The sun is up and so am I. I can see the sun coming through the crack that is between my curtains. I have a slight headache, but it is nowhere close to being the worse hangover I’ve experienced. I am just lying here staring at the wall, not wanting to turn over and face who is lying beside me. I know, I know. I did the deed and now I must face the consequences. I was horny and now I must pay. I have got to learn to not drink, or really just not get attached to people. This is the first time that I am close to feeling bad for sleeping with someone because I was drunk and horny. I do care for this one, and he loves me. I took advantage of that last night to take care of myself. I am lying here going through all the ways I can possibly express the thoughts on my mind without having it come out the wrong way have it hurt the man’s feelings.

I can hear him softly snoring beside me. I like this sound because it means that he is asleep still, a deep sleep too. This means I can sneak out without waking him. I need to get away and think about things and also find James. We need to discuss some things, too, and I do not care if those things come out wrong or if they hurt his feelings.

I gently roll myself over the edge of my bed and quietly make my way over to the door and out of my room. I get the door shut without a sound. I smile at my success and bounce my way down the stairs into the kitchen. I find Tabbetha and Chase in there, annoying the cook I am sure. I can hear them asking for their favorite foods to be made for them. I roll my eyes. They enjoy these perks a little too much.

“You know, you two can always eat scrambled eggs and sausage biscuits like normal people. Stop annoying my cook.” I tell them.

Tabbetha jumps off the bar stool she was sitting on and skips over to me. Yes, she skipped over to me. “Oh, Arianna, thank you so much for letting us stay here last night.” She gushes as she gives me a big hug.

I actually stop myself from rolling my eyes as I look over at Chase who is doing it for me with a big grin on his face. “Yeah, thanks a lot. We truly enjoyed it.” He tells me laughing.

“I am sure you did. You two have smiles on your faces that should rip your face in half. I just hope you didn’t break anything this time and also let the housekeeper know what to clean up.” I tell them as I walk over to the board that is on the fridge.

“We took care of everything. Now, I must ask. Did you talk to Justin?” Tabbetha asks as she sits back down on her bar stool and leans over the counter with anticipation.

“No, if you must know, we did it all night and then fell asleep.” I grin myself as I go back to the board I was writing on.

“Arianna! That is not how you solve problems. You two need to talk about everything or this may all happen again.” She tries to scold me which only makes me laugh.

“Oh, please, you two know my better than that. Last night was not about “fixing” anything other than me being extremely horny last night and taking care of that problem. You two need to just mind your own business and let me take care of mine.” I tell them as I take the board I had and put it back on the fridge. I turned to the cook who was taking care of the brats’ breakfast. “This is the food I’d like to be made and sent up to my room when you get a chance after making these heathens their food.” I say and without another word I walk out of the room. Of course, I see Tabbetha and Chase share a glance and a smile, smug bastards.

I continue walking through the house. I go to my office where I am sure I will find the object of my search. I walk in and open my mouth to start walking but quickly shut my jaw with a snap. I look around with confusion. There is no one in the room. I go to the training rooms and do not find him. I decide to ask some of our men where he is, and I am shocked by the answer. He is in his own office, again. This boy is making a habit of being in his own office. I make my path to his office and walk in.

“You know, this is my office, not yours. So, technically you don’t have a right to just walk into this office.” he tells me but does not look up from the papers he is looking at.

“I know, but I see it as even for all those times you took it upon yourself to just walk into mine.” I smile as I plop down into the chair. “So, you planning on just staring at that paper, pretending to read it, the whole time I am in here?”

“He sets the papers down and looks up at me with a bored look on his face. “What do you want? Don’t you have Loverboy upstairs waiting on you?” He questions me.

“I am down here to punch you in the face for butting into my business and going to see Justin behind my back. I cannot believe you went there and did not tell me.” I tell him as I lean forward. “You lied to me, you whore.” I stand up and walk around the desk to sit on it, right beside where he was sitting. “Why?”

“I don’t understand the problem. He is back and all is well.” He just shrugs his shoulders.

“Yet, you were sure that I would run back to you with him gone, so why would you want your competition back in town. You hate him because he brings the public eye into our private world. You blame him for so much. Why did you lie to me and get him to come back?”

He sighs and leans back in his chair. “I knew I’d never have you again, and I was sick and tired of watching you put yourself and others in unnecessary danger. You always think things through and you weren’t with him gone.” He tells me, looking me in the eyes. “He loves you and he left you without truly knowing you. That is not fair, and for some reason you love him, too. Don’t argue that either because I can tell you do.”

