“His mom hates me,” the words spilled from my mouth the minute Dianne joined me at the corner table in the quiet little restaurant. It was Wednesday noontime and I had called her to meet me. I needed to vent and try to get my thoughts organized before my conversation with Alex tonight. Dianna was one of the best people to help me with that. She was always upfront and honest, and could look at things without a biased opinion.

“Well, hello to you, too.”

I sighed and leaned forward over the table. “Hi, I’m sorry, but it’s been on my mind since I picked her up from the airport.”

“What happened?” She set her handbag onto an empty chair and scooted hers closer to the table.

I slouched back in my seat. “It was horrible. From the get go she did nothing but look down on me and tell me that Alex goes through women faster than the line at a fast food restaurant.”

Dianna’s brows lifted. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” I shook my head some. “And then she started going on about how Alex has commitment issues and that she doesn’t think we’ll work out. That he always feels the same about every girl and that she’s telling me this cuz she thinks it’s time she speaks up. She’s watched him break hearts and get his heart broken too many times.”

My friend frowned, a crease appearing in her forehead. “And do you believe all that?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what his past relationships were like other than a lot of his exes tried to use him to gain fame. And I have no idea if he has commitment issues. He doesn’t seem to have any with us. He even wanted us to move in together.”

“Which you’ve decided to hold off on for now.”

“Right.” I gave a firm nod. “I think we need to develop our relationship a bit more first.”

“I understand that. You’re still dealing with issues of your own and I think you both need a very firm grip on your relationship before taking any major steps.”

“Exactly,” I agreed with her.

“Okay, how ‘bout we get our lunch ordered before you go into more detail with this mama drama,” my friend suggested as she reached for her menu.

That suited me and we took a few minutes to decide on our lunch before placing the order.

After the waiter had headed off, Dianna sipped on her Mimosa and settled back into her chair. “Okay, so start at the beginning.”

So I did, and over the course of our salads and sandwiches, I relayed the conversation that had transpired between Denise and me.

“Well, obviously you’re going to tell Alex about this,” my friend stated after I had finished and was sipping on my iced tea.

“Of course. Tonight in fact.”

“Do you think she was telling the truth?”

“I don’t know what to believe.” I wiped my mouth and set the napkin on the table.

Dianna gave a shrug. “Maybe she’s one of those moms who can’t let her baby boy go.”

I lifted a brow. “You mean like the kind that is never happy with the women he dates?”

“Yes, exactly.”

I sighed some. “I really hope not. Alex and I are going to be together for…well, for a long, long time and I don’t want there to be any bad blood between his mother and me.”

“How do you think he’ll react to this news about his mom?”

That wasn’t something I had figured out yet. “I really don’t know. I know he thinks the world of his mom and I don’t want to paint her like an evil villain. But I want to tell him the truth.”

Dianna nodded sympathetically. “Well, maybe you don’t tell him everything she’s said. Maybe you just…voice to him that she has some concerns about your relationship withstanding the test of time.”

I gave a little nod. “That might work. The last thing I need is him going and telling her I told him what she said.”

“That’s very true. You’d probably have an enemy for life.”

I pursed my lips and looked over to my friend. “Do you think I should talk to her again?”

“I think,” she began as she tore her last breadstick in half, “that you should talk to Alex first. See what he has to say and in no way make it sound like his mom is the bad person. You don’t want to put him on the defense.”

“You’re right.” I gave a nod and picked at the crust of my sandwich. “What if it turns out she just doesn’t like me?”

Dianna reached across the table and gave my hand a squeeze. “Then you just be grateful that she lives on the other side of the country.”

~*~*~*~*~

I arrived at my house at 6:01 pm. Alex vehicle wasn’t there yet so I collected my mail then let myself in through the front door. Daisy was still staying with us at Alex’s, but this would be a good time to get some more of her dog food and a few more of her toys. When the time came for me to finally come back home full time, it was going to be painstakingly hard to separate her from Bernie. That was something I was not looking forward to.

After sorting through my mail and getting myself a glass of iced tea, I glanced to the clock to see it was nearly a quarter after six. Hopefully nothing too pertinent was keeping my boyfriend. I wasn’t sure what he was going to tell his mom his excuse for taking off for a little while was, but I had faith he’d come up with something she would be okay with.

Moving from the kitchen and into the living room, I peeked out the front window but still didn’t see either one of Alex’s vehicles. Hopefully he was okay and nothing had happened; ever since the night of Hugh’s accident, I tended to get leery whenever someone was late arriving. And sometimes I let my imagination get the best of me.

With a sigh, I let the curtains drop and turned from the window, giving a shriek and jerking back from the figure that loomed before me.

Andrew.

