At first, she huffs a little sleep-heavy sigh, but soon, her hips press back against me.

  “Mmm,” she mumbles, and I can’t tell if she’s awake or not, but the sounds she’s making seem to suggest she’s trying to drag herself back into consciousness.

  I take this as the invitation I want, and I slip a hand under the waistband of her shorts. I don’t do anything more than palm her ass cheek, but the heat of my hand on her skin seems to jolt her awake. She stretches her body, and I can just picture her toes curling as her feet meet mine under the sheets.

  “Mmm…Morris,” she whispers. “What time is it?”

  “Middle of the night, baby,” I answer, kneading and massaging her firm cheeks in my hands.

  “Oh God,” she sighs, “Morris…”

  If I had any doubt before, I now know what kind of woman my baby is. Alice reaches for her waistband and tugs her pajama shorts down around her ankles before kicking them off. She reaches a hand behind her and touches my cock, which is jutting dangerously close to her ass. She pulls her fingers away from my body just long enough to slip them into her mouth. What seems like a second later, she’s stroking the underside of my cock, wetting it with the saliva on her fingertips.

  “Fuck,” I croak. It’s like her fingers already know my body, already know just the ridges and veins to touch, the right pressure and the right speed. “Alice…”

  I want her again.

  I want her in every way.

  In the light, so I can watch her.

  In the dark, so I can conjure the memory of her sinfully stunning face as I bring her to the brink and back.

  I want this—this woman, this feeling every night. In my bed, in my life. Even as she encircles my cock with her entire hand and strokes me, feeling every inch from the jutting base to the weeping tip, I know she’s got a kid, a shitty ex who wants her back or worse, and a whole lifetime of problems I’m probably better off without.

  But then I think of the caramel in her eyes. Those perfect nipples, thick and tender between my fingertips.

  The way she smiles and tickles her daughter. How she braids hair and washes dishes. And I think there’s no lifetime of problems I wouldn’t face if it means I get to have this.

  Come home to this.

  To her.

  To Alice.

  “Baby,” I pant. “I wanna see you.”

  “No,” she murmurs. “Don’t get up. Don’t wanna wait.”

  She rolls over onto her side and faces me, then awkwardly shrugs out of her tank top and tosses it on the floor. “That was my second sexiest move,” she teases.

  I grin at that.

  My sweet little bird.

  Funny, sexy, broken little bird. But, no. She’s not broken.

  She’s just learning to fly again.

  We try to make out each other’s faces in the dark. The windows let in a little moonlight, and I can see the sparkle of her bright teeth when she smiles. The purse of her lips when I reach between us and stroke her breasts.

  Earlier, I needed her fast. I needed her every way, but I couldn’t make any of it last long enough. Never would I get my fill of this woman.

  Of her body, her sweetness.

  Her natural sugar.

  I trace my fingers around her nipples, erect and tender under my touch. I can tell how much she likes it, how much that turns her on. She flutters her eyes closed and pants my name.

  “More?” I ask. “Harder or…?”

  “Harder,” she gasps. “But not too hard.”

  I hold back a laugh, loving that she trusts me enough to tell me what she wants, and trusts me enough to test the boundaries that I can only discover by trying.

  I twist that erect peak a little between my thumb and index finger, then release it to a disappointed-sounding whoosh of air from her lips. I don’t make her wait long for my touch, but I alternate the pressure, teasing my fingertips lightly over her skin before pinching her again with my fingers.

  “Oh God!” she cries, arching her back and jutting her tits toward me.

  “Good,” I whisper. “I wanna hear you moan, baby.”

  “No moaning,” she pants. “People…kids…”

  “Shh.” I hush her worries. She can moan out if she wants. She can stifle her pleasure if that makes her feel more comfortable.

  What I want right now is all of her.

  I want to feel her juices on my cock, taste her on my fingers.

  I want to claim her body with mine while I feast on her mouth.

  I want Alice Sparrow, and my hunger for her seems insatiable.

  “On top,” she whispers and starts to scramble out from under the sheets.

