Piquant Chapter 1

     “You’re leaving me?” I asked as I stared at the packed suitcase on the ground. It wasn’t hard to tell he was leaving. It was going to happen sooner or later because our marriage had to come to a point where nothing was going to change. He wasn’t happy. I was bitter. Things were ready for a change. The question was who would be the brave soul to leave? I guess that left me as the coward to face things since I couldn’t get up to go.

     My husband of 15 years stared at the ground. Jake Feller, the man who used to make my toes curl just by looking at me was now a faint memory of what used to be. The soft brown curls of his hair that used to be in my fingers were now thinning out and he wasn’t even 40 yet. The truth was in his blue eyes, which at the moment were cast down on the ground. I could see the sparkle of his ring against the soft bedroom light. It tugged at my heart knowing it was just there as a prop. It had no real meaning.

     “You know it was coming,” he whispered softly.

     I couldn’t have agreed more, but it still hurt. Whoever said it wouldn’t hurt was a shitty liar. No matter if the marriage was beginning to cool down or if it was nowhere near it, the end still hurt.

     “Jake, I have been waiting for this day to come. But I guess I wasn’t prepared, really. I didn’t think it would still hurt.”

     “I won’t argue with you on that. I’d been contemplating how to break it to you. I wasn’t sure how you would take it. I know it hurts no matter how it ends or begins. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t hurting myself.”

     I let myself breathe a little when I heard that. I walked over and ran my hand over the suitcase he’d packed. I finally let out the breath I held and reached out a shaking hand to him. It took him a moment before he took it. But when he did, I saw that his hand was shaking. I held it and then let it go.

     “I’ve had a good life with you, Jake. I won’t lie about that. You helped shape me into a better person. But sometimes things change and you must find a way to adapt to it. I’m glad we’re being adults and not using the past to hurt each other,” I said.

     He reached over and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You never could keep that tucked away.”

     I smiled. “That’s why I had you…to do it for me.”

     His eyes smiled at me even though his lips were tight. “Peyton, I still love you. I do. It’s just not the same way it was when we got together. Somewhere along the line, we drifted away because instead of growing together, we grew apart. I’m sure it’s as much as my fault as it is yours. We just didn’t hold on like we promised we would. It happens.”

     I nodded, as if it explained everything well enough to let it go. I swallowed hard and he picked up the suitcase. He walked out and stopped at the door. He turned back around to look at me.

     “I’ll send word on where I go. If you ever need me in any way, just contact me and I’ll be here.”

     I shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

     “Don’t do that,” he said. “Don’t try to be brave when you’re shattering on the inside. I know you well enough by now, Peyton, that you’re cursing me silently. And I’m ok with it. But I need to know that if you need me, you’ll call me. I can’t bear the thought of you suffering alone.”

     I nodded and then the tears came. I wasn’t expecting them because I had been predicting this scene in my head. But they came because I wasn’t built of stone. Jake swore, dropped his suitcase, and ran to me. He pulled me into his arms and held me. The comfort of his arms made me sob and I pushed him away. When he tried to reach for me again, I shook my head and stepped out of reach.

     “Just go, Jake. Don’t make this harder for me. You’re packed and ready. Just go and don’t drag out this moment. I promise you that I’ll be fine. Yes, I’ll probably cry and curse you for days, maybe even weeks, but I’ll survive. I won’t let you own me forever. Your memory will be gone when I find a new man,” I said.

     He sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. “Peyton, you’re being brave and it’s going to hurt you.”

     “Yes, but I’d rather be brave than be a coward and stick it out with this failure of a marriage. Just leave. In fact, don’t even leave your information for me. Just go.”

     “Peyton-“

     “Seriously! Go before I kick you out.”

     He sighed and walked back to pick up his suitcase. He looked at me once and then left. I heard the front door open and close. Then when the car started up and drove off, I sank to the ground and bailed out my heart.  

     A week later, my mother found me in my pj’s parading around the house. She wasn’t excited to hear that I had spent a week eating chocolates and drinking beer. She reminded me again how I had once weighed over two hundred pounds. Yeah, I saw that girl trying to peek through and when my mother arrived, she made sure she kicked her out with her six inch heels. You see, my mother, Gabriel Jones, was a woman of style and essence. When my father left her for another woman, she vowed she’d never let anyone feel sorry for her. So she set out to change everything about her life, starting with how she looked. She dropped forty pounds, cut off ten inches of her hair, and began wearing makeup. Needless to say when my father saw her again, he begged to be taken back. She gave him the middle finger and told him to rot in hell.

