For the first time in a long time, Aedan panicked. She was rummaging in her purse for her cell phone. He felt like he had when he was learning to fight, when he lost control and his opponent had him up against the ropes. He’d lost control with Rosa and now he was losing her.

“Wait. Please. Just- Come home with me.” He knew he sounded desperate, but he didn’t care.

She tossed him a look, her eyes flashing.

He shook his head. “Not for that...to talk. Please. I was out of line.”

Rosa hesitated a moment before dropping her phone back in her purse. He saw her eyes soften, the scowl leave her face.

“Just to talk.” She smiled, a tentative movement at the corners of her mouth.

“Maybe you should talk and I’ll just keep my mouth shut. Shouldn’t be too hard, my foot’s already in it.”

Her smile widened. Shyly she stepped toward him, her arms going around his waist. Her eyes searched his. “As long as you actually mean it. Not the foot thing. I mean to talk. And that you’re not angry. If you’re just saying it because you think it’s something you should say...”

More than anything Aedan wanted to pull her against him, but he resisted. Barely. He smiled at her, kissing her quickly. “I mean it. Let’s get a cab.” He got the rest of their food to go and hailed a cab. He briefly wondering if the two guys from earlier were still around, but didn’t have to worry. They’d already moved on to somewhere else.

They were silent on the ride to his apartment, Aedan’s arm around Rosa. She rested her head on his shoulder, and the image of carrying her to his bed flooded through his mind.

He let them into his apartment, tossing his keys on the kitchen table before opening the refrigerator door and tossing the food inside. “You want something to drink? I have some beer, I think some kind of wine...” He glanced up at her. She was standing on the other side of the refrigerator door, shaking her head. He tilted his head at her.

“What? You look like you have something to say.” He leaned on the refrigerator door, watching her.

She took a step forward, leaned over and kissed him over the door. “I don’t want anything to drink. I want you.”

Aedan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. There weren’t many women who could surprise him, but Rosa certainly had. “I thought you were mad at me, for what happened in the taqueria.”

“I am. I should be...” She smiled at him, a teasing grin, covering something deeper.

Aedan closed the door, reaching for her. Rosa came to him willingly, suddenly, her body pressed against his. “You’re a complicated girl, Rosa.”

She laughed. “I’m learning from you.”

He took her to his bedroom. In the dim light he undressed her, her hair crackling with static as he pulled her dress over her head, leaving her in her pale lacy underwear and bra. It was almost with reverence that he undid the clasp to her bra, sliding the satin of her panties over her skin, watching them fall to the floor.

His eyes took in every detail of her, standing in his shadowy room; the fullness of her breasts, her hips gently flaring out from her narrow waist. There had been so many girls...women who had been in this same spot, so many he’d taken to bed. But none had triggered this feeling in the pit of his stomach, a giddy sensation, like the first dip on a rollercoaster.

But it had been a long time since he’d been on a rollercoaster and he wasn’t a kid anymore; this was no game. He was almost overwhelmed by his feelings, most of which scared the hell out of him. But not enough to walk away from Rosa.

That same helpless desire to hold her against him, to feel her breasts against his chest, wind his fingers in her hair overcame him and he pulled her to him.

“Aedan...” She looked up, her eyes soft in the dark, a question in her voice. Her hands had been undoing the buttons on his shirt and she stopped, holding on to the fabric.

“You’re just so beautiful...Sorry. That’s such a predictable thing to say. But you are.” He caressed her face. “But I’m sure you hear that all the time.”

She dropped her eyes, suddenly busy with the buttons again, her hair across her face. “No, not really. Or...I never believe them.”

Aedan lifted her chin. “You are. Why not believe them?”

“Maybe I don’t trust them? Not sure. Guys...They aren’t- They haven’t always been that honest with me.”

“Then they’re idiots.” He kissed her, her lips soft beneath his. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes...” That breathless voice. His heart beat faster, his body suffused with arousal, his erection straining against his jeans.

She stepped away from him, hands moving to the front of his pants, pulling the snap and tugging down the zipper. There was no hesitation tonight, no accidental brushes; she was confident in her movements, her hands pulling back his jeans, reaching eagerly for him.

There was a gasp as she took him in her hand. Aedan wasn’t sure if it was her or him, didn’t care. She was holding him, stroking him slowly, watching her hands move over his cock.

