No Deal Breakers (26 page)

"No, actually, I guess it was about five
years ago now, but we had a streaker in the center of town. She
wasn't from around here, and I never did see her again after her
release, I wonder whatever happened to her." He shrugged it off,
though Brian could tell there was more to the story than he was
sharing, especially since he'd covered it up well enough that it
never got around town. Something like that would be big news in a
small town, the way Jake seemed to hold that particular incident
close to him told Brian not to push him.

Jake said his farewells, and thanked Aria
again for saving him from the awkward situation that he would have
had to encounter otherwise, and the left the couple alone.

"Not even nine in the morning and we've
already had deep confessions of dark pasts, and love, shared our
first two real kisses, and had to pry a naked woman out of your
office. I'd say this is shaping up to be quite an unpredictable
day," Aria laughed and stood on her toes to kiss him.

"It sure has, but we'll get through it and
any other unpredictable days that come our way, together." He
kissed her on the nose and then pulled her in for a tight hug.

"I'll come over to have lunch with you before
I head back home, if that's okay?" She asked hesitantly. Though she
was growing more comfortable and secure around him, these little
shows of uncertainty still pulled at his heart. She still needed to
know that she was welcome and wanted in all aspects of his life. He
brought his hand up to cup her cheek and stared into her eyes.

"You never have to ask to pop in and see me,
I can't think of anyone I'd rather have lunch with." She smiled,
and with one last quick kiss headed toward the door.

Pausing with her hand on the doorknob, she
looked over her shoulder and said shyly, "I don't want to hear of
any more naked women in your office…unless they're me," and then
she was gone.

Her blatant flirtation surprised and excited
him, not that he thought it would be her in his office chair any
time soon, but because it showed her comfort and confidence were
growing. Even four weeks ago she would have cringed away after
making such a bold comment, but instead she flashed him a flirty
smile and was on her way.

He glanced down at his wedding ring with a
smile, their marriage was becoming more real all the time. Brian
said a prayer for Tasha, and of thanksgiving for the relationship
with his wife, and the great strides they were making, and for her
continued healing, and then decided to call in a few favors and see
what he could do about getting Uncle Jack shut down.

It had been just about three weeks since he
had found Tasha in his office and Aria had confessed her past.
Things were getting better every day between them, he could see
Aria's growth in her faith as well as her comfort in their
marriage, though they still had a long road ahead of them.

While they still hadn't made love, the
marriage was now far from platonic, they shared passionate embraces
several times every day, each one more heated than the last. One of
them always ended them before they could go too far, usually him.
He could tell that Aria was trying to work herself up to that point
for him, but he didn't want her to force it for his sake, he wanted
it to be because she wanted it too. The second he sensed any
hesitancy in her body he would pull away, when he told her they
wouldn't come together a second before she was ready, he meant
it.

It was his job to make sure she was safe,
protected, cared for in every way, and most of all, loved. No
matter the personal cost to himself, real love is self sacrificing,
and he'd be willing to sacrifice whatever he had for her.

He wouldn't push her, and he didn't want to
make her uncomfortable or bring back any old memories or
insecurities. It was an area in which he had to tread lightly, how
did you help someone take something that held so many ugly and
traumatizing memories and make it better, normal? Especially
something so delicate, and not having any experience there himself,
made knowing how to handle this all the more difficult.

Sure, he recognized that he needed to take it
slow and make it all about her, but he still didn't have the
experience or the knowledge to put that into place if the time
came. Would he be too nervous or excited? Would he hurt her? Would
it damage her more? Would she see every man that hurt her in him?
The questions were endless, he hadn't worried overmuch about it
before, but now it was an actual concern they were constantly
moving towards.

The bathroom door opened, shaking him from
his reflection. Aria popped out and went to her suitcase for the
hairbrush she'd forgotten to take with her, flashing him a sweet
smile before disappearing into the bathroom again. It was the night
before their flight for Paul's wedding, and they'd decided to drive
up and get a room for the night so they wouldn't have to wake so
early to take the two-hour drive in order to catch their six
o'clock flight.

Aria returned from the bathroom and tucked
her brush back into her bag before hopping into bed next to him. He
switched the lamp off and rolled over to face her, even in the pale
moonlight she was the most beautiful woman in his eyes, he loved
her more and more every day, and could look at her for hours.

She wound her arms behind his neck and pulled
him to her, there was no nervousness or hesitation any more for
either of them. She trusted him to stop, and he trusted that she
would let him know when it was time to.

The kiss began tender and sweet, exploring,
giving and taking, but it quickly heated up, she pulled him closer
so that he had no choice but to angle his torso over hers, with a
hand on each side of her.

Normally he kept his hands above her clothes
on her waist and hips, but tonight the little strip of skin
revealed on her waist from her tank top riding up was too much
temptation to resist. Slowly he skimmed his fingers along the
smooth, silky flesh revealed there, all the while paying close
attention to her reactions.

Encouraged when she pulled him closer, he
continued to let his fingers brush over her smooth skin while their
kiss spun on. When she broke away for a breath he began to trail
little kisses down her jaw, over her chin, and across her collar
bone.

That was a first for them, he'd never been so
bold with her, always afraid it would be too much, but her sighs
and muttered words of approval told him she was enjoying it as much
as he was.

When he reached the hollow of her throat he
felt her entire body go suddenly stiff, drawing back immediately he
saw the fear in her eyes, followed by guilt and remorse.

"I'm so sorry, Aria I got carried away, I
don't know what—"

"No, don't. You don't have anything to
apologize for, for the first time in my life I find myself wanting
and enjoying these things. That actually felt good, it's never felt
that good when someone's touched me," her voice hitched and he
could see tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what's going
on."