     So of course when she saw me roaming around the house that I didn’t bother to clean for weeks, eating junk food, and failing to keep my hygiene clean, she went haywire. She threatened to strip me and clean me like she had done when I was an infant. You better believe that got me up and going. My mother wasn’t a joker. She meant what she said and she did what she said. Never have I ever tried to go against her word. It always ended up with me in tears and her nodding her head.

     “You think he would regret leaving you if he were to see you like this?” she asked after I had showered. We were sitting on the now cleaned couch and sipping tea. She’d cleaned while I showered the longest shower of my life.

     I shrugged. “I’m not you, mother. I can’t just get up and go when life hands me shit.”

     She laughed. “You think I got up? I suffered in silence for fear of you seeing me, but what I didn’t do was feel sorry for myself. That’s what you’re doing right now, Peyton. Stop feeling sorry. It’s not your fault he can’t love you. You are a great woman. He just decided he wanted something lesser of value.”

     I looked up at her and sighed deeply. How was it that she was able to see right through to my soul? Her words made me smile and I reached over to hold her hand. A ghost of a smile touched her lips and she put her cup down. She opened her arms and I went to her. Settling myself in her arms, she brushed my hair back and kissed my temple.

     “Men are not like us women. They think with their heads and feel with their dicks. By the time they finally realize their dicks are thinking the wrong things, it’s too late.”

     “I wish that it didn’t hurt.”

     My mother laughed and pulled away. Cupping my face, she replied, “Honey, hurt reminds us to never let it happen again. Hurt is there to never let us forget that if you continue to follow the same path, it will never fully heal. Let it consume you once. Once. And then shut the damn door.”   

     I smiled. “Thank you. I needed to hear that today.”

     When she left, I pulled off the photos of us together in frames and boxed them up. If I was going to start a new life, I didn’t want old memories staring at me. Some photos made tears fill my eyes, but I pushed them away. I was going to be strong. I needed to be strong. If I were to survive this, I had to pull myself together. I boxed them all up and labeled it, “toxic.” I placed in the basement, the farthest corner of the room, where I knew I would never visit. Then I walked up the stairs and slammed the damn door just like my mother said.

     When I woke the following morning, I decided to do something I had been promising myself to do, but never had the chance to. I decided it was time for me to spend it on the beach faraway from society where no one would be able to bother me. I called my mother, asked her if she wanted in (she was never one to bypass a free vacation), and got on the plane to Jamaica.

     People say that when you have been through something like what I had been through, you learn to see things differently. Either you become lost in it or you learn from it. On the plane ride to our destination, I decided I was going to learn from it. It wasn’t that Jake didn’t love me. He just couldn’t love me enough to stay with me. There was a difference and it was the difference that hurt me. If a man, who had slipped a damn ring on my finger, refused to love me enough to stay with me, why was I drowning in tears after him? Good question you might ask. What’s the answer? Cut him loose. As soon as the plane ascended and I felt the power of the wind, I knew that cutting Jake loose from my life was going to be the greatest decision I would have make. Yes, I had thought at one point in my life that marrying him was also the greatest decision. But hell, I’m human. I was allowed to make shitty mistakes so I could weep and learn.

     I promised myself I would never allow another man to control my thoughts, my wishes, or my dreams. If I was to be happy, I was to lead my life. I was to drive the car and know where I was going to go. I was ready for a change. Jake wasn’t the last man I would love; although he would be the last man to hurt me.

     The bungalow we rented out was perfect. It was right by the ocean where the waves rolled in early in the morning. The sun peeked through the curtains and the breeze blew in its breath at night. It was the most perfect getaway. In the mornings, my mother and I shared breakfast by the terrace and walked along the beach. We would spend the evenings dancing and eating lobster. By the end of the first week, I had already forgotten about Jake and what wasn’t going to be at home waiting for me. I was having too much fun to remember the sadness that consumed me in the failure of my marriage.

     But everything was about to change and I had no idea just how much. The day started off as normal as could be. My mother had left a note saying she had gone to the local market to look for antique necklaces and for me to go ahead with breakfast. After I devoured some fruits, I dug into my suitcase for my swimsuit. Halfway through digging, I decided to take a walk on the wild side and wear a bikini from my mother’s luggage. When I went through her things, my mouth dropped open. This woman (my mother!) had items that made me want to crawl and die. There was a beautiful two piece bikini in a coral color that had small strings to keep the bottom attached. The top part was twisted and small brown beads decorated the top. I stripped and wore it.