He took her hand, repositioning her fingers, moving her hand with his. “I like it like this.” He kept his hand over hers for a moment before letting go.

She was doing wonderful things to him with her hands, stroking him slowly, her eyes fixed on his cock the entire time. His hips began flexing forward on their own; his body taking over.

He finally put his hand over hers. “Stop, Rosa.” His voice was husky as he took her hand, pulling her roughly toward the bed.

“Did I do something wrong?” She looked up, eyes wide.

He was touched by her, the concern in her voice.

“Oh, hell, no. You’re doing everything right.” He suddenly wanted her more now than he could stand. “Come here.”

Being that close, having her touch him, having her want to please him, to actually care, fueled a desire that was now raging out of control.

And so he took her, hard and fast, tipping her back onto the bed, spreading her legs before she had a chance to even gasp. The light from the window fell across her face; she was startled but not afraid.

The fingers of one hand dug into her ass as he drove himself into her, his other arm wrapped around her shoulders. He knew she could hardly move but at that moment he wanted to consume her, take all she had to give.

When he came, it was with a force that took his breath away. He tipped his head back, mouth open in a soundless cry, too overwhelmed with sensation to even breathe. He was surprised when she arched up against him in the same moment, crying out, her hands raking down his back. He felt a pang of guilt for putting his desires before hers but she was right there with him, her body responding to every move he’d made.

He was gasping for breath, body slick with sweat when he finished, collapsing next to her. They lay without touching for a long time, slowly recovering, hearts slowing, breathing returning to normal.

After a while Aedan propped himself up on one elbow. She turned, her eyes soft in the light from the window.

“Hey...” She breathed the word.

“Hey yourself.” He leaned over, kissing the tip of her nose.

“That was...” Then she laughed, rolling toward him. “I have no idea what that was...it was intense, amazing...there aren’t words for that. And I majored in English.”

Aedan pulled her against him, kissing her hard. “I don’t think any girl’s ever laughed at me after sex. This is a first.”

She pushed him away, still laughing. “You know I’m teasing, right? You do have a sense of humor?”

He could hear the smile in her voice. “Yeah, sometimes I do.” He pulled her down, nestling her head on his shoulder. “I got a little carried away, I guess. Sorry.” He toyed with her hair, stroking it absently, fingers tangling in the silky strands.

“I like it when you get carried away. It’s...different. I like it, a lot.” He heard the contentment in her voice and liked it, a lot. She giggled, this time at herself. “I mean, I don’t have a lot of experience. And the guys I’ve been with...have been...different than you.”

Aedan smiled. “I take it that’s a good thing?”

“Oh, most definitely.” She shifted on the bed. Her elbow hit his ribs and he winced. “What’s the matter?” She leaned up, looking down at him.

“Nothing...Bruised ribs. They’re a little tender.”

Rosa pulled the sheet back. “Aedan! That looks horrible.” Her eyes were wide.

“It looks worse than it is.” That really wasn’t true, but he didn’t want to scare her. “Come here.” He pulled her back against him, her body curving to fit his contours.

They were quiet, Aedan breathing in the scent of Rosa’s perfume, the scent of them together, as she slowly ran her hand over his chest. He felt her fingers tracing the line of the scar and as much as he wanted her to stop, he resisted the urge to grab her hand. Maybe it’s time to let this go. If she asks...

And she did, tracing the scar from beginning to end. “Is this part of your ancient history?”

Her fingers were soft on his skin, but it felt as if the scar were a fresh wound, just inflicted. He shifted beneath her, suddenly restless, uneasy.

“Yeah. It is.” He took a deep breath. “You might as well hear the rest of the story, if you want. There’s really no one else that’s ever heard it all. Like I said, no one cares.”

Rosa placed her hand flat on his chest, over his heart. “I care, Aedan.”

He pulled her against him briefly. “Yeah.” His voice was rough. “Jim hit my mom, a lot. I tried to get between them once and he hit me. And then he decided I should be punished for interfering. So he beat me.”

“The other scars? On your back?” Rosa’s voice was low, tiny in the dim room.

