A/N: ok, so this is my contribution to the "after 609, before 610" OTH world of fanfiction. I wasn't too pleased with Peyton's choice of words to describe her relationship with Julian, but I'll get over it. Some of the dialogue I borrowed from 'Dawson's Creek'. I don't own Dawson's Creek or One Tree Hill. Also, its kind of sexually graphic, so just a fair warning. You can blame my girls at FanForum for turning me into such a perv. ;)

What about Now?

What about now?

Now that you're here

Now that we've come this far, just hold on

There is nothing to fear, for I am right beside you

For all my life I am yours.

"We were in love" Peyton answered honestly, shocked at herself for answering the question so emotionally. She had meant it to come out as a statement, a thing of the past. Something that happened. Past tense. But she knew the way she answered was in no way a vote of confidence in her favor.

Lucas looked at her shock. The words hit him like a slap on the face. Not even when he had his heart attack did his heart ache so much. His chest burned like a bad case of acid reflux. He immediately regretted even asking the question, bringing it up. It was none of his business. It had happened three years ago. Water under the bridge. Heck, he'd almost married someone else. He had no right to talk, get angry, call her out. And yet, he was angry. She'd lied to him. For three whole weeks. "Why didn't you tell me?", was all he could choke out.

She dropped her gaze to the floor, unable to look him in the eye. "I didn't want to ruin this opportunity for you", was all she could stammer. It was true- this was an amazing opportunity for him, and she didn't want to jeopordize that. She should have told him, she knew that. But she was trying to protect him. She'd hoped he would understand that. However, from the look of disappointment on his face, she wasn't so sure he'd see it like that.

He sat on the couch, holding his head in his hands. "So basically, the girl who spent the last four years pretending I was the only thing she wanted, fell in love with someone else, and lied about it? Fantastic!", He spat out angrily. "Look, I didn't lie to you Lucas. Our first date was after your book signing".

There was a few minutes of silence before he spoke again. "So it was punishment? You were punishing me because you saw me with Lindsey?". "How could you think that?", she argued. "It had nothing to do with you. We were both doing what we were supposed to do, Lucas-trying to move on".

He opened his mouth to respond, but decided against it. He turned and walked into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He knew he was acting immature, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't even look at her right now, let alone talk to her. The very idea of anyone else putting their hands on her, let alone that smug sarcastic bastard of a producer, was sickening.

Then it occurred to him how much more it would break him had he had to witness it with his very own eyes, like Peyton had to do only a few short months ago, and his heart broke. He'd never put himself in her position and what it must have done to her to see them together. The emotional hell he'd put his long legged, blonde haired muse through. She was his inspiration for…everything, and this was how he repaid her? By kissing her and then proposing to someone else a short time later, with the ring only ever intentioned to be on Peyton's hand? B y making her sit through an agonizing wedding ceremony where she watched him intend to give himself to someone else, when he was only ever intentioned for her? He knew that. He knew that if it weren't for Lindsey's bravery to do the right thing, he wouldn't have even gotten a second chance with Peyton. Yet here he was, being the most hypocritical, insensitive ass in the world, throwing a hissy fit when she was only doing what was best for their relationship-being honest. It was what made them work, and he was cursing her for it.

He lay on the bed, closing his eyes. He knew he should go out there and apologize. Tell her it was ok, that he forgave her….fuck that. He FORGAVE her? For what? She had nothing to be sorry for. He did exactly what she did- tried to pretend that they weren't each others be all and end alls, and move on with their lives. In fact, he took it way further than she ever did. She wasn't going to carry on the charade for the rest of her life.

He groaned. Actually, Unfortunately, he had Julian to thank for that. Obviously, he was much more man than Lucas would ever be, because he wasn't letting himself be second in his life, like Lucas was going to let Lindsey be.