“Well, next time, mind your own business.” I look him with a dead glare and then I look down at my hands. I look back up at him with a more gentle look. “This time, though, I thank you. Don’t ever lie to me again, but I am glad you went out there. We do need to talk about what happened even if we don’t get together. The boy needs a little debriefing on the situation.” I say.

He nods his head with agreement and stays silent for a short while. He puts his hand on my lower thigh and pats it. “For what it’s worth, I believe I was wearing you down. You would have come back to me.” He smiles at me.

“If that is what you need to believe to get through the day then go right on ahead.” I jump off the desk and head out the door. Before I am out I turn back around, “For what it’s worth, I find you to be a good friend and I do love you.” I tell him. “If you tell anyone I just said that, I will kill you and everyone you tell. I will, also, tell everyone you are a good guy deep down.” He smiles at my threat and nods.

I walk out and make my way back to my bedroom. It is time for the big discussion . I enter the room as quietly as I left it. This time I see Justin is awake and eating the breakfast that had been brought up to him by one of the kitchen hands. He looks up and he is all smiles.

“This food is amazing. I may have to stay the night again soon.” He tells me as he finishes up the last bite and sets the plate back on the tray and sits ups in the bed. As I walk over to him, he swings his legs over the edge of the bed. I pick up his jeans that were still lying on the floor and toss them over to him. His smile falters a little, but he tries to hide it by looking down at his pants as he puts them on.

After he as them completely on, I sit down beside him on the bed. I look down at my fiddling hands as he buttons and zips them. I do not want to look up at him just yet. I am sure he has a disappointed look on his face. “Justin,” I start. I still do not look up at him. “I do not know how to start this. I am not used to having to explain my actions in any way.”

“I don’t expect you to.” He cuts in. “James explained everything to me. I started dating you, knowing what you did, and I left because I got overwhelmed. You have nothing to explain and nothing to apologize for.”

“I do have some things to explain to you. I don’t think you know as much about me as you think you do.” I look up at him and turn sideways so I am facing him. “My job is extremely dangerous, for me and the people around me. I am in a dangerous situation almost everyday of the week. I make a lot of enemies, enemies that will do anything to see me suffer. You experienced this firsthand. I am truly sorry for that. He used you to get to me. He wanted to weaken me, get me to put my guard down. It worked.” I continue to explain.

“I know James told you that my decision to leave you behind was to save your life, but it was more than that. I chose to keep you with me for more selfish reasons. I did not want to let you out of my sight. I was afraid that if you left the room I would never get to see you again. I wanted you there so you would be the last thing I saw when he killed me. I would not have let him kill you, but I can’t guarantee that it wouldn’t have cost me my life, saving yours.

That night we were meant to go out to that charity event. James had warned me, threatened me, not to go. The media is dangerous for people like us. It puts our faces out there and makes them a huge target. He also warned that my face being out there was dangerous for you. I didn’t want to listen. I wanted to be with you. I was being selfish.” It is difficult to look at Justin as I explain all of this for.

He went to speak up, but I stop him. “I was getting ready that night, and I knew what I needed to do. I didn’t care about me anymore. I haven’t cared much about anything or anyone outside of myself in a long time. When you came along, things started to change. I went out in public with you where I knew the media would be, I didn’t care what happened to me as long as you were safe, and for the first time since I started this business I was willing to give it all up if it meant that you would be safe.” I look into his eyes and my eyes are tearing up. “I know you are here because of what James told you, but I must tell you something now. My life is extremely dangerous. I do all that I can to keep those I care about out of it. Chase and Tabbetha have been lucky so far. I make sure I keep business here, at the mansion, and personal at my house. I do all I can to not mix the two. I let my guard down with you, and I apologize to you for that. I cannot promise you that it will never happen again and I cannot you that life with me will not be very difficult. You will have to let me do what I do without questioning it, I’ll be doing things you won’t agree with, and you must trust me completely at all times. I love you and I want you to be willing to try it out, but I will not force you to and I will not blame you if you don’t want to.” I finish looking back down at my hands that are in my lap.

He sits very still beside me and is very quiet. After what seems like a lifetime passes, he moves his hand under my chin and lifts it up so that he is looking me in my eyes. “I understand what your lifestyle entails, and I will not push you to be with me in the public. I do not blame you for what happened to me. I know why you did it, and I cannot say that I would not have done the same thing. I just have to ask you one thing before anything is decided.” He tells me with a small smile.

“What is that?”

“Will you tell me that you love me one more time?”

I cannot not control the huge smile that grows across my face. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

“That is all I need to hear. I am willing to do anything to make this work.” He tells me.

I cannot stop myself from jumping into his arms and sharing a passionate kiss with the man that I love. This is the beginning of a new life for me, and it is the first time in a very long time that I am excited to see where the journey will take me.