Out of nowhere, the thought flashed across his mind that he had to be ready for something different. He couldn't keep dragging her along the way he had been for years. It wasn't fair to either one of them. He needed to man up or drop her, and now, after being with her, he knew he would never be able to drop her.
He trailed his hands from her cheeks down to her throat. The bruises were still evident, and he closed his eyes rather than look at them. Dropping his head to the hollow between her neck and shoulder, Layne ran his lips across the injuries he had caused.
“I'm so sorry," he whispered in her ear. “Please forgive me." His voice was low and deep as his lips traveled from her ear to her cheek.
“I know," she whispered back at him.
In this quiet place, where it was the just the two
