that is just weird. Why would you be dreaming that?”
“I don’t know,” I say and splash my hands into the water in
frustration. “I don’t want to think about it. Not when I have you here and I am
going away for a couple of days.”
“Away? You are going away?”
“It’s for the best, my love. I have to go and I don’t really
want to stay here. It’s not right.”
“Where are you going?”
“ Ponte .”
“Of course you are. Any excuse to drag you back to your home
together,” he says bitterly.
“It isn’t our home,” I say.
“Not any more but will be again.”
“Cole,” I say, desperate to change the mood.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to think about it.”
“Me either.” I lean forward and kiss him, curling my arms
around him and pulling him close. “I love you.”
He stands and takes me in his arms, carrying me to the bed
where he takes me with great abandon, wet as we are, again and again until I am
spent and fall asleep.
“We’ll try this again,” Lance says to me with that smile.
“Try what again?” I ask him, confused.
“Getting you to our bedroom so I can have my way with
you. Once the baby comes we won’t have much time to be alone.”
“The baby,” I say in wonder as I look down and stroke my
stomach.
“Our baby,” he says as he pushes a door open to a room
that is clearly our bedroom.
“Oh, Lance,” I say to him with a smile as I notice the
bassinet in the corner. “It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you.” He kisses me, running his
hands gently over my bump, and I kiss him back, wanting him.
“See, I told you I didn’t have to try very hard,” he says
with a chuckle.
“And I told you, you never do. I love you.”
“I love you, Aefre. We belong together,” he whispers.
“No!” I wake myself by shouting out.
“Liv? Baby. Was it one of those dreams?” Cole asks from
across the room.
Panting, I put my hand over my heart. “Yes.”
He crosses to me instantly and hugs me tightly. “Tell me.”
I shake my head, “I want to forget it.”
“Liv, this is getting serious. Why do you keep dreaming
about him in this way?”
“Someone wants me to,” I say, knowing that Cade is right
about that. “I have to figure out who and kick their arse.”
“I will join you,” Cole says forcefully and I smile at him.
“You should go, you’ll be late,” I say, glancing at the
clock.
“No, I’ll stay.”
“It’s fine. I have to get ready to go anyway.”
He looks at me sadly and says, “Please stay. Please don’t go
to him.”
“Oh baby. Don’t ask me that.”
“Just this once, choose me,” he begs me.
“Cole, you are my husband. I did choose you. Again and
again.”
He crushes his mouth to mine in desperation and I cling to
him, trying to give him the reassurance that he wants. I know he is worried
because of where we are going. I perhaps shouldn’t have told him.
“Just promise me you won’t sleep with him. I mean actually
sleep with him. Go to your own bedroom. The one you showed me.”
“I will,” I say, knowing that I can’t promise him that but I
can try and agree to his request.
He kisses me again and leaves without saying anything else,
leaving me alone in our bed, miserable because of his pain and worried about
who is trying to manipulate my dreams and the bigger question, why? To what
end?
“Ready?” CK says as he pops into existence and I blink at
him. Seeing me as I am, he says, “Clearly not. Aefre. It is 6 AM. Time to go.”
“Six? No it’s only just gone five.”
“No, my sweet, it is six.” He points to the clock and it
does say 6:01 AM. Where did the last hour just go? I look down at myself still
sitting naked in the bed in the exact position when Cole left me. “Are you
feeling all right?” he asks me, overly concerned now that I am still not
moving. He sits next to me on the bed and takes my hand.
“Yes, I’m fine. I guess I must have gone back to sleep after
Cole left,” I say.