life is our own! I mean, what the _fuck?"_ His sigh was audible, following his deceptively soft-spoken but heartfelt words.

I fell for it hook, line, and sinker—caught like a trout myself and wheeled right back in,... onto his naked lap.

"Aw, baby, don't pout," I murmured instantly before stupidly rounding the sofa I was hiding behind only to get yanked right up against him by his shrewdly reaching arms.

"What's this? Trickery in an appeal for sympathy?" I lifted a brow sternly in an expression that had a history of making grown men wilt.

My eyes dropped instantly to train on the vicinity of the juncture in the apex of his lower limbs. Nope, no wilting noted there.

I shivered with mixed excitement and false indignation. To be bested so lightly was unacceptable. I was tougher than this. I could take him on. I opened my mouth to give him a blistering tirade, just for the sake of it, only to have his mouth open over my own, muffling my words then silencing me altogether in an all-involving kiss. We stumbled backward and fell blindly against walls and furniture as we stumbled our way back to bed.

The wrestling pleasurably continued on there.

"Justin,..." I pleaded painfully. I didn't want to stop, but I couldn't not heed that damn reverend's words either. And it was just a few days to our marriage.

"Only tonight," Justin made a plea of his own. I saw the need in his face and naturally couldn't deny him this, especially not when I wanted him so much too.

We sank back into the flurry of passion, mingling our breaths, tongues and then limbs as we meshed and panted together, striving for completion.

I clutched him tight in the end. An unreasonable fear of losing him gripped me in the pit of my stomach so that I was almost doubled over in pain, clutching him to me. Justin heard the whimper I couldn't hold back and clutched our sweat-slicked bodies closer together.

Senselessly, I started to sob hard then. That it made no sense to feel such an acute fear and give in to that feeling only made me sob harder.

Justin ran his hands up and down my back, trying to soothe away my unseeing pain and offer balm where no wound was evident. Fear of losing him was a devastation to my senses that was not so easily cured. I could not be treated for it by his love for me or my love for him. It was the fickleness of fate itself that I distrusted.

And Justin Kay had no balm for that. So he merely murmured soothing nothings in my ear and held me as close as he could without drawing me whole into his body. I clutched at him as hard.

"It... was... why I left,... you know," I sobbed out finally between hiccups. "I knew this... was possible... between us. I could see it even then, after just that one night together..."

I broke off to struggle back in his arms to better view his face as I said the rest. I saw it already. The dawning comprehension in his features of what I had to say.

"I knew it then... that _you could kill me._ __ Dale never had that power, but _you would._ __ It was the reason I fled. Denied us. Denied what I felt. Denied you." I gasped at what I saw in his gaze. "And you knew that. You have always known."

His nod was almost imperceptible, but then, he opened his mouth to finally acknowledge that truth.

"I have always known it was you that night," he murmured softly, dropping that devastating revelation on me with all the impact of a bullet hole. But my heart survived that shattering impact. It not only survived it but begun to thump harder in my chest almost painfully so as I instinctively understood what he was saying.

"I knew it was you, Aria Longbottom, behind the mask in my bed that New Year's party. It was why I went straight for you the next morning, even fearing it... us... as I did back then. I hadn't heard yet about you and Dale breaking up. I had gone to ensure you did break up. Break up with him _for me_.

"But you denied being with me at all. Called me a drunk. Even going so far as to tell me about that breakup," said Justin, staring straight into my eyes. "I saw it in your eyes then. That irrational fear of me, of what I could be to you, of us. My own fears rose, and I gave into them, falling back and setting you free.

"I couldn't hold a serious relationship for five years after that. So when you called for that appointment to see me, I had already planned on getting you back and having you confess that it was you whom I bedded that New Year's Eve night." He stared seriously at me. "I was done running; done hiding from the truth. The truth is that _you_ have the power to destroy _me_. I couldn't go back to that half-life. Being without you _is only living half my life."_

" _Oh, fuck! I feel that same way,"_ __ I said simply. I cursed that I didn't have the eloquence to convey that to him. But he was right. He was so a part of me that to lose him was to tear out a vital organ. I couldn't survive the loss. I couldn't survive without him. It was why I was crying. I had come to terms with it and accepted his power over my fate. Although I trusted him above myself, I couldn't help that frisson of fear in me.

I clutched him hard to me and began the sobs anew. It was some time later when I sobered up enough, and the hunger pangs of dinner got in the way, that I roused myself enough from my doldrums to sprout out another truth.

"I... think... I may be... pregnant," I said, my voice still clogged and watery from all that sobbing. I hiccupped. "It's probably why I am such an emotional mess," I explained before raising my eyes to meet his hopefully. I didn't want to think this yo-yo of emotions was a permanent damage I would have to simply live with.

It had to be a baby. It just had to.

"Thank God! I certainly hope so."

I watched on in shocked amazement as Justin closed his eyes in what appeared to be a silent prayer. He had planned all this. He had every intention to knock me up right from the start. No doubt, he was willing even to drag me kicking and screaming off to the altar—not that I would have put up even an ounce of protest. Far from it, I would have leapt at him, demanding a shotgun wedding. I am the family sort after all—my family and his notwithstanding.

"This calls for a celebration!" exclaimed Justin excitedly. Bouncing us both off the bed in his exuberance, I welcomed his rough embrace as he helped straighten me up and dragged me right into his embrace. We hugged, happy to be with each other and any future we had together.

"You rest here," he said with some authority as he led me out to the kitchen. "I'll whip us up something. Will omelete do for you? "

I smiled my acceptance and settled onto the high stool to better watch him work his magic in the kitchen. It wasn't every day I got to see a naked man strut about my kitchen like he owned it and cook me hot meals to top it off.

He certainly knew his way around the skillet. He could even whip up an omelete with his gaze trained unflinchingly on me. I straightened my spine and tossed out my bouncy chest as his reward and was rewarded in turn by the appreciative smirk that tugged at the corner of his luscious lips.

Then, he was done. A plate was set before me, and a delicious smelling omelet rolled off the hot skillet onto its cool surface. A tall glass of water appeared next along with a fork and a knife.

Just as I opened my mouth to ask after his own plate, Justin rounded the bench top to press up against me. Lifting me off the bench as if I weighed nothing, he sat on it instead and sat me on him. Lowering the stool, he set about slicing at our meal.

I made no protest as he endearingly took himself a large bite before spearing a forkful and thrusting it insistently towards my lips. I parted them, taking a big bite before chewing and swallowing.

"You know this is getting a little creepy," I said as he expertly moved his utensils across his plate to spear me another mouthful.

"Yes, it is," he murmured gently as I obligingly opened my mouth to take in the offered morsel.

His lips brushed my cheek in reward before dropping to nuzzle at the base of my neck. I almost choked on my food then.

"Sex and food is a hazardous combination. Eating 101," I mock quoted facetiously.

"Food and sex are both essentials. Fucking 101," murmured Justin unrepentantly.

I sighed as his lips brushed over my ear.

We watched some TV after.

Doing nothing more than snuggling and laughing uproariously at a slapstick rom-com that never failed to bring out the laughs for its sheer ridiculousness, it was the only appropriate show to watch while being naked

Sleep came fairly late in the night as we both preferred to actually talk instead of anything else. Since slap and tickle was prohibited 'til we tied the knot though that did not stop Justin's attempts, we had to make do with actual conversation.

I was beyond astounded by the many things we had in common. I didn't expect for him to share the same likes and dislikes as me, and he didn't, but where it counted, we were one in our opinions. Knowing that gave me a warm feeling for our life ahead.

I nestled my head and yawned mightily, my hand automatically coming to rest on the curve of my stomach. Chuckling softly at my observations, his hand followed suit to rest on my own. We had decided there was no rush and to do the pregnancy test only after our wedding day.

"The world is mad on so many levels," I muttered despondently as I watched the old man clad in Coca Cola colors romp about on screen with a jolly Ho, Ho, Ho. That the sight was not uncommon was what made it even more exasperating. That bloody Coca Cola advert had mangled the spirit of Christmas with no accountability for its unwittingly induced deception. It was plain shameful. Shouldn't the Pope have something to say about this? About the public misrepresentation of what was really Christmas? I sure didn't know, and when the Christmas shopping advertisement flickered on to something else, so too did my thoughts.

I got up to my feet to stretch lazily after that. "I'm all for bed," I said simply, stifling another yawn. I turned to face Justin, who only grunted a response and was already nearly asleep. Then, with a grunt of my own, I began the painful task of hauling his naked ass off to bed.

Using my back as a fulcrum, I yanked him upright after struggling with the remote to switch off my TV. I hadn't gotten the hang of voice commands yet. It felt foolish somehow talking to the flat screen box hanging on my wall.

The trip to the room was god awful and a near catastrophe. I didn't know why he didn't wake up from all the many near falls we had and could only assume that the drinks he'd had earlier must have finally caught up with him.

Finally, we landed in a heap on the bed. Only I was pinned beneath his dead weight. With another groan, I did what I had to yank myself free, only to give up halfway as my own need for sleep caught up with me.

The chill that hit the parts of my skin not in contact was the only thing that kept sleep from drawing me instantly under. Yet, despite my best efforts, the blankets remained off. The chill sent a shiver down my spine, and Justin's hand tensed in his grip over my breast.

With a muffled oath, he sprang up to grab the blankets and cover us both before tugging me back snugly against him.

It was only then that I contemplated that, scoundrel that he was, he had likely been awake all along.

Lucky for him, I was too far gone in dreamland to do much about it in reality, but I promised myself to give him a sound thrashing when I encountered him in my dreams that night.

The ridiculousness of that thought lifted a smile to the curve of my lips before I ceased thinking altogether.

The next morning dawned all too soon. I had to do a mad rush to get Justin to his home in order for him to change for work. He had a couple of meetings in the morning, and then, he would fetch me off to his country house.

"Now that you have the time," murmured Justin, staring at the mirror while donning his tie, "you should take over the wedding preparations from our moms."

I lifted my gaze from perusing the news headlines on my phone to gasp at Justin. Had he lost his mind last night? Not only was that a freaky awful tie, but taking over from our mothers was as good as having a death wish.

Did he _want_ me dead already? We weren't even married yet. Perhaps it was the _abstinence._ __ It was clearly disrupting his normally sound thinking process.

I rose to my feet and closed the distance between us. I reached out for the neatly knotted tie and ran my nimble fingers swiftly over it, tugging it immediately loose.

"What the fuck are you doing?" His furious snarl was more than a little angry. I was certain he was still wallowing in my brush off this morning. It was only a week or so. Abstinence was abstinence.

I left him to struggle furiously with his tie while I went to get him another.

"Your mom and mine will kill us _both_ __ if I intercede with their plans _now,"_ __ I said as picked a tie I liked and went back to him. He was no longer at the vanity. Instead, he was sitting on the bed and getting his stockings on. I sighed to find the tie I had undone was already back on. I made my way to the bed and, ignoring his protests, ruthlessly tugged it loose and then tossed it out of his reach.

The flow of obscenities was like water down my back and had about as much impact. I placed my choice of tie about his neck and painstakingly tried to mimic his earlier efforts.

"But you're only marrying me _once._ Don't you _want_ a chance to plan your own wedding? "

I raised an incredulous brow at that before giving up on his mangled tie.

"I am not one for a fairy-tale wedding. It's not the wedding itself that matters to me. It's the life we will have after that has all my attention."

"Ouch!"

The smack that landed on my ass caught me by surprise. I yelped and palmed the sore spot, grimacing my displeasure at Justin. But he only shrugged indifferently.

"I've got to get my pleasure in some way. Besides, you provoked me by saying that," came his impish reply to my unspoken question.

I shook my head at him despairingly as I watched him redo his tie, this time, wearing my selection. I nodded my approval of his suave and highly fuckable good looks. The man should be banned for public indecency simply because he had the ability to provoke the most alarming hedonistic thoughts.

I shook my head again, this time, to clear out the X-rated scenes that flooded my own thoughts.

"So you'll be alright one your own. I could drop you off," he volunteered before turning to take up his keys.

"Nope, I am going to do some browsing. While away the time a little before I head back to pack."

His nod was perfunctory before he abruptly hauled me close to mesh his lips to my own. His kiss was deep yet brief, and then, he was gone. I swept a glance about the empty place and was rather swift to follow suit.

I didn't head back straight to my place but instead used my newfound freedom to do absolutely nothing. I hopped from one public transport to another and walked along several different popular shopping points without really seeing anything before I returned dispirited back to my apartment to pack.

I didn't return entirely empty handed, and I instantly packed the one thing I bought along with my other belongings and out of temptation.

The pregnancy test kit.

Then, all too soon, Justin was on the phone, demanding that I hurry for the long road trip ahead.

We spent most of the five hours in the car with Justin lamenting about work. Hearing him go on left me with a pang in the hollow point in my chest. Who knew I had a love for work? I certainly didn't, griping as much over it as I had done in the past. But work had offered me a sense of belonging, a sense of being needed—of contributing something to the world. I knew it was just the rat race psychology that was rather hard to shake off, but I couldn't deny the pang of regret that things could have been handled differently if I had gone about it better.

So it was because of that pang of regret that I accepted the sherry Justin's mother pressed into my hands not fifteen minutes after my arrival.

It was not as though I could whip up a cauldron of comforts of my own. I had to make do with the readymade brews available. Lifting the glass of sherry, I sipped it tentatively, reminding myself that anything stronger might not be permissible. I still did not yet know the status of my womb. Was it occupied or not with the offspring of our constant consumption? There was no longer any need to deny it; we were rabbits in our past life. Constant procreation tendencies were in our blood.

Justin Kay's and mine.

I took my second and last sip and then set the glass aside. I wouldn't be having any more regrets going forward if I could help it.

It was time to face my bright future with Justin and to do as he said and actually participate in the great event.

"I'd like to help with the wedding preparations if I may," I said simply to Mrs. Kay.

"This is the last time I am ever listening to you!" I said to Justin, overwhelmingly aggrieved. "I can't believe I said I would do it. Help out with my wedding. Can you believe what your mother is having me do?" I stared up into the blatantly amused blue hues of Justin's amazing eyes. His lips twitched in an irresistible need to break into a face-cracking wide smile.

