Dirty News (Dirty Network Book 1) by Michelle Love (7)

The seat was long and ran along the back of the limo. The floor was open. “On your knees,” he ordered me before we’d even begun to take off.

With delight, I did as he’d said to, getting on my knees as he pushed my dress up and slid my panties down. I was already wet for him with the idea. The windows were darkly tinted and I knew no one could see in, but I could see people as they walked around the car.

My heart was pounding as he moved in behind me, thrusting his hard cock into me. He grunted with each hard thrust. I balled my fists up and moved back to meet each thrust. It felt dirty and I loved it!

My attention was taken as Madison and Sebastien came right toward the car. I held my breath as I watched them approach it. “Jett, are they coming with us? Or what?”

He looked up to find Madison reaching for the door handle, and quickly locked the doors. “What the fuck is she thinking?”

She knocked on the window. “Jett, are you in there?”

“What the hell does she want?” I asked as anger filled me.

“Fuck if I know. Shit!” He pulled out of me as I scrambled to pull my panties up. Huffing and puffing, I sat on the seat and made sure my dress was smoothed out.

Jett rolled the window down only a bit. “Can I help you, Madison?”

“Sebastien and I need a ride. Seems we missed ours. Do you mind, terribly if we go to the reception with you two?”

He cut his eyes at me, and I saw raw anger in them. Then he unlocked the door and took my hand, pulling me to the seat across from the one we were seated on.

They got in, both smiling away. “Thanks, man.” Sebastien nodded at Jett then looked at me. “Well, don’t you look as pretty as a picture. Save a dance for me, Asia.”

My stomach knotted as Jett squeezed my hand. “Oh, she will. Madison, you save one for me too.”

“For sure!” She nearly bounced off the fucking seat with joy.

I reached behind me to knock on the window, and our driver put it down. “Yes?”

“Can we make a quick stop at a drug store on the way, please. I have an awful headache, and need to run in to buy something to get rid of it?”

“Sure thing, Mrs. Simmons.” He rolled the window back up, and I smiled like nothing was bothering me at all.

There was something bothering me. But soon she’d be stuck in the bathroom. Her big-ass dress, making things even harder for her.

Poor Madison Greenberg was about to find out what happens when you keep stepping on my toes!

Part 3

Jett

The reception wasn’t the place I wanted to be. Something about that wedding was working on me like a burr under a saddle. Guilt, remorse, anger, and even a tad bit of self-loathing was combining inside of me, creating a shit-storm.

Asia looked like a doll in a dark blue dress and matching heels. The neckline was scooped on the knee length dress that was reminiscent of the style women wore in the fifties. She wore a strand of pearls that hugged her neck, almost like a choker. Her dark, silky hair was curled, loosely. Everyone noticed her, even though she was going for a demure look.

That woman had no idea of how beautiful she truly was. The beauty went all the way through her. She wore a sweet smile as she went to get us some of the wedding cake that was cut after the meal of roasted chicken was over.

I watched Asia as she went behind the elaborate wedding cake to pick up pieces that had already been sliced. She emerged from the other side with three plates. Cocking my head to one side, I wondered why she had three pieces of cake. Then I watched her make her way to the table where the newly married couple and their wedding party were seated.

Amazingly enough, she went to Madison and gave her one of the pieces. The two exchanged smiles and I could see Madison was thanking her. Then Asia came to me. We’d been seated at a table with six people I didn’t know.

That’s one of the reasons I hated to go alone to weddings. Whoever was in charge of the seating arrangements always seemed to love to make people who didn’t know one another sit together. It was a vain attempt at widening one’s circle of friends, I suppose. Whatever the reason, I hated it. I hated making small talk and when you’re sitting with a bunch of strangers it’s impossible to do anything else.

Asia took her seat next to me and stabbed my pieces of cake with the little plastic fork it was served with. She held the bite to my lips and I took it as I looked at her. Then I took her fork and did the same to her. Seemed we were going to feed each other.

“Pretty good.” She picked up the fresh glass of Champagne that had been served to us all after she left the table to go after the cake.

“I noticed you took a piece to Madison.” I gave her another bite. “Are you thinking of trying to become her friend or something?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” She fed me another piece of the dry chocolate cake. That was another thing about weddings that I hated. The cake’s always dry.

Did they make the things a month in advance or what?

“No more for me, thanks.” I pushed my plate away and picked up my glass.

Asia grinned and leaned in to whisper, “It’s pretty terrible.”

“Dry as the Sahara.”

She pushed her plate away too and smiled at me. “The band will start playing soon. They’re getting on stage now. You really don’t expect me to dance with Sebastien and you with Madison, do you?”

“I was feeling prickly in the car. I don’t know what made me say that. I’m feeling prickly now too. I’m not sure why that is, but that’s how I’m feeling.” I leaned back in my chair and draped my arm around the back of hers.

She leaned back and looked at me. “Would you like to leave? Our room is just upstairs.”

We’d gotten a room in the hotel to stay in for the night, instead of going back home. And I did want to leave, but I knew that would be rude. “We have to stay, Asia.”

She nodded and looked around the large room that was decorated in golden hues. “Everything is so pretty. I wonder how long it took to plan this whole thing out.”

“A year,” came a woman’s reply.

Asia looked at the woman who was seated at our table. “Goodness, that’s a long time.”

The older woman with blue tint to her black hair nodded. “It is. But that’s about the timeframe most weddings take to plan. Did you two not have a traditional wedding?”

“We got married in Vegas.” Asia put her hand on my leg as she told the lie. “We just couldn’t wait. Isn’t that right, honey?”

“Yeah.” I wasn’t in a chatty mood.

The fact was, the lie was beginning to get stuck in my craw, whatever a craw is. It felt like it might be somewhere between my heart and my soul. Asia seemed to be just fine with it, though. She kept on chatting away with the woman she didn’t know and shouldn’t have been wasting her time on, “We met in a night club in Los Angeles.”

“You did?” The woman rested her chin on her entwined fingers. “I met my husband on a cruise to Alaska. He and I met at one of the buffets and ended up sitting together. We just kept meeting up the whole week and then started dating once the cruise was over. I lived in the Midwest and he lived on the east coast. It was a long dating period. Two whole years. Then I moved to be with him and he asked me to marry him after we’d lived together for a year. It took a year to plan our wedding. It was so beautiful. Do you ever regret the fact you missed out on that?”

Asia shook her head. “Not one bit.” She patted my leg. “I love how fast everything happened for us. It was like it was meant to be and there was no stopping the train that was our love as it sped down the tracks.”

I rolled my eyes as someone on stage began to talk. It silenced the chatting that was annoying me. The lie felt like it was getting bigger, growing into a beast that would eventually kill us both.

The first song was played and the bride and groom danced as we all watched. Then the next song came on and others joined them on the dancefloor. My eyes caught Sebastien as he walked up behind Asia. “May I have this dance?”

Asia looked at me for that answer. For reasons I can’t explain, it pissed me off. Why didn’t she just tell him no, on her own? Why was she looking at me as if asking if she could dance with the little shit? And why did I growl, “Go dance with the man, Asia.”

Her brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

Sebastien ran his hand over her shoulder, down her arm and took her hand in his. The hand that had my rings on it. The hand that belonged to me. “He’ll be fine. Madison is on her way to take him to the dancefloor.”

I looked up to find Madison walking toward me and then looked at Asia. “Yeah, just go, Asia.” My jaw was clenched. My body tense.

Asia could make up her own mind about things. Yet, she was acting as if she needed me to tell her not to dance with the little prick. And as hard as I was looking at her to get her to understand that, she wasn’t getting it.

She got up and went with him and I was left, sitting alone. Madison came up to me with a smile curving her thin red lips. “Fancy a twirl on the dancefloor, Jett?”

I got up, grabbed her by the hand and took off to the dancefloor. Moving in right behind Asia and Sebastien, I overheard him as he leaned in close and whispered, “My God, you look gorgeous tonight.”

“Thank you,” came Asia’s reply.

“I’m going to be a bother to your husband tonight. Stealing you away is all I can think about.” His words hit me like a brick.

I don’t recall how it all happened. Pure anger sped through me, took me over and all I knew was that I was looking at Sebastien Greenberg as he was laid out on the dancefloor. His eyes were closed and a red bump on his chin was getting redder by the second.

“Jett!” Madison shouted then doubled over and held her stomach. “What the?” She turned and ran off and I saw Asia grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland as she watched her run.

I reached over Sebastien’s fallen body, took Asia by the hand and left the room. “Should I even ask for an explanation, Jett?”

“No.”

Without saying a word, I took her up to our hotel room, closed the door and leaned back on it. My head was spinning. I wasn’t sure about anything. I’d never been so rash. I’d never done anything like that.

What was happening to me?

Asia

Jett was over the top. I was sure he’d overheard what Sebastien had said to me about stealing me away. But punching the guy out was uncalled for.

As much as I didn’t agree with his actions, I had to admit, I was impressed. And I’d done something just as bad myself. The cake I took to Madison had a nice size bite of what seemed to be a chunk of chocolate, but was really a chunk of fast-acting laxative. And it seemed to hit her at just about the same time, Jett hit her brother.

In our hotel room, I stood and watched Jett as he leaned against the door and looked at the floor. “This isn’t working for me, Asia.”

Everything in me stopped; my heart, my lungs, my life. I didn’t know what to say. I found myself staggering back until my legs hit the bed, then I sat on it and tried hard not to pass out.

It was over. He didn’t want me anymore.

All I could do was shake my head and try not to cry. I had no idea what I’d done wrong. I didn’t know what I could do to make things right. “I’ll leave.”

“What?” He came to me and got on his knees in front of me, taking my hands. “Why?”

My eyes were clouding with tears. “Because of what you said. This isn’t working for you.” A sob came out of me, and I sucked it back in as best I could.

I was his sub. I wasn’t supposed to make him feel guilty for anything he did. He didn’t want me, that was his right.

“I didn’t mean that. I meant the lie.” He took my chin in his hand and rubbed the pad of his thumb across my lips. “You deserve a real love. You deserve so much more than I’m giving you. Making you lie about a marriage feels wrong to me now.”

I didn’t understand at all. “Why would you be okay with lying to your family? But lying to a bunch of strangers bothers you?”

“I can’t explain it. The wedding just brought things to my mind. Things like you deserving to have a real wedding. You deserving to have a truthful relationship. I took that all away from you, Asia.”

“Look, things aren’t that bad, Jett. I signed the contract. I knew what I was doing. And I feel lucky that you got me. I could be strung up in some dungeon right now, being whipped into submission. Instead, I’m in a fancy hotel with a man who cares a hell of a lot about me. Things could be worse.”

He looked at me with storm clouds in his sea green eyes. “Asia, you’re too good to be true. I don’t know how you do it. You can take my foul mood and turn it all around. Maybe it’s hearing you lie that upsets me so much. I don’t like that it’s me who made you do that. I don’t like that it’s me who’s making you into a liar.”

“Do you feel like I’m a liar, Jett?” The thought irritated me.

He nodded. “You’re all into the act of being my wife. It’s as if you’re actually believing the shit that’s coming out of your mouth. The whole front story. The way you touch me. It all seems so true when you tell it or touch me. You’re a little too good at it. Like it was in you the whole time.” He moved his hand off my face and got up, turning his back to me. “Have I turned you into a liar?”

I didn’t know what the hell to say to that. He paid me to be his fake wife and make people believe his whole story. And I was doing as he wanted me to. “It was you who didn’t think things through, Jett. Don’t blame me for going along with you and saying things you told me to say.”

He spun around with a glare. “Asia, the number one thing I told you was to be quiet. Don’t say anything unless I ask you to. And there you went on a trip down a false memory lane with a fucking stranger. That woman didn’t need to know a thing about us. She’s nobody to me.”

“Okay, I admit, I forgot about being quiet. Fuck, Jett!”

Getting up, I kicked off my shoes and went to the mini fridge to see what kind of alcohol was in it. My brain was pulsing with aggravation. If Jett told me to go left, I went left. If he told me to jump, I jumped. But now the problem was not that I was doing as he’d told me to, but that I was doing it for too damn long.

I was sick of it.

“And why in the hell did you look at me for an answer when that dumb-fuck asked you to dance? Are you without a will of your own, Asia?” His hand was on my shoulder, spinning me back around just as I’d reached the fridge.

“You have me confused, Jett. That’s why I looked at you for the answer. You told him in the car that he could dance with me. You told me later not to dance with him. And when he asked me, I thought you’d be the one to tell him no. I didn’t know what to do then you told me to go dance with him and I did.”

“And he told you he wanted to steal you away from me. And you did nothing.” His glare penetrated me, it was so intense.

“You hit him before I could say a word.”

“What would you have said to him?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I didn’t exactly have a chance to think about it. You’d spun him around so quickly, it nearly made me fall. I was concentrating on staying on my feet. And then you punched him, and I was shocked. I don’t know what I would’ve said. But I probably would’ve told him that was inappropriate and probably walked off the dance floor.”

“I’ve never been that mad.” He turned away from me. “Frankly, I don’t like it.”

Turning back to the fridge, I found small bottles of all kinds of things and pulled out a bottle of vodka. I needed something that would take the edge off and quick.

The man was making me nuts.

“Sorry for making you give a shit about me, Jett.”

“Jealousy isn’t comfortable, Asia. And what are you doing?” He held out his hand, wanting me to surrender the tiny bottle I was chugging on, to him. “Are my actions not only turning you into a liar but an alcoholic too? I’m very bad for you.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe he was bad for me.

Sure, my life with him was full of lavish things, and the lifestyle itself was grandiose. But he was right. I was falling into lying quite easily. And turning to alcohol to still my nerves had never been a thing I’d done before knowing him.

Maybe it was all too good to be true.

Maybe we were both trying too damn hard to make a relationship when neither of us was looking for one.

The lie of a marriage seemed to be too much pressure to put on two people who hadn’t even had normal relationships in the past. “We should stop this. Jett. We should go to a normal Dom/sub relationship. Only do the pretend marriage when we have to. We’re living as if we’re married. Sharing the same bed, doing things as a couple, instead of what we really are to one another. You are my owner. For the matter of one more month anyway. This is just too much pressure on us both.”

I handed him the half empty bottle. He put it down and took me in his strong arms, rocking me back and forth then kissed the top of my head. “I’m more than just your owner, baby. You know that. And I think the fake marriage is undo stress. You have no idea how guilty I feel about it now. But I don’t want a normal Dom/sub relationship with you. You’re my girlfriend. Not my wife, not my submissive partner. You’re my very first real girlfriend. And I’m your first boyfriend. The lie is robbing us of what would be a normal thing. And it’s all my fault. I wanted to take what I perceived as the easy way out of situations that I felt would be uncomfortable. For the matter of bypassing that feeling, I made an innocent girl lie and miss out on having a nice, normal relationship. For that I am sorry. But I’m not sorry that I found you and made you mine. I’ll never be sorry about that.”

What he said made sense to me. We’d passed up normal right from the start though. How does one go back to a place they’ve never been before?

Jett

I didn’t know how I was going to change things, but I was slowly growing more determined to make some drastic changes. Swaying with Asia in my arms, my heart grew soft, and I wanted to show her she meant more to me than anyone ever had.

Turning her around, I unhooked the necklace then unzipped her dress. “How about we get into bed?”

It wasn’t but five in the evening, but I was tired. Tired in so many ways. Who knew that making up a false marriage could be so damn tiring?

As I pushed the dress down, exposing her creamy shoulder, I ran my lips over it. “I love you, Asia.” My heart was swelling with that love.

I hated the intense reactions I had over her, but I fucking loved that woman. I’d kill for her, or at least wound a man, it seemed. Caring for someone that way, was new to me. And not comfortable in the least.

Her hands caught up in my hair as she whispered, “I love you, Jett.” She moved her hands under my jacket, taking it off me. It fell to the floor, joining her dress.

Moving my hands over her shoulders to her back, her skin felt like silk. Her body felt good in my arms. I lifted her up and took her to the bed, laying her on it and looking at her. I didn’t deserve her, but I wasn’t going to let her go.

Trailing one finger down her stomach, I slid my fingers into the top of her blue satin panties and pulled them off her. Her bra was all that was left, and I took it away too. Her body was naked and gorgeous. My cock was rising in need to feel her. I finished undressing myself then laid on my side next to her, leaning up on my hand and stroking her stomach.

The wedding ring on my finger glistened, and I thought about what I should do about the thing. I took it off then took the rings off her finger too. We’d be what we really were. Not the fake married couple I felt like was ruining what we really had found.

The smile she gave me told me she got what I was doing. She ran her hands up and down my chest. “Hi, I’m Asia and single.”

“Hi, I’m Jett, and looking.”

“Are you?” She ran her hands up, taking my face between them. “What is it you’re looking for?”

“A women with a gorgeous body, stunning face, beautiful heart, and it wouldn’t hurt if she were a real tiger in bed. Do you happen to know anyone like that?”

Her cheeks went pink as she batted at my chest. “You sweet talker.”

“I only speak the truth, my little Asia.” I leaned over, taking her plump, rosebud lips with mine, leaving them with a nibble then looking down at her once more.

I really could look at her forever, it seemed. Her eyes were closed, then she opened them. “You know, now that I think about it, I’m looking too. You don’t happen to know where I could find a strong, handsome, sweet, caring, virile man who knows his way around a woman’s body, do you?”

“I might.” I caressed her breast as I gazed into her brown eyes. “If I find one, what should I tell him you want with him?”

“You can tell him that I’m looking for a man I can have fun with, talk to like we’re old friends, do silly things with, and find a love to end all loves with.” She put her hand over mine and pulled it down to her sweet spot. “And learn new and exciting ways to please each other, sexually.”

“Oh, baby. I know a guy who’d be so right for you. Now, he’s a bit on the brooding selfish side, I hope you can take him with all his flaws and faults. He can be foolish, stubborn, pig-headed-“

She stopped me with a kiss as she pulled her head up off the pillow. “And wonderful too. Mostly, he’s wonderful.”

“You think?” I grinned at her as I moved my hand in a way that would please her. Her clit pulsed under my fingertip.

She nodded. “I do.”

Asia was something else. A woman who could take my heart and run away with it. And I was beginning to let her do just that. Giving into her was easy. The hard part was learning where to draw the lines we both needed.

As I kissed her, I moved my body over hers and pressed my cock into her warm recesses. She pulled her legs up, bending her knees. Her hands roamed over my back as we both moaned. There was nowhere better to be than inside of her.

My lips left hers to nuzzle her neck and kiss the soft place behind her ear. Our bodies moved in slow waves, taking us out of our heads to a place we were fast becoming familiar with. A place only she and I could go.

Heat radiated off her and I as we began to move faster, the urgency to get to the release taking us over. The beast inside me grew. The soft kissing wasn’t enough anymore. I bit her between the shoulder and neck as I took her hands and held them down over her head.

