Shane had woken up before Mercedes, watching her sleep, and admiring the way the bed linens draped over her body hugging her curves in a most seductive way. Just knowing what was underneath the bed sheets caused Shane to experience that warm, burning sensation all over his body. He rubbed his hand lightly over her curves not wanting to wake her up, but not able to keep his hand off of her.

What had happened last night was something that he had rarely ever experienced before. He had been with plenty of women, being a McMahon they were never in short supply. But this wasn't just another notch on his belt. He had felt something that was relatively new to him. He felt passion, and love. There was more emotion in last night then he had ever experienced before. A smiled crossed his lips as he began to recall the details.

Mercedes had been unsure at first. She was not one to forgive and forget, and she didn't want Shane getting the wrong idea. She wanted to try to make things work, but there were still a lot of issues that needed to be worked out, and she didn't want Shane to forget that. But Shane was not interested in forgetting everything that had happened. He wanted to feel her body beneath his and show her how much love and passion he held for her. He had assured her that all he wanted was to have her, all of her, at least for that night. Shane had wanted her for so long, and this time there was going to be no stopping him. He had always held back knowing that she wasn't quiet ready.

His smile became larger the more he thought about the night, and how much he had enjoyed it. He took his time with every move he made. This was one night that he didn't want to rush. He let his eyes take in every inch of her body. Mercedes had been training harder to get ready for her new time in the spotlight, and it showed. Shane roamed over every muscle that she had. She was tight, and toned, and Shane could not keep his hands off of her. Her skin was smooth, and tasted wonderful to him.

Shane had imagined many times what it would be like to have Mercedes, but he was amazed that she could exceed his expectations by so much. She was just the right amount of gentle and aggressive for him. She took what she wanted from him, and allowed him to have his fun in the process.

"Have you been awake very long?" A voice beside him brought Shane back from his reverie.

He smiled down at Mercedes and kissed her cheek. "Almost an hour now," he said checking the time.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I was lost in my own thoughts," he said truthfully. "Thinking about last night."

Mercedes blushed at the admission. She was not usually the way she was with him last night. Something brought out a different side of her once she felt Shane touch her.

"I'm going to shower and get out of here. I've got a busy day," she said quickly leaping out of bed and running into the shower. She was mentally kicking herself for her actions, and not being able to resist Shane.

No matter what he had said to her there was a nagging part inside of her that didn't trust him. She knew that he had never intended to hurt her, but part of her believed that maybe he didn't care about her as much as he professed he did. She had allowed herself to be carried away by the wave of passion, and desire under the night shade; but as she stood in the shower she was beginning to regret her decision.

"Cissy, is there something wrong?" Shane asked walking in the bathroom sitting opposite the shower. Her sudden movement to get away from him took him off guard and bothered him. He had messed up with her in a huge way, but he truly just wanted to put it behind him. He saw no reason why she should still have reservations about trusting him.

"No, not at all, it's just- " she trailed off not knowing whether to be fully honest, or cover her true feelings. "I've got a really busy day," she told him deciding to go with the latter option. "And I don't have my stuff here. I wasn't exactly planning on spending the night here with you."

"Are you sure that's all?" Shane asked. He wanted to pull back the curtain and look into her eyes. She knew how to act and how to sell emotion when she needed to; but Shane could always see the deeper emotion hiding inside of her. He knew if he could just look at her eyes he would know for sure. But with the way that Mercedes had been acting that morning it would have been a bad idea.

"You aren't ashamed of last night right?" Shane asked trying a different approach. "I mean you aren't embarrassed by anything we did?"

"No," she answered him with a half truth. She was not embarrassed, or honestly ashamed. She was confused and regretful. The night should have been spent talking to Shane, and explaining to him how deep he had hurt her. Not wrapped up in sheets, sweating and screaming out his name.

"I hope not, because I had a great time last night."

"Yeah, me too."

"Well then I'll let you finish up here, and I guess I'll see you back at the arena?"

"I'll find you there. We probably need to go over story line details and everything else."

"Right, story line details," Shane walked out before he could let Mercedes see the true disappointment that he was feeling.

