“He doesn’t have sex with sheep—he sleeps with scapegoats. He is my father, and I haven’t seen him since before I was born.”

“I'd seen him around town for a year or so before he made a move on me. I'd heard good and bad things about him. One friend said he was just out for sex. Another said he was a romantic at heart. What the hell, I thought. I needed sex and romance in my life. Sometimes I believe I would have taken one without the other.”

“ Alex moved closer to me, never taking his eyes from mine. “What if your eternity doesn’t start when you die?” he asked carefully. “What if your eternity has been going on since before you were born?”I stared at him with a blank face, wondering what drugs he was on. ”

“Hearing a crow with no mouthCry in the deepDarkness of the night,I feel a longing forMy father before he was born.”

“I only have so much willpower, Helen," he whispered. "And since you apparently sleep in the most ridiculously transparent tank top I've ever seen, I'm going to have to ask you to get under the covers before I do something stupid.”

“The night before I married you your father made me promise to always take care of you.” I laughed a little, easily able to picture my tall, burly father cornering the young knight I had fallen in love with. “To the best of my ability I have kept that promise.” I laid my hand on his chest to comfort the tension that rippled through his muscles. “You have, Lance,” I assured him. He took my hand in his and turned very serious.“No, I haven’t. I haven’t provided you with everything you need.”