     The water was warm as I walked along the beach. I was too self-conscious to be among the public, so I walked on the privacy on the land that my mother and I rented. It was quiet as I bent down to pick up a few rocks for my collection. The sun was warm and I laid down on the beach to catch some sun. Unfortunately, I fell asleep and when I woke hours later, there was a stranger staring at me. I freaked and stood up so fast, my head knocked his chin. Only then did I get a chance to take a good look at him. Boy, he was beyond the definition of handsome. He had golden skin that glowed in the kiss of the sunlight. His black hair was longer than most men and lay dark and thick among his head. But his eyes, his chocolate eyes that melted into mine, made my heart skip a beat. My body came alive with hunger as a smile spread across his face. I drank in the sight of him wearing only a pair of black shorts and my breath came out uneven.

     “Good afternoon,” he said with a thick English accent. Oh shit, I’m as good as gone. Add to his accent, his succulent body, and perfect eyes, I’m sold.

     “Hi,” I muttered.

     He smiled and took a few steps toward me. “Forgive me, I was jogging and seemed to have found a lost angel asleep in paradise.”

     I blushed. Who spoke like that? Apparently, only men with accents and God like features did. Where have I been? With a wrong man for 15 years, that’s where. He continued to stare at me and I suddenly realized, I hadn’t responded. My brain seemed mumbled with different random words and I felt as if all my years in school did me no good because I had nothing to say.

     “Hi,” I repeated. I mentally kicked myself in the head. Did I just repeat the same word? He didn’t seem bothered by it. He laughed and moved even closer to me. Suddenly, he reached out and took my hand, placing it in his.

     “It seems you’re embarrassed by my flattery. How rude of me to be so blunt. But you must forgive me for the moment I saw you, all manner in me disappeared and all I wanted was to seek your company. Tell me, is there a gentleman who is lucky enough to call you his? Or will I get the pleasure of doing so?”

     My insides turned to mush and I felt my cheeks get hotter. “I am by all means, yours.”

     His dark eyes turned misty and a smile formed. “Mine. Isn’t it provocative how that single term can be?”

     I pulled my hand away from him and tucked the strand of hair behind my ear. “You are?”

     He smiled and straightened. “Forgive me for my rudeness. I’m Garrison Ford Remington.”

     I almost swallowed my tongue. His name was as seductive as he was. I felt almost embarrassed to tell him my name. It seemed so plain. “Peyton Jones.”

     Garrison’s eyes sparkled and he took my hand, lifting it to his lips and left a kiss on my knuckles. Then he looked up at me and smiled gently. “I am honored to make your acquaintance, Miss Jones. Would it be too bold to ask you to join me for dinner tonight?”

     I let out a chuckle and when I tried to pull my hand away, he tightened his grip. The smile on my lips died as he pulled me closer to him. My heart began to pound and I felt my legs begin to numb. All sense in the world was lost as he stared deep into my eyes. His eyes were inviting and intoxicating as he drew me in. When we were so close, not even air could squeeze between us, he let out a shaky breath.

     “I beg your pardon, Miss Jones. Usually, I am quite pulled together. I am never out of my game when it comes to anyone. But you have bewitched me. One look into your eyes and I am drawn to you like you’re the breath coming from within my soul. Is it possible that I have met what most have dreamt of meeting? Is it possible that I’ve stumbled upon the woman who will share eternity with me?”

     He was beginning to scare me. I jerked my hand free and began walking backward. “I’m busy tonight. I’m sorry.” I heard him call my name as I ran, but I didn’t look back.

     A little after seven, my mother returned with an armload of shopping bags. I had washed her bikini and tucked it back where I found it. I wasn’t going to mention it to her at all. I was going to die with that secret. No one would know and that steaming stranger had no one to tell. And even if he did, I would just be a story he told from circle to circle.

     My mother had really outdone herself. She practically bought the entire island, it seemed, because whatever I wanted or needed, she pulled out of her bags. I laughed as she modeled some of the craziest things she bought. But she was having fun and I wasn’t about to ruin it for her. The doorbell rang and she hurried to open it. She must have ordered room service because I wasn’t expecting anyone at this hour. But the voice at the door stopped me from moving. I could hear my mother’s giggles and then his voice came closer. She’d invited the man in.