Aedan shifted again, rubbing his shoulders against the sheets. “Yeah. With a belt. And every time after that it was a belt. My mom he hit; me he beat.” He took a ragged breath, the fear welling up in his mind, the helpless feeling of being small and weak, the terror at hearing Jim calling his name. “I never knew what would set him off, sometimes I don’t think it was anything. I think he just like to hit things. People. Me.” He closed his eyes, trying to blackout the images, but still they came. “When I was fourteen or fifteen, I had a growth spurt. Put on fifteen pounds and grew four inches in less than a year. Jim’s not a really big guy and suddenly I was taller than him, not such a skinny little kid.” Aedan stopped, remembering back to that summer. The anger he’d felt at Jim came back, just as strong as if he were right there with the man. “One day, I took a swing at him. He’d been after my mom, hitting her, yelling at her for something stupid. She never fought back. I yelled at him, told him to knock it off. He turned on me, pulling off his belt as he came across the kitchen.”

“What happened?” Rosa asked in a quiet voice.

“‘You little bastard.’ That’s what he called me. ‘Bastard.’ Anyway, he got close and I took a swing, a big roundhouse. Barely hit him in the jaw; almost broke my hand though. He bellowed like an ox, threw down the belt and picked up a knife from the kitchen table.”

Aedan could feel Rosa trembling against him. He hugged her tightly for a second before going on.

“I remember we’d been cutting up watermelon; the knife was one of those really big long things, sharp as fuck. He came at me, slashing the knife through the air. I don’t know if he was drunk or just that mad, but I think he was trying to cut my throat.”

Rosa was crying now, her body shaking silently. Aedan tugged the sheet over them, pulling her against him. He could feel her tears, the dampness of them against his chest.

“Aedan...” Her voice was thick with emotion.

“Shh...don’t say anything...please.”

He was quiet, images playing through his mind: the startling red of the blood on his shirt, his mother’s screams from the other side of the room. But the image that stayed with him the longest, always had, the one that scared him still was Jim’s face. The smile on Jim’s face as he thrust the knife forward. “So I left. I ran away. I knew if I stayed, he’d kill me, or I’d kill him. There was a kid down the block I knew from school. His mother was a crack addict; she took me in, cleaned me up as best she could, let me stay there for a few weeks. Then she fell off the wagon again and forgot I was there, stopped caring about me. So I stole some money from her purse and left. I’ve been on my own ever since.”

Rosa pulled away from Aedan. She sat up, looking at him with those pretty green eyes. He could see the tear stains on her face, the pain—or the pity, disgust, loathing, whatever—in her eyes.

He scowled, turning his head away. “Pretty pathetic life.” He spoke to the wall, a bitter edge to his voice. She’s seen enough of the horror show. I’m too much for this little girl.

With gentle fingers, she turned his face back to her. “Aedan, look at me. What happened to you...I can’t imagine. I can’t. But don’t turn away from me now. I’m not going anywhere. You are the bravest person I’ve ever met.” She pulled him against her, wrapping her arms around him. Despite himself, he put a tentative arm around her shoulder as she turned her face against his chest. Then he felt her lips on his skin, softly tracing the scar, kissing it gently.

That undid him completely. It had been a long time since he’d cried, but the tears ran unchecked down his face. Rosa lifted her head, her fingers brushing the tears away. He buried his face in her neck, her body soaking up his pain, his tears.

It was much later when he took her again, slowly, tenderly. Aedan felt vulnerable, something he wasn’t used to feeling—a feeling he really didn’t like. Rosa sighed as she came, an exhalation that startled Aedan with its gentleness in contrast to her body silently writhing beneath his.

His own release was prolonged, his face buried in Rosa’s neck as his body shuddered against her, feeling like something dark that had been pent up for a long time had finally been let go. She held him the entire time, her voice soft in his ear, murmuring to him, words without meaning.

Finally there was nothing left in him and he rolled away from Rosa, breathing hard. The bed shifted again and he found her in his arms, her face pressed against his chest.

“You’re staying?” As soon as the words left his lips, he realized how callous they sounded. “I mean, you’re welcome to stay...” He shook his head, grimacing in the dark. “I want you to stay,” he finally said.

Rosa lifted her head, kissing him, soft fingers on his face. “Yes, I’m staying. There’s nowhere else I want to be, except here with you.”

Aedan lay awake for a long time, the comforting warmth of Rosa against his body, her soft breath against his skin, marveling at the chance events that brought her to him and thanking whatever was responsible that he’d found her.

And wondering what the hell he’d just done.