She moaned and arched up to me as I pulled back to watch her give me what I wanted. “I want you to give it to me, Asia. Give it all to me.”

Her body was quivering as she looked at me. “Together, Jett. Let’s do this together. I’ll hold back until you’re ready.”

And I knew then exactly what she meant. She’d hold back until I was emotionally ready to be more than what we were then. She’d wait, patiently for me to grow the way I needed to. How long would that take, I didn’t know, but I had the sense that she’d wait for however long it took me to become the man she deserved.

Thrusting into her soft body, I was acutely aware of how fragile she was and how powerful I was. I had the power to break her, but she had the same power I did.

She could so easily break me.

It would be so easy, it scared me.

But as I looked into her eyes. Eyes that held strength I’m sure she had no idea she possessed. I saw the love she had for me. She wouldn’t break me. If she did, she’d hurt herself too.

I was safe with her. There was no need for fear. With her, I’d always be safe. And she’d be safe with me. I was about to make sure of that.

My inner demons that sought to put doubt in my mind grew silent as I plunged into her, taking her strength and giving her mine. We needed to share our strengths. I wasn’t her master, her owner. She and I were equals, with different attributes. Just like a great business, two minds were better than one.

There I was, thrusting away, trying my hardest to get to where she was. I wanted to be there with her. I wanted that peace of mind. That serenity of soul, she’d gotten to before me.

And just as that thought went through my head, she did something inside of her that gripped my cock and took me over the edge. She came too, and we both made loud war cries as our bodies converged into something that almost seemed unreal.

I fell on top of her, barely able to breathe. We both shook as the orgasms quaked within us. I could feel hers, and she could feel mine. I’d never shared sex so deeply before. Not ever.

It felt as if our souls connected then. The fakeness that had brought us together was gone. She wasn’t a woman I had a contract with. She wasn’t my sub or fake wife. But she was mine, and I was hers.

In that moment, in that time, we were just us. A couple of people who were finding out that we had a lot within us that connected. I found a new part of me, and I thought she might’ve found something new in her too.

Once I’d caught my breath, I pulled my head up, my hair damp as it clung to my face. “Hi, I’m Jett Simmons. It’s nice to make your acquaintance.”

“Hi there, Jett Simmons. I’m Asia Jones. I think we should date. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a great idea. I’d love nothing more than to call you my girlfriend.”

“K.” She laughed, lightly. “Boyfriend.”

Kissing her again, our deal was sealed. We were normal. A nice normal couple. Not a couple of liars. Not a couple of people in an odd contract. Just a couple. A nice normal couple.

Asia

We spooned as we slept the rest of the evening away at the hotel. All the way through until the next morning, we slept. When I opened my eyes, I saw the three rings that were on the nightstand next to me.

The weight of the heavy rings was off me. And I very much liked it.

Part of me wondered if that was wrong of me. I loved Jett after all. Wearing his ring, even if under false pretenses, should feel great, right?

But the way it felt with them off was obvious. It couldn’t be ignored. The feeling was great. I felt light, airy, and normal.

Jett’s arm was flung over me, and so was one leg. It was the usual way I’d woken up since the first night we were together. Nothing was different, yet it felt different.

His body jerked then he rolled over and stretched as he yawned loudly. “Damn, we slept all night long.”

“We must’ve been very tired.” I turned over to lay on my other side so I could see him.

“I think you’re right.” He rolled over to face me and kissed the tip of my nose. “Hey, girlfriend.”

“Hey, boyfriend.” I laughed and threw my arm over him then kissed his cheek.

“Aren’t we just too cute?” he asked then rolled over and got out of bed. “Let’s get showered, dressed then I’m calling the car to come take us home. I don’t want to see anyone who’ll fuck up our day.”

“I’m with you. You shower then I will.”

He stopped walking away and turned to look at me. “Why?”

“Well, I don’t think newly dating couples shower together.” I winked at him.

“Get your ass up and come get in the shower with me. We’re not going back to step one. We’re just not acting married.”

I laughed as I got up and followed him to the bathroom. It had been almost two months that we’d been acting married. We had no bathroom rules, we did as married people did. We put privacy away and had immersed ourselves in that lifestyle.

It had been hard for me in the beginning, but I started liking it. Being with Jett was easy. He made it that way.

We brushed our teeth in the double sinks, took turns peeing, then got into the small shower. It was a normal sized shower, not like the one in our house.

As I thought about that, it made a bit of the weight I’d been carrying show itself. He and I did share a home. We were closer to being married than not being married. Even if it had all begun with a lie.

His hands ran through my hair as he shampooed it while I ran my soapy hands all over his upper body. We’d really gotten into a routine. I washed his back, he washed mine. We didn’t even have to talk, we just did like we always had.

“How did this happen, Jett?” I asked as if he could read my mind.

But somehow he had. “I’m not sure. The faking turned real at some time that neither of us seemed to notice.”

I began to wash his hair as he put conditioner in his palm then smoothed it through my hair. “We’re just not normal.” That was all I could think.

He nodded but didn’t say a thing. I thought about what had led up to it all. The times flew through my mind. The timid moments in the beginning that rapidly changed into what was our norm.

Would we ever really get to be something we never got a chance to be?

Some people say you have to crawl before you walk, walk before you run, and run before you fly. We’d skipped all the steps. What happens to people who go right to the end?

What would happen to us?

Would be burn out like a flame that burned too bright?

I’d heard of that happening. One could see how an intensity like we had could get hard to take. And then you had the fact that only two months into a relationship we were acting like an old married couple.

Did I want things to be that way? And if I didn’t, was there a way to change anything?

I didn’t know. All I did know was I loved Jett. And he loved me.

After our shower, we dried off and went to get dressed. I pulled a sundress out of the closet as Jett pulled shorts and a t-shirt out of the top drawer. We dressed without saying a word. It was pretty obvious that both of us were thinking about what we could possibly do to fix things. Not that anything felt that wrong, but we both knew things needed to slow way the fuck down.

Just as I finished getting dressed my cell rang. I picked it up off the dresser and saw my sister’s name on the screen. “It’s Spring.” I swiped my finger to answer her call.

Before I could even say hello, she was gushing, “He’s here, Asia. We have a boy.”

I gasped and sat on the chair closest to me. “A boy!”

“We named him Ray. I know that sounds like a lame name, but there was a single ray of sunshine streaming through the window at the hospital when he came out, and the doctor picked him up. The light hit my baby, and it looked like he was a tiny glowing angel. And his name popped out of my mouth, Ray. My little ray of sunshine.”

“How sweet,” I cooed. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

“He can’t wait to meet you, Auntie Asia. When can you come? We get out of the hospital later on today. So anytime is cool with us.”

I looked at Jett who was trying to look as if he was busy, instead of trying to hear what we were talking about. “I’ll check my schedule. It’s kind of hectic right now.”

Jett looked up at me and shook his head as he frowned and whispered, “You tell her you can go as soon as tomorrow. I’ll get you there.”

“I hope you can make some time for us, Asia,” my sister snapped.

I’d hurt her feelings, although unintentional. “Oh, Spring. I’m kidding. I’ll leave tomorrow.”

Jett shook his head. “You’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Oh, I meant to say, I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“How’re are you getting here so quickly?” Spring asked.

“How am I getting there so quickly?” I asked Jett.

“I’ll charter you a private jet.” He blew a kiss at me.

I thought about leaving him all alone and decided to throw it out there. “Um, Spring, I’m dating someone. Would it be okay if I asked him to join me when I come see you guys?”

“You’re dating someone? Is it serious? Is he cute? Did you do it? You know, sex? Has my baby sister finally popped that cherry of hers?”

“God! Spring, really! So, is it okay or what?”

“You better ask him to come too. I have to meet the man who made my little sister a woman.”

“For the love of Pete! I’ll ask him, and I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. How about I bring you dinner. Ribs are still your fav, right?”

“Oh, yes! And potato salad and pinto beans. That would be awesome. Call me when you leave. I love you and so does little Ray. Bye.”

Putting down the phone, I eyed Jett who’d overheard it all. “So, will you come with me?”

He came to me, placing his hands on my shoulders as he looked into my eyes. “Asia, do you really want me to come with you? Meet your family? That’s a big step you know.”

“Uh, are you being serious right now? I mean, I went to your family’s vacation. That’s a big step.” I shook my head as I couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“But that was all fake. This is real. Are you sure you want it to get that real? All I’ve offered you so far is a bunch of phony shit. What you’re offering me is as real as it gets.”

The smile that lifted my lips to the right felt natural as did my decision. “I want you with me. I like real.”

“God, girl. Are we really doing this?”

“If you’re game, so am I.”

He kissed me with soft lips that spun my world on its axis. “As your boyfriend, I’d be proud to go with you.”

So it was set. I was taking Jett to meet the family. I knew they’d all be there, eager to meet the newest addition to the growing brood. And when Spring let them in on my new boyfriend, they’d all be eager to meet him too. I wondered if Jett was ready for all that.

Ready or not, he’d signed up for it, and it was all about to come his way.

Jett

I had put the wedding rings in the safe at the house before we left the next day to go to South Dakota to see Asia’s sister’s family. Without them on, as if my magic, things felt different.

The lie took a backseat. So far back, I forgot about it all. Asia and I were feeling more free without that burden. And we were heading to a place where things would be honest.

Well, not entirely honest. They couldn’t know I’d bought her and that she was in a Dom/sub contract. And they knew Asia hadn’t gone to Los Angeles on vacation. So we were prepared to tell a version of the truth. We met online. A dating site. Then I flew her to Portland where we met up and then flew back to spend the summer at a home I’d purchased not long after she and I started talking.

We’d play the rest of it by ear. But for now, we were living together as boyfriend and girlfriend, exclusive and slowly advancing toward the future. A future we had no preconceived notions about.

I felt pretty good about it. There were some lies, but mostly truths. I suppose we could’ve told them the entire truth, but Asia said they’d never understand. And she wasn’t going to let them know she’d lost her scholarship either.

It became evident that some truths would go untold, but that’s life.

Asia held my hand tightly as the plane landed. “Jett, this is so exciting. I’ve never taken anyone to meet the family. I’m excited and kind of scared too. “

“I am too. I’ve never been brought to meet the family. This is new for me as well.”

Once we got off the jet, I rented a car then we headed to her sister’s home, and that’s when the nerves kicked in. We were on the doorstep of a modest home in a suburban neighborhood in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There was one car, an older model sedan, parked in the drive that was cracked with age.

Asia knocked on the door as I wondered how hard things were for them, financially. The home and car showed me they weren’t living on high wages. It stoked that fire that had all but went out in me. The one that told me women only wanted me for my money.

Would Asia ask me to help her sister, brother-in-law, and new nephew out with some money? And if she did, would it change how I felt about her?

The sound of the door opening took me out of my thoughts. A tall man with a big build answered the door. “Asia, my goodness girl!” He pushed the squeaking screen door open and backed up so we could come inside. “And this is your man, huh?” he extended his hand to me. “I’m Max Johnson, welcome to my humble home.”

“I’m Jett Simmons. Thank you for allowing me to come to your humble home.” I liked the man’s handshake. It was firm, short, and friendly.

“Send them back here, baby,” came the yell of a woman.

Max hitched a thumb over his left shoulder. “And that’s the queen of this castle. Coming, Spring. You guys follow me. The baby’s asleep, but he doesn’t mind being held while he sleeps.”

“Asia tells me this is your first child. How’s it going?” I asked as we went through a small dark hallway. There were only three doors coming off it. The house was tiny.

“I have to admit that it hasn’t hit me yet. I guess he’s too quiet. It doesn’t seem real. I’m a dad. At thirty years old, I’m finally a dad.” He shook his head and smiled. “Spring and I have been together for five years. This was a long time coming. We just couldn’t get the money going right for us. We wanted to wait until we were making good money. We hit some rough times. I worked as a coach at the high school, and she worked at a store as a clerk. This was a busy town when we moved here three years ago. Then it suddenly stopped being so busy, and our jobs vanished. She couldn’t find anything, and all I could find was a janitorial job at the jailhouse. But the baby thing wasn’t going to wait. The stork came in unannounced.”

Another tragic tale of misfortune. I’d heard tons of them. But this man had no idea if I had money or not. Asia hadn’t said a word about it. It hit me that people often spoke of their money troubles. It wasn’t always directly aimed at getting me to give them anything.

We walked into a small bedroom where her sister, who looked a lot like her, was sitting up, holding a tiny bundle of white. “Hi, guys.” Her doe-like eyes, similar to Asia’s only Asia’s were more beautiful to me, went to me. “And you’re Asia’s, man. I’m Spring. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Jett Simmons.” I gave her a nod. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Asia was quick to take the baby out of her sister’s arms as she delivered a kiss to her cheek. “Oh, give him to me.” She stepped back next to me. “Oh, my goodness. He’s so cute.”

Looking down at the baby had my heart speeding up for reasons I couldn’t comprehend. Seeing Asia, holding that baby, made her glow in my eyes. “He’s a remarkable little guy.”

Asia looked at me. “Here, you hold him.”

“Me?” I shook my head. “Oh-“

She was quick to get that baby in my arms. Expertly, she maneuvered my arms until I was holding him. “He’s so light, isn’t he?” Asia asked me.

“He is light. Almost as if I’m not holding anything at all.” The baby snuggled against my chest, and the aroma that drifted up to me was like pure Heaven. Baby powder mixed with his brand new smell. “Hi, Ray. It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“Mom and Dad are on their way up. They’ll be here in the morning. You two can have the guest bedroom until they get here, then you can take the sofas in the living room.” Spring smoothed out the blanket and straightened her nightgown.

Asia’s expression was one of reluctance. “Well, we’re not staying here, Spring. We’ve already gotten a room.”

“Oh.” Spring looked at me. “I didn’t realize that. I mean, that’s cool. Usually, my little sister has no money. I’m used to letting her stay with me.”

“It’s very nice of you to offer. I could get your parents a room there too if you’d like.” I nudged Asia. “Mind taking him, baby?”

She took him out of my arms and smiled as she did. “Mom and Dad won’t stay anywhere but here, Jett. They’re weird about things like that.” She cooed at the baby and rubbed noses with him. “He’s just so little and precious. I haven’t even left yet, and I already miss him.”

“You can come as often as you like, Asia,” I told her, earning curious expressions from her sister and brother-in-law. “I can make sure she has the means to come see you all. That’s what I mean.”

“How nice of you,” Max said. “Asia, can you take the baby into the living room while I help your sister get into the shower?”

“Sure thing.” Asia walked out the door, and I followed her. “Oh, and the food will be delivered in about thirty minutes. I called it in just before we got here.”

“Who did you get to deliver?” Spring asked.

“Don’t worry about that. Just take a shower, and when you get all done, dinner should be ready to eat.” Asia gave her a smile then I closed the door behind us to give them some privacy.

The hotel we checked into had an excellent concierge, even though it wasn’t a thing I considered to be a real hotel. The Marriott was one of the most country bumpkin looking hotels I’d ever stayed in. The restaurant was four and a half stars, not bad for South Dakota. They were nice enough, when given a hefty tip, to have the meal of ribs and all the trimmings delivered to us.

Asia sat on the sofa, and I sat next to her. We both looked at the baby, and she sighed. “I love babies. I was there when Bow had her first and third babies. The second was born in the middle of a stormy night. I didn’t make it for that one.”

“No wonder you look at home with that little guy in your arms. You’re an old pro at this aunt stuff.” I kissed her cheek. “That looks good on you, by the way.”

She blushed, and it sent shots of pure love through me. Asia and that baby were doing something to me. Making me think thoughts I wasn’t trying to have. Thoughts about making babies were making me hot.

We’d do dinner with her family then I was going to get my little Asia to the hotel where we could practice making babies all night long.

What the hell had gotten into me? Since when did the idea of babies make me horny?

The shit having Asia in my life had changed was unending. What was next, getting turned on by watching her iron clothes?

Asia

Jett was crazy by the time we got into our hotel room. He kissed me over and over again as we went up the flight of stairs to our room. Once we were inside, he was ripping my clothes off.

I had no idea what had gotten into him. But I had to admit, I liked it.

“Baby, oh baby, you taste so good. I’m going to eat you up.” He chewed on my neck, making my insides melt.

“Jett, what in the world has you so hot?”

He pushed me down on the bed and undressed. He’d already rid me of all my clothing. “You have me hot, baby. I want you. I want you all night long.”

His expression was odd. Lusty with a side of love. It was different. I thought maybe the way we’d left the lies behind us had something to do with it. That was until he climbed on top of me and took my hands in his, moving them until they were pinned next to my head. “Jett, why are you just looking at me?”

His eyes roamed all over my face. “You have great bone structure.” He moved his hands down to my hips. “You have great round hips too.”

“Thank you?” I wasn’t sure what he was getting at.

“You’re sweet, loving, caring, and fucking adorable when holding a baby in your arms.”

Oh shit!

“Jett, what the…” His mouth crashed down on mine as he kissed me like I was his oxygen tank.

He wouldn’t let up. He kept kissing me until we both were out of breath. Then he eyed me. “I want to fuck you so hard, and so long you walk wrong for a week.”

My head was swimming from the kiss. “K.”

“I want you to come so many times, it defies imagination.”

“Oh, God!”

“Yeah, baby. Oh, God.” He kissed me again and picked me up as he did. He moved around until he was sitting up and then he sat me down on his erection, facing him.

Lifting me up and down, he made my body stroke him. The kiss had to end as I was moving too much. My tits were bouncing everywhere, and he buried his face in them, kissing, sucking, biting. Generally, he was stimulating everything he could, and I was screaming with the pleasure it was giving me.

“I’m about to cum,” I told him as the urge hit me.

He flipped me onto my back and thrust back into me. “Do it. I’m coming with you.”

Jett’s tongue ran up my neck, and he nibbled it as he made forceful thrusts. In no time I was arching up as the wave took me over and he came with me. His groan was deep as he jerked inside me.

He laid still on top of me for a long time. Then he began to move again, his cock going hard inside me. “Oh, you really did mean it when you said you were going to make me walk wrong for a week. I thought that was just some foreplay talk.”

“Um hmm.” He kept going until he was fully erect again then he flipped me over and took me from behind. He pushed my head and shoulders to the bed then held onto my hips as he went at it.

I was moaning with the arousal. Groaning with the pleasure. Then I was screaming with another orgasm, and he was coming right along for the ride. Filling me once again with his hot juices. He stayed still again as I panted.

After about five minutes, he pulled out and got off the bed. I fell to it in an exhausted state. “Want some water, Asia?”

“Huh?” My eyes had closed, and I struggled to turn over. “Yeah, I’m thirsty.” I managed to sit up, and he came to give me a bottle of water then sat on the bed next to me.

“When would you like to have a baby?”

I nearly choked on the drink. He took it out of my hand as he waited for me to stop coughing, waiting patiently for my answer. “I have no idea, Jett. I’ve never thought about that.”

