A Night of Desire

Autumn reached out, wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and sniffled. In a pitiable voice, she said, "So, Sierra, me coming back to the country, everything I’m doing now... it’s not to marry Seth Quinn. I’m just not willing to accept it.

I just don’t want him to hurt me and then get away with it, happily marrying another woman and starting a family without a shred of loss or guilt!"

Sierra gently straightened her up to look her in the eyes. His gaze was full of affection, but even more so, heartache. "But Autumn, if you don’t love him anymore, then you should let go of this obsession. Let him go, and let yourself go.

"Why be so resentful over something that was never destined to be yours? Even if you ruin things between him and this other woman, will you be satisfied then? Will you truly be able to let it all go?"

"Yes!" Autumn answered resolutely. "Only by destroying his happiness this one time will I be satisfied. Only then will I be able to let him go completely, to finally give up all hope and start living my own life.

"Everything I’m doing is just to drive that woman away from him! I won’t do anything worse than that. As long as I can split them up, I’ll go back to the U.S.A., and maybe I’ll never return. I won’t care about what happens after that.

"Whether he gets back together with her or they each find their own happiness separately, I won’t care anymore."

"So, Sierra, please stop trying to force me to go back to the U.S.A., okay? You said you love me, so just indulge me this one time. Let me vent all this resentment and dissatisfaction in one go, can’t you?"

Sierra stared at her, the resolve in his eyes wavering. He said hesitantly, "But have you thought about that other woman? She’s an innocent party in this mess between you and Seth Quinn. If they’re happy together and you destroy that happiness, how could you live with yourself?"

"Hah," Autumn suddenly tore herself from his embrace and sneered. "Sierra Sutton, you say you love me, but I see now it’s just empty words. Otherwise, why would you care more about some woman you’ve never met than about my feelings?"

"Forget it. Since you don’t really love me and my feelings are obviously insignificant to you, there’s no need for us to talk any further. I came here today hoping you’d understand me, that you’d sympathize with me. It looks like I was wrong!" With that, she turned and started for the door.

She had only taken a single step when Sierra grabbed her hand. With a gentle pull, he drew her back into his arms.

Sierra held her tightly and said, relenting:

"Autumn, I love you. I’ve loved you with all my heart for so many years, and I’ll love you with all my heart for a lifetime. Fine. I promise you, I won’t pressure you anymore. I’ll wait for you. Our baby and I will both wait for you.

"Wait until... your heart is free of other attachments, until you can return to the U.S.A. with us, wholeheartedly."

Autumn looked up from his embrace, reached out to caress his face, and murmured as if weeping with joy, "Sierra, I knew your feelings for me were real. I knew you would understand!"

Holding her soft body, the familiar sensation and her sudden tenderness made his heart pound. He took the hand that was caressing his face in one of his, while his other hand brushed against her lips. He couldn’t help but say:

"Autumn, I’ve missed you so much. Do you know that?"

As he spoke, he pulled her into his embrace once more, lowered his head, and captured her lips. That warm, soft, familiar touch instantly ignited the raging fire in his heart.

At that moment, passion overwhelmed him. He pressed her tightly into his embrace, his lips, burning with fervent desire, rubbing and lingering against hers.