The jerk. Taking pleasure in my sorrow! I lifted the stack of late invites Mrs Kay was having me write up, to wave it beneath his nose pointedly. The personal touch, she said, was all the thing. It certainly would have been if my writing was at all remotely legible. As it was, I spent the afternoon scrawling ink across the paper on invites no one could possibly read. But that was not the problem. The five hundred late invites were. Just how many people were being invited to our wedding anyway? And who the fuck were they all? And most importantly, why wasn't Justin out there with me, plying his no doubt superior penmanship to the paper, too?

"Honey!" gasped out Justin huskily, his voice hoarse in his attempt to conceal his laughter. I raised my hands and acted, slamming both hands palms open, cards crushed and all, on his chest, sending him doubling over in unleashed hilarity.

"Don't just laugh! Do something!" I demanded helplessly. It had already been an exhausting afternoon spent in his mother's never-ceasing mind-numbing chatter. Not to mention, carrying out every little fetch and send errand she set me to in between all that writing. I was gobsmacked he could simply laugh at my suffering.

"Do _something?"_ __ he gasped out, finally sobering up. "I wish that I _could_ __ fucking do something."

His double innuendo did not go unnoticed. I suddenly looked around warily, only just realising all too late that I had been lured out here. Dusk was settling in. With the sun a bright orange globe in the sky, Justin had demanded I accompany him for a walk in the gardens. As frustrated as I had been with that never-ending pile of invites, I had readily agreed, stomping behind after him with every intention of luring him to a darkened corner where I could blister his hide for all but dumping me with only his mother for company.

But now, I saw that perhaps the plan for the darkened corner wasn't mine after all but his. And that blistering hides was a far cry from what he intended to do with mine. I took a swiftly stumbling pace back and spat out an expletive when his arms were quick to embrace me, launching me back into his arms with nary an effort.

" _Justin,"_ __ I pleaded, knowing full well that if I didn't turn down the heat now, we were both going to fry.

He paused in completing the dip that would land his head within kissing distance of mine, only he paused too late; _his lips were already on mine._

" _Justin,..."_ __ I tried again the plea for him to come to his senses. As it was, my thoughts were already turning to mush. A moment more, and I would have tossed him back onto his hide and had my way with him. Feeling his lips moving desperately against mine made me feel as if it had been ages since I last devoured him—ages since we last gave into our lust filled needs. And the shivers running down my spine now, even as our lips clung furiously to each other, were telling me that things would be heading horizontal real soon if I didn't do something. And do it now. I wrenched my lips free to gasp out reason and sense to him. My choice of words was too easily misunderstood.

"Justin _Darling, please."_

The world dipped, and I found myself flat on my back on the moist, green grass. The few cards I had gripped in my hands as evidence went flying in the air, scattering around us. The scent of the well-manicured lawn rose to my nostrils, initiating a sneeze from mild hay fever. Allergies—allergies were what saved the day. Allergies helped abstinence that first night where Mrs Kay's paltry efforts as chaperone, sunken-ship-failed.

The sneeze saved us, wrenching us apart as only a sneeze could.

But that didn't deter Justin. A moment later, sufficient only for me to catch my breath, and his lips were back on mine, sucking my face off.

I ate at him too, determined to have my way as much as I could for as long as I could. Instinctively, I knew the fates would intervene still. And intervene, they did.

The throat clearing was loud and obnoxious, completely in contrast to the dainty woman that emitted it.

Justin groaned, releasing my immediately searching lips only long enough to mutter, "Go away, Mother." Then, my lips slammed back on his, more frantically than before because we both felt time was not ticking on our side.

Mrs Kay's sigh was audible. "I knew it. Your mother was right. She told me you'd both be difficult. Now you've been complaining about the work too. I have decided on a wonderful alternative. We'll invite the family over earlier. It will be a week-long house party. We'll have the additional hands to help us out, and there will more on hand to fish you two out of darkened corners... and not so darkened corners," she finished pointedly at the two of us still sprawled right out on her green lawn, grappling with each other like lunatics.

I think I began to feel stupid at just about the right time that Justin did as we separated and offered Mrs. Kay simultaneous sheepish looks.

I accepted Justin's offered hand to haul me back onto my feet. I didn't have the splendid athletic ability that he so clearly had and couldn't quite bounce back upright on my feet as quickly as he did.

But we were both on our feet and brushed down a moment later before meekly following Mrs. Kay's petite form in for dinner.

"I won't stand on ceremony with only us here, but when the other guests arrive, I expect you two to change for dinner."

I exchanged an incredulous glance with Justin, but he appeared unperturbed by that request. I, on the other hand, was immediately freaking out. I didn't have that many clothes with me. Packing for my trip here had, in itself, been a horror without now needing an extra elegant daily change of clothes too. My packing had constituted jeans, pants, cut-offs and skirt and tops to suit. My normal wardrobe back at my apartment held only office attire.

_Where_ the fuck was I supposed to get clothes _out here_?

Online?

I seriously pondered this through, not listening to a conversation between Justin and his mother.

Moving in after them into the dining room, I accepted the chair Justin tugged out for me and sank my suddenly weary ass on it.

The spread before us was five-star quality. The Kays employed a chef and a variety of cleaning staff that they brought out with them into the country. I was grateful I didn't have to slog over cleaning up after myself here or cooking even. The perks of having money were something I was beginning to appreciate.

It was part way through the mains that comprised of delicious succulent roasted lamb with baked broccoli and potatoes that I realized the exchange between mother and son had grown heated.

"She's my wife!"

"No, she's not! Not yet!"

I turned my head, looking at first Justin then his mom in total bewilderment. This was what wandering around in dreamland got you. Out of the loop. Who the fuck were they talking about? _Me?_

"She is _my wife._ I don't need the church or the law to state what I already know is fact."

"Justin darling..."

I couldn't help my wince at that. Hearing his mother call him that only made my saying it sound eeky.

"No, Mom. This is ridiculous, and it ends here. I don't want us to separate _ever."_

" _You're_ __ making mountains out of molehills. No one is separating you. Sleeping apart for a week is hardly a separation, and most husbands and wives sleep apart regardless of their marital status anyway. At one point in history, it was actually the thing to do—when one was not consuming one's vows or procreating the future generation of course."

I opened my mouth to join in protest, but Justin beat me to it.

" _Fuck_ _it!"_ he exclaimed, shocking me. I couldn't believe his gall. I did not want this, not when I felt as acutely for Justin as I did, but that did not call for explicit language in front of his mother.

"Don't speak to her like that!"

"Stay out of this, Aria," said Justin in a tone that brooked no denial. It was a tone I had never heard him use. It was quite,... quite scary. Shockingly so. This _was_ __ my Justin. My affable, fun-loving yet fucking intense... _Oh, God,_ but he was _hot_ like this.

I gulped down the desire he so easily set to frothing in my mouth and then did as he bid and kept my mouth shut. This was his mum, and he did know her best. But I couldn't keep the sympathy out of my face while I sat there staring at her, at her son, and then back at her. However, the worst of the heated exchange was over, and dinner tasted rather good after that. It was the aftermath of the argument I didn't have that made me so hungry, so naturally, I was appreciative of the exquisite cuisine the Kays' chef had so masterfully prepared.

It was a while later, after the first couple of bites into the slice of delicious chocolate brownie for dessert, that I wondered, what did Mrs Kay really think of me? I was fat, twice her petite size. Did that make her ashamed of me? Was she really as happy about Justin and I, or was she simply too eager for grandchildren?

I'd never actually had a heart to heart with her. Perhaps I should. I should take this week to get to know her.

Justin excused himself and disappeared right after dinner, and Mrs Kay didn't linger either. I was left to dawdle over a solitary cup of warm milk. Then I too was off to bed. I retreated back to my lair—cosy guest room at the opposite end to Justin's own chambers.

The room was shrouded in darkness, but I didn't reach out to tap on the switch to relieve its grip with light. The dark suited my mood just fine. Fury rode my temper, making me all but rip out of my clothes and fling them aside. I bumped and cursed my way into the bathroom and swept beneath the hot shower spray with only the moon light glinting off the mirrors and shiny surface, my only light.

"Just fucking kill me already," I whined with maudlin intensity at the fates. Heavens knew we are all born to die. Sometimes sooner is better than later. But the sadist fates were known to snub requests to die or to live too. Just out of spite of course.

But how could I possibly go on without Justin? Not having sex was one thing, but not sleeping together was intolerable. Never mind that less than a month ago, that had been the norm. I couldn't even believe that now—couldn't imagine ever having slept apart.

Or ever again.

But like the blasted fates, this too was out of my hand.

Resigning myself with a heavy sigh, I tossed off my towel to fling myself down on the bed, only to yelp out loud as my heart got lodged in my throat.

"Oh, settle down. It's just me," grumbled Justin Kay in the dark. "Took you long enough. I have been here waiting for ages."

# Chapter 14

"You're not supposed to be here at all," I muttered reluctantly. I didn't like to remind him of that fact, but it did seem like a point of contention with a lot of people, namely his folks and mine.

"I refuse to be treated like a child on this," said Justin stubbornly, if contrarily too. "It's not as if we cannot be trusted to keep our hands off each other. We're _fucking_ __ adults!" exclaimed Justin indignantly.

"I think that is the point," I murmured absently, already feeling that part of his point, literally poking at me. I raised a hand to drift over his chest and slide down his back. Justin, like me, loved sleeping in the nude. Of course, I doubted his love for wearing only his birthday suit to bed was at all as recent as mine.

His hands swept around me more snugly, and I nuzzled the heated skin that ran up the strong column of his neck. Nuzzling was not making love; it was allowed. Justin seemed to think so too because his own face buried in my hair, breathing me in.

"I can't sleep without you," he murmured softly.

"You can't _sleep_ with me," I muttered out hoarsely.

He chuckled huskily at my obvious pun and simply snuggled me to him closer. I promptly lost my capacity to breathe. _Now,_ the fates decide to listen to me.

Hammering at his chest only had his hold slackening enough to allow my breast meshed against him to heave and rub his chest enticingly. Not helping.

"I think we _can_ do this," said Justin mildly. His hands running down my back were clearly shaking in restraint. My own voice trembled in response.

"Do what?"

"Sleep together," said Justin huskily. "We will only sleep together nothing... _more."_

" _Sleep?"_ My own voice, already hoarse, was no longer recognizable.

"Oh, yes. Close your eyes, and don't mind me. I'll just pat you to sleep a bit," he murmured hoarsely before suiting action to words,... petting and generally feeling me up.

Sleep? What the fuck?

But oddly enough, that was exactly what we did. Sleep in each other's arms, tired out by the heavy screen of sexual tension entrapping us both.

Warm, smooth skin felt hot to touch beneath my wandering hands. My lips parted and shamelessly drooled over the heated skin that was only a breath away. The luxury of touch was more than enough to overwhelm my drowsy senses, but a niggling alarm insistently pierced through the muck of arousal that clearly clogged my mind.

Mama?

I gasped at the blurry outline of her plump frame.

"Remember! Remember what the Reverend said..."

The eerie echo of her words sent shudders of revulsion down my spine.

"Hush, baby. Soon, darling, soon," murmured the deep, husky tenor that could only belong to Justin Kay.

" _Oh, Kay,"_ I breathed out on a moan only to find my words ringing in my ear. I groaned and tried harder to claw my way out of deep sleep.

Justin thankfully assisted me, shaking me hard, then harder still 'til I couldn't do anything but wake the hell up.

"Okay! Okay, I'm up," I groused and grumbled before I actually pried open my eyes. But Justin didn't relent. Instead, his shaking of my person grew serious, taking on a familiar pattern: a rhythm.

Oh _fuck!_

I shot upright. Or as upright as I could get without Justin getting out of the way from where he lay—right on top of me.

"What the _hell?_ _Justin!"_

"Don't... mind me,... darling. Just... go back... to sleep," he grunted out between heavy thrusts that rattled my whole frame.

" _Sleep?_ This is _not_ sleep, Justin!"

"Sure it is. We're just having a wet dream. You and I together. Everyone masturbates when they have a wet dream," he grinned wickedly. I glared up at the hungry and extremely unrepentant looking Justin.

"This," I said through gritted teeth as his wet dream successfully triggered my own, and I gave into the urge and raised my hips to smack up against his in the relentless pursuit of mutual satisfaction, "is _not masturbating!"_

"Don't be silly, Aria." His mock condescending tone had my sides aching in stitches of buried laughter. "Of course, it is. You're allowed to pump yourself silly with a sex toy. That's exactly what I am."

"I'm... glad... you know... your true worth to me," I found myself gritting out again as his hips continued to slam up against mine. Grunting and moaning, it wasn't long before I erupted like a pressure cooker, and Justin wasn't far behind in joining the show.

Sweaty and collapsed against each other in an undignified heap, I could only breathe in the musk of our combined sex and inhale the scent of our satisfaction. It made me smile.

"We are so doomed," I said simply.

"As long as we are doomed together," said Justin mildly before shifting to settle me in more comfortably in his arms.

****

The day was early still. So drifting back to sleep seemed like the right thing to do.

Not so, as I found out a short while later. The shrill scream that ripped the air, instantly destroying our morning slumber, was sadly familiar.

"Mama?"

"Mama!"

Was I in the throes of another mind-boggling nightmare? I turned to face Justin, and he was still fast asleep.

Sated in the pleasures of the sex, it would take a lot to rouse him. And Mama was a lot. Plentiful in fact. So this must be a nightmare. But, just in case, I glanced down swiftly and furtively tucked the corners of my sheet more securely around me. I _was_ __ naked beneath it, and Mama no doubt already knew that; there was no need to actually have her witness it.

Not for the first time in my life, I was glad I was a sound blanket hogger. My need to shroud myself in it in sleep had saved me many an embarrassing moment in the past. Usually, when I really was masturbating. But that was way back in my teenage years. I was an adult now. An independent adult caught out naked in my fiancé's bed by my mama.

Not embarrassing at all.

At least I wasn't having sex at the moment. _That_ __ would have been beyond awkward.