For the first time in his life he had let a woman get under his skin; and it seemed to him like she was pulling back as soon as they were getting close. It didn't make any sense to him, they had shared so much before. There was no reason why she should be closing off to him now. And there was still the fact that she had spent the night with Jeff. He had cut her off before she had given him too much detail. There was so much going on that he barely concentrated on that fact. Now as he sat on the bed waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom, it was all that he could think about. Higher reasoning told Shane that the two did not sleep together so there was nothing to worry about. Primal instinct told him to rip Jeff to shreds for spending the night in the same room as Mercedes.

"You seem a bit… perplexed," Mercedes commented after staring at him for a few moments without Shane noticing.

He snapped his head up and instantly smiled at the vision standing in front of him. His brain screamed at him to stay focused on anything else besides Mercedes wrapped in a towel, water still dripping off of her. He needed to know what happened between her and Jeff, and listening to his lower half was not going to get him answers.

"I was just thinking about what you said last night; about spending the night with Jeff."

"We shouldn't talk about that right now," Mercedes answered quickly. There was a world of emotion behind that question, and behind her answer. Emotion that she could not afford to unleash at that moment. Vince had been grooming her for a title shot, and it would come up at the start of the new story line. The whirlwind of publicity that went with it to build her up was starting. She needed to be fresh and on the ball. Walking into interviews and photo shoots with red, puffy eyes unable to concentrate was not what she wanted.

"Exactly why not?" Shane asked taken back by her quick brush off. "You wanted to talk to me about it last night!" He said getting heated and not completely knowing why.

"And you wanted to screw me last night!" Mercedes yelled back grabbing her clothes off the ground. "Guess who got what they wanted?"

"That is not what I wanted!"

"Oh really?" She asked him not fully believing him. "You were the one that told me you wanted me, that you needed to feel me. I gave in to you and I was a fool."

"Cissy I did want you, and I did need you, but I didn't just want to screw you. I want to know about the night with Jeff!"

"I said not now!" she yelled slamming the bathroom door in Shane's face. Not that she wanted an argument, or to leave him on bad terms; Mercedes could not face the conversation that Shane wanted to have. It would leave her broken and vulnerable once more. And truth be told she was tired of crying. She was tired of feeling lonely and heart broken. Shane had not turned out to be who she wanted him to be, but he was enough to make her happy at that moment.

"Shane," she said coming out of the bathroom dressed. "I'm sorry, about blowing up like that. I was out of line."

"It was pretty shocking. Not every day that I get to see the triple h inside of you." He said letting out a low chuckle.

"It's just- " she took her time, trying to find the best way to phrase what she wanted to say without offending him. "That night has a lot of emotion behind it. And it's still so fresh that talking about it sends me into a whirlwind. I still don't truly know how to feel about it."

"Well when can we talk about it?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I've got a lot going on now, and I can't afford to fall apart. I'm being handed the belt, I'm getting publicity like crazy. I need to stay together."

Shane nodded, understanding why she didn't want to talk. He knew the industry like no one else barring his father of course. He knew the stress that it put on everyone involved. When your personal life falls apart, you fall apart, something that Mercedes could not afford.

"I hope it can be soon. I want to make this relationship work Cissy, I really do."

"I'm glad that you do," she said. As much as she wanted to respond with a 'me to', she just could not seem to. There were still so many thoughts roaming around inside of her head that she was not sure of what she wanted.

Jeff had been her knight in shining armor. The only one around that kept a close and constant eye on how she was feeling through everything. He was there for her all night long when it counted most, and that was priceless to her. She smiled to herself as she recounted how good he smelt lying next to her, and how his hair and beard had tickled her as she woke up that morning.

"That's a smile, so I must be doing something right," Shane said seeing the first look of happiness and relaxation cross Mercedes face.

"Huh? Oh yeah, you're doing fine Shane. I really have to go I've got a crazy day."

"I know, I know, you have to be the big time sexy diva. Go and I'll see you at the arena tonight."

"I'll see you there," she kissed him and ran out the door heading to her hotel room. Her day was packed full of appearances, and a promo shoot to film for the show. She checked her cell phone and saw that Paul and Jeff had both called. Glancing at the time she saw she had an hour before her appearance. Just enough time to get dressed and make one quick phone call.