“Me neither. Not until while ago.” He ran his hand over my stomach. “You’d looking so fucking good with my baby in that belly.”

“Jett, we just started dating.”

He shook his head. “Don’t act like we aren’t years ahead of that game, Asia. We have a home together. I take care of you. We could have it all, you and me.”

“We can. And one day, maybe we will. But not so soon.”

He took a chug of the water, finishing it off then went to throw the empty bottle away. “You told Mom that we might start having kids soon.”

“Yeah, when we were lying about being married, Jett.”

He tossed the bottle in the trash then headed back to me. “I know.” He laid down next to me and sighed. “I thought I knew how to slow down with you. I guess I don’t.”

“Learn.” I closed my eyes and tried not to think the man was crazy, but it was hard.

“You know, I know this guy from the club, and he paid a sub to have his baby. They didn’t know each other at all. They had a baby, and only a few months after he was born they got married. They’re like happy as shit now.”

“Great,” I mumbled as sleep was taking me over. “I’m happy for them. Night, Jett. No baby-talk right not. Love you.”

The things billionaires would pay for was staggering. The list just kept growing. Men who’d pay a complete stranger to have their baby? What else would they pay for?

Jett’s lips touched my cheek. “Okay, I get it. I do. You need it all. You need a real commitment from me first.”

I rolled over to face him and managed to open my eyes. “I don’t want a commitment just so you can have a baby. When and if we get to that stage, I want you to ask me to marry you because you can’t stand to live without me.”

“I see.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Well, I’m probably that way now.”

“Probably. See, you don’t know yet, and I don’t either. Time, Jett. We need some time.”

He turned over and closed his eyes. “Fucking time! The root of all evil. Good night. I’ll leave you alone about it.”

I knew I was right about not having a baby. I knew what I was saying was sane, rational, even very smart. But seeing Jett disappointed was hard to take.

There he was, supposed to be relaxed and falling asleep. Instead, his body was rigid, his arms crossed over his chest, his lips forming a hard line. He was anything but relaxed.

Lying next to him, I could feel the tension radiating off him. I hated it.

Easing up to him, I pulled one of his arms around me and laid my head on his broad chest. “I love you.”

“I love you.” He took in a breath, sniffing my hair. “Get some sleep. We have a long ass day tomorrow it seems. I get to meet the parents. That should be weird.”

“Yes, it should. Night.”

He was quiet for a minute. But his body wasn’t relaxed. I wasn’t sure why that was until he whispered, “If you’re still awake just nod if you’ll think about talking about having a baby in the not too distant future.”

What was I supposed to do?

I could act as if I was asleep. He wasn’t sure if I was or not. I could nod, but would that be fair to myself?

My plans didn’t include babies. Not in the near future, anyway. I knew I wanted kids someday. Not that day, or even year. I had another year of school to get through. And now I had to incorporate Jett into that too. Adding a pregnancy and then a baby to that workload would be stupid and really hard.

But I nodded. I nodded because making Jett happy was what I had done since the get-go. I was his purchase, that was what I was supposed to do. Just because we said some words that were supposed to make that fact go away, it hadn’t been erased from my brain.

Do as Jett wants, keep him happy. That’s your job.

But that wasn’t supposed to really be my job any longer. We were dating. A couple, not a Dom and his sub. Yet, there it was, me nodding to make him happy.

And when he sighed and held me tighter, it made me feel great. I’d made him happy.

Good girl.

But I didn’t feel like it was mentally healthy for me to strive to be a good girl. Not if it meant putting my dreams and aspirations to the side to make him or anyone else happy.

I had to do what was right for me. And that was to get through with school and get going on my career before I committed to anything else. A marriage or a baby.

Jett Simmons had some hard facts that would come his way soon. My agenda was important. I had things to do. He was a summer project, meant to fix my financial situation.

It was bad enough I’d fallen in love with the man I was never supposed to. But I wasn’t throwing my life away by handing myself over to the man.

Here you go, Jett. Here’s my body. Do with it as you want. Put a ring on it. Put a baby in it. Anything you want.

He nuzzled me and whispered, “I wish there was a way to show you how much I love you. I wish there was a way for me to fast-forward time to the place that would be perfect for all I want with you. But there’s not. So, all I can do is tell you the words and hope you believe them. We’ve both told lies, but never to each other. I’m never going to let you go. Not unless you make me.”

I tried not to let that sink into my head and affect me. I failed and kissed his chest. “I’ll never make you let me go, Jett. I love you. And I know time is a hard thing to take. Especially when you’ve lived like you’re married. But I don’t want to go out in a blaze of glory. We burn too hot. I don’t want to burn too fast as well.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I know. You’re right. I’m spoiled rotten.”

Maybe he was spoiled. Maybe he was just too used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. Money could do that to a person.

“Don’t talk like that about yourself. You’re not spoiled.”

“I am, Asia. And I’m bratty, obsessive, compulsive, controlling.”

I hated when he did that. He was so hard on himself. “Sweet, caring, handsome, fun, wonderful, generous.”

“I’m not so generous. Where you’re concerned, I am. I’ve never been that way with anyone else. With you, I’m a better man. I don’t know how you found that guy inside of me. I never knew he was in there. I’ve been self-absorbed, self-serving, and just plain selfish. And I’m sorry for trying to force things to move faster. I’ll try harder not to do that. That’s the selfish man inside of me doing that.”

Looking up at him, I found myself sad. “I don’t care what you say, I know you’re a good man. We’re supposed to be going to sleep you know. This isn’t the time for reflection.”

“Yes, Mom.” He kissed me sweetly on my lips. “I’ll go to sleep now. And even though I know I shouldn’t say this, I will anyway. You’re going to make a great mom. Whenever you decide the time is right for that.”

With a little smile, I laid my head back on his chest. At first, I felt great. I thought we’d made some good strides. Then I felt kind of shitty. Kind of selfish.

I wasn’t thinking like a couple. I was thinking like a single person, the way I always had. His wants, needs, opinions mattered just as much as mine did.

Being a couple was hard to learn how to do. I thought I’d talk to my sisters about it. They’d been married for years. Surely, they’d have some great insight on the subject.

But I couldn’t tell them Jett wanted us to have a baby. Not so soon. They’d freak the fuck out.

I was caught in a rough spot. I needed people to talk to but couldn’t reveal what Jett and I had really done. The things that made us so close so damn fast.

I’d been dead tired and about to fall asleep. Now I was wide awake and thinking I had no one to talk to about any of this.

How’d I gotten myself into a situation that would be so hard to fucking explain without getting some horrible looks and harsh words? And if I said a thing to my family I could add in mandatory therapy.

I’d really screwed myself!

Jett

The drive to Spring and Max’s house was hard for me the next day. Asia’s parents had arrived, I was about to meet them. The thought of looking her father and mother in the eye, knowing I’d bought their daughter, was eating away at me.

“Okay, so we met online, a dating site.” I hit the button to roll the window down. “I need some fresh air.”

“Why are you acting so nervous, Jett?” Asia tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked at me like I was crazy. “It’s just my parents. They’re nice people.”

“Oh, I’m sure they are. And I’m not nice people. I’m a man who purchased their daughter from a fucking BDSM club.” I wiped sweat off my brow.

“They will never know all that. Stop worrying.” She reached into her purse and pulled out some tissues then wiped my forehead. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

Glancing sideways at her, I felt a knot forming in my stomach. “The guilt is getting to me. I can’t seem to stop it.”

I didn’t want to go to that house. I wanted to keep on driving until we got back home. Home, the place where Asia and I could be all alone and not face anyone we didn’t want to. A place we could hide away from it all. A place I felt safe with her.

Why did we meet on circumstances that no one could ever know about? Why did I go looking for a fake wife? Why did I take on a sub? Why was I so damn evil?

“Jett, don’t let guilt get to you. You’ve been so nice. You’re like the least dominating Dom I’ve ever heard of.”

“That’s actually very hurtful to hear. I was a good Dom. I was stern, strict as hell, and I never got emotionally involved with any of my subs or the women at the club I had sessions with.”

“I guess you’ve moved past all that. I suppose you no longer need that since you’ve found love.” She looked out the window and noticed the fact that I was driving right past her sister’s house. “Jett, stop! That’s it right there.”

I put my foot on the brake, slowing to a stop. “Oh.” Backing up, I parked next to the curb, hesitating before getting out of the car. My hands gripped the steering wheel.

Asia reached over, laying her hand on top of mine. “It’s going to be okay, Jett. I promise you, it will.”

The sound of her voice was convincing. The touch of her hand soothed me. The guilt retreated a bit. “I can do this, right? I can look your parents in the eyes. I haven’t ever hurt you. I’ve never made you feel controlled or dominated. I’ve been good to you.”

She nodded. “Yes, you have been very good to me. You can face them. You’ve never hurt me, Jett. You’ve only done nice things for me.”

Guilt bubbled. “I made you lie.”

“I don’t think that’s so bad. You had your reasons for it. And they don’t have to know about all that mess. Here, with my family, you and I are the real versions of ourselves. You can feel free and easy with them. No pretending. Come on. It’ll be fine.”

Nodding, I had to agree with her. We were mostly on the up and up. “Thanks. You’re helpful, baby. Come on then, let’s go inside.”

Once we stepped out of the car, the front door was flung open, and her mother rushed out to greet us. “There’s my baby girl!”

Asia was caught up in her mother’s arms as I waited for their hug to end. Then I was caught up in her mother’s arms. “Hello,” I said as surprise took me over.

“Hello, indeed!” Her mother let me go and held me at arm’s length to look me over. “My goodness, Asia, you caught yourself a winner!”

Asia laughed and stole me away from her mother. “Yes, I have. How’s our new baby doing today, Mom?”

“Great. He’s sleeping.” Her mother followed us inside and closed the door behind us.

A large man with tree trunk arms sat on the sofa. He started to get up, but I quickly stopped him. “Hello, you must be Mr. Jones. I’m Jett Simmons, sir. It’s an honor to meet you and your lovely wife.” I shook his hand and tried not to give off a nervous vibe.

“Jett, nice to meet you.” He nodded at his daughter. “Asia, you look well.”

She smiled and hugged her father. “Daddy, you do too.”

“Asia, can you come here?” her sister called out from her bedroom.

“Coming.” She kissed my cheek and hurried away, leaving me all alone with her parents. People who were looking me all over.

“You must work out,” her mother said.

I took a seat on the chair in the corner. “I do. Every single morning.”

“Did someone teach you how to do that?” her father asked.

“I have a trainer I work with back in Los Angeles. I follow his program.” I crossed my legs and put my hands on my knee, not sure what to talk about.

“Max was a coach,” her mother said then looked at the hallway.

“Yes, he mentioned that yesterday.” I also looked toward the hall, hoping anyone would come out of it and end the awkward conversation I was barely having.

Her father moved around a bit, trying to get comfortable on the old sofa. “I wonder if he could be a trainer.”

“I don’t see why not. If he knows his way around the human body and all of its muscles, he’s a great candidate for the job.” I thought I heard the bedroom door open and keened my head, praying someone was joining us.

Her mother whispered, “You should tell Max about that, Jett. He needs some guidance in the job department. I bet he’d listen to you.”

“Sure, I’ll say something about that.”

Then the door did open, and Asia came out, carrying the baby and making my heart do flips. “He’s awake, Jett. You’ll get to see his eyes.” She came right to me, and I stood up to look at the cute baby.

“Hi there, Ray. It’s nice to see you again.” I ran my finger over his tiny chin as he looked at me with almond shaped, doe-like eyes. “He’s got the Jones’ eyes, I see.”

“He sure does,” her mother agreed.

“He’s a handsome kid,” her father added.

I caught Asia’s eyes as she looked up from her nephew. “He’s the first. All of Bow’s kids look like their father.”

Nuzzling her, I whispered, “I wonder who our kids will look like.”

A blush covered her cheeks, making my heart pound.

Take it slow, Jett!

Asia

“We can go pick up things to bar-b-que, Max. Do you think you could start a fire in the pit in the backyard?” I asked my brother-in-law. Dinner time was approaching, and there was a houseful of people to feed.

“I can do that. Let me grab you guys some cash to buy the food.”

Before he could take two steps, Jett stopped him. “I got it, man. It’s not a problem. How about some brews to go along with that?”

“That’s nice of you. I’d love to toss back a few with you. Hurry back, and I’ll teach you how to make a mean chicken leg.” Max gave Jett a high-five, and it made me smile.

Jett was getting along well with my family. And when he mentioned something about becoming a personal trainer to Max, I was kind of surprised at how excited Max got about the idea.

When we got to the grocery store, Jett pushed the basket while I grabbed things off the shelf. “I like being all domestic with you, Asia. In fact, I like everything we do together. And I like your family too.”

“They sure do like you too, Jett.” I wasn’t lying. My parents thought he was great. So did my sister and Max. Even the baby felt comfortable in his capable arms.

He moved up beside me, bumping my shoulder with his. “It feels natural. Don’t you think?”

I smiled at him and ran my hand over his cheek. “I do.”

“I do.” He looked at me with soft eyes. “I could say that over and over to you, my little Asia.”

I knew what he was getting at. Marriage. A real one.

But I wasn’t going to get into that today. I wanted to have a great time with my family. The next day we’d be heading back home to get ready for his high school reunion that would be in Jersey.

Back to one night of lying. I wasn’t looking forward to it. Then there’d be a wedding that we’d have to lie at too.

In the back of my mind swirled the fact that if we stayed together, we’d have to eventually come out with the truth. But I didn’t want to talk about it yet. I wanted things to settle for us first.

Things were so damn complicated. Maybe too complicated to all work out without things getting very messy. I wasn’t sure how we’d pull things off or how people would perceive us if the truth came out.

I thought maybe a fake divorce followed by us getting back together might work for his family. But we’d always have problems with getting our families together. A thing both sets of parents were keen on.

That was the first thing my mother said to me was that she wanted to meet his parents. And his parents were set on meeting mine. I didn’t know how we were going to handle all that.

Things would have to get messy or worse.

As much as I wanted things to work out, I knew there was a huge chance they wouldn’t. It certainly would be easier to walk away after the last function and call it quits. The lie was too big to overcome.

My heart, the naïve thing it was, told me anything could be overcome. The truth will set you free.

That may be so, but that freedom would come at a great cost. No one would look at Jett or me the same way again.

As we stood in the checkout line, Jett ran his arms around me, kissing the side of my head. “I think I might like to do something nice for your sister and her little family, Asia. Do you think giving them a house would be too much?”

I choked on the laugh the came out of me. “Jett, that’s too much!”

He nodded. “Yeah, I was afraid you’d say that. But I feel like I could do something to help them get out of the hole they’re in. I’m not the kind of person that generally thinks about things like that.”

“My family doesn’t need you to come in and start throwing money around.” I was incensed. “Being poor isn’t as bad as it seems to be.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He let me go and started to unload the basket onto the conveyor belt. “I’ll just leave things alone. I’m sorry.”

I was fuming mad and not sure why that was exactly. Jett had money, my family didn’t. He was being nice. So why was I so mad? And who was I to tell him he couldn’t do something he wanted to?

But I didn’t utter one word. I held my tongue. It was far too complicated to talk about or understand. At the simplest form, I didn’t want Jett too intertwined with my family. I didn’t know what would happen with us after all.

Buying one sister, a house, meant he’d soon buy one for my other sister. Mom and Dad would get one too, and that would leave me beholden to the man forever.

No, it was best that I let that lie right where it had fallen. He didn’t need to buy any member of my family anything. That was that.

As we loaded the groceries into the car, I noticed how quiet Jett had become. It made me feel bad. “Hey, you know I love you, right?”

He nodded and closed the trunk. “Yeah. You know I didn’t mean to overstep any line you had drawn, right?”

With a light laugh, I got into the car, and he did too. “It was a line I didn’t know I had. But it’s there. It is most definitely there.”

“Okay.” He started the car. “No big gifts for your family. Got it.”

I nodded as he pulled away from the parking lot and headed back. Maybe I was wrong, but the decision felt right. Getting Jett too involved with my family wasn’t the right thing to do.

Things were just too up in the air to start things like that.

Jett

Driving to Maplewood, New Jersey, I held Asia’s hand. Back to the lying, and not feeling good about it. The sun was hanging low in the sky as I drove up to the place we called home before we struck it rich. A modest two bedroom, wood frame home that was once painted white was now bright yellow. “That’s it, Asia. That’s where I grew up.”

“Wow. From that to what you have now. Crazy, huh?” She shook her head as she looked at the small home. “And all because your mother came up with a great recipe and your dad figured out how to sell it. The American dream.”

The memories the old house stirred were filling my head. Soon, I’d be seeing people I grew up with. People who knew me before I was the man I became.

I had dressed down, not wanting to attract any attention to my financial status. That night I wanted to be plain old Jett from down the street.

Asia ran her hand over my arm. “Feeling a bit melancholy?”

The engagement ring and wedding band on her finger took my attention. I took her hand and kissed those rings. “I am. And I feel like things need to change. I’m a fake, Asia. A big fat phony.”

She looked at the rings too and sighed. “If I knew what to do, I’d tell you. But I don’t. Not without making us look like liars.”

“Which I am. You’re not one. I made you do it.” I looked down as I shook my head.

I needed to get out it all. But no idea that I’d come up with would work without leaving me in another boat full of lies or with egg on my face.

As hard as it was to think about, the only thing that would work was my original plan. A fake divorce. That would mean leaving Asia alone for a period of time. A thing I didn’t’ want to do.

As I pulled up at my old high school gym, I saw people walking into the double doors that I barely recognized. “Fuck, we’re all so old.”

“It’s only been ten years, Jett. You guys are still young. Come on. I can’t wait to meet your old friends. I bet they’ve got all kinds of stories to tell on you.” Asia got out of the car, looking excited.

I got out, feeling depressed.

We walked up to the doors, hand in hand as I prepared myself for what was to come. A girl I didn’t recognize but saw her name tag said Julie, was sitting at a small desk. “Hi, Jett. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. And this is your wife, I see. Sign in and fill out your names on the tags there and put them on your shirt, like I’ve done.”

“Hi, Julie. How are you?” I had no idea who the hell she was. But I knew I had gone to school with her. I guess I was pretty self-absorbed back then too.

After putting on our name tags, we headed through the next set of doors and found a bunch of people standing around in small groups. “Wow, so this is what a high school reunion is really like.” Asia looked around at everyone. “Kind of depressing how much it’s like when you were in high school, huh? Everyone is in their old cliques.”

And they were too. My little group was gathered around the punch table. “Come on. That’s mine over there, sipping punch that’s bound to be spiked already.” I took Asia by the hand and led her to meet my old friends.

“Hey, Jett!” the sound of a familiar female voice called out.

“Fuck,” I muttered then turned around. “Sandy.”

