Crossing Boundaries (Cape Falls)

Crescent, Sam

(2012)

Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2012 Sam Crescent

ISBN: 978-1-77130-005-6

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Susan Fitch

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To everyone who refuses to give up on a dream.

CROSSING BOUNDARIES

Cape Falls, 1

Sam Crescent

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

Dear Diary,

My name is Laura Cox. I’m twenty years old and yesterday I fell in love. I’ve had this diary for years and never felt compelled to write in it before now. With this new turn in my life, I have no choice. You’ll be my new best friend and my complete soul mate. So, I'll tell you what has my heart racing. His name is Dean Riley and he’s forty years old. He’s a widow and so sexy, with wide shoulders and a kind face. He has that stubble that men get when they don’t shave for a day or two. At the picnic he sat all by himself and didn’t give anyone the time of day. My parents liked him though, and so do I.

What shall I do? I can’t nurse this crush in the vain hope it will fizzle out. I mean, my heart was racing and you know that down there? Yes, I felt something for the first time. Nothing ever happens in this place. I mean, who would want to spend the rest of their life in Cape Falls? It's a stupid town in the middle of nowhere with old-fashioned views. Women still get married when they get pregnant. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single woman in my life.

Shit, I hear my mum coming.

Laura placed her diary in a box under the bed and pretended to read her college books. Cape Falls didn’t have a college and Laura had to travel about thirty miles to the next town to get to campus, and she hated it. This was the only college her parents would allow her to go. For the rest of her life she’d be expected to live here, in a shitty town, with a shitty job, and a shitty life.

“Baby, are you getting ready for school?” her mother asked as she came through the door without even knocking.

“Mum, how many times do I have to tell you? It’s college. And, yes, I’m ready.”

“College, high school—they’re all the same to me. Come and get some pancakes before you go.”

Laura smiled at her mum and watched her leave. She glanced down at her stomach and wondered when she would ever be able to diet? Didn’t her mum know how many times people called her fat? College may be filled with older people; but they still liked to tease her. She gathered her backpack and the books she’d need for her classes and made her way to the kitchen.

Her dad sat drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

“He looked so lonely,” her mother was saying.

“Sweetheart, the guy has just turned up in town. Let the guy breathe a little,” dad replied.

Laura looked at her younger brother, Tommy, but he shrugged his shoulders and went back to his book.

“Dean Riley has been through hell," her mother continued. "I think we should invite him for dinner and welcome him to Cape Falls.”

Laura's heart rate picked up as she listened intently to what her parents were saying.

“He lost a wife and a kid. He’s been here for about a month and doesn’t speak to anyone,” dad argued.

“He came to the picnic,” Laura said. She always tried to stay out of her parents' arguments, but she couldn’t help herself.

“I don’t want to hear anything more about the guy. Let me eat breakfast and then I’ll take you to school,” her dad replied.

“College,” she shouted. When were her parents going to see her as a grown-up? In the evenings and on weekends she worked at the local diner. Also, she paid rent. Surely this gave her some adult privileges.

“Sorry, college. You know how I struggle to deal with my little girl growing up,” dad told her.

Laura tried not to roll her eyes. Instead, she glanced at her mother and saw the anger flash in her eyes. Shrugging her shoulders, she went back to her pancakes. She didn’t taste them, as with each bite all she could think about was the excess it would cause on her waist.

Before they could drive out of town, they had to drop off her brother. Thank God she didn’t have early classes. Tommy wanted to pick up one of his buddies along the way and Laura spent a great deal of time gazing out of the window.

“So, what does your college look like?” her dad asked.

“You’d know if you ever came inside,” Laura remarked.

When Laura had begun looking at several different colleges to attend, her dad had decided he would only pay for the cheapest, one where she didn’t have a dorm room and came home every day. He wouldn’t even pay for her to have some driving lessons.

They dropped off Tommy and his friend and continued over to the college campus.

“Your mum and I thought you’d have a steady boyfriend by now,” her dad said.

She knew exactly what her dad had thought. If a steady boyfriend was on the scene, she would be barefoot and pregnant, and he wouldn’t have to deal with college expenses.

“Not me. I’m all about the study,” she replied.

“I hope you meet a nice boy one day and won’t be afraid to drop by the house with him.”

Laura nodded and kissed him on the cheek before getting out to go to class.

The grounds were already heaving with students and faculty members. Even though she was in college, the same groups of people still hung together, the jocks who had scholarships and the beauty queens. Everyone had their own unique role.

She didn’t have many days left until the end of the term year, about a month's worth of classes and then she’d be home for the summer, where she’d work her ass off in any job she could get.

The usual people were grouped together and she knew she would find her small group of friends in the library. It was insane the way they segregated themselves. Keeping her head bent down, she made her way through the throng of bodies.

“So, the eldest nerd has come back to play?” Laura tensed and looked into the eyes of Peter Miller, the guy who tormented her in high school and who had decided to stick around for college. Plus, he was a total asshole.

“Get out of my way,” she told him. Just figures, she thought, that her last month would end in a confrontation with a guy she despised.

“Why would I do that?” he asked, then laughed.

God, she hated him. She hated him more than she hated pancakes.

“Because your little group is missing its daddy and doesn’t know what to do without your male superiority," she said sarcastically. "Oh, I forgot, you probably don’t know the meaning of half those words.” She charged past him; but he grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her progress.

“I don’t think you’re funny,” he warned before letting her go.

Laura glared at him and continued up the steps to get into the campus' main hall. Castle Ridge College was the only campus to take some of Cape Falls' student body. Laura didn’t bother going to the library. She decided her best option would be to get everything ready so that when campus closed at the end of the month she wouldn’t need to wait around for anything.

For most of the day her mind was plagued by one man and one man alone,Dean Riley.

Peter Miller watched her walk away from him. He cursed his own bad attitude and walked back to where his best friends were waiting. Laura Cox had become a thorn in his side ever since their last year of school. He had been the most popular guy in their class and yet he’d yearned for the school’s biggest nerd.

His situation was so laughable. In college, instead of going after the cougars on campus and hot sorority girls, his obsession with Laura had stuck.

“What’s with the girl?” his friend Russell asked.

He just shook his head in response. Laura wasn’t responsible for his feelings and she already received enough attention by being brainy. He did not want to add to the problem. They may all be in college now, but some of their old classmates hadn’t grown up through puberty.

The bell rang and they made their way inside.

Peter walked to his first class. As always, he took the seat directly behind her. He didn’t listen to the teacher much, but who cared about world history, especially when you've already passed the class? The class was shit anyway and he only took it after he’d managed to get a geek to pull up Laura’s classes. Fuck, he needed his head examined. No girl like Laura would look twice at him. Not only had he been a bastard, but his reputation was far worse.

She turned around and glared at him like she did every time he sat there, then turned her attention back to the front of the class.

Peter couldn’t cope anymore. Once this month was over he was going to spend a great deal of time trying to woo Miss Cox. She was far more important to him than maintaining his jerkish reputation

Chapter Two

Laura ran out of college at the end of the day and got a ride back to Cape Falls with a friend. Classes had been plagued by the likes of Peter Miller. That guy gave her the creeps. Her friend dropped her off in town. There were still a few hours before she needed to be at work and she was in the mood for a little peace. She walked through the town towards the edge of the forest. The usual path was well worn by now. She’d found the abandoned stream years ago and she always went there to think. No one else knew about it and she could imagine for a few split seconds that this was her own little world.

About thirty minutes later she found the stream and climbed onto one of the boulders overlooking the water. Laura loved this sanctuary and didn’t want to lose any of her time here. She pulled out her diary and began writing her thoughts and feelings about the day.

Dear Diary,

Today was a nightmare. Most of my classes were with that jerk, Peter Miller. I despise him. He’s spent most of his life tormenting me in some way or another. I can’t stand it. At least in a month I’ll be free of him and I won’t have to worry about being polite. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was interested in me—but that’s crazy. How can that man want me? His interest in me is going to cause me trouble, probably with another one of those stupid pranks he likes so much.

My parents argued this morning over Dean Riley...

“What are you doing here?” a man's voice asked.

Laura cried out in surprise, completely absorbed in the words she was writing on the page. She turned and saw that the owner of the voice was no other than Dean Riley, the man for whom her heart beat. With her heart pounding, she quickly shut the small diary and placed it in her bag. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if he found out how she felt.

“I’m so sorry. I’ve always come to the stream to think.” Laura gathered her things, her fingers clumsy and her entire body shaking with nerves.

“Well, I own this land. From now on you need to get permission before you come traipsing around on it,” Dean Riley replied.

“Yes. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing. Who are you?” he asked.

Oh my God, he asked me my name.

Tell him then. Don’t just stand there looking like a complete idiot.

“I’m Laura. Laura Cox.”

He stared at her a few minutes more. “You’d better come to the house. It looks like a storm is brewing and I don’t want your mum or dad to think I’ve got a problem with showing their daughter some respect.”

She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Surely he hadn’t asked her to follow him? Laura panicked. She didn’t know what to do. The man she’d been writing about in her diary was here now, alive and in the flesh. And his ass looked too good as he walked in front of her.

“Actually, I’d better get to work. I work at the Cape Diner in town,” she replied and pointed behind her. Not that she had any sense of direction.

“You’ll get to work. Let the storm subside first.”

Laura gazed around her. How long had she sat here? The sky had turned a horrid, threatening black and showed a storm was indeed upon them. She bit her lip and followed after him.

His house was huge and as soon as she walked through the door the heat engulfed her.

The air had the scent of cigars and strong coffee.

“Here, give me your things,” he said.

Laura handed over her things and he caught her hand and walked her through his house to the kitchen.

“Sit.”

She grabbed the seat near the door.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked.

“You’re Dean Riley.”

He nodded his head and put the kettle on. “At least you know I’m not a serial killer.”

Laura chuckled and curled her legs beneath her. “Are you trying to give me a false sense of security?”

“Absolutely," he responded. "So you’re the Cox’s oldest girl?”

He knows who I am. Giddy moment. Focus.

“Yes. Do you know my parents?”

Dean shook his head. “No. I don’t know anyone. I’ve heard about you though. You’re their oldest girl who managed to get into college, right?”

“Yep, that’s me. Mum and dad had me when they were very young. They didn’t have the time or the money to go to college,” she explained.

He nodded at her words and brought over a steaming cup. She looked into the cup and smelt the scent of coffee wafting up.

“You can drink coffee?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m twenty years old. Of course I can drink coffee.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Don’t shoot the maker.”

“I’m just going to call my mum. She’ll get in touch with the diner if I don’t get a chance to make it over there.” Laura took out her mobile phone and talked to her mum. She reassured her of her safety and told her Dean Riley had taken pity on her.

“He’s treating you good?” her mom asked.

“Yes.”

“All right, I’ll phone the diner in case you're late and you stay put. I don’t want you hurting yourself,” her mum said.

Laura agreed and hung up. “My parents worry.”

“They should. All parents worry about their children.”

“Do you have any children?” she questioned without thinking.

She saw the immediate change in him, the darkening of his eyes, and he no longer wore a smile. His hands gripped his cup tighter. The light and energy seemed to be sucked out of the room.

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t ask personal questions.” She sipped from her cup and placed it back onto the table. “I’d better go.” She got up and grabbed her bag.

“There’s no need for you to leave. Stay. I’m sorry. It’s still too hard for me.” He stopped and glanced down at the floor.

She sat back down and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Talk about conversation killers.

“I only heard what my parents told me. I didn’t think.” Now she was babbling.

“The rumours can only be expected. So, what do you study at college?” he asked.

She heard instantly how quickly he changed the subject. Her heart mourned for his loss.

“Umm, English, I think. At least most of my classes are in that basic area.” Laura loved to read and one day she hoped to be a writer. Not for political reasons or anything like that. She loved reading romance and figured that would be the area in which she would write. A cliché career choice, but she was a firm believer in following her dreams.

“I love English. Are you thinking of becoming a teacher? An editor of some kind?” he asked.

Laura couldn’t believe how interested he sounded. Feeling stupid at her dreams, she shrugged her shoulders and went with the neutral ground.

“I don’t know. Picking a career choice that will last my whole lifetime seems a little hard.”

You liar!

“Really? I thought you’d have a career in mind by now. Throughout college I knew exactly what I wanted to become,” he said.

Laura leaned forward on her seat. “What did you want to become?”

“A writer.”

Her heart pounded. This was too big of a coincidence. She should be in her own romance novel. The man of her dreams wanted the same profession she did. How was that possible?

“So what are you?” she asked as her curiosity peaked.

Dean smiled and drank more of his coffee. The suspense was killing her.

“Tell me what you want to be,” he said instead.

“How do you know I want to be anything?” she countered.

“A hunch.”

Laura stared at the floor and thought over her decision. Dean would be the first person she’d told of what she wanted to be.

“All right, don’t laugh. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

She rubbed her hands over her thighs. “I want to be a writer.” The admission felt fantastic, like she’d just released a deep dark secret.

Dean didn’t laugh. He smiled. “Did that feel good?” he asked.

Laura nodded. Telling someone about her dreams helped. “Yes. How did you know?”

Dean placed his cup on the table and leaned forward. He pressed his hands together and rested his elbows on his knees.

“When I told my family and friends that I wanted to be an author, they all laughed. They said it was a pussy profession and that I didn’t have what it took to write good stories.”

“What did you do?” Laura asked.

“I proved them all wrong.”

Silence met his answer.

He had the most amazing blue eyes she’d ever seen, like the depths of the ocean. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

“Are you telling me you’re a writer?” Her heart rate picked up. Not only because of being the love of her life, but also because of his admission.

“I’m a writer,” he confirmed.

“Of what? How long have you been writing? Is it amazing?” So many questions ran riot through her head.

He laughed and took her cup from the table.

“I write novels in the more risqué category and let's just say that I’m doing quite well for myself," he answered. "It looks like the storm has died down. Do you need a lift into town?”

Their conversation was getting along great and Mother Nature decided to put a halt to it.

“If you don’t mind?” she responded. She grabbed her bags and followed him out of his house.

The drive to town was quiet. Laura had to try to keep her attention away from the hot man sitting next her. In no time at all he was pulling up outside the diner. She groaned when she saw how busy it was.

“Are you serious about becoming a writer?” he asked as she reached for the door handle.

“Yes. It’s my dream.”

“Okay. Stop by my house. I’ll clear it with your parents and we’ll work on your technique. I take it you have some stories you’ve already written?” he asked.

“Short ones, and they’re really badly printed.”

“Bring them. I’ll give them a read. Be aware though, I 've never done this and you’ve got to be prepared to learn,” he warned.

“I will. I promise. Thank you for the ride and everything.” She got out of the car and watched as he drove off before entering the crowded diner.

On entering she saw that Peter and his gang were already seated in her work area. Great, she thought. Another afternoon with having to be kind. Laura walked into the back and changed into her uniform. Kasey, another waitress who was about two years older, was putting on her make-up.

“You made it then?” she asked.

Laura nodded. She tied her hair into a ponytail and took a fresh menu pad off the pile. “Yes. Dean Riley gave me a lift into work.”

“He’s got a cute ass,” Kasey commented.

She ignored Kasey and grabbed a coffee pot on the way out. Several customers needed refills. Orders were taken from a few others. With every second the place got rowdier.

A child spilled shake all over her uniform and another splattered tomato sauce. By the time she made it over to Peter and his gang she looked a wreck. When she reached their table she stared down at her notebook, mentally squaring her shoulders for the tease and taunts that were about to happen.

“What can I get you?” she asked. Avoiding eye contact usually worked.

“Wow, you look a mess,” Russell, one of Peter's cronies remarked..

“I mean your order,” Laura said. Fatal mistake. She looked up from her pad and saw that all six men were staring at her.

“Have you even glanced at the menu, yet?” Laura asked.

They shook their head.

“Then why did you signal me to order?” she inquired.

“Because we know what we want. Six orders of cheese burgers and fries,” Peter said, interrupting the other guys.

Laura wrote the order down, thankful that he’d stepped in. She kept her fingers crossed with hopes that the library would open up for jobs. Working at the diner was a royal pain in the ass.

Chapter Three

Dean drove to the supermarket after dropping Laura off. He was long overdue on some groceries, especially if he wanted to eat for the next few days. He thought about the young woman he’d dropped off. She was sweet looking and definitely a lovely person to talk to. He hadn't noticed any interest in him from her and he liked that. He couldn’t deal with any woman’s interest in him. After the death of his wife and child by a drunk driver, he was passed all the romancing and love talk. He spent most of his days writing. Although his editor had been in touch with him and told him that he needed to start writing lighter stuff, in his heart all he saw was the darkness, the darkness of being alone and knowing that his wife and little boy would never walk through the door again. The pain was so intense that at times it caused him to stop and breakdown for days.

On the night they’d been killed, they had been at a book signing. Carla had wanted to get little Frankie home and instead of telling her to wait for him to finish, he’d decided to get a taxi. When he’d gotten home, Carla and Frankie weren't there. They’d been killed on the highway by a truck driver who hadn’t stopped and who had had one too many beers. No matter how much satisfaction there was in knowing the driver was firmly behind bars, the pain didn’t stop. Carla and Frankie were still dead and nothing would bring them back.

“Mr. Riley?”

Dean came out of his memories to see a woman staring at him. He knew right away it was Mrs. Cox.

“Sorry. I was thinking,” he said and pushed his trolley along the deli section. He ordered some pancetta and cheeses.

“I’m so sorry to bother you, Dean," Mrs. Cox said. "I just wanted to thank you for taking care of Laura.”

“That reminds me,” he said. “Laura wants some extra help with her English over the summer and I’ve offered to give her a hand. If you have any problems with my helping her, I’ll call the whole thing off.”

Laura's mother shook her head. “Don’t worry about it and call me, Deirdre.”

Dean took the offered hand and continued on. Everywhere he went he noticed that women were giving him the nod and men were glaring at him. He didn’t want any of their wives. For the rest of his life he’d be happy to spend time alone.

When he was back in his car, he found himself staring toward the diner. Laura would make a good writer at least he hoped so. He didn’t want to be the one to tell her to give up her dream if it turned out that she was awful at creating.

Dean started up the engine and drove back home. He’d moved to Cape Falls after finding that being in his old house in the city had become unbearable. Dealing with the memories was too painful. This new house was supposed to be a new life and a new start. As always, he’d go and visit his wife and child at their grave sites.

The front door opened easily and he went straight to the kitchen to put away his purchases. After making a steaming cup of coffee, he walked to his study where his laptop and livelihood awaited. The blank screen was not a comforting sight. He sat down and leaned back in his chair. He then closed his eyes and waited for the muse to come back, the muse who’d abandoned him when he first moved in. Seconds trickled by and then a thought. Dean opened his eyes and began typing.