What the hell? Where had he come from? How had he gotten in here? Was I dreaming again? I had to be. Quickly, I pinched myself. “Ouch.” Nope, definitely not a dream.

“I figured I’d find you here.”

Inside my chest, I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage. “Wh…uh…how…”

His lips curled into a sneer. “How’d I get in here?” A shrug. “You left the door unlocked after you came in.”

Damnit. Slowly, I backed away from him. “The…police are you looking for you.” I needed to get out of the house and fast.

“Do you think I really care?” He advanced on me. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up here alone for days.”

That made me frown. “What is wrong with you?! You used to be a really nice and decent guy. And now you’re a psycho!”

His eyes darkened. “I’m not a psycho.”

“Then why are you acting this way? Attacking me? Running from the police?”

“People make mistakes.” He gave a shrug then took another step closer. “I’m just trying to make amends.”

“Breaking into my house is not making amends.” I eyed him with caution, trying to gauge the distance between him and me and myself and the doorway.

Andrew shook his head. “I didn’t break in. You left the door unlocked. I simply walked in.”

“Yeah, uninvited.” I took another step backwards.

He gave a shrug. “Just a slight oversight.”

With a frustrated sigh, I rubbed my head and slowly eased back a little more. “What do you want, Andrew?”

“To be friends,” He spoke it so casually, but his eyes simmered with something darker.

“After you attacked me?” I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I do think you need to leave, though.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He folded his thick arms across his chest.

I frowned. “What are you gonna do? Just stand right there until I decide to be friends? That’s not gonna happen. You lost your chance when you went all crazy on me.”

“Because of you. You lead me on; you made me believe there was more there than there was.”

“No!” I frowned at him. “I told you from the very beginning I just wanted to be friends. I already apologized and explained that whole mess back in Connecticut.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed at me. “And now you refuse to be that.”

“Because you attacked me!”

“If you weren’t such an uptight bitch that wouldn’t have happened.”

I scoffed at him, feeling the anger boiling in my veins. “So now this is my fault?” A beat. “Why are we even discussing this? I want you to leave.” I pointed towards the entryway.

“I told you, I’m not leaving.” He said it so simply, giving a shrug of a shoulder.

“Fine. You stay and I’ll leave!” I gave a frustrated growl and started for the doorway.

It was then that he moved, lunging forward and grabbing my upper arm, swiftly and with a firm grip. “Oh, you’re not going anywhere.”

I jerked to a stop and frowned at him. “Let me go!”

“I don’t think so.” He pulled me closer, causing me to stumble a step.

“Andrew!” Panic was starting to rise up in my chest again and I tried to pull my arm loose.

Just then, Daisy tore into the room, pausing only a moment before the hair on the back of her neck stood up straight and a low growl came from her throat.

Relief washed through me as I realized Alex had arrived and brought Daisy and probably Bernie with him.

“What the hell…” Andrew looked confused, obviously wondering where the dog had come from.

Taking that opportunity, I pulled away from him and hurried over to where my dog was now snarling at him. “Daisy.”

But she ignored me and instead, advanced slowly on Andrew, giving a sudden bark then lunging at him.

“Daisy!” I started for her, afraid that she’d rip his throat out.

Andrew gave a shout as she jumped at him, his eyes wide with fear.

But Daisy didn’t attack him, instead, with each lunge; she slowly backed him into a corner. Then she snarled at him, her back rigid and teeth showing, keeping him in place.

I watched with awe, never having seen her be so protective before. Then I blinked and snapped back to focus. Alex was somewhere, Daisy seemed to be holding Andrew at bay and I needed to call the police.

“Get this dog away from me!”

I snatched up the phone and glanced over to where Andrew was pressed against the wall. “Not until the cops arrive.” Quickly, I punched in 911 and relayed to the dispatcher that I was in need of some assistance.

“Morgan, I’m not going to hurt you.” He called to me after I had hung up.

But I didn’t get a chance to respond because Alex sauntered into the room and stopped short at the sight before him. “What the hell…”

“Alex.” I started for him.

He blinked and surveyed Andrew and Daisy, his eyes darkening. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Alex.” I reached him and touched his arm. “The cops are on the way and Daisy’s not letting him go anywhere.”

“What is he doing here?” His eyes met mine and softened.

“He showed up just after I got here. I left the door unlocked and he let himself in.”

His glare sharpened as he looked back over to the unwanted visitor. “What is your problem?!”
Andrew frowned and tried to take a step forward, quickly pressing against the wall once more as Daisy gave a menacing bark.

“Just stay there,” I told him before taking Alex’s arm and guiding him a few steps back. “The cops are on their way; let’s just let them handle it.”

My boyfriend gave a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. “I know. It’s just taking all my control not to go over there and clock him.”

“I know.” I smoothed my hand over his back, feeling how tense his muscles were.

