I Know How He Feels Chapter 10: To Fall In Love Again, a days of our lives fanfic

Title: I Know How He Feels
Category: TV Shows » Days Of Our Lives
Author: And The Moment's Gone
Language: English, Rating: Rated: MA
Chapter: 10, Words: 6,232

Warnings/Spoilers: AU after Chloe's return to Salem after faking her death.

Summary: I know how he feels, how strong his touch can be, when he believes it's real. I've been there. And I know how he feels

Official Disclaimer: All Days of Our Lives characters and plots belong to Corday and the NBC. I do not hold stock either the man or the company. Chloe Lane, Brady Black, and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title, summary, and lyrics come from the Reba McEntire song I Know How He Feels and I don't own that either. The song lyrics that appear in this chapter are from Jessica Simpson's To Fall In Love Again. This is owned by Simpson herself and Columbia Records. I have no rights to it.

To Fall In Love Again

The next day had to have been more boring than Rex had anticipated. Chloe and the Cassman women went to the fashion house while he and Brady took the Cassman men golfing. Phillip had stayed behind to catch up on work from his office. After they had returned, they all seemed to have wound up in the gym together; Brady watched Chloe swim laps in the pool and then wore out the weight bench.

Sometime before dinner, they had split up again, Brady and Chloe to her suite to argue budgets and contract negations, and the other two set up and Xbox in their suite to pass the time. They'd decided that after their excursions, it would probably be another night in for everyone.

Two hours into an argument that Chloe swore would never be finished, she hopped off the couch and poured them both glasses of wine. When she sat back down, Brady's eyes caught hers.

He scooted to the edge of the couch, watching the look on her face in relation to the proximity to him. It seemed that the closer he came to her, the tighter her features got. "Let me take you out tonight." It was impulsive. And it was beyond stupid. But at the moment, Brady couldn't think of anything else he would rather do on that particular date than sit down to dinner with her.

He would have treated her to any meal of her choice. All she would have had to do was name it, and she knew it. "Not tonight." She told him seriously. Chloe looked down at her yoga pants and perfectly done toes and shook her head. "I can't handle tonight."

As much as he was able, Brady understood. "It's just dinner." He told her simply. As Brady pulled himself from the couch, he tried to figure out how it was that she could do this to him. They weren't together, hell he was engaged. And yet, sitting there next to her, he had to find it in him somewhere to resist the urge to kiss her.

"Any other night in the year, and I'd agree with you." Chloe let the end of the sentence drop as she looked at the ever-present chain around his neck. Ever since that first night, when he had put it around his neck five years ago, Chloe doubted that he had ever moved it. She allowed herself a small smile when she noticed him following her eyes. "But you see, it's been four years."

"Just dinner Chloe." Brady took a step back and sighed. "What are you afraid of?"

"Tonight…" She admitted weakly, honestly. She could still remember him walking out the door. "You…" Chloe said at last. "God Brady, why did we have to end it like that?"

He sighed carefully, running a hand through his hair and tugging at the end. He didn't know if there was an explanation to what happened. Brady honestly didn't know where they had gone wrong. Why had he spent so many nights away from her just to help Nicole with a company that the blonde lost anyway? "Because I'm Brady Black." He answered simply. "And you are Chloe Lane." When Chloe nodded he just watched her face. "We do not take the easy route and we fight like Hell for what we think we deserve."

"Except each other."

His eyes mirrored hers as he nodded. "Except each other." He agreed, allowing her to look away first. "Let me take you to dinner."

"I can't." They were the first two words out of her mouth; so quick and precise that Brady would have sworn they were practiced. "You're engaged." She reminded him, eyeing the chain around his neck.

Brady shook his head. "Is that seriously going to be your argument?" He asked her sweetly.

"Brady…"

"Please?" His voice was soft, caressing her when he knew his hands couldn't. Brady was trying to find a way to make it easier on her. They had never been together on this anniversary before. Chloe would go on a business trip, or Shawn would take her and Joy out of town and Brady would hole himself up in his office for a three-day stretch. This particular date wasn't forgotten, just looked over. They pretended that it didn't exist. But now that she was in front of him, Brady couldn't stop himself. "Let me give you the night I threw away?"