"Aria! What are you doing in that bed?" Mama wasn't bothering to tone down her volume, and Justin remained suspiciously still in his asleep. The fraud. He was faking it, clearly leaving this for me to resolve.

"It's my bed, Mama. This is my room. Were you looking for someone else?" Taking a leaf out of Justin's book, I pretended ignorance.

"You, Aria. I was looking for you!" I could see Mama's temper was clearly not abating. "You promised me you would refrain from having sex with your intended until the wedding. You lied to me. When are you going to understand this is for your own good? Reverend John would be so disappointed in—"

"Mama, we did not have sex last night," I cut in swiftly, knowing when she got started, there would be no end. Technically, what I said was true. We did it this morning, thankfully earlier this morning. "We _are both adults_ and are more than capable of sharing a bed without giving in to our baser urges."

I turned to face Justin and saw him emit a very original sounding snore. But there was no denying the wicked slant to the curve of his lips that he did nothing to hide. Justin's ruse was beginning to look suspect.

And I was feeling terribly naked.

"Mama, please leave. I will change and be right down shortly," I said pleadingly.

"Change what? Don't think I don't know that you are naked as the day you were born beneath that—"

"Mama!"

I looked around desperately for something within reach that I could wear. I couldn't take the sheet and leave Justin without although he more than deserved it. This was all his fault. I had been a good girl and gone straight to _my own_ __ bed. He was the one that played truant and landed his naked ass in mine.

Where were his clothes anyway?

I wouldn't put it past him to walk in here naked. The man was impossible. But I really should tune back into what Mama was saying; she appeared to be winding down at his point.

"Come downstairs and try on the dress."

"The sooner you close that door, the sooner I can get dressed and come downstairs," I muttered shortly.

After another long lecture, she finally gave in and did the needful in closing the door that offered us our privacy.

I leapt out of bed in a single bound and was across at the door an instant later to turn the key in the lock. Then, I turned back to face the now blatantly grinning Justin and itched to slap the smirk right off his face. I gave in to my urge. Only instead of my bare hand smacking across his lean cheek, it closed about a pillow. Clenching my hand around its soft contours in a closed fist, I silently raised it up before slamming it down over his grinning face.

But he had expected it. With lightning reflexes, my effort was confounded, and I was tossed back into the soft mattress with Justin leaning over me.

My mouth watered at the magnificent expanse of him under the full glory of the morning light. But my trauma was still too recent, and the threat of more to come was very much real. Mama had that effect on me, and she challenged Justin's ever-baffling hold over me. I would lie for him, cry for him and very possibly even die for him.

I hated that I loved him this much.

I fought him and struggled against his unrelenting hold, driven on by his chuckles and amusement at my expense. Gritting my teeth, I used my legs to try and get him where it mattered most.

"Aria! Now, Aria, you don't really want to do me such an injury. You don't yet know if you carry our child; let's not tamper with fate, darling. Besides, you love my cock and balls."

I bit back a frustrated shriek and tossed myself off the bed instead, catching him unawares in the process and gaining my release.

"You're horrible," I declared instantly and then dodged his reaching hands and made for the shower instead.

Turning the spray on cold, I bit back a scream as frozen cold water sprayed figurative icicles down my back. I whimpered mindlessly then made my way through the morning ritual of getting ready and completed the process in record time.

I emerged refreshed and renewed. Wearing slacks and top that were more work attire than casual, I purposefully ignored Justin Kay on my way downstairs. The man had a penchant for landing me in steep trouble. I wasn't having it. At least not any more than he already landed me in this morning.

"Martha, Martha, Martha!"

I paused mid-stride as the déjà vu of that familiar phrase struck me. But this was not the Brady Bunch. So I took the few steps necessary to round the corner and walk into the great hall.

Mrs Kay was there perched daintily on the edge of a delicate looking antique sofa, and Mama sat on the other end, looking incongruous with the furniture and the room in its entirety. But _Martha_ had the ear of all in the room. The 'all' being my sister, Janet, my brother, and dad.

Dad and my brother were quick to get to their feet and stop by me for a quick hug before marching on out. Janet simply grinned and waved me over.

"Too many flounces is unnecessary, Mrs Longbottom," Martha, the dress designer, was saying softly. The beseeching gaze she shot me was amazing, especially considering I had no idea who she was, never having met her before.

"I told you! I told you we should have gone with a _known_ __ boutique." This was said by my mum to Janet.

I grimaced and gritted my teeth. Knowing that it was unavoidable, I joined in the fray.

"I can't say I am enamoured of flounces," I murmured absently, looking at first Janet's obvious approval of my support and then at Mama's open displeasure.

"It's a bridal dress! How can it look bridal without the flounces, eh?"

I grimaced once more at that. "Less is more, Mama. Just leave it to the professionals to decide," I tried then instantly regretted that course of action as Mama took off on full lecture mode before diving off tangent to where the wary wouldn't dare tread. Sadly, Mama was wary of nobody.

"And to think I caught you just this morning in a man's bed. I thought you better than that..."

Never mind that it had actually been my bed in my allotted room and all. And that the man _was_ __ my fiancé.

It didn't pay to refute Mama when she was on one of her moods. So rather than tangle with the viper, I took a step back to exchange glances with Janet instead.

After several pointed and pointless lifts of eyebrows and general winces, Janet gave in to _my_ __ persuasion and came to pull me into a seat beside her.

"Thanks," she immediately started off on a tangent of her own, "for giving Martha this chance to design your wedding gown. This is just the kind of exposure she needs to have her own clothing line successfully take off."

I returned Janet's beaming smile with a clueless one of my own.

"Okay," I said simply. "But who is she?"

Janet wasn't one to do anyone favors—not unless there was something in it for her.

"Hmmm,... how should I do this?" Janet prevaricated with some bemusement. "I may or may not have mentioned this before, but... I am a lesbian, and Martha is my girlfriend."

I gasped speechlessly at her before turning to glance at my worked up mama, already red in the face with her efforts to explain the purposeful nature of flounces.

"Does _she_ know?" I finally caught my breath enough to squeak out.

"Do _you_ __ think she does?"

I turned a glare on Janet at that.

Janet. Perfect Janet was gay.

Oh my God.

_Why?_ Why did Janet have to decide to come out now? I murmured what must have been suitable congratulations then followed them with more appropriate condolences because I knew, just as Janet did, that Mama was _not going to happy about this._ __ Not when she was already looking so murderously at poor Martha.

Cringing inwardly, I moved forward to sort out the issue with the flounces and firmly supported Martha on that. Mama had bad taste, and I didn't want her anywhere near anything I had to wear: a fact I learned a long while back.

We argued to and fro extensively for some while before I threw up my hands in the air and gave vent to my mama.

"It's _my_ __ wedding dress, Mama. I have decided, and that's that."

"Aria will look beautiful no matter what she wears."

I turned gratefully to Justin's timely intervention. Watching him stroll forward with his usual casually sensual movements, it was not only my heart that melted at his advance.

An idea struck as he neared. One that took on a more persistent niggling in my head as I watched the starch melt out of Mama; even Janet's Martha was cooing happily at his words. I waited 'til Justin had successfully commandeered my presence away from the rest 'til I was alone in his company, munching at toast with jam and sipping at tea.

"You know, I think we should just do it," I half-whispered, my eyes still trained warily at Mama and Janet. There really was no knowing when and with what they would strike next.

"Do what?"

I turned then to look at Justin's amused face and got promptly distracted before he nudged me again.

"Do the pregnancy test."

His blue gaze met mine then and returned my serious look steadily. "I am sure you have a good reason for this. Care to share?"

I nodded my head then, looking around once more and finding that we were still out of hearing range from the rest, I launched into an explanation.

"Martha there, as you now know, is my dress maker. She's also Janet's girlfriend. They are a lesbian couple. Mama has no idea. All hell will break loose when she finds out. A grandchild might help stem total annihilation."

I met Justin's unwavering gaze with one of my own and watched him ponder my words silently for the longest time before he finally spoke.

"Let's do it."

I heaved a sigh of relief. I didn't doubt he would see it my way, but I had still felt some apprehension.

"What now?" I asked him incredulously as his expectant look didn't change.

"There's no time like the present," said Justin mildly.

I nodded my head. He was right; best to just get it over with. But my hands were shaking as I led the way back out toward the great hall then up the stairs to my room.

The anticipation built with each step I took 'til I stuck my shaking hand into my bag and dug out the test kit I had bought and packed along for the trip. Without looking back at Justin, who had already assumed the prime seat that had a clear view of the whole room, namely the bed, I made for the bathroom.

Shutting the bathroom door behind me, I unwrapped the packaging as I went. Snapping out the list of instructions, I perused it as I removed my pants and panties to pee on the stick. Ten minutes later, and I came out to find Justin lounging flat on my bed with his head resting on his folded arms as he stared up at the ceiling.

He turned to stare at me as I came out. His gaze caught mine, and I lost myself momentarily in the clear blue intensity of it.

"We should go down," I murmured finally, feeling strangely faint.

"Yeah,... we should," Justin concurred, sounding just as bizarrely faint.

I nodded my head and then regretted that move as it felt as if my head would roll off entirely. Justin rose from the bed and made for the door.

"Don't you want to see?" I asked him softly and then promptly ploughed into his back as my body slammed into his. He had stopped in his tracks halfway to the door.

"Yeah, okay."

Turning, he looked at my hand, and I realised then I still held it. I held the test tube in my tight grip and had been about to take it with me downstairs.

I lifted my hand gingerly to find it was still shaking and surrendered the device into Justin's outreaching hand. I turned then to abruptly leave. I was overwhelmed by what I now knew. It changed things.

I rejoined the rest to find Mama and Janet in the throes of another argument. Stifling a groan, I moved to back out; only I was too late.

Mama snagged my attention with her next words.

"Speak up, Aria. I know you are pregnant with words. Spit it out. Tell me what you think Janet should tell her friend to do with her abominable creations," demanded Mama.

I winced at her choice of words. There was just so much wrong with it; I didn't know where to begin. It didn't help matters that her choice use of that one word froze my thought process altogether.

The swiftly muffled chuckle that broke into the ominous silence belonged to none other than Justin. I looked at him now. He had followed me down silently after a bit. I had refrained from actually looking at him, still too shocked to comprehend our recent discovery.

Finding it difficult to ignore his presence any longer, I now stared blatantly back at him.

He was happy. That was clear to see. But he wasn't only just happy, I found. Staring intently into his blue eyes, I saw that he was beyond ecstatic. An evil glint born of his more devious nature sparkled alight with mischief. Justin grinned at me wickedly, and the pregnant pause that followed was loaded with innuendo.

"Words may not be all she's pregnant with," Justin murmured delightfully.

My breath caught.

"What, here? Now?" I barely hissed out at him in a furious whisper, but Justin heard all the same.

"There's no time like the present."

I was not fooled by Justin's congenial smile. The man was pure evil as was clearly proved with my mama's next words.

"What's he saying, honey? What's all this about?"

I opened my mouth and then promptly shut it back. I didn't know how to do this. I couldn't just blurt it out. Reverend John would be placed positively on a pedestal if Mama knew what Justin and I did.

In all this drama, mostly in my head, I failed to notice that Janet was no longer in the room. A quick glance around informed me of that fact now. I turned an enquiring glance at first Justin then Martha, who caught on and shook her head to answer my unasked question. She didn't know where Janet had gone off to either.

Well, I wasn't about to reveal my secret without Janet being here to first reveal hers.

A commotion of raised voices in the hallway alerted me to her whereabouts.

"Stay here; I'll go check it out," I said earnestly to Justin, with simple determination, and moved swiftly to go investigate.

"Are you kidding? That's the start to every horror movie ever made. I am coming with you!"

At that, I spun around to face him challengingly. I knew he just didn't want to be in here alone with my mama and his. He really would be at their mercy if I left, for Martha was gone already, disappearing out the door to her lover's rescue. I had to hide a wince at that thought. It would take me sometime getting used to Janet being a lesbian.

However, was I going to convince mama it was okay?

Papa!

Stupid Janet thought dad would be the easier of the two. I looked back at Mama's confused face and sped off after my sister's storming retreat. Dad was still blowing steam. Only this time, it was at poor Martha.

Spouting off every vile word that came to mind in my limited dictionary, I was brought around by the strategic placement of Justin's hand on my wrist. I looked desperately over my shoulder at Janet's swiftly disappearing form then turned back to Justin angrily.

"Let me go!" I exclaimed, hammering uselessly at his chest with my only other free hand.

Justin didn't budge. Not 'til I cooled down enough.

"What do you think I was going to do; kill her?" I asked, now only _mildly_ exasperated.

"I wouldn't put it past you; she is my ex," he was swift to respond.

"Who the fuck isn't?"

My response was quick and unthinking before what he said actually registered.

I turned immediately to gape up at him. That, I hadn't expected. Justin and Martha. Cringing inwardly at the howling pain that ripped instantly at my chest, I stumbled back a few paces and purposefully dodged his out reaching hands. _He hadn't said anything; hadn't said a word._

My breathing grew tremblingly erratic. _This was not happening._

I knew Justin's past had been as colorful as the number of flowers he so carelessly bedded. I had met many from his past before. Cecile was uppermost in my mind when I thought of him and his past girlfriends, but I never expected to be future a sister-in-law with one of them. I turned to look at Martha with new eyes.

She _was_ __ beautiful. Curvaceous as she was blonde. I couldn't help the serpent bite of pure jealousy slithering up my spine to sink its vicious teeth beneath my skin and spew its venom in my veins.

" _Fuck!"_ Justin bit out viciously, reading correctly the expression on my face.

This was swiftly turning into the wedding from hell.

"I hate you," I breathed out too quickly before my irrational thoughts even settled. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you," I hissed at him, still back tracking and evading his reaching arms.

But his limbs were longer and his reach greater.

"What? _Already?"_ he hissed back before grabbing my arms and hauling me back up against him.

I glanced around us and saw that the furore between Martha, Dad, and now Mama had renewed its vigour. I turned back to face Justin's furious face right in my own.