She’d blasted into his world from the unknown. No one knew her, nor could see her, but to him she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. To many, her brown hair might seem a dull shade. To him, the many tints of brown sparkled in the sun and glowed as if to bring warmth to a winter's day. He yearned to reach out and see if it was as silky smooth as it looked. Like many times, his hand moved and yet didn’t touch. Forever he’d be void of the pleasure.

He sat back and looked over the words. There was no clue as to what he was writing. The words didn’t sound right. They were a start and, according to his editor, either he lighten the tone or they’d have to reconsider his contract. Closing and rubbing his eyes, he went back to typing.

All summer he’d been alone and now this lightness had appeared. The other people in the village didn’t have the first clue as to what to make of her. They only saw a freak, a woman too perfect to understand. He saw passed the fear and the pain. For many years he’d fought worse demons and now was the opportunity to find peace.

“What is your name?” he asked of her when he found her by the lake. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, merely staring out at the water.

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered.

“If you can’t tell me, what shall I call you?”

The mystery woman turned to him and smiled. “You shall have to give me a name until you’re ready to hear mine.”

Dean sat back and took a sip of coffee. His mind was working overtime. Was this piece a historical? A futuristic? A paranormal? He did not know. The words simply flowed out of him with ease, an ease he hadn’t felt in too many months. Had offering to help Laura opened the floodgates to his own writing?

Chapter Four

Dear Diary,

The most amazing thing happened today. Not only did I get to meet Dean and to talk to him, he offered to teach me all the details of writing my very own story. Do you know how wonderful that is?

Laura glanced up from her notebook to see Dean waiting for her outside the college grounds. He’d phoned the previous day and offered to pick her up from campus. Earlier in the day she’d been informed there would be only one week left of classes as the rest of the faculty members would be leaving for early vacation. She didn’t mind. More spare time for her and the job at the library in Cape Falls had finally opened.. After spending time with Dean, she intended to go to the library and apply for the position and then quit her waitress work at the diner.

“Afternoon,” he said as she got into the car.

“And to you. It’s so hot,” she complained.

“Last time I checked, heat in summer was a good thing,” he joked.

Laura saw Peter staring at the car and she gave him a wave. There was no need to be rude.

“I guess," she replied. "But if you think about global warming, then we should worry.”

“No," Dean responded. "I recycle and try to walk everywhere. I figure, providing we all do our bit, then we should be okay. Leave it to the scientists of this world to tell us what we’re doing wrong.”

Dean pulled up outside his house and they walked together through the main door. He stopped as they got to another door.

“I have to warn you. No human besides me has ever passed through this doorway. What you see is top secret and shouldn’t be told to anyone else,” he warned her.

“Cross my heart. I won’t tell another living soul about your place,” Laura assured him.

Dean waited and the waiting was killing her. She wanted to see where he wrote and the type of room he’d created in which to write his stories. She’d tried to search his name on the Internet, but nothing came up, only a backdated paper describing the accident with his wife and child. She hadn’t read any of the papers. She figured in time he’d tell her about it.

He finally opened the doors. The room was large with minimal furniture. A few bookcases lined the walls. A sofa was positioned in front of a fireplace and next to the large French windows sat a dark mahogany desk with his computer on top.

“Have I ruined any of your ideals about writers?” he asked her.

Laura shook her head. “It looks perfect to me. This is exactly what I’d have wanted for my office.” There were few distractions. “May I?” She pointed at the desk.

“Be my guest.”

She placed her bag on the sofa and walked to sit behind the desk. “Do you work often in here?”

“Every day. When the words come, I sit and write,” he said.

“It’s amazing.” She rubbed her hands along the edge of the desk. The computer was switched on and she saw a few documents he had left open.

“I searched your name on the Internet, but couldn’t find any of your titles.”

“Interested little minx, aren’t you?”

Laura nodded and stood. “Always.”

“You wouldn’t find any titles because I use a pen name," he explained. "I’m not going to tell you my pen name yet. Did you bring those stories I asked?”

“Yes.” She grabbed her bag and pulled out a folder. In every aspect she had tried to be mature. There were a few explicit stories she’d written after watching a particularly raunchy film on a cable channel. She didn’t have a clue what she was writing. The words had just flowed from her heart, which she thought was a good thing.

“I’ll begin reading through some of these while you go and make us both a drink. I like mine with milk and two sugars.”

“I’m a glorified slave,” she moaned.

Dean chuckled. “No. You’re here for me to help you and nothing in this life comes free. Be careful or I’ll have you cleaning the walls.”

Making the drinks was easier said than done. Every draw and cupboard needed to be opened to find what she was looking for. When she glanced at the clock, she couldn’t believe twenty minutes had already passed. She needed to go back in and give him his drink. Would he hate her writing? More nervous than she liked, Laura walked back into his study.

Her folder was open and Dean was bent over reading her words. She placed the cup on his desk and turned away to sit on the sofa. The silence was unbearable. Laura tried to think of all the words she’d written over the past five years when she had started writing.

Her rubbed her hands together and the clock suddenly sounded very loud in the small space. She felt open as he perused her work. After some time she heard him close her folder. There was no way he’d read everything. The folder was thick with sheets of paper and all in order with the very first story she’d ever written at the back. She glanced his way and saw him staring at her.

“Are they awful?” she asked.

“How old are you again?”

“Twenty.” She bit into her bottom lip. What would she do if he said they were crap? Shit, doing this was a mistake. She should have kept her writing dreams a secret.

“Okay. Your work is great. Brilliant for your age, but I can sort of tell that you don’t have a lot of experience with this stuff. There’s a lot of head hopping and mistakes that a publisher or editor will catch you out on.” He spent the rest of the afternoon showing her mistakes and giving her advice on writing.

She loved every second being in his company and learning from him.

“Do you really want to learn?” he asked.

“Of course, I’m here.”

“Right, how about you starting a fresh story? We can work on these at a later date. College is almost out and I think we can have a summer project. You write a story in any genre you want, romance, crime, whatever. You decide and I’ll help you work through it and by the end of the summer I expect a fully completed manuscript.”

Every word he spoke sounded like a dream come true.

“Deal.”

“But, I’ll expect you to work around the house and explore every avenue. By working and trying out new words will help develop your writing skills.”

“Double deal. I agree with all the terms. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.” She walked over and shook his hand to confirm the deal. She also tried to ignore the tingle as he touched her and his fingers wrapped around hers.

“Bring your laptop and I’ll set up a desk and new portal for you,” he told her.

Laura nodded her consent and as Dean drove her home, her future looked brighter already. She’d be spending most of the summer with the man she loved. No better way to pass the time.

Dean made sure she got home safely before pulling away. He then drove for three hours straight until he pulled up outside the cemetery. The wedding band still lay on his finger and he got out of the car. His wife and son lay together under a tree. He hadn’t brought any flowers with this visit. All he wanted to do was see them and to let them know he would never forget them. Other people were visiting a relative or loved one. He ignored the others and attended to the graves of his own loved ones. The dead flowers from his last visit were removed.

“I’m sorry, Carla. I didn’t bring any fresh ones for you to look at.” He spoke to the stones often. “I’ve been a little busy. You wouldn’t believe what I’m doing. I’m tutoring a young girl, well, a woman. She reminds me a little of you, filled with dreams, but scared to unleash them. You’d like her.”

He ran his hand over the grass. The tears holding firmly in check as he thought of Laura. “I don’t know what I’m doing, to be truthful. Her writing is so innocent and honest. I get the sense she’s quite raw and needy. Being in Cape Falls doesn’t do well for her self-esteem. She’s constantly being overlooked by everyone. I think she’ll make a good writer.”

Dean poured out more of his thoughts.

“I miss you and I think to help myself, I need to stop coming here as often as I do. Carla, I loved you more than anything. It hurts being here and knowing I can’t have you.”

He didn’t say anything more. Instead, he stood and laid a kiss to each of their stones before leaving. His friends and family told him to start moving on. Carla would have hated to see him torn up this way. He would take their advice and stay away for a little while. At least having Laura's company would help him to deal with the loss. He drove back home with a heavy heart.

When he walked through his door he went straight to his computer. After a quick glance over the words and a few changes, he was off.

“I’m here to help you,” the mystery woman said.

“How can you help me?” he asked. All he wanted to do was listen to the woman talk. Her voice teased him in every way possible. She placed a hand over his heart. The contact sent a bolt of electricity up his arm.

“You’ve experienced pain and I’m here to help you through it. To see how wonderful living your life can be. I’m here to be everything you’ve ever wanted.”

He listened to her sweet tempting words and he found himself drowning, drowning in helplessness and hope. The need to hold her and thank her was strong within him. By being in her company for a few moments had helped him to regain some balance within his life. He didn’t want her to go, ever. For so long he’d been alone and now an angel had taken pity on him.

“I’m no angel,” she warned him as if she could read his thoughts.

“You are to me.” He took her hand and together they walked inside his house. Whatever was about to happen he was ready for. His heart filled with the wonder of the future. For too long had he been filled with doubt and despair. A small ray of sunshine, so thin and fragile that it could be mistaken as a trick of light, had entered his life. He wasn’t prepared to let it go. His life and heart were open for the adventure that was about to happen.

Chapter Five

Dear Diary,

He loved my work. Dean loved my work. I took my laptop with me and I’ve started my project, it's a romance. I couldn’t resist. He didn’t laugh though. A smile played on his lips for merely a second, but that was all. No mockery or disgust. He still hasn’t told me his pen name. Pouting. I’d love to read something he’s written. As always, he reads my stuff and criticizes it. What I love most is that he’s able to keep writing even with me typing away in the spare space he’s set up for me.

Moving on to other stuff in my life, though I could talk about Dean for hours. I finally heard back from the library and guess who got the job? That’s right, me.

Anyway... Bye for now.

Laura got the job at the library and nothing gave her more satisfaction than quitting work at the diner. They were sad to see her go, but she got her paycheck and she deposited it into her bank account. College finished for a block of three months and the summer was in full swing. On her spare afternoons she took her work to Dean for him to read through and he became a teacher for her stories. Not only did they work on writing, they sometimes talked about their favourite authors and what they loved about writing in specific genres.

One afternoon she went to his house to find him in the garden with a spade, trowel and some seeds.

“I’m guessing these aren’t for your gardener?” she asked.

“Leave your bag inside," he instructed. "I think we deserve some exercise and time spent outdoors in the fresh air. Besides, I’ve got more seeds to sow.” He tossed the trowel at her and she let it fall to the floor.

“You were supposed to catch it,” he told her, moving forward to pick up the instrument.

“Do I look like a woman who catches moving obstacles on a regular basis?” She folded her hands over her chest.

Dean shook his head and nudged her shoulder. “Put your bags away.”

Laura smiled as she walked away. The easy banter between them was always enjoyable. She felt like they’d known each other for years as opposed to the few weeks he’d been living in Cape Falls. He’d moved before attending the picnic.

She returned and found him on his knees over a recently turned patch of soil.

“Here,” he said and threw some seeds her way. Laura knelt beside him and looked at the packet—Wintergreens.

“Seriously, you’re preparing for winter?” she asked.

“As a writer, you must learn to take on many hobbies. One of mine is growing vegetables and fruit. This is a great place to grow them with plenty of room.”

She shrugged her shoulders and followed his direction, making sure the seeds were evenly spaced.

“So, away from writing, tell me more about Laura Cox,” he said.

She paused and glanced in his direction. “I’ll tell you more about me if you tell me more about you,” she suggested.

Dean stopped and leaned back on his haunches. “Are you trying to bargain with me when I’m teaching you how to write?”

“Actually, you’re not teaching me how to write. That comes naturally. You’re teaching me how to hone my skills to make me a better writer,” she argued.

He glared at her a second. “Teaching women how to argue was a grave mistake in male history.”

Outraged, she gasped. “That’s an awful thing to say. We’ve got a lot of goods things about us. You can’t tell me you’ve got the viewpoint that leaves us women barefoot and pregnant?” Laura couldn’t believe it. She refused to believe it.

“No. Not just barefoot and pregnant. You can cook and clean too.” Dean responded and laughed. “Almost had you there,” he teased.

“Don’t do that. I’d hate to think I’m being taught by a self-righteous pig who thinks a woman’s place is in the home,” she replied.

“I’m surprised you don’t have that exact opinion yourself. Since being in Cape Falls I've had the impression most of the residents still share that same thought process,” he said.

Laura thought then about her parents and the rest of the families in Cape Falls. Most of the women went to work after their children were grown. Her own mum refused to work and she’d heard her say many times that a workplace was for a man.

“I guess many folks here haven’t moved on with the times,” she offered as way of explaining everything.

“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t think you’ve got to walk the same path as everyone else. You’re free to make your own choices. Don’t let anyone hold you back. Not even me. Sprinkle the soil gentle over the seeds and be careful not to disturb them.”

She smiled and covered the tiny seeds. He placed netting over the freshly planted soil, which she learned helped protect the seeds from birds wanting to eat them.

“Tell me about yourself then, and I’ll tell you some bits about me,” she said.

“Okay. I promise,” he agreed.

“All right. What do you want to know?" she asked and sipped from the glass of lemonade he’d brought out. The sun was high in the sky and its heat was beating down on them.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you," she continued. "I got the job at the library. I work four days a week and only for a couple of hours each day. Should be fun.”

“Congratulations. I take it waitress work wasn’t cutting it?”

“Not even," she answered. "I hated it, and there’s this guy who keeps following me around, or at least he’s there wherever I turn. He drives me crazy,” she admitted.

Dean was quiet for a short time and she sat by him on the bench and gazed at their handy work. Most of the seeds had been planted and patches of the garden started to look structured.

“Do you think he’s got a crush?” Dean asked.

She couldn’t help but to burst out laughing.

“Why are you laughing?” Dean asked.

Laura laughed harder. Dean joined in and they both chuckled together.

“Peter Miller does not have a crush on me,” she told him and chuckled to herself. The idea was ridiculous.

“Why not? You’re a woman and you’re in his age bracket.”

“Believe me. I’m not his type. He goes for the blonde and beautiful ones,” she said to him.

“You don’t know what he thinks. He may have a crush and not know what to say. Just because your hair isn’t blonde, don’t rule out an attraction,” he replied.

Laura stared at him. He hadn’t said she was not beautiful.

“I’m fat. No man would stare twice at me,” she responded.

Dean tapped her on the hand. The action shocked her, even though it wasn’t painful. “Hey,” she said.

“You know, you women get me. Do you really think men care about body shape?” he asked.

“You haven’t been in the dating scene for some time. You clearly you don’t understand how important it is,” she argued.

“You’re not fat, Laura, and far from it and while you’re on my property you don’t say that word. Let's move on because I feel this subject is going to lead to more arguing.” Dean lifted his glass and took a long swig.

She stared at him a few seconds before drinking from her own.

“What movies do you like?” he asked.

“Romance,” she said instantly, no longer trying to play it cool.

“Great. I’ve got a few movies to watch over the weekend. What do you think about watching them with me? I’ve already phoned your parents for permission. I didn’t want to ask you and get your hopes up in case they refused.”

It sounded as if he thought her child and that he had to get her parents permission. Laura placed her glass down on the grass lawn and leaned back folding her arms. Most people her age were already in their own places.

“I’ve got to get my own place,” she muttered under her breath. Looking at Dean she responded, “Yes, I’d love to watch some films with you.”

They stayed outside watching the sun set in the sky. She loved being pressed against his warmth and feeling as if she belonged. Dean was an amazing man, even if he teased her constantly.

“Could you tell me one thing about yourself?” she asked as the last rays of sunlight shone on the garden.

“I’m scared of spiders,” he whispered as he bent down and pressed a kiss to her head.

She closed her eyes at his touch. The act seemed so natural. She was thankful for his ease around her.

“I’d better take you home,” he said and took her hand to lead her to his car.

She didn’t know if he was aware of what he was doing, but she liked it.

Dean dropped her at home and declined the offer of dinner. His creative juices were flowing and he needed to get back to his study. The work in progress didn’t have a title yet, but the small snippet he’d sent to his editor had been well received.

He placed a shop bought pasta bake in the oven and moved to his office. The screen was lit and before he’d even sat down his fingers were playing along the keypad.

The nightmare had struck. Another man played for her affections and she didn’t even see it. The beauty within her was masked by her insecurity. Didn’t she know how precious she’d become to his every waking need? Her soft skin and welcoming smile was the best part of his day, but he couldn’t control every part of her daily life. When he drove her home, they were the worst parts of his day. He knew the rest of the night would be spent fighting off the demons of his past -- the pain, and then the guilt, as this young woman invaded his mind.

What would it be like to kiss her? To feel those soft, plump lips open up beneath him? He was being driven insane by a woman he couldn’t have.

Who was the man she’d talked about? Did she want him or was her hatred just an act? He would be driven insane if he didn’t get an answer soon.

Dean sat back and stared at the words on the screen. This story was starting to freak him out. He couldn’t analyse why he wrote this way. Usually he wrote about dominant men getting what they wanted. This man didn’t want anything but one woman.

He ran fingers through his hair and left his computer. Laura was having more of an impact on his life than he’d like. Her scent clung to every surface, a vanilla scent that was soothing to him.

His editor liked the transformation in his writing style, but he wasn’t so sure himself. He was so far out of his comfort zone. He went to the kitchen and grabbed his meal and a cold beer before returning to the computer.

Laura Cox was a young woman who was slowly becoming his reason for living. He couldn’t do this. The woman was twenty years younger than he. These feelings inside him were wrong and being near her didn’t help. That’s why he decided that going into the garden would be a great idea. The change in space would provide him with the realization that she wasn’t his type. Who was he kidding? She was a full figured woman with a funny sense of humour and the most amazing kind, brown eyes. Her eyes reminded him so much of his wife. Carla had seen passed everyone and everything and her innocence had struck him to the core. He had not been his wife's first lover, but her experience should have knocked out any gentleness within her. Not so. Carla had remained pure in everything.

Reading Laura's work, he’d seen the passion hidden within her. He didn’t want to take advantage of her and he doubted she saw anything in him other than that of a teacher. Yet his body responded to her presence. Shit.

“What should I do, Carla?” he asked. Dean knew no response would come. He asked though. No one got anywhere without trying to find the answers.

He’d invited her over for a few movies. Maybe he should phone and cancel. Her mother had said Laura didn’t have many friends and she liked the friendship developing between Laura and he. Her mother thought he was a good role model. Was he? Fuck. He shook his head and took out his frustrations on his laptop.

