"It was so much, medication, therapy, doctor's visits." He shook his head. "Sometimes, I'd have dreams at night where I walked out and left everything behind."

"But you didn't."

"No. But I l never want to be placed in a position like that again, where I'm needed that much." He ran a hand through his hair. "Too much for me."

The slight waver in his voice made her stomach clench. No wonder the poor man ran from any sort of commitment. "While I understand you have to know, it's not a usual or easy situation. It's okay to have had moments of weakness and frustration while you dealt with it. There's no flaw in your character." She placed her hand over his and squeezed. "Do you want to do something for her?"

"No, talking about it was plenty." The rigid set of his shoulders eased. "You're pretty good at the listening thing."

"Have you met my best friends?"

Moose snickered. "Good point."

The somber mood shifted, and she snuggled closer, seeing the man in a different light.

He wrapped an arm around her, tucking her under his arm as he hit the play button and restarted the show.

As the survivors on the show struggled with the internal meltdown, she tried to imagine Moose as a caretaker. The gruff man who sat beside her now had been hardened over the years by his lifestyle, guilt and grief. It made her wonder about the remnants of the fresh-faced youth that remained.

The press of lips pulled her from the light slumber she'd drifted into. "Mm hmm." She opened her mouth, accepting Moose's invading tongue. Her lids fluttered and she squinted as she adjusted to the low lighting from the television.

He eased her body onto the couch, pressing her legs apart as he crawled between her thighs. Warm and solid, his lower body rested against hers as he devoured her lips. This time felt different. The normal urgency had fled, and he sampled her like a fine wine, sipping at her lips as he explored her mouth with a reverence that spoke to their elevated level of intimacy.

She reached up and framed his face with her hands, drowning in the beautiful blue pools of his eyes.

His beard felt soft in her hands and his expression was gentle. Her breath caught. All the things she'd never hoped for were reflected in his eyes. Maybe I'm not the only one falling.

Moose pulled back and their gazes connected.

Goosebumps rose as he slipped his hand beneath her skirt, pushed her underwear to the side and ran his thumb over her clit. Her hips jerked in response and he grinned. He rubbed the tiny bundle of nerves once, twice and removed his hands.

"No," she whimpered, unashamed of the whiny pitch of her voice.

"Shhh." He brought his hands to his mouth, sucked on his fingers, then brought them back to her core.

The wetness eased the path of his fingers and she arched her back, moaning as he filled her, ramping up her achy need higher. They worked together in a smooth rhythm and he watched her with a look she thought might be pride.

"You're so beautiful when you take your pleasure from me like this. You love everything I do to you, don't you?" He added a third finger.

"Yes," she cried out, widening her legs to take him deeper.

"That's my girl, take it all." He crooked his fingers and her walls flexed. His eyes were alive with excitement. "You're mine now aren't you, baby?"

"Yes."

He thrust harder. "Tell me, Jo-Jo."

"Yours-I'm yours." She panted.

"That's right." He reached up and gripped her hair tight, leaning down. His breath caressed her face. This was more than domination. "You belong to me. Don't forget that." He nipped her bottom lip and fucked her hard with his fingers.

Her legs shook, and her eyes drifted shut.

"No, look at me."

She forced her heavy lids open and peered at him.

"Come for me."

His husky command set her off like a bomb. Her toes curled into the couch and she quaked, drowning in the overpowering emotions Moose evoked. She came back down and found him studying her.

"You back with me?"

She focused her eyes on his face, licked her lips and nodded.

Moose surged inside her and she gasped.

"Keep those brown eyes of yours on me while I take you. I want to watch you submit to me."

His words woke a desire buried deep inside, loosened the piece of her that longed to belong to and fit with a man who truly understood and accepted her. Others had tried to change her, misunderstood her or been uninterested. Moose took her as she was and encouraged her to explore hidden parts of herself she could barely admit to possessing.

He pinned her arms above her head, trapping her wrists with one massive hand as he ground into her, bottoming out. Every thrust seemed to take him deeper until she didn't know where she started-and he began. For a moment, they were one. Their breaths synchronized. A new emotion unfurled between them. His eyes hypnotized her. Unable to look away, she studied him.

Ownership, fierceness and intense emotion lined his face and colored his eyes. "Mine..." The guttural word drew a fresh gush of liquid. "You...understand...that?" He punctuated each word with a stroke harder than the one before. This was more than a dalliance.

Doubts rose in her mind. This was her chance to walk away. She hesitated as questions swirled inside her mind like a whirlwind.

"Who do you belong to, Jo-Jo?" He increased his speed, striking the spot inside that made her see stars over and over.

Joey screamed, squeezing her muscles.

He grunted. The decision had been taken out of her hands the moment he opened himself up and showed her what lay beneath the indestructible armor he showed the rest of the world.

"You, Moose."

The relief visible in his eyes toppled the wall she'd hidden behind. The man entered her bloodstream, linking them together, worming his way beneath her skin and into her heart. The time for walking away unscathed was in the rearview mirror. Dread and excitement met in equal amounts as they climbed the heavens together and found solace in a mind-numbing explosion that stole away her ability to think.

The insistent playback of her mother's ringtone pulled Joey from sleep. She forced her concrete-lined eyelids up as she blindly felt for the phone on her nightstand. Locating the sleek black cell, she pulled it into her nest of covers, pressed the screen and brought it to her ear. "Hello," she croaked out.

"Josephine, are you still in bed?" The sound of her given name hit her like a bucket of cold water.