Chloe wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. There was nothing else she could do.

It had taken her a full hour to get dressed. Brady laughed and told her that she spent too much time with his sister. The old Chloe would have been ready to go in fifteen minutes flat. The new Chloe just laughed and flicked him off, fully aware of the fact that the second she stepped from the small bedroom she would be forgiven for taking her time. Chloe had pulled out the garment bag that Belle had sent with Phillip and laughed when she saw the dress that obviously came out of The Shop with hours to spare before getting on the plane. It was a sleeveless cowl neck silk dress with a flirty asymmetric high to low hemline that definitely fit to flatter.

She stepped in to the living area and smiled coyly when Brady's jaw dropped to the floor.

"You look – " He took a breath, watching the way her hair shifted against her shoulders. "Amazing." Brady finished as he stood, smoothing down the suit pants. "Suddenly I feel under dressed."

Chloe took another step forward and twirled, showing off the full cut of the dress. It still amazed Brady how Belle managed to come up with exquisite creations using a mannequin with Chloe's measurements and have them turn into something otherworldly when they touch her skin.

"Our reservations are for eight." He told her, draping her leather jacket over her shoulders and taking her hand. As he led her from the room, he vowed that the night wouldn't be the disaster that he felt it would.

"What may I get for you to drink?" An obliviously snooty waiter approached the table and blinked when he recognized Brady and his companion. Although he couldn't place their names, he remembered them from one news show or another. He was the son of a multi billionaire and she was an opera singer turned music mogul.

Brady looked confused for only a moment and then smiled. "Are we drinking tonight?"

Chloe laughed and pulled a hand up to her mouth to try to stifle it. "God I hope so."

He wasn't sure which part of him wanted to reach out to her. "Merlot." He said carefully, never taking his eyes off of her. "Best bottle." The waiter seemed to snap to attention and disappeared.

For a moment, Chloe didn't even bother trying to pull away from the ocean that was Brady's eyes. "I thought you were a champagne kind of guy."

"Too bubbly." He complained, and they both laughed. "And champagne is for celebrating."

He took a deep breath. Then another. Brady watched the tears well up in her eyes as her fingers brushed the plain silver chain that he had bought her what felt like ages ago. It had been another one of their things, a matching set. His held his father's ring, hers-

"Today is a day for celebrating." She reminded him slowly, looking to the twin chain on his neck.

Even as he shook his head he knew she was right. And she was oh so wrong. "Today is the day I walked out on you." He told her carefully. "On Joy." At the mention of the little girl, Brady saw Chloe's eyes drop to the table. "I'm not celebrating that."

With one last breath he took the crystal off of the table and held it up. "I'll drink to that." Chloe seemed to echo, tipping her own and downing it all in one gulp.

So faithfully
Holding tight to every dream
I thought our love would ever be
As the scent of hope slips through my fingers
plain for me to see
I can feel now in your eyes the changing way
you look at me
Where's the love we knew would last us eternally?

"May I have this dance?" He held his hand out and she held her breath.

Chloe's head started shaking. "I don't think – "

He shushed her with a finger, the weight of it searing her lips. "Maybe it's time you stopped thinking." Brady leaned close and whispered into her ear. "Dance with me?"

They moved around the dance floor with the grace that only they had. One step one way, one another. And anyone in the restaurant could see that they were practiced in the looks of the other. Chloe seemed to melt into Brady's dinner jacket, and the way his hands rested lightly on her back, one on the hip line the other between her shoulder blades, told an audience all they really needed to know about the couple.

From her position in Brady's arms, Chloe smiled up at him. "I forgot how well you moved." She said absently, pulling a hand from around his neck, she smoothed out the wisps of hair on his neck that refused to lie still.

"I am Brady Black." He reminded her with a smile, twirling her in his arms and not letting go.

Chloe just frowned. "Proven to be the cockiest man alive." She barked playfully. And it was true. Brady Black did not lack for confidence. That was actually one of the things she loved most about him.

