"I hear you go out sometimes, you know. I he in bed and think Lucky bastard."

"Join me anytime."

She handed him the helmet. "Anytime is a pretty wide-open invite."

"I mean it."

She didn't respond to that, and he knew she was considering the offer, maybe putting it up against the other things he'd said tonight.

"Let me walk you inside," he said and reached for her hand.

"Actually…" She met his gaze, her own steady and warming with each passing second. "I was thinking I'd walk you inside."

She brushed her mouth over his jaw as he unlocked his front door. Then, when she followed him in, she turned to face him and fastened her mouth to his throat. "Your bike makes me hot," she murmured between nibbles. She slid her arms around his neck and tugged his mouth to hers. "Hurry up and get your mouth on me."

He couldn't think when she looked at him like that, like she was already halfway to orgasmic bliss and only he could get her the rest of the way. To slow her down, he captured her hands and held her arms out to her sides.

"Kevin? What are you doing?"

"Looking at you." Her work clothes fascinated him, but tonight she wore tight black jeans and a long, sleeveless black-and-silvery sheer tunic sort of thing, with a black camisole beneath. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off her. He pulled off the tunic while she tugged his light jacket off his shoulders, gliding her hands beneath his shirt, shoving it up to put her mouth on his pec, making his muscles jump and quiver as she spread hot, open-mouthed kisses across his chest. "God. Why are you wearing so many clothes?"

With all the blood in his brain draining south for the cause, he couldn't talk. He reached for her instead, but his arms caught at his side, trapped in the jacket hanging at his elbows. "Damn it."

She let out a breathless laugh and popped open his Levi's. "I love your body. I could just eat you up. How did you get to be so gorgeous?"

Flapping his arms, he let the jacket fall off. Then he tore off his shirt and made the same haste with hers. One quick tug had her camisole to her waist, her breasts free. He filled his hands with them while she kicked off her heels. "My jeans," she said breathlessly. "Hurry."

In a blink, he had her jeans off, his down, and a condom on. Whipping them around, he pressed her back against the door and lifted her up, wrapping her legs around him. "Hold on," he demanded and thrust into her, her soft cry mingling with his low groan. It was all he could do to hold them upright. He had no idea how he could need her this way, crave her like water, but somehow she filled him, just as he now filled her.

As if she felt the same, she stared into his eyes as she held on tight, allowing him to see her, the hunger, the want, the need, the affection, all of it, and it staggered him.

In that moment, something within him shifted, changed. Fell. It was as if he could see, for that one beat, every bit of her, all the way to her heart and soul. She was accepting him, maybe for the first time, wanting him, letting him in. He almost lost it on that alone because, though he'd wanted this very thing from her, he hadn't been sure she had it to give. Throat thick, he touched his forehead to hers.

"Please," she whispered, gliding her hands up his back.

Yeah, I'll please, he thought and began to move, thrusting in and out until she shattered in his arms, eyes glazed but open on his, mouth trembling as his name tumbled with shock from her lips. He lasted another whole big whopping two seconds before he let himself go as well. His knees buckled as he shuddered into his powerful climax, and he took them both down to the floor. "Jesus," he breathed, then murmured it again on a shaky sigh, brushing his lips over her hair. "You're going to kill me," he said.

"Mmm. But what a way to go." She looked hot and damp and extremely proud of herself. Propping a hand on his still-heaving chest, she leaned in and kissed him. "Thanks."

He blinked when she got up. "Thanks?"

"Yeah. I needed that." She slipped back into her jeans, then her heels. And then, while he was still trying to gather his wits, flat on his back on the floor, his pants still at his thighs, she pulled open the front door.

"No. You are not-"

But he was talking to himself because she was already gone. "-leaving."

He stared up at his ceiling, wondering if she'd thanked him for dinner, the orgasm, or for just plain being an idiot.

Chapter 17

Monday morning, Hope came downstairs, groggy and sleepy and wishing mornings didn't come so early. Mia liked to get up at the crack of dawn, which proved it-they couldn't really be related.

Over the weekend, Mia had taken her shopping in Beverly Hills, where the prices had given her sticker shock.