  “Yeah. Fuck yeah,” I say. I lie on my back and search for her face in the darkness, but what I feel instead is her mouth, warm and wet, as she takes my cock deep.

  Ohhhhh fuck.

  That’s my baby.

  That’s my Alice.

  She’s working her tongue on the underside of my dick, just below the head. Her soft mouth on that tender little nook makes me want to blow right there on her face, but I can’t. Won’t.

  I need inside. Inside her mouth, inside her hot, perfect pussy.

  She grips my dick in her hand and seems to take her sweet time, licking the shaft, kissing and dragging her teeth ever so lightly along my length. She palms my balls and cups them in her hand, stroking two fingertips between the base of my sac and my ass, nearly sending me through the roof.

  “Fuck,” I sputter and reach for her.

  If I don’t stop feeling her, if I let myself go any further, I won’t be able to come back.

  She moves away from my dick but only long enough to straddle my hips. When she lifts her bare leg and the moonlight reflects off her skin, it takes everything I have not to grab her and pull her down onto my dick. But I want to learn what she wants from me. She needs this control. She needs to guide her weight over my body.

  I watch pleasure move across her face as she lowers herself onto my erection.

  Unlike earlier, Alice nearly slams onto my body and then just sinks down on me, lowering her head and opening her lust-dusky eyes.

  “You feel… You’re so…”

  I know what she’s trying to say, but words escape me too. I fill her. I can feel the way her walls stretch, the way she clenches lightly around me as if her body wants to draw me as far in as I can go.

  She steadies her breathing and then starts to rock against me, gentle, slow strokes at first, finding the rhythm. Her tits are bouncing with every grind of her hips, her hard nipples teasing me, begging for my touch.

  I don’t want to move, don’t want to shift and ruin the pace she’s setting. I can tell by the intensity of her movements, she’s getting lost, losing herself in the pure pleasure of my cock stroking the places no one else can reach. Her thighs tremble and strain with the effort, and I hold those legs with my hands, wanting to feel that velvet skin, her smooth, strong body working over mine.

  “Morris,” she pants, and she opens her eyes in a rush, looking dazed.

  “Come for me,” I whisper softly, “God, Alice, I want you so much.”

  I reach up and twist her nipples, and with a small, muffled cry, Alice trembles on my dick. Her body vibrates, shuddering and shaking.

  We climax together, Alice finishing first but not moving until she’s sure every last wave of my orgasm has slowed to a stop.

  We don’t move for a few heated moments. My legs are trashed, tense and tight from holding her weight, working against her movements in a way I didn’t even realize I was. She opens her eyes slowly, squinting at me as though she needs to use every ounce of strength she has left to open her eyes.

  She lifts herself off me and practically crawls back under the covers beside me.

  “Baby,” she croons. “Morris?”

  “Hmm-mm,” I say, already on my side, ready to tuck her back against me.

  “You’re amazing,” she whispers. “That was amazing.”

  “First of many amazing times,” I say. “Thousands. Probably millions. At least, until we get our own place. After that, I’ll lose count.”

  She giggles and works her way backward so our bodies are spooned together tight as can be. And we fall back asleep to finish out this first of many amazing nights to come.

  I wake in the morning to Alice leaning over me, kissing me goodbye. The sunlight is streaming weakly into the bedroom, and based on how fresh Alice smells, she’s already showered.

  When I open my eyes, I can see she’s dressed. “Time?” I mumble.

  Alice strokes my face scratching her nails against the scruff of my beard. “Early,” she says. “But I want to make sure I’m up before Zoey.”

  I nod, figuring some kind of internal mom clock must have awakened her. After the night we had, I can’t imagine waking up for anything other than another round.

  “Lots to do today,” she says sweetly. “I’ll see you when you get up.”

  “Alice…” I reach for her and grab her hand.

  She sits down beside me on the bed, and I scoot over to give her more room.

  “Don’t,” she says, but there is a smile in her words. “Don’t you dare tempt me back in that bed, or I may never get out.”

  I kiss the back of her hand and shove the sheets aside. I look down at all the parts of me that want to wish Alice a good morning. “I’m all about temptation, sweetheart. You oughta know that by now.”

