Warning: this chapter will contain some sexual references.
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Mia's POV

The need in his eyes gave me all the confidence I needed to straddle his waist and kiss his lips passionately. He managed to ask despite his shock, "what exactly is my gift?"

I looked at him for a few seconds then smiled down at him and kissed his jaw softly then whispered, "me."

His breath quickened and his hands which has been on my back slowly starting roaming my body and ended caressing my hips and thighs. I was breathing heavily mostly because of the nerves then slowly tugged at the hem of his shirt pulling it up. He sat up and helped me take off his shirt while looking at me. He turned us around so he was over me and began kissing my neck up and down slowly. I gasped at the feeling and brushed my fingertips down his chest to his fit  abdomen and lightly tugged at his pajama pants. He smiled against my neck then trailed kisses from my shoulder to my collarbone slowly taking my babydoll off.

I bit my lip nervously when I felt his bottom half pressed against my thigh and suddenly my whole body tensed and my heart quickened. Alexander was about to pull my babydoll off when he saw the look on my face that immediately stopped him in his tracks.

He let go of my clothes and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb, "what's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

I looked at him unable to answer because I was both embarrassed and scared.

"Are you okay? Baby please answer me" he begged.

"Yes I'm fine" I whispered so softly that I doubt he heard me.

He got off of me and helped me sit up then gently cradled me against his chest and looked into my eyes, "there's something wrong baby please tell me, I can see it in your eyes."

I looked at him and when I saw his worried face I couldn't help the tears that ran down my face. He looked bewildered when he saw that happen then he wiped my tears away with his thumb, "please tell me what's wrong Mia, you're scaring me"

"I'm sorry... I just... I haven't done this before and I... I'm scared... I don't want to" I said in between sobs.

He looked at me as if he didn't believe me but quickly composed his expression, "then why did you tell me you wanted to do it? I wasn't asking you to you know that right?"

I nodded and tried to wipe my tears but they just kept on coming, "I know but Annabel thought that you would love it as a gift because she said you love sex and you always do it in your relationships so I thought I should too because I don't want to not be able to give you everything you want..."

He looked utterly confused, "what does Annabel have to do with any of this??"

I sat up feeling completely embarrassed and ashamed then covered myself with the covers and tried to explain everything without looking up at him.

"When I went shopping for this trip I met with Annabel because she was supposed to help me, I also wanted to get you a gift but I couldn't think of what I could get you that you would love and you couldn't possibly already own, she suggested that I buy this... Outfit... To surprise you on this vacation"

"she told you to have sex with me to make me happy??"

"Well yeah sort of but she didn't know we hadn't done anything yet... She thought we had since you usually do that kind of stuff very early on in your relationships..."

He was quiet and I was too embarrassed to look up at him so I continued rambling, "don't be mad at her please I know she meant well, I really did want to well you know with you its just when I was younger I had bad experiences with my" and suddenly I stopped when I realized what I was saying.

"With who?"

"I... Well I just... Can you forget I said that please?"  I begged.

"No I'm sorry but I can't, please finish your sentence."

Tears began spilling down my face betraying me as always. I had only told my parents what happened with my uncle and they made sure to move our family as far away from him as possible but that didn't change any of my feelings towards physical affection. I knew he wouldn't let it go and I just couldn't sit here under his stare any longer so I softly whispered, "'my uncle."

He stayed quiet for what felt like hours and all I wanted to do was run away and pretend none of this happened. Pretend I never bought this damn outfit. That I never tried to be seductive. That I never even thought of giving this as a gift.

After a while he whispered, "do you want to talk about it?"

I immediately shook my head, "it happened a long time ago and he's gone now there's no need to revisit that again."

He was quiet for a few minutes again and I couldn't bring myself to look up at him. He held my hand gently and started stroking it with his thumb as he said, "why couldn't you make love with me but you could with others though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you said you were scared with me, you didn't want to, so how did you have sex with the guys before me?"

I looked up to see his face finally and said softly, "I've never done anything like that with anyone Alex."

He looked at me and my heart clenched a little when I saw doubt in his eyes. He didn't say it out loud but I could just see it in his eyes that he wasn't believing what I had just told him.

I took my hand out of his and wrapped them around myself to keep myself from falling apart in front of him again. He said in a tone laced with disbelief, "you're a very beautiful girl though and it's not like you're 16 I mean you're 22 now, how could you not have had any type of sexual encounter before?"

I felt some anger start boiling up inside me at his disbelief, "just because a pretty girl is wanted by guys doesn't mean that she has to sleep around with them you do know that right?"

"I do know that but I don't believe that you have never done anything with anyone"

"Well I'm not lying about it, I don't know why I would even want to lie about that" I said defensively.

"Because you..." He trailed off in a angry tone.

"Because I what? When have I lied to you or giving you any reason to not believe me? When have I acted like I sleep around with everyone?" I said in a pained voice.

He looked at me and even though his expression was emotionless, the turmoil inside him was almost tangible. He looked straight into my eyes as if trying to read my soul then his expression seemed to soften and he gently took my hand in his again as if I were made out of crystal as he slowly said, "never. I'm sorry I doubted you, you've given me nothing but your love and I am being a complete idiot right now. It's just that I guess I'm a little shocked and didn't know how to react. Can you please forgive me?"

I looked into his eyes and they seemed honest but something about the way he said his apology made me feel as if there was more to it. I didn't want to be upset at him though, not right now when I needed someone to hold me close and tell me it would all be okay.

"It's okay, just don't doubt me again please, I wouldn't lie to you." 

He looked into my eyes and nodded then laid back down on the bed then slightly sat up again and asked, "do you want me to sleep on the sofa? I don't mind, I just want you to be comfortable."