Again, I acted without thought. Reaching up to slide my hands into the silky coolness of his crisp, blonde hair, I clenched my fist and brought his head closer, instantly sealing the distance between his parted lips and my own. Our ragged breathing took on a new meaning.

Lost in ourselves, it took a sharp reprimand from Mama to tear us apart.

"Get a _fucking_ __ room!"

I stared, shocked at my mama's retreating back. The place was empty once more. Dad was gone. My brother wisely never showed his face here at all, and Martha had disappeared too.

I glanced about the empty foyer with its lavish decorative furnishing and never felt more out of place. I turned back to find Justin's eyes keenly studying my own.

"I am sorry," I muttered unhappily. "I am a shrew. It's the hormones,..." I trailed off vaguely, still uncomfortable talking about _that._

"I think I love you all hormonal. Barefoot and pregnant, it's the way I'll have to keep you," murmured Justin seriously, nodding his head in renewed determination. Naturally, I gaped at him, certain he had finally gone off his rocker.

Then, the ever-unrepentant smirk made its way, with startling results, across his delightful face. His grin was as irksome as it was knowing. I reached behind to slap the palm of my hand against his ass. The wince on his face had me reaching up swiftly to shower apologetic kisses all over it. And my hands got busy rubbing his sore bum better.

" _Really!"_ Mrs Kay's timely intrusion had us both leaping apart guiltily. I mumbled some incomprehensible excuses then took off in a rush to search out Janet, abandoning poor Justin to the tender mercies of his mother.

# Chapter 15

I wasn't sure I liked this me. I was all over the place and couldn't do a thing about it. I wasn't sure I wanted Justin's ex Martha designing my wedding gown now. But I couldn't do a thing about that either, not with Janet so clearly having the hots for that blonde piece of fluff.

Why did all things abnormal have to happen to me?

I pounded after my sister, taking the door that exited out into the gardens. I was momentarily bewildered by the bright glow of the morning sun. It was clearly almost noon. I ignored the automatic pang of hunger that knowledge produced and reminded myself that I'd only just had a late breakfast.

I moved forward into the lush green garden. Lawns were well mowed, shrubs and hedges manicured, and there were fountains and Grecian statues also amongst the endless beds of flowers.

Wandering further in, I couldn't help sparing some time looking about and sighing in pure wonder. Taking an excitedly deep, delightful breath of the aromatic air filled with scents of cultivated nature, I forgot my hay fever and broke off into bouts of sneezes.

Retreat was the only course of action now.

With both hands wrapped in a muzzle around my mouth and nose, I turned back in defeat to head back to the house.

"How's the nose?"

"Janet!" I exclaimed her name on a gasp of relief then swung about to wrap her up in my arms. She _was_ the only sister I had, and faults and all, I could only love her.

The firm grip she returned on me was telling, as was the tremble in her limbs.

"Oh, _Janet,"_ I sighed again. I hated feeling helpless and had been unfortunate in experiencing more and more of that sorry state for some time now.

"Do you _love_ __ her? I mean really, really?" I leaned back and set Janet apart. I needed to see her eyes and, searching her blue hues, found what I was looking for even before she said those damning words. I should have known that look was by now too familiar, having seen it in my own dark gaze and Justin's sunnier one.

"She is my world. I have never felt anything like this ever. I can't ever let her go."

I bit my lips to hear her say it anyhow. It still felt too strange to think of Janet with a woman. She might have told me earlier of her inclination towards the fairer sex. At least then it would have all been much easier to understand and less confusing all round. At a loss as to what to say, I pulled her back into a hug and patted her back, not quite so soothingly as I racked my brains on what to do next.

"Let's walk," I huffed out finally. The views here were great even though the noon sun was not the best time to go off wandering. Sunburn and skin cancer aside, it was dehydrating as well.

Janet must have thought of this as a poor idea too because she said, "Okay, but not too far."

I promptly nodded my head. Tucking my arms in under hers, I led the way aimlessly as I studied the horizon. The wind whipped at my hair and my clothing battering against me, making me aware of the sea I could see not far away. I found myself heading in that direction even though I had no plans of actually making it to the edge of the cliff top. The lookout point beckoning at my inner nature lover would have to wait for later to satisfy its curiosity.

Peace invaded my head as we stepped closer to the great views of the expansive ocean. My thoughts fell into alignment. Suddenly, I knew exactly what to say.

"Thank you for sharing with me your feelings about Martha. I am sure she is a great girl, and I am happy for you and happier still that she clearly returns your feelings. Mama will come around. Papa will too. But you must give them time." At this point, I turned to look at her insistently. "You are their favorite. They have always looked up to you—put you on a pedestal for me to follow. They no doubt had some aspirations of your choice of life partner, and I doubt they would have envisaged Martha as your better half. You must know you've shattered any dreams they must have had for you. Give them time to make new dreams. Give them time to share your dreams."

"Justin must have been rubbing off well on you. I didn't know you could be so smart," murmured Janet in startlement. I lifted my brow at her, and then, she grinned unabashedly back at me.

"Also you are _still_ young. Give it some time," I muttered shortly. My little sister _was_ __ still in college. Who knows what the future held for her? Anything would surely be better than gunning for Justin's ex.

I didn't even know how to tell her that. And she needed to know, if only so I could reason with her about why I didn't want Martha anywhere near my wedding dress.

I turned to Janet with renewed determination, ready to let all loose in what would undoubtedly be the epic battle of a lifetime.

"Let's sit here a bit, shall we?" I said before lowering myself to settle on the moist ground. The morning dew was swiftly being evaporated by the raging sun. I wasn't too concerned over wet bottoms. Janet of the lesser weight simply plopped herself beside me without much ado.

"Aria? Yoohoo!"

I grimaced at my foiled intentions and turned to face Mrs Kay's agile advance. She was in great shape for a woman her age—for a woman of any age really.

Janet used the opportunity to murmur some unintelligible nothings and scoot her arse out of there.

I was left alone with Mrs Kay, who promptly took Janet's swift departure as her own welcome and sat herself on the spot Janet just vacated.

I guess it was finally time for that heart to heart with my future mother-in-law.

"Mrs Kay—" I started to say, only to be cut short.

"Oh, just call me Lillian, dear. We are going to be family soon. No need for formalities between us."

I nodded my head and gulped down the sudden panic attack. It was all so overwhelming. Only a month, ago I was single and uncomplicated, and all was good and well, even if I were more often than not bored silly. But now, I blasted over the place, torpedoed into the chaos and mayhem that only family can create. Having suffered my own family all life long, I was now bonding myself to yet more family and starting a new one as well.

I took deep, calming breaths, only just realising I was hyperventilating. I couldn't believe in little over a month, I had been taken from an active member of the corporate rat race and quite frankly domesticated. All by the actions of one dashing _man._

"Are you alright, dear?" Lillian Kay asked with some motherly concern.

"I am fine. Just sorting out some change management issues in my head," I muttered morosely, washing over what could only be the devastation of my old life for the birth of my new life with a simple wave of the hand. I blinked then turned to offer her a sweet smile.

"Well, if you are sure,..." Lillian trailed off hesitantly. I merely nodded my head encouragingly. "I was thinking we should talk and, well, get to know each other better. Perhaps we can have tea tomorrow—just the two of us. There's a little coffee shop in the town not too far from here. It will be wonderful to chat."

"Yes, it will but..." I prevaricated, oddly unwilling to do tea. "I think we don't need that café to talk. We can talk now. That is if you are not too busy."

"Me? Oh, no. I never do anything anymore," she tittered with a little laugh. "I used to do plenty. I used to go to the office with Justin's father and help out. I made decisions for him and ran the distribution chains of his manufacturing line. I was a workaholic much like Justin's father and now Justin himself. I guess it must be in the blood. Do you know Justin doesn't just take after my side of the family with his personality; he gets his humor from us too. Only he's more like his late uncle, my brother, on that regard."

I smiled hesitantly but shook my head to show I didn't understand.

"You must have heard of the saying, 'laughter is the best medicine.' It's completely right. Laughter can heal all aches and pains, especially those to the soul. But like all good medicines, if taken in large doses and over long periods of time, it can be detrimental to one's health. Addiction and misuse is the least of it. Death, of course, is the worst it can do. Justin took humor to the extremes, burying himself in work and then over-indulging in vices. You see, he laughed off every concern I expressed. He drank to excess, frolicked from one skirt to another, and did drugs, too. I was sure, although I never actually caught him at it. But he was an all-round bad boy at one time. You remember those days after his cousin died in an accident, and then, later, his dad got sick and died, too?"

I nodded my head mutely, recalling it all well. We had been there for both funerals.

"Justin was very close to Patrick. His death was a big blow to him; one I thought he would never recover from. But then, after a couple of years of near misses, he pulled back almost miraculously from the brink, about the time you broke off your engagement with what was his name?"

"Dale," I murmured absently as I stared into her pale, blue eyes. They had nothing on Justin's vivid hues, but at this moment, they were the most magnificent eyes I had ever seen. "That was five years ago, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Yes, I believe you are right. My how time flies," said Lillian, shaking her head in bemusement. "But I digress; we were talking about laughter being the best medicine. The thing with laughter is, other than the overdose, addiction and misuse, it creates euphoria. That false sense of contentment is so powerful that the dire need for prevention is overlooked altogether as the afflicted overindulges in the cure. The symptom of the affliction itself just keeps on repeating itself."

What? What was she saying?

" _I don't understand,"_ __ I began to say with a frantic undertone.

"I know my son well, Aria. Try as he might, he can't really hide things from me. I know you are the one responsible for delivering him off the edge five years ago. He changed after that even though you were not together. He was agitated that New Year's morning and called to talk to me when the mysterious woman he spent the night with ran out on him. He told me then he thought it was _you."_

I gulped, breathing hard.

"But nothing came of it. I admit I was disappointed in you at first. I couldn't understand why you left him that night. But as Justin sobered up and remained so after, I thought nothing more of it. And now, well,... the two of you are finally getting married! I couldn't be happier."

" _But?"_ __ I said under my breath, knowing instinctively that there was a 'but' coming.

"But the symptoms are still there. The medicine is still being dosed. The cure has not been found."

I met Lillian's tired and hurting gaze.

"Cure to what?" I found myself asking the question I instinctively knew I didn't want the answer to.

"Justin's guilt over his cousin's death.... It's why he never lets anyone close to him—anyone other than you. Ask him about it, dear. Make him talk to you."

I was given a pat on the hand, and then, Lillian Kay got unsteadily to her feet and pattered away, leaving me sitting there and contemplating the explosive nature of what she had unveiled.

Justin was hurting? Why? And more importantly, how come I never saw it? Never sensed it?

I rose shakily to my own feet and wavered a bit where I stood. It felt literally as if my whole world just tilted on an axis. What did it all mean? I didn't do cryptic well.

I made my way into the mansion, glad to not encounter anyone along the way. I went upstairs, ignoring the rumble in my belly, and made for my own room. I knew I couldn't stomach food just yet. My tummy would revolt at even the thought of food, considering it was already churning terribly out of control now.

I closed my door behind myself and went to curl myself into a ball beneath my blankets. I had to think, but for the life of me, I found that I couldn't. I couldn't do anything but groan and shiver.

Then, warm hands were reaching for me, gathering me close. The chattering to my teeth stilled, and lips brushed mine caressingly. A fleeting touch swept back and forth tenderly 'til my lips parted, inviting Justin's invasion. Only he didn't. He flicked his tongue instead, first against my upper lip and then to my lower lip before drawing my bottom lip in to suckle softly on its plump softness. Then, we were kissing,... and kissing, and kissing some more. Soft kisses turned swiftly out of control. I gathered him to me in a tighter embrace. We had fallen into that kiss with a wild hunger that bordered on desperation.

We broke apart then, almost abruptly. Panting hard, I stared into his eyes and found that he stared back at me. Peering hard at him, I finally blinked disbelievingly. I saw it now. It was as if Lillian Kay had taken the blinkers off me. I saw it clearly. His deep anguish was still there. It always had been. I gasped, and he reached down once more to take advantage of that sharp intake of breath to kiss me wildly.

Our lips moved together in the feverish need that was now more than familiar. It was clearly apparent we would never get enough of each other.

Drawn up into the passion that his mere proximity never failed to produce, all other thoughts seeped right out of my mind.

It was only when Justin moved restlessly against me, grinding his hips against mine and angling his head for a deeper penetration, better to explore the recesses of my mouth, that an acute sensation of pure pleasure swept through me, and a modicum of rationality returned.

"Did you just cum from a kiss?"

I spluttered at that, not knowing how to answer him. I ___had_ just cum from his brilliant kiss. But _he_ didn't need to know that. I wouldn't be responsible for inflating his ego any further. How much more could it go anyway without rendering him pompous to all and sundry?

I eyed the cat's got the cream smirk that spread wickedly across his gorgeous face with some reluctance to divulge my secrets. Any secrets.

That reminded me of his own secrets. Sorrow over the burden he carried swept through me, and I reached out unthinkingly to sweep him up and envelope his muffled cry against my sensitised bosoms.

I patted his head lovingly, ignoring his false struggles for release as I widened my eyes to hold back unexpected tears. I couldn't believe I hadn't known. What kind of a girlfriend was I that I didn't even know that Justin was hurting? I had needed his mama to point that out to me. A few furious tears sped down my hot cheeks to splash against his thick soft hair.

" _My poor baby,..."_ __ I couldn't help mumbling.

"Aria?" Justin successfully retrieved his captured head then and raised it to peer worriedly down at me. "What's wrong?"

My mouth trembled, and my eyes watered some more. That was what I should have been asking him. Oh, will this hormonal flux never fade?

I pulled out of his hold and resolutely climbed out of bed. I never could think straight with him so near, and my emotional instability now wasn't helping things either. I really needed to go see a doctor and get myself all sorted out. Surely this imbalance wouldn't last the full nine months to term. I wouldn't last if it did.

I realised then that I was actually pacing and that Justin was following my moves with a mixture of worry, appreciation, and as always, humor.

I bit my lip and pulled to a halt.

"Is there something you need to tell me, something about your past, about a cousin you lost?" I trailed off, not sure how to approach a confrontation with him.

