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Then Laura closed her eyes, no longer caring who saw what as Bryan’s fingers slid along her slit, pausing to apply delicious pressure to her clit. He moved his finger firmly on the sensitive nub for a few seconds before removing it, his hand lying unmoving on her thigh.

She lifted her closed eyelids, taking in his smug grin. Two could play that game. Laura shifted, laying her head on Bryan’s shoulder, giving the appearance of an innocent cuddle. As she moved, she went in for the kill, lowering the waistband of Bryan’s boxers, and then gripping his cock firmly.

A deep groan sounded in Bryan’s throat when she started drawing her hand up and down his erection. She ran the tip of her finger over the head, dragging it around to play with the pre-come that had escaped.

She started to pull her hand away, but Bryan captured her wrist, holding it in place. Then, he moved the hand still resting on her leg back to her clit.

“Don’t stop,” he murmured in her ear.

Laura nodded and resumed stroking his cock as Bryan played with her clit. Laura struggled to remain still. Every fiber of her being longed to rise and straddle Bryan’s hips, to ride him hard and fast.

When the moment became too painful, too charged, Laura whimpered. The sound recalled her to their surroundings and she froze, looking around to make sure no one had discovered what they were doing.

Bryan’s hand disappeared and she suffered intense disappointment when he quietly refastened his pants.

Then, he bent over, tossing their things into his backpack. Once he was finished, he stood. “Come on,” he said, grasping her hand almost aggressively as she picked up her purse and sweater.

Was he angry with her?

They walked to the lobby, finding it empty. It appeared everyone, even the employees, was enjoying the late-night movie.

“Bryan,” she started.

“Shhh.” He directed her toward the family restroom, dragged her inside and locked the door behind them.

“What are you—?”

“Be quiet, Laura.”

She’d grown accustomed to his deep, commanding bedroom voice. He only needed to give her an order in that stern, powerful voice, and her body went soft. She was putty in his hands.

He pressed her toward the sink, lifting her onto the cool marble surface. “God dammit, hotshot.” His lips landed on hers hungrily, his rough possession wiping away all concerns he was angry.

She’d made him lose control again. She would have smiled if Bryan weren’t taking her lips with a single-minded determination to fuse the two of them together forever.

His hands tugged her dress higher as he kissed her and she heard his zipper slide open once more. Then he was there. He drove into her in one hard, deep thrust that had her throwing her head back, a loud cry escaping before she could think better of it.

Bryan moved like a man possessed, pounding inside her until Laura saw stars. It was the hottest sex of her life. She wrapped her legs around his waist, using her feet to urge him to rougher thrusts.

Then she bent forward and bit his neck. Bryan jerked at the pain, but, like her, he seemed immune to anything except the need to claim, to subdue, to own. His fingers tightened on her ass as he used his hands to pull her toward his relentless drives.

Laura lifted his shirt and sweater, seeking skin. Once she found the heat of his flesh, she raked her nails along his chest as he hissed. Bryan continued to fuck her, harder.

Lights flashed behind her closed eyes as her orgasm attacked. She shuddered roughly when Bryan cried out, “God, yes,” and came as well, filling her with heat and come.

And then, as quickly as it started, it ended, leaving the two of them panting for breath. Sweat trickled along Bryan’s cheek. Laura reached up to wipe it away.

He smiled at her sweet gesture, then bent to kiss her. This time, his touch was gentle, loving.

He cupped her face in his hands as he pressed his forehead to hers. “You drive me crazy. Make me lose control.”

She laughed softly. “That’s a good thing, right?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

A buzzing sound distracted her before she could press the issue. She was dying to ask Bryan what they were to each other, but her courage deserted her.

“What is that?” she asked when the sound persisted.

Bryan stepped away, withdrawing from her body. Laura pressed her legs together, savoring the wetness of his come on her upper thighs. She wondered when he would realize he’d forgotten the condom. It didn’t matter. He’d had a vasectomy. Pregnancy wasn’t an issue, though they’d used protection each time before. Was this part of what he meant about losing control?

“I think it’s your phone.” Bryan reached for the purse she’d dropped next to his backpack by the door and handed it to her.

Laura frowned. “It’s two a.m. Who would call me so late?”

She retrieved her phone, then frowned when she spotted several missed calls and texts from Katie. “Shit.” She’d put her phone on vibrate when the movie began, but she hadn’t heard the buzzing over the noise in the theater.

She opened the first text message, her blood running cold when she read Katie’s message.

With Dad in ambulance. Think he’s having a heart attack. Can you come to hospital?

Laura checked the time of the call. Twelve ten. God. Nearly two hours ago. Each text became a bit more frightened and desperate, as Katie waited alone for some word about Mason’s condition.

Laura jumped off the sink and started for the door. “I have to go to the hospital.”

Bryan nodded, recognizing her panic. He refastened his pants, then grabbed a handful of paper towels. “Here. You might want to clean up on the way.”

It was a thoughtful gesture. Obviously he realized what they’d forgotten. “Thanks.”

As they hurriedly drove through the city streets, Laura read Katie’s texts to Bryan, rubbing her eyes as she fought back tears.

“She needed me,” she whispered. “She needed me and I wasn’t there.” They were the same words she’d said five times before.

Bryan reached across the console, grasping her hand. “It’s going to be okay.” He pulled up to the door of the ER and Laura started to get out.

He hesitated.

“You’ll park and come in?” she asked.

“If you want me to.”

She nodded. Something told her she’d need his support and a friendly face to get through the next few minutes.

Laura closed the car door and rushed into the hospital. She spotted Katie immediately. “Katie,” she called.