     “Peyton! You didn’t tell me you had invited a guest over for dinner,” my mother said.

     I stood up, shocked and angry. “I didn’t.”

     He smiled. “I apologize. She’s right. She didn’t. I wanted to come inside so I lied. You see, I met Peyton this afternoon and wanted to take her out to dinner.”

     My mother’s eyes lit up like fireworks. “Oh my Gosh, that’s a wonderful idea! You stay here and I’ll help her get dressed.”

     Before I could argue, my mother dragged my arm into our room and shut the door. She turned around and planted her hands on her hips. “Spill it, missy. What have you been doing?”

     I rolled my eyes. “It was a stupid mistake.”

     “What was?”

     Sighing, I flopped on the bed and covered my head with my hands. “Wearing your damn bikini.”

     My mother pondered and then she laughed. “You wore my bikini? The coral one?”

     I nodded.

     “And what happened?”

     I stuck my hand toward the door. “That happened! He came on to me and started reciting goddamn poetry! He likes the bikini, not me.”

     She laughed harder. “Goodness, Peyton, the man likes you! Even if you weren’t wearing the bikini, he’d have come on to you. Don’t let Jake leaving make you forget how beautiful you are. You’re an attractive woman and there’s a very attractive man out there waiting to take you out to dinner. I suggest you don’t keep him waiting and get dressed. I brought something along in case you got lucky.”

     I stood up so fast I slipped on the blanket. “What?!”

     My mother walked to her suitcase, unzipped it, and pulled out a red dress. She handed it to me and with a very serious tone said, “Do some damage.”

     She left so quickly that I wasn’t even able to think of a lie to cover myself. I was now going on a date wearing a dress from my own mother. I sighed and decided it couldn’t hurt. But that thought changed immediately when I tried the dress on. Oh shit, I was in big trouble.

     “There she is!” my mother said as I entered the living room again. I felt naked as I saw Garrison’s lips form a smile. The dress, if it was even legally called a dress, came to the middle of my thigh and was so tight on me, I couldn’t even breathe. The cleavage was low enough that the swell of my breasts were showing. This was so not me.

     “You look beautiful,” Garrison said.

     “Thanks,” I whispered as I shot my mother an evil glare.

     She simply smiled. Garrison took her hand and kissed lightly. “Mrs. Jones, I shall be leaving now. I promise that I will take the best care of Peyton and have her home no later than midnight, safe and sound.”

     My mother smiled. “You go have fun.”

     He offered me his arm and I took it. As my mother wished us good luck, I turned around and stuck my tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes. The moment we made it outside, I released my hand from his arm. He pulled my hand and turned me around.

     “I hope you are not upset by me showing up like this. You didn’t give me a chance to explain how I truly felt,” he said.

     I laughed. “I think you made yourself quite clear. Look, I want you to know that I am not interested in beginning any sort of affair with you. Lord knows you’re extremely handsome and is way out of my league, but let’s just get this dinner over with so I can return home and change into something I am more comfortable in.”

     Garrison looked me from head to toe and smiled. “But you look comfortable the way you are.”

     “Trust me, this isn’t how I venture out.”

     “How do you venture out? I’d like to know.”

     I watched as his eyes sparkled and then a smile graced his face. I shook my head. “You’re not letting me off the hook, are you?”

     “I beg your pardon, but I don’t think it’s me you need to worry about. I’m sure your mother had another story brewing in her mind when she shoved that dress on you.”

     I stopped walking and he turned to look at me. “Wait. How did you know this dress belonged to my mother?”

     Laughing, he replied, “Peyton, unless the man is blind, your mother truly appears to be the one who would sport that dress, not you. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on her that the bikini belonged to her too.”

     “Aren’t you upset that I misled you?”

     He smiled, shoved his hands in his pockets, and strolled toward me. He stopped inches from me and looked me up and down. The heart rate ran up, the sweaty palms appeared, and the goddamn toe curling wouldn’t stop. He looked too good to be this close to me. But here he was, breathing the same air as me, close enough to touch…and taste.

     “I’m aware of certain things of life. I know that sometimes being outside of the box might just relieve a bit of tension. One look at you and all I can see is purity.”