"I…I want to, I want to make love to you, I
do, but…I'm afraid." She was looking everywhere but at him, and she
was gnawing on her lower lip, her vulnerability tore him to
shreds.

"Do I scare you? I don't mean to, but if you
tell me what I'm doing—" she cut him off again.

"That's not what I mean. I'm not scared of
you, or that you'll intentionally hurt me. Sex hurts, I know this,
I've done it countless times and it hurts every single time. I'm
honestly not even afraid of the pain. I'm afraid that it will
change how I view you, even though I know you won't hurt me on
purpose, I'm afraid that if we do this I may resent you for hurting
me. You're the one man that never has, and I don't want to tarnish
my view of you by knowing you'd hurt me, even if you didn't mean
to. Your touch means so much more to me, and I'm afraid to
associate the sweet, gentle touches that I love with something so
painful, or with those men. You've never been one of them to me,
even when I kept looking for ways that you would become one, deep
down I knew you weren't capable of being like them. I don't want
anything to change that. I don't know if that makes sense, but once
we cross that bridge we can't uncross it, you know? I'm just afraid
of what it will do to our relationship."

He wrapped her in his arms and drew her into
an embrace, kissing the top of her head. There wasn't much to say
that, she was voicing some of his own trepidation. As much as they
both wanted this to be a normal marriage, it wasn't and in some
ways, it never could be.

"That makes perfect sense, sweetheart.
Honestly, I don't know how we could prevent that, or whether it
would happen or not, we would never know until it happened, but
you're right, we can't go back once we do. It's a huge step, and
we'll make it when you're ready, if you ever are, and if not, I
understand that too. That's not where I was intending to go
tonight, I just got a little caught up in kissing you. Maybe
talking to a—"

"I've told you, I'm fine. I don't want to
talk to anyone about it. I'm recovering in my own way, on my own
time. It's going to take time to heal and grow, therapy or not. If
it gets to a point where it's consuming me again, then I'll go. I
promise" since the morning after her confession he'd been trying to
convince her to seek professional help in healing, but she
absolutely wouldn't hear of it. She had a valid point, she was
doing better, she was able to talk about it, and the dreams and
flashbacks had only happened a time or two in the past several
weeks.

"I know, but I worry. We'll just keep taking
it a day at a time. At your pace."

"I love you," was her only response as she
snuggled closer.

As he found himself doing nearly every night
after these conversations, he prayed.

"Are you sure this is okay? I've never been
to a wedding before," Aria asked, turning in a circle causing the
blue dress she was wearing to flare out. He knew that social
situations like this still caused her a great amount of stress, she
was slowly becoming accustomed to the potlucks and barbeques that
were a constant in Hanesworth, but something like this, a wedding,
was causing her a great amount of unnecessary stress. He hated
seeing her like this, so upset over something most people wouldn't
give a second thought to.

"I'm positive, you look stunning, trust me,
that dress is perfect for this. Now, let's get going, we're running
behind," Brian adjusted his tie and gave her a peck on the cheek as
he led her out the door of their hotel room and they made their way
toward their rental car.

"The wedding was beautiful, they're not
exactly two people I would put together, but at the same time they
seem perfect together, you know?" Everyone was gathering in the
Kingston's palatial backyard for the reception now, and he and Aria
were off to the side, in their own little corner.

"I know exactly what you mean. This is only
the second time I've seen them together, he'd just finally
convinced her to give him a chance right before everything with
Kara happened," he responded. Paul and Katie were a perfectly odd
couple, she was a much larger woman from a poor family, and at one
point Paul was the most sought after bachelor in the state. Their
relationship came as a shock to everyone, but Brian was happy for
his friend. He knew what it was like to be so in love with someone
that the rest of the world seemed to disappear, making her the only
woman in the world.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we got married
when and how we did, but…" Aria started, but trailed off. She
seemed to be frozen all of a sudden, her eyes were wide, all the
color had drained from her body and her eyes were fixed on
something ahead, he followed her gaze, but didn't see anything but
fellow wedding guests mingling.

"Aria, sweetheart, what's the matter?" She
didn't answer, but moved in closer to him, holding on tightly,
almost using him as a shield. This was so different than the other
times she'd zoned out on him.

"Come on honey, talk to me, you're starting
to worry me." She was shaking now as she continued to stare.

"Him," she finally breathed. Brian followed
her gaze again.

"What do you mean, that's Warren Kingston.
He's Paul and Kara's dad."

"And Jenny, he has a younger daughter named
Jenny, she's only ten days younger than me. We look similar." He
had to lean in to hear her now, as she was barely whispering as she
continued to stare at the man that had almost become his father in
law. He couldn't figure out how she knew all of that, he never
talked about Jenny with her, he didn't know her that well, she
lived mostly in New York and didn't come home often. He certainly
never told her when her birthday was.

"Aria, how do you know that?" He asked, and
as soon as the question was out the answer hit him. He was furious,
but sadly not surprised, when Warren had found out why Brian was
calling off the wedding he'd laughed it off and told him that all
couples had extra-marital affairs.

"He was a client," Brian stated
matter-of-factly, he was in Vegas frequently, and it was well known
that Warren only had respect for laws when he was in the courtroom.
She whimpered and clung closer to his side as Warren saw them, his
eyes flaring with recognition as he made his way toward them,
stopping every few feet to greet someone.

Brian immediately began praying that this
would a healing experience and that it would go according to God's
will.

"King," she breathed, barely a whisper.

She couldn't look away, she couldn't move,
she couldn't breath. She was rooted in place, waiting as the man
that haunted her nightmares and stole her virginity made his way to
them. She had begged Brian not to take legal action against Jack
and his clients for this exact reason. She never wanted to face
this evil again.