There was a small tap on the door, and Peyton crept her way into the room. "Lucas?", she whispered. Her voice was scared. He'd never heard her like that. Oh God, he thought to himself. He never thought they'd get to a day where he scared her. That was the absolute last thing he ever wanted to make her feel- fear. She'd already been through so much, and had so many reasons to fear other things, the last thing he wanted was to give her a reason to fear him.

"Lucas, listen to me", Peyton pleaded. "There was never a day that I loved him anywhere near as much I love you".

And there it was. If there was ever anything that was going to make Lucas Scott pull his head out of his ass, that heartfelt, emotional confession was it. Lying by omission was one thing, but lying to his face is one thing Lucas Scott was sure Peyton Sawyer would never do.

He wrapped his arm around her and hugged her close to him. She turned her head and buried into the crook of his neck. He brought his mouth to hers. Their lips met in a heated kiss, their tongues performing a now familiar dance He started rubbing his hands up and down her back as he kissed her. He kissed her lips, her mouth, her collarbone, and worked his way down.

Peyton Sawyer had had sex before with other guys, but she'd only ever made love to one person, and he was now lying right in front of her. There weren't words to describe the love and tenderness she felt from Lucas Scott when he held her in his arms. It was the ultimate feeling of safety and comfort. She felt invincible, like nothing could hurt her or them, when they were together. And just as quickly as he could be romantic and tender, he could switch to passionate and intense. Peyton's thoughts were interrupted as he did this. One second it was gentle foreplay, the next it was impatient thrusts. Peyton gasped at how quickly he came. That hardly ever happened. Peyton knew it had to do with the intensity of the emotions running through his head, but she never thought she'd be glad for it. She'd never expected jealousy to translate to such a sexually gratifying experience. "Lucas", she panted. "Hold on, baby. I'm coming", he growled back. She reached for his back and dug her nails into his back to hold on. She felt him harden inside her, and her heart started beating faster. He was kissing her neck and decided to take one of her breasts into his mouth. He sucked on the bud slowly, flicking it with his tongue. He massages the other breast with his other hand. Peyton tries to stifle a scream, but she can't help it. "Fuck me harder, Luke", she pleads.

The more passionate they got, the angrier Lucas got. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone else ever feeling her the way he got to. He tensed up just thinking about it, and she noticed. "Hey", she whispered. "You're the only one who's ever gotten all of this", she said, bringing his hand up to her heart. He sighed. "How'd you know what I was thinking?", he asked. She smiled and whispered the now familiar words "I know how you are. I'm the same way". His heart ached at the thought of ever causing her any pain. Peyton felt him wrap his arms around the crook of her neck. She felt him softly bite and suck. She smiled to herself. She knew what he was doing, and normally, she'd be more than furious about it. Marking his territory was not a Lucas Scott thing to do. But she also knew she'd get a sick pleasure out of seeing Julian's eyes bug out of his head when he sees the love bite Lucas was going to end up leaving on her neck. "Baby!", Peyton breathed. "I'm here", he said as he intertwined their hands together. "You feel so good", she panted. She put her hands on his chest, feeling his sculpted abs. She smiled to herself. Peyton Sawyer was not normally superficial, but DAMN her fiancé was fine, she whispered to herself. Lucas flipped her over, so he was on the bottom. "Always the gentleman", Peyton thought. No matter how many times she told him she could handle his weight and wasn't going to break, he still liked to be on the bottom. . His kisses became more furious. He kissed her like he'd just been told he'd never be able to kiss her again. Not that she minded. There was nothing sweeter than the taste of Lucas Scott's mouth on her. He bucked his hips as he grinded into her at a slow, steady pace. Then, she felt him slowly pull out. He was getting tired. She could tell. He'd never worked that furiously before. "You know, I told you once I was going to love you forever, Lucas Scott", she whispered. "What about now?", he asked, mischeviously as he continued to kiss her. "I'm still going to love you forever", she said as she dropped a tender kiss on his lips. He smiled. "Good. Me too". "For all my life, I'm yours, Peyton Sawyer-soon-to-be-Scott".