As soon as the concert was over, I found out what Alex and Brian had been talking about earlier that day. Alex took Baylee with him back to the hotel in one car while Brian and I took another one, to spend some quality time alone. It had been a month since we had made love, and I knew that it had been on both our minds from the moment we were reunited. When we reached the hotel, we rushed into the elevator, barely able to restrain ourselves. Once we were in the elevator, we let go of all restraint as he pushed me against the wall, kissing me with a force I had never seen from him before. He kissed me passionately, his mouth taking possession of my own. His tongue pushed its way into my mouth, massaging my own and succeeding in turning me on immediately. I grabbed Brian’s collar, pulling him closer to me in an attempt to meld our bodies together. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to strip him right there in that elevator and have him possess me. I’ve been reading way too many romance novels, I thought to myself as I realized the thoughts that were running through my head. When the elevator chimed, signaling that we had reached our destination, Brian and I pulled away from each other, but he kept his hand firmly on my back, guiding me quickly to our room. He unlocked the door, closing it behind us before attacking my mouth with his own again. “I’ve missed you so much,” he confessed in between heated kisses.

“What… what has gotten into you?” I gasped as his kisses moved further down my neck, kissing every inch of exposed skin. “Oh God,” I cried. “Please don’t stop.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” he told me.

He pulled me away from the door, leading me silently to the bedroom. He closed the door behind us, leaving us to reacquaint ourselves with one another’s bodies for the remainder of the night.

It was nearly 4 in the morning when I woke up, unable to sleep any more. Brian and I had spent much of the night rediscovering each other and finding out new ways to please one another. I looked over at the angel sleeping next to me. He looked so innocent and peaceful when he was sleeping… a complete turnaround from the animal he had been just a few hours before. I watched him sleep, his chest rising and falling with each breath. I couldn’t believe I was finally there, lying naked in bed next to the only man I had ever really loved. It all seemed so cliché, yet so real.

“Hey,” his sleepy voice interrupted my thoughts. “Why are you up so early?”

“I was just thinking,” I responded, tracing his tattoo with my fingernail. I felt his whole body shudder, and it made me smile knowing I could affect him the way he could affect me. Every little thing he did made me want him even more. I was crazy about this man, and to me, making love was the best way for us to express our deepest feelings to one another. When we were together in that way, we were sharing a piece of ourselves that very few people ever saw. We were trying to get as close to the other person as we could, since merging our souls into one body was impossible.

“About what?” he asked, watching me in the moonlight as I lost myself in thought.

“I love you so much, Brian. I never realized how much I needed you until you were gone. This past month has been hell for me. I don’t know how we got through it,” I confessed what was on my mind.

“We got through it because we made sure we had time for one another. I would have never been able to go through all this if I wasn’t able to hear your sweet voice every night. I never would have been able to get through it all without telling you every day how much I love you. I know it’s hard, but we’re here together, now, so let’s not waste the time worrying about you leaving. Let’s spend the time we do have together actually being together,” he preached.

“You’re right,” I smiled, leaning down and kissing him. “By the way, what got into you tonight? I’ve never seen you so… so… so passionate,” I observed, smiling down as I crawled on top of him. “I liked it.”

“I always get that way after a show,” he smirked. “Something about being up on that stage and performing gets us all on a natural high… if you know what I mean.” His smirk was so sexy, making him hotter than normal. That, and the fact that the man I loved was lying naked under me, looking at me with that same animalistic look he had just a few hours before, was more than enough to make me yearn for his touch again.

“Is that so? Well, I guess I am just going to have to take care of that high while I’m here, then, aren’t I?” I grinned, taking his ear into my mouth and sucking on it, causing him to groan in appreciation.

We spent the rest of the night “taking care of Brian’s high” before passing out just before dawn. Luckily, the guys had the next day off, so we were able to sleep in… sort of.

