Available Darkness Season 2

the road, but other than that I’m fine. I swear.”
    Greg smiled. His smile, blue eyes, and boyish charms always had a way of disarming Hannah’s frequent bouts of anxiety. He was an always-calming influence in her otherwise hectic life. How on Earth he could remain so relaxed through even the most stressful situations, she had no idea, but it was one of the things she loved most about him. Even if she wasn’t up to going on vacation, she still would have felt like she owed it to Greg to go. He was always there for her. In a sea of dipshits, he was the one man who held her heart.
    “Thank you,” Greg said, standing from the table, then taking their dinner plates to the sink. “I’m going to call the office and let them know we’re going for sure.”
    “Tell them you’ll be unreachable for the week!” Hannah said, as if there were actually a chance of that happening.
    Greg went to his office to call his boss while Hannah stayed at the table, running through her mental inventory of stuff she had to ready by morning. She’d already packed their essentials, but wanted to make sure she thought of all the little things she might need as well — her iPad, camera, memory cards, battery charger, and of course, the new sexy lingerie she’d picked up from Victoria’s Secret. This was a romantic getaway, after all.
    She wondered how romantic Greg was planning to make it, though. A small part of her wondered if this would be when he popped the question, not that she was even sure she wanted to get hitched. Greg wanted a family, and Hannah thought she probably did, though she often wavered on the thought. At first, she thought she was too selfish for a child, driven by her work. But hell, there were plenty of successful women entrepreneurs who also raised a family. Many did it without the help of a partner, so there wasn’t any reason she couldn’t, too.
    For as long as Hannah could remember, she felt something was missing from her life — a void to fill. At first, she thought it was a steady relationship she’d been missing out on. She’d had enough crappy ones to appreciate a good one when it came along. And even though Greg was great, something was still missing. Only recently did she begin to think it might be her biological clock ticking.
    It began with a feeling she got when she saw parents with their kids. While children had previously seemed like an obstacle and a time suck she couldn’t afford, lately, those feelings were replaced with “awws” and wishful thinking, wondering what it would be like to carry a life in her, to see the look of unconditional love in her child’s eyes. She thought she’d been above “baby fever,” but it turns out she wasn’t.
    The worst part was, she wasn’t getting any younger, and knew if she wanted to have a child she couldn’t put it off much longer. Yet, as untraditional as Hannah was, she didn’t want to have a child without being married, and wasn’t enough of a nontraditionalist to ask Greg to marry her .
    She wondered if Greg was on the phone making secret plans for something grand and romantic. That was like him after all. The thought of coming home from their trip engaged put a stupid, happy happy smile on Hannah’s face.

    **

    That night, they made love for the first time in more than two weeks, though it was less like making love and more like down-and-dirty fucking. Greg was usually a slow, sensual lover, but something primal growled from inside him. He was stronger, more assertive, and willing to take charge like he had back in their first weeks in bed. More animal than man.
    “You’re so fucking sexy,” Greg whispered into her flesh, words sending currents through her veins. He claimed every inch of Hannah’s skin with his mouth, moving slowly toward her small patch of tiny curls.
    “Touch me,” she panted.
    He did, everywhere, before groaning so deep it was almost a growl, then spinning her around and laying a heavy hand on her back. He pushed her down, hard into the mattress, then made her his, speeding his thrusts as he took her from behind.
    Greg grabbed a handful of Hannah’s hair from the nape of her neck, then continued to quicken his strokes. A low roar shuddered from his mouth, swelling up and out from deep within his lungs as Hannah’s breath snagged in her throat and her lower muscles tightened for release.
    Greg pulled out, flipped Hannah in a return to her back, and sent her into a scream.
    Greg was no longer there, in his