"Hey Paul," she said cheerfully when her brother answered the phone. It never mattered where he was or what he was doing. When he saw that it was Mercedes calling he always picked up. "Sorry I missed your call last night. I was out with Shane." She braced herself for the lecture that was about to come, but surprisingly got none.

"I know honey, Jeff told me where you were."

"He did?"

"I came to check on you but you were already gone. But why did you agree to go out with him Cedes? After what happened the last time you saw him?"

"That's why I did Paul. We're doing a story line together. I needed to get things squared away with him so that we can work together without the tension. I did it for the sake of the job."

"So what happened? Please tell me you didn't go back to him after what he did."

"I honestly don't know where we stand," she said truthfully. Her mind was a maze of Jeff and Shane. She needed to figure out a few things before she could honestly say that she was going to stay with Shane. "He's not exactly who I thought he was."

"I told you," Paul said flatly. He knew anything more than that simple comment would spark his sisters temper, and he did not want another fight.

"It doesn't mean that he isn't a good man. He honestly just wants to make me happy."

"Then why aren't you with him?"

"Because I don't know if I totally trust him." She grabbed the last few things from her room that she needed and looked at the clock. "Oh I have to run. I've got so many things to do today. I'll see you backstage tonight."

"Take care of yourself Cedes, I love you."

"Love ya too." She snapped her phone shut and ran out the room to meet the car that was waiting for her.

"I've been waiting for you to get your sleepy butt down here," a familiar voice said to her as she slipped into the car.

"Well Mr. Hardy we all can't be as punctual as you. Besides I'm only five minutes late."

"You know me, I'm the last person to be punctual. I'm completely sporadic. It just so happened that I didn't sleep much last night."

"Why? You usually sleep pretty well, what happened? You aren't over stressing yourself are you?" She asked true concern in her voice and etched in her face.

Jeff smiled at her and shook his head. "No darling nothing like that. I just had a lot on my mind is all."

Mercedes leaned towards him and smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Tell me all about it."

"Sorry not this time."

"Why not?" She asked in a whining voice. There were times when Jeff had told her that she didn't need to know or they would talk about it later. Eventually her persistence always wore him down and he talked.

"It's very personal."

"So? I tell you personal stuff all the time."

"Mercy, you aren't getting anything out of me."

"Fine," she said disappointed sitting back again.

Jeff took her hand and kissed her fingers softly, controlling his primal urges to do so much more. "I'll make it up to you. How about lunch after this? We've got a bit of time."

"Sure, I'd like that. I've got things to talk to you about anyway."

"Like what?"

"I did something stupid last night."

"Again, like what?" Jeff asked. He didn't really want to know the answer. If she had slept with Shane it would be easier for him not to know. But if she did and things went wrong afterwards he wanted to be there to pick up the pieces.

"I slept with Shane. I didn't mean for it to happen," she said quickly looking at the expression on Jeff's face. "We had a huge fight, and things just got out of control and- and- honestly I don't know how it even happened. I gave into him, and I shouldn't have."

"So does this mean that the two of you are- "

"Together? I don't really know. I'd love to say yes, but I just can't seem to."

"Why not?"

Mercedes sat there for a moment thinking about why. She had a long list of them, and most of them some how always had Jeff related to them. Why was Jeff such a big part of this? She looked at his face, always so relaxed and inviting. What would she tell him? That he was the reason keeping Shane and her apart? Because that wasn't the full truth. The truth was that she had no idea why Jeff popped into her mind when she thought about her relationship with Shane. Shane was everything that she wanted. He had his imperfections, and now she saw Shane for who he truly was. And stripped bare Shane was a decent, good man that was trying to make her happy. But looking at Shane all she saw now was Jeff holding her in the parking lot. Jeff sleeping next to her, his arm draped over her protectively shielding her from all the pain she had experienced that night.

How could she penalize Shane for something that he couldn't control? Yes he should have run after her seeing how upset she was; but it was unfair of her to put Jeff in the middle. Shane had lied to her, and wronged her, but he was trying to make up for it. At least she hoped that he was trying to make up for it. The problem was that some of the light that burned for Shane had gone out, and it was starting to burn for Jeff. Mercedes just did not know it yet.

