“No,” I assure him hastily, because God help me I love him rough. “Why do you ask?”

“I just don’t really know any other way to be.”

His father deprived him of a normal childhood and gave him something twisted to replace it. I’m thinking that perhaps Alex may not have ever seen what love and care look like. I’m assuming his early sexual experiences were frenzied and wild, because no love or tenderness was involved. It makes sense to me, for a man who has never had a real relationship…he may just not know any other way to be.

And while I love the way Alex touches me—possesses me—in bed, it makes me a little sad that maybe I won’t see more than his wild abandon.

Trailing my finger along the warm skin on his chest, I ask, “Do you still talk to your father?”

Alex flinches slightly from my question but doesn’t hesitate in his answer. “Sometimes.”

He doesn’t offer me more and I can tell by the tightness in his voice that there is so much more to the story. Because it’s my job to listen to others, to get them to confront their demons, it is inherently part of my nature to push at him. “What kind of relationship do you have with him?”

Sighing, Alex rolls to his back but pulls me along with him so that I’m lying partially on the right side of his body. “I’m not sure ‘relationship’ is what I’d call it. He criticizes my game and I pay all his bills. That’s about all there is.”

I think there’s more, because I can sense it in the tired tone of his voice, but he’s not going to share more than that.

“Any brothers or sisters?” I ask, changing the subject but still focusing on family. I’m dying to know more.

“Older brother…Cameron. He owns a franchise hardware store back home in Hamilton.”

“Does he have a relationship with your dad?” I ask, pushing…always pushing.

Apparently, too far. Alex releases his hold, pushing me gently off his body. Rolling out of bed, he says, “I’m going to get some water. Do you want some?”

Feeling self-conscious now that the heat of his body is gone and I’m exposed to his view, I pull the sheet up over me, anchoring it under my arms.

“Sure,” I say softly, watching as he walks out of the bedroom, gloriously naked, stunningly uninhibited in his nudity, yet completely closed off in most other respects.

Chapter 19

Alex

Looking in the mirror, I rake my fingers through my hair, not caring at all where the locks may fall, and give my appearance a quick once-over. I need to leave soon to pick Sutton up for dinner and I’m anxious to see her.

You wouldn’t think so, considering I made an unscheduled visit to the crisis center to see her about three hours ago, compliments of some plotting with Miss Minnie, the front desk receptionist. Yes, I had been on a road trip out west for the last five days and even though I had plans to spend the evening with Sutton, I had found my mid-afternoon to be sorely lacking and took it upon myself to go see her.

After I cleared it with Minnie, of course.

When I arrived at the center, I was rewarded with a brilliant smile from Minnie. “Hi, Alex,” she said warmly in that soft Southern voice that I’d quickly come to appreciate. Who would have thought that I’d be charmed by an old woman with blue hair who smells like magnolias most of the time?

Reaching into the large paper bag I’d carried in with me, I pulled out a small vase with an arrangement of red and gold flowers in them. I had no clue what type of flowers they were, nor did I care. I bought them spontaneously at the grocery store for Minnie, to show her my appreciation for having twice now helped me to see Sutton unannounced.

“These are for you,” I told her with a flourish as I handed them across the desk.

Her eyes lit up with joy as she reached out and took the vase. “Oh, Alex…you devil, you. How did you know mums were my favorite flower?”

I had no clue what a mum was, but I never missed a beat when I flashed my pearly whites and said, “You just seemed like a ‘mum’ type of woman. Elegant and classic.”

My compliment struck deep because Minnie flushed red and batted her eyelashes for a moment. Then her gaze hardened a bit as she stared at me directly. “And did you do as I suggested?”

Shaking the brown paper bag so the contents inside rustled, I said, “Yup. Just as you suggested.”

Smiling at me conspiratorially, Minnie stood from her desk and led me to the locked door that goes back to Sutton’s office. “That’s a good boy. You’ll steal her heart for sure.”

I already had her body. I suppose her heart was up for grabs too, but did I really want it? I never wanted anyone else’s before, but there’s no doubt…Sutton is different.

Minnie unlocked the door and ushered me through as I gave her a short goodbye. I practically ran down the hallway toward Sutton’s office, my long legs eating up the distance in my eagerness to see her. When I reached her office and looked in, my heart skipped a beat as she came into view. She was wearing her hair long and loose, coppery masses hanging over her shoulder and shining bright against the soft gray of her silk blouse. She had on a pair of glasses and I was momentarily shocked, because I didn’t know she wore them.

My presence in the doorway alerted her and she looked up at me, her eyes opening wide in delight. She stood up from her desk and gave me a stunning smile. “What are you doing here?”

I stepped inside her office, dropped the brown bag on a chair and closed the door. I wanted privacy for what I was about to do.