Her daughter looked up from the forms she was filling out. For a brief moment, Laura thought she saw relief on Katie’s face, but it was soon replaced with scorn. Anger.

“How’s your dad?”

Katie didn’t bother to answer. “Where were you? I called at least a dozen times.”

“My phone was off.”

“Why? You never sleep with it turned off.”

Laura gestured to her outfit. “I was at the movies.
Rocky Horror Picture Show
.”

Katie studied Laura’s dress, then her gaze drifted to something behind her. Given Katie’s cold expression, Laura began to second-guess the wisdom of asking Bryan to come inside. “With him?”

Laura turned to look over her shoulder. Bryan was smart. It hadn’t taken him long to read the hostile environment. He waved, then claimed a chair near the door, giving her and Katie some space. “Yes. I went with Bryan.”

Katie sighed heavily, her face rife with disapproval. Laura was getting far too used to the sound of her daughter’s disappointment. “Well, you can go back to your date. I’m fine without you.”

“Katie. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. How’s your dad?”

“It wasn’t a heart attack. It was heartburn.”

Laura closed her eyes, relief flowing through her. “Thank God.”

Katie narrowed her eyes. “You don’t have to pretend you care for my sake.”

Laura swallowed down her anger. “I’m not pretending. Are they keeping him overnight?”

Katie shook her head. “No. They’re about to release him. Which is why I really think you and your new boyfriend should leave. He’ll be out any minute. I’m going to stay with him.”

“Did you call Kevin? Is he coming into town tonight?” Laura hated the idea of her son driving three and half hours on the interstate in the dead of night.

“He was almost halfway here when we found out it was a false alarm. I called him and he turned around and went back home. He hasn’t built up any vacation time in his new job and he’s supposed to attend some mandatory training tomorrow afternoon. He said he’d try to come up next weekend.”

“Good. Are you sure you don’t need me to do anything to help you?”

Katie looked over her shoulder. Laura could tell her daughter was worried about Mason coming out to find her, dressed in a crazy get-up and out on a date. “No. We’ll be fine.”

“I’ll call you in the morning. Okay?”

Katie shrugged as if she didn’t care one way or the other. The gesture cut Laura deep.

“I love you, Katie.”

“I know, Mom.”

Laura tried to ignore the irritable tone and the fact Katie didn’t say the words back. She couldn’t remember the last time her daughter had told her she loved her.

Laura walked to the exit, torn between the desire to unleash her fury by throwing something and curling into the fetal position and crying her heart out.

Bryan stood and followed her out. Once they were outside, he took her hand.

“You okay?”

Laura swallowed back the tears. She wouldn’t cry.

“I’m fine.” Her voice broke on the words.

Bryan tugged on her hand, pulling her to a stop. “Hey.” He turned her to face him, placing his hand on her chin and tilting her face up to his. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

She wished she could believe that, but her heart simply wouldn’t accept it. “I’ve done everything wrong and I can’t figure out how to fix it.”

Bryan hugged her and she soaked up the comfort of his embrace. “Laura,” he whispered. His kindness was her undoing as a tear fell. She squeezed her eyes shut, determined that would be the only one to fall. She’d spent too much of the last two years crying. This was the year for shedding the cloak of sadness and moving on.

If only she knew how.

Chapter Five

Laura Sanders

I love movies that touch me and make me cry. Sometimes there’s nothing more cleansing than bawling your eyes out when the
Titanic
goes down or when Bette Midler sings “Wind Beneath my Wings”
in
Beaches
. When I watch those movies, it makes me realize that my life’s not as bad as it seems.

Laura washed her soup bowl and spoon, placing them in the drainer to dry. Though she had a dishwasher in the townhouse, she could count on one hand the number of times she’d used it. The only good thing to be said for eating alone was that it made for a quick, easy clean up.

It had been a month since Mason’s trip to the emergency room. Since then, Katie had withdrawn from Laura once more. It was like the first few months after Laura left Mason all over again. Katie wouldn’t return her calls or texts. When Laura stopped by Katie’s school one day to surprise her with lunch, Katie had accepted the food Laura had packed with a quick thank you before dashing off for some important parent conference.

Bryan, like Kristen, insisted that Katie just needed time, but Laura wasn’t sure that was true. It was becoming more and more apparent she’d lost her daughter forever and that thought left her with a weight on her chest that wouldn’t lift and jerked her awake night after night with tears in her eyes.

Bryan’s reappearance in her life helped alleviate some of the pain. After spending so much of the year since her divorce alone, it was nice to have someone to talk to again. When he was in town, they ate dinner together—either at his place or hers—then they’d watch TV or go to the movies or dancing or they’d just sit around and talk. It was refreshing to hang out with someone with whom she shared so much in common.

She’d tried to phone him a couple of times today to invite him over, but he hadn’t returned her calls. She was reaching for her cell to text him when it rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but she answered anyway.

“Hello.”

“Laura?”

Laura recognized Trina’s voice. “Trina. Is everything okay? Is your dad all right?”

“I think so.”

Laura’s heart began to race with fear. Had Bryan been in an accident? Was he hurt? “What happened?”

“Nothing. He’s just not returning my calls. I was wondering if you’d heard from him.”

“No.” Laura’s anxiety increased. “I haven’t been able to get in touch with him either. Have you driven by his apartment?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

“Trina?”

“I drove by a few hours ago, but his car was gone. Today’s the sixth anniversary of my mom’s death.”

The words blindsided Laura. “Oh.”

“It’s a rough day for Dad, but I hoped this year, with you, maybe he wouldn’t…”