"Mom, what's wrong?" She gently removed Moose's arm and sat up in bed.

"We need to talk. There are things I've kept from you that are coming back to bite me." Her mother sighed. "I thought this would be best for you. Above all else, I want you to know that."

"What are you talking about?" Her muscles tensed. Her mother had never been given to dramatics. The quaver in her voice terrified Joey.

"It's not something we can talk about over the phone. Can I come there?"

Joey glanced down at Moose. "I'm not actually alone right now."

"Oh."

"I mean, you could meet him if you want." Joey nibbled her bottom lip, uncertain if that would sit well with Sleeping Beauty.

"No. I don't want to intrude. How about we meet for lunch at my house?" her mother asked.

Joey glanced at the clock on her phone. "Sounds good, Mom," she paused. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"No, sweetheart. I'm not," her mother said.

"I'll be there in fifteen."

"I love you, Joey."

"I love you too, Mom. Listen, whatever it is we'll get through it together, right? The way we always do?"

"Of course." Her mother sniffed. "Together."

"Or not at all." Joey smiled at the familiar slogan. Unlike many girls, she'd always known her mother was her best friend. With no family to speak of, they had one another's back through thick and thin. It cultured a unique relationship between them. They disconnected and she slid from the bed. A quick shower and a tooth brushing later, she donned a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and sank down on the edge of the bed, beside her still sleeping man. "Moose."

"Hmm?"

"Something's going on with my mom. I need to go check on her."

His eyes popped open. "She sick?"

"No nothing like that. I'm not sure what is yet, but she sounded-off."

"Want me to take you?"

"No, stay and sleep. You seem tired."

"Long-ass week." He scrubbed his face with his hand.

Joey gazed at him and smirked. With his tousled hair and bleary eyes he looked years younger. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Okay. If anything goes down..."

"I know, I'll call you." She rolled her eyes and stole a kiss. For her man, suspicion was a lifestyle.

After the drive over, Joey unlocked the door to her childhood home and stepped inside. For once, the familiar scent of lilac and cleaning products brought no comfort. When her mom was agitated, she cleaned the house from top to bottom. Joey frowned as she closed and locked the door behind her. "Mom?" She scanned the open floor living room and kitchen, surprised her mother wasn't knee-deep in baked goods.

"In my room." The muffled voice drifted up from the off-white hall with beige and brown stripes running down the center.

Joey toed off her slip-ons in the entryway and walked toward the hallway. Each step felt heavier than the one before. None of this fit with the woman she'd grown up with. Her mind struggled to come up with different secrets, but in her heart she knew this had to be related to the events leading up to her birth. It was the one topic they never had an open conversation about. Her stomach rumbled and her airway constricted. She'd never been sure she wanted to hear the details.

When she reached the doorway at the far end of the hall, she paused in the doorway.

Pictures littered her mother's bed. A large cardboard box rested beside her.

"Mom?"

"Come and sit beside me, sweetheart." Her mother patted the space beside her on the white-and-blue flower-themed comforter.

The off-white walls littered with pictures of the two of them seemed to close in. Her heart rate kicked up a notch as she strolled the short distance to the bed and sank down.

"This has been a long time coming, I know. If it'd been left up to me, we would never have this discussion."

"So, why are we having it?" Joey asked, wanting to beg her to stop. The absolute devastation in her mother's eyes frightened the shit out of her. Whatever she had to say would change the way things were. Joey didn't want that.

"Because it's been taken out of my hands, and I refuse to let you be blindsided. I owe you more than that."

"You're starting to scare me," Joey whispered.

Her mom turned to face her and took her hands. "I always led you to believe I wasn't sure who your father was and that's a lie."

Joey moved to snatch her hands back, but her mother held tight. "Why would you do that?"

"For your safety and his."

"What?" She shook her head, fighting against the anger that crashed head on with confusion. She jerked away once more and stood.

"Please, let me explain."

"Okay, okay. Just give me a minute and space." Joey held out her hand, sucking down air as she battled the part of her brain that wanted to walk out. She closed her eyes tightly. Her mother had always been painfully honest. There had to be a good reason for this. Collected, she opened her eyes and nodded. "Okay, Mom, explain."

"You know about my life with the club, but I left out a lot of details. My dad-he was a sick fuck. He bought into the macho bullshit. Women were only good for cleaning up his messes and sex."

Joey's eyes widened, and nausea struck.

"Oh, honey, no." Her mom stood and rushed to her side. "He wasn't that fucked up. Abusive, demeaning and sexist, yes. I spent most of my life walking on eggshells to avoid his anger."

"Why didn't anyone do anything?"

Her mother shook her head. "He was a mean bastard and good at what he did. Eventually the old ladies here stepped in, had him bring me down to work. I was only fifteen, but they all took on the role of stand-in mother. It was better than I'd gotten in my whole life." She shook her head. "Your grandmother was a broken woman who depended on alcohol and whatever else she could get her hands on to numb her enough to deal with her reality. Other than keeping me fed and clothed, she never did much." Her mother shook her head. Lip curled up and nose wrinkled, her face showed her disgust.

"That means you were a member, not some random club...party girl."

Her mother smiled. "I was a floating body with no one to stick up for me, and no real claim within the charter. It kept me from the off-limits category, but no one wanted to get serious and deal with the mess of a father I had."

Joey's heart bled for her mother. "That's awful."

Her mother nodded. "That's the life though. So you understand why I'd never place you in the same situation."

"I don't understand, Mom."