"Look at me."

She swallowed, and he cupped her neck, then took her mouth in a hot, hard kiss, using his tongue to claim hers and leave her weak and defenseless, until all she knew were the raging desires of her own body. He let go of her hands and she wrapped them around him, her nails digging into his shoulders, the pa.s.sion building inside her until she tore at him with her fingers, pulling at his shirt until he lifted his arms and she drew it off him.

She dragged her nails down his back and bit down on his bottom lip. He growled and jerked at her blouse, fumbling at the b.u.t.tons until he got tired of it and ripped, the sound of each b.u.t.ton scattering across the marble floor echoing in the s.p.a.cious room.

Her bra went next, it too tearing as he lost patience with anything that wasn't going to come off easy.

He dragged his pants off while she removed her shoes and pants, sliding her panties off just as he finished getting naked. He pulled her into his arms and they got only as far as the living area carpet before he laid her down and was on top of her, opening the condom package in a split second.

And then he was inside her and she cried out as he filled her, needing this-needing him-so much that tears p.r.i.c.ked her eyes. She blinked them back as he lifted up to look at her while he plunged inside her again, bending her knee to widen her so he could thrust deeper, so he could grind against her so intimately she thought she might explode.

She scored her nails down his chest and he gritted his teeth, then bent and took one of her nipples into his mouth, flicking and biting it until she came over and over, until she thought she'd die from the unbearable pleasure.

But he didn't finish; instead he held and waited until the pulses eased. Then he began to move inside her again, taking her slow and easy, building the pressure again until she was right there with him. And when he draped her legs over his shoulders and penetrated her deeply, she arched against him, giving him everything he asked for and more.

She reached between her legs and rubbed her c.l.i.t, needing to go over that cliff again-with him this time.

"f.u.c.k. Yes," he said, pumping into her deep and hard while she made herself come. This time when she climaxed, he went with her, dropping her legs down so he could put his lips on hers and absorb her cries, mingling them with his groan.

It had been intense. Earth shattering. And each time it cemented a bond between them she was afraid to acknowledge, but knew was becoming stronger every day.

TY DIDN'T KNOW WHY HE'D INVITED JENNA TO COME TO Chicago.

He never brought women home to meet his parents. His family was...fractured. Flawed. The last people on earth he'd want a woman he cared about to meet.

A woman he cared about.

Yeah, that's where he was headed with Jenna. He cared about her. Beyond that, he had no clue what the h.e.l.l was going on. And now he'd invited her home to meet his family.

What a joke. He must have been insane to do this, but now she was here so there was no going back.

He had so much to explain to her, to warn her about. He should have never brought her here.

But his parents-who they were, why they were who they were-said a lot about who he was. And if they were going to go any further in this relationship, it was important to him that she know where he'd come from.

They'd toured the city and seen all the highlights. It was fun showing her Chicago. Too bad it wasn't summer, or he'd take her on walks by the lake. But there were still things to do, so they'd gone to the museum and seen a few of the historical sights. She'd enjoyed that. And of course, he'd taken her to a few of what he considered Chicago's best restaurants and bars.

You didn't get out of Chicago without having great pizza, so they'd done that. Of course she'd challenged him and they'd entered a long discussion of St. Louis's Italian pizza versus Chicago-style pizza.

One of the things he liked the most about her was she wasn't a wallflower, the kind of woman who'd agree with everything he said just to keep him around. She loved to argue with him. She liked being right. And he enjoyed arguing right back with her, but there was no viciousness in their arguments. Neither wanted to hurt the other, they just enjoyed the banter and were both willing to stand up for what they believed in.

Such a difference in his relationship with her, versus the relationship between his parents.

And speaking of his parents, now that he and Jenna had seen the sights and eaten the food and taken in the clubs, he couldn't avoid that they were going to his mom's house for dinner. He owed it to Jenna to at least prepare her in advance.

She was getting dressed so he headed into the bathroom.