My old girlfriend was making her way to me. She’d put on the pounds and was followed by a man who was already going bald. “And she is?” Asia whispered.

“My high school girlfriend.”

“Oh, wow!”

“Yeah.”

Sandy was all smiles as she came up to me, demanding a hug and leaving a kiss on my cheek. “Oh, Jett, you look so good.”

“You too, Sandy.” With all the lies I’d be telling that night, what would one more hurt?

“Thanks. This is my husband, Doug. And who’s this?”

I put my arm around Asia. “This is Asia, my wife.”

Asia gave them nods. “Nice to meet you, Sandy, Doug.”

Sandy’s face fell. “I hadn’t heard you got married. When did this happen?”

“At the beginning of summer.” I looked past her and her hubby to see my friends making goofy signs at me. I guess they thought my old girlfriend coming up to me was amusing.

Juveniles.

“Oh, so you two are newlyweds then?” Sandy asked as she smiled. “Well, congrats you guys. Doug and I’ve been married for years. I met him right after high school. We have four kids.” She patted Doug on the back as if he’d done a great job at getting her knocked up so many times. “We just love our family. Doug, take out your cell, show Jett our kids.”

The dutiful husband took out his phone and handed it to me. “Dave, Donald, Davin, and Darla. That’s them there.”

I looked the photo over then handed him his phone back. “Great looking kids you two have there.” I lifted my chin in gesture to my group. “Looks like my buds are calling me. Glad to see you and glad things are going great for you, Sandy.”

“You too, Jett. Nice to meet you, Asia.”

Walking away, I felt relief that was over. “She’s nice.” Asia looked back over her shoulder at Sandy. “What happened to end it?”

“She tried to trap me into marriage by poking holes in my condoms.”

“Oh, shit!” Asia laughed. “Wow. People really do that?”

“She did. Lucky for me I caught on to what she’d done before anything happened that would’ve ruined my life.” I got to the guys I called friends what seemed like a hundred years ago. “Hey, way to help a man out, guys.”

“What?” Josh asked as he laughed. “Sandy ambush you, bro?”

“Yeah, yeah.” I took the punch he handed me as another old friend patted me on the back. “Hey, Todd. How’re things?”

“Like always. They’re going along as good as they can. And you? Is this your wife?” Todd handed her a drink too.

“Oh, yeah. Asia, these are my oldest friends. That’s Josh, this is Todd, those two over there are Larry and Clyde. Guys, meet Asia.”

She smiled at them all. “I bet you have great stories about this guy here. I’m up to hear them all.”

Josh pulled his wife away from the punch bowl and her chatting with the other wives. “This is Tammy, Asia. My wife. She’s been trying to set Jett up for years. But she never came up with anyone as pretty as you are.”

Tammy shook Asia’s hand. “It’s great to meet you, Asia. I don’t know how you managed to get this guy to marry you, but you’re one crafty woman. I couldn’t even get him to date, anyone.”

“Yes, he’s very picky.” Asia ran her arm around me, and I ran mine around her then kissed her cheek.

“I am picky. When I found her, I scooped her up and made her my wife as quickly as she’d let me.”

Tammy nodded. “Any plans for kids yet?”

“Yes,” I said.

“No,” Asia said.

Everyone laughed, except me. I wanted a baby. I wanted one with Asia so bad it was nearly all I could think about. And she had shut me down about it. I wasn’t used to being shut down. I didn’t like it.

Josh showed me pictures of his two kids and glowed with pride. The other guys all had kids too. I was the only one with a fake wife and no kids. I was pathetic.

The lights went low, and music began to play. I swept Asia into the middle of the floor to dance with her and get away from the others. “You didn’t have to be so honest about the kid thing, Asia.”

“Well, I’m sorry, it just kind of blurted out of me.”

“Don’t you see how they all have wives and families and I have nothing? It’s embarrassing. Humiliating.”

“You’re being dramatic. I’m sure some of the people here aren’t married with kids. There’s no rush to do all that, Jett.”

“If there’s not then why do I feel like there is? Why do I feel as if I’ve been doing shit wrong my whole life? Now, I’ve missed out on things my friends have already experienced?”

“You’ll get those experiences too, one day.” She leaned her head on my shoulder. “Time Jett, remember?”

“Oh yes, how can I forget about the elusive time that you want so much of.”

I was mad. Hurt. And feeling done.

With what, I didn’t know. But I felt like I wanted things to be done. One way or another, I wanted things to end. The lie, the love, something needed to stop.

Her hand moved to cup the back of my neck as she looked into my eyes. “We have one more thing to get through, Jett. Then you and I will sit down and figure out what we’re going to do.”

I had no idea when I lost all control. But I had lost it. Asia was telling me how things were going to be. I was going through the damn motions.

“Asia, I don’t like this.”

“Me neither.”

“No, I mean I don’t like you acting as if you’re in charge here. I’m still in charge.” I shouldn’t have even had to tell her that. “We still have a contract.”

“Yes, we do. And I’m doing what you want me to.”

A force was pushing me that I seemed unable to control. I took her out of the gym, away from everyone. Leading her out to the football field, I leaned her against the fence that surrounded it. “I might want you to get into another contract with me. One with more stipulations. This freedom thing isn’t setting well with me. I want you, Asia. It would mean more money for you if you agreed to one.”

Her soft hands caressed my face as she looked at me with love in her eyes. “Jett, I’m not about to get into any more contracts with you or anyone ever again. You’ve taught me that I’m not the kind of woman who can live that way. I don’t want any more of your money. I want to be with you, but I want to be free. Free to be with you on our terms. Not some contract’s terms. Do you understand?”

I did understand. I knew then and there, she was perfect for me.

I didn’t realize it myself until she gave me the right answer. Asia wasn’t using me for my money. She wanted my heart, and that’s all she wanted.

Holding her chin, I ran my thumb over her lips. “Asia, you’re the one, baby. You’re her.”

She was perfect for me. I knew I’d do everything I could to make her mine in name. She didn’t stand a chance of not becoming Mrs. Jett Simmons for real.

Asia

The night had been long, full of funny stories about Jett and his friends. I felt like I knew Jett a hell of a lot better after meeting the people he called friends in his younger days. I also felt like Jett wanted to move forward with me a lot faster than I thought was smart.

Another thing I could blame on the fake marriage.

As we made the ride back home the next day, Jett was in a rambunctious mood. “If I took you to the airport and we took off to Los Vegas what would you think?”

“I’m not doing that today, Jett.”

He looked at me as he pulled up to a stop light. “You know, there are tons of women who’d jump at the chance to marry a handsome billionaire.”

“I do know that.” I ran my hand over his shoulder. “But you don’t love any of them. You love me. And I want to go slow.” My cell rang, and I saw my mother’s name on the screen. “It’s Mom.” I swiped the screen. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hey, baby girl Guess where your father and I happen to be?”

“Where?”

“Harrison. We thought we’d stop by.”

“Oh, I see.” I looked at Jett, and he just smiled.

“Tell them we’ll be home in about thirty minutes and text them the address.”

I could tell he was happy about their visit. “Mom, I’ll text you the address. Give us a half hour to get home.”

“Sure thing. Bye.”

I put my cell down and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t like this.”

“What? Your parents stopping by. I love it. It means they feel comfortable about us. Don’t you think so?” He ran his hand over my knee.

“And now they’ll know how much money you have and how you’ve bought me a car and expensive clothes. Jet, this is bad.”

I couldn’t see how he didn’t understand that. There’d be tons of questions, and all of our answers would have to be made up. On the fly too. We’d have to work to keep our answers the same.

“It’s okay, baby. Just tell them the truth about things. I asked you to move in. I gave you a car to drive and some clothes to wear. You don’t have to tell them the house is yours.” He gave my leg a pat, much like one would do to a dog.

Maybe he was right. Maybe they wouldn’t freak out too much. We already said we were spending the summer together. At least part of it was out there. But I had no idea how they’d react to Jett being filthy rich and me leaving all that out.

They didn’t know we went to South Dakota in a private jet. The car Jett rented was just a typical small car, nothing fancy. We wore shorts and t-shirts, nothing upscale. I knew they’d be shocked.

When they asked Jett what he did for a living, he downplayed it by saying he was in management. That might come off as lying to my parents. I guess we’d soon find out because traffic was light for once and we were nearly home.

“My stomach hurts,” I whined.

“It’ll be okay.” Jett chuckled. “If I’m nervous, you’re not and vice versa. That’s funny.”

“Nothing is funny about how badly my stomach is hurting. I don’t know if it’s nerves or that damn jungle juice punch we drank last night, but it’s cramping pretty badly.” I held my poor tummy all the rest of the way home. I had to make a mad dash to the first bathroom, once we got there.

Puking my guts up had me thinking it had to be the punch, not nerves. I rinsed out my mouth and went to find Jett putting our bags in the bedroom. “Your friends poisoned me.”

“Here, lie down, baby.” He came to me and made me lean on him as he took me to the bed. “Did you have a headache that you didn’t tell me about? You know, signs of a hangover?”

“No. It just hit me all of a sudden. My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore. I feel a little weak, but other than that, the cramping is gone.” I ran my hand over my stomach. “Maybe I just had to get it out of me.”

“I guess so. I’ll go get you some ginger ale. That might help.” He walked away, and I sat up as the bell to the gate rang. He smiled at me. “They’re here.”

I sighed then got up. No time to rest and get back to feeling a hundred percent, I guessed. “Crap.”

Jett ran his arm around me. “That’s no way to feel about your parents coming over. Should I call in? You know, have some lunch delivered?”

“I guess so.”

“I’ll do that while you entertain them. Show them all around.” Jett gave my shoulders a squeeze. “Invite them to stay over tonight.”

“Are you sure about all that?” I shook my head.

“Of course I’m sure. I want them to feel at home here.” We walked to the keypad in the living room, and he punched in the code to the gate then opened the front door.

We stood there, waiting to see my parents old Buick come up the drive. “If they freak out, then I’ll tell them that’s why we didn’t tell them that you’re rich. There, I feel better about it all now.”

“Good.” He hugged me tight and then his arms went loose. “Fuck me. It’s my parents.”

Right behind the BMW Jett’s parents were in was my father’s old car. “Fuck me! Jett, what the fuck are we going to do?”

“All that comes to mind is, run.”

“Why the fuck did we come to the door? We could’ve hidden inside from them. We’re totally fucked.” I couldn’t take in any air. My heart had stopped beating.

I looked at my hand and realized we still had on our wedding bands. There was only one thing to do. It would be hard to do, but we had no choice.

There wasn’t time to think, to plan, to hightail it out of there and run to Canada where they’d never find us. So I took a deep breath and waved with a happy smile on my face. Then I took Jett’s hand in mine and stepped off the first step. “Follow my lead, Jett.”

“Okay. Shit, I hope you have something great planned.”

Jett

Each step we took toward the people who knew different stories was excruciating. My ears were ringing, my gut was twisting, and I couldn’t think at all. But it seemed Asia could.

She took my hand and led the way as well as the plan that came into her head at record speed. My parents got out of the back of the car. “Hi, OMG! What a surprise, you guys.” Asia let my hand go and hugged my mother. “Okay, I have a confession to make.”

My knees went weak.

What was she doing?

Mom’s brows went up. “About what, dear?”

“The people behind you guys are my parents. And I made Jett lie for me. I’m really sorry.” Asia held my mother’s hands. “I know we told you that they knew about our marriage. They don’t know a thing about it. I’ve been too afraid to tell them.”

Mom smiled. It had worked. My mother loved being in the know about things. “I understand, perfectly. It was rushed and quite unexpected.”

“Thank you for understanding. It means the world to me.”

I was relieved and could finally take a breath. I watched Asia’s parents get out of their car and jogged up to greet them. “Hi there. We have a couple of surprise guests today. My parents dropped in as well. You’ll all get to meet, the way you wanted.”

Asia brought my parents along with her to make the introductions. And I had to hand it to her parents, they weren’t freaking out about the lavish home. Her mother looked around. “This is very nice, Jett. You’ve done well for yourself, haven’t you?”

“Well, my parents can give you the run down on why we’ve become successful.” I turned to take Asia’s hand as she came up beside me.

She grabbed my right hand with her left and held up our clasped hands. Her rings caught the sun, glistening and making me nearly choke. Then she said something that made me feel lightheaded. “Okay, we’re busted. Mom, Dad, Jett wanted to tell you guys right away, but I wouldn’t let him. I was afraid of how you’d react. He and I were married In Vegas on the first of June.”

“Asia,” I hissed. “No.”

She looked at me with a smile. “It’s okay, Jett. I’m ready to let them in on our secret. No more lies will come out of me.”

I looked from her to her parents to find them slack-jawed and wide-eyed. Her father cleared his throat and looked at my father. “Did you know about this?”

My parents nodded, and Asia’s looked at one another. Her mother nodded. “Okay, okay. You were right, Asia. We most likely would’ve overreacted.” She fanned herself.

Moving quickly, I headed toward the house. “Come inside. Sit down, I’ll get you something to drink. I know you must be stunned.”

They were probably just about as stunned as I was. I couldn’t believe what Asia had done for me. It was too much.

Asia made sure everyone got inside as I went to grab some wine and hard liquor. I needed a drink and fast.

Gulping down a glass of Scotch, I refilled it then took the wine and some glasses to the den where Asia had settled everyone. I found Asia showing her parents the wedding rings and smiling away as she told them that she also lied about how we met, a thing she also made me do. “You see, I’d snuck away with Joy to Los Angeles. I didn’t want you guys to know I did that. And I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t think about what I was doing. I don’t know why I thought the truth would never catch up to me, but I didn’t. Can you guys ever forgive me?”

Her father looked at me with a frown. “In the future, could you please help our daughter to be more honest with us?”

I fell on the sofa and nodded as I took another drink. The guilt was trying to take over. I wanted to tell everyone it was me who was the huge lair. Asia was an innocent victim in my scam.

But she’d thrown herself on the sword, so to speak. How could I turn her virtuous sacrifice into just another pack of lies?

I couldn’t do that to her. But I’d do anything to make things up to her. Anything at all.

The hard part was figuring out what I’d need to do to rid myself of the tremendous guilt. Asia was taking the blame for everything when she wasn’t to blame for one damn thing.

I gulped my drink down. “I’m going to go call in something for lunch.”

“That sounds fantastic, son.” Mom waved at me as I left the room full of cheerful people. I walked to the kitchen to find the take out menus we’d accumulated since moving in.

Pulling up a barstool at the island, I looked through the things then felt a warm hand on my back. “You okay?”

I turned around and saw Asia’s sweet face. “You shouldn’t have. I could’ve just told the truth.”

She shook her head. “No, I couldn’t let you do that. My way was easier. We’ll figure things out later. For now, we’re back to being fake married in everyone’s eyes. If I’d never gone to South Dakota, we’d never have been in this situation. I had to do it. I had to keep up our deal.”

“I’m sorry, Asia. I truly am. Is there anything I can do for you? I’ll do anything at all that you want. You want a beach house in Malibu? I happen to have one of those. It’s yours, baby.”

She ran her arms around me and rubbed her nose against mine. “All I want is your love, Jett. That’s all I’ll ever need.”

“I could really make you my wife.” I held my breath, hoping she’d agree.

“No.”

With one word, she shut me down again. “Okay. I won’t argue with you about that. I won’t argue with you about a thing. Not after what you’ve done for me. I know that wasn’t easy.”

“Well, it wasn’t that hard.”

She wasn’t fooling me. I knew she wasn’t a liar. I knew she would never intentionally tell her family lies. I’d made that happen. Now Asia wasn’t only lying to strangers she never had to have anything to do with again if she didn’t want to. Now she was lying to the people who’d always be in her life.

I’d taken her down a bad road that was leading us both into sinful territory. I was making her credibility something people would question if the truth ever came out.

But she didn’t seem to care at that moment. She kissed me and told me everything would be alright. Things would work out. And I believed her.

Don’t ask me how I did. The web of lies I had going on just kept getting thicker. Stickier. Trapping us in a situation.

I didn’t want to feel trapped, and I definitely didn’t want Asia to feel that way. I wanted our love to be free. But I was beginning to wonder if it would ever be that way.

“Asia, if I could go all the way back to the first time I saw your sweet face on that website and talk to you, I’d change so many things.” I kissed her back.

She leaned her head against mine. “Hindsight is twenty, twenty, people say. What’s done is done. We can’t change a thing we’ve done.”

“I feel like we’re stuck.”

She nodded. “Yeah. It’s kind of like the glue that will hold us together, or it might just muck everything up. I guess we’ll find out with time which that is.”

Mom came into the kitchen and gave a quick clap to let us know she was there. “Hey, we had a great idea. Let’s all go out and eat. Your Dad and I are treating. And I wanted to remind you that you need to get with our human resource department and get Asia on your insurance plan. Have you taken her to the banks to get on your accounts? You’ll need to do all that too. As your wife, she needs that protection. If something happens to you, she’ll have a hell of a time getting through all that paperwork. You’re married now. You have lots to make sure gets done.”

I looked at Asia, and she smiled at me then at my mother. “We’ll have to get busy with that then, won’t we?”

It became crystal clear. I hadn’t thought anything through at all. Maybe I wasn’t as smart as I’d always thought I was.

It seemed so simple. One little lie would keep me from being hassled this summer about finding a girl and getting serious.

Boy, that one went south on me!

Asia

So I’d done it. I’d stomped right in and told my family a bunch of crap just to make sure I kept up the sham for Jett. He didn’t ask me to. I knew he’d never ask me to do a thing like that.

But it was there, deep inside of me.

Keep Jett happy.

The money wasn’t the issue. Not the driving force that had me making that drastic decision. It was my love for him that forced me to do a thing I’d never even considered doing.

As we drove back from lunch, our parents all heading to their own homes, Jett and I held hands. My stomach was full of the Italian food we’d eaten. I was sleepy and in a daze.

Jett would marry me if I wanted. So why wasn’t I hopping on that as fast as I could?

Resting my head on the headrest, I turned to look at the gorgeous man who was driving. Jett was a masterpiece of a man. His dark hair, hanging in silky waves to his broad shoulders. A pair of Ray Ban aviators made him look hot and sexy. He was it. The complete package.

Was I mental or something?

I mean, if I was to go back to college and show my friends a picture of this man and told them, yeah he asked me to marry him, and I was like, no way, dude. They’d call the 911 and tell them I was in need of a brain transplant, STAT.

It whirled around in my head and came out of my mouth, “Jett, marriage is sacred to me. Like, I don’t ever want to get a divorce. My Aunt Shirley got a divorce. She and her husband had three kids, a dog, and a pet goat. When their marriage ended, the whole lot of them went downhill. The house, goat, and dog, vanished. The kids turned into delinquents. My aunt became a bit of a tramp, and my uncle wasn’t spoken about or seen again.”