  She stares at my cock, no doubt reconsidering this whole getting-up-early thing. But then she shakes her head. “I don’t know when we’ll be able to…” She trails off, looking wistful. “Zoey may want to sleep with me tonight. Lia may want her own room. Maybe you’ll end up back at the compound or at your place…”

  I pull her close and wrap a hand behind her neck. Her hair is damp from the shower, and it smells like a cocktail a girl like Lia would drink on vacation. Fruity, sweet, and totally free. “My place is where you are,” I say. “From now on.”

  “Morris…you don’t have to say that.” Alice shakes her head. “Today’s when things get real. I’m going to have to face—”

  “We,” I correct. “We’re going to have to face a whole day when we can’t just be naked and bouncing on Leo’s old man’s bed.”

  Alice laughs. “Well, when you put it that way…”

  I give her a kiss on the forehead. “I’m going to get the electricity turned back on at the building, first thing. Leo can get started on repairing that car. Zoey’s going to need a school, and figuring out where you’re going to stay will determine where we can get her into school.”

  “I need a job,” Alice adds. “And a phone.” She sighed. “So much to do.”

  “One thing at a time,” I remind her.

  Something in her eyes darkens then. She’s spiraling. Pulling away from the heat and warmth and bubble of our night together as she thinks about the work ahead. The strength it takes to start over. To pick yourself up and keep going.

  “Alice,” I remind her. “It’s not just you against the world anymore. Me, you, a girl crew. A couple bikers and a love-sick mechanic. What could go wrong with a family like that?”

  At the word family, she lowers her head. Looks down at her bare feet. She nods, but it’s the most unconvincing, uncertain gesture.

  It’s as if I can physically feel the walls rolling back up to protect her, shutting me out. Shutting out everything that’s been building between us.

  “Family,” she repeats, trying the word on in slow, tentative syllables.

  “What this is, whatever it becomes, it’s real,” I tell her. “Last night wasn’t just about a piece of ass. It wasn’t for me, and I know it wasn’t for you either.”

  She flushes, and a tiny smile picks up the corners of her lips. “It was amazing. Last night was…”

  “It was. And it will be. Tonight and as many nights as I can reasonably have you. Now, get,” I say, kissing her once on the lips. “Before I decide I want you again five times before breakfast.”

  Alice casts a quick look down at my dick, which continues to remind her he’s really happy to see her this morning. She smiles and nods, giving my thigh a playful squeeze, then leaves the bedroom and closes the door behind her. The caramel in her eyes looks cold as she walks away.

  If I want to keep this little bird from falling again, I’m going to have to work fast.

  19

  I tiptoe down the hallway with a smile on my face for the first time in years. My nipples feel bruised but in the best possible way. Every time I move, the friction of my clothes against my skin pulls me back into the memories of last night.

  Morris’s touch, the sounds he made.

  He opened something inside me I didn’t realize I had.

  Morris is a skilled lover, but it was more than him knowing what to do. He wanted to learn, to explore every inch of my most private places and discover their secrets. How much pressure on my tits made me wet. How hard to move, how fast. I’ve never been with anyone like him.

  I only wish it could last.

  But I’m no fool.

  He is gorgeous, single, and a biker.

  He’s not family material. And definitely not looking to tie himself down to someone like me, with tons of baggage.

  The thought that, in a few days, I’ll be alone brings a chill up the back of my spine. I’ll have to find my way, and that’s okay.

  I’ll do it.

  I’ll provide for my daughter and pay back all my debts to Morris and Leo.

  There is no other way it can be.

  When I reach the living room, I can see that Lia is wide awake. She’s sitting up in the nest of blankets on the floor, her back propped against the couch. She’s got the two little dogs, one under each arm, and her cell phone in her hands. The bigger dog lifts its head when it sees me, but a quick shushing sound from Lia, and it lays its head back down.

  “Good morning,” I whisper, giving the girl a big smile. “How did you sleep?”

  Zoey is passed out cold beside Lia, her face poking out from beneath the corner of a teal quilt.

