They were quiet for some time. He tossed his cigarette in the ashtray on the small outdoor table.
“It’s over with now, Lauren. This journey with my dad is done. It’s finished. I’ve breathed the air he breathed. I touched the places he touched, and walked the path he took. He left me with seven keys that open no doors, but definitely open something I can’t ever get closed again. He’s left me more money than I ever needed, and a few more questions that I will probably never get answered, too. I understand who he was now though, that’s for sure.”
“I’m glad to hear that because that was one of your main missions. It was one of the very first things you asked me when we met… what I knew about him. Now that things are settled, how do you feel about Benjamin, baby?”
He tried to find the right words.
“He was a wounded person. An angry man. He was tricky, hard to understand, so desperately wanting to be like everyone, but he couldn’t. Something was wrong, screwed up. He was emotionally out of whack. Worst of all, he knew this and still conducted his business as usual.” He shook his head. “He said he and I were not alike, Lauren, that the curse stops with me, but I wonder sometimes, baby… I wonder. And I… I look at my son. Aiden’s been through so damn much. Ashley has moved to Ohio, and sometimes, though he tries to hide it, I know he’s angry. I don’t want him to harbor that type of anger like I did, baby. I don’t want Aiden to turn into me. It scares me…”
He hung his head as he gripped the railing.
Silence webbed between them once again and she wrapped her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder. So much had happened. They’d gotten married, had an amazing honeymoon in the Maldives, sold his house to Landon Jr., and now the home they were building was almost complete – a few days away from being move-in-ready. It was a gorgeous estate in Ansley Park. This was a time to be joyous, but today marked the end of an era. He no longer hated Benjamin. In fact, he’d forgiven him. Not because in the dying man’s last letter he’d asked for it, but because he wanted to.
He held her close and kissed her, bringing her impossibly closer with a squeeze of her ass. He grinded against her, then reached for her hand to place it against his dick. It throbbed with need for her. Thunder cracked once again.
“I wanna fuck you so bad, baby,” he uttered between kisses. “I know I just had you this morning, but it wasn’t enough. Mmmm!”
“You want to fuck me, baby? You got it.”
Gripping the back of her head, he palmed her breasts, his hands travelling all over her body as his libido soared. She pulled her gown down her shoulders, and then, the rain began. Drip, drop… like tears from heaven.
“Shit. Let’s take this inside, Aries. Come on, baby. Get out of this rain before you catch a cold. Can’t have you getting sick,” she said with a smile, though he didn’t budge. “We have a bunch of stuff to do tomorrow, too. I’m so excited about the new house!” she squealed.
She ran back into the house, but soon thereafter, she must’ve noticed he was still outside. It became eerily darker out there, and the rain poured hard and violent, beating against his face and body. His eyes webbed with moisture. He simply stood there, feeling it all. Taking it in. Aries was certain that his wife was going to chastise him, demand he come inside and get dry, but instead, she disappeared and returned with a big black umbrella. She stood on the balcony beside him again, the umbrella handle in her hands. And she looked at him with those beautiful, dark eyes of hers.
“I’m not going to try to make you come in from the rain, baby. But like always, just know that should you get tired of burning yourself down and burning yourself out, you can come to me. I’m your refuge. There’s shelter here in my arms. Forever. No keys required. And that’s a promise.”
Lauren’s screams were bloodcurdling, but that didn’t stop Aries from laughing his head off. So dramatic. He decided to slow down his speed on the motorcycle. After all, they were almost there. Yet, even as he