"You forgot 'charming,' 'suave,' and 'incredibly sexy.'" He dipped her and when she giggled into his chest he allowed himself a short smile.

"I didn't." Chloe told him, sounding annoyed. "I just knew you preferred to say those things yourself."

Brady drew back, placing a hand on his heart. "Gee thank you Chloe." He rasped out, pretending that she had truly hurt him with sarcasm. Had they been alone he would have fallen to the floor. "I love you too."

For a moment neither one spoke. They just stood there staring at each other. Brady's hands were still against his own chest and Chloe's on his shoulders. "I didn't doubt that for a second." She told him sincerely. And she didn't. He had walked out on her to help save a dying company. He had walked out on her in a failed attempt to keep his pride. He had left to show her that she didn't rule him or what he did. It had never been about love.

And will your arms still hold me
And your eyes console me, baby
Please don't turn your back and just pretend
That your heart still needs me
And your soul completes me
Can we find a way to fall in love again?

"I think we've both had a little too much wine." His voice was rasping again, this time from the emotion. How could he tell her that she wasn't wrong? How could he admit that a part of him still loves her? "I think we shouldn't be having this conversation here." He whispered.

"You want to reminisce?" Chloe asked him after a moment. "To replay our finest moments against each other's memories?" When Brady just looked at her, she smiled. "We're going to need more wine."

Brady smiled and nodded his head. "You're a cheap drunk anyway." He told her with mock conviction.

The rest of dinner had been quiet. They barely spoke about anything other then business. Chloe told him about Joy's grades in school, and how the child kept asking for a new bike. Brady had shared with her about wanting to remodel the recording studio behind the mansion and how the new gardener couldn't seem to duplicate the roses that Joy had picked from Chloe's front lawn to give to him one day. It was friendly conversation, two friends catching up on each other's lives as if they didn't live just half an hour away and they didn't see each other at least once every day.

They didn't dance again.

As they poured themselves into the limousine, Brady completely ignored the photographers that seemed to follow them from the door of the restaurant to the car. He closed the door behind him and raised the partition. Chloe just raised an eyebrow at him.

"You really want a French chauffeur regaling just how drunk we are to tabloids?" He asked with a grin.

They weren't drunk. Not really. Buzzed, tipsy to the point where Chloe would miss a step once or twice if she didn't think about it, but both of them could just as easily pour themselves into suits and jackets and make all three of their presentations over again without a single mistake.

"Depends." Chloe focused on the street outside and then smiled back at him. "Just what are you planning on doing with me drunk?"

She was playing with him, her hand brushed the top of his thigh with feather light caresses and Brady bit his lip when he realized just how bad of an idea taking her to dinner was. He understood it. And looking into her eyes he knew she did to. That particular night was not the night for regrets and drunken confessions. It would be best if they both just went to their rooms and slept it off.

It was a good idea.

And if he remembered getting out of the car and helping her into the elevator, one arm wrapped around her waist and the fingers of the other hand brushing the outside of her left wrist, he would have suggested it to her. But her perfume filled the small room and as he leaned around her to hit the floor number, she was pressed too close to his chest. They could ignore everything else, but having each other a hairsbreadth away wasn't easily pushed aside. The elevator doors opened on their floor and Chloe stepped out first, pulling her room key from her jacket pocket and holding it up to him.

She didn't have to ask the question.

He didn't have to answer.

Brady took the key from her and opened the door, holding it to allow her entrance. She pealed her jacket off, throwing it onto the table they had moved from the living room area and scattering a few papers that she couldn't care less about anyway. He watched her toe her way to the mini bar, bending at the waist and coming up with a full size bottle of wine that he wasn't aware could fit in the small appliance. But there were two drinks that Chloe knew intimately, coffee and wine, and if there was a way to fit both in the fridge, no doubt Chloe had done it.

"You got any coffee made?" He asked with a smirk, shaking his head when she held up the glass she had just poured for herself. "Too much of that and I'm not going to want to get up in the morning."