His open expression closed off instantly, and I found myself hurting instead. I rubbed at the vicinity of my chest where my heart was said to beat. The pain I felt from his figurative blow was right there.

I blinked back more tears and ground my teeth with renewed determination. I was not some watering tea pot. I was a kettle with a full-blown whistle shooting top. I had some steam to let loose, and Justin here was going to face the brunt of it. Like it or not.

We were in this together. For better or worse. Richer or poorer. 'Til death do us part. Vows or not. He had better come clean or else...

"What are you talking about?"

Was he kidding me? The evasive manoeuvre?

As that didn't dignify a response, all he got from me was a chilly raised eyebrow. Loving him didn't make me stupid, and hopefully, it didn't make him stupid either, so he could read between the lines. The truth was coming out _now,_ like it or not.

His sigh was audible. Slumping back against the pillows, he raised a hand to run it through his tousled hair. I loved his windswept look. It made me want to... _Oh, fuck no!_ __ I had to stand strong against temptation. I could do this. I... had... to... ___try. Must... be... strong!_

" _She_ __ told you."

I merely held my breath and nodded my head. The urge to run my hand soothingly over his silky hair had me clenching my hand in a fist.

But he moved then to roll off the bed. Getting onto his feet, he moved instantly towards me. "It doesn't matter. It was a long time ago."

Standing before me, he raised his hands to cup my face between them and stare into my dark eyes. I gazed back, steadily resolute in my intentions to not let him sway me on this. He had to share. He had to trust me on this,... whatever it was.

"What did she tell you?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. She wanted _you_ to be the one to tell me."

He took a step back then, his eyes turning evasive. I reached out to him, grabbing at his shirt and insisting that he meet my eyes. "Tell me."

I watched his eyes contract in remembered pain. My heart hurt for him, and I squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.

"Patrick was my cousin on my mother's side. His dad was my mum's brother. She always said I took after him in my disposition. I think that must have been what drew Patrick to me. The fact that I resembled his dad so much in heart and humor was, I think, irresistible to him; especially so later when his dad died."

I murmured some unintelligible nothings and urged him to continue. My hands drifted down his arms to wrap tightly about his hands as I instinctively knew what he would say next would hurt. Hurt him. Hurt me. Hurt us both.

"I used to laugh and tease him. He was more of an introvert. The serious sort. He rarely smiled and seldom laughed at all. I made it my mission to bring out the laughs in him. I don't know why I did it. It just rubbed me raw to see him so... unsmiling all the time. I had to do it. I couldn't help myself."

The look Justin turned on me then was raw and unexpectedly pleading. He wanted me to see him as guilt free. And I did. At least this far in his tale, I did.

"I _didn't_ know, you see. Not until it was much too late. Patrick's dad had already been dead two years then, so I hardly expected to find him crying on the second anniversary of his death."

I couldn't help my whimper at his so obvious distress. Seeing him in pain made me feel it too. I rubbed my hand feebly against his, wanting to sooth away his hurting memory but he had to let it out. Just this once at least. So I bit my lip and silently urged him on.

"I made a stupid joke. I was only trying to help—to tease him out of it. To ease his pain, but it backfired like nothing I could have ever imagined. In a flash, he was on his feet and shoving me back with both hands. I tried to reason with him and apologize, but he wasn't having it. I can see his face even now. The furious red flush along his cheek and silent rage that contorted his features. He was looking for an outlet, for a fight. And I had unwittingly given that to him."

Justin wrenched free from my grip to stumble back on his feet as if reliving that moment. He ran a frantic hand through his hair and rushed on to explain, "I tried to stop him but he just kept on shoving until I tripped and fell. I honestly thought it would stop right there, but he didn't. He followed me down to straddle me and proceeded to land blows after blows along my sides."

I winced at the pain he would have endured but said nothing to interrupt the flow to his words.

"It hurt but nothing like how Patrick was hurting. The worst of it was that I didn't know why. 'Til today, I didn't know why he was hurting at all. It couldn't have been the death of his dad. Not anymore. Not two years after. But I believe that was the trigger for his pent-up rage, bottled up all that time. I was the new outlet. But he was doing some serious damage. He was built like me. We both actively frequented the gyms. So I tried to defend myself. Not attack. Just defend. I pushed back at him. And that was when..."

Justin broke off on the torrent of his words to look swiftly away. But not before I caught the look of embarrassment that flashed across his face.

"What? What happened then?" I couldn't help demanding insistently.

"He... _kissed me,"_ __ Justin barely whispered out. But I heard him all the same... and was seriously _flabbergasted._

"He what?"

"He _kissed_ __ me, alright!"

I stared back at the aggression in Justin's face and meekly nodded my head, "Alright."

His breath blew out at me from a pent-up sigh. "I reacted badly. I didn't think. It was just so unexpected. It was purely instinctive. I shoved him off and freaked out, calling him all kinds of slurs. I didn't mean any of it. I was in shock. I hadn't known. But the damage was already done."

Justin looked down at me bleakly at that. And I worried my bottom lip in anxiety over the calamity I knew would be relayed next.

"He was embarrassed. In rage. Confused. He drove off like that, and I just let him. They found his car smashed against a pole. Took a bend at revolting speeds. He had gone off chasing death and found it. All because of _me._ "

We stared up at each other silently. I was caught up, stricken with the image his words drew on my mind. So, I was caught unawares when his lips brushed at my wet cheeks, tasting the tears I hadn't even been aware were spilling down my cheeks. His hands came up to wrap around me as I broke into the sob I had been trying to hold back.

"I went round the bend then myself. What happened just kept haunting me. I didn't want to think about it and did all I could not too. Then, you came along, looking as messed up as Patrick had been. And what did I do? I fucked you, too."

I hated the recriminations in his voice. "You didn't. We made love," I corrected helplessly.

"I wanted to knock you up. God knows I tried," he vented out furiously. Surprisingly, I giggled. He had _tried. Sadly,_ it hadn't happened then. But it had worked now.

"You made my teeth ache to even think of you, and I did think of you, all the time. It was a while later that I realised in thinking about you I no longer thought about Patrick. You saved me from that haunting. You _saved_ me."

I couldn't help the blush that flooded my cheeks then. "I can't wait to marry you."

"I can't wait to marry you too," said Justin, staring intently down at me. I peered into his gaze and saw the hurt of the past still lurked in their depths. He would never know why things happened as they did. The wondering would always eat at him. But he now knew I was with him no matter what. Sharing this with me helped me take some of his burden off his shoulders. We would bear his guilt together. Even if we both knew there was no real guilt to be borne.

"I love you," I muttered softly, burying my face in his chest. He tightened his hold around me and rocked us together.

"I love you too, Aria. I love you always."

# Chapter 16

I sniffed and blew my nose.

Then sniffed some more.

"Hay fever still acting up?" Janet asked with mock sympathy.

I paused, mid-sniffle, to glare openly at her. Having the sniffles didn't put me in a good mood, and it wasn't all hay fever either. My grumpiness was more due to Justin and the baby bump I now so proudly sported. Both were acting up, causing my tear ducts to work overtime needlessly. I just couldn't shake away the agony of Patrick's death haunting my poor Justin. It kept me tearing up just thinking about it. It was all so awful. Death always was.

To make things worse, having driven Justin crazy earlier, in the aftermath of some unfulfilled desires, from some harmless feel good humping, I now found myself in a similar state. Kissing Justin had to be faulted for that. And the imbecile seemed bent on popping up unexpectedly to steal wanton kisses from me. Heaven knows I couldn't kiss Justin and get away with it unscathed. I should simply stop trying altogether. Stop trying to get away after, that is, not stop the kissing.

Nope, the kisses I definitely could not live without. They were awesome. Delicious and tart, sensuous and softly tender, vicious and wild. I could go on and on,... and on...

Being horny and teary was just a horrible combination.

I was in no condition to show my face around here. I should really just go and lie down and sob myself out to my heart's content and get it all over and done with. But I had to sort out my wedding dress first.

I bit into my sandwich and gobbled it up when no one was looking. Justin had already eaten and retreated to the study to _work_ _._ No doubt he was simply snoozing behind those closed library doors.

The troupe of cousins was due soon, both mine and his. This was going to be one bizarre wedding, with both bride and groom's family en-mixed and mingling over the next four days. Four days of sheer hell.

I was doomed.

And I had to be done with my fitting before they arrived. I didn't want everyone to know my measurements or anything else as personal about me either. I was still haunted by the horror that dressing for the engagement had been. In and out, they had trotted into Justin's room, uncaring that I was there, struggling to make haste and get ready for the party already thumping away down below.

I refused to be put through that indignity once more.

God only knows I already had plentiful lumps and bumps to distort the lines of my dress; adding on a baby bump was asking for a whole new level of miracle to fit into the clingy silk. There would be no hiding the fact that this baby's daddy knocked up his mummy before the wedding day. Everyone else may or may not be told the good news, but the dress maker simply had to be informed. There was no way I could be wearing this dress otherwise. Allowances had to be made. The dress had to be adjusted, even if only to be let out an inch or so.

I lifted my glass of lemon-infused, iced water and gulped down the detox that it was. Janet, having already finished her own quite unsubstantial meal, rose to disappear out the dining room door. I was left alone in here now. Firming my jaw, I replaced my glass down with a resounding smack, and with renewed determination, I went off after my sister once more, knowing she would lead me on to hunt out my elusive dressmaker. _Damn Janet and her infatuation with Justin's ex._

Now there's a thought I would never have realised I would one day have.

I exited the empty dining room and made a dash for the little sunroom parlour. Sure enough, they were all gathered there, pouring over the details of the sketches and swatches of fabric Martha had brought along.

I beamed a meaningless smile at no one in particular and dived head first into the conversation. Mama was oddly no longer an adversary to Martha's suggestions. I threw Janet a 'what have I missed' look, but she only shrugged her shoulders. Had she accomplished the impossible and tamed my mama?

The thought was ridiculous even as it crossed my mind.

After twenty minutes or so of hair-ripping idle chats, I managed to manoeuvre Martha away from the rest.

"I need you to do me a favour," I whispered to her all hush-hush like. Tilting my head toward the large French windows draped with delicate Italian lace and gossamer thin off white curtains, I led her further away from the rest. Ignoring Janet's enquiring look, I turned to Martha's inquisitive one.

"I need you to keep this hushed," I said simply and then began to tell her in detail what I needed from that dress. We settled on my choice of design and the changes I suggested to the measurements before Martha was hurrying off. The dress she said would be ready for a fitting tomorrow, and she would bring it over, all the way from the city, for me.

I beamed my thanks, suddenly feeling grateful to have one of Justin's ex's as my future sister-in-law. But I held back my enthusiasm for now. The dress was yet to be fitted still, and I would save my excitement 'til I had actually worn the gown.

The shoes, purse, and veil would also be supplied by Martha, so I had nothing else to do but worry about my hair and makeup.

The ladies and I decided a visit to the spa was a must before the day was over, so we bundled up in my papa's Pajero and rambled off along the country road to the nearest spa that was several little towns away. That it was a spring spa was a feature even my papa appreciated. We booked ourselves in and turned ourselves over to their expertise.

Dinner was at a quaint little pub with rowdy farmers and truckers for company. Dressed down as we were, in old, faded jeans and shirts, with our shiny freshly scrubbed faces, we fit right in with the beer-drunk, merry crowd.

I managed to refrain from indulging myself and so found myself the designated driver for the trip back. But that didn't happen 'til much later with my mama and papa determined to try out their version of the country reel mixed with aboriginal grooves.

In a show of family solidarity, I participated heartily, allowing myself to be led about clumsily around the dance floors with random strangers. Janet leaped and bounded to the beat with her choice of random strangers also, but it was really Mrs Kay who stole the show.

She took up the mike and stood by the crooning bar singer to belt out song after song of the melodramatic love life of the outback farmers.

All in all, the trip had been a blast and a relief from the wedding circus the next few days would likely be.

I pulled my papa's Pajero haphazardly in the driveway after swerving abruptly off the dirt road onto the gravel path that led up to the Kays' homestead. It was already close to four in the morning, and I was dead beat.

Rousing up my passengers threw me into a state, and I marched unsteadily into my room at the break of dawn to find Justin gently snoring in my bed.

Grumbling loud enough to make myself heard by the dead, let alone those only dead asleep, I tugged off my clothing before climbing into bed to settle myself into Justin's readily open arms.

"Hmm, you smell nice," said Justin, eliciting a happy smile to tug across my sleepy face. The facial was worth it then if its effects could be told in the dark. "Like beer and tobacco smoke."

Justin sighed happily, shoving his nose into my hair and inhaling it all in.

He was lucky... I was too... tired to... do much else... other than... _yawn and_... _zzzzzzzz._

"Justin!"

"Ash!"

"Evelyn!"

The greetings of long-lost cousins went on and on the whole morning through. Blurry eyed from lack of sleep, I was forced to fixate a smile of welcome to all and sundry. Air kisses and hugs were meted out to all.

Thankfully, the living Kays were few, but the Ashfords and their more distant cousins, the Ashfields, were plenty. I immediately lost all count of who was who and promptly gave up trying. Simply beaming happily, I let myself get bombarded with introductions from all corners and get swept up in the hugs and kisses that followed. One particularly exemplary kiss had me gasping for air and Justin in a ruddy fit of temper.

Ashley Ashfield was a mouthful in more ways than his name alone. I swatted at his shoulder and frowned up at the impish blonde in reprimand, not certain if a slap would offend too much. But Ash shared the incorrigible gene that was in blatant abundance in Justin, and he merely grinned unrepentantly down at me.

Justin pointedly reached out to tug me out of Ash's arms and back into his own. Settled securely in his grip, the mayhem of meet and greet continued.

Then, the Longbottoms arrived en masse, complete with the iconic pair fate will never let me forget, Dale and my cousin Linda. Then, I more than wanted to slunk away and disappear into my room. I needed it. And bed only became more and more inviting with each passing moment. Lunch was served and eaten amidst a robust flurry of laughter and conversation. Then, Martha arrived, collecting me for my fitting and drawing a bevy of unwanted women to follow after us.