Chapter Six

Dear Diary,

I’ve nothing to write today except that I’m so happy. Today I start my new job and that will be amazing. Dean asked me to spend some time with him watching movies. I can pretend it’s a date. God, I sound so immature.

Laura didn’t bother to sign her diary. She didn’t see the need. Her thoughts were simple. The more time she spent with Dean, the less she wrote. He’d become the solace she needed from her boring existence.

She got herself ready and walked the short distance to the library. Cape Falls wasn’t an overly large town and the library was located between a car mechanic shop and the supermarket. Very strange place to house the three, but then Cape Falls wasn’t well known for being clever. She entered the building and was immediately drawn into the peace and silence of the library. This place she could deal with.

Laura spent most of the morning going through her training and learning how to operate the system of books and dealing with customers. To keep her busy, the main staff had her refill the shelves with the returned books. The library looked small from the outside, but it had a long, deep length to it.

She walked to the back of the library near the exit doors where most of the reference materials were housed, along with a few desks for students to study. She pushed the trolley to the shelf marked with history and located the correct numbers. Each book had its own set tag and she found the order and replaced each of the history books on the shelf before moving on to the business section. Laura found great pleasure in replacing the new and musty old books. Each title reassured her that people cared about life and education.

She rounded another shelf containing subjects having to do with the human anatomy and saw that Peter sat at one of the tables with his head bent over a book. He looked deep in thought and she ignored him and continued in her task. With each of her movements she made sure she made as little noise as possible. When he suddenly slammed his book closed, she jumped and the three books she’d been reaching up to place on the shelf toppled out of her hand and onto the floor.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said and was instantly by her side picking up the books.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to the quiet,” she told him and took the books from his hands. She placed them on the shelf, gave him a smile and checked the cart. Fiction books were next.

“I’m sorry I disturbed you,” she told him.

“You didn’t disturb me,” he assured her.

Laura frowned and glanced around. Seeing Peter by himself was strange. The guy had people practically attached to his side.

“Why are you in the library?” she asked. She was more than intrigued by his presence in a building full of books and not being near naked girls. She’d heard about his regular trips to a titty bar outside of Cape Falls.

He blushed and started to stutter. Laura smiled and placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t worry about it. Your secret is safe with me.” She pushed her trolley around the tables.

“Why?” She heard him ask.

“Why what?” she inquired.

Peter rose and stood in front of her. “Why will you keep my secret?”

Laura frowned at him. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a tattletale. For whatever reason you need to come to the library, it's not my place to cause trouble.” She made a move to pass him.

He stopped her with his hand on the trolley.

“Seriously, Peter, your macho man bullshit is starting to piss me off,” she said.

“Thank you,” he replied.

She never expected to hear those words out of his mouth.

“You’re welcome,” she said.

The rest of the day went by uneventful. Customers came to drop off books or collect reserved books. Laura grew accustomed to all the processes and found her job easier with every passing second. At closing time she stood with the head librarian as she locked the doors.

“See you tomorrow,” Laura told the woman and walked to the supermarket. Laura had come up with an idea. She’d cook Dean dinner. She thought he worked too hard and for once she wanted to give him something that hadn’t come out of a box. When making his drink she’d found all the packages for the ready meals.

She grabbed some peppers, chillies, onions and garlic from the fresh food section. Fresh herbs were growing in his garden and she’d seen coriander among the herbs. Next she went to the spice aisle. She placed cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper in the basket. Minced beef was followed by canned tomatoes and kidney beans. With her shopping completed, she paid for her goods and left the store.

She saw Peter standing against the railing outside the store.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he replied and threw away the cigarette he was smoking.

“You know those can kill you,” she said.

“Probably. I don’t smoke all the time. I wanted to ask you something,” he told her.

“I’m all ears,” she replied, then checked the time and waited for him to talk.

“I’m failing history,” he lied. “That’s why I’m at the library. Mr. Green said he’d give me this summer to catch up and I’ll take a test when college reopens.”

“That explains why you’re at the library. What part are you failing?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She’d taken history as a step back in time. The past and learning about history always intrigued her.

“Everything. I’m not doing well at all,” he admitted.

Laura stared up at sky. “Do you want me to help you? While you’re at the library I can give you the best kind of books to help teach you and get you up to speed.” she suggested. She didn’t look forward to helping him, but she couldn’t ignore a cry for help, even if the cry for help came in the form of Peter Miller.

“That would be great,” he said with a smile. “I could kiss you.”

Laura took a step back. “Let's keep the skin-to-skin contact at a minimum.”

Peter nodded and she saw the disappointment on his face. She did not want to go there.

“Can I drive you home?” he asked.

“Nope. I’m not going home, but thank you for the offer. I’ll see you at the library tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you working at the diner anymore?” he asked.

Laura shook her head, waved good-bye and began the walk to Dean’s house. The night air was warm, fresh and delightful. Forty minutes later she knocked on his door.

Dean answered dressed in jeans and nothing else. Laura paused. His large, half naked body exposed for her to see. Considering he was a writer, he looked like he pushed weights for a living. She wouldn’t even get her hand around those arms.

“Laura, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“I brought some ingredients and while you work, I’m going to cook dinner. Don’t you worry, I’ve already told my parents that I’m going to be late and they said not to worry.” She lifted her bag of goodies.

“Why not?” Dean agreed and opened the door wider.

She stepped over the threshold and ignored the tingle low in her stomach when her arm brushed against his. She wore a small, plain white blouse and black skirt that fell past the knee -- the proper protocol for working at the library.

“You look like a stern teacher,” he mocked.

“They're my work clothes for the library job. What do you think?” she asked. She placed the bag on the floor and gave a twirl. The skirt cut in at the waist and smoothed over the curve of her hips. All of her was on display. She felt fat and too exposed for her liking. She thought her ass looked like two melons were rolling around under it. She personally preferred baggy clothes with plenty of space to hide her body.

“You look stunning,” he whispered.

Laura snorted, making a horrible sound. “Yeah, right," she replied sarcastically.

"You go and work and I’ll cook us dinner. And don’t argue. I know you need to get this mystery book finished." She shooed him into the study, then took on the mission in his kitchen. A cast iron pot found, she began her quest to chop, grate and cook.

Dean sat behind his computer desk. His dick was hard. Laura did not look like a young woman in that outfit. The baggy clothes she normally wore hid most of her body from view and he could imagine her as nothing more than a young girl trying to act all grown up. And her ass—holy shit. Her ass looked so gorgeous, all round and full. When she'd turned away from him he’d been tempted to reach out and grab a handful.

He placed a hand over his throbbing cock and moaned. The sounds from the kitchen were teasing him to abandon all good thoughts, to seek her out and force her to put out the fire she’d created in him. Never before had he acted like this with a woman. His wife had been passionate, but when he saw Carla dressed she hadn’t brought about a raging hard on.

He ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed a shirt to put on. There was no way he could have dinner with this stiffy straining his jeans. He moved to the kitchen. Oh, sweet lord, have mercy.

She was bent over and looking in the fridge, her ass sticking up into the air. From this angle alone he was given the perfect view of stockings at the top of her thighs. When did young women start wearing stockings? He had to get out of here.

“I’m just going for a quick shower. I’ve done my writing for today,” he called, facing the stairs as opposed to the delectable delights in the kitchen.

“Okay. Take your time,” she said.

I plan to.

Dean walked up the stairs and went straight to his room. He closed and locked the door before going straight to his ensuite bathroom, although there was no need to the lock the door. He saw his reflection in the full-length mirror in the corner. For most of his life he’d always had a mirror in the bathroom. He stripped out of his clothes in quick time. The ache easing in his groin the moment his jeans were around his ankles.

The reflection in the mirror showed that the time he spent on the weights in his home gym was taking effect. His arm muscles were larger and their definition was strongly outlined along his body. He thought he looked more powerful than he’d ever been throughout his forty years. His hands went to his chest and then moved down his body, over the hard planes of his stomach and to his large, protruding shaft. His tip leaked pre-cum and he ran his fingers through the sticky liquid. It had been a while since he’d masturbated or had any sexual thoughts to make him want to.

He watched himself in the mirror as he played with his balls. He ran his hands up and down his shaft. The pleasurable sensation almost brought him to his knees. He pictured Laura with her ass on display. In his mind he rid her body of the skirt and imagined her in only her stockings. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring up the image of her pussy or her slit. Instead, he watched his reflection as he fucked his hand, the head disappearing and reappearing through his fist, the image of Laura in her stockings reappearing in his mind.

He noticed the sweat now shining on his skin and he began playing with his buttocks as he continued pumping his dick. He felt himself so close to the edge. His cum leaked out of the tip, shiny and glossy in the light. He pictured Laura knelling in front of him, her hands tied behind her back and her mouth open, ready to receive him. Mixed feelings suddenly overcame him, one of intense arousal and the other of sheer protectiveness.

He gave himself a few more strokes and his seed shot out of the tip, landing on the laminate floor and the bottom part of the mirror. His breaths came in heavy pants. When he calmed down he turned the water on for the shower. He quickly cleaned his seed from the walls and mirror and stepped under the water for a quick shower to rid the sweat and the day’s grime from his body.

The scents wafting up through the house made him realize how hungry he was. Once he’d wiped the bathroom down, he dressed in another pair of jeans and shirt before walking down the stairs.

“Something smells good,” he said as he walked in.

Laura stood at the counter and piled a helping of boiled rice on a plate followed by the , home-made chilli. The woman was after his heart.

“I found some cheese in the fridge. No sour cream though,” she told him.

He didn’t mind. He liked his food spicy.

Laura walked over to the table and handed him a plate. She took the seat next to him and at the same time they both dived into their meal.

The explosion of flavour set him off. The chilli was cooked to perfection and wonderful.

“This didn’t take long,” he said.

She gave him a funny look.

“What?”

“You were gone over an hour,” she told him.

“Really?”

Laura giggled and went back to eating.

He admired her for several minutes. Dean loved to watch a woman eat. She wasn’t self-conscious and she enjoyed her food.

“This tastes really good,” he complimented.

“I’m pleased you like it.”

They ate in silence, but in a companionable silence. Dean enjoyed every single second. The food didn’t need conversation. He enjoyed being at the table and eating home-cooked food.

When they were finished, Laura washed up and handed him a cup of coffee. He didn’t have the heart to stop her from being at home and he could become used to the way she looked working in the kitchen.

“How’s the writing going?” she asked.

“Slowly,” he replied, looking at her over the edge of his cup.

“Will you ever tell me your pen name?” she asked.

He smiled. He wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle some of his work.

“In time,” he answered.

“You’re very cryptic,” she said.

“You’ll know when I need you to know,” he replied.

She washed the last of the dishes and put them away before sitting with him at the table.

“How’s your writing?” he asked.

“Slow.”

He threw his head back and laughed.

“I was thinking we could go to the stream at the bottom of your garden, passed the line of trees,” she said.

Dean took a sip of his coffee and asked, “Why would you want to go there?”

“I think it’s a brilliant place to think. It might open your mind to many more possibilities.”

He thought about the stream where he’d first caught her on his property. The spot did have a calming quality he’d enjoy.

“All right. How about next week? I’ve got a few things to get done, but that would be the best time for me," he said.

Chapter Seven

Dear Diary,

Today I’ll be going to the stream with Dean. He doesn’t know how beautiful it can be. I loved the way he laughed the night I made him chilli and I want to hear more of his laughter. He needs to see the beauty in life and any chance I’m given for finding out his pen name is a plus. The fact that he won’t tell me is driving me crazy. I want to know all about his writing career and everything about him. Wish me luck with finding out more.

Peter continues to study at the library and, all right, I have to confess that he’s not a complete jerk. There, I’ve said it. I've admitted something I never thought possible. He studies most of the time and doesn’t torment me anymore, not even when his friends stop by, which did surprise me. I wonder if he’s told them to lay off? Anyway, it’s a bonus for me. I don’t have to deal with the herd.

Laura grabbed Dean’s hand and moved down the path of his garden toward the trees. Dean had tried to put off this visit and she wouldn’t let him. The sun was shining and the breeze was to a minimum. She wanted to share a part of her world with him. When she sat on that boulder that overlooked the water she could imagine being in any place other than Cape Falls.

“You don’t have to drag me,” he complained.

“Yes, I do. You were dawdling and I want to enjoy as many minutes of peace I can get. Especially since I have to get permission from the owner to visit,” she teased.

A few minutes later they stood at the beautiful spot. It was like a hidden paradise away from everyone and everything else.

“I love it here,” she whispered.

“How deep is the water?” he asked.

“It’s a stream. I don’t think it’s that deep.” She let go of his hand and climbed up onto her boulder. Laura turned and saw Dean watching her. She tapped the spot by her side.

“How long have you been coming here?” he asked.

“A few years. Mostly since the end of high school, when the pressure got too much. Coming here always made the bad seem worthwhile.”

“High school was a bummer,” he admitted. Dean climbed up on the boulder and sat close beside her.

“You hated high school?” she asked.

“Yes, everything about it. I was bullied by the jocks and tormented by everyone.”

“You weren’t a jock?”

“Nope. First-class nerd all the way. Also, in my spare time I liked to read poetry. The only person who didn’t bully me was Carla.” He went quiet at her side.

“Was Carla your wife?”

“Yes.”

“Were you childhood sweethearts?” she asked.

“Do you really want to know this?”

Laura glanced over at him. “I want to know everything about you.”

She heard him sigh and instead of badgering him to continue she stared at the water and waited.

“Carla and I were close growing up. We lived about three houses apart and were great friends, nothing deep or meaningful. If we had classes together we partnered up. We were each other’s back-up. She went to prom with the most popular guy in school. Wow, I didn’t know I’d ever forget his name, but I can’t recall it. Anyway, after prom and graduation, I had a scholarship to go to a creative writing college while she went off and did her own thing. We lost touch for over ten years.”

Laura heard him chuckle and the next moment felt her hand being taken. She gazed down to see he was holding her hand. Did he know what he was doing?

“We met at a drinks celebration," he continued. "I wasn’t doing well at story writing at the time and I wrote small pieces for tabloids and magazines. Not good enough to get noticed, but enough to pay the bills. We met and the years melted away. Five years later, when we were both thirty-three, we decided to settle down together. We cared about each other from the beginning. We got hitched in the summer of that year and a year later we’d fallen in love. I know it sounds corny and romance movie, but it happened that way for us. She’s the one who told me to start writing my own stuff and one night after, well, after doing adult stuff...”

Laura thumped him in the side. “After you’d made love. I’m not a child.”

“Okay, after we’d made love I went to my computer and typed all night long. The piece was awful. That was the starting point and I haven’t stopped since. Carla became my world and I became hers. Nothing mattered as long as we were both together. Then four years ago, little Frankie was born. My son. Our family was complete.” Tears ran down his face. Laura gripped his hand more firmly.

“How did they die?” she asked.

“About two years ago I’d made it into the world of publishing and we'd gone to some book launch. Little Frankie and Carla were tired and she drove them home while I stayed and mingled with the rest of the group. I returned home before them. They never made it home. A drunk driver in a lorry crashed head on into them. They wouldn’t have seen it coming.”

Laura got to her knees and hugged him.

Dean let go, his body shaking with the sobs coming out of him. She held him through the pain and the heartache as he finally, after so long of keeping it inside, let it out.

“I’ve got you,” she whispered and kissed him on the head. She wasn’t there for anything more than to offer him comfort. She sought no other pleasure or means.

“I should have been there,” he cried.

She let go of his hand and cupped his face. “No," she said. "This was not your fault. What happened that night couldn’t be foreseen. You’re not to blame.”

Firm and direct she hugged him and after some time he settled down with his head in her lap. Laura ran her fingers through his hair as she glanced up at the setting sun.

“I’m so sorry,” he said after a time, but he didn’t move from the position on her lap.

“What are friends for?” she asked.

“I’m so pleased you’re my friend, Laura.”

She smiled.

“Laura?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

They stayed together on the boulder until the sun went down and Dean drove her home later that night. She watched him disappear before walking into the house. The afternoon had been good for him to get the pain and misery off his chest. She hated to think of him hurting. No one deserved to go through the pain.

“I’m never going to get this,” Peter yelled.

Laura sat in the picnic area. Young children played on the swings and other families sat at benches eating food.

“Yell any louder and they’ll call the cops to have you removed,” she told him and took another bite of her sandwich.

“I don’t understand it. It’s like it’s not sinking in,” He replied with a sigh and dropped his body down onto the grass. Laura moved her lunch out of the way for him to sit.

“How do you do it?” he asked.

“Do what?” she asked.

“Remember this crap. I mean, why do we have to do it in the first place?”

Laura laughed and then finished off her sandwich. “First off, you didn’t have to take history. In college you pick your own courses, remember? And second, how can you not get history? It’s not like an equation you have to learn or any crap like that. History is about fact and events taken place in the past. I don’t get why you don’t understand it,” she said.

Peter watched as she took her second sandwich out of the box and began eating it. Her lunch break wasn’t long and he'd taken it upon himself to accompany her on the break.

“I’m not a brainy person like you.”

“When the new semester starts, I suggest you change subjects,” she offered.

They ate their lunch in silence and walked the short distance back to the library. Laura left him to the back room while she went to sort through the books.

Peter watched her go. He wished he could find more of an excuse to be with her. History was the lamest of excuses he’d come up with. How could he tell her history was one of the classes he excelled in? Cursing his life, he opened the book he’d read several times and began reading through it once again.

With any other girl he’d be right in there and asking her for a date. With Laura it wasn’t simple. She was smart and beautiful and he knew she thought of him as an asshole. At closing time he waited outside for her.

“Can I walk you home?” he asked. Every other time she declined his offer.

“Yes.”

His heart jumped with joy. Maybe there was hope for him yet. Together they walked through the small town.

“Can I ask why you accepted?” His curiosity had gotten the better of him.

“I usually have another date somewhere and tonight I’m free," she responded. "I’ve nowhere else I need to be.”

Peter wondered where she usually went, but thought better of asking. He didn’t want to upset her while he was ahead.

“Would you like to come back to my place?” he asked.

“I’m good, thanks. I want to get home.”

“Why haven’t you got your own place?” The moment he’d turned eighteen he’d been out of his parents place. He didn’t want them pressuring him to be just like them.

“I don’t know.”

They came to a stop outside her house.

“This is me,” she said. Laura gave him a smile and walked up the small steps.

“I’ll see you at the library,” he called up after her.

She turned and smiled at him. “Bright and early.”

Peter waited until she went inside before going home. He lived above one of the shops in town. The rent was cheap considering the apartment was in the best of shape.

He opened a beer and sat in his chair. He didn't think Laura saw him as a potential boyfriend and this stalking would have to come to an end. He couldn’t keep watching her from afar either. Shaking his head, he thought he sounded like a creep even to himself, let alone what Laura might think. He’d ask her out soon. Maybe.

