Waking up, I roll over. Jackson is sitting there, laptop on his knee, typing away. I smile, not moving, enjoying the moment. He notices though, looking down at me, and he smiles.“Good morning, beautiful.”I smile at his words. I love waking up next to him.“You look rather pleased this morning.” He winks and smiles more.Reality hits me like a slap in the face, emotions flooding through my body, threatening to break me down and trample all over my happiness. Reality is a bitch.“What the hell was last night about?” I am now ready to ask him all the questions flooding my mind, causing my head to hurt. “It was a starting point, to getting you ready for your fantasy.” He answers me, making it sound like last night was nothing and like we had just walked into the shop and bought a new vibrator to play with, not like we walked into that shop and left with Marcus.“Kitten, if I did something wrong, just say. You nodded, you agreed.” He looks at me, worried. I try and smile to settle his

So, I will just sit here and watch him. As he steps out, I get up. I begin slowly taking my clothes off on the way to the shower, dropping them on the floor along the way. I watch as his eyes explore my body like they always do as I step into the shower. He sits on the bed, his eyes still watching me. I laugh. “No time. You need to get dressed.” I continue laughing while getting washed quickly. If I can’t have sex, well, then he can’t watch me. There is no time. “If you can watch me, well, I can watch you, and I plan to.” He doesn’t move, his eyes still fixed on my body. I always shower with the door open like him but, seeing as he teased me, I guess I won’t. I grab the handle and slide the shower door shut. I laugh quietly, as I know I have won and there is nothing he can do about it. I can hear him complaining and muttering from the room, the tinted shower door blocking his view. The door flies open, his body steps into the shower, his hands pushing me against the wall. Moving

Losing track of time, I walk around looking at it. “I wondered where you were.” I jump at the sound of Jake’s voice, turning to see him. The realisation hits that I was that engulfed in the room, I hadn’t heard him come in. I stand, frozen, feeling weird, being in this room with him. I watch as his body slowly moves towards me. He stops in front of me, smiling gently. “Maybe I should have fought harder and come back to get you from Max, then maybe it could be me enjoying this with you, and not Jackson.” His words are cold and harsh. My mind laughs. What is it with men, seriously? No one wanted to save me from Max. Now, for some reason, everyone wants me! “Jake, you’re a friend, a very good friend. That is all. No one would have gotten me away from Max, only me. You had a girlfriend. You were never here, so it wouldn’t have worked. I see you as a friend, nothing more.” I hope he listens. I don’t want today to end on a sour note, and right now, it is going to. He pushes against

Waking up, I feel less hungover, the emotions and memories still plaguing my mind. I just want to forget them and move on, so I push them away. Getting up, I walk into the shower. I stand still, the feel of the water soothing and relaxing me as I close my eyes, enjoying this moment. I feel arms wrap around me, making me relax more, leaning my head back onto his chest. “I wouldn’t have walked away, even if Marcus was telling the truth. I would not have walked away from you. I would have forgiven you. I know it is stupid, but life without you, Alena, wouldn’t be life. I would be hurt, yes, but I would never walk away.” His grip tightens, his hands grasping mine, raising them. “I don’t expect you to talk to me about it. I just want you to talk. I can see you're hiding everything Alena, and the last thing I want is you hurting.” His lips start kissing my neck, and I feel like I am breaking, like the porcelain doll. I can’t stop it. Somehow, he has unlocked everything. “I hide everythin

I realise now what was said. Turning to Jackson, I decided to ask. “What do you two need to talk about?” I sound rude, it has nothing to do with me, or so I hope. “Marcus and Maria are having issues. They have been having issues actually for years.” I am shocked. That is not the answer I was expecting. “She loves him. They will be fine, I am sure.” I smile at him, feeling like this isn’t a conversation we should be having. “Love is not always enough Alena. They started dating young, almost still children. As they have grown they have changed, their wants and needs changed.” I feel so bad for Maria. Marcus is often full-on, he loves her, but maybe the open relationship isn’t the best for them. “Poor Maria.” The words came out before I have a chance to stop them. Jackson turns and looks at me, perplexed. “Poor Maria? Why Maria? He has hardly changed. He still wants the same from life, from her. It is her who has changed, who wants things differently. It is her who has now deci