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The time difference had caught up with the team by the time they reached New York. It was late evening and the team retired to their rooms right away. Lyla, though, loved New York and went for a stroll in the beautiful evening air after freshening up.
Once back to her hotel, she stripped and dug through her luggage to find her silk nightgown. She cursed herself for not taking better care with her packing. She bent down over her suitcase, rummaging through the pile of clothes, when her hotel room door flung open. Alex stood the doorway staring at her.
Lyla’s eyes widened and she immediately pulled the blanket over her. But Alex had seen enough. She looked ravishing and he only hoped that she wouldn’t notice how excited he was.
“What the hell are you doing in my room?” shouted Lyla, enraged.
“I’m so sorry. I thought this was my room. I didn’t mean to barge in. And you didn’t lock your door!” said Alex with a tiny attempt to blame her for his untimely entrance.
Alex felt stuck to the ground unable to leave. A part of him said he should get out of the room right away since he’d apologized and another part told him to close the door behind him and ravish Lyla whose almost naked body hid behind that plain blanket.
She hadn’t changed a bit and her body looked as full as it was five years ago. He wanted to snatch the blanket away and bathe her with kisses all over her body. He wanted to see her blush exactly the way she used to.
“Are you ever going to go? Just leave!” But Lyla was as stunned as he was. Though she covered her body, she could feel a hot sensation spreading throughout her body and all she wanted was Alex touching her skin and dousing her desire. Why she wanted to be bedded by someone who had betrayed her and broke her heart was beyond her.
He looked so incredibly sexy in that white cotton shirt and those black slacks that defined every muscle of his body so neatly that she could see how aroused he was right then. She was dying to be touched by him but she didn’t want to be another of his conquests. She’d allowed him deep inside her heart once and she was still paying for it, even today. He was a womanizer and she better not encourage such stupid thoughts.
Alex struggled with his desire but finally turned to the door without another word. He closed the door slowly behind him and took a long breath. He knew a cold shower was next.
***
It was three days after the embarrassing incident and they still couldn’t look each other in the eyes. Alex and Lyla felt extremely uncomfortable. Pressure was building within Alex. He knew he was close to losing his self-control with Lyla.
He couldn’t help but dream about her in his arms. In fact, the day before when she accidentally ran into him and her soft bosom hit his chest; he could feel himself harden immediately. He felt like a fool to be so aroused by a woman who clearly hated him.
All his efforts to apologize seemed to fall flat. And her professed love for Nick made it more difficult for him. Have I really lost her? This question had started haunting him.
It’s true he was a Casanova. He really saw no other use for women than pleasure. With his money and good looks he had countless partners even before he touched his mid- twenties. It was always so easy for him to get his needs met.
Life was devoid of any challenge until he met Lyla. How could he ever forget the first time he saw her? It was at Andrew’s funeral. Dressed in black and deeply sad, he had not seen a purer face in his life.
He struggled with guilt, to be eying his best friend’s mourning girlfriend but it wasn’t long before he gave into his incessant urge to know more about her. That beautiful face never stopped haunting him. He met her at her house on the pretext of checking up on her. One thing led to another and in one year, both were deeply in love.
For Lyla, Alex was the beacon in the dark time after Andrew’s death. It was easy falling in love with the former womanizer. Alex couldn’t help changing when he had Lyla. Never had he thought it would be a woman he met a funeral – a funeral he’d necessitated. For Lyla, he’d give up anything.
Lyla was a strong woman. After the funeral, though she would grieve almost every day, she was ready to move on. With Alex, she was able to move forward, find love again, and in turn, he fell in love with her.
Alex initially felt amused at the strong attraction he had towards Lyla. His intentions were only to help his best friend’s grieving girlfriend because he was responsible for the tragedy. But slowly Lyla’s compassion and strength as well as love changed him.
There wasn’t a moment that he wasn’t thinking of her. He felt possessed by her but he liked it that way.
They’d made passionate love. The way he would cup her breasts, smell her hair, nibble her ear and then lick her neck...slowly moving down. She gave him happiness like no other woman. He was amazed how he’d miss her the moment he stepped away from her. No other woman seemed to interest him anymore. Casanova Alexander Knights had stopped flirting. Lyla gave him everything he needed and he loved it.
But guilt gnawed at him every day. He feared he’d lose her forever if he told her the truth about his part in the accident. His fear didn’t stop him from trying but he couldn’t do it. Telling the truth was almost impossible because Lyla desperately hated the other occupants of the car on that fateful night. She blamed them for Andrew’s death, just like everyone else in their community. She never even bothered knowing the names of the individuals. It terrified him because he was one of them.
But then she came to know about his part through Jeff, another of Andrew’s childhood friends. He couldn’t forgive Jeff for talking about it without first asking him. Neither Lyla nor her belongings were there at his place when he came home that night.
She left him without even talking to him. She left him a note that said – “You broke my heart and insulted me every time you spoke about Andrew. I can’t ever forgive you.” That was the only time, he allowed himself to cry. It was too difficult for his heart to endure the pain that she caused him. He’d lost his only love and he had no idea how to get her back.