He walked in and leaned against the doorway, watching her look at herself in the mirror. She'd put on a dress-so uncharacteristic of Jenna. It was black and very pretty, with fancy boots and dark tights that made her look so s.e.xy he wanted to undress her on the spot.

She was busy fussing with the long silver chain she wore around her neck.

She saw him and turned. "Do I look okay?"

He pushed off the doorway and went into the bathroom. "You look more than okay." He kissed the side of her neck. "You're beautiful."

"Thank you."

"Come here. I need to talk to you." He took her hand and led her into the bedroom and sat her on the bed.

"Uh-oh. This doesn't sound good."

He took a seat in the chair across from the bed, delaying the inevitable by glancing out the window at the city below. It was a cloudy day today. It might snow.

He felt a touch on his knee and turned to Jenna.

"Ty. What's wrong?"

"Your parents have this amazing marriage. You're part of a really happy family."

She didn't say anything. He was grateful for that.

"I thought I was part of a happy family. Me, my mom, and dad. It was all great until I turned ten. Then the fighting started. They'd try to keep it down low, or wait until after I went to bed at night, but sound travels, and you can't hide s.h.i.t from kids. Kids are smart. They know when the balance is upset in their universe. Anyway, I heard them fighting. At first I thought it was just a one-time thing, but then it was the next night, and the next. And then it spilled over into the daytime. They wouldn't fight in front of me or anything, but they stopped talking to each other. The tension in the house grew until it was choking the life out of me. I started to tiptoe around them, sure if I was on my best behavior they'd stop fighting and everything would go back to the way it was before.

"It affected every part of my life. My friends stopped coming over. My grades started to drop and I didn't want to be around them anymore. They hated each other so much."

He saw the tears well up in her eyes and hated that he'd put them there.

"I can't imagine what that must have been like for you, for a child to have to go through. You realize what happened with them wasn't your fault."

"I do now. Back then I didn't. I was sure that if I just spoke softer or acted better, I could influence their behavior. And after awhile I just didn't care anymore, because they didn't seem to care anymore. That's when my behavior took a downward slide."

"Did you have any aunts or uncles you could talk to or go to about this?"

"Yeah, but there was nothing they could do about it. They couldn't stop it any more than I could. And they took sides, too, so it wasn't any better going to them."

"When did they finally divorce?"

"When I was fourteen."

"That's a lot of years of unhappiness."

"Yeah. Anyway, we're going to have dinner with my mom today. She still lives in the house I grew up in. My dad remarried and he lives in a condo near the lake. We'll meet him and my stepmom later for drinks."

"Okay."

"The thing is, I love my parents, but my mom is still in denial over a lot of this, so you need to prepare yourself. She's bitter about it, but she's kind of Stepford about the whole thing, if you know what I mean."

Jenna wondered if Tyler's mother was the only one bitter about it. She wanted to ask what broke up his parents' marriage, but the question was too intrusive, and maybe he didn't even know. She still saw the pain on his face, the rigid tension in his jaw. This wasn't easy for him.

She couldn't imagine her parents not being together. The idea of it hurt, which made her hurt for him. But the reality of it was, a lot of parents divorced, and the impact hit the children in ways that lasted for years.

She stood and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For what you had to go through. For the end of your parents' marriage."

He laid his head against hers. "It was a long time ago."

"I'm sure it still hurts."

He shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. "The thing is, they just weren't right for each other. My mom is very quiet and understated, likes to stay home and be with family. My dad is boisterous and loves to entertain, always liked going out. It was a personality clash from the get go. I can see it now. I'm not sure what brought them together in the first place."

She slipped her hand in his. "Sometimes opposites attract in the beginning. It's not until later they realize they can't make it work, that it's those opposite qualities they found so attractive in each other at the onset of the relationship that start to grate on each other later."

He nodded. "I think that's what happened to the two of them. There was no affair, nothing scandalous that ended their marriage. They just realized they weren't right for each other anymore."