“It is scary. And just so you know, I don’t take it lightly either. But I’m not going to ask you about that for a while. I respect the hell out of what you did for me today. I wouldn’t dare bother you about anything.” He gave me a smile. “You’ve gone above and beyond for me. Way past anything a typical sub would do. I may not have put you through the typical tests one puts a sub through, but I’ve tested your limits plenty. You’ve surpassed all of my expectations. And sexually, well you know you rock me, baby.”

So there it was, he wasn’t going to ask me to marry him for a while. I should’ve felt great. Relieved.

If that was how I was supposed to feel then why did I have an empty spot inside me that was growing by leaps and bounds? And it happened so suddenly.

The feelings I was having told me one thing. I was being bratty.

At first, I was all, no Jett, I don’t want to get married. We need time.

Then he tells me he’ll give me time and I’m all, what?

I felt like an idiot for getting what I had asked for and not wanting what I got.

I kept quiet, not wanting to let Jett in on the emotional rollercoaster I was on. He held my hand all the way home and into the house. It was early, yet I was feeling tired for some reason. All the stress, I guessed.

“Hey, wanna take a late nap with me?” I asked him.

“I’m not tired in the least.” He ran his arm around my shoulder. “But I could watch some television and hold you while you get some rest if you’d like.”

“Nah, I want some peace and quiet. I’ll go up to our room, and you can watch television in the media room down stairs.”

With a kiss, we parted ways, and I went to bed. I barely laid my head on the pillow before I was in a deep sleep.

I had no idea how much time had passed before I was woken up by a sharp pain in my stomach. Rushing to the bathroom, I blew chunks in the toilet. A cold sweat broke out all over me, and I was shaking as I hugged the toilet.

I managed to pull myself together as I washed my face, cooling myself down. In the mirror, I saw my reflection. I had dark circles under my eyes, even though I’d just gotten some sleep. Was I coming down with a virus?

Little by little, the nausea went away, and I felt perfectly fine. Great, actually.

Making my way to the media room, I found Jett lounging on the sofa. He was watching sports and drinking a beer. “Hey, you.”

He turned to look at me. “Hey, baby. You get your nap?”

I sat down next to him and nodded. “Yeah. I feel much better.” I decided to leave out the part about getting sick again. I didn’t want him to get concerned. “So, basketball, huh? You like sports?”

“Ah, I can take them or leave them. Not a crazy fan of any one team. I just like to watch the games now and then so I can keep up with things. You wanna do something?”

I was actually feeling quite horny but wasn’t sure how to approach him with that. “Wanna take a swim?”

“Sure. Let’s go change.” He got up and took my hand, but I pulled him back.

“Wanna skinny dip?”

He smiled at me and nodded. “With you, anytime.”

Quickly, we went out to the pool and ditched our clothes then jumped into the cool water. I felt free as we swam around each other in circles. I made sure to tease him, staying just out of his reach.

He made a quick grab for me, and I let him catch me. “Oh, no,” I giggled. “What will you do with me now?”

His sea green eyes danced. “Anything I damn well want to.”

Desire shot through me like a lightning bolt. “I am yours.”

Pressing me against the side of the pool, I ran my legs around him, urging him to enter me. He did as I wanted, giving me the long, thick part of him that I was craving.

Sparks shot through me as I moaned and leaned my head on his shoulder as he moved me. Connected to him was the best feeling I ever had. Somehow, with him in that way, I felt more alive than I ever had. Each and every time we made love, it just got deeper and deeper, what I felt for him.

His kiss sent me spiraling down, unaware of anything but how his body felt, moving with mine. It was blissfully slow and steady and when the wave inside me crested, I moaned, “Jett, I love you so much.” Then the wave crashed, and he groaned as he released too.

“Baby, I love you too.”

We were still for a while, just holding one another. I rested my head on his shoulder as he ran his fingers lightly over my back. We didn’t need to say a thing to convey what we felt for each other. It was all there in our bodies. It was then that I knew I’d kill for the man. I’d do anything in the world for him. So what was I waiting for?

“Jett?”

“Yeah, baby?”

I pulled back to look at him, gazing into his eyes. “Do you really want to marry me?”

He pressed his finger to my lips. “Hush. I know I’ve been pushy about that. I know that you’ll do anything I want. And I don’t want you to marry me just because I want it. I’d like you to want it too. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to marry you right now. Not because I don’t love you. I love you more than I knew I could love anyone. But because I’ve seen that you are completely selfless where I’m concerned.”

All I could do was nod and rest my head on his shoulder again. He no longer wanted to marry me. I had no idea when he’d want to or if he’d want to.

Maybe my selfless act was a bad thing for us. Maybe I was giving too much of myself to him. I wasn’t sure if I’d done the right thing. But it was done. I was in as deep as he was in the fake marriage.

There was a niggling notion in the back of my mind. One that said the fake marriage and the tower of lies would crumble, leaving us in the rubble of it all.

A tear slipped out of my eye as I held Jett tight in my arms, never wanting to let him go. Maybe if I just held on, things would never end. Nothing would change. He and I would become just like the other statues that highlighted our large yard. Frozen in time, the lovers who were doomed if they made any movements.

Like all things, that moment had to end. “I think we should think about eating dinner, Asia. What do you say to Chinese?”

My stomach growled at the thought, and he moved me in his arms, taking me out of the water. “I think my tummy is saying, yes.”

He chuckled as he grabbed a couple of towels and handed one to me. I wrapped it around me and followed him inside. All the while watching him as he strode along in front of me. And all the while wondering if I’d done the right thing.

But what else could we have done in the situation?

I had no idea what the answer to that was. I also had no idea what we’d do to make things legitimate. It seemed neither of us had an answer for that question.

Jett

As I watched Asia sleep the night before the wedding that would’ve been our last social occasion together, I felt that guilt that had come to be my constant companion. It moved like hot lava through me. Letting me know I had taken an innocent young woman and morphed her into something else. Something I didn’t want her to be.

Asia had become my fierce protector. Which sounds like a good thing, until you really think about it. She would hurt herself just to save me. I didn’t want her to do that.

I was a man who should be facing his mistakes and dealing with them. Not hiding behind lies and a girl to protect myself from feeling shame.

I needed to feel ashamed of what I’d done. I deserved to feel that ominous weight. I’d done wrong. I’d taken a person, made them lie for me to everyone, including her own family. And what was the absolute worst, she did it one her own to save my sorry ass.

Asia deserved a good man. And I wasn’t a good man. I was bad. I supposed I’d always be bad. Morally unsound, mentally incapable of changing.

Our time was limited. Even though we loved each other with everything we had in us, it had to end. I wasn’t good for her.

I knew she’d never agree to breaking up. She’d cry, demand that I stop being crazy. And most likely convince me that we could figure a way out of the lies and bring what was real between us out into the open.

But I knew that people would wonder why she did it. Because I would wonder that too. That’s when the whole Dom/sub contract thing would come out, ruining Asia’s life for good.

No one would look at her the same way again. Her family were good people. They’d never understand why she did such a thing. And they’d look at me like the dirt-bag I was. And they’d be right to think of me in that way.

Money is why Asia came to me, and she’d have plenty. She’d have a house, a car, a closet full of expensive clothes. She’d be upset by my leaving, but she’d get over it.

Eventually.

And I would too, wouldn’t I?

I was doing it out of my immense love for her after all. It was the only selfless thing I’d ever do. But it did nag at me that she’d be hurt by my selfless act.

But she’d be hurt if the truth about us came out too.

Asia was going to be hurt no matter what happened. She was a casualty in every way. I’d wreck her life any way I went.

I’d never felt more alone in the world. I’d never felt so sad and depressed while feeling so much love it hurt. It was the oddest of times and feelings.

Asia stirred, opened her eyes and found me looking down at her. “Jett, what in the world are you doing?”

“Just looking at how beautiful you are when you’re sleeping peacefully.” I pushed her hair off her face and kissed her cheek. “So, tomorrow is the last of the fake marriage. I’m just mulling over how I feel about that.”

“It can’t be the last of it. We’ll have to figure something out. Our families think we’re married too. Don’t worry about it. Just go to sleep. When the time is right, one of us will come up with an idea that’ll work. Have faith. I do.” She snuggled down under the blanket and closed her eyes.

Should I say something to give her a hint as to what I had figured out about fixing the fake marriage problem?

She looked peaceful again, and I knew I couldn’t tell her a thing. If she had any idea about what I was planning, she’d fight me like a badger. That was one of the best things about Asia. She wasn’t afraid of a fight.

But I wasn’t going to have a fight over what I knew was the right thing to do by her. I told her from the very beginning that I’d do right by her and I meant to keep my word.

Her breathing was steady, she had fallen back to sleep. I knew I should be getting some rest too, but I couldn’t stop looking at her. I’d leave her alone the very next night if things went the way I thought they would.

She’d wake up alone and find my note. The one I’d leave her to explain to our families what had happened to me. The one that would set her free from all these lies.

Perhaps one day in the distant future I could come back to see if things could blossom between us again. But I wasn’t sure about that. What I would do would hurt her to the core. I knew that.

That was a weight I’d have to take on. She was worth that. I was carrying around guilt anyway, why should I get to live life without any weight of that on my shoulders?

Asia didn’t need me in her life. I would just be a reminder of when she walked on the dark side for a while. She’d be better off without me.

No, I’d walk away and never come back. That would be the right thing to do. Leave her for good. It would be better that way.

Settling my head on the pillow, I closed my eyes, willing myself not to think about it anymore. I’d never leave if I thought about it too much. And I had to leave. For Asia’s sake, I had to do it.

Just as I got my mind to shut up, Asia threw the blankets off her and bolted to the bathroom. I got up and followed her, finding her with her head in the toilet, puking her guts up. “Baby?” I held her hair back as I kneeled beside her.

She wretched over and over, getting rid of everything that was in her stomach. Then she moaned and sat on the floor with her face in her hands. “God, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Jett.”

I got up and grabbed her a wet washcloth. Then I picked her up and sat her on top of the vanity. Wiping her face with the cool cloth, I felt her shaking.

Neither of us had a thing on as we slept naked each night. I picked her up and took her to bed, covering her up and running my hand over her forehead. “You don’t have a fever. You didn’t say your stomach was hurting.”

“It just hit me. I was fast asleep, then I was up and running. That’s the third time today.”

“I’ll take you to the doctor tomorrow. I’ll let my family know we won’t be going to the wedding.”

“Jett, no. I’ll be alright. It’s probably a little stomach bug. You know a twenty-four-hour thing. Just get back into bed. I’ll be better by the morning. You’ll see.”

I got back into bed, unsure that it was a stomach bug that was causing her to be fine one moment and throwing up the next. Something was wrong, and I was pretty sure I knew what it was.

Stress.

The stress of lying to her family was too much for her. Her brain thought she could handle it. Her body was rejecting it.

I could see it clear as day even if she couldn’t. The lies were getting to her, making her sick.

I had to leave. I wasn’t healthy for her. Not in any way.

But I held her that night. For the rest of the night, I clung to her and wished like hell there was another way to make things right. I fell asleep with no other idea in my head.

I had to go. I owed it to her.

Asia

In the month of August, I’d thrown up more than I had in my entire life. Much of the time, Jett knew nothing about it. I didn’t want him to worry about me.

I was pretty sure it was stress-related. I thought all the time about what we could do to make things right. It was always there, knocking at my brain.

If I’d been a liar my whole life, I think that would’ve helped me to deal with what I’d done. Lies apparently did not sit well with me. Hence the vomiting.

Jett was being bothersome, nagging me to go to the doctor. We had one more wedding to go to, and I wasn’t about to mess that up for him. I promised I’d go the next day if I got sick any more.

I had a couple bouts of nausea throughout the day, but nothing too bad. Maybe with the last wedding to attend, the stress would ease up. I hoped so anyway.

The fact was that I wanted to talk to Jett about really getting married. Wouldn’t that end all our problems?

We could simply go to Vegas and do it for real, and then no one had to know anything else. If Jett would agree, I thought the stress would vanish.

I hoped it would, and I hoped he’d agree. His notion of me wanting to marry him only because it was something he wanted and I wanted to please him, was stupid.

I loved the man!

I loved Jett more than I knew was possible. And I did want to marry him. The main reason was love. The other reason was to get the lie over with. We’d be married, and all that nonsense of a fake marriage would be over.

There was one easy fix. The hard part was getting Jett to accept the easy fix.

It was crazy, the man had wanted to marry me, and I had to be bullheaded about it. Then I want to get married, and he got stubborn about it.

It was funny, really. Only it was time for the joke to be over and for us to take the bull by the horns and take charge of the situation.

Stop the lie by really getting married.

It was the only way to go. The only thing in my way of fixing it all was Jett. Now how would I get him to see reason.

Part 4

Jett

Our last social function was at hand. My cousin, Felicity and her fiancé, Ron had put on a fancy wedding at The Plaza Hotel in New York. My parents insisted we all get rooms there and stay the night. It trumped my plans for leaving that night.

I’d get one more night with Asia. That was both good and bad. Every minute I spent with her made it that much harder for me to leave. Doing the right thing was getting harder and harder to do.

The damn wedding wasn’t making things any easier, either. Holding Asia’s hand, we watched the bride go to meet her groom, and my heart ached that Asia and I’d never get that moment.

She gave my hand a squeeze. “She looks amazing.”

I leaned in to whisper. “You’d look better.”

Taking her eyes off my cousin to look at me, she smiled. I couldn’t take my eyes off hers. Our connection was deep and true. And I was a fool for what I’d done. But nothing could change it.

The music stopped, and we all sat back down. I ran my arm around Asia. She rested her head on my shoulder, and we watched the rest of the wedding play out.

There was a dinner that was held elsewhere then it would be back to The Plaza for the reception. Asia and I rode with my parents in their limo to that part of the event. Mom chatted away after we all got into the car, “Wasn’t that lovely? How I wish we could’ve done something like that for you two.”

Asia sighed. “As lovely as that was, I’d never want anything that large anyway. All this seems like a lot of trouble to go through to me.”

I wrapped my arm around her and kissed the side of her head. “I agree. I think it would’ve been nice to have had our families with us when we got married, but no one else.”

“Yes, keeping it informal and small would’ve been good.” Asia leaned her head on my shoulder. “Plus, I’m worn out just by attending. What must the bride and groom feel like?”

Mom’s expression grew to one of concern. “Asia, dear, have you been doing okay? I only ask because you seem to have lost weight since I saw you last.”

“She’s been a little under the weather,” I answered for her.

Asia nodded. “Although living with your son has been the best, I have a lot of worry over school. I failed two classes last semester and that has me worried about retaking them. I think the stress of that has my tummy upset often.”

“You know you could hire a tutor to help you out, Asia. I’m sure with extra help you could pass those classes,” Mom said, trying to be helpful.

I knew Asia was a little worried about those classes. Her real worries were about us though. Our contract would be ending the very next day. We’d be free then. And as far as she knew, we still hadn’t come up with a way to make the lies disappear so we could move forward as a real couple.

“I didn’t think about that. Thanks.” Asia smiled at my mother then looked up at me. “Maybe I should see about that then. In the next day or so, I’ll do that. Remind me, would you?”

With a nod, I pulled her close, leaning my chin on top of her head. “I’ll do that for you. No need to worry so much, Asia.”

My father shifted in the seat. “You two need to understand one thing. Worry never solved anything. It’s a wasteful emotion. Better to figure out what you can do to fix things, rather than worry about them. You have a problem, do something about it. Don’t just worry and accomplish nothing but making yourself sick.”

Dad was right, but Dad didn’t know everything. Asia and I had a mountain of things to worry about. And what was worse, each and every way there was to fix it would cost both of us some kind of mental anguish.

At least with my idea, we’d both be hurt, but Asia would come out with her dignity intact. Only I’d be despised. A thing I wasn’t looking forward to, but it had to be done.

“You’re right, Dad. Worry has never solved a thing. Action will be taken so Asia can stop worrying.”

Dad gave a nod of approval. “See to that, son. And I talked to Angie in human resources. Now, she told me that you’ve yet to go in and fill out the paperwork to put your wife on the insurance plans. Why is that? You’ve had nothing but time to get that done. You’re going to start working with me in just a couple of weeks to learn the CEO role. You’ll be very busy then. Best to get that out of the way before then.”

“I’ll get down there, Dad. It may seem like I’ve been free as a bird, but Asia and I have been doing all sorts of things.”

Asia nodded. “We’ve been going and going. It seems like we hardly ever just sit around. But we should take the next couple of weeks and do just that. We both have work and school looming ahead of us.”

I wondered if Asia would be too devastated to go back to school after I left her. I wondered how my parents would react to my going back to Los Angeles and picking up where I left off. Dad would have to maintain his role as CEO. I’d be deemed unworthy, and frankly, I didn’t want to be in New York where I might run into Asia or her family.

It’d be best for me to be far away from them all. I knew my parents would get over things, eventually. But I doubted Asia ever would. Not entirely. She wouldn’t die or anything, but there’d be a part of her that would remain broken forever. She trusted me. It was bound to leave a deep scar.

My leaving would leave its mark on me too. I’d never love anyone the way I loved Asia. I knew that. I’d never done anything so selfless in my life. I knew our love was true. If it wasn’t, I’d feel just fine letting everyone think bad things about Asia.

I couldn’t let that happen, though.

“Oh, before I forget,” Mom added. “The Petersons are having a dinner party next week. They asked me to extend the invitation to you two.”

“Tell them, thank you, but we can’t go.”

Asia turned her head to look at me. “Don’t say no on my account. I’m game, Jett.”

I kissed her on the tip of her nose. “I’m not. I’m not a dinner party kind of guy.”

“But, Jett, you should become one.” Dad poured himself a glass of Scotch and gestured to me with the bottle. “Would either of you like a drink?”

“None for me thanks,” came Asia’s quick reply.

“I don’t want one, either.”

He put the bottle back into the rack of the small bar that held a dozen different types of alcohol. “Jett, you’ll have to be more social once you become CEO. You’ll be expected to attend charity events and dinners, all kinds of things. It’s a big deal, you know.”

Nodding, I thought about all that. My father had been doing all that stuff, along with his real job as CEO. I knew he was tired and needed me to step in a relieve him of that heavy burden.

My leaving would hurt him a lot too. He’d be left to keep up with the furious work pace and schedule. He deserved some rest after working like a slave to build something out of nothing.

When would the guilt stop piling up on me?

There was no right thing to do. No matter which way I looked, I would hurt people. I’d never been in a tougher spot. Admitting to myself that I brought this all down on myself did nothing to make me feel any better about things.

After all, what did knowing the facts and facing them do to end the never ending guilt?

I felt lost. Alone. Depressed.

And I had no one to blame but myself. Would I ever get things right?

I’d lived pretty much guilt free up until the beginning of summer when I fucked things up so well. Now it seemed I’d live the rest of my life with guilt.