And then Hope had taken Mia shopping in return-to Target, where Mia was coaxed into buying a pair of sweats that actually looked quite comfortable. They'd had fun, a fact that surprised both of them.

All weekend, Hope's cell phone had been vibrating with messages from Adam. She'd saved them and read every single one over and over. All she had to do was call him or text him back, but she knew what he wanted, what he expected, and though she'd thought she was ready, she wasn't.

It's just that Friday night, at Tess's, they'd watched a movie with subtitles for Mike, who Hope kept forgetting was deaf because he was so… normal. She'd sat in Tess's small but comfortable living room, watching Mike make Tess smile. An odd envy had twisted through her, which made no sense. She could have called Adam…

And maybe if he'd looked at her like Mike looked at Tess, she would have. All warm and safe.

But nothing about it seemed safe. Truthfully, being with him reminded her of being back home. Sugar's guys always made her feel a little uncomfortable, too, and a little weird. It felt disloyal to think it, and just a little mean, but she couldn't help it.

And as Sugar hadn't shown up, the feeling must be mutual. Mia had made excuses for Sugar, but Hope knew the truth. Her momma didn't want her back. With a sigh, she moved toward the kitchen, hoping there were still donuts, but she couldn't count on it since her aunt had developed a fondness for them, too.

From the kitchen came Mia's voice. "You win, Sugar," Mia said clearly on the phone. "Take your damn thirty days."

Thirty days? Hope's heart jerked with hopeful excitement. Had she heard right? She opened the kitchen door in time to hear Mia say, "But at the end, you'd better- Hey!" Her aunt pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. "She hung up on me. Bitch-" She broke off when she caught sight of Hope standing in the doorway. She let out a little smile, though it seemed a little strained.

Hope couldn't blame her, seeing as she'd just been shit on by Sugar. Hope knew the feeling well. "Hi."

"Hi back atcha. Want some breakfast? I've actually managed to boil water for oatmeal."

"No, thanks." Hope's happy little bubble had burst, leaving her feeling just a little sick. How she'd forgotten, even for a second, that Mia didn't want her, either, was beyond her. "I can walk to the teen center this morning."

"Driving you is no problem. Kevin told me he ordered the parts for your car."

This was thrown in so casually Hope blinked. "He… did? But I don't have the money."

"I can always give you a list of chores to do to earn it. You know, like… Cinderella."

Hope blushed. So Mia had heard the stories she'd been telling.

Mia looked at her watch. "Yikes. We have to leave, if I'm going to sign you up for Kevin's class."

Hope's heart clutched. "What? Really?"

"Really. I know you don't want me here."

Mia let out a sigh, then stood and came close. "You understand that it's your mother who drives me insane, not you, right?"

"I drive you insane, too. I make steam come out your ears. I've seen it."

Mia smiled at that. "And you enjoy that-don't pretend you don't."

"You're not who I expected." Hope hadn't meant for that to come out, but there it was.

"What'd you expect?"

"I don't know. I mean, you're beautiful and you have an amazing place, though you have flying ants in my bathroom coming out of the ceiling."

"What?"

"Yeah, and by the way, ewwww . But anyway, you have a kick-ass job, and your car-" She sighed. "Heaven. But it seems… I don't know. Not cold exactly. But emptier than I thought it would be."

Mia looked staggered. "You think my life is empty?"

"More like lonely. You don't even have a plant."

"I'm not lonely," Mia said, looking affronted. "And just so you know, I have a plant in my office. Sure, it's not looking so good right now, but I really don't get what the big deal is."

"I'm just saying I came here looking for a different life…"

Mia closed her eyes. "I know. I lived your life. I remember." "And this is great. But when I'm older, I want…more," Hope whispered, an odd lump in her throat. "I don't know what exactly, just more."

"I'm sorry, Hope." She really looked it. "But for now, you're stuck. Your mom-"

"I know."

Mia nodded. "Then let's at least get you in Kevin's class, if he'll still have you."

"I'm still going to drive you crazy." She held her breath, waiting for Mia to deny it.

"Uh huh. And I'm going to drive you crazy, too. We'll call it even."

No pat, easy answer. Just the honest truth. Hope looked at her and suddenly felt like smiling, because, after all, she was getting pretty much what she'd wanted.