It wasn’t but another few minutes before the police arrived and relieved Daisy of her guard dog duties. They cuffed Andrew then took our statements. After promising to be in touch, they finally headed on their way.

After seeing them out and locking up securely behind them, I found Alex in the kitchen making up some coffee.

“You alright?” I questioned, coming up behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist.

“I’m okay, baby, are you?” He peered back to me. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here on time. None of this would have happened.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” I gave him a squeeze then released him and leaned against the counter next to his side. “It might have been worse. You two could have beaten each other to a bloody pulp.”

Alex gave a snort. “I woulda beat him to one.”

I watched him fit the filter into the coffee pot. “So, let’s talk about something else. Where does your mom think you went?”

“I told her I was taking the dogs out.” He glanced to me then pushed the start button on the front of the machine before turning and leaning back against the counter like I was. “Which is the truth.”

I gave a chuckle and peered up outside the window to the backyard. Daisy and Bernie were relaxing in the sun, their paws over the other as if they were holding hands. “Bernie looks like he’s doing a lot better.”

“Thank God,” Alex mused from my side. “I should be hearing back from the vet any day now on the latest tests they did on Tuesday.”

“Good.” I gave a little nod then pushed from the counter and moved to the cabinet, taking out a glass.

“So, how do you feel about taking my mom out to dinner tonight?”

I filled the glass with ice from the door of the refrigerator. “Where do you want to go?”

“I was thinking Koi. She really likes that place.”

“Sure, that sounds nice.” I opened the fridge and took out the iced tea.

“Are you alright, baby?” I couldn’t tell if he picked up the vibe I was giving off on not being too eager to go, or if it was something else, but he must have sensed something was off.

I poured myself some tea and looked back over to him. This was it. It was now or never. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

My boyfriend tilted his head. “What’s that?”

I placed the tea back in the fridge and took up my glass, turning to face him and lean against the counter across the way. “It’s about your mom.”

His brows lifted. “What about her?”

“Well,” I wet my bottom lip, feeling the pulse in my neck start to throb, “the day that I picked her up from the airport, we had a conversation in the car…and…” I could now hear the pounding of my heart in my ears, “she voiced some concerns about our relationship.”

He frowned. “What concerns?”

I fiddled with the glass in my hands. “About rather or not we’d last.”

“What? What did she say about that?” He pushed himself to stand straight.

I gave a sigh. I didn’t want to seem like a tattletale, but he needed to know. “Well, for starters, she pretty much told me I better never break your heart.”

The corner of his mouth curved up into a grin. “She’s very protective of me.”

Maybe just a little too much, but I didn’t voice that out loud. “Yes, she is.”

He chuckled and moved over to me, taking the glass from my hands and setting it aside before pulling me into his arms. “I’m sorry if my mom came across as a little rough. She’s all I’ve had for many years and sometimes it’s hard for her to see me so happy with someone.”

“Well, she needs to get used to it because I’m not going anywhere.” ‘And she’s just going to have to accept that.’ I added mentally.

“She will, baby.” He kissed my head. “She just has gotten so cautious about my girlfriends, because so many of them have been with me for the wrong reasons. It’s hard to break the habit.”

I gave a nod, hugging him close then pulling back to see his face. “I understand that and I’m sure your mom has nothing but the best of intentions when it comes to you, but she really needs to just step back and let things happen naturally instead of trying to speed the process with feeding me information about your history with previous girlfriends or rather or not you have commitment issues.”

He frowned. “She said I have commitment issues?”

Oops. I gave a small shrug and fiddled with his shirt. “She might have hinted at that.”

With a frustrated sigh, Alex pulled away from me and crossed back over to the coffee pot. I watched as he took a mug from the cabinet and poured himself a cup of the black java. Stirring in some sugar, he set the spoon in the sink then moved to the bar and slid onto a stool.

Staying in my spot, I bit my bottom lip then spoke softly, “Alex?”

“I can’t believe she would say something like that to you!” He finally exploded after a moment.

I jerked back at the ferocity in his tone, feeling my chest starting to tighten. “She…she’s just concerned.” For some out of this world reason I was now finding myself defending her.

“What else did she say?” His eyes met mine and I could see the anger in them.

“That…that’s about it,” I lied, thinking it was best to just drop this whole thing.

“Are you sure?”

I gave a nod.

“Good, because I don’t have commitment issues.”

“I know, baby.” I approached the counter then slipped around it to where he sat. Gently, I smoothed my hand over his back and kissed his shoulder. “Everything’s going to be okay. Your mom was just being the protective mother and making sure that I was with you for the right reasons and that I really did love you.”

He nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “Right. And you are and you do.”

