"What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you. Can I come in? I've been talking with Pam and I don't like what she's telling me."

"You can talk from there. About what?"

"About your sham marriage."

My nostrils flared reflexively as I scrunched my mouth. "My marriage is none of your business—Pam's either."

Lane was silent as he turned his head and gazed up the street. "Listen Shelly, normally it wouldn't be, but when your husband mistreats you, we make it our business."

"Why should you care? You chose your career over me."

That apparently hit a nerve. He screamed, "God dammit." and yanked on the screen door until the latch broke.

I retreated as he stepped in, still screaming, "You know I wanted both. A career and you. It was you who dumped me for that no-good husband of yours."

He was right, but I was too proud to admit my blunder.

Moving backward the bulge in his jeans caught my eye. I knew what the bulge was in the crotch of his pants and pleaded weakly, "Please leave, Lane," while, to my shame, I wanted him. I wanted him to take me into the bedroom and ram that bulge deep into me.

As he stomped toward me, I kept stepping backward until a wall prevented further retreat. I tried to move to my right, but his left hand against the wall stopped me. Before I could even make a move left, his other hand blocked the way.

I'd been afraid to look at him, but a gentle hand lifted my chin. My heart stirred as a tear ran down his cheek. "All you had to do was wait, Baby."

I ducked under his arm and scampered into the kitchen, where I pulled a large knife from a drawer.

As Lane followed me into the kitchen, I swung around, knife extended in front of me. "I think you should leave. I'm a married woman and we shouldn't be alone like this."

"What's not right is that you're stuck in a loveless marriage with an abusive philanderer." He walked right up to me, the knife poking him in the abdomen, just above his bulge. "Are you going to cut it off?" He bent down and kissed my lips lightly. My lips quavered and shivers shot through me as he whispered in my ear. "It wants you, you know?"

His musky cologne and his closeness clouded my senses. I shook it off. "I know it wants me, Lane and truthfully, I want it, but I'm married, for better or worse. And Harley doesn't abuse me."

His hands covered mine and gently relieved them of the knife. The heat I felt earlier was nothing compared to now, as he untied my robe and parted the left side. With my eyes closed, I almost swooned when he touched the tender bruise upon my breast. "And did you get this walking into a door?"