Jenna ached for the loss of Ty's parents' marriage, and the end of the stability he once knew. Divorce was never easy on a kid. She'd seen several of her friends go through it, and the havoc it wreaked on their lives. "Unfortunately, there's no test of compatibility to see how couples will survive together, despite what they say on those online dating sites. There's always a risk you take when you agree to spend the rest of your life with someone. Sadly, sometimes the kids are the ones most affected."

She leaned into him and he used his finger to tip her chin up, pressing his lips to hers. "I'm okay, babe. It was a long time ago. But thanks for understanding. You ready for this?"

She managed a bright smile. "Sure. I'm looking forward to meeting your parents."

He let out a short laugh that made her wonder what she was going to be dealing with tonight.

They got into the car Ty had rented and he drove to this amazing neighborhood filled with tiny row houses tucked close together. He parked in front of a narrow-frame, two-story pale blue house with white shutters on each window. Jenna instantly fell in love with it.

She wanted to take pictures of it. She wanted to live in it. The atmosphere was warm and homey and she could already imagine children running up and down this street. No wonder Ty's mother had stayed in this house, in this neighborhood.

"What are you doing?" he asked as they stood on the sidewalk in front of the house.

She tilted her head back and looked at him. "Seeing you here as a kid."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It fits."

Tyler slid his hand in hers. A small bay window sat off to the right side of the porch. She wondered what room that was. If it was the living room, she could imagine the Christmas tree lit up, twinkling in greeting as people walked down the street. All the homes sat close, so it must be a tight community.

Then again this could be nothing more than fantasy she'd conjured up in her own mind.

They walked up the painted blue steps to the small front porch.

"I love this house," she whispered to him, and he squeezed her hand.

She could see him jumping off that porch onto the narrow side yard or into the bushes. Boys did that.

He opened the door and walked inside. The rooms were cozy and warm, the ceilings high. There was a vintage feel to the home even though an oversize, flat-screen television sat in the living room. And yes, the bay window belonged to the living room.

A diminutive woman came rushing in, wiping her hands on the ap.r.o.n she wore.

"Ty," she said in a quiet yet excited voice.

Jenna stood back and watched as Ty swept his mother up in an embrace, kissed her cheek, then set her back on the floor.

His mother was nothing short of stunning. China doll features, she had dark hair that she wore pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a beige dress that had to be expensive, and pumps. Jenna was happy she'd dressed up.

"I'm so glad you're here." His mother beamed up at him, and the pride Jenna saw on his mother's face was evident. "Now introduce me to your friend."

Jenna also noted the word "friend." Not girlfriend, but friend. His mother wanted distance between Ty and Jenna. Duly noted.

"Mom, this is Jenna Riley. Jenna, this is my mother, Louise Davis."

Not Anderson? Tyler hadn't mentioned his mother had remarried, but okay.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs.-"

"You can call me Louise. So nice to meet you, Jenna."

"Nice to meet you, too, Louise. Your home is beautiful."

"Thank you. Please come in. Take off your coat and get comfortable. Would you like a c.o.c.ktail?"

"No, thanks. I'd love to see the house."

"Of course. Tyler, take her on a tour. I'll check on dinner. I hope you like beef Wellington, Jenna."

Wow. "I love it. Thank you."

Tyler took her hand. "A tour it is. Let's start upstairs."

She followed him up the staircase.

He stopped at the top. "There's really nothing up here."

She pushed at his chest. "Shut up. I want to see your house."

He rolled his eyes and led her down the hall. "This is my mom's room."

It was perfect. Cozy and feminine, with a mauve bedspread, muted, earth-toned pillows, an antique dresser, and a bath off to the side. The room was painted a light beige, with eggsh.e.l.l wainscoting.

"I could so live in that room. Did your mom decorate it?"

"That's her thing. Seems to me like it's a different color every time I come home."

She laughed. "You know what they say about a woman's prerogative to change her mind."

"Yeah, well, Mom likes to do that plenty."