I had to wonder if it would become something that didn’t feel so horrible after a few years went by. But knew I was fooling myself. It would always feel terrible. But at least I was setting Asia free from it. Free from the lies, free from the guilt of telling her family a giant lie. At least she’d feel better. That was all I could care about. Asia, and how to make her feel better.

Asia

One minute I felt fine, the next my gut was twisting, and I was reaching for the door handle. “Tell the driver to wait at this red light.” Opening the door, I hurled as Jett held onto me so I wouldn’t fall out of the car.

“Baby!”

“Oh, my!” his mother shouted.

With the contents of my stomach gone, I felt better, but the embarrassment hurt like hell. I closed the door as found Jett running a tissue over my mouth. “Did that just hit you out of nowhere, Asia?”

I nodded and tried to regain my composure. “We need to get you to see someone right away,” his father said.

“No wonder you’re losing weight if this is what’s been happening.” His mother wagged her finger at us both. “This isn’t something that occurs from stress or nerves. I thought you meant you weren’t eating very much. I didn’t know you were throwing up. We’re going straight to the nearest emergency room.”

“I don’t…”

She shook her head. “I don’t care. We’re going, and you’re going to be seen by someone right now.”

“But the dinner,” I whined.

“I’ll let them know we won’t be coming. You’re more important than some damn dinner, Asia,” his mother was adamant.

Jett rubbed my back as he eyed me with concern. “We’re taking you to the hospital. No back talk about it, Asia.”

Resting my head on his shoulder, I admitted defeat and faced the reality that I was going to have to see a doctor about it. Maybe he’d prescribe me some kind of anti-anxiety meds, and I could be on my way.

I felt horrible for getting in the way of his cousin’s matrimonial festivities. But the three people, who were watching me like a hawk, didn’t look like they’d be swayed by a word I said.

Relinquishing the battle felt kind of great. It was out of my control. I’d be taken care of. I found my heart swelling with love for all three of them. I did matter to them all.

When we arrived at the emergency room, we found it was full. And my upset tummy wasn’t the biggest emergency there. A man was holding a towel around his hand, and red was beginning to soak through it. A little old woman was sneezing, hacking, and looking as if death was hovering around her, waiting for her to take her final breath. And three babies were crying with how badly they felt.

No, mine wasn’t nearly as bad as anyone else’s seemed to be.

So, we sat and waited and waited. After two hours, I told Jett’s parents they should leave and Jett too if he wanted. I could take a cab back to the hotel once I was done there.

“Hell, no, Asia!” Jett wasn’t having any of that. “I’m not leaving you here. Mom, Dad, you two go. Enjoy the rest of the night with the family. Tell them we’re sorry, but Asia is sick.”

They got up, making room for a couple of people who’d been standing. “They need the space in here anyway.” His mother hugged me. “You call us when you find out what’s wrong, Asia. We love you, dear.”

Her words tugged at my heart. “I love you too. I’ll let you know when I know something.”

They left, and Jett looked at me. “She told you that she loved you, Asia.”

“Yeah, I know. That was sweet of her.” I took his hand and held it tightly. “I wasn’t lying when I told her I love her too. I do. Your parents are great.”

He nodded but looked a bit upset. I figured it was because of the fakeness of our situation. But our love was real. We had to figure out a way to make things right. And soon.

“Asia Jones?” a nurse came out of a side door, looking over the crowd.

“That’s me.” I raised my hand and got up to go to her with Jett right at my side.

“Oh, good.” She looked at Jett. “Are you related to her?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Then you’ll have to wait here for her. No one except immediate family is allowed back. It’s hospital policy. Sorry.”

As she took my hand and pulled me inside, I looked over my shoulder at him and saw the frown that covered his handsome face. “Don’t worry, Jett. I’ll make this as fast as I can.”

The door shut before he could say a word and I felt my stomach clench. The nurse took me to a large room with six curtain covered areas. “This is you, over here. Your admission paper says you’ve been throwing up. Is that correct?”

“It is.” She handed me a gown and a small cup with a lid on it.

“Go into the bathroom that’s directly across the hallway.” She took a Sharpie out of her pocket and handed it to me. “Write your full name and date of birth on the label of the cup. Fill it with urine, put the lid back on and leave it on the counter. Then take everything off but your underclothes and put on the gown.” She handed me a plastic bag. “Your clothes can go in this bag. Bring them back in here with you when you’re done. Do you understand all of that?”

With a nod, I said, “Write my name, pee, undress. What’s so hard about that?”

“You’d be surprised at how many forget one or more steps in that process, young lady.” The nurse patted me on the back. “Get into bed and wait for the doctor after you get that done.”

So, I headed out to deal with all of that and found myself getting nervous and wishing like hell that they would’ve let Jett come back with me. I got it all taken care of, then went to lie in the uncomfortable hospital bed. The plastic mattress crinkled as I climbed on the bed and pulled the thin blanket up to cover me.

A man in green scrubs came in after a long time and smiled at me. Extending his hand, he shook mine. “Hi there, Asia Jones. My name is Doctor Sheffield. Can you say that for me?”

“Doctor Sheffield?” I asked as I had no clue why he’d ask me such a thing.

“Yes, I wanted you to say it. You’ll want to remember that name.” He let my hand go and patted my back. “You see, I want to be the first person to congratulate you.”

“On?”

“On being pregnant. Now, do you get it? You’ll tell your child about the day you found out you had him or her in your tummy. Doctor Sheffield was the person to tell you that great news.” His smile was huge, and his teeth were gleaming white.

His face would forever be etched into my brain. Thin, lightly tanned skin with a few wrinkles, plum colored lips, blue eyes, and a deep laugh that made his round belly shake made up the man who changed my life forever.

“I’m pregnant?” I shook my head in disbelief. “I’m on the pill. How can that be?”

He picked up the folder with my admission paper in it. “It says here that you began oral birth control on June the first of this year.” He looked at me with a grin. “Did you use condoms when you had intercourse during the first thirty days, Miss Jones?”

“No. I wasn’t told to.” I began to get short of breath.

“Yes, I see. But you were given paperwork from the pharmacy that you must not have read. That paperwork would’ve told you that you needed to use another form of birth control for that amount of time. By the way, stop taking them. They’re not safe for the baby.”

“Okay. Damn. I didn’t read it. You’re right. Shit!” My head was swimming.

I was pregnant!

His hand clamped down on my shoulder. “Let me tell you something, Miss Jones. Babies have surprised people forever. I know you’re freaking out now. But believe me, you’ll love that little surprise when he or she comes out into the world. Don’t make any hasty decisions. And let the father know. Let him have the chance to do right by this baby. You didn’t make it alone. Don’t make any decisions about it alone, either.”

“Yes, sir.”

His finger touched my chin as I stared at the floor. “You’re going to be okay. The vomiting comes with pregnancy. I want you to find yourself a good Obstetrician as soon as you can. Set up an appointment and work with them to make sure you have a healthy pregnancy.”

“Yes, sir.” I had to lie back. “I just need a minute to digest all of this.”

“I know. It’s a lot to handle. Stay as long as you need to. But remember that there’s a room full of people who are waiting to be seen too.” He chuckled and waved as he left me. “I wish you the best, young lady.”

I was going to have Jett’s baby.

What the hell was I supposed to do now?

A nurse pulled the curtain back and gave me a huge smile. “Well, well, well, we’re having us a baby. Are you excited?”

I gulped. “I don’t know.”

“You and the daddy getting along?”

“Yeah.” I hung my head. “He loves me. He wants a baby. It was me who had major plans that a baby will interrupt.” I looked up at her. “I don’t want him to ask me to marry him just because I’m pregnant.”

What was I going to tell Jett?

Jett

Inpatient and sick of waiting around, I managed to sneak in through one of the doors when a nurse came out to call in a patient. I was leaning on the wall next to it, hoping for an opportunity.

Not one member of the medical staff stopped me as I went through first one long hallway with various people moaning, complaining about their pain, or screaming in pain.

It was like a war zone in there.

There were curtains drawn around every patient, making it impossible to find Asia in any of the large rooms that housed the ER patients. I was relying on hearing her voice to get me to her.

Down another hall I went, passing a nurse as she stepped into one of the rooms. I waited on the side of the door to see if I could hear Asia.

I heard the nurse say, “Well, well, well, we’re having us a baby. Are you excited?”

I stepped away, knowing she wasn’t talking to Asia.

Then I stopped dead in my tracks as it was Asia that I heard, saying, “I don’t know.”

The nurse asked, “You and the daddy getting along?”

Asia’s voice began to quiver. “Yeah. He loves me. He wants a baby. It was me who had major plans that a baby will interrupt.” She paused then went on, “I don’t want him to ask me to marry him just because I’m pregnant.”

I fell back against the wall and tried not to scream. I was going to be a father!

It was exactly what I had wanted, and I was getting it. The only problem was that I had other plans now. I was leaving her. I was doing it for her own good.

How would leaving her and our baby ever do anyone any good?

I was left once more, not knowing what the hell I should do. But I sure as hell would let Asia know that I was happy about this baby and would make sure the child always knew it was loved.

Heading back into the waiting area, I decided I wanted to let Asia tell me the good news. Since she had the diagnosis, it shouldn’t take much longer for her to be released.

Another half hour had passed before she came out. Knowing she wouldn’t want an audience to hear our news, I waited until we got outside to ask, “So, what’s up?”

She took out her cell. “I’ve got a virus. I’m calling a cab to come get us.”

A virus?

“What kind of virus?” I couldn’t believe she wasn’t telling me news she knew I’d be ecstatic over. “And what kind of virus lasts a month long?”

“A pretty bad one.” She held up her finger at me as she told the cab company where to pick us up at.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I fought myself not to confront her.

What was she thinking?

Okay, I got it. She didn’t want me to ask her to marry me just because we got ourselves preggo. I understood that. But I deserved to know about the baby.

Didn’t I?

We both were quiet. The cab came, picked us up, took us to the hotel. Still, we were quiet. We went up to our room, got undressed, got into bed. Still, we were quiet.

I rolled over to look at her. “I love you, Asia.”

She closed her eyes as she lay on her back. “I love you too, Jett.”

But did she really?

How could she say those words to me?

She wouldn’t admit to being pregnant. So how in the hell could she say she loved me?

Unless she didn’t.

Maybe it had all been an act after all.

Lifting my head, resting it on my hand, I said, “The contract is over, Asia. The wedding is over. That was the last function I needed a fake wife for and the last day of the Dom/sub contract. Being that it’s midnight, you’re officially released as my sub. You can do as you want to now.”

She didn’t even bother opening her eyes. “All I really want to do is sleep, Jett.”

All I really wanted was to hear her tell me about our baby!

“So what did they give you for this virus you have?”

“Some pills.”

“Where are these pills?”

“I have to go pick them up at the pharmacy tomorrow.” She finally opened her eyes to look at me as I hovered over her. “What are you doing?”

“Asia, are you realizing that you’re rich now? You have a home of your own. A new car. And the money that I put in Escrow at The Dungeon of Decorum will be transferred to your bank tomorrow morning.” I watched her eyes as they darted back and forth.

“Wow. You’re right. I am a rich girl now.”

“If you were giving me what I wanted just because you were my sub, you can be honest with me now. You’re no longer my sub, Asia.”

Her eyes went wide as she rolled out of bed and hauled ass to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

I was left without an answer. But I had a gut feeling it was going to be one that just might break my heart.

It hit me hard that Asia might not be telling me about the baby because she was thinking about getting rid of it.

Would I just stand back and allow that to happen?

I sure as hell wouldn’t let that happen!

If Asia had been faking all this time, then I could let her go, but I wasn’t about to let go of the baby. She’d be in for a fight if that was her plan. But I really couldn’t see her thinking that way.

Asia had a good heart. Her morals ran deep. It was me who made her lie. If it hadn’t been for me, she’d never have done one bad thing. No, she couldn’t be thinking about getting rid of our baby.

But she might be thinking about ending things with me and taking the baby on her own. Would I allow that?

I didn’t want to. But I didn’t know what to do about any of it.

How in the hell did so many things come to pass that I had no idea how to handle?

I wasn’t a stupid man. But damn it, I was feeling pretty fucking stupid. My world was a lie. And I was afraid those lies were about to come crashing down on me.

Was I helpless to stop it? Could I change it all?

I had big decisions to make and not a lot of time to do that in. Getting up, I went to the bathroom door. The water was running in the bathtub. Then it went off and I heard Asia, “Little baby, I want you to know that I love you and I love your daddy too. But we’ve made up something and that lie is looming over us like a deadly shadow. If things were different, I’d be celebrating your creation with your daddy. But things are hard right now. Harder than I hope you ever have to live through. I know if I tell your daddy about you, he’ll ask me to marry him. And I want to marry him. Just not over being pregnant. But there’s also the fact that the lies will always hang over us if we stay together. Baby, I don’t know what we can do to fix it all. But no matter what we do, always know that we both love you.”

Falling against the wall, I held my head in my hands. I knew what I had to do. I had to make things right. Not only for myself and Asia, but for our baby too.

So I put my clothes on, and left.

Asia

After a long bath that did little to ease my mind, I went into the bedroom. The blankets were thrown back, the light was on, and Jett was nowhere to be found.

My heart began to race as I searched frantically for him, calling out his name over and over. I even opened the door and shouted down the hallway.

But he wasn’t there.

He was gone!

And I was all alone.

Shaking, I went to get my cell and called him. His phone was off, it went straight to voicemail. I sat on the bed and searched my mind for what we’d said to each other that would have him leaving me.

Then it hit me.

The contract was over!

He left me because it was over. He’d been acting the entire time.

But why?

He didn’t have to pull some act on me. Or was that something he just did? Did Jett Simmons hire subs to play out some weird fantasy love story with him, then leave them?

Had it all been a lie?

One lie on top of another one. And I was left with a baby inside me that belonged to a man who had it in him to do such a heinous thing.

Jett could’ve been honest with me. He could’ve told me that was what his fantasy was. I’d have played along.

But I would’ve guarded my heart all the while. I bet he counted on that happening. I bet that’s why he didn’t tell me what his real fantasy was. He wanted a fake wife to avoid being set up. He wanted a sub to do it so he could live out a love fantasy. But it was all over now.

I was a thing of the past he could move on from.

My heart hurt like it would never mend. I laid on the bed as it all soaked in. It wasn’t in Jett, to be honest. I knew that then. It had all been a fantasy to him. Never real, never lasting, never going to have my happy ending.

Left with a baby, a constant reminder of how I was duped, I’d live in the house he gave me, drive the car he bought for me, and live off the money he paid for me.

It was my own fault. I sold myself to the man for the period of three months. I signed a contract that said it would all end with no arguments what-so-ever. Jett was within his rights to leave me alone without one word.

But I wasn’t prepared for that at all. And I’d fucked up by not letting him know that I had his child inside of me. No matter what he actually felt about me, he might love the baby we created together.

He had a right to know. But I was bound by that contract not to attempt to contact him once it was over. I could lose the money that would be moved to my bank account the next day if I did that.

I needed money then. I had a baby coming. I couldn’t afford to bother him with some news about a baby. I was supposed to be on birth control. I was pretty fucking sure that getting pregnant could be grounds for the money to be taken away from me.

I was going to be alone to have the baby, but I’d have what I’d earned. I gave that man more of me than I knew I could. I earned everything I got from him. Every last thing and every last cent.

Tears burst from my eyes as my body ached. I’d never feel his weight on me again. I’d never feel his warm breath as it tickled the back of my neck as I woke up each morning. The soft way he’d caress my body was over.

I’d never love anyone the way I loved him. If I could ever bring myself to fall in love again. A thing I didn’t think I could do. It just fucking hurt so badly.

Sobbing into my pillow, I just wanted to leave the hotel and go home. Home to my family, not home to where I’d only see Jett in every corner. How was I going to live in that home?

How was I going to drive a car that reminded me of him? How was I going to look at a child that always reminded me of him? The man I once loved with more than I knew I had in me?

I was doomed.

Destroyed.

And desperately trying to hang onto my sanity.

Sleep wouldn’t find me, I was sure of that. I’d be left awake in my torment. No peace would find me that night or ever. I was sure of that.

But eventually, the tears slowed and exhaustion took me over. Darkness came in at me from all sides, and I slept. Even in my sleep, dread filled my dreams.

Would I ever be the same again?

When morning light penetrated the window, I opened my eyes. Immediately, I looked to see if Jett had come back. All I found was the empty bed, and I’d wrapped my body around his pillow.

My stomach lurched, right on cue, sending me to the bathroom at breakneck speed. Once I stopped puking, I began to cry.

He was really gone!

It was really over, and I was really pregnant and all alone.

All I wanted to do was climb back into the bed, pull the blankets over my head, and go back to sleep. My dreams weren’t peaceful or happy. But they weren’t real, and even in my sleep, I knew that.

I was in reality. A place where it hurt me to be.

Slumping back to bed, I heard a knock on my door, and a piece of paper slid under it. The bill, I guessed.

I climbed back into bed and closed my burning swollen eyes. But the damn paper was nagging me to pick it up and see what it was. Getting up, I went to pick it up.

There was a message that had been left at the front desk by my parents. It said I needed to get up this morning and come to their house before I did anything else.

I bet they had some kind of a surprise for Jett and me. Well, it would be me who would surprise them with the news that Jett and I were through. And I had nothing ready to tell them about why that was.

I didn’t want to go back to Harrison and face that huge empty house. And I didn’t want to stay in the hotel Jett had left me in. Might as well go home, tell my parents he left me and I wasn’t sure why. Must’ve been for another woman or something. But that I had a home, a car, and money. But I’d need to stay with them for a little while. Just until I got over it.

Somewhere in there, I’d have to add the part that I was now pregnant. Soon to be a single mother. But at least I had the means to take care of the baby. Going back to school would be out. I doubted my head would be right in two weeks anyway.

Gathering myself, I got ready to go to Queens to see my parents. Jett and I had only packed clothes for the next day. His were gone, he’d obviously put them on when he decided to leave me. But his tux was still there.

I folded it neatly and put it in the bag with the dress I’d worn to the wedding. It was then that I wondered if his closet would still be full of this things when I went back home. Would his car still be in the garage? Would his favorite coffee cup still be in the kitchen? His toiletries in the bathroom?

Maybe he’d get the maid to gather his things and send them to him in Los Angeles. I’m sure he was going to go back there. Then my heart began to ache for his poor parents. He’d also duped his father, although I’m sure that was inadvertent, into thinking he’d be taking over his CEO job.

I knew I couldn’t go to his parents and tell them about the baby, either. I had to leave them alone, per the contract, to avoid any contact with the Dom’s family and friends after said contract was over.

Man, they’d love knowing about the baby, though. It didn’t seem fair not to tell them about it. But I might have to give everything back if I did that.