"Things are just a little too strained between us right now," she said not wanting to tell Jeff what was truly on her mind.

"Does he know you're spending the day with me?" Jeff asked curious. He wanted to be the middle man in the relationship. The one to swoop her away and show her how she should truly be treated. If he could only know that he had been on her mind as much as she was on his. She had been torturing his every thought for the last two days. When he closed his eyes he saw Mercedes smile, and her gorgeous face framed by her light brown hair. He heard her laugh when things were too silent. And now when he tried to fall asleep he found himself reaching for her, needing to feel her beside him. Her smell seemed to be trapped in his nostrils, and he smelled her all day long. He struggled with himself to make sure that she didn't see how he stared at her, or longed for her.

"No, I just sort of ran out this morning. Told him that I had a busy day and left. Although he was all of a sudden intrigued how I spent the other night with you."

"Really, why?"

"I honestly don't know. Not that I had time to find out. Sometimes I hate our job for this very reason. I just want to be able to have the same schedule every day so that I don't have to rain check on things like that."

"Nah, you were born for this." Jeff smiled and winked at her. He was right, she was made to be in the spotlight, and she loved it no matter how much she complained. "For now we'll have to put our chat on hold. It's time to party."

Jeff and Mercedes had finished up with the last few people waiting to meet them when Mercedes phone rang.

"Shane," she said to Jeff before answering her phone. "Perfect timing, we were just finishing up."

"Well that means you have a bit of time before that promo shoot." Shane had ignored the 'we' comment thinking she just meant the publicist who was traveling with her. "I was hoping I could sneak you away for some lunch."

"Oh I can't, I already made plans. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you would be free."

"No, I understand it's perfectly fine. Are you meeting up with Paul?"

"Actually no, I'm going with Jeff."

"Oh, how did that come about?"

"It's just natural really. We're going to be together all day long with the promo and appearances and what not."

To Mercedes it was not a big deal. There was nothing between her and Jeff that was worth hiding. And her and Shane were still on middle ground. As far as she was concerned she did not particularly have anyone to answer to.

"That would have been nice to know before you ran out this morning," Shane answered extremely agitated.

"Shane it's nothing really. We have business to do together, and he's my friend. We're going to grab a bite it's not a big deal."

"Oh it's a big deal when my girlfriend spends entire days and nights with some other man."

"You haven't earned the right to call me girlfriend yet Shane, and the way you are going you're ruining the slim chance you have."

"I'm sorry, how do you expect me to be though? And I think after last night- "

"Last night was a mistake, and I have to go now."

"You can't just say that and hang up the phone."

"I told you before Shane that I don't have time for this," she hissed at him. There were still people there cleaning up and she was determined not to look phased by the phone call. "I've got a long day."

"Yeah with Jeff," he scoffed still unable to control his jealousy.

"I'm hanging up now Shane. We'll talk about this soon."

Before Shane could say another word there was a dial tone at the other end. He knew that he had handled the situation all wrong. She was right, the day was all business. Superstars regularly paired up to do appearances. There was no reason to think anything of it. But if it was honestly nothing why had she hidden that fact from her? Shane was not even sure if Mercedes had hidden anything from him. She had left in such a hurry that morning. It was obvious she was running late, maybe it slipped her mind.

Shane rubbed his face trying to get himself under control. His emotions had been all over the place since this whole thing had started. He wondered how he even got himself into such a mess. For nearly a month his life had been twisted upside down. For the first time in his life he was not sure how to set it right. Normally he might have an idea, this time he didn't have the slightest notion of how to make everything anywhere near better.

"Hey you alright?" Jeff's voice was low and soft as he laid a hand on Mercedes shoulder.

"I'm just peachy. I made a huge mistake last night, I'm fighting with Shane all over again, I'm running all over this god given earth playing someone I'm not, and I don't know how to make heads from tails anymore."

Jeff spun her around and hugged her not knowing what else to do. He knew how she felt.

"I don't have time for the nervous break down I deserve Jeff."

"Mercy I know exactly how that feels. For now let's just get some food. You can have that nervous break down a bit later." Jeff wrapped his arm around her and led her back to the car.