“Yes. And for a few years we were fine.” I shrug. “Until Mom got tired of being a single parent, I guess. Since then, I’ve had a parade of ‘uncles’.”
His face clenches in a scowl. “These uncles, were they good to you?” he demands.
“Some were. Others clearly didn’t want to be saddled with someone else’s kid. One guy came close once. I’m not sure what happened but…Mom was really happy,” I say a little wistfully, then reality sets in. “She never really told me why it ended. But our relationship took a turn after that and it never really got fixed. I think maybe I was in the way.”
His lips tighten and he passes a soothing hand down my back.
I melt against him, and for a few minutes, I listen to the steady, reassuring beat of his heart.
“Anyway, how about you?” I murmur, my relaxed pose allowing his erection to settle deeper between my thighs.
Maybe it’s because I’m still a tiny bit on guard that I imagine his slight tensing because when he speaks, his voice is low and even.
Just as steady as it was a minute ago. I’m full and happy and getting increasingly turned on by his caress.
No need to besoon guard.
“My dad passed a while back. My mother is still around though.”
I glance up at him, my breath catching all over again at the sheer chiseled beauty of his face. “Still around where? Here in California?”
“No. She’s abroad at the moment, visiting Europe.”
I give a wistful sigh and settle my head back against his shoulder. The hand on my back trails up and slides into my hair, gently massaging my scalp. Making me melt faster.
“She’s lucky she gets to travel. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
He remains silent for a few beats, then asks, “If you could go anywhere, where would you like to go, angel?”
Home.
My heart stutters and I’m glad he’s not looking into my face because I’m sure he would read the word loud and clear.
I can never go back home.
New York is off limits to me forever.
Fear and panic inch back into the edges of this make-believe time-out I’m taking, and as much as I yearn to push it away, the clock is ticking until I need to move on.
He shifts against me and I know he’s about to slide a finger under my chin, raise my face to his because I didn’t answer his question yet.
So I pluck a pie-in-the-sky response out of thin air. “If I could go anywhere in the US, it would be Vegas. I’d love to go see a few music artists doing their thing, and dream a little, you know?”
A sound rumbles out of him. “Hmm.”
The response is more measured than I hoped and I wonder if he thinks I’m an idiot for wasting time on a fruitless dream.
I hurry to add, “But if I could go abroad, I’d probably head to Europe, too. I love the idea of experiencing so many cultures within one continent, you know?”
He nods, his chin brushing my temple. “Where in Europe would you go?”
I glance up at him. “London, maybe. Or Greece. Iceland would be really cool too. All those black beaches and that unpronounceable volcano?” I grin.
Slowly, he grins too and my heart ricochets in my chest like a foolish thing. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He slowly lowers his head and seals my lips with his. “You deserve all that, angel. And more.”
But will I ever get the chance when I’m running for my life?
I lower my gaze before he can see my resurging panic.
Then I slide my arms around his neck because, for today, for now, he’s my safe haven.
My port in the storm.