“Hurts, doesn’t it?” I asked.“What?”“Keepin’ your mouth shut for once.”

“Lonely’s a different kind of pain, it doesn’t hurt as bad as heartbreak. I preferred it and embraced it ‘cause I reckoned it was one or the other.”

“Did I hurt you? he asked”

“There’s no words to explain how big it was, what Cold and I had, or how much it hurts when something that big in your life is swept away, or how empty that place is that he once filled, or how impossible it is to find something to fill it.”

“Naomi, I asked you to suck my cock, you’d have your mouth wrapped around it so fast, you’d break the sound barrier.”

“It’s not fake is it?” Jasper asked softly and Layne studied his son thinking he had vastly underestimated Jasper too. “It was, Jas, it isn’t anymore.” Jasper nodded. Layne continued. “She doesn’t know that yet, though.”Jasper stared at him then his mouth twitched before, very slowly, it spread into a smile.”

“Day in, day out, you peel the layers back for me. Smart mouth, funny, sweet, wild in bed. Chattin' with bikers like they were insurance brokers. Holdin' my girl's hand, givin' her strength when her Mom's bein' a bitch. Keepin' your chin up when your people show in the middle of a full blown drama. But so fuckin' vulnerable, you're scared shitless of livin' life.""You don't know me, Tack."His head came up and his eyes pierced mine. "I know you, Tyra.""You don't.""Life's a roller coaster. Best damn ride in the park. You don't close your eyes, hold on and wait for it to be over, babe. You keep your eyes open, lift your hands straight up in the air and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts.”