     The word hit hard and my smile faded. I backed away from him and started walking back home. He grabbed my arm and turned me around, his smile gone. All I saw was regret in his eyes. I removed my arm from his hold and stepped away.

     “You have no idea who I am, Garrison. You don’t know my story. If you’re looking for purity, you’ve got the wrong girl. I’m nowhere near pure. I’m tainted.”

     Garrison’s eyes darkened and I could see his jaws working. The perfect face that seemed to have captivated me was now carrying a darkness that made my heart flutter. Reaching over, he tucked a loose strand of my hair away. Then he gripped my chin and tilted me up to look into his eyes. There, in his eyes, I saw how absolutely gorgeous I was. I saw the purity he spoke about me. I saw what he meant and every fiber of my being began to melt. How was it that being married to Jake for 15 years, I never saw anything close like this? Here comes a stranger, who spoke of words in poetry settings and rambled on about endless love, and in his eyes, I saw who I wanted him to see. The real me, the truth about me, and the girl I was so yearning to let go.

     “Peyton, I won’t pretend that my heart doesn’t flutter when you’re near me. From the moment I saw you, I knew right away that you were special. You had to be in order to make me yearn for you the way I do. You see, I hardly chase after a woman. The women usually come to me. I can’t help it. It’s the way the world had always worked for me. But with you, I find that I’m doing the chasing and it’s a thrill. I’ve never felt this rush before and it’s making me understand what being a man is all about. I see you and all I want is to enclose you with these arms so no one can touch you.”

     Tears filled my eyes and I turned away. I felt stupid for crying on a first date. Wait. Does it count as a first date if you hadn’t made it out of the front door yet? Lord help me.

     “Peyton,” Garrison whispered.

     I wiped my eyes and cleared my throat. “Please don’t pity me. The worse thing in the world is someone pitying me.”

     “I wouldn’t ever think that of you. What I want is a chance to discover you, the real you. Will you allow me?”

     Jake had hurt me when he let me go. He was my husband, the one man who was allowed to come close to me, to love me. Yet, he didn’t. Now, here stood a stranger who wanted to know me. Was I brave enough to tread on undiscovered territory? The devil in me was already popping champagne bottles and celebrating while the princess in me locked herself behind iron bars. But if I locked myself behind iron bars, how would my prince ever find me? And if he did, how long would it take? Bracing myself, I took a step forward and extended my hand to him.

     It was after midnight when I returned home. The bungalow was dark and quiet as I entered. My mother had left the windows open and the curtains were blowing from the night breeze. As I closed the door, the lights turned on and I found my mother sitting in a chair with wide eyes staring at me. But she was sporting a smile as if she knew this was how it was going to play out. She stood up from her chair as I slipped out of the shoes I wore.

     “You’re home later than expected. I hope it went well?” she asked.

     “If you’re looking for details, I’m sorry, Mother, but it’s all stored away. No matter how much you bribe, it’s not going to be opened for anyone to hear or see. But to scratch that itch of yours, no, we didn’t sleep together.”

     Her smile widened. “Oh, ever the gentleman!”

     I smiled and sat on the couch. Yes, Garrison, the gentleman. He was the gentleman. He was so different from anyone I knew. He wasn’t harsh like Jake. He wasn’t built like Jake. In fact, he wasn’t anything like Jake. And it made me feel good that he was different. I needed different. I needed change. He hadn’t said much about himself simply that he was on vacation and was looking to discover a different path. He was tired of the same scene where the women chased him. He wanted a new life and here he found me. I was the difference he wanted. That brought a smile to my face.

     My mother smiled. “Looks like you found a winner. When you keep smiling like that after a date, you know you got a good one.”

     I looked up at her. “I hardly know him, Mother.”

     “Yes, I know, but we’re here for another 9 days. It’s a good enough length of time to know someone. I expect from now on, I won’t be seeing much of you.”

     She walked off to bed and I laughed. Tonight had been a good change. Garrison took me to a quiet dinner where we shared a very large lobster together. We drank out of coconuts and danced together. It had been a good start. He didn’t divulge much about his life. He hadn’t asked for more when I said I was getting a new start in life. I smiled and inhaled deeply. Starting over was beautiful.

     “Good morning. You got yourself an embarrassing display of white roses,” my mother said as I woke up. True to form, there were over forty bouquets of white roses placed around in my room. My eyes flew wide open as I got out of bed and walked around the room. The feeling of being appreciated flipped over and over inside my body. I turned to my mother who was busy digging a card out from one of the bouquets. I waited until she retrieved it and then snatched it out of her hands.