Chapter Eight

Over the next few days Laura shared the mornings between working at the library and helping Peter and her nights with Dean, but nothing sinister or sexual. She cooked him dinner and he’d read through her work or they'd watch a movie. He’d finally given her the grand tour of his house on one of the nights. They talked about work and while she wrote on the computer in his study, he either hovered over her or wrote some himself.

“Come on. When are you going to tell me about your writing?” she asked one night as she packed away her folder. In the past few weeks alone, he’d taught her so much already and even she’d seen an improvement in her writing.

“Funny you should mention that. I was about to give you a copy of one of my books,” he said.

Laura paused and glanced up at him. “Are you joking?”

“Nope, I think you can handle them. That is, if you still want to read them?”

“Are you insane? Of course I do.”

She watched him walk over to one of his shelves. His fingers began playing along the spines of the many books. Her excitement grew. He pulled out one of the thickest books and moved over to her.

“This is the first book I ever wrote,” he told her and handed the title to her.

“Surrendering to Her Master,” she read the name out loud.

“Wait, how old are you again?” he asked, gripping the book.

Laura wouldn’t let go.

“I’m twenty years old and stop being a tease,” she said. Laura couldn’t believe she was holding one of his titles.

“This is what started your writing?” she asked.

“The first of many titles to come.”

“This is amazing,” she said.

“Good, because some of this stuff is meant for women and I’m trusting you with it,” he warned her.

“Is it dirty?” She asked and chuckled when she saw him staring at her. The cover showed a woman bound into full submission.

“Read it and don’t blame me,” he answered.

“I’d better hide it. My mum’s a bit of a prude,” she admitted.

Dean drove her home that night. She felt as if his book was burning a hole through her bag. She waved good-bye when he dropped her off, then grabbed her supper out of the fridge and walked upstairs.

Laura got ready for bed and settled down for the evening, eating her dinner and opening up the book. She saw that his dedication was to his wife. Laura pierced a tomato and began reading. From the first page on she couldn’t put it down. Dean’s writing was powerful and mesmerizing. She could see the characters clear in her mind. The heroine had brown hair and brown eyes with a full figure. As she read the words she pictured herself as the female and Dean as the master. She gasped and glanced at her vanity mirror. Her cheeks were red from the flush. The sex scene she’d just read was more intense than anything she’d ever imagined, let alone experiencing. Laura reread the chapter.

“You need to serve me, Lisa,” Dominic told her. Lisa knelt on the cool floor. Her pussy wept with desire. Her hands were bound behind her back. Her tits rose and fell with each indrawn breath.

“I only ever want to serve you, Master.”

“That’s a good girl. You disobeyed me today. When you agreed to be mine you promised I’d share every release you wanted. Today you climaxed without my help. What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. The sweet release had been a joy for her to behold. Never before had she climaxed by her own hand. She'd always had to endure the need of pain or force. This time she’d chosen to climax and she’d brought herself to release.

“I want you to understand, Lisa. I’m not punishing you because you found release. I’m very proud you have managed after all this time to find fulfilment by no other means than your hand.”

Lisa felt a wave of pleasure coarse through her from his words.

“I’m going to punish you because I wanted to be there to watch as you brought yourself sexual gratification by your own hands. You didn’t let me watch your freedom, Lisa, and now you’ll have to pay the price.”

Far from being scared, Lisa anticipated the punishment. In her mind she’d reached a beautiful release and knew she would be able to do it again and again. Any punishment she met would be well-deserved. She’d both pleased and disappointed her Master.

“I’m going to give you ten lashings with my belt. You’re not to come. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Master.”

“Good. Get on the bed and on your knees.”

Lisa kept her gaze firmly on the ground as she moved to the bed. She climbed to the center and kept her ass up and her head down.

She heard him unbuckle his belt with the faintest sound of the tinkle of metal. Her excitement increased. The cream of her pussy began leaking out and spreading over the tops of her thighs. This day had become a victory of huge proportions. The bed dipped and moments later his hands ran over the curve of her ass.

“You’ve been a bad girl,” he said. His fingers ran through her dripping slit and passed over her cunt to press the tips against her puckered anus. “I think you’ll be ready for me to fuck this ass soon.”

She moaned. The thought of him taking her up the ass turned her on more than she’d have liked.

“I want you to count for me.”

“Yes, Master.”

The leather of the belt came down striking her left ass cheek. She cried out.

“One.”

“One, what?”

“One, Master.”

He struck her again and again until the punishment was complete.

“I’m going to treat you now. I want to feel your cunt ripple as you come and you won’t refuse me.”

Master gripped her hips and turned her onto her back. Lisa stared up at the man who owned her heart. He’d given her so much in the short time they’d been together. The trust she felt with him she could never experience with another person.

He forced her to watch as his naked cock slid between her pussy lips, her cream flooding and coating his thick member.

Lisa held on as he penetrated her body, her heart and soul. Her entire being was surrounded by the man above her and in her arms.

Laura closed the book. Her heart pounding and her pussy wet and dripping. Did Dean crave submission? She didn’t have a clue and she wouldn’t judge him. Just because he wrote about it didn’t mean he was into it.

She took her empty plate downstairs and thought about getting her own place. When she got an apartment of her own, she wouldn’t be forced to hide her books. She’d be free to come and go as she chose.

The book lay under her covers and she read into the early hours of the morning. The book was addictive. As she lay in bed, she touched herself, just a tentative touch. She’d played with herself many times, but this time felt different, as if she was seeking something more than a release. After a time she stopped. She couldn’t find what she was searching for.

Only time would give her the answer.

Dean smiled as he recalled Laura’s dirty look. She hated being treated like a child. She wasn’t one and he knew it, but he couldn’t help but tease her over her age. He wondered if she was enjoying his book, the first story he’d written and the one where he’d begun to explore the BDSM elements. Carla hadn’t been interested in rough sex. She liked long, slow love-making.

Would Laura see him differently? Would she think, like other readers, that he was into all that stuff? He would like to explore certain aspects of the lifestyle, more out of curiosity than a need to live to a strict rule.

He closed his computer and walked up to his bedroom. Laura had become a very important part of his life in the last few weeks. Since he’d opened up to her about the death of his wife and child he’d felt a deeper connection. Laura hadn’t experienced loss, but she understood pain. She didn’t expect anything from him and for that he was thankful. He cared about Laura and he found her attractive. Every time he thought about her, he tried to remember the fact he was twenty years older than she. She was young and had her whole life ahead of her. She didn’t need a man like him in her life. By the time she turned forty, he would be sixty years old. No, he wouldn’t try to argue his point. Laura Cox was a wonderful woman who would one day make a man proud to call her his wife. Even though it would hurt like hell when that day came, he wouldn’t stop her.

He grabbed the story he’d been working on. He was stuck on how to finish it. He didn’t want to tell her he’d spent some days working twenty-four hours straight to complete his story. It wasn’t a full-length novel, but the start of something much bigger. He couldn’t think of the names to call his lead characters and the title eluded him also. The story had started to mean so much more to him, as if the story was his own personal journey. He settled down and started reading the story from the beginning. The deadline was fast approaching and he didn’t have much time.

Chapter Nine

Dear Diary,

I think I’m a submissive. Dean gave me this book the other night and I’ve never been so turned on before in my life. Surrendering to her Master is the title. The story is about a woman, Lisa, who has a less than desirable past. She was forced into selling her body for money. One night when she’s about to end her life a man comes to her. He forces her to call him Master. Nothing else. He takes her to his mansion and brings her back to life. He shows her that no matter how hard her life has been, someone could still love her for who she was.

The Master is in love with her. Lisa can’t reach climax and the time they spend together is about Lisa accepting who she is as a woman and learning to not only love the opposite sex, but to also love herself.

I felt as if the book was speaking to me on a deeper level. The things the Master did to her, I want Dean to be the man to take control, to order me to submit to his love-making. Does this make me a little strange? I don’t know. I’m not repulsed by the idea. I’m more intrigued. How would it feel to have his hand slap across my ass? To punish me for being naughty? The endless list of possibilities has filled me with so much temptation.

Sometimes I find myself staring at him and wondering what he’d do if he knew how I felt about him. Would he be repulsed by my bland features and large size? When I think of him, I forget about the world I live in. My parents don’t matter and the position at the library doesn’t matter. Helping Peter doesn’t matter. Dean can make me forget everything else. It's just he and I.

There are times I see the sadness in his face and know in my heart he misses his wife. No way would I ever be able to replace her. By reading more of his work I understand the value she’d been in his life. I could never be like her.

Dean was in his study on the phone as Laura glanced through his collection of music trying to find something of interest. She heard the phone go down and she checked to make sure he’d finished the call before putting some music on. A selection made, she adjusted the stereo so she could feel the sounds rolling through her. After working at the library and being hunched over the computer for the last hour, she was ready for some movement and her mind was working a hundred miles per minute. The relaxation of dancing would bring her back to neutral. The first sounds spilled from the speakers and she loved the tune instantly. It had a real beat where she could throw her head around and dance to her heart's content.

In no time at all, Dean had found her.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dean called over the loud music.

“I’m working out the tension. I need music. This helps me to clear my head, gets rid of all those bad vibes and have some fun,” she said as her arms swung up in the air and her hips swayed from side to side.

“This isn’t music. It’s an awful noise,” he replied and covered his ears.

Laura burst out laughing. “It can’t be that awful. It’s from your collection.” She moved over to the stereo and turned the volume up.

“Besides, you need to relax and calm down. Come and dance with me,” she said as she went back to the center of the sitting room. She’d moved the coffee table out of the way and made sure there was plenty of room.

Dean refused and made to walk away. She wasn’t letting him get away that easily. Laura grabbed him before he could leave and tugged him into the center of the room.

“Come on. Let go,” she said and holding his hands, began moving to a beat.

His hands were lax in her grip and she refused to let him go. Dean needed to have fun. He spent far too much time feeling guilty. She understood why he hurt and she couldn’t imagine going through the pain and heartache. The only way for him to move on was to accept what had happened and to understand he had no control over the situation. A few more minutes and she wouldn’t give up.

Dean gripped her hands and together they danced. The music was loud enough to cut off all thought and they simply immersed themselves in the fun of the moment. He twirled Laura and wrapped his arms around her before spinning her out and bringing her back into the curve of his body. She laughed and followed his lead. Dean was a wonderful dancer.

The music drew to a close and they tripped. Dean fell on top of her on the sofa. Laura couldn’t stop laughing as she gasped for breath. He’d winded her, but she liked the feel of him against her. He was laughing as well and she’d give anything to hear his deep throaty laugh.

“I’ve not danced like that in years,” he told her on a chuckle. His hands were by her waist and his fingertips ran along the indented curve and swell of her waist. Her shirt had ridden up, exposing her stomach. Laura froze as her stomach quivered. His nearness was shocking her. Their laughter and the music stopped. The only sounds were of their indrawn breaths. She couldn’t look away.

Dean stared down at her. She saw one of his hands come up between them and cup her face. His pelvis pressed ever so slightly between her thighs. Laura became aware of their situation. They’d fallen in such a way that her legs had opened and his most private part was pressed against hers. Something hard, thick and long prodded against her mound and the pressure felt a little uncomfortable. She wasn’t used to anything poking in such a delicate area.

The tension mounted. Dean leaned closer.

What to do? No man or boy had ever kissed her. Is that what he was going to do? Shit. What if I’m bad at it? Holy shit. Most women her age already had plenty of experience.

Her heart raced and she thought it would explode out of her chest. He was close and she felt the rush of air as he exhaled on her face. She closed her eyes. Dean kissed her on the cheek and then quickly pulled away from her. As he got up she noticed he turned his body so his crotch wasn’t visible to her. Was he turned on by her?

“I think you should go,” he said. His voice quiet and he wouldn’t look at her.

Laura nodded and grabbed her bag. She walked toward the front door and closed her eyes. You idiot, she thought. She couldn’t leave like this, but facing him seemed much worse. “I’m sorry. I won’t play any more music,” she shouted for him to hear. As she grabbed the door handle and twisted the knob, a hand came out of nowhere over her head and closed the door.

When he turned her around she saw the arousal on his face. He didn’t speak a word as he closed the distance between them.

“Just this once,” he said seconds before his lips took control of hers.

She gasped and dropped her bag. His touch, taste and every little detail consumed her. It was so unexpected. She followed his lead and sighed.

He pulled away and stared down at her lips.

“Open for me,” he growled.

Laura didn’t speak and opened her lips slightly. He ran a thumb over her bottom lip and then bent down to kiss her again. Dean tilted her head back further and plunged in, his tongue invading her mouth and meeting her own. She moaned as he continued kissing her, their lips taking what they wanted from each other. Laura wrapped her hands around his neck. She didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but the passion was driving her forward and just as suddenly as it began, the passion ended when Dean pulled away.

“You’re too young for me,” he told her and reaching round her body, he opened the door.

Laura was more than thankful to get away. Her first kiss and his only comment had been about her age.

Dean watched her go. His lips tingled from the touch of her lips. He licked them and was sure he could taste her on his lips, subtle, yet reassuring to him. The kiss hadn’t been something made up in his mind. Shaking his head, he closed the door and went back to his study. His work-in-progress was still in the works.

After reading through the manuscript in bed, he’d seen it needed a lot of work. There were still some holes in the story that needed to be worked out. His editor had been on the phone earlier and told him he had until the end of the month to finish or his other books were going to be pulled. The publishing house had had enough and with the market being the way it was, someone else could easily fill his shoes. Gone were the days of writing at your own pace.

The kiss had been stupid and he should have stopped himself, but he couldn’t. Once he’d started touching and tasting her, she’d become impossible to ignore.

Dean felt like a bastard. He usually drove her home and he’d left her to walk. Fuck. He grabbed his coat and went to his car. He started the machine and drove along the paths to find her.

She’d been innocently dancing and he’d been the one to turn it to something more. He was twenty years older and he had to constantly repeat the age gap to himself whenever he was in her company. Being around her and talking with her made him forget how young she actually was. Even though she responded to his touch, he shouldn’t be feeling anything other than a bastard.

He found her walking along the country lane, her head bent and arms folded. Dean pulled up beside her and pressed the button to wind his window down.

“Get in the car, Laura,” he ordered. No matter what she said, he intended to be the gentleman and take her home.

“I’m happy walking.”

Shit, was she sobbing?

“I’m telling you to get in the car,” he shouted.

Laura turned toward him and he saw the evidence of her heartache. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears ran down her face.

“Stop ordering me around. You’re not my father and no way in hell am I a child to be told what to do,” she shouted back and stomped her foot.

Dean threw the car to a stop and got out. Laura sobbing her heart out was making him ache. He grabbed her and held her against his body.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Her body shook with her tears.

“Why?” she asked.

“I shouldn’t have shouted at you or sent you out alone or kissed you.”

“Only two of those do I agree with,” she said.

“The kiss and the shouting?” he asked.

“No. The shouting and being sent out alone. I liked the kiss,” she said.

Dean froze. The summer season meant she only wore minimal clothing. Usually baggy shirts and shorts, but with her working at the library she wore the close-fitting clothes.

With her held against his body, the swell of her breasts pressed against his chest and he couldn’t deny the wonderful feeling of her figure snug within his arms.

“Don’t say stuff like that, Laura,” he warned.

“Why not? I can’t keep hiding from it and I won’t lie. I enjoyed you kissing me.”

He closed his eyes and looked away from her. Staring at her didn’t help him fight the attraction.

“You’re too young. You need to find a man your own age,” he said.

No, she doesn’t. You could look after her and care for her and give her everything she ever wanted.

“I don’t want anyone else,” she replied.

“Let's not talk about this.” He placed a finger on her lips when she began to talk. “Not now. We’ll talk another time,” he assured her.

Laura pulled away and nodded her head. Dean followed as she got into his car. The drive back to her house was a slow one and simply seeing her mother answer the door drove home the fact again of just how young she was.

He should be tortured for the lustful things he thought about her. He didn’t want to think about her admission or to think Laura went to bed imagining him. Would she touch her own lips and think about him touching her other places?

“Get a grip,” he shouted at himself. “You’re a fully grown man who has had women and loved them. Laura is too young. Stop seeing her as a woman of your own age.”

The words he shouted at himself didn’t help his mood. The barrier erected between them as tutor and student or as friends had been crossed and Dean didn’t know how to put those barriers back up.

Chapter Ten

Dear Diary,

He left a message with my mum telling me he’d be out of town for a couple of days, something to do with his story and editor. I think he wants to get away from me.

Last night, I shouldn’t have admitted to liking the kiss. I can’t stop thinking about him and his lips and the way they felt on mine, commanding me to give him everything. I’m starting to sound like one of his books. My mum would throw a hissy fit if she knew.

Do you think I was bad at it? Is that why he’s gone away? Worried in case I’d want a repeat performance? I’ve never kissed a man before or a boy. I'm twenty years old and only just experiencing my first kiss. At this rate I’ll lose my virginity when I’m ninety.

Shit. I’ve got to go and see Peter. I promised to help him.

Laura placed the book on the library shelf and turned back to Peter.

“What did you say?” she asked. She’d been too busy thinking to hear what he said.

“I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight?” Peter repeated.

She paused and placed the book on the shelf before giving him her full attention. The same book lay open on the same page in front of him.

“Are you even reading that?” she asked.

“Can I be honest with you?” Peter asked.

Laura sat down at the table and waited.

“I don’t need help with history,” he said.

“Then why have you spent the last four weeks studying from the same text book and asking questions?”

“This is going to make me sound like a stalker or something. I wanted to spend time with you. I figured you’d only give me a chance if I needed help,” he said.

“Oh,” she replied. Then his words dawned on her. She couldn’t deal with this. Glancing up at the clock she saw it was almost lunch hour.

“I’ve got to go,” she said. She didn’t wait for him to respond. She grabbed her lunch and walked out of the library. Peter being interested in her was equivalent to her worst nightmare.

“Laura, wait,” she heard him calling.

“Please, leave me alone,” she asked. He was running and he stopped her when he moved in front of her.

“You walk pretty fast,” he said.

“That’s because I’m trying to get away from you.” Laura walked around him and then stopped.

“Why did you do this? She asked. "I don’t get it. What changed between high school and college?”

“I was an idiot then and I guess I’m still an idiot," Peter replied. "Look, Laura, I don’t want to pressure you. We could be friends. Not very many of those are around these parts,” he suggested.

Laura glared at him. Peter had been nice to her for the last few weeks and she enjoyed his company when his friends weren’t around.