Chloe just laughed and filled a mug with the ever-present dark liquid. "And you say I'm a cheap drunk." She laughed. He had perched himself on the couch that Rex had discovered their first night there was more comfortable than it looked.

"You are!" Brady laughed, taking the cup and saucer from her hand, feeling her pulse tremble when they touched. "One week before Joy moved in with us, you were plastered from half a bottle of cheap champagne." He coughed, purposefully leaving out the fact that it was one week before her parents had died and the night after they had become inseparable. "I think I even finished your last glass for you."

"I wasn't drunk on the wine, Mr. Black." Chloe argued, pushing against him and smiling. This was the conversation they had missed at dinner. "And as I recall there wasn't a room in that house we didn't christen that night."

Brady laughed and looked up at her blushing face. "It's a shame that wasn't the same night we christened your bed."

"That bed saw plenty of action." Chloe took another sip of her wine and laughed. "Although I do feel kind of bad that Shawn sleeps on my couch so much."

They both erupted into a fit of giggles that Brady didn't even know he had inside of him. He couldn't remember the last time he just sat back and relaxed with anyone. No, now-a-days even Nicole seemed to keep him on high alert and Brady wouldn't let himself relax for anything. For him to sit with Chloe on the fourth anniversary of the day he walked out on her and just talk like nothing had happened- Brady shook his head.

This was the anniversary of something more than that.

"I never apologized for what I did," he started, "back then."

She tried to shush him with a finger, and when he shook his head to protest, Chloe scooted closer, their thighs touching through the fabric of his pants. "You did what you thought you had to do." She told him carefully. "I may curse you for it when I wake up alone some mornings, but I understand."

"I never should have." He was shushed again and he couldn't help but laugh. "You're making me feel better after I left you?" Brady arched an eyebrow and watched as Chloe caught on. "You are definitely one of a kind, Diva."

Chloe shook her head. "I loved you."

Brady brought his face close to hers, not remembering when he had set his mug on the coffee table or when she had discarded her wine glass. "I don't think I stopped." He admitted, threading a hand through her hair on the side of her face and brushing her ear with his thumb. He pulled her onto his lap at the same moment he latched on to her lips.

It's hard for you
When your heart has opened up
to feelings that you never knew
Never thinking that you'd doubt our love
you don't know what to do
I'd give anything, my heart, my soul
if I could pull you through
Just to find again my love we hold so true

This wasn't a kiss of desperation. It wasn't a plea or an apology.

It was merely a kiss.

When Chloe pulled her lips from his, they both felt the loss. She rocked back onto his knees and just stared into his eyes, searching for some sort of acknowledgment that he knew what he had just done.

The pools of cobalt staring back at her weren't what she expected. There was no confusion. There was nothing in his eyes but the adoration and love that she had been far too accustomed to seeing from him when they had been together. Chloe allowed herself a moment to remember the feel of being loved by the man in front of her. Maybe one moment too long.

Brady's hand came up against her shoulder, and he felt her shiver at the connection before pulling her lips back to his.

It was odd, Brady thought, Chloe tasted sweeter than he remembered. As he opened his lips to lick the seam between her own, Chloe gasped and he darted his tongue into the cavern of her mouth. He felt her shutter against his arms but instead of pulling back again; Brady was surprised when she took the initiative and pushed herself further. Her skirt rode up on her knees as she parted them slowly, straddling his thigh.

Kissing Chloe was an erotic act all on its own.

It wasn't the wine. It wasn't the date. When Brady declared a leisurely war against her lips, Chloe gave him back everything she received. And she did it because she couldn't stop.

A small cry echoed against the room when he withdrew his tongue, lashing across her face to nibble at her earlobe, then dropping down to suckle her neck. Her hands gripped his hair, deliberately pulling at the roots, egging him on. And when he bit her collarbone, just below her jugular vein, she called out, not caring who was in the room next to them.

His hands found her zipper, tucked underneath the fabric to hide the cold metal. It came down slowly, Brady paying close attention to the way her entire body trembled. He lost his tie before the zipper was all the way down her back. The first three buttons before his hands could return to her hair. He jerked her neck back up, almost to a painful angle, and devoured her lips again.

