There’s nothing like regrets in the early, cold, bright dawn of day. Lying here in bed, listening to Aden breathe, I find myself wrestling with regret. Not really regret for last night—that was too beautiful to ever regret.

Instead, I find myself looking back on the time I’ve shared with Aden. I wish I could go back, to that day when Aden fell, and change everything—especially telling the hospital that I was his wife. I can’t. I wish I could take back the lies, change things…almost everything, but I can’t.

Last night was… everything. It was everything I had ever wanted with a man. It was dirty, hot, amazing and it was… love—at least on my part. Yet, I can’t help feeling it was another mistake. I was weak. I was a fool. I was so many things, I have been since the beginning—and none of them is good.

“Thank you for coming,” I tell one of the guests as she turns in her key. I’ve been doing this all morning, but the good news is that more will be replacing them this afternoon after three. I need to clean rooms and get that done, but I can’t—not yet. This was the last guest scheduled to leave today. Now that they’re gone, I have to talk to Aden. I can’t keep putting it off. I just can’t.

“Are you ready?” Aden asks on cue. His words make me jerk in surprise. If he only knew how ready I’m not. Still, his words are another sign.

Ready or not.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I mutter. “Aden, I really need to talk to you.”

“You really need to kiss me good morning,” he says, instead his voice dropping down until it has a gravely texture to it that sends chills down my spine and centers in the most feminine parts of my body. He steps into me, kissing the side of my neck, and taking me into his arms.

“I think we did enough kissing early this morning,” I tell him gently, doing my best to remain strong. Besides, I’m not wrong. Aden woke me up this morning kissing me, which led to other things besides kissing, which ended with him kissing me to stifle both our cries, as he drove deep inside of me and we climaxed together.

“There’s never enough kissing, honey,” he argues, his hand moving under my shirt and traveling up to palm my breast.”

“Aden,” I hiss. “Anyone could come in.”

“I’m more interested in making you come,” he responds.

“Aden!” I push away, forcing myself to—and that’s not easy. I want to give in to him more than I want my next breath.

“I really need to talk to you.”

“I’m sensing this isn’t something you can talk about while I’m making you come,” he mumbles, scratching the side of his face.

“No. It’s definitely not. It’s something that is very serious.”

“It has to wait then, honey.”

“What? No it doesn’t! This is important and can’t be put off.”

“I’m sensing that,” he agrees.

“So, we need to talk.”

“That’s not going to work for me, babe. We will be late and we can’t be late.”

“Late? Late for what?”

“I have a surprise for you and that surprise is not here. So we have to leave. We’ll have to have your talk later.”

“You already surprised me with the billboards…”

“This is not that kind of surprise. This is a surprise where I get the benefits. This is also a surprise I’ve spent all morning arranging and we can’t be late.”

“You got the benefits of the billboard surprise too,” I mumble.

“I did. I surely did, and let me tell you last night was fucking hot. So good and so hot that it inspired me to get creative with my surprise this morning—a surprise, I’ll repeat, that we can’t be late for. So I need you to get a move on and move that sexy ass of yours and go put on the clothes I laid out for you.”

“I… you were just trying to get me to sleep with you. How is us talking going to make us any later than that?”

“I wasn’t trying to get you to sleep with me,” he denies and my patience is about gone. It took all the courage I had to start this conversation and he’s ruining it.

“You were too.”

“Babe, I wasn’t. I was trying to fuck you hard and fast against the wall.”

I do a small body shiver, because that does sound really good. Then, I shake myself because I do not have time for that.

“That would still delay us.”

“It’d be a good delay, plus you go off in minutes, so it wouldn’t be a big delay—”

“I don’t,” I lie, and it’s a lie because with Aden in control I could go off immediately.

“Babe,” he growls and I have an urge to stick my tongue out at him, which is ridiculous since I’m getting ready to destroy my life.

That thought sobers me up quick.

“Aden we have to talk—”

“And we will. After. Now go put on the clothes I laid out and let’s get moving.”

“But…wait… you laid out clothes?”

“Hope,” he warns and his growl deepens and I try really hard to keep that body shiver under control—I only partially succeed.

“We can’t go anywhere. Who will watch Jack? The motel?”

“Jack is handled. Daria picked him up five minutes ago. Actually that’s about twenty now since you’ve had me talking for so long.”

“Why is it you talk to my best friend more than I talk to her these days?”

“Babe can you ask me these questions when we’re on the road?”

“But the motel—”

“Is handled.”

“What? How?”

“I had enough money left over to hire a college student to clerk four hours a day. She should be here any minute.”

“But… I mean how do we know she’s safe? We’ve not trained her and how do we—”

“You were busy yesterday, trust me when I tell you I have this handled and how I handled it was seeing to this shit, while you were working.”

“But Aden—”

“And seeing to more stuff after I wore you out from fucking you this morning.”

“But Aden—”

“I can see nothing with you ever goes easy,” he grumbles and then he bends down and pulls on my legs, lifting me over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.

“What are you doing?” I cry.

“I’m taking you to the bedroom where you are getting dressed and you will be ready to leave in ten minutes.”

“Aden we have to talk,” I cry, nearly desperate now.

“We will after. I promise. You can talk to your heart’s content. But right now you’re getting dressed and we are leaving for my surprise, or else you will have fucked up a lot of effort.”

“But you promise after that we will talk,” I ask him, desperately.

“I promise. Now get busy,” he warns depositing me in the bedroom, kissing me quickly on the lips and then slamming the door as he walks away.

I turn around and look at a white strapless dress that I haven’t worn in years, that is now laid across the bed with a blue bra and panty set placed beside it. I frown. I guess I’m getting dressed… and then after… talking…

It might make me a coward, but again I let him put me off. I won’t allow it to go the rest of the day though.

I can’t hide from this anymore.