Love Renewed

She couldn't believe what all that she had lived through in the past year. Nyla St. John sat at her desk thinking about all the awful things that had happened to her, wondering if it wasn't for the work of God would she still be here on earth.

It was the anniversary of her long divorce and she couldn't help but think about the man who had caused so much trouble in her life.

Nyla remembered clearly the first time they had met, it had been at a ball for charity. Shawn Peters had been the finest man she had seen in her life. He stood 6'2, dark caramel skin, light brown eyes, thick kissable lips, and the most toned body any woman could ask for in a man. They had dated six months before he'd asked her to marry him.

Shawn had wined and dined Nyla and treated her like a queen, she couldn't ask for anything else; she had the perfect man. Their wedding was the most talked about wedding in the black community, with them both having high powered jobs. Shawn was an attorney and she was as successful investment banker; both had their own firms; they were a power couple.

As Nyla remembered the good times she also remembered the bad. Nyla had come home one day later than usual, and her day had been stressful all she wanted to do was take a hot bath and go to bed.

She didn't know that Shawn was home so she started taking her clothes off and immediately walked into bathroom to take her bath. As she bent to turn the faucets she heard foot steps behind her. Nyla turn around and spotted Shawn in the middle of the bathroom, staring at her. "Hey baby I didn't know you were home I didn't see your car."

She said walking toward him. The minute she got within arms length of him he took is big hand and slapped her across the face. "Don't act like I don't what been up to, you fat bitch, I know you been fucking around on me!" Shawn screamed as she skidded across the floor. "W...WH...what are you talking about?" Nyla asked slowly getting up. "You fat black ugly bitch you know what I'm talking about, don't act like you don't." he yelled. He grabbed her and slammed her against the floor kicking her in the stomach. "You were out late fucking some otha nigga and not me, well I'll teach you not to be fucking wit me!" he said repeatedly kicking and slapping her.

Nyla couldn't do anything but try to fight back, but the more she tried the harder he hit and kicked her. She heard something crack before she finally became unconscious.

Nyla sat at her desk crying remembering how Shawn, the supposed love of her life, almost beat her to death. She later found out that she had been pregnant, and that she had lost the baby, but what made it worse was while she had laid in floor a bloody mess Shawn had raped her. She would have died if had not been for Miss Elli who had come into the house with her emergency key when she'd heard Nyla's screams. Miss Elli a portly 65 year old woman had knocked Shawn over the head with her baseball bat.

That was more than a year ago. Even though Shawn had been serving time in jail for attempted murder and rape he had still given her a run for her money when she had filed for divorce. Since he was a high powered attorney he had lots of connections, but not enough. He had lost his firm and all of his connections after they had found out what he had done to his wife. Nyla had let his partners buy his share of the firm, and she'd kept everything else. She was now worth millions of dollars.

All of that trouble was behind her now and she was moving on with her life.

**************************

Tyler Adams stood in the doorway of Nyla's office watching her cry, as a myriad of emotions crossed her faced. Still, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was dark chocolate in color, obsidian eyes, high check bones, and from the looks of it she had at least a size sixteen figure. Tyler loved his women with meat on their bones. Everyone knew what had happened to her, and people still couldn't believe she had the courage to come back to work after only four months away.

Tyler wondered why a person would do something like that to another human being. He and Nyla had been really close friends until she had gotten married; Tyler had sensed Shawn's dislike of him since the moment they had been introduced. So he had just backed off and chalked it up as Shawn being territorial about his woman, because if he had a woman as beautiful as Nyla he wouldn't want a man, even it was her best friend, around her all the time.

Nyla was jerked out of her reverie by two quick knocks on her office door. When she looked up it was tall and sexy Tyler Adams. She had always thought that he was sexy since meeting him her freshman year at Howard University. Tyler was a dark pecan color with the most amazing hazel eyes she had ever seen. He had once told her he got his eyes from his Italian and black grandmother. Tyler was also the tallest man she had ever seen other than on a basketball court, he was 6'5.

Nyla quickly wiped the tears from her face as Tyler walked though the door. "Why the long face and tears?" he asked taking a seat across from her in a muted pink soft leather

chair.

"I was just thinking about how my life has changed so much in the last two years. It still amazes me that what happened to me really did happen and it was not just a dream that I can wake up from, ya know." She said pouring her heart out to the only person she trusted outside of family. "Miss St. John you have come along way, don't let bad thoughts discourage you from going on." Tyler said moving around her desk to bend and give her a friendly hug. As he hugged her though he wasn't thinking friendly thoughts about her; the thoughts he were thinking were triple x rated. What is the matter with you? He thought as stood still with a hand on her shoulder. She is in need of friendly companionship, not, I want to have sex with you companionship!!

When Tyler hugged her she had chills all up and down her spine. That was when she realized that she was attracted to him, her longtime best friend and study buddy. He smelled so good when he bent to hug her she had to catch herself before she audibly inhaled his masculine scent. Nyla hadn't been attracted to a man for almost a year. After her rape, she hadn't even wanted to look at another man; not even her father or two brothers.

When they had walked into her hospital room she had screamed bloody murder as they tried to console her. Even now, even though she knew that Tyler was not Shawn, and she was attracted to him, she was getting nervous with having his hand on her shoulder. As he went to removed his hand from her he felt her body start to shake thinking she was going to cry again he reached his other arm over her to grab a tissue for her, and as his body started leaning over she couldn't think about anything else but the fact that he was close to her and that he might hurt her. Even though her conscious mind knew that he wouldn't, her subconscious mind did not and she screamed trying to slap him away from her body.

When the scream first hit his ears Tyler retracted immediately to see what had happened to make Nyla scream the way she had.

She was shaking when she moved away and all he could do was pull her into his arms and promise her that every thing would be okay.

"Shhhh, baby every thing is going to be alright I won't let anybody hurt you ever again." He whispered in her ear as she hesitated then took a death grip on his rock solid body.

"Why did this have to happen to me why? All I did was try to be a good person!" She wailed as her body shook even harder with the violent sobs. Tyler was glad that it was after hours and nobody was there so that she could get what was on her chest out without an audience.

"Every time I go to sleep I see him walking into that bathroom and slapping me, and then I try to wake up knowing there is more to come that I don't want to relive, but it is as if someone is playing a joke on me and wants me to relive night after night my worst nightmare. I just want it to be over." She whispered in an eerily calm manner.

After a while she calmed down and Tyler just stayed there rocking her back and forth until she was totally together. When he finally let go, Nyla felt lonely as the heat of his big body faded away.

"How about I follow you home and we order take out and watch a movie, then that way neither one of us will be alone." He asked cautiously, giving her a crooked sexy smile that made her immediately feel at ease. "That would be fine, I would love to."