Around 10, we got the surprise of our lives when we heard a knock on the front door to the suite Brian and I shared. We quickly got up, getting dressed so we could answer the door. Since I was the first one dressed, I made my way to the door. Figuring it was one of the guys, I opened the door with a smile on my face that quickly faded when I noticed the long blonde hair and heartless eyes I had hated for the last three years. Brian finally joined me at the door, snaking his arm around my waist, kissing my neck before greeting our guest.

When he looked up, the blood immediately drained from his face, leaving him pale and shaking, as he came face-to-face with the one person we had tried to hide our relationship from… Brian’s wife, Leighanne Wallace. Brian pulled back from me, but unfortunately, we were already too late. Leighanne’s flight had been delayed due to a severe thunder storm over the Atlanta area, and she had come back to the hotel to wait out the storm. However, because of her timing, she caught Brian and myself in a compromising situation, which we knew there was no way of getting out of.

“You little bitch!” she hissed, looking at me with hate-filled eyes. “I thought I took care of you a long time ago.”

“Leigh!” Brian and I gasped, simultaneously; both of us were scared that she would try to slap one or both of us.

“What are you doing here, Leigh?” Brian asked, glancing at me quickly before returning his gaze back to her.

“What the FUCK do you think you’re doing with MY husband?” she asked me, instead, ignoring Brian’s question, her voice increasing in volume with each word. Brian and I closed our eyes in shame as doors opened down the hall, including all four remaining Backstreet Boys. People poked their heads out to see the commotion, and Brian and I continued to stare at our feet, trying to build up the courage to say what we needed to say. Brian looked around at the people who had entered the hall, and even though they were all members of the Boys’ crew and band, he still felt humiliated to have Leighanne announcing our business to the whole tour.

“Leighanne, this is neither the time nor the place to get into this,” Brian growled, obviously scared about the implications. “We’ll discuss this later, when we have some privacy.”

“Do you really expect me to care how this makes you look? YOU cheated on ME. You should have thought about what it could do to your image before you chose that… that… thing… over me,” she said, pointing to me.

“Do NOT talk about her that way. We will discuss this later, and that’s final,” Brian announced, getting more and more anxious as more people joined the group of bystanders.

“You know what, you’re right, Brian. This isn’t the time or the place. We’ll settle this like adults. I’ll see you in court,” she threatened, her eyes blazing. She turned to me, poking me in the chest. “As for you, you have a lot of nerve coming back. I suggest you leave now because things will only get worse for you. I doubt you want the world knowing the truth about your precious husband,” she said, whispering the last part so only the three of us could hear.

I looked at Brian as he moved to my side, standing slightly in front of me in an attempt to protect me. He opened his mouth to speak and defend me, but instead, I pushed him to the side, giving him a look telling him to let me handle it. “And I have some advice for YOU, too, Leighanne. Watch your back, bitch, because you may have won last time, but I promise you, I will not let that happen again. I lost my family once. It won’t happen twice, I promise,” I warned.

With that, I grabbed Brian’s hand as we confidently strolled back into our room, leaving a gawking Leighanne and an onslaught of surprised onlookers in our absence.

Once we were back in the safety of our hotel room, I let out the breath of fear I had been holding in ever since I had seen her. Now that Leighanne knew, things were going to get a lot more difficult for Brian and I, but the fact that he was by my side now instead of hers told me that things would be a lot different this time around. Brian looked at me, a smirk forming on his face and his eyes shining with a mischievous glare.

“What?” I asked, a smile automatically forming on my face at his expression.

“I never knew you had it in you. You kicked ASS!” he laughed, making me laugh along with him.

“I did, didn’t I?” I smirked.

“I’m proud of you,” he told me, suddenly turning serious. “We’ll get through this together. No more running away. I’m by your side until the end.”

“We’re going to get through this… you, me, and Baylee… as a family… if it’s the last thing I do,” I promised, the determination surging through my veins. We were looking at a long, hard battle, but the future still held hope for us all.