Sig’s hips slap into mine so forcefully that my teeth jar in my head. But he doesn’t hurt me. If anything, the depth, the aggressiveness of his sensual assault sends electric shocks of bliss streaking through me. I wonder that he doesn’t tire. Or hurt himself. But he is as powerful in his lovemaking as he is in his body, his cock as strong and sure as the rest of him.

I feel it when he comes. It’s as though there is nothing between us. He pulses inside me, his cadence faltering the tiniest bit as he drops forward to rest one hand on the bed beside me, his breathing as labored as mine.

Sig withdraws from me, turning me gently so that both of us fall back onto the pillows, panting like marathon runners. I grin up at him. “When you said animal sex, you meant it, didn’t you?”

He laughs, throwing his arm over his eyes as he rolls onto his back again. “What can I say? You bring out my…baser instincts. Protect. Possess. Devour.”

His words send chills racing down my back. I say nothing. I don’t know what to say.

After a few moments of silence, Sig leans up beside me, resting his weight on one elbow. He stares down into my eyes, his face full of a thousand wonders.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No.”

“Scare you?”

“God no!”

“Please you?” he asks, his voice as quiet and coarse as black velvet.

“Yes. Very much so.”

When he closes his eyes, his face is wreathed with a grin that is all happy, cocky man.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR SIG

Two hours later, my head buzzes. My fingertips throb. My eyes close. Damn. There’s nothing like this feeling–release. I’ve wanted Tommi since I saw her on the side of the road, but I never really expected…this. Holy shit! Tonight was more than I could’ve hoped for. Stronger. More potent. More satisfying.

When I can lift my head, I look down at Tommi. Her sleepy eyes are focused on mine. I kiss the tip of her nose. “Can you stay all night?” I ask.

She reaches up with one hand to hesitantly drag her fingertips down my cheek. It’s an almost reverent gesture that reminds me what a risk this was for her. What a huge step. What a scary step. Already, I can see the haze of satiation lifting, yielding to the harsh light of decision and the fear of consequence. “I’d love to, but I have to be there when Travis gets up.”

“We could be there together, you know. You could invite me for breakfast and we could take Travis to school together. And then come back here for dessert.”

“Breakfast doesn’t have dessert.”

“Au contraire. You’ve never had breakfast with me.”

Her smile is small. Unsure. “I’d better not risk it.

“Risk what? Travis knows me. He likes me. I’m usually there to take him to school when I get you. I’ll just be there a little earlier this time.”

“It’s not just that. I mean…I just think it’s not a very good idea.”

“Is it because of the woman in the back bedroom?”

Every drop of color drains from Tommi’s face. “I don’t know what you mean,” she says immediately, like her kneejerk reaction is to deny. But then, thinking better of it, she asks, “I mean, how did you know about her?”

“I walked over one night. Saw the light come on as I was coming through the back yard. You were in there taking care of her. Who is she?”

Tommi swallows. Hard. I can almost taste the panic in the air. But why? What’s the big deal? What’s the secret?

“She’s my mother.”

“Why do you look like you’re about to pass out then? There’s nothing wrong with you taking care of your ailing mother. I think it’s pretty damn decent of you, actually.”

Her smile is flustered, wobbly. “Thanks. I, uh, she, um, she’s always liked her privacy. And with Travis… I just try to keep things as calm and quiet and routine as I possibly can.”

“I get that,” I say, nodding. “And I’m not asking to meet her or anything. I’m just saying that you don’t have to hide her from me.”

Her wide emerald eyes flicker back and forth between mine until she finally smiles again. A small smile, still, but at least it looks a little less like I just pulled a gun on her. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“So, what happened to her? Is she sick?”

“She, uh, she had an accident a few years back. She hasn’t been the same since. Even if I did introduce you to her, she probably wouldn’t even know you were in the room.”

I reach for her hand, lying tensely on my chest, and I press my lips to each fingertip before I speak. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“She’s not gone yet.”

“No, but watching that kind of deterioration is gut-wrenching.”

“Is that how your mom died? Slowly?”

“Not that slowly, not like what your mom is going through, but slow enough. It was hard to watch. Hard to wonder every day if it would be the last time I’d get to see her alive.”

Tommi stares down at the hand I’m holding. Now, her fingers fiddling with mine, stroking each one from base to tip, methodically, almost mindlessly. “Sometimes I think it’s been best for Travis. At least she’s still sort of here. I think he gets some amount of comfort from that.”

“Do you?” I think of the way she talked to her, like she half expected her to understand or respond.

“Yeah, I guess I do. It’s hard to let go,” she says in a tiny voice that sounds near cracking.

“That’s what love does to you,” I say, reiterating my earlier point.

“But still, I wouldn’t trade having known her and loved her just because it’s hard to lose her. I have to believe that there is good love out there, the selfless kind that gives you a reason to wake up every morning.”

“You mean like the kind you have for Travis?”

She sighs, nearly inaudibly. I feel it more than hear it as it blows softly over the skin of my chest. “Yeah, something like that only…different.”

“The kind you find.”

She jerks her eyes up to mine. “What do you mean?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Loving a family member is not really a choice. At least not for decent people. I think we’re sort of born into it, ya know? What it sounds like you’re talking about is the kind of love that you find. Or that finds you. The fairy tale kind that rips your heart out and stomps the shit out of it.”