So it was amidst the noise and bustle only a room full of women could produce that I was pinned into my dress and prodded into a fit. The titter of light conversation around me told me that I was not exactly the focus of attention, for which I was undoubtedly thankful, but for an ill-timed observation, voiced by my ever-evil cousin, Linda, and just when Martha was all but done too.

"You know that fit doesn't quite work. Not unless you need the extra space because you're pregnant," said Linda, eyes wide with an innocence that was clearly false.

I gasped at her then turned my eyes to Martha, the only other person in this room who knew my secret.

But that proved to be the wrong thing to do, for Linda took it for a confirmation and didn't hesitate to continue. "Oh my God! I am right, aren't I? This is why Justin is marrying you. He got you knocked up and did right by you. That's so sweet."

My mouth opened and shut wordlessly.

I felt my face suffused with heated blood. Temper clashed with embarrassment. I couldn't help my goldfish imitation as I struggled to calm my enraged thoughts enough to actually blast the viper with her due. Oddly, it was my mama who came to my rescue. Mama and Lilian Kay.

The molten hue that rode Mama's plump cheeks rivalled my own. But where I struggled to get a coherent response out, she had no such qualms in simply speaking her mind.

"You horrible child!" she declared openly. My breath stifled in my lungs, thinking she referred to me. My eyes watered, and I furiously blinked back the hurt those three words poured into me. Then, my eyes cleared enough to make out my Mama's glare and note gleefully that it was trained not on me but on my dear cousin, Linda.

"Your late mama was my favourite sister. I have always treated you as my own," said Mama in a furious tone I had never heard her use on her beloved Linda before. "Invited you into my home time and again. Favored you over my lovely Aria, time and again, but no more. I am ashamed of you, and if your mama were here, she would be too. You, Linda Carmichael, are uninvited to my daughter's wedding."

I gasped again and barely noticed when Martha surreptitiously slipped in a finger to adjust the pins along my sides. Mama had adored Aunt Kelly, and when she died, Mama turned all that love and then some to poor, motherless, fourteen-year-old Linda. She had turned a blind eye to all her failings and spoiled her rotten whenever she lived with us. I would have held Mama as much to blame for how Linda turned out, only Linda had already been like that before Aunt Kelly passed on.

"Leave!"

I jumped then yelped as the pin pricked into me. Exchanging a bewildered look with Janet, I turned back to face my mama, who had taken that scant few seconds to cross the distance over to me.

"Is it true?" Mama questioned excitedly. I winced. _Which part did she mean?_ "Are you pregnant?" she questioned and then didn't wait for my response as she cried out with excitement, "My baby's having a baby!"

Not waiting for a response, Mama tugged me into a hug, pins and all. I winced and whimpered, squeezed as I was in my mama's embrace. But yelping didn't help.

It was the firm tug at my other side that helped extricate myself from mama's suffocation. I turned to find Lilian Kay at my other side. The sheen of excitement on her face was unmistakable. "Is it true?" she asked too, then not waiting for my response, cried out, "Oh, you darling girl!"

Again, I was swept into an embrace, this time, a bony one. Spry strength flew in the meat between that skin and bones. My future mother-in-law did her level best to wring out all the fats in me. The pins had surely bent out of shape and dug into me by the time I was released for a short gulp of air.

I exchanged a silent _save me_ __ look with Martha, who promptly begun to extradite me from my painful situation. My presence was promptly forgotten by the merry mothers as they were swamped in turn by well-wishers.

And I hadn't even confirmed my condition yet. Guess I didn't need to.

I watched with bemused indulgence as Mama and Lilian shared an embrace of their own. They made an odd pair; the plump and the scrawny, the hearty and refined. That their clear differences mattered not to the other made it all too heart-warming to watch. I blinked back unwanted sentimental tears and carried on the ambush of receiving congratulatory wishes.

In a way, a heavy weight had been lifted from my mind. I hadn't realised I had been concerned about the telling. Now, I didn't have to tell at all.

But I think I needed to inform Justin that the cat was out of the bag, and everyone knew about the bun in the oven.

Amidst several back pats, I caught Janet's surreptitious escape from the lounge room. There was no doubt over the mischief her expression clearly intended. She intended to be the first to congratulate her future brother-in-law.

I concealed a grin, happy to have that problem taken care of. I couldn't wait to find out Justin's response.

Martha wrapped up soon after and promised the final product the very next day. She was gone a few minutes later, anxiously escorted out by one besotted Janet Longbottom. I shook my head, gazing after them. The poignancy of their romance that, while no longer hushed, was still not flaunted publicly, made me realise that I was fortunate to have found myself a Justin Kay and to be in a romance that was the public norm, that was blessed by both our families, and most importantly, that was filled with a rapturous love that was duly returned.

It was then that I realised I had not seen myself in my wedding dress.

At first, it had simply been swatches of fabrics and drawings; now it had been preposterously sized and meant to be tucked into shape as needed. Even so, I would have liked to have seen how the pinned-up version looked like. Everyone else sure had. Somehow, that didn't seem right.

But I shrugged my shoulders and took a brave step forward. Brave because I was the very last one out of the lounge room. And brave because everyone else who hadn't been in here with us earlier now knew of my burgeoning state.

I tipped-toed out the door cautiously. I didn't know what Justin's reaction would be, but more importantly, I had no idea what my papa's reaction would be. He was supposed to be the mild one, but it appeared my parents had done a switcharoo. Papa all but blew up over Janet, so there was no knowing what he would do now. Especially as Mama had apparently next to nil reactions over Janet and had been blatantly ecstatic over my news to top it off.

I couldn't help a bemused smirk tilting up my lips at that. It had been funny how Mama and Meredith had gushed over me after all the hoopla of congratulations subsided. I was told I was eating for two now, admonished against alcohol consumption and a variety of cold meats and cheese besides. The stampede of information had merely swept over me. I knew that reminders over every little misstep would soon follow.

I took several paces forward and rounded the next bend, ducking into the secluded alcove where pots of unfortunate plants found themselves tethered indoors.

"Trying to hide from _me,_ __ I see."

I swung around swiftly and found myself neatly caught up in Justin's roaming hands. Tugged up tight against him, I found there was literally nowhere I could move.

"Justin..."

"Yes, it is me. Your Justin. Not your _Ashton_ Ashfield," he spat out pointedly.

_That_ was what he was angry about?

I didn't have to take that. That kiss couldn't be held against me. I was not to be faulted for it. That blame laid entirely at his obnoxious cousin's flat feet.

I stomped my own and missed Justin's feet entirely.

Hot lips instantly pressed into my ear, releasing a hot breath that swept past the reddened outer shell to sink through my skin right smack into the blood flow, sending it slushing erratically through my veins. I shivered and trembled in reaction, biting back a muffled moan as I did.

"Wha-what's the matter, _honey?_ __ Something troubling you?" he breathed out huskily, in mock concern. But I couldn't keep the shivers from invading down my spine again. The monster simply had that effect on me. I bit my lip, unable to respond without betraying further his effect on me.

"If I had known you were so _weak,_ given to bouts of shivers, I would have—"

" _What?"_ I spat out furiously now. "What would you have done differently then?"

His smirk was wickedly sexy, making me shift uncomfortably at the familiar soaking lust I had for him raising its stakes insistently.

"I would have exploited it sooner, is all." He grinned evilly down at me. "But there's no time like the present to make up for lost opportunities."

"You promised to behave, _darling_ ," I reluctantly reminded, feeling too hot and bothered to really care.

"Oh, but I _am._ I assure you this is my very best _behavior,_ yet."

The devilish smirk on his lips only widened further before descending towards mine in a way that could only mean business.

His lips missed mine to mesh tauntingly against my cheek. I grumbled my protest and did my best to wrestle around his persistence and clamp my mouth on his. His husky laugh rang out rich and clear, sending further thrills rushing down my spine.

I was held firmly in his grip. His fingers were digging into my hips and pressed me so close against him that I clearly felt his outline as he rocked his hip insistently, letting his member feel me up through the several layers of clothing between us, both his and mine. I cursed the very fabric that dared cover us, shrouding us from indecency and keeping our craving flesh apart.

Unknowingly, my fingers had gotten busy along the lines of my train of thoughts. The rip that rendered the air an instant later shocked us both apart.

" _What_ the hell, Aria?"

I glanced sheepishly at the torn shirt in front of me before the cool expanse of untouched-for-too-long flesh drew my gaze and rubbished up my thought process entirely. I heedlessly placed my hand on his chest, running my palms over his smooth and subtle contours, shaped only by ribbons of intertwined muscles, and was surprised to find him hot to the touch.

My tongue slipped out to flick across my parched lips, and then, his lips slammed down on mine, eliciting a startled cry that was quickly muffled by our desperately panting breaths.

Justin slid one hand into my hair to control me, to drive the kiss in every which direction of his choosing. We met and parted to only meet again and again, taking nips, sips, and outright gulps of each other, in a wild array of mouth to mouth love making.

His tongue was busy plunging deep in my mouth when the throat clearing and unmistakable baritone of my papa rang through the haze of lust I was so busily drowning in.

"Enough of that!"

We jerked immediately apart and all but wrung our necks twisting to stare stunned at Papa.

I immediately clawed my way out of Justin's unrelenting grip and completed the turn to face my papa. I couldn't help the cringe that covered my features in expectation of the very worst to come.

But a light chuckle past Papa's shoulders distracted me out of it. I turned guileless eyes to confront my brother's laughing ones and then turned to find Ashton Ashfield's amused grin next to him. The wickedly amused slant to his lips had my eyes instantly dropping to my front, and that's when I realised my shirt was unbuttoned and as gaping as Justin's. The reprobate libertine!

Thankfully, my bra was still on, if somewhat askew. I recalled vaguely his fingertips plucking at my nipples mid-heated kisses and couldn't help the hot flush that swamped me again. I fumbled swiftly to niftily snap on my buttons but couldn't help the flush of embarrassment that reddened my cheeks as I faced Papa once more. But his gaze was averted, fixed on a specific spot behind me, boring holes where he stared, at my poor darling Justin.

I instantly backed up a pace protectively to press up against Justin. His inflamed meat pressed happily back at me so that I had to toss a glare over my shoulders at him. He was incorrigible.

But Papa was clearing his throat, and I turned sheepishly back to face him.

"Er, ... congratulations, honey," he muttered, still clearly out of sorts with Justin's pawing of his daughter. "I am going to be a Dada."

He beamed happily at me then, and I launched myself into his arms, ignoring Justin's little squeak as I bared him to the amused eyes of all those present.

"I love you, Papa," I muttered, suddenly feeling all teared up again as Papa hugged me back silently.

We drew apart to face each other, and I had to blink away more tears when I found Papa's eyes to be as damp as mine.

# Chapter 17

"Right, only two days left to the wedding. Tonight is dinner and dancing. Get your butts into your party gear, and we leave in an hour."

I groaned at Ash over that. I didn't want to go party. I did that just last night. But something told me that to complain would be in vain. No one was about to listen to me on this. I mean, what's it to them if I land up being the designated driver back again tonight? My only consolation was that I wouldn't be alone in that boat. There were too many of us now; it would have to be several cars out.

It was going to be another _long_ night.

After what seemed like endless driving, the train of luxury vehicles finally pulled out of the dust roads and onto the good old solid, tar roads. Thankful to be off the premature delivery inducing roads, I was back in a state of grumps as we pulled up before a derelict looking building that appeared to be as dead on the inside as it was on the outside. Surprisingly, a valet popped up out of nowhere and grabbed the keys Justin tossed up in the air. The engine to Justin's Range Rover was gunned, and the silent roar of the midnight black vehicle was the only indication of it being driven away.

Following Justin's lead, one after the other the cousins __ had their vehicles appropriated from them by nameless, faceless valets. I watched, a little worried to see all those expensive vehicles being driven off by unseen help; or were they really unseen foes? This was biker territory, as was evidenced by the many huge and Goth looking bikes lined along the front.

Warm hands enveloped my cold ones, and I was tugged unceremoniously after Justin's leather clad ass. The tight leather did wonders for him and for me too if I took in my incredibly erotic reactions to it. I had on my only slinky dress and topped it off with a rugged jeans jacket that I immediately shrugged out off as soon as the doors to the musty saloon closed behind me. The heat indoors was overwhelming, made so by the press of many bodies in the confined underground space. I teetered on the pair of heels I couldn't be wearing for too much longer and felt Justin's grip on my hand tighten perceptibly before he drew me into his arms, slinging his hand about my waist and retaining a grip on my other hand.

I felt warm and secure in his hold and willingly followed where he led. Non-alcoholic lemon lime bitters were placed before me as Justin summoned the attention of several attractive waitresses, who immediately left the sides of what must be the usual patrons to this joint as they surrounded our huge group, all but bending themselves over backwards in doing his bidding to secure the comfort of his many guests.

The music was commanded to be toned down so that the rambunctious noise we created could be heard over the din of others. Soon, we were all that could be heard in this joint. It felt odd at first to be the focal point of very mean looking bikers in the place. But the Kays, the Ashfords, the Ashfields, and Longbottoms were apparently oblivious to it and became even more and more so after the steaks ordered were duly consumed, and liquor poured unstintingly down the throats of all but the allocated drivers. The music was upped a notch as the decision to commandeer the dance floor was made. I was led onto its surprisingly polished floor by a tipsy Justin and swung into several twirls to music I didn't recognise and which certainly didn't require any twirling at all. The laughter around us was good natured as Justin did his tipsy best to make a suitable display of us before finally giving up and simply tucking me back securely into his arms and having us merely sway to the music. Vastly amused by his antics and those of his equally obnoxious cousins, I laughed uncontrollably throughout and giggled long after Justin's close embrace turned a shade amorous.

His lips nuzzled at my throat ,and I chuckled huskily into his ears, revelling in the shivers I felt spasm through his frame in reaction. My own lips got busy exploring his bristle roughened cheeks and throat. I was busy landing him a hickey on a particularly sensitive patch of skin behind his ears to the music of his mumbled moans of encouragement when a pat on my arm called for my attention.

Turning to find a particularly oversized biker at my back, staring lasciviously at me; it was the premonition I should have heeded to all hell breaking loose too soon after.

Smash!

I winced.

" _To the left. To the left,"_ __ I urged.

Smash!

I sighed.

This was not working out. We needed out and now. I glanced around the trashed up space and spotted Ash tussling _and lip locking_ __ with an oversized biker woman. What was it with these bikers and their need to be huge?

I swatted uselessly at the hand that still held me tightly. A thick, beefy limb was trapping me securely about my waist.

Who was going to save me now?

Justin was so out of it already. I spared him a sympathetic grimace at his slumped position on the floor. The rest of the troupe fared similarly.

I turned to Janet, busy smashing bottle after bottle on the unsuspecting villains and thanked the stars for her. I waved my arms at her and heard the monster behind me grunt in disapproval. Then, Janet was walking over, tossing and catching the bottle she wielded in her hand threateningly.

Big bear behind me released his hold before the smash ever happened. Free at last, I moved swiftly to Janet to throw her a kiss on her cheek.

My hero.

Heroine!

And not the drugging type.

Then, I bent over and reached for a booted leg belonging to Justin and proceeded to tug at his unconscious frame. The door was not all that far, I reassured myself, and heaved ho all the way long.

Still, it took about forever, and by that time, Janet had already battered her way through the rest of the leather clad bullies and saved us all. Who knew she had it in her, pint sized as she was. I had always thought she took after Papa, being on the thinner side and all, but now, I think that spiritually she was all Mama.

She caught up with me at the door, this time carting a jug of water instead of a bottle of liquor.

Splash!

I watched in horror as the clear liquid soaked Justin through and couldn't help wondering why I hadn't thought of that myself.

Justin spat out a blue streak and tugged at his foot, releasing it from my grip, and then continued to curse and swear as he rose unsteadily to his feet.

I reached out immediately to offer my support and then glanced up and around to note that the rest of the gang was done. Picking up their bruised and battered selves, it was with a wobbly effort that all of us made it outside in the end.

The designated drivers, me included, grabbed their keys off the waiting valet and then marched off to fetch the steel carriage that would serve to bear the injured away.

I drove up in Justin's car to load up my cargo of injured passengers and couldn't help wincing along with them as they bent their bruised limbs to contort themselves onto the seats of the car. I grimaced at the sardine-packed trio in the back seat, knowing that they suffered from the close contact, but as I couldn't do much else, I pattered back indoors to catch the eye of the bar keep, a battered looking man who appeared to have enjoyed the brawl. I left him my contact details for reimbursement purposes and, for the hell of it, announced an invite to the lot of them to attend my wedding.

I left the broken-up bar a short while later to the gusty salutations and well wishes of its unruly patrons.

" _Really?"_ __ Justin turned a swiftly swelling black eye up at me, in incredulous inquiry. I merely shrugged my shoulders and put the car into gear before waving to the bruised bikers as I led our procession back to the farmhouse and into the bosom of our welcoming elders.

We returned to a silent home. All the uncles, aunts, and parents were busy traversing through their own versions of dreamland. As was only to be expected, as I once again met the break of dawn in arriving back home.

Yawning sleepily, I took command of the patch up process that was required before bundling everyone off to bed. Janet kept me company with her amusing argument with Ash.

"I didn't _know_ you wanted saving," she declared. "If I had known you were being _kissed_ against your will, I would have smashed you out of it. Honest!"

"That hardly sounds reassuring, but _how_ could you not tell. I was being sucked in by a walrus! I have the bruises to prove it," exclaimed Ash painfully.

I bit back a giggle at that then winced as I took in his swollen lips. He was the only one here who'd suffered a bruising to the lips of all things.

That is some kind of awful, but he'd suffered the least of the lot, Janet not included. But the other girls in our group had remained mostly unscathed too. The boys did good that way. Not sparing themselves to protect the ladies, as it should be.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," I said, reaching down to help Justin to his feet. The rest was done, and Janet was finishing off the very last of the injured.

"I can walk on my own," insisted Justin, stubbornly. So I reluctantly let him go, watching worriedly as he wobbled with each step.

I shuffled upstairs closely behind him, determined to catch him if he decided to fall backward. We made it up safe and sound; then I tumbled him off to his room. Stripping him naked as I went was easy from practice, but restraining my wandering hands from squeezing him where I could and pinching where I couldn't, wasn't.

Finally, I retreated to my own room, not to sleep there, but to get a salve that would hopefully fix his eye by the day after. I came to a sudden halt then, only just realising that my wedding was a day away.

I barged into my room blindly and shrieked to find my mum bolt upright in my bed.

" _Aria!"_ she gasped as shocked as me. I wondered a little on the whys of it since she was in _my_ bed but then realised she was there to _keep_ me there, away from Justin. _What the fuck?_

" _Mama!"_ I all but screeched at her. How could she stoop to this level? I mean, what was there to lose if I did sleep with Justin now? I was already knocked up.

"You don't understand tradition!" Mama huffed out stubbornly. I groaned and moved past her disgruntled form to the bathroom to search out my salve. I marched back out a moment later, no less appeased, and turned to face her before leaving. "You're right, Mama, I don't understand tradition. Not when it needlessly keeps me apart from the man who needs me. Justin is already my husband, Mama, in every way that counts. The rest is just formalities."

I turned to leave again, only this time, I paused at the door.

"You can sleep in my bed if you need to. I sure won't be."

I returned to Justin's side in a huff of barely contained fury. I found him already fast asleep. The alcohol and the battering had finally gotten too much for him. It was already six in the morning. The sun was up and shining in the morning sky. I applied the salve tenderly about his bruises and then stepped back to get out of my clothes.

Shucking them off where I stood, I dropped in naked beside him and curled up beneath the covers. Sleep was swift to catch up with me and take me under.

We woke up seemingly an instant later, but it had to be noon because the call for lunch was hollered out at the other side of the door. I'd ignored the summons, but hunger pangs wouldn't let me. Shuffling out of bed, I searched around for something to wear and settled on Justin's discarded shirt. With dried blood splatters over it, I was a sight when I opened the door to face Aunt Stephanie, on the Kay side of the family.

She had in her grip a tray with steaming dishes of delicious tantalising aroma teasing at my nostrils. My hands shot out instinctively and closed fast on the tray. Offering her startled face a tight and somewhat ferocious smile of thanks, I stepped back and let the door close before me.

My mouth watered as I decided against heading toward the bed and instead settled my feast on the little table by the settee. I shot the still slumbering Justin an assessing look, uncertain if his stomach could handle food just yet then decided to go finish my toiletries first before indulging myself.

Lunch was savory Italian sausage with pasta and cheese. I slurped mine down, certain I had died and gone to heaven.

"What the fuck is that ghastly smell?" groaned Justin from the bed. I grunted an unintelligible response to him that only a stuffed mouth could produce and piled on more of the meal onto my plate, now certain Justin would not be having any.

I bit into a garlic toast and listened unsympathetically to his grunts and groans of dismay. That pub last night had been of his choosing; any dumbass could see the threats of that place, but not, apparently, Justin Kay.

I watched him bite back a curse as he slowly rolled himself off the bed and shuffled awkwardly like an old man—or a nine-month-pregnant woman—towards the bathroom.

The door clicked shut behind him, and I bit into more garlic toast.

Yum!

Ash, for all his flippant ways, had his uses. One of which was his brew of lemon, bitter and cranberry cure for all alcohol induced ailments. Or so he claimed.

Thankfully, I had no need for it and was spared from testing the truth of it. But the others forced it down their throats and swore allegiance only hours later, after the bout of retching it provoked had been stemmed altogether.

"God, Ash!" exclaimed Justin painfully, after emptying his stomach for the third time. I pressed a glass of cool, clear water and watched him hesitantly sip at it as he sank back against the seat beside me.

"You kill me!" Justin declared.

"I try," returned Ash humbly.

Justin's hand reached out to engulf mine. I automatically lifted his palm up to place an absent-minded kiss on it. He tugged me closer then wrapped his arm about my shoulders and nestled me to his chest. I felt his breath against my hair as he spoke over me to enquire of his other cousins. But Ash assured him they were all faring the better for his tonic. Home brewed remedy or not, it was working, and that was what counted.

It was the bewitching twilight hour of the day. With night closely falling and the need for fresh air calling, we moved out onto the wide patio and settled down onto the outdoor lounging set to while away the time before the anticipated barbeque dinner was ready. Anticipated by me that is. I pressed a sympathetic kiss onto Justin's collar bone and sighed at his responding nuzzle in my hair.

Just then, my brother walked out, holding in his hand a guitar that he promptly thrust into my hand. I glared up at him, but he only shrugged a shoulder and murmured, "Mama."

I sighed heavily but then thrust the guitar at Justin. The time had come for Justin to prove just how much he loved me.

Dropping me a baleful glare, he reluctantly plucked the guitar out of my outstretched hand.

"You kill me, Aria," he declared petulantly but without much heat. I shook my head as I reached up to brush my lips across his and smile warmly into his eyes.

"Never."

"Love me?" he whispered huskily.

"Always," I promised.

Regret was, as always, too late.

It burned up my cheeks now with a vengeance as the lyrical sounds of Justin's husky baritone filled the air. _This was the only song he knew?_

_Kiss me_ __ by Ed Sheeran sounded amazing coming from Justin, if rather embarrassingly so.

Seeing my embarrassed flush, Justin's love-filled gaze took on his signature wicked glint. The level of enthusiasm and drama in his singing upped a notch so that the song actually carried, drawing out those of the family not already basking out in the cool crisp evening air, out onto the patio with us.

I grumbled under my breath as his seductive tone rose and fell, drawing sighs from the women and grins from the men. But I couldn't hide away the effect his singing and song choice had on me. Goosebumps broke across my skin at his husky timbre, and the seductive words he sung so sweetly melted me into a watery pot of pure goo.

I shivered and shook with desire, feeling its ever-present tendrils wrapping themselves down my spine and ending at my heated core. I shifted uncomfortably, squirming where I sat and then latched onto Justin's arm as soon as he'd strummed out the last bit of his song.

The silence that followed was seductive as I met and drowned in his heated gaze.

Then, the applause broke out, and Justin was swift to thrust the guitar away at some unsuspecting fool. Ash turned out to be the next recipient; he simpered and whined like teenage girl before boldly taking hold of it and strumming _You Are My Sunshine_.

I cringed and groaned at that, stuffing my face into Justin's shaking chest as he heaved with uncontrolled laughter and groaned in pain as he did. I hated that song, and others must have too, for despite his extremely decent singing, Ash was booed into silence.

The guitar got passed around, and the laughter and conversation grew more and more rowdy. Songs were sung. Lurid limericks vied with and popular songs, all of which had us swinging wildly between stitches of downright hilarity and solemn passion. All the while, the barbecue sizzled and was ravenously consumed.

We reluctantly called it a night at the stroke of midnight, not because Ash was howling his head off like a loon in a mimic of a morbid werewolf, but because the next day, my very last day of bachelorhood was going to be swimming with event managers and any number of last minute preparations.

That night, our love making was non-existent. Not due to the lack of ardour between the two of us, but because Justin had a sudden struck of scruples. Despite my very best seductive manoeuvres, strip teasing, and even going so far as to go down on him, all I achieved was a deep throated swallow and Justin's vehement denial that oral sex was real sex before he carelessly turned over to sleep.

" _Justin!_ "

But all he did was grunt in reply.

Whack!

"You didn't just smack me," murmured Justin quietly in a tone that raised the hairs at the back of my head.

Whack!

He turned around slowly to pin me down with his threatening gaze. "This? You want this?" he murmured softly before reaching down between my thighs to jab in his middle finger viciously. I bit back the cry of pure need that immediately sprang to my lips, determined not to give him an inch. "No? You want this then?" he inquired just as softly before reaching down to flick a tongue over my pointed nipple. I shoved a fist to my lips to muffle a moan. His finger continued to move tauntingly in me, flicking in an out of my slick heat as his lips marauder mine, ravaging the sensitised tips of my breast. "No?" he breathed out when I stubbornly stayed silent. "Lips? You want my lips down there, don't you? Don't you?" he demanded insistently, but I wasn't answering. I was still too angry that I had to ask for it at all, not that I had actually asked for it, but whacking him could be constituted as asking _in a way_. Demanding more like, but I was damned if I was going to actually _ask_ him for it. _I shouldn't have to._

He should just _know,_ __ but apparently, ___he didn't,_ __ because the jerk off simply turned back over and went off to sleep when I didn't answer.

Smacking was too good for him, so I laid there a good hour later before sleep took me under, planning out my revenge and couldn't wait for daylight to make it all happen. But as the sun rose over the hay fields and rock sculptured horizon, so too did Justin. Promises forgotten and scruples with it. I woke up to Justin slipping hungrily within before delivering the thrashing of a lifetime, pistoning his hips in a rhythm that left us both out of breath and panting. Satisfied and sated, I didn't really have the urge to get back at him for last night, but I found myself saying it anyway.

"You left me hanging last night," I said accusingly, still a little choked up about it. I mean, how _could_ he?

"You left me with the guitar last night," said Justin pointedly.

"You've got to be kidding me," I snarled out furiously, rising to crawl over him. The two were such vastly different scenarios that they didn't beg a comparison. How could he base his actions on that?

I placed a hand on each side of his self-satisfied, and yes, provocatively gorgeous, face and stared back into his _un_ -grinning eyes. "Were you really upset by that?" I asked him in sudden concern. I hadn't picked up that vibe then. But who knew he could have been sensitive that way?

His sigh was heartfelt. "No, I guess I really wasn't. I don't know. I'm sorry. I just love teasing you, provoking you, and just plain being mean to you. What can I say? You bring out the worst in me!"

His wolfish grin then deserved a whacking. If only I could get my hands on his ass to deliver it. The battle cry of warning was duly issued, and the tussle that followed was vigorous, but sadly, I failed to land a smack at all. Justin, on the other hand, scored plenty.

We spent the morning frolicking in bed and snoozing after. I rose gingerly from bed to the insistently hammering door for yet another lunchtime announcement. I was beginning to doubt I would ever have breakfast again. My ass was stinging and sore when I clambered down the stairs a half an hour later, drawn out of my little world with Justin into the chaos of wedding preparations.

"Where's Justin?" demanded Lilian Kay as she marched out of the kitchen with a militant look in her eyes.

"Um,... still in bed," I said simply.

"That boy!" declared Lilian, just as if he were still ten, before she marched off toward the stairs. I managed to dodge several more like-minded missiles and evilly sent them all off upstairs to ambush the unsuspecting Justin, while I myself settled down to hearty meal. Unsurprisingly, Justin popped up beside me not ten minutes later, looking harassed as he swiftly gulped down his meal and shot off without a word to hide in the library.

The day carried on along the same lines of chaos and mayhem. I did my best to tippy toe around the best of them and fairly patted my back in congratulations when I succeeded crawling into the bed early at eight that night. I ignored the fact that I was actually packed off to bed, told to get some sleep, and get those bags off from under my eyes. I pulled my blankets over and fluffed my pillow before placing the two slices of cucumber on my closed eye lids. The coolness that swept beneath that lid and chilled me down to the bone had me snuggling deeper beneath the covers until the room door swung open to let a snarling Justin in. He too was sent off to bed early and was not at all happy about it.

I listened to him rant and rave as he marched about the room, shucking off his clothes as he went. The bed lurched and tossed as if on a wave in the sea, and Justin was right up beside me, breathing hard on my face. The hot air fluttered down, taking the chill away, along with the heat of his body that worked to do the same.

"Is that edible? Should I eat that cucumber first before I fuck you?" The prosaically worded question had me lifting a brow in response before I muttered with a sigh, "There will be _no_ fucking tonight. We are supposed to be resting."

I shuffled down to get back into my comfortable position again and had once more settled down, only to feel Justin's breath fan down on me again.

"Go to sleep, Justin," I said, firmly brooking no argument.

"I can't, I am too wired up. Here, feel me." Taking my hand, he placed it on that part of him that was certainly wired _up_.

"Don't think I have forgotten the spanking you delivered me just this morning," I reminded him. If he thought he was getting lucky again at any point in the next century, he had to think again.

"Oh, baby, don't be like that!" The amusement clear in his tone rendered his pleas downright insulting. So I huffed and turned my back on him, forgetting the cucumber that had been sitting on my lids.

"Here, I got it," murmured Justin as he fumbled around me before waving the green slice triumphantly. I swung around to grab it back only to watch it disappear into the deep dark recesses of his gaping mouth.

The crunch that followed was barely audible, but the battle cry it inspired was clear enough to be heard.

I woke up yawning and tired the next morning to yet more hammering on the door. Only this time, the sun was barely up in the sky.

"Aria! Your hairdresser is here!"

I grimaced at the sound of Janet calling out at the other side of the door then turned to stare at Justin, still all rumpled up and deep in his sleep. He had been nearly irresistible last night, but I had prevailed, dodging his reaching arms not once but many times during the night. It seemed the fight only spurred him on to try out new and innovative ways to get me to cave in to him. My eyes dropped to the tent he still sported beneath his blankets, and I stemmed my own urge to simply roll on top of him and ride him to my will. There would be time for that later. I had a wedding to get to first, and the day was wasting away as I continued to sit here ogling my fiancé.

I made haste in showering and completing my morning routine and was downstairs, busily munching at breakfast before Martha came by to insistently drag me away. I made the necessary token of protest before giving in to the experts and letting them do what they would with me. The rest of the morning was spent in primping and makeup. Lunch time rolled along, and with it, a plate of nibbles—bite-sized sandwiches that left me only craving for more.

Then, the lunch hour was gone, and the icy white, silk dress was tugged over my head. Its beaded bodice clung to me like a second skin. Its inbuilt bustier required no bra to be worn under but left me feeling vulnerable for the lack of it. The skirt gently moulded my ample hips and fell to the ground in graceful folds. With my hair pulled back and piled high in a ring of curls, tendrils of which dropped over the arch of my brow and rested against the hollow of my throat, I felt almost fairy-like. Ethereal and, well, unreal.

"You look beautiful, Aria," exclaimed Mama, breaking down in sobs as she pulled me into a squashing hug. Then Dad was there, oddly sobbing, too. I glanced around his broader shoulders to roll my eyes at Janet and was surprised to find her all teared up also. Turning to face my brother, I was thankful to find his indifferent shrug as he looked around, already bored out of his mind. I took strength from his consistency and turned back to roundly scold the other members of my family into behaving. This was my wedding day; I couldn't walk down the aisle bawling my eyes out.

Mama dabbed at her eyes then bent over the mirror to fix up her makeup, and Janet clipped on a sapphire broach that belonged to my grandmother.

"We should get going," declared Mama, after straightening her makeup. She swept around to give me a final inspection. Reaching out, she grabbed my bust and shoved it up, rocking it into place.

"Mama!" I screeched at her before turning to inspect myself in the mirror once more.

"It was looking a little lopsided," said Mama, shrugging indifferently. I gasped at her and then gasped again as my eye caught and settled at the wall clock behind her. My screech this time was hair raising.

"Is that the fucking time?" I gasped then wailed, _"We are fucking late!"_

# Chapter 18

I couldn't believe no one had been monitoring the time. The pandemonium that broke out after sent us all into further panic. I was literally trembling as I clattered my way after Mama out of my room and down the freaking way-too-many stairs. Ash was downstairs, pacing impatiently.

"Do you know what time it is?" he yelled at me.

"You can scold me on the way!" I shouted as I lifted my voluminous skirts and started off to the great entrance doors.

"Not that way! Out back! You're supposed to arrive on horseback!"

I swung around halfway out the door, yelling, " _What?_ "

"What the fuck, Ash? I can't ride wearing this!" I pinched at the sides of my non-existent skirt to point out the form-fitting dress I had on that made riding astride impossible.

"Oh, fuck!" Ash swept his hand through his hair, destroying its carefully slicked back lines and said, "But that's the only way! There are no cars left. Only horses!"

This elicited groans from both Mama and Janet as well.

"I have my car," declared Dad, He did. His old battered-up, trusty Pajero!

"Uh,... no you don't, Dad. I lent the key to Cousin Ralph. They needed more cars."

The silence that greeted this was tangible.

"We'll fucking walk!" I gritted my teeth in determination. It wasn't that far. Only the other end of the pasture, where there were scenic views. Stupid Justin and his harebrained ideas, only it hadn't actually been Justin's idea. It had been mine. Fuck!

"Not in those shoes, you won't. The grass is wet."

I turned baleful eyes on Ash at that. I was running late; I didn't care about the shoes. I'd run there barefoot if I had to.

I opened my mouth to say just that, but Mama beat me to it. "Ash will carry you, dear. Let's just go!"

Ignoring Ash's gaping mouth, I went to him insistently and lifted my arms expectantly. He was the only one who could manage it. What were all his muscles and brawn for anyway if not to help a damsel in distress?

It took some fumbling, but finally, Ash had my up and in his arms bridal-style. We started out at a sedate walk until the looming distance began to seem endless, and we all broke out into a haphazard run.

"Faster! Faster!" I urged poor Ash on, ignoring his heaving chest and hoarse, raspy breath fanning down on me from his overworked lungs. He threw me a fulminating look that promised limitless collection on his part over this one favor, but I merely lifted a brow at him, not in the least threatened. I had only one thought uppermost in my mind, and that was to get to my damn wedding.

The rumbling burr of powerful engines droned down on us, wrenching our heads as one to face the oncomers. Mama all but leapt onto the overgrown road and started to wave her hands long before the first of the bikers could even be seen over the hilltop. The bar brawl guests were arriving. I wiggled my feet and hammered at Ash's back insistently to have him set me down.

"Oh, fuck," I muttered under my breath. Bike after bike was pulled over as Mama took over military-style to explain everything.

I was bundled up on the bike behind the dude who started it all by wanting to cut in on our dance. I wasn't sure if he were going to give me a ride to my wedding or the opposite way, but I knew it was a chance I had to take.

Mama and the rest hopped on to ride with the other bikers. Even Ash bit back his grimace to accept the ride his bruising kisser and female biker readily offered.

To say we made a grand entrance to my wedding was an understatement, but I didn't really care either way. My only concern was to get to the other end of the aisle where my groom was impatiently waiting my arrival. And then, I was walking on my papa's arm towards Justin as if in a daze. My eyes didn't leave his, just as his stayed firm on mine.

He didn't grin or smile, but then, neither did I. We were both still tense and worked up by my unscheduled delay. I opened my mouth to explain and apologize, but he only turned away impatiently, eager to have the priest get on with it.

It was only later, much, much later, after the vows were exchanged and the documents signed, and we were in each other's arms on the dance floor, when he finally uttered the words that had been burning painfully within him.

"I would have killed you if you had missed our wedding, for any reason, any reason at all," he spat out viciously.

I tripped over my feet at his savagery and felt his arms close around me as tightly as any vice.

"S-sorry, Justin," I muttered out feebly if a little tearfully. The anxiety of what I had gone through was still riding high in my veins.

But Justin shook his head slowly at me. "No, not sorry enough!"

" _Justin_ ," I pleaded. But his closed-off face remained stony. Then, sparks ignited, and anger flew. My hand flew up as if to slap him, but he reacted swiftly, spinning me out then back so that I whipped up furiously against him, feeling winded in the process. My next attempt at retaliation ended with my body curving over in an impossible arch as he promptly lowered me into a dip.

The fight went on furiously all over the dance floor as yet more unexpected twirls and dips ensued, and then, I was danced away from the fringes of the crowd and behind a large Eucalyptus tree. Justin's lips slammed down on mine then, and mine rose to meet his onslaught furiously.

We kissed and kissed, both hurting and still in shock of the near miss. I was tearful when our lips finally parted. "You-you... would have left me?" I wobbled out between gasps of air and gulps of tears clogging up my throat.

"Never!" he declared, shaking me almost violently. "I will never leave you. I would have hunted you down."

"To-to... kill me?"

He nodded softly. "And myself with you."

"You... you... idiot!" I raised my hands to batter at his chest even as his head bent down to take my lips again in yet another bout of violent kisses.

"I love you," I gasped out, finally. The fit of temper was replaced with only acute need.

"I love you, Aria. I... love... you," Justin enunciated each word between firm kisses insistently.

"Oh, darling," I sighed. "My darling, darling husband, Justin!"

The excitement level spiralled uncontrollably before a firm voice called out insistently from the other side of the tree, "Get a room, you two!"

I pulled away from Justin's ferocious kisses to laugh happily at my mama. Seemed she was all for us sharing a room now.

# Epilogue

It was a mad dash from the first peal of the alarm clock. My first day, and I was going to be late. Extremely late!

I bounded out of bed and ran for the bathroom, thankful for once to find that my nakedness worked in my favour against the morning chill. The cold was quick to get me rushing through my morning toilet and leaping under the warm shower spray a moment later. I was scrubbing myself raw even before my teeth stopped chattering. But it was the buzzing of Justin's electric shaver that had me turning off the faucet and reaching for the towel.

I stopped by the vanity on my way out to give Justin's deliciously exposed flanks a pinch and then a squeeze for good measure before I evaded his reaching hands and dashed back to the bedroom.

It was all his fault, this Monday morning madness. If he hadn't decided to have a morning cuddle at the first ring of the alarm clock then follow it with a morning quickie that lasted through two other alarms, well, it's just his fault I was going to be late.

I was in my stockings and shirt, hopping on a foot as I tried to squeeze my other foot into heels that had grown too tight. It had been ages since I last wore my work heels. Bounding around inelegantly on one foot, I ignored Justin's amused chuckle and bit out a fluent blue streak when my heel simply snapped off, sending me tumbling back onto the unmade bed.

Justin's laughter at that had me cursing again. I leapt off the bed and dived back into my walk-in wardrobe to dig out another ancient pair of high-heeled shoes. The skirt went on next. And I was finally ready to go.

But I had one more matter to attend to before I could actually leave. I rushed off to see to that next.

The tie was silk and long; lean fingers worked at it to loosen its knot until it hung loose over broad shoulders. My gaze ran up those muscular arms and chest, the strong column of his neck, to rest longingly on the lush sensuality of his firm lips before scampering hastily up to his amused, blue eyes. There, I drowned happily in their depths until an insistent wail shrugged me out of his hypnotic trance-inducing gaze.

"You're supposed to be leaving," I reminded him, as his fingers continued to unbutton the shirt he had only just donned.

"So are you," he murmured, pointing at my own fingers, already busy undoing the buttons of my shirt. I frowned in confusion and then lifted my darkened gaze up to his entrancing eyes once more.

"I... have to," I stuttered at the determined glint in his eyes. "It's not-not for you," I uttered breathlessly at his insistent advance.

"Yes, it is. All mine," he rebuked firmly. I sighed impatiently. This was my first day, and he was going to make a mess of things and, no doubt, make me late too.

" _Justin_ , darling," I implored pleadingly and then bit my lip as I watched him halt at my words and then take a deep breath before he _pounced_.

His hands took over from mine to undo the remaining buttons; his lips slammed down on mine before moving ruthlessly along my jawline, nipping and nibbling as he went 'til his face was cradled at my swelling bosom.

The wail erupted again. I reacted without thinking and shoved his head aside as I all but ran to the cot. Cooing at my poor, hungry baby, I lifted out Jason Kay and showered kisses over his cherubic face. Justin's growl of jealousy behind me was promptly ignored as I moved to sit on my rocking chair and settled Jason to suckle happily at my bosom.

"It's only for another six months or so," I soothed Justin's ruffled feathers with what he wanted to hear. In all honesty, baby Jason could nuzzle at my breast for as long as he needed. He had already been diligently at it for the past year.

"You promised! When you get back to work, your breasts will only be mine," Justin reminded softly, but I could still hear the steely undertone to his voice; he would not be denied on this. I muttered some soothing nothings and continued to feed my baby.

"Right then, it's payments for leasing out your tits to this little fella then," he said determinedly before unbuckling his belt and dropping his pants.

"Justin!"

The man was truly incorrigible.

192