     “You’re welcome,” she said.

     I laughed as I read it. “It wasn’t enough last night. I need more. Meet me tonight at the cove and wear the bikini.”

     “Oh my God! Does he have a brother?!” my mother shrieked.

     I turned to her. “Mother, you’re 52.”

     “No law that says I can’t boink someone his age.”

     My cheeks flushed and I crossed my arms. “Please don’t ever say that again. I think I’ve just scarred myself with the imagination.”

     Laughing, she took the card from me. “Honey, you have to understand that a woman has to remain sexy within herself. If you don’t, men forget to turn heads when you walk.”

     I ignored that comment as she walked off. I stared at the roses and sighed deeply. What an amazing display of roses! I had never seen so many together at once. It almost felt unreal as I sat down in the middle surrounded by it. The happiness inside me brew and I thanked my lucky stars.

     The happiness died as the evening approached. Jake and I had a pretty dead marriage at the end and it had been over a year since I’d slept with him. I was literally scared to death that Garrison would suggest sex and I would disappoint him. Jake hadn’t been a good partner when it came to pleasing me. He would do his deed, roll over, and snore. It was the same routine every time. I knew exactly how it would start and how it would end. But Garrison scared me. It was almost like a first time. Oh shit, Peyton, stop it! He’s probably not going to sleep with you. Don’t get your hopes up. There. That shut up my brain.

     The cove was a few miles north of where my mother and I stayed. After getting directions for the fourth time, I finally found it. It was tucked away in a neat little corner. I saw a fire burning and I shivered even though it was warm. I had put a summer dress over the bikini and as I got closer, I suddenly felt shy. I stopped to drink in the view and suddenly he appeared wearing a pair of black shorts and nothing else. His eyes roamed until they found me. A smile formed on his handsome face and the flutters came back. It tortured me until I felt as if I was ready to fall. My breath came out uneven and the ground moved. Garrison started walking toward me and my body shook. With every step, I felt my bones chatter. When he reached me, I was out of breath.

     “I thought I specifically asked for the bikini,” he said as he looked me up and down.

     I smiled. “I have it on.”

     His eyes lit up. “Can I see it?”

     “Now?”

     He nodded.

     With shaking fingers, I reached for the dress, but he stopped me. He moved forward and bent down to his knees. His eyes never leaving mine as his fingers came to the hem of the dress. When his hand brushed against my skin, I shivered. He smiled and took the dress, lifting up until it was off my body. He drank in the view and slowly a smile formed on his lips. He dropped the dress on the ground and moved closer until we were together.

     “I wanted this to be special, but hell, I can’t wait anymore. I hardly ever make it to a second date. But you seem to have me bending my rules. What have you done to me, Peyton?” Garrison whispered.

     His lips captured mine in a tight battle and I responded. Holy shit, it was pure magic kissing him. He teased me with his tongue and explored me with his hands. Nothing was left hanging and I was spinning. I was leaning toward him for support and he picked me up. His eyes searched mine for a response and when he found it, he hurried back to the cove where a fire was burning. There, I saw a mattress covered in red satin sheet lying on the ground. A bottle of champagne was chilling, some sandwiches, and a liter of flowers. I wanted to cry. He laid me down on the bed and took my hands.

     “I want you to know that when I do this, I don’t stop until I’m satisfied. You may be sore, Peyton. But until my hunger is fulfilled, I keep going.”

     “What does that mean?”

     “Be prepared for a sleepless night.”

     As soon as he said the last word, he took my mouth and all was lost. My head spun with feelings unexplored and my heart raced. All the words I had read in magazines where women described this kind of emotion fluttered alive and I was lost in a sea of exotic emotions. He was skilled with his lips, his hands, and his words. Each time I shuddered at his touch, he rewarded me with a kiss. When I wanted more, he withdrew. When I wanted less, he made my feelings explode until I was entirely spent and exhausted.

     When I woke, it was morning and sore. He wasn’t kidding when he said I would be. Last night’s love making had me exhausted and famished. I never knew it could be this way. I was alone though and Garrison was nowhere to be found. I dressed in the bikini and pulled the dress over just as he entered carrying a tray of assorted fruits. A smile lit up on his face as he stared at me. He set it down and came to kiss me gently on the lips.