She knew this was wrong. Chloe understood that the only thing she was accomplishing was hurting them both further. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to care. His hands on her hips felt exquisite, the taste of his desperation alone would last her months of sleepless nights. He clawed at the exposed skin of her back, trying to feel her flesh without discarding the cloth. The intimacy of that single act would be more than either one of them should allow. Briefly Chloe wondered what damage she would cause if she took the dominant position and just dropped the straps herself.

Instead he seemed to sate his lust against her skin, nipping and kissing. One hand dropped to her exposed knee, running it up the length of her thigh to the joint where her leg met her hipbone. His thumb stroked the crease, coming just close enough to the seam of her lace panties to make her squirm. Chloe took the bait, shifting on his lap and groaning at the feel of Brady's arousal digging against the zipper of his slacks.

Brady pulled his mouth from the hollow of her throat, kissing her solidly and then pulling back, his eyes locking with hers.

He had drawn a line in the sand.

Brady would let her make the next move.

Chloe's hands came down around his shoulders once again and she ground into his stiffness as she engulfed his lips. She didn't need him to remind her that what they were doing was wrong. She didn't want him to tell her that they both would feel worse in the morning. All she wanted was what was in front of her. All she cared about right then and there was the feel of his lips against hers; his skin to hers.

The line wasn't just crossed, it was obliterated.

Brady dropped the straps of the dress, popping the clasp of her strapless bra with far too much ease. Her hands gripped his shoulders as an anchor at the same time he palmed her back, reassuring himself that she was real. She whimpered again, this time trying to recapture his lips, and his 'I Love You' died in his throat.

With practiced ease, he shifted his weight so his feet were flat on the floor. In classic Brady fashion, he toed his shoes at the very same instant that he shifted her weight on his lap, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist. Chloe locked her ankles across his hips as he shifted again, lifting them both off of the couch.

It took a second for him to adjust to her weight. He shuttered to compare them at a time like this, but Chloe held slightly more weight than his usual bedmate. Not that he minded the change. He welcomed anything that brought Chloe closer to him. He readjusted his hands on her rear just to feel her brush her breasts against his undershirt. Chloe's weight was defiantly a weight he could bear.

Three steps and he had made it to the bedroom, his shirt lost somewhere between the couch and the door. Another two and he laid her carefully on the bed, whimpering slightly from the loss of him. He stood back, watching the look of impatience spread across Chloe's face as he knelt before her, pulling her dress out from under her bottom and sliding it up and over the rest of her body. He laid it against the back of a nearby chair and turned to look at her again.

Never in his entire life had Brady Black seen anything more beautiful.

Chloe had pulled her legs up underneath herself, heeled sandals attached to her feet. She was leaning back on her palms, bare chest thrust out when she took each breath. For a moment Brady was awed at the fact that her pale lacy panties matched her heels. It was just something so uniquely Chloe.

"Beautiful." He murmured, kicking off his socks and sliding up the bed to her, pulling her down underneath him. She shifted her weight on the bed and groped at his shirt, pulling it clear of his head before tossing it in the same direction of the door. Her nails raked down his back, and he tried not to growl. It wasn't pain. The sheer ecstasy in the act was enough for him to bury his head in the crook of her neck and lave the reddening skin just above his last bite. He didn't think about it right then, but that mark would be there for a few days. There was sadistic pride in that knowledge. The fact that others might be able to see that mark brought a smile to Brady's lips. He leaned into her fully, her legs spreading carefully to accommodate their position on the bed, and Brady kissed the angry mark before pulling himself back up to her lips.

She was intoxicated. The scent of cologne and sweat and something distinctly Brady filled her nostrils and Chloe was drunk on the high it created. His lips skimmed her collarbone, nipping her shoulder before she felt the pressure on her lips again. He didn't just kiss, Brady took ownership of all she was and poured it back into her with fervor. He possessed her and inflamed her, forcing her body to arch into his with only his lips. Her bare feet dug into the back of his thighs, heel first and she winced slightly when his full weight came crashing down on her. She toed his heels and smiled when a chuckle slid from his throat. Neither could remember her losing her shoes.