I shook my head, "you can sleep here with me I don't mind."

I laid down next to him hoping he would hold me against his chest but he stayed very still as if he was afraid to break me. His tension radiated off him making me feel tense as well. He turned of the lamp and laid on his back without moving. The only sound in the room was his soft controlled breathing and the unending waves.

This night definitely did not go as I had planned. I wish I didn't have to carry the baggage of my past but I couldn't change things. I just hope I could be strong enough to eventually be able to connect with him in every way. I felt a tear escape my eye but held in my emotions because I didn't want him to know how upset I was.

I was so still I guess he thought I fell asleep because he whispered my name softly. I didn't move because I felt that any movement could disturb the little restraint I had on my tears right now. He slowly got up from the bed and I heard the rustling of clothes. I guess he was trying to be as quiet as possible so he wouldn't wake me up. I didn't move until I heard the door open then close and that was when I finally let my restraint go.

Alex's POV

I couldn't believe how quickly the day turned into what it had. It was all going so well and somehow it all spiraled down. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised and shocked when I saw her walk out of that bathroom. She looked like a goddess. The baby blue babydoll made her eyes pop beautifully and I couldn't stop looking at them. 

She was definitely the most sexy woman ever. With her confident stride to me and her beautiful smile. At first I thought I had hurt her when I saw her pained expression but then I realized it was something more. I was definitely worried when I saw a tear fall down her cheek so I hugged her against my chest but that seemed to have no effect. I really wanted to know what was upsetting her because it hurt me to see her that way. When she finally explained to me that she was so nervous and scared because of something that happened with her uncle I felt my blood boil. I was glad she didn't look up at that moment because I was losing it and it took everything in me to keep my anger down.

Maybe that was the reason why she enjoyed breaking families apart. Maybe it gave her some control that she felt that she lost. Whatever it was it still wasn't okay and I wouldn't find excuses for what she did. There was no excuse. She could not have been that affected by what happened if she had been dating other men and most likely having sex with them. I mean how else would she get married men to leave their wife for her? Yeah she was extremely beautiful and funny and smart and kind but a married man with a loving wife and a family wouldn't leave everything just for that. If she could have sex with them why couldn't she with me? Did I remind her of him?

When she said she did not have sex with them I almost laughed. The thought just seemed ridiculous. My dad wouldn't have left my mom if he hadn't been tempted in that way. My dad loved my mom and he loved us more than anything. She must have done something. There was no way she had never done anything.

I could tell she was angry that I didn't believe her but she has no right to be angry when she took my dad from me. I couldn't let my emotions out though, the plan was too far ahead to mess it up now so I apologized and tried to comfort her.

I laid in bed as quietly as I could so she would fall asleep. The way that her body moved closer to me told me that she wanted to be held but right now I couldn't. I felt guilty enough about wanting to be with her despite what she did. I couldn't bring myself to comfort her when I knew the pain that she put my family through. When she was the reason that my mom's heart was broken.

About an hour after laying there as still as I could she fell asleep. I got up and quickly changed then headed out. I went down to the bar and sat on the stool, I needed to let my emotions free so that I could go back in there with a rose in the morning and face her. So that I could make her feel loved and safe. So that when I proposed she wouldn't hesitate to say yes. 

I lost track of time and when I looked at the time I realized it was 5 in the morning and I was pretty drunk. I decided to go back to the room after getting her a rose and ordering her favorite breakfast. I took a shower as quietly as I could to mask the smell of alcohol then I went to the living room and started researching on my laptop. After about an hour since I emailed the PI to find everything about her childhood. He e-mailed me back saying there wasn't anything until after she was 2 months old, from there it says she lived in a small rural town in California until the age of 13 when her parents abruptly moved the family to the city even though her dad has a good job in the town. I guess that was when she told them what was happening with her uncle. I tried to find out information on him but I couldn't unless I had his name.

She seemed to have adapted well to the move to the city and because in high school she did well in the volleyball team then went to college on a scholarship. She seemed to be trying to make a living off of her paintings when she went to my office for that interview. 

I took another sip of my coffee even though I still felt a little drunk I didn't want to fall asleep because she would know that I didn't sleep all night. It was already 8:15 so I thought it was weird that she wasn't awake. I know it seemed early but with the time change it was actually 10:15 and she woke up early every day anyways. I set the laptop down and went to look in the room but she wasn't there. The rose wasn't there either so I knew she had seen it but chosen not to eat the breakfast. I looked around the room trying to find her but she was nowhere to be seen. I finally decided to look outside and immediately spotted her sitting on the sand close to the beach. I walked over towards her slowly watching her then stood behind her.

"Good morning princess" I said as nicely as I could without overdoing it. She slightly tensed then replied with a good morning back.

"How did you sleep?"  I asked as I sat down next to her. I

"I slept alright, you?"

"I slept great babe" I lied since I actually hadn't slept.

She slightly turned her head to look at me, "really? I wonder how that happened since I know you never went to sleep."

I looked at her a little shocked that she knew and was about to ask how did she know when she answered, "I heard you leave last night, your side of the bed was cold and did not smell like you when I woke up at 5 in the morning because I heard you come in, you look like hell right now, you smell like alcohol and coffee, and I saw the guilt in your face when you said you slept great."

I looked her and gently held her chin, "Mia, I don't want us to spent this time being upset. I love you and I'm sorry I reacted that way last night, honestly I was more shocked than anything and I responded in the worst way possible. I truly am sorry about it and it won't happen again baby I promise. Please forgive me, I wanna see a smile on your face again and it's killing me to see you like this."

She looked into my eyes trying to see if I was honest but I actually was and I knew she could see that. She wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her back as she said, "I love you Alex."