My hands were tied. I had to follow the contract. Not for my sake but for the little guy who was living inside of me. The kid deserved at least some of what his father provided. I’d make sure to learn how to take care of the money he’d given me. I’d make it last, invest it, make it grow. I’d do it for our baby.

Dressed and ready to go, I headed to the lobby where the doorman hailed a cab for me and tipped his hat. “Have a lovely day.”

That would be impossible. But I nodded. “You too.” I got into the cab with my one bag, gave the driver the address to my parent’s home and sat back. It was hard as hell not to cry as we pulled away from The Plaza Hotel. The place that would forever be etched into my brain as the place where my life, as I thought it would be, was ended.

Like all things, everything must end. But why did it have to end like this and leave me with a souvenir that would forever remind me of the man I lost?

Jett

I had no choice but to do what I did.

Things had to be taken care of. There was just no other choice to make.

Sure it was hard. And sure I had to accept the fact that I’d hurt people. But it had to be done. There was just no other way to make things right.

Asia deserved to get to hold her head high. She was a good woman. And she was carrying my baby. I didn’t want the lie to affect her any more than it already had. There was only the one way to fix it all.

Pain was part of that process. It had to be.

When lies get told, pain is always part of the process when you try to fix everything. Humility is learned. And so is the fact that lying comes with a high price.

Thankfully, the lies were over. And Asia would get to have her real life back. Not that make-believe one we were living. That life was over.

I had to say good riddance to that life. I was glad to have it behind me. Who needs all that drama?

At least that’s what I told myself as I drove my car away from our home that morning.

Asia

“Mom, Dad?” I pulled the screen door open and went into the home I’d grown up in.

“Mornin’ baby girl.” Mom came into the living room with an apron on. “Isn’t this a lovely morning? Look at that sun. And can you smell the scent of autumn that’s just around the corner? Oh, I can’t wait for the first cold breeze to blow through our door.”

She was as happy. Telling her would be hard. I didn’t want to spoil her great mood. “You cooking breakfast?” I followed her into the kitchen after I dropped my bag by the door. It was then I realized that she hadn’t asked me where Jett was.

But I wasn’t about to say anything about it. Maybe she thought he’d come later. I didn’t know, and I wasn’t in the mood to spoil her mood.

“I have some wonderful things going on in here. Eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon. Homemade biscuits are just about to come out of the oven, and the hash browns are nearly done too. If you pour yourself a cup of coffee or juice and take a seat, I’ll have it all ready soon.”

I went for a coffee cup then stopped. My sisters both cut out caffeine when they were pregnant. I should too, I thought. I went for the juice glasses and poured some bright orange juice into one.

The first sip was bitter, and I wrinkled my nose then took a seat. The heaping piles of food had me wondering if company was coming.

Oh, I was not in the mood for company!

Before I could ask Mom about that, Dad came in and grabbed me by the shoulders as he kissed me on top of the head. “Well, look who’s here. How’s my baby girl this morning?”

Depressed. Dumped. Slightly deranged.

I didn’t want to bring him down, either. Whatever the night and morning had done for my parents was great. I wasn’t going to rain on their parade. “I’m doing well, Daddy.”

“Good to hear.” He made his way to Mom, snuggling her from behind then kissing her cheek. “Oh, honey this looks divine, and it smells like Heaven in here.”

Was that it?

Had I died and gone to Heaven?

Nah, I still felt too bad for that to be the case.

The way my parents were acting had me rethinking telling them anything. I might just go back to Harrison and stay at home. I shouldn’t bring them down with my tragic life.

I was the idiot who signed up to sell myself for the summer. A thing they didn’t need to know about. And they sure as hell wouldn’t feel sorry for me about how it all turned out.

I could already hear it. ‘What the hell good did you think would come out of such a thing?’ ‘Are you insane?’

Nah, I’d keep things to myself. Eat their food and put a fake smile on my face. Then go home, see what Jett had taken and left then cry my eyes out.

That was my main plan anyway. It didn’t matter where I stayed. I was just going to be crying anyway. No reason to burden anyone with my self-pity, self-loathing, and self-destruction.

A knock at the door signaled that my parents did indeed invite others to breakfast. “Come on in,” Mom shouted as she took the biscuits out of the oven.

“Oh, my! It smells wonderful in here.” Jett’s parents stepped into the kitchen, and I went limp. His mother patted me on the back. “Good morning, dear. Point me toward the coffee, please.”

Oh, crap!

I pointed at it then felt his father’s hand on my back. “Isn’t this a lovely day, Asia?”

“I guess.”

Now, what was I going to do?

My parents were hobnobbing with Jett’s!

He took the seat next to mine and turned to face me. “Your parents came up with a great idea. Sunday breakfasts at each other’s houses.”

Dad took a seat across from me. “Ours one week, theirs the next. We’ll alternate. The best part is that we’ll all get to spend time with our kids.”

Fantastic!

Our families had already planned shit out. And I was left to ruin their breakfast and probably their lives too when I told them that Jett had left me.

It was getting pretty rough to figure out when to break it to them. Before the meal that my mother had worked so hard on, or after it?

One way, they’d all lose their appetites and Mom’s food would go to waste. The other way, they’d all have stomach aches.

I wanted to cry and got up, excusing myself for a moment. As I walked out of the room, I wondered why no one thought it was odd that Jett wasn’t there too.

No one was saying a damn thing about his absence.

The screen creaked open, making me look up.

The sun shone behind the person, making them nothing more than a shadow. But it was a tall shadow. A muscular shadow. A familiar shadow. “Jett?”

He stepped into my parent’s living room. A bouquet of flowers in one hand and a black box in the other. I was frozen.

What the hell was happening?

He got on one knee, holding out the small box. Behind me I heard the shuffling of chairs and then felt people at my back, looking on.

What the hell was he doing?

Our parents would want to know why the hell he was asking me to marry him when they thought we were already married.

“Asia Samantha Jones.” He paused, and I walked closer to him. “I’ve come clean. I’ve told our parents how we met online at the dating site and I hired you to pretend to be my wife just to avoid the social problems that go along with being a single man. I told them how sorry I was that I made a moral young lady lie for me. I also told them that along the way I fell in love with you. I asked your father if I could have your hand in marriage and he said nothing would make him happier. So what do you say? Would you make me the happiest man in the whole world and become my wife, for real?” He opened the box, and a different engagement ring was inside of it. A bigger and better one than the one that was still on my finger.

I pulled the rings off my finger as my body shook and sobs held fast in my throat. “Jett, nothing would make me happier than becoming your real wife.”

He put the flowers down and took the ring out of the box then slipped it on my finger. “Our lives start now. Our real lives.” The weight of the ring felt better on my finger. Not one bit heavy. It felt like part of me. A part I never wanted to lose.

“Jett, I want to tell you something.”

He stood and pulled me into his arms. “What would you like to tell me?”

I wanted him to be the first to know. I pulled him to me and whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

His eyes glistened as he took my face in his hands. “You’ve made me happier today than I knew was possible, Asia.” He kissed me, sweetly then looked at our parents as he wrapped me in his strong arms. “More great news. Asia just told me that we’re having a baby!”

Suddenly, we were in the middle of a giant group hug as everyone shouted their congratulations and I cried with relief and happiness.

He’d done it!

He’d made everything right. We wouldn’t have to lie anymore. I felt light as a feather with that weight off me.

Things were going to be okay. We’d get married, have our baby, and hopefully live our lives truthfully forever. I sure as hell was never going to lie about a damn thing again!

Jett rocked me in his arms when our parents backed off. They all went back into the kitchen to give us a moment of privacy. “Asia, I’m sorry that I left you alone. I’m sure you thought it was over.”

Looking up at him, I pounding my fists against his chest. “Jett, you scared the shit out of me! I cried and cried until I fell asleep then I woke up and cried some more. I was devastated. Why didn’t you just tell me what you were going to do?”

“Because you’d have demanded to come with me and take half the blame. I wanted to take all the blame. It was mine to take. And I didn’t know how any of our parents would take that news. If your parents were super pissed, I didn’t want any of their anger taken out on you. That’s why I left, turned off my cell so you couldn’t call me. I knew the sound of your voice would make it hard for me to go through with it. But I bit the bullet and told the truth and righted all the wrongs.”

My heart was swelling with love for the man. He’d been so selfless. I’d never felt more pride in anyone before. I kissed him as I ran my arms around him. “Jett, I love you more than life, itself. I promise I’ll be the best wife I can be. And I’ll be the best mother to your child that I can be. What you did proves to me that you are a man I can rely on and be proud to call my husband.”

His smile was priceless. “I’ll try my best to be what you need in a husband. And I’ll be the best father to our child that I can be. You never have to worry about a thing, I’ve got you, baby. Now let’s go get some breakfast. I’m starving.”

With a chuckle, he put his arm around my shoulders and led me to where our parents sat, waiting for us to join them at the first, every Sunday breakfast. It would be a tradition that would go on and on. As would our long and happy, real marriage.

Jett

I couldn’t wait to make Asia mine. We got on a private jet and headed to Vegas with our parents right there with us. I had her sisters and their families flown in too.

Asia would get the wedding she wanted!

We all spent a week there, preparing the perfect wedding for the love of my life. All the clothes had been bought. The flowers were picked out, and the small church was decorated lavishly. A reception in a private dining area of Asia’s favorite restaurant was scheduled. She was getting her dream wedding. And sharing it all with our families made it that much more special.

The day of the wedding grew hectic, even though the plans had been made extremely well. I suppose that’s just how weddings go. Things have to go wrong, or they’d be no fun!

Spring’s baby spit up on her dress. My father, trying to help, took the baby from her and little Ray spit up on his suit too. Mom thought she was dabbing club soda on the spot on Dad’s suit, but it turned out to be cola, staining it even more.

Asia was puking a lot, slowing things down. All I wanted to do was get the nuptials over so I could take my real wife to our room and make love to her as a real married couple.

Finally, the time came. Asia was ready. The music started, and there stood my gorgeous fiancé at the back of the room. Her white dress billowed out, making her look like the angel I thought her to be.

With slow steps, she came to me. I lifted her veil to find tears glistening in her pretty eyes. “Nice to see you, Miss Jones.”

“Glad you could meet me here today, Mr. Simmons.” She smiled at me, making my knees go weak.

We held hands and faced the pastor who got us to repeat things he said, and in the end, we kissed as man and wife.

The sensations that were running through me, I’d never experienced before. I was someone’s husband. And not too far into the future, I’d be someone’s father. Life was real for me then.

The reception was lovely and went on far too long. All I could think about was getting my wife up to our room.

When I could take it no longer, I swept her away from our families and took her up to our room. She looked at me with wide eyes as I rid her of the billowy dress. “We’re really married, Jett.”

“We are.” I pulled the dress off her shoulders, letting it fall into a heap at her feet. Then held her hand, helping her to step out of the pile of material.

She pushed the jacket of my tux off my shoulders then unbuttoned my shirt. Her hands moved over my chest as she pushed it off me. I grabbed her by the wrists as her hands moved over my heart. “You feel that?”

She nodded. “It’s pounding.”

“Because it’s full of love for you and our baby.” I pulled her hands up and kissed them. “I’m complete now. I didn’t know how great it would feel. It’s indescribably pleasant.”

I turned her around to take her bra off then pulled her back to me, taking her breasts in my hands. She reached back to undo my pants, and they fell to the floor. I stepped out of my shoes, and she stepped out of hers then we made our way to the bed. Quickly, we got rid of the rest of the clothing that was on us and climbed onto the large soft bed.

She lay on her back, gazing up at me as I stroked her cheek. “This time it’s for real. I feel just like I did on our first night together.”

“Me too.” I leaned over and kissed her. Our tongues ran around together, playfully.

My hands roamed over her body as our kiss grew with passion. My cock was pulsing with desire, and I couldn’t wait any longer. Moving my body to cover hers, I pressed my cock into her hot canal. Moans filled the air as we became one.

I had no idea it would feel different. But it did. It was as if we were making love for the very first time. I felt every little thing about her. The way her hips curved as I pressed against them. The way her breasts heaved as my chest squished them.

Watching her face as I made love to her, I saw a glow about her that I’d never seen before. My wife had a glow about her. My wife was in love with me. My wife had made me a very happy man.

I trailed my fingers over her shoulder, down her arm and clasped my hand with hers, pulling it up, holding it down. Then I did the same with the other, pinning her to the bed. “How powerful you make me feel.”

She smiled and arched up to meet my thrusts. “You make me feel that way too.”

I rolled over, sitting her on top of me. “I’m glad you feel that way too. I want to be the man who supports you, takes care of you, nourishes your soul.”

“You are that.” She ran her hands over my abs as she licked her lips.

Riding me at the speed she knew I liked, then she leaned over and kissed me.

We were married, and life was finally going to be just fine. The problems were behind us, and everything ahead looked sunny. A man couldn’t ask for more than that.

Asia

I looked down at the man who was now my very real husband and smiled as I moved my body up and down his girth. There was a difference with how sex with him felt. It was better.

I had no idea it could get any better, but it had.

Steadily, I moved my body to stroke him as we looked into each other’s eyes. It was real, and I was in a state of pure bliss.

Jett smiled and rolled us over, pinning me to the bed as he revved up the pace. I wrapped my legs around him, loving how much deeper he could go into me.

All the sweetness was moving to the back as the animal lust we had between us took over. He pounded me furiously as I moaned with how insanely good it all felt.

I raked my nails across his back, as he bit my neck. That was all it took to drive me over the edge, and I came like crazy. He held back, not ready to let it end. “Oh, baby. Yeah!”

Panting, I groaned as he kept going, making the orgasm go on and on. It finally ebbed enough that it wasn’t driving me crazy. Jett smiled at me as he moved back. “On your knees.”

I scrambled to get on them, eager to feel him back inside of me. He slammed into me and gave me a hard smack on the ass. Then he pushed my shoulders to the bed and held my waist as he made thrusts so hard, he grunted with each one.

With him going that deep and hard, it took no time to send me into a trail of orgasms that exploded inside me like firecrackers. One after the other hit me until I was quivering and moaning constantly with arousal.

Jett wasn’t about to let it all end anytime soon. I realized that when he pulled out of me, turned me over and lifted me up. He put my legs over his shoulders, and I clung to his hair as he ate me out.

Lifting me up and down, he used his tongue to fuck me. I was screaming with desire. He couldn’t seem to get enough of me. And I was overjoyed for that.

Picking me up higher, he moved his attention to my clit, using his lips to manipulate it as he continued to lift me up and down. I was screaming with another intense orgasm soon, and he put my down on the edge of the bed and rammed his cock into me, leaving it still as I pulsed all around it.

He stood there with his eyes closed as he took it all in. I watched a vein in his neck pulse with each rapid heartbeat then he began to move. Slowly at first, then he went faster, harder, and his eyes opened. “You belong to me, Asia. My cock is the only one that will ever be inside of you.”

“Yes!” I was elated with how brazen he was.

“Only my seed will ever grow inside of you.” He slammed into me hard over and over as I quivered with desire.

“Yes!”

I was his. I couldn’t imagine being with another man. He owned me. Jett Simmons was my husband, and my heart would forever be his. And so would my body.

Taking me by the waist, he held me as he thrust his hard cock into me until I came again and he couldn’t hold back any longer. He burst into me with a heat I found amazing. Then he stood there, perfectly still as his cock jerked inside of me.

It took a long time for our bodies to stop the pulsing and pulling from the strong orgasms. Then he moved me up onto the bed and placed my head gently on a pillow and went to get something to clean me up a bit.

I caught my breath as I closed my eyes and reveled in the afterglow. Then a cool cloth was running over my heated areas down south as my husband cleaned me all up. He left one small kiss on my clit before he came up to lie next to me. “Hey, you.” His lips met mine for only a second.

I ran my hand over her cheek. “Hey, you.”

“It’s real, Asia. You and I are a couple. A married couple. A real married couple.” He smiled. “Does that make you as happy as it makes me?”

I nodded. “It does. I didn’t know it could get any better, but somehow it is so much better.”

“For me too.” He kissed me again. “Knowing you’re really mine does something to me. It fills me with some crazy emotion. Love isn’t big enough to describe it. It’s like you’re a part of me now. A real part. Like if I lost you, it’d be like losing a piece of my actual body. Don’t ever make me lose you, baby. Promise me that. Promise me that we’ll always work things out. No matter what. Nothing will be too big that we can’t get over it or through it.”

To agree to that was easy. I wanted that security too. “Jett, I will never walk away from you. And if you try to walk away from me, you can bet your sweet ass that I’ll find a rope to tie you up, make you stay, and work with you until we’re both happy again. Because you’re that important to me. Losing you would be like losing part of my soul. We can get through anything. We’re a team.”

He shook his head and kissed me again. “We’re more than a team, baby. We’re one in the same. You and I are one, forever and always. And I’ll do everything in my power to keep your sweet ass happy.”

“Me too.” I smiled and raised my head to kiss him.

We’d done it. We’d made it all real.

We’d found our happily ever after…

The End.

* * *

Jett

Water cascaded over the enormous rocks. The sound was deafening. I saw Asia hiding from me just behind the waterfall. She didn’t realize I saw her.

Ducking back down, I moved through the tall grass, slow and stealthy, like a tiger who had found its prey. When I got to the edge of my cover, I waited, watching her.

Her dark hair was wet, slicked back. Her eyes were darting around as she kept an eye out for me, ready to run if she caught a glimpse of me. Her breasts heaved as she took rapid breaths.

I’m sure the swim to get underneath that fall had been a rough one. My little Asia thought she was clever. She was, but so was I.

She must not have seen that there was another way to get to where she was. A simpler way. But I’d be out in the open for a few seconds. If she saw me, she’d have time to jump back into the water and possibly swim away from me once more.

I’d had her in my grasp on the other side of the falls. She’d managed to escape and took the plunge through the rapidly moving water that took her away from me.

But I was going to get her back.

I had to.

And I had to move fast to get her back where she belonged. People were waiting. She’d made promises, and I meant for her to keep them, even if she didn’t.

Clad in nothing more than my bathing suit, I felt the first rush of cool air that signaled night would soon fall. I had to get her back before that happened.

Something made a splashing sound on the other side of her, and she turned to see if it was me, giving me the opportunity to get to her. Like a serpent striking, I sped across the open terrain and slipped into the shadows of the space under the falls.

She’d never hear me. The sound was much too loud for that. Moving in behind her, I took her by the shoulder, spinning her around to face me. She shrieked so loudly, I could hear it over the loud sound of the water.

“No, Jett!” She tried to wiggle out of my grip.

I wasn’t having any of that. She had to be subdued if I wanted to get her back to where she belonged.

Pulling her to me, I moved back into the shallow cave and pinned her to the rock wall. Her eyes were huge as she shook her head. I just nodded and pulled my cock out of my shorts, then pushed her suit to the side and thrust into her.

She wrapped her legs around me, helpless as she moaned in my ear, “Jett, yes.”

