I stopped again. This was the worst part of it.

"They told David she tried to commit suicide or maybe that was a lie he told me. But there was a wire hanger next to her. I saw it when I went in the bathroom. One of the paramedic guys kicked it underneath a dresser in the bathroom. When David took me back to the house, I got it and cleaned it up. Then I threw it in the trash. I don't know why I did that. I don't think I wanted anyone to know what she really did. I realized now maybe he knew, maybe they all knew, but I wanted to protect her. I don't know why anymore."

I was eleven. I shouldn't have had thoughts like that at that age.

"I didn't want David to find out because if he did, I was scared that he was going to leave again. I couldn't handle being alone with my mom. She would've gone nuts, but she did anyway. Later…"

"Sam?"

I shook my head. I couldn't tell him what happened later. It was too painful, too much. I whispered, "I can't."

"It's okay." He reached for my hand and squeezed it. He pressed a kiss to it before he rested our hands in his lap.

That was good. He was warm. He was safe. He was strong. I breathed a little easier. I needed his touch. I needed to remember that it was okay now. I was okay now.

Then I said something that I never remembered before. "Mason."

"Hmmm?"

I remembered their voices one night. My mom's and David's. I had crouched outside of their door and stuck my ear against it. I'd been so scared he was always going to leave, but he never did. This was another fight. I hoped he wouldn't go, but I heard her scream. And I heard his response.

"Sam?"

"I don't think they were David's."

"What?"

I opened my eyes and turned to him. Another repulsive feeling started to grow. "They had a fight that night; she wanted kids, but he couldn't give her any. He told her he couldn't have kids. I remember it now." I stopped as I realized the extent of what my mother had done. "She had cheated on him. She got pregnant. Then she killed the babies."

"Because they weren't his?" His voice broke at the end.

I nodded. "That fight was before." Then I sucked in my breath. "That fight was that night."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

We didn't talk about our families after that. The only thing that we discussed was what would happen, but Mason just shrugged. Things were left unsettled. I couldn't be around my mother. I knew that much. I also knew that Mason and Logan wouldn't be moving back without me. So all the questions and decisions regarding my mother and his father were left unsaid, Mason said things would get settled one day so I left it alone. When we got to that extravagant apartment, the normal doorman wasn't there. Mason said he didn't work nights, but a young college kid was instead. After a substantial amount of money, he agreed that if anyone called, we weren't there.

When we got upstairs, Mason texted Nate and Logan to let them know that we went away for a night. He didn't tell them where, but I knew how close all of them were. I'm sure the other two could figure it out. When I asked what they were doing, Mason gave me a crooked grin and picked me up. He didn't say anything more and neither did I. The rest of the night was spent with moans, kisses, caresses, and the need to get as close as our bodies would allow.

I started to fall asleep when the sun began to peek through the blinds. Mason rolled over and pressed a kiss to my shoulder. A jolt of pleasure coursed through me, and I grinned into the pillow. I snuggled deeper into the blankets and drifted off with his hand on my back.

When I woke, the room was masked in darkness. After a shower, I left the shelter of the bedroom, and the sunlight blinded me. I'd forgotten the apartment had windows for its walls. No one could see inside so I wasn't worried about that, but the light that shone through was staggering.

"You'll get used to it." Mason's voice trailed from the kitchen. He grinned as he stirred something in a pan on the stove. With only a pair of sweats that rested low on his hips, my mouth watered as I took in the sight of him shirtless. His oblique muscles curved underneath his pants' drawstring, but his stomach and back ones rippled as he continued to stir.

Everything about him was perfect.

"I bought juice." He gestured to their refrigerator.

"Coffee?"

Grinning, he nodded to a cup on the counter. Steam rose from the small opening in the lid. "Figured you'd want that too."

"Did you?" As I went to grab it, I trailed the tips of my fingers across the bottom of his back.

He whirled in a flash. Before my hands could touch the coffee cup, I was lifted onto the counter beside him. He was between my legs in the next heartbeat, and his mouth was slammed on top of mine before anything else registered with me.

Hunger, deep and primitive, rushed through me, and I gasped. I needed more. Wrapping my arms around him, I clamped my legs around his waist. I held him tightly against me, urging his hips closer and closer.

His tongue swept in before he gasped, "I never get enough, never enough."

My tongue swished against his and he groaned. His hands pushed underneath my hips and he pulled me out for better access. I was throbbing between my legs. I tried to get him even closer, but his hand slid between us.

A groan ripped from the bottom of my throat. I needed him. I was blind with desire for him. Then his finger stroked me at the top. I shuddered in his arms. Two of his fingers slipped inside. I couldn't help it. I fell back, but he caught and lowered me to the counter until I was stretched out before him. As he readjusted my hold around his waist, his fingers continued to slide in and out.

I groaned. Pleasure spiked through me. I needed him inside of me. That was all I needed.

As I closed my eyes, he smoothed his hand from my shoulder to my neck. He lingered on my breast and ran a thumb over the tip before he cupped it. Then he leaned down and I gasped as his mouth replaced his hand. He sucked on the nipple and ran his tongue around the edge. My hands slid through his hair to anchor him to me. He knew exactly what I liked. Teasing my nipple with his teeth, he murmured, "Open your eyes."

I did.

His fingers kept going in and out. I started to feel it building.

"Mason," I gasped. I couldn't close my mouth. He grinned at me while his tongue swirled around my breast again. His fingers picked up their pace. He pushed them deeper and deeper. Then his eyes changed color. They darkened as he watched me getting closer and closer. When I exploded on his hand, he withdrew, tugged me down even farther, and slid inside of me before I could catch my breath. I gasped as I fell back again.