“All right," she replied. "We’ll be friends, but no funny business. I don’t want a relationship or anything that you get up to with other girls. Friends, nothing else.” She laid her cards on the table. It was an odd way to start a friendship. She’d never been good with making proper long-term friends like the ones people see in the movies. It would be nice having a friend.

Peter agreed and they shook hands, their friendship beginning.

Laura ate her lunch with him in the picnic area, as always. The rest of her day was filled with mundane work. She gave Peter a book to read. If he was going be in the library to keep her company, then the least she could do was give him something to pass the time.

She spent the rest of the day behind the counter watching and observing. Couples came in with their books to return and she loved being part of their banter. It was kind of bizarre to witness the love between two people. She saw some teenagers come in and for a short time she observed them. Most of the people were in their own little world.

Four days had passed since she’d seen Dean. Would their friendship be over because of a kiss? She wouldn’t let it. The kiss had crossed a boundary and she didn’t want to return to only being friends.

With her mind made up she finished her shift and let Peter walk her home. They talked about college and some of the years they spent in high school. She was surprised by how much they had in common. Peter made her laugh about some of her teachers and the projects in which they were forced to partake.

When he left her, she went to her room to change and told her parents she’d seen Dean and he’d said she could go back to his place.

Laura walked the short distance to his house. Reading a few more of his books had given her an idea, although not the best or most original idea. She intended to seduce him. The kiss had to be a starting point.

After the long walk, she took a deep breath and before she could think twice, she knocked on the door. Seconds ticked by in the still night air. She took in breaths and waited. Laura lifted her hand to knock a second time when the door opened. Dean stood in a shirt and jeans like he always was.

“Laura? I didn’t think we’d arranged anything tonight. I’m not up for your company,” he said.

His words hurt. She wouldn’t back down as she saw through the facade. Dean wouldn’t ring or talk to her again. For him he’d crossed a boundary and that meant they were over. She couldn’t leave it like that.

Laura brushed past him and waited until he closed the door. “I’ve got to talk to you,” she said.

“Can’t this wait for another day?”

“No. If I leave here tonight there won’t be another day. I know what you’re trying to do. You’re doing the same as Master did when he thought Lisa had gone beyond all the steps, or at least in a similar way. I know we’ve not had any spanking lessons and now I can’t stop talking and saying things I didn’t practice,” she told him as she played with her fingers, showing her nervousness.

“I understand the reference you make," Dean replied. "Master let Lisa go when he thought she didn’t need him anymore and he thought being in her life would be stepping over a boundary they’d created in their relationship.”

“Yes. That is exactly what I’m trying to say,” she agreed and pointed at him to emphasize her point. “We kissed and to you, you crossed the line or boundary, whichever term you want to use. I don’t think we did. I liked your kiss,” she admitted.

“Laura, I don’t want to discuss this.”

Laura nodded. Her plan of seduction wasn’t working. “Can you at least tell me if you liked it?” She watched as he sighed and nodded his head.

“Yes, I’ll be honest with you. I did like kissing you.”

Would it be bad if she punched the air in victory?

“Could I use your bathroom?” she asked.

Dean frowned. “You know, I’m never going to understand you as a person. One second you’re talking about a kiss and the next you want to use the bathroom. Sure, go ahead. I’ll be waiting right here for us to have this conversation.”

Laura turned and went to the bathroom on the second floor. She went straight to the mirror and looked at her reflection. “You’ve got to do this tonight. If you leave here you won’t get it done,” she talked to her reflection and began removing each item of clothing.

She looked away from her reflection. Looking at her body would ruin her courage. Every woman throughout history took a stand and went after what they wanted. She was no different. The twenty-year age gap meant nothing to her. She loved Dean and wanted to be with him. She wanted to give him her virginity. She placed a hand to her stomach and took great gulps of air. This was the most difficult thing she’d ever done, offering herself to the man she loved.

On the back of the door was a dressing gown. She grabbed it and wrapped herself in it. Opening the door she went to the top of the stairs.

Dean sat on the bottom step and when he heard her he got up and faced her. She moved down the steps and tried to ignore his frown. When she was far enough down to where he wouldn’t be able to stop her, she removed the gown and stood before him as naked as the day she was born.

The tingling in her stomach increasing as she moved down the last few steps to stop right in front of him. “Hello Dean,” she whispered.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

She stood in front of him so beautiful and curvy he could mistake her for someone older than eighteen. For the past three months he’d done nothing other than have wonderful conversations and dinners discussing everything with her.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

Dean rubbed his eyes and wondered if the vision of her would disappear. “You can’t be doing this.”

“Oh. I understand,” she said softly.

Shit. He heard the wobble in her voice and his heart constricted in his chest. He thought he knew what that noise meant and he didn’t like it. He knew Laura had an issue with her body and her overall image.

“Look. Don’t be like that,” he told her. She was turning, ready to go back up the stairs. The dressing gown was once again covering her luscious body.

“Laura, sweetie, please don’t do this. Don’t get upset,” he begged.

“I’m fine,” she responded.

He heard the sob in her voice and he moaned as he grabbed hold of her arm to stop her from walking any further up the stairs. He turned her to face him and he saw the tears running down her face. Fuck. He hated himself for making her cry. He cupped her cheek and his thumb rubbed away a tear.

“You’re not fine. Tell me what’s wrong,” he whispered.

She rubbed her nose, the gesture so young and cute.

“I understand. You can’t stomach the sight of me. I mean, I’m so fucking disgusting. I really need to lose weight and go on a goddamn diet or something.”

He couldn’t believe the words he was hearing. Laura was perfect just the way she was.

“I don’t want to hear you say those words,” he demanded harshly.

“You’d like Rachel," she argued. "She’s skinny and blond and everyone loves her.” He cupped her cheek and rubbed the tears away from her deep brown eyes. God, he loved her eyes. They were so expressive and wide. They absorbed everything like a sponge. He’d never heard her talk about someone called Rachel.

“I’ve never seen Rachel and from the way you describe her, I know I wouldn’t be interested.” He stopped her from speaking with a finger over her lips.

“But why?” she asked.

Dean didn’t answer straight away. His other hand that had been holding her arm came up and pulled strands of her hair out of the way. Her skin felt soft beneath his knuckles. He could touch her for hours.

“I’m twenty years older than you.” He tried to think of an excuse, anything to keep her at arms distance.

“I don’t care about the age difference,” she said.

Her full, bottom lip looked so tempting. Without thinking, he ran his thumb over that tempting morsel. Every warning was going off in his head.

“I don’t think you’re fat,” he growled seconds before he gave into temptation and his lips slammed down on hers. She tasted so sweet. Her mouth opened and he took full advantage, sliding in deep and tasting her on his lips.

He walked her backwards until the wall stopped their progress. Their heavy breathes echoed off the walls. Dean took her hands and placed them by her head. No other touching than with just their lips.

He felt her fighting against his hold. “Stop moving,” he ordered.

Laura stopped, her breath coming out in pants.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” he said. He pulled away and stared into her eyes. Her face was flushed and her lips already swollen from his kisses.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her hand went to her lips.

He knew he was going straight to hell. His dick was so hard and he wanted to be inside her body. When had their friendship turned to the lust he was feeling now? He knew he cared about her, but when had she moved into lover territory?

He reached out and took hold of the belt on the robe concealing her naked body. Her chest rose and fell with each of her breaths. The gown opened up and his cock pulsed to an aching in the tight confines of his trousers. Her body was that of a woman with full, large tits, a small waist and large handfuls of hip. She had a small rounded tummy and he loved it. He loved her full body and he hated himself for giving in.

“Why do you want this?” he demanded to know.

He watched her blush and he could see it wasn’t because she stood naked in front of him. Her eyes glanced everywhere but at him. Dean grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

“If you can proposition me in the way you just did, you can tell me why you want me,” he said.

He wouldn’t let her hide behind her embarrassment. From here on out she would be one hundred percent woman and he wouldn’t accept any other form from her. He didn’t want a schoolgirl. He wanted the woman he knew she was.

“I love you,” she said so quietly he barely caught it.

Dean froze, shocked by her admission. He didn’t laugh at her, as he hated it when he was younger and adults didn’t take his emotions seriously.

“Laura,” he said.

“Don’t do it," she begged. "Don’t be like them where you tell me I don’t know what I feel. I know what I feel and I love you.” He stopped her talking by taking off his shirt.

“I didn’t say anything,” he said, then took her hand and led her into the living room. The fire was crackling and he pulled her in front of him. Her dressing gown was still open and he pulled the rest off her shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered.

“Don’t be sorry. We can’t control whom we fall in love with,” he told her. He unbuckled his belt and pushed his jeans down until he’s stood in front of her fully naked. He watched as she gazed down at his cock. He knew he was large, but surely she’d seen something like this before.

“I’ve never been with anyone,” she said as she gazed at him with tears in her eyes. “I want you. I can’t stop thinking about you and it hurts here.” One of her hands pressed against her stomach.

Dean paused and growled out a curse. He saw her flinch when he reached out to her. “Don’t be afraid,” he said and held her close. His eyes closed when her pointed nipples pressed against his chest. Her small hands wrapped around him, her scent invading his nostrils. She smelled of warm vanilla and strawberries. He guessed she used vanilla lotion and strawberry shampoo. Her gorgeous brown hair was silky to the touch.

Since the death of his first wife he’d never thought he’d be able to feel anything for another woman. Laura was different. They’d become close friends, but he didn’t love her. At least he didn’t think he did, but he wanted her and cared about her. The ache in his groin confirmed his suspicion. He should be tied up and horsewhipped for his feelings. The only consolation he felt was the fact he didn’t want to hurt her.

“I’m sorry,” she said again and he cut her off. He didn’t want to hear her apologies. His lips took hers and he kissed the apology away. She moaned and he felt her hands run up and down his back.

He took her hand and helped her down to the floor. She was shaking and he lay back watching the firelight dance and glow across her skin.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“I want to be with you in every way.”

He closed his eyes.

“I know that this is a risk, but I won’t tell anyone. I’m twenty years old. I’m not underage and I know what I want.”

“You’re in college,” he growled and pulled away from her.

“I’ve got a few years left. Didn’t you have sex when you were my age? I love you, Dean, absolutely and completely. Please, I’m begging you. I know what I want,” she told him.

Her hands grabbed his cock and Dean cursed. He didn’t pull away from her touch. Her eyes stared at his length and he couldn’t deny her anything. The connection between them was strong. What would happen if he rejected her? He wanted her. The horrid truth was he’d wanted her for far longer than this night. How could he be so selfish to take her virginity and not promise her anything? He’d promised himself he wouldn’t love another woman other than his wife.

Dean shook his head. Laura was an adult, a woman in her own right to be respected. Twenty years old wasn’t young. Even if that same age span was between them.

“Slowly,” he said. His decision made.

Her hands hesitated and she glanced up at him.

“Go slow. I want to feel everything. Tease me,” he instructed her. He placed his own hand over hers and knew in that instant that their relationship would never be the same. Laura wasn’t going to be his friend. She was going to be his lover.

“Up and down. That is my pre-cum, my lubrication. Get it on your fingers and rub it around the tip.”

Laura did as he instructed and he saw the concentration on her face.

He was leaking out. His cock was hard and thick. Her sexy body on display making him crave her more. Her tits swung out in front of her. The large nipples full and round.

Her next action shocked him. She took her finger coated with his cum and sucked it inside her mouth.

“Where did you learn to do that?” he demanded.

Laura smiled at him. “I read it in your book.”

Dean tugged her arm and pulled her beneath him to the floor. He wanted to touch and taste her. She lay down her with her arms open.

He kissed her first, calming her nerves while his hands ran all over her voluptuous body. Her extra flesh tantalized him. He knew when he held onto her hips and rammed his dick inside her that he wouldn’t be scared of her breaking on him. He felt her entire body trembling. He would be her first and he felt protective and primal. He kissed his way down her neck and sucked on her nipple until the red bud was swollen and pretty against her flesh.

His tongue created a wet path along her skin to her other hard bud. Her hands moved between touching the carpet, his head and her body as if she didn’t know what to do.

He moved down her body, nipping into the roundness of her stomach. She giggled and he laid kisses along her full hips, letting her know he loved her body. He found her attractive. His thick prick an equal confirmation.

“Open your legs,” he told her, wanting to tongue her sweet virgin pussy. He wanted to taste her in his mouth. He wouldn’t penetrate her body with anything but his hard shaft. However, women could experience some pain and he wanted to give her as much pleasure as possible.

Laura looked at him as if unsure and slowly opened up. Her mound was covered with a light dusting of dark curls.

“I’m going to want this all off,” he said and smiled as her eyes opened wide.

“Don’t worry, angel. I’ll take care of you.”

“I trust you,” she whispered.

You shouldn’t. I’m a monster. He didn’t voice his concerns. She’d run away if he told her how dominant he could be. The way he wanted her wasn’t at all innocent. He wanted her submission, to cross boundaries with her he hadn’t thought to go with any other woman. Would Laura give him everything he desired? He cut off the train of thought. This night was about Laura. Not about his selfish desires.

He opened her pussy lips wide and took in the glorious view of her creamy cunt. Her small clit was swollen and she was so wet and juicy, her unique scent teasing his nostrils. She smelled of a glorious woman wanton for sex.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m going to taste you. You’ve read my books. You know what happens now,” he said, bringing the full force of his books into effect.

She nodded. “You’re going to taste my...” She didn’t finish her words and a red blush stained her cheeks.

“Finish what you were going to say,” he ordered.

“You’re going to lick my pussy,” she replied right away.

Dean stared at her and knew in his heart the woman beneath him had some submissive streaks within her. He’d never been interested in a dominant and submissive lifestyle, but with Laura, he’d be happy to give it a try.

He leaned down and sucked her clit into his mouth, not giving her time to become accustomed to the sensation of having him between her legs. He sucked her and tasted the sweet musky scent of her delicious cream. Her clit was small and her body so responsive. Her back arched and he gazed up her body to watch her tits bounce with every move of her body.

Fuck. She looked so fucking beautiful.

“Dean... Dean... Dean...” she panted with every breath.

He knew she was close and he didn’t want her to come until he was inside her. He pulled away from her and wet the tip of his fingers with some saliva to coat more of his cock. He wanted plenty of lubrication as he fucked her. She was wet and juicy, but he didn’t want to take the chance of hurting her.

“I’m going to fuck you now,” he told her.

She licked her lips and nodded her head.

He grabbed a cushion off the sofa and placed it under her hips. Dean watched her as he ran the tip of his cock through her wet pussy. She looked so beautiful. She had a really nice pussy to look at.

“Are you ready?” he asked. He didn’t understand from where the desperation came. He was sure he didn’t love her. Caring for wasn’t love. All he wanted to do was plunge his cock so far and so deep inside her, to stake his claim. He wanted her filled with his cum so that no one else would have a shot at what was his.

“Yes, I want you inside me, Dean.”

He was going to die if he didn’t get inside her luscious body soon. The condom and all forms of protection were forgotten in the erotic haze. He grabbed his aching shaft and watched as he pressed the tip against her tiny virgin hole. He would be her first and a part of him wished he’d be her only.

He wanted to see her eyes and the only way would be to forge inside her in one quick thrust. Dean aligned his cock and felt the heat of her surround him. He heard her whimper and not wanting to prolong the pain, he pushed inside her with one quick, hard thrust. He tore past the barrier of her innocence all the way until he was seated deep inside her. Her nails bit into his arms and she fought him a little. Dean held her through the pain, whispering loving words into his ear.

“That’s it. I can feel you getting accustomed to me. Do you want me to move?” he asked.

Laura shook her head and he smiled. For too long he’d been without a woman and he didn’t know how long he’d be able to last. He began stroking her body, tormenting her nipples and running his fingertips to create the most wonderful feeling. Her body would be sensitive to every touch and nibble. He bent down and took one of her beaded nipples into his mouth.

She cried out, “You can move, you can move.”

He smiled and swivelled his hips, letting her grow accustomed to his length before pulling out. Once he started, he knew it would be a matter of time before he blew.

“More, please,” she begged.

He didn’t need further begging. He pulled all the way out of her and stared down as his cock disappeared and reappeared. He gripped her hips and loved the flesh he could grab. She wasn’t breakable or thin. Laura Cox was the perfect size, shape and fit for him. Her tits bounded as he screwed her, the connection between them growing stronger than ever. Dean couldn’t hold on for much longer and he wanted her to come around his dick, to have the pleasure of being the cause of her orgasm. He fingered her clit and brought her off. Her pussy fluttered around his cock. The tight squeeze of her body was all it took to send him over the hill into the peak of sensation.

Dean cried out and plunged all of him inside her, bumping her cervix. Laura lay beneath him panting out her own release. He growled in satisfaction as his seed spurted inside her.

When it was over he collapsed on top of her. For the first time, Dean lay with feeling in his heart and body. He lifted his head and glanced at Laura. She’d been the woman to set him free.

Chapter Eleven

His weight felt nice on top of her. She’d be self-conscious if it had been the other way around with she on top of him. This way she was relaxed. Her pussy felt on fire and her skin sensitive to the touch.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Laura nodded her head. She didn’t have the energy to speak.

“I lost it a little at the end. I didn’t hurt you did I?”

His concern comforted her. She’d done it. She'd lost her virginity, and not to some random stranger—to the man she loved.

“Thank you,” she whispered. The least she could do.

“What are you thanking me for?” he asked. His body was over hers and she felt his length inside her still. Not as full, but enough for her to know he was there.

“For being my first,” she said.

He smiled at her. She loved his smile. The real one he showed her, but rarely showed the world.

“It was my pleasure. You gave me a gift, Laura. Few men have the pleasure and honour of what you’ve given me,” he told her.

Tears sprung to her eyes. “People don’t think like that anymore,” she told him. She didn’t know why she was crying and Dean held her as the tears burst.

“I’m not most people. I think it’s a real gift you’ve given me and I intend to treasure it, always,” he said.

Later, he took her to wash up. She winced as the water touched her. Dean cared for her in the proper way she’d read about in some old historical romance books. The men who’d taken a woman’s virginity—their way of thanking them had been to care for them.

After they’d washed up, Dean cooked a little supper and Laura phoned her parents to assure them she was fine and would be staying at Dean’s. They didn’t question her further.

“Are they happy you’re staying here?” he asked when he brought over a plate of soup.

“Yes.”

“If not, I can drop you home,” he offered.

“You’ve had your wicked way and now you want to get rid of me?” she teased.

“Don’t even start that.” He cupped the back of her head and took her lips, showing her what he wanted. His lips were firm but demanding.

She gasped out in excitement as her body responded to his touch.

“I’ve got to stop, otherwise I’ll have you on the table,” he told her.