Moving my cock in and out of her, I looked into her eyes. I let her know who she belonged to. She was mine, all mine, and she would go back with me to do what she’d promised.

Her body began to give in as I moved in and out of her. I kissed her as she came all over me. Her nails curled into my back, but I wouldn’t stop. Not yet. She was still a flight risk.

Moving her to lay on the cave floor, I mounted her, pulling her legs back so I could push into her further. “Yes!” she screamed as her body kept quaking around my cock.

Pounding into her at a furious pace, I leaned in and bit her neck, then sucked it. It never failed to send her into a frenzy of orgasms. She was crying out with desire as her body gave me everything I demanded.

It was getting increasingly hard to hold back my own release, but I had to. I needed her helpless, putty in my hands. There was no other way.

Letting her legs go, I moved down her body and kissed her juicy mound. “Oh, Jett!” Her eyes were wide as she looked at me just before I went down on her, forcing my tongue into her swollen canal.

She let out a moan as I pushed my tongue into her, feeling the convulsions of her vagina. I lapped up the juices she was letting go. They tasted like heaven and made me salivate furiously.

Voraciously, I ate her out, then moved up to kiss her clit. Her nails dug into my shoulders as I put my lips on the swollen bud, then licked it over and over until she was crying out with another orgasm.

Only then did I move back up her body and force my cock into her as she came hard, so hard it was difficult to get my cock to go inside of her. But when I did get it in there, it was a bevy of sensations—all of them good.

I didn’t have to move at all as her body took mine over the edge. I groaned as I came, and she moaned, “Jett, oh, baby.” She was purring like a satisfied kitten after a bowl of warm milk.

I’d done it. I’d taken all the want to run out of her.

I waited for us to catch our breath before pulling my head up to look at her. “You know, you’re prolonging the inevitable, Asia. Once we’re done, then they’ll all leave, and we can have some fun all alone in the privacy of the cabin.”

“But, Jett, I don’t want to do that. It’s just that I know I’m not good at it.” She closed her eyes and frowned.

Nudging her cheek with my nose, I said, “You’ll be great at it. You’ll see. And you already said you’d do it. No wife of mine is going to say she’ll do something and go back on her word.”

I rolled off her and took her hand, picking her up. Taking a look at the water below us, I weighed the options. Jump in and let the water take us down the river a bit, then get out and walk back up, or climb the side of the waterfall to get back.

Asia made the choice and jumped, taking me along for the ride.

Would she ever learn how to let me make the decisions?

Asia

Jett thought he had me so easily. Boy, was he wrong. I wasn’t about to go back there and be humiliated, no matter what I foolishly said I’d do.

Swimming through the water, I made sure we headed far enough down the river that it would take us a while to get back—back to the place I’d run from. The place that held undo punishments.

Jett stayed right with me as we swam. He wasn’t about to lose me again. When I got away from him and purposely went over the waterfall, the look on his face was priceless.

He never thought I’d do a thing like that.

That’s how badly I wanted to get away. That’s how much I didn’t want to do what everyone else in our little party wanted to do.

Taking a vacation with other couples from The Dungeon of Decorum was something I had worried about, but what they wanted to do wasn’t something I’d ever thought would come up.

My exact thoughts were that I’d float down the river until I came to other campers. Then I’d hitch a ride to town, call my mother-in-law to see how the kids were doing, and tell her to send a helicopter for me. I wanted the hell out of those Oregon woods!

But Jett was staying close. I was sure he meant to take me back there kicking and screaming if he had to.

I wasn’t an idiot. I knew the little sexy session was to wear me out so I’d be easy for him to take back. It gave me an idea. Why not use that to my advantage too?

No one was around. The woods on either side of the river sheltered us. The water, which had been rushing, was slowing down and becoming more tranquil. It got shallow enough that I could stand up. Turning to him, I splashed his just a little, being playful. The water was up to my neck, but hit him mid-chest. I wrapped my arms around him and growled, “The cave was fun. I bet a little watery action would be fun too.” I ran my legs around him and humped him just a bit.

A grin broke out over his handsome face. “You do?”

I reached down between us and pushed his swimming trunks down, so I could play with the beast a bit and bring him back to life. Kissing him while I did that, it was no time before I had him right where I wanted him.

The cool water that surrounded us did little to ease the heat that was building in us both. I ran my hands over his muscular back, exploring the hills and valleys that were created by them.

He ran his hands around my ass, lifting me up a bit, then sliding me back down onto his cock that had become rock hard. We moaned as the connection was made. It just never got old, that sensation of being part of each other.

He rocked me back and forth, making my body stroke his. Moving my mouth off his, I trailed kisses up his neck, then whispered, “I love you, Jett.”

“I love you, Asia.” He moved one hand up my back as his other held my ass so he could keep moving me. His hand wrapped up in my hair and he pulled my head back, then kissed the front of my neck.

I opened my eyes to find the sun had nearly set. It would be dark in minutes, then we’d have a hell of a time finding our way back to the cabin. But I’d rather spend the night out in the woods alone with Jett than go back to the place where everyone else was.

It was easy to get lost in the passion with Jett. He moved in ways that took my body to an alternate state. Heat filled me while the water cooled my skin. It was intense, arousing, and highly satisfying.

Not only was I getting some awesome sexual action, but I was effectively staying away from the thing I didn’t want to do. A win-win in my book.

Jett started walking toward the shore, making me think he was about to end our special time. I wasn’t about to let him do that. Ramping things up, I nibbled on his neck. He stopped walking, and I found out what he’d been up to.

He pushed me back and made me release my legs. I floated on the surface as he held me by the waist and pushed and pulled me to stroke his cock.

Gliding over the water as he took me was out of this world. I looked up at the sky and saw the first few stars. It was gorgeous and everything felt otherworldly.

He moved one hand down my waist, over my hip, then to my clit, where he manipulated it, making me orgasm. He growled as I came undone and moved me faster and faster until he came too.

Picking me up in his arms, he held me, kissing my neck and murmuring sweet things to me. With our bodies easing and our breathing becoming normal, he let our connection end.

“Come on.” He took my hand and proceeded to lead me out of the water. “There’s just enough light to see how to get back to the cabin.”

“You don’t suppose they’re done, do you?” I asked as I situated my bikini as we got onto the rocky shore.

“I hope not.” He tugged me along, aware that I was lagging behind on purpose. “You’re being silly, Asia. It’s not like you to be this silly.”

“Silly?” Now I was getting hot. I jerked my hand out of his, but found he caught me quite easily and tossed me over his shoulder.

“Yeah, silly. And I’m done chasing after you.” He gave my ass a good smack, making me yelp.

“Jett! Put me down.” I pounded his back with my fists.

It just made him laugh. “Pound away, baby. It feels like a massage.”

It seemed I’d be dragged back there, kicking and screaming. Jett was bound and determined to get me back to the other couples.

I stopped struggling so I could think. There had to be something else I could do to get out of it.

Jett

The soft pine needles made a natural carpeting as I walked in my bare feet to get back to the cabin. The night sky was making more and more stars pop out and the breeze was cool.

Asia was light as a feather. I could carry her over my shoulder all night if I had to. But she was coming back with me, no matter what.

One would think that going through what a woman does when she has three kids would’ve had Asia where nothing would bother her. Shyness should be a thing of the past. But she was letting this shyness get to her.

Asia had finished college, then worked part time after that, as we had little Josh to take care of too. Two years later we’d had a girl, Jasmine, then only six months after Jasmine was born we’d gotten pregnant again. We had another son—Jake. He’d come a bit too close to his older sister. Asia had found she didn’t want to go back to work, even part-time. She wanted to stay home with the kids and be a full-time mom, which was great with me.

Whatever Asia wanted, I wanted for her.

Two years had gone by, and Asia had done nothing other than be a wife and mother. She wouldn’t allow anyone else take care of our kids, even though both our parents had wanted to take them at different times, offering us a break.

I was game. I wanted some nights alone with my wife, but she was adamant that she didn’t want them to go. She felt guilty that Jasmine and Jake hadn’t gotten to have our complete attention the way Josh had. That guilt was making her into a person she’d never been—an introvert with reclusive tendencies.

She’d only leave the house when we planned special trips to the zoo or a park—family things that we took the kids with us to do. She’d let our families come over and we’d go to our parents’ homes, but always with kids in tow.

I didn’t mind that, but I did mind what was happening to the woman I loved. She was losing herself in our children. I had made it my mission to find her again.

Asia was still as smart as she’d ever been, but the sharpness she’d always had was growing dull. She was becoming burned out and she didn’t even see it happening to her.

After our youngest son’s third birthday party, I got with our parents and told them I thought Asia needed a break. I knew she’d fight me like hell over leaving the kids with them for a week, but she desperately needed the vacation.

Secretly, I made plans to take her on an adult-only trip. I made some calls and found out a small group of couples from The Dungeon of Decorum were going on a camping trip out to one of the forests in Oregon. I signed us up for it.

There was one main lodge and six small cabins that surrounded it. In the main lodge, there’d be scenes played out that anyone could be a part of, or they could make one of their own. I thought Asia and I could possibly make one. If not, we could be spectators, and it would ignite our passion and spark her up again.

She was in desperate need of a spark.

It was a safe place to explore our sexuality more, and there’d be women she could talk to who lived the way she did. Not everyone lived the way we did.

In our home, I was king. What I said went. All decisions were mine. In theory.

I wasn’t the strictest ruler. Leniency was my policy, and because of that, my wife was beginning to lose her luster for life. I needed some Dom time with men who were good at that kind of thing.

Asia needed me to be more for her. I wasn’t just her husband, I was her partner. A partner who was there to help her be the best she could be. And she was that for me too.

Only, with the kids, things were getting out of hand. Our bed had become a family bed. It was never meant to be that, but it had ended up that way.

With our first one, we just loved the little guy so much that we kept him between us so we both could look at him, feel his presence, and know he was safe.

Jasmine came along, and for a little while, we put them in their own beds. It just made sense. Then the guilt of having Jake came and all three were in our bed every night.

Asia and I had to sneak off to make love. Needless to say, that only happened about once a week, if that often.

I missed my wife—my sexy, affectionate wife—and I wanted her back. If I had to learn how to be more dominant to make sure I got her back and kept her, then so be it.

The funniest part about Asia running away after the third day there was why she ran off.

That’s what made no sense.

Asia

As I laid over Jett’s shoulder, I thought about why he didn’t understand why I didn’t want to participate with the others.

Jett didn’t understand who I’d become. I wasn’t the old Asia—the carefree girl with no worries who was up for anything and happy go lucky most of the time.

With kids comes great responsibility. I couldn’t be carefree. I had to care about everything. From day one, I’d had to monitor poops, pees, cries, and feedings. The things I had to monitor on our newborn were endless.

‘Did you give him any water?’

‘Why did you give him water? He can’t have that.’

The advice was as endless as the things I had to monitor. But I’d managed, somehow, to cut through the advice and pick out what I thought worked best for our son. I had gotten the hang of parenting by the time Josh was two. Then I’d decided I wanted another child. I’d read that more than three years between siblings caused riffs in sibling relationships.

Jett was down for another kid, so we put Josh in his own bed, as he’d been sleeping with us, and we got busy producing another offspring. In that three-month period of so much love making, Jett and I reconnected.

It was fantastic!

I had gotten pregnant, and all through the pregnancy, we’d fucked like rabbits, delighting in the fact that we had effectively gotten Josh into his own routine and bedroom and were free to explore our love once more.

Jasmine came, and we’d waited out the six-week period of no sex like a couple of dogs in heat who had been chained up from each other. The day the six weeks was up, Jet had gotten Josh to sleep. I had gotten Jasmine to sleep and put her in her baby bed in her own bedroom, gotten the baby monitor, and taken it to our bedroom to wait.

When he’d come in, we’d virtually exploded around each other. It was hot, it was electric, and it wasn’t going to stop. We couldn’t get enough of each other. We’d done the same thing each night—put the kids to bed. then met in our room where it was back to fucking like rabbits.

It was awesome!

Until I found myself pregnant again. And our baby girl was only six-months-old. I’d lost that special time with her, and I’d lose my special time with the new baby. It was terrible timing.

And with that pregnancy, the sexual heat that Jett and I had begun to lose points on the thermometer. The urges simply vanished. We found ourselves letting the kids sleep with us. Then Jake came along and there were five of us in the bed.

Sex wasn’t even thought about. It would come as an afterthought once a week, or even less than that. Jett and I got along fine. We were good to one another and parented as a team.

Well, mostly as a team. Jett and I argued some over leaving the kids with our parents now and then. I was against it. I already felt guilty about Jasmine and Jake and how we had never gotten to develop that special bond with them that we’d had with Josh. I wasn’t about to start shipping them all off to the grandparents.

So I was stuck. I didn’t want to work because that would take away from the kids. I didn’t want to go out alone with Jett because that would also take away from the kids. So life revolved around home and my family.

Only Jett pointed out the day of Jake’s third birthday that life wasn’t revolving around the family, to which I wholeheartedly disagreed. He pointed out that my life was only revolving around the kids. Our marriage was left out of that. He was left out of that. And he took responsibility for his part in that too.

As the husband, it was up to him to monitor the mommy situation at all times and direct me accordingly. He’d let the sex go. He’d let the affection go. He’d let it all go because it was easier to be lenient than it was to take the hard road and make me be his wife too—not just the kid’s mother.

And he was right. I could see that.

I loved my husband. I didn’t want him to feel left out of anything. But what was I supposed to do about it?

I also loved my kids, and I wanted them to know that without any doubts at all. I wanted them to know they were my world.

Jett pointed out that I was his world as much as the kids were. And he was supposed to have the top spot in my world, just as I was supposed to have the top spot in his. We’d both fallen away from our core beliefs, and he took the responsibility upon himself to fix it for us all.

I was thankful for that, because even though he’d pointed out things that I agreed with, I was still one hell of a busy mom.

Things still had to be monitored—pee, naps, meals. But things were added as they got older. Josh had to be monitored on what he was looking at on his little laptop that he was only supposed to be playing learning games on.

All too often we’d find him playing violent games that were far above his age level. He’d tell us he was training for when he would become a marine and that we shouldn’t stop him. He needed to get used to seeing blood, guts, and assorted body parts. It would be his job someday.

Who were we to get in the way of the next great American War Hero?

Jasmine had to be monitored about the crayons. Our little girl was a budding artist, and when she ran out of paper, the walls became her canvas. Oh, how proud she was of her grand murals. That made it hard as hell to discipline her about coloring on the walls.

Jasmine would enter the room and take a bow. “Please, family, join me in the hallway where I shall show you my latest creation.”

Jett and I would sigh as we looked at each other. Neither of us had a clue how to discourage her from drawing on the walls while encouraging her on her art.

She was fantastic, after all. No one could make little squiggly marks like our precious daughter. In the end, we repainted often and blamed the maintenance man when she found her masterpieces had vanished into thin air. And we got her an easel to help combat her addiction.

Then there was Jake. Boy, that kid was into everything. I’d lose him so often after he began to crawl that we had to sew jingle bells into his clothes so we could track him down.

We were certain that he’d become the world champion at hide-and-go-seek.

With all the kids and all that went with them, my time was used up. Thinking about anything other than what they were up to and if their bodies were in proper working order was more than I could do.

Sex with my husband didn’t even enter my mind. There just wasn’t time for that. And he wasn’t as busy as I was, so he ended up missing sex more than I did.

When Jett came to me, making me take the time to talk to him while our parents looked after the kids after the festivities of Jake’s birthday, I was grateful.

He could’ve skirted around behind my back to get what he needed. Instead, he took the mother bear I was head-on. He let me know he was taking his wife back. However it had to happen, he wanted me back and he’d get me back.

I could still be a great mother, but he wanted me back. So he devised a plan where we’d spend a week in Oregon with other couples who liked to live the way we did. We’d explore our sexuality once more and learn some tricks of the trade from the other couples.

That might sound like a lot of fun to some. A BDSM retreat, if you will.

To me, it sounded merely okay. And the thought of leaving my kids for an entire week was like sliding bamboo shoots underneath my fingernails. I fought him as hard and long as I could about going.

I kept telling him to start out with one overnighter, then we’d go to two and move on from there. Jett wasn’t hearing it. He said I needed a clean break so I could come home and know, without a doubt, that I was his wife first and their mother second.

He and I were the heads of the household and our needs had to be met too. Without a strong union at the top, our troops would descend into chaos. And we had three teens to think about in our future. We needed to build the pyramid of power now.

No more waiting.

But it wasn’t easy, and I wasn’t happy about going back to do what the others thought would be best for me.

Jett

The light was still on in our cabin. I had a feeling our friends wouldn’t give up and leave. The women of our small group had come up with the idea when they’d seen how introverted Asia had become.

Though none of them had known her prior, they listened when I described the pre-children Asia. All of them had kids, so they understood.

I didn’t see a thing wrong with what they’d come up with. When Asia had taken off out the door, it had taken me by surprise.

She and I had participated in several things with the other couples. We’d watched some scenes and some impact training that she was really excited about trying. We’d even taken part in a power building session, where all the couples had sex in the same room at the same time. She’d taken part in that without running away.

So why would she run from something like this?

As I approached the front door, I gave her ass a smack and placed her back on her feet. I was sure to keep her between me and the door so she couldn’t get away from me.

I took her by the chin to make her look at me. “Asia, I want you to go in there and have a good time. I don’t want any more of this shy crap. We fucked in front of these people, for the love of Pete. How could this be embarrassing to you when that wasn’t?”

“I wasn’t alone.” She jutted out her jaw and crossed her arms.

“What?” I was confused.

“They want me to get in front of everyone, all alone. I don’t want to do it. Isn’t that enough for you? I don’t want to do it all alone.” She blinked rapidly as if she was about to cry.

I pulled her into my arms and rocked her. “Baby, my God, what’s happened to you?” I kissed the top of her head and looked down at her. “You’re going to laugh at yourself later when you look back at this.”

“Do you really think so?” She shook her head. “I’m scared to death, Jett. I am.”

“Baby, get in there. Take the card they give you. Act out the word and let everyone laugh with you. They’re not going to laugh at you. You’ll be having fun in no time. Being invisible isn’t nearly as great as you’re thinking it is. Hiding behind me or the kids is a thing of the past for you. It’s time to step up and be the best you that you can be. Starting with an innocent game of charades.”

I kissed her, then, and held her tight, knowing she’d get through that week and be one step closer to being back to the strong Asia she’d been before she was called Mom.

The door opened and she was greeted with hugs from her new friends. Then we went inside to play the game that would help bring my wife back to me.

The sex all week long had helped with that too. In the end, we got each other back and our marriage remained rock solid. Our kids had ups and downs that we all got through as a family—a family with a mother and a father who loved each other so much, they’d do anything to keep their love strong.

And we all lived and loved happily ever after.

The End.