* * *
Tess startled when her doorbell rang at seven in the evening. Sitting in the small room designated as an office, she’d been catching up on work emails at the cherrywood desk. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore her most comfortable black sweater and multicolored leggings. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Maybe Logan had dropped by? She hurried to answer the door and opened it wide.
Logan stood there, looking . . . like something was very, very wrong.
“Hey,” she said softly. All her inner sirens wailed at the look on his face. “What happened? Something happened, I can see it.”
“Can I come in?” His voice was a low, tight rasp.
She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside, closing the door behind him. He stood there silently.
“Is your mother all right?” Tess asked, fearing the answer.
“No,” he said. He shook his head, lifted his eyes to meet hers . . . The pain there took Tess’s breath away. “I . . . I just . . .”
“Shhhh.” She pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him. His arms lifted to return the embrace, his hold tight, clinging to her.
“I need you tonight,” he whispered in her ear. “I just needed to see you.”
“I’m here,” she whispered. She pulled back to look into his eyes and touched his face. “I’m here, honey.”
His eyes filled with tears and it was a kick to her stomach. “I can’t talk.”
“You don’t have to.” She peeled him out of his coat, got him to kick off his boots, and took him by the hand. She led him up to her bedroom and nudged him to sit down on her bed. He watched without a word as she flicked the switch to start the gas fireplace, then turned off the lights. “Come here, you.”
She lay down on the bed, pulling him down with her, then curled herself around his large, solid body. Dropping a kiss on his cheek, she burrowed into him as his arms banded around her. Her head on his chest, she heard the thick pounding of his heart, felt the way his fingers held tight, and her heart ached for him. She caressed his arm, his beard, his chest as they lay there for a long time, holding each other in the near dark.
“Thanks for this,” he finally whispered after an hour.
“You don’t have to thank me,” she said. “Feel any better yet?”
“A little, actually.” His hand ran up and down her back. “You soothe me.”
“Good, I’m glad. Can you tell me what happened?”
He gave her the short version, his voice low and ragged. Her eyes squeezed shut at the horrible news. His fingers sifted through her hair as he talked, but she now understood the coiled tension in his muscles. When he finished, she whispered kindness and leaned up to press her lips to his.
They kissed languidly, sweetly, a joining of mouths with affection, not lust or duty. But soon the kisses deepened, tongues swirling and hands roaming, sparking heat that burned with a hint of urgency.
“I need you,” he whispered, husky and a bit desperate.
“I’m right here,” she whispered back with warm assurance.
* * *
They made slow, tender love by the flickering light of the fire. She held him close as their bodies rocked together, as he lost himself in the sweet escape of her body. He kissed her, stroked her, looked deep into her eyes as he moved inside her. And she met his searching gaze, his languorous thrusts, his every need at every point. She was a goddess, a savior, a lifeline. When she came, she held him so close it was if they were one. His orgasm rolled through him and he sailed over the precipice in relief, holding her tight as he found release, saying her name over and over like a prayer.
Covered in a light sheen of sweat, they stared into each other’s eyes and kissed, a million sweet and tiny sips as their bodies calmed.
“You need to raise your hips,” he murmured.
“Not tonight,” she said. “I need to hold you and not let go.”
His mind reeled. In his angry grief, he’d come to her. After settling his mother in at her house, he’d driven straight to Tess’s house without conscious thought. And Tess had welcomed him without a moment’s pause, giving him the support, comfort, and affection he needed so desperately. Her. He needed her desperately. She was all he wanted.