  Lia nods happily. She gives me a thumbs-up and sets the puppies down. She shushes the dogs again and then quietly climbs through the blanket fort to join me in the kitchen. The dogs trot after her, panting and clicking their nails on the tile floor.

  Lia peeks out the kitchen door into the backyard, and then she unlocks the deadbolt and lets the dogs out to do their business.

  “They’re okay out there by themselves?” I ask, keeping my voice low so I won’t wake Zoey. “They won’t run off?”

  Lia shakes her head. “They’ve run off in the past. You know, if, like, a bunny or something really exciting caught their eye. But we lived for a year in my van, and all that time, I only had one leash. They learned to stay close to me if they wanted a warm bed and food.”

  I look the girl over and risk asking the question on my mind. “Why were you living in your van? If you don’t mind my asking?” I sort through Leo’s kitchen for the coffee and filters.

  Lia stares out over the yard, watching her pets. “I don’t mind at all.” She opens the door a crack and whistles, and all three dogs come running. She holds up a finger, and all three sit patiently, waiting to be let in. “Remind me later to clean up Leo’s yard,” she says.

  I nod and laugh and brew the max amount of coffee Leo’s coffeemaker can produce. I head to the fridge and pull out some items to throw together a small breakfast.

  There’s not much here, so shopping, if we end up staying, will be high on the list of things to do.

  As much as I could live half the day on coffee, and the rest of the adults probably could too, Zoey will need to eat and keep a regular schedule as much as possible.

  “So, the van story,” Lia says. “It was just one of those things, you know? After high school, Mom really wanted me to go to college. To pick a career, to get on the path.” Lia shrugs. “I couldn’t imagine anything worse than another four years like the ones I’d spent in high school. Hours locked behind a desk, doing things other people said were important. So, I took off,” she says. “We were living in Tennessee at the time, so if you can imagine lots of farmland, wide-open spaces. I used the graduation money from my grandparents to buy a van, and me and all three of the pups set out for parts unknown.”

  “You were eighteen?” I ask. I can’t imagine. “Did you have a plan?”

  Lia shakes her head. “No plan what I would do, where I would go. I only knew I wanted to get away from all the stuff I didn’t want. School, a job. A nine-to-five, I guess I should say.”

  “Coffee?” I ask, pouring myself a mug and setting out a second for her.

  She nods. “Thanks.”

  I put sugar and milk on the table before I sit across from her. “So, where did you go? Were you terrified? Excited?”

  “Yes. All of it. All of the feelings.”

  “I’m so practical,” I explain. “Maybe it’s from being a mom, but I can’t imagine how you slept, where you went to the bathroom…”

  The pretty young woman across from me laughs and shakes her head. “You know the number one thing I learned in my time on the road? That it all just comes. Good comes, bad comes. I couldn’t stop any of it. Couldn’t prepare for it.”

  I hear the sound of the shower turning off upstairs. Morris or Leo must be awake.

  “So, that’s it,” she says. “Hard shit happened. Weather and flat tires. Running out of money or food. Finding myself in spots I didn’t think I’d be able to get out of. But somehow, every single day, I woke up alive and ready to meet the adventure as it came. I found places to eat and sleep. I met people along the way. I took a ton of pictures and saw the country the way I wanted to.”

  “But you found your way here?” I ask.

  I’m still not convinced that adventure sounds like fun.

  “Yeah.” She nods thoughtfully. “I did.”

  I feel like she has more to say, but she sips her coffee and doesn’t seem in any rush to get there.

  “Alice, may I speak freely?”

  The formality of the question surprises me. “Uh, sure,” I say.

  She looks me over and reaches across the table. “I thought I was choosing something that was just for me, you know? The freedom to wake up under the sunrise and sleep under the stars if I chose to. I listened to what I wanted on the radio. I sang at the top of my lungs. I ate at hole-in-the-wall places and let my dogs run free in random fields. It was a great time, but when I closed my eyes at night, I always felt like I was hiding from something. I was lying to myself, even while I was telling myself I was choosing the path less traveled. Running away from what I didn’t want for my life didn’t create the life I wanted. For me, there was a big difference between taking a chance and making a choice.”