Brady felt her wince again, this time at the torturous pace he had set in his onslaught of kisses and caresses against her body. The gentle beat of the song they danced to still moved through her body, seeming to follow the trail of nips and licks from her jawbone to where the chain of her necklace fell between her breasts.

Her skin tingled at every point of contact with his lips. She cried out when his tongue circled the sensitive pebble before drawing it sharply, exquisitely painfully into his mouth. He worried the tender flesh with his tongue, suckling so incoherent cries rose from the room unbidden.

Someone whispered 'please, please' over and over in the darkened room. It was both shocking and dismaying when Chloe realized that it was hervoice. She was calling for something that she barely remembered she needed. And Brady was more than willing to comply. He worried the tender flesh of her breasts, taking extra care to ensure both received the same treatment, and then kissed the valley between them, laving at the supple skin. Gooseflesh rose on her breasts and Chloe was unsure what it was that was keeping her from jumping out of her skin.

He left a wet trail from her breasts, sliding down her body until he reached her taunt stomach. His tongue thrust and withdrew from her belly button in blatant mimicry of sex, and she felt herself getting hopelessly wet just from his kiss.

Overwhelmed and almost senseless with sheer need, Chloe no longer even tried to hold her head up to watch him, finally just allowing it to drop onto the mattress. She stared at the ceiling for only a few seconds before allowing them to close on their own. She felt her underwear being pulled from her hips and for a brief moment, she opened her eyes. "What are you – Dear God"?

His mouth covered her and that was the last rational thought that Chloe was capable of remembering.

Brady's tongue delved between her folds, brushing, tasting, and sending her already frayed nerves to the sky. He remembered vividly just where to where to push her, what would give her more gratification, where to bear down, and where to suckle her. This wasn't about him. He kept himself pressed to the bed to keep that thought firmly planted into his brain.

This was for Chloe.

This was for everything they had missed.

And as every night goes by
with every lonely tear I cry
it's so clear to me
I need you by my side

His other hand slid between her legs and slowly pinched the folds of her lips taut against his mouth and tongue. He stroked the delicate tissue with the flat edge of his tongue, feeling her twitch in her feeble attempt to grind against him. His other hand slithered across her abdomen, placing gentle pressure on a spot just below her belly button, keeping her in place as he flicked the newly found spot over and over again until he could feel that she couldn't stand it anymore.

She whimpered unintelligibly, her vision blurred, and even the pale color of the ceiling just seemed too bright. Chloe cried out as she shuddered, her entire body trying to hold off the impending peak as long as possible.

Brady could feel it. Her legs had stopped trying to grope for purchase on the bed, and her body was unnaturally calm. Chloe was compelling her orgasm at bay. She was demanding her body not give in to him.

His response was to drive his tongue into her as far as it would go.

There were no words to describe the sensation that ripped through her body at the invasion. Chloe had no thought cross her mind as pleasure and pain slashed her to the core, threatening to tear her in two.

His eyes watched her body carefully, taking as much pleasure in her succumbing to release as she did. Her hands clutched for the dressing on the bed and he held her steady as she convulsed repeatedly, riding out the intense ripple of pleasure.

Brady kissed the juncture between her thighs, sadistic glee barely masked when she shuddered again. His lips traced the smooth line before sliding over to her hip bones. He kissed the top of each thigh, laving the skin with his tongue before sliding once again between them. His lips touched her knees and then he drew a thin line of saliva back up to the apex of her thighs. Before he could get too close however, he growled with satisfied approval and sank his teeth into the tender flesh of her inner thigh that turned her bones into liquid fire and brought all of the sensations back to her.

She exhaled with a hiss of pain, but the way her body gently bucked against him again only served as proof that she welcomed it.

When Chloe regained what little senses Brady allowed, her hands skimmed down her body, brushing her aching nipples and rounding over her stomach to grasp his biceps, nails down, pulling him forcefully back up her body. Their lips attacked each other again with fervor as Chloe withdrew his belt from the loops and slid her hands between them to take care of his pants. Brady ground against her in frustration, kicking the offending cloth from his legs as soon as Chloe forced it over his hips.