“I don’t mind,” she replied.

Dean chuckled and laid a kiss on her lips. “You’re going to be sore. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Laura ate her soup as he took the seat opposite her.

“I don’t want to go home. Not after what we just did.”

He stopped and reached over the table to grab her hand. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he said.

“I wanted you to,” she assured him.

“But I’m older,” he said.

“I don’t care. Dean, I love you and want you. What just happened was the most amazing thing in my life. Don’t treat it badly. I couldn’t live with that and I don’t want to stop.”

Dean cupped her face and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry. I care about you, Laura. I don’t want to feel this way, but I want you too. Being with you, being in your company, has made me feel alive. In the last two years since they died I’ve not felt anything,” he told her.

“So, you don’t have any regret?” she asked pulling out of his hands and picking up the spoon.

“I should regret it. I’m older than you...”

“You keep saying that and I don’t want to hear it. There are girls out there I went to school with who are married with a kid. I didn’t want that.”

Dean nodded and they ate in silence. They washed the dished together and when they were done he took her hand and led her upstairs to his bedroom.

“I want to hold you,” he said.

Laura removed the dressing gown he’d given her and climbed onto bed. Dean turned out the lights and joined her, his arms wrapping around her. In seconds her ass was cushioned in his lap. The hard evidence of his arousal lay across her ass.

“Dean, you’re hard,” she told him.

“I know. Don’t worry about it.”

She turned to see him. “I don’t want you to suffer. Is their anything I can do? I’ve read in books about women giving a guy a blow-job and that helped.”

Dean groaned and pulled away. “What sort of books are you reading? Don’t answer that. I gave you one similar to it. I’m going to hell. There is no way they’re letting me inside the pearly gates.”

Laura pressed a hand against his chest. “Relax. I want to try something.”

He stayed still. She smiled and kissed him on the lips. She explored his body starting with his chest and nipples. Did he like them being touched as much as she enjoyed hers? Her fingers circled the red tips. She’d never touched a man with a hard muscled chest. Opening her hand out flat she felt every ripple of muscle from her touch.

“Do you like that?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Laura took her time giving attention to every part of his chest, moving slowly down to his abdomen. She placed a leg over his so she straddled him. His cock stood straight up and she saw the tip wet. Forgetting about his body, her hands curled around his length.

Dean groaned and she watched him grab pillows to prop his head up. “I want to see everything you do,” he explained.

“You might have to help me,” she said.

“I will.”

Laura liked him being her teacher. They’d crossed the boundary of friendship. Dean Riley was her lover. Her only lover if she had her way.

She worked the shaft like he’d told her down stairs. She fascinated. With every stroke the wetness leaked out of his little slit at the head.

“Can I taste it?” she asked.

“God, yes.”

She licked the tip with all of his cum leaking out. The small bit she gathered on her tongue tasted tangy and a little bit salty. It wasn’t distasteful. She took the head of his cock inside her mouth and licked every part, taking as much of his cum as he’d give her. His hands gripped her hair and pulled her off.

“I want you to take more of me into your mouth. No teeth, just lips and tongue.”

Laura nodded and went back down over him, curling her lips to keep her teeth back.

“Suck harder,” he told her.

She went further down until he hit the back of her throat. His grip tightened in her hair and she loved the pain as he showed her how fast he wanted her to suck him.

“Shit, your mouth is so fucking sweet,” he growled.

Laura didn’t know whether to close her eyes or watch him. Either option sounded great.

Her mouth felt so good around his dick. The thick length hit the back of her throat. She didn’t gag and he was thankful. Watching a woman gag on him wasn’t enjoyable. Dean couldn’t take his eyes off her. She worked his cock to perfection, tight, warm, and getting better with every second.

“Cup my balls,” he panted. He had to concentrate not to blow down her throat. The choice would be hers if she swallowed or not. Laura had been a virgin, coming apart in his arms a few hours ago. She’d moved quickly to sucking his shaft.

Moans escaped her mouth, muffled as she was filled up. Each sound vibrated along his length. Dean needed to concentrate to not pull on her hair. The constant movement was hitting every button inside his body.

“Fuck, Laura, you’ve got to stop or I’m going to come in your mouth,” he warned.

Laura pulled away from him, but worked his shaft with her hand. In seconds his seed spilled from the tip. Dean was a little disappointed she hadn’t swallowed his cum. At the same time he was pleased she could trust him enough to pull away.

“I’ll get a towel,” she said.

Too exhausted to care, he lay while she cleaned his body of his spent passion.

“Did I do okay?” she asked.

He laughed. She sounded so nervous.

“Come here.” He patted the bed by him. She lay with her head on his chest.

“You’re an amazing woman, Laura Cox, and don’t let anyone tell you different.”

Dean held her for the rest of the night. He liked the feel of her close to him, within touching distance or resting in his arms. For sometime after she’d fallen asleep, he lay looking at the ceiling. Sleep eluding him.

“What have I done, Carla?” he whispered.

Never, in all of his forty years, had he desired a woman younger than him. Carla and the other women he’d taken to bed had been older or the same age. Laura was the first young woman he’d taken to bed. He glanced down at the top of her head. She looked perfect nestled on his chest with her beautiful body next to him. After all this time was he finally moving on?

“What should I do, Carla?”

No answers came to him. Instead, Laura rolled over and away from him. The pain striking his heart shocked him. He didn’t like her moving away. Dean moved closer and spooned against her back. Whenever Laura was in his bed, she’d stay in his arms.

Was that his answer?

Chapter Twelve

Dear Diary,

I lost my virginity last night to Dean Riley. It was the most amazing experience of my life. He is so sweet and tender and caring. He doesn’t think of himself all the time. I loved when he touched my body, working down with his tongue, over my breasts and pussy.

I feel like a new woman. Not just pretending to be a woman. I sat at the breakfast table with my parents and they didn’t notice a change. I’m still the same old Laura. Nothing new.

Am I supposed to feel bad for wanting to do it again? My work is at the library, only now, while I’m placing books on the shelf, I think about Dean and sex. I want to experience everything, to be with him everyday.

Holy shit, I think I’m addicted.

Laura closed her diary and smiled. Dean had asked her to come to his house after she’d finished at work.

She waited for the head librarian, like she did the other times, to close the shop. On a Friday the library only stayed open for half a day. Peter, as always, stood outside waiting for her.

“Hi,” he said.

Laura smiled at him and together they walked the short distance until she had to cut off and go to Dean’s.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get to the library today,” Peter said, starting up a conversation.

“Don’t worry about it. It was just another busy day with filling shelves. You know, it amazes me. I don’t see many people taking books out, but there sure are a lot to put back.”

“At least you’ve got stuff to do,” said Peter.

“How do you keep an apartment when you don’t work?” she asked. Since she’d started going to college Laura had thought about moving out of her parents' house. The opportunity hadn’t rose and the prices were too high. She paid rent to her parents every week, but nothing as costly as renting a place.

“I know all the right people. You thinking of moving out of your folk's?”

“Yes. What is it we’re supposed to say? Oh, right, they’re cramping my style,” she joked.

“Librarian shelf-fillers have a life?” he teased.

Laura punched him on the arm. “Don’t get cocky or I won’t not teach you history.”

“She steals my heart,” Peter said.

She laughed at the face he pulled.

“What time are you in tomorrow?” he asked her.

Laura scrunched her nose and thought about the date. The day was Friday.

“Actually, I’m off until Tuesday. I’ve been doing a few extra hours to get the weekend off.”

They came to the fork in the roads.

“I’ve got to go. I promised a friend I’d meet them,” she told him.

Peter nodded and Laura waved at him. She ran the last few yards to Dean’s house, not bothering to look back. Laura enjoyed the breeze on her face.

Dean waited for her outside. Disappointment surged through her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Dean chuckled and cupped her face as she got near.

“You’re becoming insatiable," he told her. "I don’t want to spend all of my time stranded inside here. I bought you something.” He picked up a bag and instead of showing her what he’d brought, took her hand and they walked down through the garden.

She recognized the path to the stream with the boulders she loved. She didn’t talk and waited until Dean stopped and looked around.

“This is such a beautiful place,” he said and pulled out some scraps of material from the bag he’d brought with him.

“What have you got?”

“I want you to wear this for me.” Dean held up a deep purple bikini top and bottoms. Laura burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“There is no way you’re getting me into a bikini. I won’t even wear a full swimsuit,” she told him.

Dean stared at her and then glanced down at his purchase.

“All right. If you don’t wear this, I won’t show you my swimwear and anything else will be off the menu. We’ll go back to the house and work on your story,” he said. He replaced his purchase in the bag and made to move back up the path.

“Wait. Are you serious?” she asked.

“Do I look like I’m telling some kind of joke?” he said.

“No. We can still do other stuff. You don’t need me to be wearing a bikini for that.”

Dean was shaking his head. “Not good enough. I want you to wear the present I brought.”

“But I’ll look awful,” she protested.

He cupped her cheeks and laid a gentle kiss against her lips. She tried to deepen the kiss but he wouldn’t let her.

“You won’t look awful. I want you to see how beautiful you are to me,” he said.

Laura hated him and loved him all at the same time. She didn’t want to wear the small scrap of a bikini. Taking a deep breath, she walked around him and began undoing her blouse, button by button.

Dean stood away and she felt his eyes on her. She placed the blouse on the boulder, followed by her bra.

“Wait. Take your skirt and panties off first,” Dean instructed.

She unzipped the skirt and it fell to a pool at her feet. Next she dropped her panties.

“Turn around,” he told her.

Laura turned around and gasped at how close he’d come.

“You’ve got an amazing body. Feel what it does to me,” He took her hand and pressed her palm against the bulge in his jeans.

“Never mistake how beautiful you are,” he said to her. Dean leaned down and picked up the bikini.

Her heart burst as he knelt at her feet and she stepped into the panties. He pulled them up her legs and when he’d placed the panties on her body, he squeezed her ass. He pulled the top part out and she saw the straps wrapping around her neck. She lifted her hair and waited as he placed the cups over her full breasts. She blushed as she saw he’d picked the right size. His fingers tied the straps around her neck. She took a breath and turned around.

“Purple is a wonderful colour on you,” he told her.

She waited as he pulled his shirt over his head and unbuckled his jeans. He wore a pair of swimming trunks and Laura couldn’t help but laugh. Dean's trunks were printed with a yellow duck on the front.

“I thought that would lighten the mood,” he said.

Laura couldn’t stop laughing and wrapped her arms around his neck. Dean joined in her laughter. He picked her up and twirled in a circle with her in his arms.

“I love hearing you laugh,” he said.

A squeal escaped her lips as she felt him pick her whole body up with one hand under her knees and the other supporting her back.

“Put me down,” she yelled.

Still in his arms, Dean crossed the small bridge over the stream and along the mass of grass. “I know it’s not a built-in pool, but this is the best I could do.”

Laura stared in front of her. A large circle shaped swimming pool lay in the centre of what felt like the wilderness to her.

“I didn’t know how big this land was,” she said.

Dean chuckled and explained, “The house isn’t very big, but some people don’t like having this as part of their garden and being near the outskirts of town. It works well for me though.” He put her down.

“It's beautiful,” she whispered.

Dean helped her into the pool and the rest of the afternoon she spent languishing and relaxing. Though every time she got a glimpse of the yellow duck she burst out laughing.

“I think I’ve got the best solution for your giggles,” he said. He did some shuffling and went under the water. His fingers dangled the trunks off his finger and he let them fall out of the pool and onto the grass below.

Laura was speechless.

“Will the lady follow me?”

She smiled and untied the straps of her bra and then pulled her panties off and walked to where he stood in the pool. She checked to make sure the pieces landed in the same location as Dean’s.

“You’ve got me where you want me, now what?” she asked.

He took her in his arms and kissed her.

Laura moaned and wrapped her hands around his neck. His tongue brushed along her lips, teasing her open. She submitted to his onslaught and opened her mouth. The taste of coffee and cinnamon erupted on her tongue. Her fingers then grasped the small hairs at the back of his head.

When he pulled away, Laura smiled. “You’ve been eating the cinnamon buns I made,” she said.

“I can’t get enough of them. Just like I can’t get enough of you.” He lifted her in his arms and carried her out of the pool.

Laura held on and kept her gaze on him, drugged by everything about him, his hard exterior and loving personality. The yellow duck on his trunks was a perfect example of his sense of humour.

Dean laid her down on her grass and he followed, lying on top of her.

“I want you again,” he groaned.

“Have me, Dean. I’m yours. Only yours.”

His fingers found her wet warmth.

Laura opened her legs and gave her body, heart and soul to the man above her. There was nothing he couldn’t ask that she wouldn’t give. Every passing second she spent with him made her more aware of how much loved him, strong, powerful and totally unexplainable. She’d read many books where love could be explained in the most factual of terms. There was no explanation for the beating of her heart and the way she craved being with him.

Dean leaned down and kissed her, exploring her lips and loving her with his tongue. Laura lay and ran her harms up and down his naked back. She couldn’t believe this man was all of hers.

“I want you,” he growled and bit her lip slightly. “You’re mine. All mine.” He didn’t seem to be talking to anyone but himself.

She smiled at his possessiveness. Her slit was wet and leaking more of her cum.

Dean replaced his fingers with the tip of his cock.

She leaned up and watched as he played with her clit with the head of his cock.

“I can’t wait,” she told him

He moved down and she felt the tip of his cock as he pressed inside her, the delicate tissues of her cunt spreading to accommodate his thick length.

“You’re still fucking tight,” he said.

She felt his hands go to her waist and then he gripped her hips and plunged deeper inside her. Laura opened her legs allowing him to go as deep as possible.

“So tight and wet,” he said.

“You won’t hurt me,” she assured him. She wanted him to make love to her body. For him to give her everything he had to offer.

He flung his head back and took her at her word. His dick surged inside her. Laura reached between their bodies and fingered her clit. She’d read something similar in one of his books and she wanted his to be thrusting inside her as she released.

“Fuck, yes. Play with your clit,” he said.

Laura touched her clit, the touch light as his hips moved, pushing in and out of her. Their rhythm changed. Their need to reach the point at the top of the cliff and tumble over was fast upon them. Dean’s thrust became harder and faster making her gasp and she came apart in his arms, her screams muffled by his lips as he kissed her, absorbing every sound. She withered under him and Dean got wilder. His nails sunk into the flesh of her legs. He pulled her legs up and placed her feet around his neck, plunging inside her. The sound of flesh hitting flesh was the only sound to be heard. She could tell he was close and with one final fuck inside, Dean tensed and she felt the pulse of his cock expand, his seed shooting inside her cunt.

Dean collapsed against her and held her in his arms.

“That was amazing,” she whispered.

“You’ve seen nothing yet,” he told her.

Laura snuggled against his side, content and happy to be with the man she loved. Dean’s words elicited many erotic thoughts. Her future felt content.

Chapter Thirteen

Over the next couple of weeks, Laura spent most of her time writing in her diary. She couldn’t believe how much paper she’d used from writing about her thoughts and feelings.

Her diary was the one salvation she had in her hectic life. She was either at the library or Peter kept her company or she was with Dean. There wasn’t one second left for herself.

Dear Diary,

Our affair has begun. Every spare moment I get I go to his house and we fuck for the whole night and into the early hours of the morning. Every time I think I’m spent, Dean will touch me and the fire is awakened.

My stories are taking on a more erotic edge because of it.

I want to do so much with him. He’s my world. Our time down at the pool was one of many. When we’re in the same room, nothing can stop our passions. There is nothing we can’t do. I watch couples pass me in the street and at the library and wonder if they’ve experienced the same passion and lust I feel in the arms of my lover? I’m amazed. Dean Riley is my lover.

He’s considerate and kind. He always makes sure I reach a climax when we’re together. I’ve got to write them down. When I come home it’s like I’ve imagined our time together. The only way I can feel they’re real is writing my experiences in this book. Be prepared for some heated words.

The time in his study:

Today we decided to work in his study. He’s close to finishing his manuscript and I’ve still got to learn more skills if I want to become a writer.

A few seconds pass and I glance up. Dean is staring at me. I blush and go back to working on my story. The next time I glance up and see that he’s still staring at me.

On the third time, Dean is still staring at me.

“Come here, Laura,” he says. I hear the change in his voice. His voice grows deeper and his eyes seem darker to me, like an animal who has scented his prey.

I get up and walk over to his desk.

He doesn’t say anything and I watch as he moves the computer out of the way. His hands go under my skirt, and he pulls the flimsy panties I am wearing down my legs and I step out of them. With his hands on my hips, he pulls me in front of him and sits me on the edge of the desk. My heart is pounding and my sex is weeping with cream. Not speaking any words is highly erotic.

He lifts the skirt and exposes my pussy to his view. He places my legs on each of his thighs. Dean then sits back and stares at my exposed flesh. Having a man stare at your private parts is amazing.

He doesn’t do anything for some time and that’s when it dawns on me. I’d written a similar scene in one of my short stories, right after watching an erotic thriller on the television. This has to be that story. It’s about a woman who sits on the boss’s desk and can’t do anything until he gives her instruction. The reality is a lot better than I’d imagined.

His fingers start at the bottom of my legs and work their way up. Each touch is slow and drawn out. By the time he touches my cunt, I am panting on the desk.

“You’ve such a pretty pussy,” he says.

Seconds pass and his tongue replaces his fingers. I watch as his head moves over my mound. His fingers spread my pussy open wide and I gasp. His teeth nibble on my clit. He moves away and takes my hands, allowing me to open myself to him. I watch and feel as his fingers penetrate me. I come with his fingers inside me, his tongue licking my clit. my juices spreading all over his face. He stops only when I beg and plead with him to do so.

He unzips his pants and his large cock replaces his fingers. He fucks me on his desk, hard and fast. In no time at all he climaxes and we lay on his desk panting. This isn’t about love; but simple gratification.

“I’m never going to look at this desk the same way again,” he said

Later, he took me to the shower where we made love again, more tender and sweet than any other time before. Dean fulfilled one of my stories

Dear Diary,

Today we travelled out of town and he took me to one of the towns he writes about in his books. Nothing sexual, though. It was the town where he grew up. His parents had died a few years ago and I learned that they had him later in life.

We had dinner at one of his favourite restaurants and we talked the whole time. He then took me to his school. We didn’t go in as it was closed for the summer. I couldn’t believe the sight of it though. He told me the town had suffered during the last recession and they made do with a small budget. I couldn’t believe how different Cape Falls could be. Barely anyone in my town got pregnant without a man at their side, where here I saw quite a few women on their own. When I asked, he told me that with different towns, different views were taken.

