Claire ran her fingers over his knuckles. “Tell me what happened.”

“He lied to me.”

“What did he lie about?” she asked carefully.

His hand tensed beneath her palm. He stayed quiet.

“Aidan, what did he lie about?”

A ragged breath flew out of his mouth. “Do you remember when I told you how my mother died?”

She nodded.

“Well, turns out that was nothing but a f**king lie.”

Confusion washed over her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean my dad lied to me. My mother didn’t push me out of the way that day, she didn’t save me from a reckless driver and then get run down herself.” Aidan’s bitterness was like a thick layer of smog hanging over the room. “She walked right into traffic. She took my hand and led me into the path of a speeding car.”

Claire was struck speechless. It took her almost a minute to find her voice. “What?” she finally demanded.

“My mom didn’t push me out of the way, I jumped out of the way, or at least that’s what the witnesses on the scene told the cops. Apparently I was in shock afterwards. I blocked it all out, and the shrink told my dad not to push me into remembering, to let it come back to me gradually.” Aidan angrily shook his head. “But he pulled me out of therapy because eventually he didn’t want me to remember. He claims he wanted me to remember my mother as a hero.”

Unable to believe what she was hearing, Claire squeezed his hand tighter and searched his tormented eyes. “I don’t understand. Why would your mother do that?”

“Because she was schizophrenic.” He sounded devastated. “Before she was declared unfit to stand trial, she told the doctors that the voices told her to kill herself and her son. So she listened to the voices.”

“Oh my God.” Horror spiraled through her, then transformed into another rush of confusion as she realized what he’d said. “Wait, so she wasn’t killed by that car?”

“Nope, that’s just what my dad told me. She was committed to an institution for the criminally insane, about an hour north of here. She was a patient there for fifteen years before she hung herself by turning her bed sheet into a noose.”

Claire’s eyes widened.

“Fifteen years,” he spat out. “She was alive that entire time and he let me believe she was dead. I spent my whole f**king life feeling guilty that my mother had died saving me, feeling sorry for my dad because he was so f**king sad all the time, and she wasn’t even dead! Jesus!”

Claire had no idea what to say. Absolutely no idea. Every word that came out of Aidan’s mouth added to that initial shock, until all she could do was let him talk and hope her presence was enough.

“Fifteen years.” His breathing grew shallow. “She was alive for fifteen more years after the accident. She was alive when I entered middle school, when I was a freshman in high school, when I went to the prom, when I graduated, when I attended college. Fifteen years that I could have visited her, or sent her cards and flowers or…” Another harsh breath. “All that lost time…”

Tears pricked Claire’s eyes when she saw the moisture in Aidan’s. Without a word, she tugged his hand and pulled him into her arms.

He stiffened for a moment, and then his body went limp and he sagged against her. His dark hair tickled her chin, his hot tears soaking the front of her sweater.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry, Aidan.”

She didn’t know how long they sat there, how long she held him, how long he cried, and when he lifted his head and urgently sought out her lips, she didn’t deny him the kiss he craved. She kissed him back with the same desperation she saw in his dark eyes, their tongues meeting and tangling, their hands entering the fray by grabbing at each other’s clothes.

Yanking on the waistband of her yoga pants, Aidan pushed her onto her back and crushed her with his strong body. His hands fumbled to shove his own pants down, his erection sprang free, and then he pushed it inside her without warning. But she was ready for him, slick with desire that had erupted out of nowhere and overcome with the need to soothe him, to please him, to bring him any comfort she could, even if it was of the carnal variety.

Aidan’s c**k plunged into her again and again. His mouth hungrily devoured hers. The intensity of his passion scared her, thrilled her, liberated her. She met him thrust for thrust, her inner muscles squeezing his thick shaft as shockwaves of pleasure rocked her body.

“Oh God, I’m coming.” Even as she choked out the words, she was still stunned by the sudden orgasm that exploded inside her. It started between her legs, then detonated, shards of pleasure flying to every part of her body, making her gasp in surprised delight.

The spasms of her pu**y set Aidan off. He came with a loud cry, moaning her name as his c**k twitched inside her. She could feel his heart hammering against her br**sts, a fast, reckless rhythm that matched her own erratic pulse.

Letting out a deep breath, Aidan cupped her cheeks with his palms and stared at her with heavy-lidded eyes. “I should have said this three days ago, but…I love you too.”

Her chest squeezed with emotion. “I know.”

He kissed her tenderly, then slid his c**k out of her still-throbbing pu**y and rolled over.

And it was at that moment they both realized he hadn’t worn a condom.

“Shit,” he mumbled. “Are you…fuck, are you on the pill?”