Neither of them could explain how they were turned sideways, lying across the bed now instead of down its length, but honestly they didn't care. He slammed down onto her, grinding them together and pushing her past her limit, driving her to insanity with just the anticipation of them coming together.

The bed shifted, jolting away from the wall, and Chloe groped for purchase on Brady's back as he grasped for the comforter, only serving to wrench it free from under her. He tossed the material to the floor, stepping on it as he stood slightly, Chloe's hands digging insistently at his boxers.

And will your arms still hold me
and your eyes console me, baby
Please don't turn your back and just pretend
That your heart still needs me
And your soul completes me
Can we find a way to fall in love again?

The material gave, slipping off of his hips and pooling to the floor just in time for Brady to chuckle at the satisfied grunt that erupted from Chloe's lips. He fell on her, his naked body covering hers. With his knees, he gently guided her legs apart.

Brady's lips slanted over hers and Chloe had to part them under his brutal hunger. His tongue thrust into her mouth and Chloe felt the passion inside her drown out the remaining insecurities as she pushed her body up to his.

Brady didn't stop to think, pressing kisses to her throat. At first he thought it was a sigh, the way her throat quivered; then her entire body shook. He couldn't hold his wonder at bay any longer. Their bodies still reacted as one. He pulled back slightly, readjusting himself at her entrance and locking their gazes.

He had to know this was what she wanted.

He needed reassurance that she needed this just as much as he did.

"I love you."

Then moisture flooded into Chloe's eyes, seeming to convey the longing and need they both had held at bay for so long. His unspoken question was answered in her eyes.

"Please…"

Can we find a way to fall in love again
Oh baby, I need you to love me for the rest of my life.

"Please..." She whispered.

Brady froze. She had not moved, yet the word rang like a bell through his mind, slowly working its way through his body. His eyes searched her face, somehow trying to deny their position; to not completely understand how they had gotten there. Clarity sprang through him like a breath released, the value of this night coming on too strong. What am I doing? He asked himself, backing off slightly.

Laying flat against what was left of the bedspread, her curls spread around her like petals of a flower, and she was driving him to the brink of madness just by being there. His body fought his mind for control.

The recognition came to his eyes in a flash of almost physical pain, and he sprung from the bed without even processing the thought. And he was on the far side of the room before the cold of the room assaulted her body.

"Brady?" She asked slowly, confusion passing through her dark eyes. She didn't understand. She didn't know.

He shook his head, trying to tell her everything he was thinking without opening his lips. He couldn't do this to her. Not with his wedding to Nicole so close. Not with how hard Shawn watched them like a hawk and with his uncle in the next room. Brady and Chloe couldn't be together. Not like this.

The last remnant of her fantasy splintered into nothingness and she was left desolate, dazed and hurt. She turned to face him, completely vulnerable for the first time in four years. She looked into his eyes, searching for the passion and tenderness. She would even settle for an explanation.

If we fall in love again

Disdain filled his expression as he saw her expectations so clearly written across her face. He registered the shock and couldn't find the words to reassure her that the fault was his, not hers.

He didn't look at her as he slid back into his boxers pulling them over his hips and grasping his pants. He groped for his undershirt in the dim light of the room, becoming incredibly aware of exactly where she was in the room. And when his hand grasped it, he seemed to locate his voice as well. "Chloe – " He started, simply not knowing anything else to say.

"Get out." Her voice was cold, and unbelievably soft. The tears were streaming unchecked down her face now, and she didn't even bother to look at him. He stood there, shell-shocked, looking down at her seemingly frail form. She had pulled the sheet from the floor, wrapping herself the best she could. "Get Out!" She screamed at last, pulling a brush from the nightstand and launching it in Brady's general direction. "Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" She didn't hear him back from the room. Her sobs covered the sound of him pulling his dress pants back on in the living area.

The click of the door rang loud and clear.

Would you love me for the rest of my life...?