“So everything’s just fine.” I smoothed my hands to his shoulders and worked the tight muscles there. “And I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, it’s not your fault.” He reached a hand back and caught one of mine, bringing it to his mouth for a kiss. “I’m glad that you talk to me about these things. We need to be completely open and honest with each other.”

“Of course.” Wrapping my arms gently around his neck, I kissed his ear and tried to ignore the guilt of not being completely honest with him. But for the sake of the relationship, sometimes you couldn’t be as honest as you wanted to be. And on behalf of his relationship with his mother, I was going to just keep mum about our conversation. Sometimes you needed to pick and choose your battles and this was not one I was choosing. If there was one thing his mom and I could agree on was that Alex did seem difficult to talk to about these things. But was it really all that big a deal? We were together, we were going to stay together and his mom did live on the other side of the country.

Giving his ear another kiss, I slowly pulled back. “Alright, if we’re going to Koi I need to go pick out a dress to wear. I don’t think I have anything nice at your place other then some business skirts.”

“Ooh, do let me help you.” Then he abandoned his coffee and followed me up the stairs.

Once in the bedroom, Alex didn’t even give me a chance to make it to the closet before he was gripping my hips and pushing me against the closed bedroom door. His mouth crashed down on mine and his hands fumbled with the buttons on my work blouse.

I gave a groan and encircled my arms around him, dueling my tongue with his and melting a little bit as his heat filled me.

“Damnit, Morgan,” he growled out against my mouth before pulling back and yanking the blouse from me. Then came my pants followed by my underwear and bra. “You’re so fucken beautiful,” he breathed out as his eyes, smoldering with heat, raked over my naked form.

I shivered at the tone in his voice, reaching for his shirt and helping him get undressed as well. “So are you.” I pulled him to me once he was as bare skinned as me and kissed him, molding my hands to his back.

His own hands stroked over my body as he kissed me like he was trying to draw the very breath from my soul. Then he was gripping my hips and lifting me up against the wall, coaxing my legs around his waist.

When he entered me, I felt tiny explosions tickling through and tore my mouth from his to cry out. I held to him tightly, feeling his thrusts push me against the wall. Tremors began to rock me and I squeezed my legs on him, needing to feel him more deeply, needing to feel him surrounding me and possessing me, needing to feel him in the very depths of my soul.

He must have felt that same way, for he held tightly to my body, stroking faster and faster, finding that soft spot just above my collarbone and delivering those sharp, but intoxicating, love bites. Then he was making his way to my ear, his breath hot and sending goosebumps racing down my back.

I groaned his name, trying to pull him closer, feeling my heart pounding hard against my chest. It was as if an unseen force was propelling us forward, into a frenzy as our sounds grew and our actions intensified.

“Morgan,” he managed out, his face just inches from mine.

“God, baby,” I responded in a breathless whisper, smoothing a hand to his cheek and closing the distance between us to kiss his mouth.

He responded with a fiery growl from deep in his chest and pushed us out there farther, his tongue sweeping into my mouth to meet my own.

Kissing Alex was one of the best feelings in the world. He always tasted like mints with a hint of cigarettes or coffee. And he knew how to kiss, just like he knew how to sex me up. He could tug me under in a heartbeat and I never knew what way was up or down. Like this very moment when I was lost in him, being drawn closer and closer to that sweet release, exactly where I wanted to be.

And that’s exactly what happened moments later, spiraling us both out there into that abyss of ecstasy. It crashed around us, burning through our veins and filling our souls to the point we couldn’t breathe. And then, when you’re at that place where you feel it won’t ever end, and your lungs are screaming for air, your skin is flushed and damp and for a quick instant you think you just might pass out, you finally drift back down to the ground.

“Shit…” Alex rasped out as he held me tight to his body, his arms trembling around me.

“Mmhmm,” was all I could manage, my chest heaving against his. I felt like a puddle of goo that could just melt right through the floor.

“You alright?” He nipped at my jaw then looked to my face.

I gave a nod, taking some slow breaths and working on regaining control of my senses.

“Mm good.” He smoothed a hand over my thigh then gently set my feet back down on the ground. “You got it?”

I felt my legs wavering some, but managed to stay standing. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Mmm good.” He leaned in and kissed my neck, his hand slipping around to my butt.

I giggled low, gently pushing him back. “We have to get dressed and go get your mom; we don’t have time for round two.”

“Damn, I forgot about that.” He sighed and dropped his forehead to mine.

“Aww.” I kissed his lips then slipped away from him…grabbing for my fallen clothes. “Get a move on it, McLean, we don’t have all night.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” He scooped up his shirt then snapped me in the butt with it. “And tonight, there’s definitely going to be a round two.”

I jerked and gave a squeal. “Ooh hoo, mister, you just think so.”

“Oh, no, baby,” he sent me his ever sexy smirk, “I know so.”