Eight Hours Earlier

Lee opened the passenger door of his 'vette to help his wife out. The door had barely been shut when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, delighted when she eagerly returned his kisses. When they broke apart breathlessly, he crooned, "Come upstairs with me."

"Lee, you know I can't," she said regretfully with a glance at the Wagoneer parked behind his 'vette."I have to be home for the boys in the morning."

"Please, Amanda," Lee pleaded. It's been two weeks. You can't tell me you haven't been missing me as much as I've been missing you."

"I have," she acknowledged. "You know I have." When Lee kissed her again passionately, she found herself torn, as she had been many times in the past eight months, between her fierce desire for her husband and her desire to be a good mother. "Okay," she finally agreed as she pulled back from him breathlessly, "For a little while." He was right. She needed him just as much as he needed her.

Moments later, they were stumbling into his apartment, kissing, groping and tugging at each other's formalwear, Lee's tuxedo jacket and bowtie soon landing on the floor. Not letting go of each other for a moment, as they worked their way into the living room, they stumbled against the end table knocking the lamp and phone on it onto the floor. Lee flipped Amanda around to so that she was pressed against the back of the couch. She worked the buttons on his shirt loose and clamped her mouth down hard on one of his nipples while her hands slid downward to free him from his pants. "Oh, God," he cried out and clasped her head to him for just a moment until he felt her nimble fingers gripping his shaft, stroking him firmly. He then tugged on her head, captured her lips in another explosive kiss as he slid his free hand under her evening gown, yanking at her panties, with a loud ripping sound. He pulled them away from her body and began to stroke her, delighted to find her already wet for him. He pulled back from their kiss to ravage the tender skin at her neck.

"Lee," Amanda panted through her heavy breathing. "Don't...tease...I need you...inside...now." Grasping her hips tightly, Lee plunged into his wife's warmth hard, groaning as he did so, "Yes," Amanda hissed as she clutched at his neck, pleasure exploding within her at the feeling of her husband's hard length inside her after two weeks without him.

""Manda," he groaned as he clamped his mouth down on her neck, suckling her tender skin hard, not caring that it would leave a mark behind. After seeing all the men who'd hit on her tonight at the party thinking she was a free agent, he was damn tired of people not knowing that she belonged to him. He wanted to mark her as his to keep the men from flocking around her again. He gripped her hips tighter and pumped into her as deep and as hard as he could groaning louder as he felt her tight muscles contracting around him with her climax getting closer.

Amanda screamed loudly as an intense climax gripped her, unconsciously digging her nails into her husband's neck as she shook with the force of her release.

"Yes, God, Yes," Lee cried out as he emptied himself into her, his own body shaking as he continued to drive into her until he was spent. He breathing heavy, his heart pounding, he panted, "I...I'm sorry, Amanda."

"For what," she questioned through her own ragged breathing.

"I...I wanted so much to make love to you tonight, instead I..." he pulled out of her and turned away, "Instead I...I attacked you like a wild animal."

"Lee, you didn't hear me complaining, did you? Besides, just because it was a little rough, that doesn't mean it wasn't still making love. We still love each other, right?" She ran her hands up his back and urged him to turn to face her. She then kissed him tenderly and said, "Right?"

He smiled and conceded, "Yes." He kissed her softly. "Stay tonight. Let me make love to you the right way, romance you..."

"Lee, I can't. The boys have a ball game tomorrow and I have to be there to make sure they get their breakfast before they go, make sure they get all their stuff together..."

"Amanda, please."

"I'm sorry, Lee, but I can't. I love you, but I can't." She walked toward the door to pick up her discarded coat and purse and was about to leave when Lee caught up to her in the hallway outside his door. "Dammit, Amanda! Wait! Why can't we ever have a whole night together?"

"Lee, stop it," Amanda insisted, wrenching her arm from his grasp. "I have to go!'

"No!" Lee shouted. "I'm tired of all this! I'm tired of this! Every time I want you to stay, you use the kids as an excuse to leave! I'm SO damn tired of it!"

"I'm tired of it too, but what are we going to do about it? Every time we try to talk about it, it ends up just like this and we're no closer to a solution than we were eight months ago!'

"Hey, shut the hell up," an angry voice shouted from down the hall as one of Lee's neighbors poked his head out the door. "It's 2AM, for God's sake!'

"Oh, go back to bed, " Lee shouted at his neighbor, and then tried to stop Amanda from leaving again and said, "Don't you love me at all?"

"That's it!" I'm calling the cops!' The neighbor bellowed.

"Go on! Call the cops! See if I care!" Lee fired back. "Just mind your own damn business!"

"Lee, how can you ask me something like that? You know that I love you," she said tears in her eyes at his accusation.

"Then stay," he pleaded.

"No," she said and turned again towered the elevator.

"Please," Lee said gripping her arm, turning her to face him, and kissing her hard.

Amanda wriggled out of his grasp and said, "Look, you got what you wanted tonight..."

"Only part of what I wanted," Lee said.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." Amanda stepped into the elevator before he could stop her again.

As she stepped outside and was digging in her purse for her car keys, two shadows, appeared behind her. She turned, but wasn't quite fast enough as two sets of arms gripped her tightly and a gruff voice said, "You're coming with us."

"Like hell, I am," she said as she stomped on the foot of one of her assailants and turned to kick as the other one, but before she could, a third man grabbed her by the arms. She screamed loudly.

Lee was about to re-enter his apartment when he heard a blood-curdling scream. "Amanda," he shouted as he sprinted for the stairwell, not wanting to waste time with the elevator. "Amanda!" He cried again as he made it outside, just in time to see a big goon slam his wife head into her car and heard the sickening sound of her skull crashing against it combined with the sound of shattering glass. "Hey, get the hell away from her!" He shouted, wishing his gun was not inside the apartment, but when he'd heard her scream, he hadn't thought, he'd just wanted to get to her. As the thugs approached him, he prepared himself for a fight until the three of them dispersed at the sound of approaching sirens, jumping into a black van and hightailing it out of there.

"Amanda!" Lee called rushing to his wife's side. "Oh, God, Amanda," he gasped in horror as he saw the blood gushing from the back of her head. "Hang on, Amanda, hang on, Honey." He dashed to his car to call an ambulance, sure that the sirens he heard were from his neighbor calling the cops. Finishing his call, he knelt by his wife's side.

Amanda dazed and in pain, looked up at her husband's face and said, "I'm sorry," just before his face disappeared as she lost consciousness.

"Amanda!' Lee shouted. "Amanda, come on," he begged as he shook her then felt himself being abruptly yanked away from her, his arms pinned behind his back."Hey, what the hell?" he protested before hearing the familiar words, "you have the right to remain silent..."