     “You’re a wonderful sight to see in the morning,” he said.

     I blushed and ran my hand through my hair. “You brought breakfast.”

     “You must be hungry after last night. I should have warned you.”

     Again, I blushed. “Garrison, about last night—“

     “Don’t. It’s too early in the day to be giving me that kind of talk. And I want a repeat of last night so if you’re telling me you’re done, you’re out of luck.”

     “I’m afraid you might not be satisfied.”

     Laughing, he plucked a strawberry from the plate and brought it to my lips. I took a bite and before I could say a word, he kissed me. When he pulled away, his eyes were smoky with passion. “Peyton, I hate that you look at yourself that way. You’re everything I want and more. If last night wasn’t proof that you were good enough, I don’t know what is.”

     I swallowed the fruit and cleared my throat. “I’ve only been with my ex-husband. I don’t know much about pleasing a man.”

     “The sight of you pleases me enough. Unless you want me to show you how much you please me, I’d be happy to oblige…right now.”

     I took the fruit from his hand. “I believe you.”

    

     When I returned home, my mother wasn’t in the bungalow. I was relieved actually because I wasn’t ready to talk about what happened. My head was still clouded about last night’s event. He was the first man ever to make me realize how beautiful love making could be. The hunger he had for me was terrifying that it almost made it seem unreal. Was it possible for a man to do that? Well, whether it was possible or not, he did it last night. I smiled; the images of us cloaked together flashing through my mind. The words he whispered burned my memory and the kisses he left tingled my lips. He was an amazing lover and he was more than what I had bargained for. I didn’t expect to be swept away when I decided to come here for a getaway.

     After a shower, I fell asleep. When I woke, my mother was sitting on a chair staring at me. I sat up immediately and she smiled. It was strange seeing your mother watching you sleep at eight. At 35, it was downright creepy.

     “Gosh, mom, I would appreciate it if you didn’t do that.”

     She sat up and leaned her elbows on her knees. “You look like a woman well satisfied. I knew you were going to get something sweet.”

     I blushed. “Let’s not talk about that. I’m too old to be talking about this with my mother.”

     She smiled and walked to me. “I’m glad it’s turning out good for you, sweetheart. Why don’t you get dressed and we can head out to dinner?”

     “I can’t.”

     She shrugged. “Why not?”

     “I’m dining with Garrison.”

     A smile lit up her face. “Of course you are.”

    

     The next six days were magical. I spent my nights making love with Garrison, my mornings waking up in his arms, and my afternoons walking with him on the beach. I was stuck in a lost world where passion and love was all I knew. He fed me wild fruits, kissed me in tender spots, and made love to me like it was the end of the world. I was spoiled rotten by a man who I was beginning to fall in love with. It only took him 7 days to make my heart swell with emotion. By then, I was lost inside his eyes, his arms, and his kisses.

     On the last day before my mother and I were to depart, I woke up in my own bungalow, having left a pretty saddened Garrison, when I refused his offer to sleep in his bed. I pulled on a white summer dress and slipped my feet into my sandals. I grabbed my hat and keys, heading to the market to spend an afternoon with Garrison. As soon as I walked out of the bungalow, something caught my eye and I turned toward the house seated next to us. There, caught in another woman’s arms was Jake. She was a pretty blonde who was clearly very pregnant and he was kissing her like no tomorrow. I wasn’t sure what hurt more. Seeing him kissing her or seeing her pregnant. Before I knew what I was doing, I marched over and threw my hat at Jake.

     “What the hell?!” he yelled as he looked at me. When he saw who it was, his face paled and he dropped his hands. The woman backed away, her hands dropping to her belly. Tears engulfed me and I watched as Jake’s eyes dropped to the ground.

     “You were cheating on me long before you decided to leave me, weren’t you?” I asked.

     He looked up, his eyes gone of all emotion. “Peyton, our marriage would have ended no matter what.”

     “But you lied to me! You made me believe that you were good and that you were leaving because you wanted me to start over with a good man, when in fact you were leaving to be with her!”

     “Her name is Amy,” the woman said.

     I glanced at her. “I think this doesn’t involve you.”

     She smiled. “I think it does. I love him. Clearly he doesn’t love you. We’re about to have a baby together. He left you because I was better.”

     “Amy, get inside the house.”