Cape Falls still held on to their historical heritage it would seem. Unmarried couples weren’t allowed and men were still pushed toward the church. I realized the unspoken rules I was breaking by being with Dean. I hadn’t thought about what people would think. Would they accept our relationship if we were to go public?

The true answer is, I didn’t know and to be honest, I didn’t care. For once in my life I’m happy and I don’t want that to change.

Dear Diary,

Dean has been quiet lately. It’s the anniversary of his wife and child's death. I booked time off from the library and went with him to their resting place. He broke down and my heart broke for him. I knew then that he wasn’t over them. Would he ever have a place for me in his heart? I know he cares, but does he love me?

What am I supposed to do?

Dear Diary

Today Dean asked me what I wanted to do and I did it, Diary. I handed him the book he’d given me, where I had marked the pages for what I wanted to try. For days I’d been thinking about Dean being my Master.

He sat and read the pages. “You’re sure?” he asked.

I spoke no words. Instead, I gave a nod of my head, a simple movement.

Oh God, it was fantastic. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

Recreating the scene from Surrendering to Her Master:

“Remove your clothes, Laura,” Dean ordered.

I did. In no time at all my clothes were on the floor.

Dean got up from his computer and walked over to me. He circled me. Seconds ticked by and my anticipation grew. How could any woman stop themselves from talking?

“Do you want me, Laura?” he asked.

“Yes, Master,” I replied. Calling him Master felt so right.

“Kneel and show me how much you want to please me.”

I went to my knees and still didn’t say a word. In the book, Lisa bowed her head and I copied the writing.

“You look beautiful and submissive. What should I do with you?” he asked.

“Reward me, Master.” I answered.

“Did I give you permission to speak?”

“No, Master.”

“Five lashings for you. Get up and lean over the back of the sofa.”

I got up and rested my stomach on the back of the sofa, my hands holding onto the edge, placing my ass up in the air.

Like in the book, Dean ran his hands all over my ass.

I shook with excitement. Dean was going to punish me. Should wanting to submit to the man I love repulse me? I couldn’t think of a single reason to say no.

His hand landed smartly on one ass cheek and I yelped. The second followed by the third, fourth and fifth. Tears stung my eyes and he soothed a hand over the red flesh. My ass felt warm and hot.

“Are you going to speak without permission?” he asked.

“No, Master.”

“Good. Kneel,” he commanded.

Without questioning him, I got to my knees before him and he played with my hair. I’d kept the length loose, as I wanted to be prepared for our time together.

“Look at me,” he said.

I looked up and my eyes strayed to his hands on his belt. I watched as he unbuckled his belt and dropped his jeans.

“Open those pretty lips,” he told me.

I opened my lips and he drove his cock into my mouth. My fingers went to his thighs and as he pushed his cock to the back of my throat, I took all of him in. He didn’t give me time to get prepared for what was happening. When he pulled out, he surged right back inside, going even deeper. I couldn’t stop gagging, and he went slower as he got deeper.

The trust I felt with him baffled me. I felt in my heart and mind that I could trust him. Dean wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. I know this and it gave me power. Filled me with the need to please him.

Once I pleasured him enough, he pulled his shaft out of my mouth and pulled me up with a tight grip on my arm. Not painful. He bent me over the edge of the sofa and thrust his cock inside my wet cunt. I was soaking wet. The tops of my thighs would be glistening with my arousal.

“Fuck. Tell me, Laura, tell me you want me to fuck you,” he ordered.

Laura knew in that instant that Dean couldn’t take his pleasure from her without her permission.

“Fuck me, Dean,” I whispered.

“Tell me to fuck you hard and fast.”

“Fuck me hard. Make me burn,” I told him.

He rammed inside my pussy and fucked me harder than any other time. Dean is a considerate lover and his fingers found my clit as he fucked me from behind. The mating was pure and carnal. I couldn’t stop screaming as a hand landed on my ass. I knew the scene from his book was changing with our own needs and desires. We didn’t need to follow a book to be turned on.

In seconds of him touching my clit I was climaxing. The longest and hardest one I’d ever felt. His cock went deeper, fucking against my cervix. The point between pleasure and pain became blurred. His hands went to my shoulders and he held on as he fucked me. Growls, flesh slapping and moans echoed round the walls of the office. Unlike the book, he didn’t pull out. Dean pushed inside me and climaxed, washing my womb with his seed. He pulsed inside me for the longest time. Not pulling away.

Something had changed. I felt it in the air. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was there. He finally pulled out of my body and, in my heart and body, I felt him draw away from me.

Dear Diary,

Dean has gone. He said he couldn’t take me with him because of my work and this was his own work he had to do.

I don’t know what I’ve done. Dean told me not to worry and said he’d give me a call when he’s ready to see me or when he gets back. I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. He assured me that nothing was wrong.

Dean said he had finished his book and needed to go and see his editor. I didn’t know authors had to constantly see their editors in person. He told me once that the ideal of being an e-book writer is that he could stay at home and email his manuscripts and that seeing his editor was only essential at pinnacle points in the year, like a convention or meeting or something. I guess the rules change to suit him.

Chapter Fourteen

Laura hadn’t heard from Dean in a few days and she wasn’t in a good mood. In between stacking books and talking to Peter, she thought about the last time they’d been together. She couldn’t find anything that would have made him upset.

“Earth to Laura,” Peter said and waved a hand in front of her face.

“Sorry, did I zone out then?”

“Yes. You’ve been doing that a lot lately,” he told her.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind. Sorry. You were saying?” she asked, rubbing a hand over her eyes and trying to clear her head.

“I wondered if you’d go out with me tonight?”

Laura stopped. She had half a day, as it was Friday, and her bag lay on the table. The main librarian had told her to finish putting the books back in the reference section and then she could go for the day.

“Peter, I told you I don’t want that,” she said and placed the final book on the shelf.

“All I’m asking is for a chance. A chance to prove to you I’m not an insensitive jerk,” he pleaded.

She hated herself. Why had she thought that she and Peter could just be friends without Peter expecting something from her in return?

“It’s nothing personal," she replied. "I don’t want to explore that side of things with you.”

“Is there someone else?” he asked getting to his feet.

Laura hesitated for a split second. Dean was the main man and only man she wanted in her life. Telling Peter about him would be a big mistake.

“Don’t be silly,” she denied.

“Why did you have to think about it?” he argued.

“For God sake, Peter. I’m tired. There isn’t another man in my life and I don’t want to have dinner with you.” She grabbed her bag with force, placed it on her shoulder and moved toward the exit.

“What about me walking you home?” he called.

“Don’t bother. I want to be alone,” she shouted back. Laura walked the short distance home and slammed the door.

“Be careful with that, missy. I won’t have bad temper in my house,” her mum said.

Laura growled and stormed upstairs. She needed to get her own place. Being at home was stifling her. She was twenty years old and a grown woman. She collapsed on her bed and waited for the day to be over. It was Friday and she didn’t want to go anywhere; except to the one place unavailable to her.

Peter watched her leave, again. He always said the wrong thing. Nothing he did seemed to help in any way. He grabbed his stuff and turned to leave the library, stumbling on a book on the floor. To catch himself from falling, he dropped his own books in a pile. He’d started bringing some work to do while waiting for her.

He cursed and picked up the books. When he placed all of his in a pile he saw a plain brown book. He opened up the first page and saw Laura’s name. A quick flick threw the pages he saw her writing on most of the pages. He slammed the book closed. This book was her diary, her personal thoughts. Reading the pages would be an invasion of her privacy. Unable to resist the pull of knowing more about the woman he cared about, Peter opened to the first entry. His heart stopped and, for the first time in his life, he knew what it felt like to be heart broken.

The library closed and he spent the rest of the weekend reading her diary.

Chapter Fifteen

Monday morning shone bright as ever and Laura couldn’t find her diary. She’d booked the shift for Monday. The whole weekend she’d looked everywhere for it. Shrugging, she had her breakfast and walked to work.

Her day went by slowly and half way through Dean phoned her at the library. He told her he got home safely and he’d see her soon. She felt better and was pleased she could get home by four. The library didn’t stay open late on a Monday. Peter didn’t show and she was pleased.

When it came to closing time, Laura rushed out of the library looking forward to meeting with Dean. He hadn’t told her he wanted to see her, but she wanted to see him. She spent most of her time thinking about him and wanted nothing more than to spend all of her spare time at his house. Over the weekend she hadn’t thought about anything but seeing him again. She wanted to understand why he’d backed off. She loved being with Dean.

Laura stopped as she saw Peter paused by his truck and staring back at her.

“What’s the matter?” she asked and went over to see him.

Peter didn’t do or say anything, just stared at her. The car park was full with shoppers. The noise was a distraction. Laura started to feel uneasy as he simply stared at her.

“You’re starting to scare me with the intense stare you’ve got going ...” Her words stopped when he pulled out her diary. In an instant she understood the look and she reached out to grab the book from his fingers.

“Where did you get this?”

“You dropped it in the library on Friday,” he replied.

Laura placed the book into her bag. Her heart pounded against her chest. She glanced up into his eyes and she knew her thoughts were no longer private.

“You’ve read my diary?”

Peter looked away and Laura, mortified and scared, glanced around the car park. No one looked their way. She stared at Peter and didn’t know what to say. Instead she stormed away, the accusation she saw in his eyes was more than she could bear. Her time with Dean was hers. Everyone took her time. Her parents and Peter, even Dean took her time. The diary was hers and he’d read it.

Instead of getting the message to leave her alone he followed.

“What are you doing with him, Laura?”

“None of your business. Don’t forget you invaded my privacy, not the other way around.”

Laura didn’t want to think about what he’d do with her information. She was scared and wanted to go and see Dean first. Would he call it all off? After his time away and the withdrawal of the past few days, she didn’t know how he felt. She knew he still had feelings for his wife. He wore his wedding band even when they were together.

Peter reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her progress. They then walked for several minutes before stopping on the sidewalk in town. When a car passed them he took her behind one of the main buildings and pushed her against the hard wall.

The privacy for their conversation was welcome. Tears were close to the surface. She wanted to run home and weep. Going to see Dean after he’d told her not to would be a mistake. He hadn’t arranged for her to come to his place and had asked her to wait until he called her. Before he left she was free to go to his house at every chance. Dean was already placing restrictions and she didn’t have the time to think about it.

“How much did you read?”

“All of it.”

She felt a blush spread through her cheeks and she couldn’t stop the outrage. More than her privacy had been invaded, every part of her time with Dean had been shared with him.

“I hate you,” she growled and pushed against his hold.

Peter grabbed her hands and pinned them by her head. She couldn’t move and her frustration at being overpowered was evident as the tears she'd tried to hold back burst forth.

“According to that diary you don’t. You just don’t want me in the way you want, Dean,” Peter said.

She panicked when she saw him leaning down, intent on kissing her.

“I see you as a friend. I don’t want anything else to do with you. Why can’t you see that?” she cried.

Peter stopped and cursed at her. She preferred his curses to his kisses.

“He’d older than you, Laura,” he shouted.

“I don’t care about that. I love him, Peter. This isn’t one of those stupid crushes,” she argued.

He let her go and she rubbed a hand over her wrists. His grip had been tight.

“Is that what you think I’ve got for you? A stupid little crush?” Peter asked.

Laura shook her head and stared at the pavement. “I don’t know what you’re thinking or feeling about me. I love him.”

“He’s using you. You’re a young and beautiful woman, Laura. He can do what he wants. You’re clever, why can’t you see that?”

“Please, don’t say anything,” she asked. “This is my life and if he’s using me, I’ll deal with it. Please, be my friend.”

Peter glanced at the ground before nodding his head. “You’re going to get hurt by this,” he warned.

“That’s my problem. Not yours.”

“You’re wrong. It’s my problem because I love you.”

Laura smiled at his words and rubbed the tears from her eyes. “I do care about you, Peter.” She kissed his cheek and walked home.

Laura stayed home and didn’t call Dean. Her brother was watching a film on the television and she sat on the floor reading a course book. Her mother had come in a few hours later with several bags. She didn’t know what was for dinner, but it looked like something special.

“When are you moving out, sis?” Tommy asked.

“I don’t know. Why?”

“I want your room. It’s bigger than mine. Plus, aren’t you ancient?”

“Cheeky, sod. I’m only twenty,” she told him. “Still old enough to do most things.”

Like have an affair with a man older than you.

Laura chuckled and went back to her book. Her mother walked in twenty minutes after her dad came home.

“I invited Dean Riley over for dinner tonight. I want you all on your best behavior,” her mother announced before dinner was ready.

Laura panicked and rushed upstairs. No one in her family paid attention to her. This would be the first time she’d seen him since his trip. Is that why he didn’t arrange a meeting with her? Because he knew he’d be coming here for dinner? Did this have anything to do with him withdrawing from her? All sorts of questions ran through her mind and she couldn’t think of a single reason. Maybe she’d have time to talk with him.

She checked her hair and made sure her shirt wasn’t stained by any grease or anything. Satisfied with her appearance, she paced herself and when the doorbell rang she made her way slowly down the stairs.

He wore dark blue jeans and a crisp white shirt. His tan looked good and his grey streaked hair made him seem all the more mature. She couldn’t believe he was here in her parent’s house about to have dinner. Especially when she visualized his head licking her wet cunt between her spread thighs.

Dean moved out of the doorway and her heart stopped. What felt like a million punches hit her in her solar plexus.

“I’m sorry, Mrs Cox, but I brought a date with me. This is Kimmy,” he introduced the woman.

What the hell was happening?

“There you are. Come on down, Laura,” her mother called.

She moved past the guests and went straight to her seat in the dining room. Her dad was already seated and she took the seat to his right, hating her mum with every passing second as she sat Kimmy and Dean in front of her. Dean shook hands with her dad and she averted her gaze when he stared at her. She couldn’t do this.

Help me.

Dinner began and her nightmare started, Peter’s words haunting her.

“I’m so pleased you came, Mr. Riley,” her mother preened.

“Thank you for the invite,” he replied.

She was thankful to her dad for staying quiet.

“So, how did you two meet?” Her mum was awfully chatty tonight.

“At a conference. Dean was giving a talk on one of his books and he just snapped me up,” Kimmy, the blond beauty with the fake boobs and hot body, replied.

With every second, all the words and the loving he’d given her over the past month was reduced to nothing. His words had no meaning anymore.

As the dinner progressed, Laura pushed her food around her plate. She couldn’t stomach this. Her parent’s were constantly treating her like a child. Thoughts and ideas ran through her head. Was this Dean’s way of getting rid of her? Was Kimmy more than an acquaintance? She thought that with time Dean would learn to love her. He cared, she knew and understood that.

If she pulled out of college and worked full time at the library and took evening shifts at the diner she could make enough money to rent a small flat. As far as she was concerned, she wouldn’t be living with her parents for much longer.

“Laura!”

She turned to the sound of her mum's irritated voice.

“What?” she asked, her voice sounding distant and hollow like the pain inside her.

“Dean was talking to you.”

Laura turned to him and waited.

“I was wondering if you’d managed to get any writing done while I was away?”

You fucking traitor.

She’d told him to never say anything about her writing.

“You write, honey?” fake boobs asked.

Laura glanced down at her plate of pasta. The pain and heartache she was feeling was too much. This was worse than any rejection any woman could receive.

“No, I don’t. Could I be excused?” she asked her dad.

“What for, love?” her dad asked.

“I promised a friend I’d help him out,” she explained.

“She can’t leave. We’ve got guests,” her mother said to her dad.

Laura closed her eyes as her parents began to argue. Every emotion for the past four weeks swamped her. The love she felt for Dean and the never-ending passion they’d shared. The secrets she’d kept from her parents and Peter’s sudden change in demands. She couldn’t handle it anymore.

“I didn’t ask for your fucking permission,” she screamed at her mum. Laura got up from her seat and blanked out what her parents were yelling. She grabbed her purse and coat and headed out into the night, slamming the door behind her.

The night air had a slight chill to it. Stars twinkled brightly in the sky and the tears she’d kept in for so long came out. There had never been any offering of anything more than sex. She knew that, she’d accepted it, but seeing how easily he’d moved on hurt more than she’d expected.

A hand on her arm stopped her. She glanced first at the hand and then at the owner of it. Dean stood in front of her. She hoped he saw the tears and the heartache she was going through. Although he had promised her nothing, the least he could have done was to treat her much better and told her he was moving on. Now she understood how quickly her life could change. She’d read so much in her short life and thought there must be time to assess every decision. The reality was it moved just as quickly as in the story.

Laura pulled her shoulder out of his grip.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“Going to a friend's,” she gritted out. Even now she couldn’t refuse him anything.

“Please, turn around and go back to your parents,” he told her.

There it was again, the tone he used as if he was speaking to a child.

“I’m not going back there,” she told him and began walking toward the apartment Peter owned on the edge of town.

“Stop behaving like a child and do as I tell you,” he called after her.

Laura stopped. His voice dipped and she recalled with a quiver, what had happened the night he’d used the same tone. The dark hint of dominance and the call of submission he’d demanded. The dominance she’d asked for. That night not only had she given him everything her body had to offer, that very same night she’d given him her heart and her soul.

“You’re telling me what to do? she asked him. "You lost that right when you brought her back with you. Is this the way you end all your affairs? By breaking the women who love you? If you didn’t want me, all you had to do was say so.”

Dean walked in front of her. “It’s better this way,” he said.

“Why? Because you started having feelings for me?” she asked.

He didn’t dispute her point.

“That’s it. You can’t deal with the fact you can love someone besides your dead wife.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Fuck you,” she screamed and then she did something that gave her little satisfaction. She slapped him across the face. “I don’t want to see you anymore. Peter was right. You were using me.”

Laura didn’t wait for a response and ran. She knew her life would never be the same again and the only person she had was Peter.

Twenty minutes later she banged on his apartment door. The tears poured from her eyes and she knew she looked a mess.

Peter opened the door. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

“You were right. He was using me,” she cried.

Her friend pulled her into his apartment and held her through her heartache. Peter didn’t say any condescending words. He held her as she poured out her pain, telling him everything.

“Can I stay here with you, please?” she begged. “I won’t stay long. Just long enough until I get my own place.”

Peter placed a finger over her lips. “I don’t want to hear another word. You can stay for as long as you like.”

Laura collapsed and placed her head on his chest. His arms surrounded her.

She sat up. “I don’t want, what I mean is, you don’t expect...”

“I don’t want anything from you, Laura. I’m your friend and that’s what you need,” he assured her.

She nodded and placed her head back on his chest, the tears pouring out and soaking his shirt.

Chapter Sixteen

Laura didn’t return home. She refused his calls at the library and blanked him whenever he went into town. He saw her and didn’t want to create a scene. Instead he stayed at home and phoned her parents to see if they had received any news about her. He learned that she’d moved out and was living with Peter Miller in town.

