Well. To say this piece is outside my comfort zone is putting it lightly. I typically stay firmly in my lane of trying to extend scenes or provide insight into character's thoughts and motivations. I leave the original works to others, and I certainly leave the Hallmark afterdark content to others.

So, I'm not sure where this idea came from, but it's been burning a hole in my mind and forced its way on to my phone. Deciding to publish it has been a different story. But YOLO, I guess. There are four chapters to this, and I'll publish them every other day this week.

In conclusion, let me just preface what you're about to read by saying this definitely falls into the category of out of character behavior and decisions, though I absolutely try to maintain true to character personalities and speech patterns. If you come to the comments to tell me they'd never behave this way, I already know that. If this isn't your cup of tea, please skip to the next story. I hope you'll read the next thing I write which I can almost decidedly guarantee will not be like this. lol

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Chapter 1 of 4

Elizabeth Thornton sat alone at her kitchen table while her son played outside with the daughter of the man who now dominated her thoughts. Elizabeth had known for many years that she was attracted to Nathan Grant. But she had also spent the vast majority of those years in practiced denial about the source of that attraction. That denial had made it possible to avoid acting on her feelings which, in turn, had made it easier to pretend the feelings didn't exist. But life has a funny way of getting to the truth eventually, and a combination of time and circumstances and important conversations had finally brought Elizabeth to the point when she could be truly honest with herself. She loved him. She was in love with him.

But even after she recognized her own feelings for what they were, she'd been able to rein in the physical attraction. She hadn't, after all, told him how she felt, and she wasn't entirely sure he was willing to forgive and forget all the past hurt. That added complication made it easier to calm the growing desire she felt when he would brush her hand or drop his voice down an octave and speak only to her. She knew she wanted to touch him. To feel his lips on hers. But she also told herself that they had work to do to make sure they were on the same page, and she didn't have the courage to be certain he was feeling the same. So she once again, with practiced resolve, kept the physical expression of her love to a minimum - a gentle hand hold for support, a bump of a shoulder.

But then one night - one glorious night - everything had changed. Feelings were shared. Hearts were fully opened. And their lips met for the first time under the stars in front of the porch at her home. And ever since then, Elizabeth had a problem.

The careful guardrails she had placed around her attraction for Nathan were gone, and it was as if she lacked the capacity to build new ones. When she was in his presence, she couldn't help but touch him. She was in constant need of the warmth his proximity brought to her body. When the children were around or they were in the presence of their friends and neighbors, Elizabeth could at least keep the physical touches at an acceptable level - holding his hand or tucking into his side as they stood next to each other. But the minute they were alone, the desire for more became overwhelming. She found herself pulling him into private spaces just to kiss him and feel his strong arms around her. To be able to run her hands down the front of his chest and around to his back.

What didn't help the problem was she was no longer saddled with the worry that Nathan didn't return her feelings. She was only the initiator of their private moments about half the time. He seemed just as eager to capture her lips at every opportunity, and he never wasted a chance to deepen a kiss or allow his large hands to wander a bit as he held her waist. She could honestly say she had never felt quite like this before. Things with Lucas had never stirred her the way Jack had - which was one of the many reasons she eventually realized she couldn't continue that relationship. She had fully expected to want Nathan in the same way she had wanted her late husband. She knew the love she had for the two of them came from that same place in her soul. What she hadn't expected was to want him more. Something about Nathan's body spoke to hers on a fundamental level. It was intoxicating, and she didn't know what exactly to do about it.

Nathan would arrive for dinner soon, and they'd promised each other they would have a conversation. After this afternoon, it was clear to both of them (and at least one of their friends), that something had to be done.

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I'll publish chapter 2 in a couple days. Figured you might need a flashback to find out what exactly happened this afternoon.