     The woman whose blue eyes were bright smiled at me with no meaning. She turned and walked away as tears dripped down my face. I looked up at him and found he saw no emotion for me. It burned me deeper and I sobbed.

     “How could you? I loved you for 15 years!” I cried.

     “Yes, you did, but things change. People change and we grew apart.”

     “But you left as if you were unhappy with the marriage, not because you had another woman. I thought you were just unhappy.”

     “The unhappiness led me to her,” Jake said as he moved closer to me. “You’re a woman hard to please, Peyton. 15 years with you and I felt as if I was in a prison. It’s your own damn fault we didn’t work out. If only you had tried to make me happy, I would have stayed.”

     I sucked in a breath as the pain escalated through my chest. “So it’s my fault? My fault that you couldn’t keep your pants zipped?”

     “If you made me happy, I would have stayed.”

     Tears burned my eyes. “I loved you, Jake! And all the while, I was moving on, I thought perhaps you just didn’t want to stay with me. I never thought there was someone else. She looks like she’s ready to have that baby any day! How long have you been seeing her?”

     “What does it matter? I’m with her now and you’re alone. Just leave.”

     I sobbed and slapped him hard across the face. Turning, I ran to the bungalow to find my mother coming out of the shower. Her smile died as she saw me and ran to hug me.

     “What’s wrong?” she asked.

     “I can’t stay here! I have to leave.”

     “What? Why? Did Garrison do something to you?”

     “Garrison? No! I just saw Jake. He’s with another woman.”

     She laughed. “You’re with another guy.”

     I shot my head up. “She’s 8 months pregnant with his kid!”

     Her smile faded and the knowledge sunk in. Sighing, she let me go as I went around putting everything into my luggage. The tears continued to burn and I wiped them away, upset that it would hurt that much. The thought of him going behind my back and giving another woman his seed while I was left alone was more than heartbreaking. It tore at me and ate at my insides. I needed to leave. I needed to get away from this place. He was here and he was too much for me to handle.

     “What about Garrison?” my mother asked.

     “I’ll leave him a note. I just need to go.”

     “I thought I told you to shut the damn door on hurt,” my mother said as she hugged me. I was crying my eyes out when she found me a week later. I was still brewing over the fact that Jake had another woman the whole time I was still married to him. The part of him wanting out didn’t hurt as bad as him cheating on me. He had made a vow to love me, only me and in the end, he was about to father a baby that wouldn’t come from me.

     “That door has opened,” I whispered.

     “Seal it this time and throw away the key.”

     I sobbed. “But it’s too damn hard.”

     “I know. No one said it was going to be easy. But look on the bright side; you met an incredible man already.”

     “I left him a stupid note. He probably hates me and is now cursing me to die.”

     “Nonsense. If he’s as smart as I think he is, he’ll forgive you.”

     I wiped my nose. “God, I need to find a job. I can’t keep living like this. It’ll drive me insane.”

     “That’s a good start.”

     Finding a job wasn’t as easy as I thought it was. I worked as an assistant a few years back and when the company went bankrupt, I had been jobless since. Sighing, I surfed the net for a few hours and then my mind drifted to Garrison. Would he hate me? Would I ever see him again? I sighed and thought to our love making nights. I tingled just thinking of it. Rubbing my neck, I hung my head down. I ruined it. I ruined it because Jake was an asshole.

     “Peyton!” My mother’s voice rang up shrill and made my ears hurt. I looked up as she entered my room. She was carrying a newspaper with her.

     “What is it?” I asked.

     She unfolded the paper and the image that stared back at me made me want to faint. It was blurry, but I knew it was of me and Garrison together in the cove. The headline read, “Bachelor Garrison caught in sex scandal.” I stood up so fast my head knocked my mother’s chin. She gasped, but I felt nothing as I read the article. My fingers shook and when I looked up, my mother was biting her nails.

     “What the hell am I going to do?”

     The doorbell rang at that moment. We both ran to the door and opened it. A man dressed in black stood there with his dark eyes staring at me. I swallowed hard, never having seeing someone like that at my door before. I looked behind him and saw that a dark car was parked at my driveway.

     “Miss Peyton Jones?”

     I swallowed again. “Who is asking?”

     He pulled out a badge. “I’m national security with the pentagon. I need you to come with me.”

     “What? What has she done?” my mother asked.

     “Your questions will be answered shortly. Please come with me now.”     Before I could argue, the man pulled me out and slammed the door on my mother.