Taking Kimmy to her house had been a big mistake. She was an old friend of his wife’s and they’d met at a party in the city. His editor and publishing company had loved his story and were going through the processes of getting a cover and edits done. The title still had to be decided.

Dean stood staring out of his study window. He couldn’t look at the room. So many memories of Laura surrounded him. He’d promised his wife he’d never love any woman the way he loved her. Spending so much time with Laura had started to break down the walls around his heart. He knew with every moment she was becoming more a part of him.

He saw a car pull up outside his house. Dean didn’t recognize the driver and making sure not to look at his desk or the sofa he went to the door.

The younger man removed his sunglasses. “Can I have a word with you?” he asked.

“Who are you?” Dean asked the younger man. He’d seen him around town but had never stopped to make small talk.

“I’m Peter Miller.”

He knew why the younger man was here at his house.

“What do you want?” Dean asked, not seeing any point in prolonging the conversation. He was sure it wouldn’t go the way he wanted.

“I’m here about, Laura. I know all about you two.”

He folded his arms over his chest. He saw that Peter meant business. Dean didn’t know how he knew. He guessed that after the confrontation at the dinner he’d been invited to Laura must have told him. He should be angry, but he understood the need to talk to someone. That’s why he’d talked to Kimmy. She’d known who Laura was when they’d entered the house. Unlike many, she hadn’t been disgusted by the age gap. She’d warned him of the fragile heart in a young woman. He hadn’t believed her. He thought Laura was a strong woman. How wrong he’d been. Laura loved him and he’d shattered her world. Since that night, their life together had all but ceased to exist.

“You’d better come in.” Dean opened the door wider and Peter moved ahead of him. He took him to his study and was careful not to look where Laura used to sit.

“How is she?” he found himself asking. Not that he loved her. He cared. Even though Kimmy had told him that she thought he loved Laura, he denied it. He’d promised his wife he wouldn’t love another woman and he refused to believe he loved her.

“She’s doing as well as can be expected. Especially when an older man, perverted like yourself, preys on her,” Peter said.

His anger rose. Everything that had happened between Laura and he was private and completely consensual.

“I think you should leave,” he said and brushed past the younger man. This conversation was not to his taste.

“No. I think you should hear this. People in town think you’re the big news with no little secrets. Laura’s in love with you. Not a little, but a lot. She’s not eating or sleeping since you got rid of her.”

“I didn’t get rid of her,” Dean argued back, his gut twisting with thoughts of Laura in pain. Shit. He didn’t love her, did he? His heart had died with Carla.

“There’s a twenty-year age gap between you two. You can’t offer her anything on the long term. The town would shun you and Laura would be surrounded by gossip,” Peter said to him.

Dean wasn’t a stranger to the practice the younger man was wielding. He understood and respected Peter for his balls.

“Is this the part where you tell me you can do a better job?” he asked.

“Do you care about her? Or is she just another fuck?” Peter asked.

He saw red. No one talked about Laura like that. He grabbed the man by his shirt and slammed him into the wall.

“Don’t you dare be speaking that language about her in front of me. Laura is worth more than anything.” Dean snatched his hands away. His heart pounded and perspiration soaked his shirt. The heat and the situation made him feel trapped. He wasn’t ready to give up Laura. She was his one comfort in this world.

“Do you love her?” Peter asked.

Dean closed his eyes. He didn’t want to be asked questions about his feelings. How could he answer the question when he didn’t know the answer?

“I care about her,” he whispered even as his mind protested.

You, dick. You love her and you have ever since you saw her sitting on that fucking boulder writing in her diary.

“If you cared enough, you’d let her go,” Peter said.

No. Don’t let her go. I want to keep her. I love her.

“I think you should leave,” he said again.

“I mean it, Dean. I love her. Always have and always will. I’ll care for her and keep her safe,” Peter told him.

He understood what the man was saying but he couldn’t accept that his time with Laura would be over.

“How can you love a woman knowing she’s in love another man?” he asked. Laura was in love with him. She’d told him constantly and, like a man, he’d taken the words and not said anything in return. He was a shit head. She wouldn’t believe his words now, not after what happened with Kimmy. Taking her to the dinner had been a big mistake. He’d just been worried in case he’d slip up in front of her parents.

“I know her. For a while she’ll be heart broken but eventually she’ll come around. I can make her happy and give her the life she wants,” Peter said.

“Will you let her write? Pursue her passions in writing a book?” he asked him. Laura was a natural at writing. Her work was filled with intrigue and passion and her style flawless. Any editor would see the gift she possessed.

“Her writing is a hobby, so I guess it’ll stay that way. I’ll do everything in my power to make her happy.”

Dean nodded his head even though he knew by letting her go he’d be resigning her to a lifetime of shutting away her creativity. Would being with this boy send her muse away?

“I’ll see her tonight,” he said

“You know this is for the best.”

He didn’t know. He’d see Laura and make his decisions.

Dean waited for her outside his front door. He’d gone to the library after the visit with Peter and waited until she agreed to meet with him. She looked awful. Her eyes were black from lack of sleep and she looked weak.

The sunset came and he watched her walk along the path. Her bag looked way too big as it hung on her shoulder. He thought about what Peter wanted him to do and watching her walk towards him, he knew the man was right. Laura staying with him would be a big mistake. People in town would gossip about their relationship and she’d be the main source. Could he force her to a lifetime of ridicule because he didn’t want to let her go? What would happen when she was still so young and he’d be old? He couldn’t expect her to spend her years with him as he grew old. He was twenty years older than her, a very large age gap.

“You wanted to see me,” she said.

Dean nodded and gestured for her to go on ahead of him. She went to the kitchen and he made coffee. He really wanted booze, the strongest stuff he owned.

“I’ve been thinking, Laura. I’ve decided to move on,” He told her. He heard her gasp and he closed his eyes. He had to do this. “I’m selling this place and moving back to my old town.”

“You said you were moving on. Cape Falls was where you wanted to be,” she said.

“I know what I said. I’ve changed my mind.” He handed her the cup and she put it on the table.

“This is why you’ve brought me here? To tell me you’ve had your fun and now you’re leaving,” she shouted.

“I know you’re upset...”

“Down fucking right I’m upset. I gave you everything you asked of me. My friendship, my love, my fucking virginity and my body and now you’re telling me you’re leaving. You fucking bastard.”

The cup and the steaming coffee suddenly slammed into the wall. He watched the droplets of liquid slide down the wall.

“I hope you live a life of fucking misery,” she told him.

She walked out of his house and he followed after her. He didn’t stop her and watched her march away.

When he walked back into the kitchen he stared at the smashed cup and dialed the number. Peter answered on the first ring.

“It’s done,” was all he said and he hung up.

“I’m already in misery, baby,” he said.

Chapter Seventeen

Three months later.

Time carried on as normal. College started back up and Laura dropped out. She got the fulltime position at the library and her night times she spent at the diner. Her belongings were removed from home and she shared the apartment with Peter.

The talk of the town was Dean Riley. He’d come and gone all in a matter of months, taking with him her heart. Laura did her best to put a smile on her face and to show to the world she was fine. No one but Peter knew the truth. Some people suspected about her condition. She’d lost weight and looked ill.

On an appointment to the doctor's she’d been told she was pregnant. When she thought back, Dean had rarely used a condom. She didn’t tell Peter, but one of the women who worked at the clinic had seen her and knew about her condition. Now the whole town knew. She was the brunt of all the gossip. Peter helped her when he could, even though many had already made up there ideas about her. Her parents refused to speak to her. The doctor had said she was about three months along and she guessed the last time they were together had been the cause.

“I want to make this all right for you,” Peter said one afternoon.

Even though she was pregnant, because of all the hours she worked, she’d lost all of her excess fat. She could see the small curve of her bump.

Peter got down on one knee and Laura closed her eyes, hoping he’d vanish when she opened her eyes.

“Will you marry me?” he asked.

She opened her eyes and the tears sprang forward.

“I’m sorry, Peter. I can’t accept this,” she told. She handed him back the engagement ring and moved away from the sofa.

“I’m pregnant with another mans child. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me but I can't burden you with this. That isn’t fair and I won’t do it.”

Since Dean had left she’d tried to move on and make it work and failed in every area. Yes, the town would quieten down if she married Peter and he accepted the responsibility of her baby. She didn’t want that. This wasn’t his baby and she loved him only as a friend. A friend didn’t do that to another friend. Peter had tried to stop the gossip, but she couldn’t accept his marriage proposal. Like a heroine out of her books, she was cursed to love only one man.

“You don’t have to answer right away,” he said.

She ran her fingers through her lank hair. No life in her body or her hair. She was nothing more than a glorified zombie.

“Peter. I told you before. He, Dean, may not want me but I love him. It wasn’t some stupid schoolgirl crush.” She stopped. Talking about him always brought tears to her eyes.

“He left, Laura,” he argued.

The tears fell as they always did. She’d sat at a distance as the men who helped him move came to collect his stuff. Laura stayed there until the ‘for sale’ sign appeared.

“I know that,” she shouted at Peter, turning back to him for the argument. Peter cared about her but he never understood the pain she was going through.

“Love isn’t like some football game you can just turn off. I know he’s older than me and damaged, but I can’t control whom I love. Dean Riley is the man my heart fell for and I watched him leave me as if I meant nothing.” She rubbed the tears from her eyes. They were falling thick and fast.

“Do you want me to say yes to you? To marry you, Peter? Give birth to your children and pretend to be happy? When my daughter asks me about love and to know in my heart the only man I ever loved is a gazillion miles away, do I tell her, 'but hey, I settled for your father?'” Laura stared at him. Her eyes filled with tears, her whole body shaking with pain and fear.

“Maybe you would feel something for me with time,” he said.

She hated herself. Peter was kind and gentle. He thought he loved her. She didn’t really know and she wasn’t the type of woman to dispute his emotions. Laura turned from him and went through to her room and grabbed her diary. He followed her inside.

“I care about you, Peter. Really, I do. You’ve read this before and I think you should read it again. I don’t need it anymore.” Laura handed over her diary and grabbed her bag. “I’m going to work. Don’t wait up for me.”

The walk to the diner was slow and exhausting. She rubbed away the tears from her eyes for the thousandth time. People walked past her and she felt their stares.

The diner was busy considering it was almost Christmas. The changing area was dead when she walked in. Her locker stood in the far corner.

She thought back over the past few months and how quickly her life had changed. About five months ago she’d stood in this very spot thinking about Dean Riley and her unbearable crush on him. Her feelings hadn’t changed. She loved him still and she wished with all of her heart she could forget him and move on and love Peter the way he deserved.

Laura made herself move to the diner, her uniform hung from her body from the weight loss. She went through the same motions, taking orders and pouring coffee. Nothing mattered to her anymore. The life she’d wanted ceased to exist. Even her writing had stopped.

For the rest of the night she tuned out her own pain and carried on with her work, disregarding the pain in her whole body. Her hands shook and every time she moved she felt dizzy. She was pouring more coffee into a mug when the world went black.

Chapter Eighteen

Dean sat at his kitchen table nursing a headache. Last night the final proofs for his story had been sorted and he’d hit the whisky, a little too hard. The sudden banging on the door made his head feel like exploding.

“I’m coming,” he croaked and walked the short distance in his apartment from kitchen to the front door.

Peter Miller stormed through the door.

“Why have you come here?” Dean asked the young man. The last conversation he had with him had resulted in the end of his world.

“Because I care about Laura. Since you’ve been gone, she doesn’t live anymore. She only exists,” Peter told him.

Shit. Dean couldn’t deal with this. Not now.

“You’re the one who said she could love you,” he said to Peter.

“I lied,” said Peter.

Dean felt his gut twist and he turned from the accusing stare of the man younger than him. He walked back through to his kitchen and took some pills to ease his head.

“Laura, deserves something better and that something that isn’t me,” Peter told him, pointing to his own chest.

Dean snorted and swallowed his coffee. His head was easing in a matter of moments.

“If you could see her, you wouldn’t be arguing with me right now," Peter continued. "She’s dying, Mr Riley.”

He stopped and looked at the younger man who stood back from the table.

“What the fuck are you talking about? You told me to stay away from her, remember? I was a perverted bastard using her for sex,” he reminded Peter.

“Well, were you using her?” Peter asked.

“I fucking wasn’t. I loved Laura. I still do, but you told me she could get better. This is me staying away. I don’t even want to talk about the amount of times I’ve gotten in my car, ready to drive back to her. I promised I’d stay away.”

“Laura’s pregnant.”

Dean stared at him. “What did you say?”

“She’s pregnant, Dean. She’s in the hospital after collapsing. The doctors don’t think the baby’s going to survive. The stress and all the additional work she’s been doing has made her weak,” Peter informed him.

“Work? She should be back in college.”

“She dropped out, Dean. She’s been living with me and trying to save money to be ready for the baby’s arrival. It’s funny. I warned you that she’d be the brunt of all the gossip with you in town. Now with you away, she’s the brunt of gossip for being pregnant.”

Dean stared at the table. Laura was pregnant with his baby and she was in the hospital.

“I’ll step aside. Laura needs you and I didn’t see it before. I loved her and thought I could do the better loving. I was a fool,” Peter admitted.

Dean grabbed his coat and followed the younger man out of his apartment. He hadn’t moved far from Cape Falls because the thought of not being a quick drive away from Laura had frightened him.

Peter drove and was probably breaking every speed limit. An hour later they pulled up at the hospital. Peter quickly found a parking space and together they walked inside the hospital. Dean followed Peter to the maternity wing.

“She doesn’t know you’re here. Just give me a minute,” Peter told him and went ahead into a room.

Dean watched the room. Laura’s in there, the woman you love and who you gave up like the asshole you are. She's laying in the bed, scared and alone.

He knew then that when he entered that room he would have to make a decision. He glanced down at his finger where Carla’s wedding ring still sat.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’ve got to move on,” he said quietly. He removed the ring and fisted it in his hand. Peter came to the door and nodded for him to come in.

“I brought someone for you to see,” Peter said to Laura.

Dean walked round the door and his world collapsed. Laura was sitting up in bed. She looked terrible and beautiful at the same time. She gasped and they stared at one another.

“You said you didn’t want me,” she whispered.

“I’ve got something to tell you, Laura. I was the one who told him to leave. I thought I could love you more and give you everything that he couldn’t,” Peter admitted.

Laura remained silent and Dean nodded for Peter to leave. The door closed and Laura and Dean stared at each other.

“You’re here,” she said.

“I’m here and I’m not going anywhere,” he told her as he moved to the bed. “I’ve been an idiot. I made a promise to my wife that I would never love another woman they way I loved her.”

“And you do?”

“Fuck me, Laura. I’m so fucking in love with you it scares me,” he admitted and suddenly felt as if a great weight had been eased from his shoulders.

“But...”

“Don’t talk. Peter came to me after I took Kimmy to that dinner. I want to tell you that Kimmy was Carla’s friend. She came to see the woman I’d fallen in love with. Can you imagine how I felt? I’m a man of forty, successful, and my gut and heart was being twisted and pulled by a woman twenty years my junior.”

“You love me?”

“With all of my heart,” he told her and handed her the wedding band. “I don’t need this anymore and this is the only proof I can give you that I’m ready to move on.”

She took the ring from him. “This is the one you wear all the time.”

“I know. But I don’t need it because while I’ve been away I found this.” He pulled the necklace out that he’d taken to wearing since leaving Cape Falls. Hanging from the centre of the necklace was a diamond ring.

“Miss Laura Cox, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

Laura couldn’t believe what was happening. It didn’t feel that long ago she’d been watching him leave. Now he stood before her asking her the question she’d wanted to hear so many times in the last three months.

“I’ve got to tell you something first,” she said. Laura didn’t know how he’d take to learning she was pregnant with his child.

“What do you need to tell me?” he asked, sitting down on the bed beside and taking her hand in his.

She knew she should be angry with him. But how could she be angry? He was back and for the first time in a long time she could smile again. She loved him and wanted him to be near her.

“I’m pregnant.”

“Peter, told me. I’m so happy about this. I want us all to be together. A family.”

“What about what people think?” she asked.

“Do I look like the type of guy who cares what someone else thinks? I left because I was worried about you. I don’t want you to be gossiped about. I love you, Laura,” he told her. He cupped her cheek and leaned down to kiss her lips.

She gasped and in an instant her heart opened.

“I understand if you hate me...” Dean started to say, but she stopped him with a finger over his lips.

“Shut up," she told him. "Just promise me you won’t leave me again and then hold me. I can forget about the rest.”

Laura knew how she felt about him. The past and the hurt was forgotten at the thought of being with him for the rest of her life. Her happiest times had been with him.

“You’ll never get rid of me. I didn’t put the house up for sale, Laura. I still own it. I want you to be my wife and live with me there” Dean wrapped his arms around her.

She smiled as his scent surrounded her, comforting her.

“You’ve got to start eating though. I don’t like seeing you this thin. I want my Laura back.”

Epilogue

Dear Diary,

You may think I’m mad, but I took him back. No arguments and no fear. I’d missed him since he’d been away and having him back meant more to me than sending him off and making him work at being with me. We were married at Christmas. It was a simple ceremony. My parents refused to attend and some of the town folk don’t like us being a couple. Peter gave me away and signed as a witness. He’s my friend and I hope to see him happy with a woman of his own soon.

I didn’t lose the baby and I’m seven months along. Dean is nothing but attentive.

I’ve had a book dedicated to me, and a title named after me. Can you believe that?

Dean wrote about our encounters and how much I meant to him in a book titled, "To My Saviour, Laura Cox." At first I thought it would be insane and a stupid idea. When he wrote the blurb he explained that he’d combined a story based around characters in our lives. He and I and everyone else were made up, apart from Peter. He’s in it, of course.

My writing is back on track, but I’ve not returned to college. I don’t want to return, but Dean has put his foot down. I’ll be returning in a year or two. I hope I can keep him distracted so I don’t have to return to college. I love being his wife and I don’t need anything else.

Who would have thought I’d be married and happy in the few months of getting to know Dean? He means more to me than anything. We’ve crossed so many boundaries to be together. I love him with my whole heart.

A note from Dean,

Thank you for giving me a second chance, even though I don’t deserve it. I love you and will cherish you always. Being with you and crossing the boundaries from being friends to lovers and from lovers into a married couple has been the best decision I’ve ever made.

I’m pleased you turned up that night and forced me to recognize my feelings for you.

I love you, my Laura.

The End

www.samcrescent.wordpress.com

Other Books by Sam Crescent:

Blackmailed by the Beast

Contract of Shame

Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen