Sexual Shift by Beverly Rae Page B

in my teens.”
    “So she raised you without letting your father know? Did she tell you who he was?”
    He shook his head and snickered. “She told me I was the son of the devil himself.”
    She made a choking sound, and her hand went to her throat. “What a bit—” She backed away from finishing her sentence, regrouped and straightened her shoulders. “And what did you do?”
    “I was stupid enough to approach the Big Evil Dude myself. Which, by the way, I suggest you never do. After he laughed himself to tears, he threw me in a hole and let me stay there along with a few gargoyles, snakes and ghouls. Trust me. It was not the way I wanted to spend my sixteenth birthday. Hell, my sixteenth year.”
    She was in his arms before he realized she was moving toward him. “Damn him. I wish I could punch his lights out.”
    She couldn’t have said anything better. He let loose a laugh that came all the way from the bottom of his belly. “So you’d punch his lights out, huh?” He took her by the arms and pulled her away from him. “I bet if anyone could, it’d be you. But just so you know, I don’t think you should try it.”
    She touched his lips, then drew him into a kiss. Her lips tasted sweeter than ever, her body warm next to his and, for the first time in longer than he could remember, he felt safe, secure, and nothing short of…loved.
    A rumble, low and growing louder, echoed up from the floor below them. He broke the kiss, thrusting Hilly away from him.
    “What’s the matter?” She gaped at him, then glanced at the floor. Tremors shook the wooden floor. “What’s going on?”
    “It’s my mother.” Rage, cold and clear, swept over him. No. He wouldn’t let her rob him of the peace he’d found in Hilly’s arms. But he had to keep her safe first.
    “Your mother?”
    “I’ll get in touch with you soon. I promise.”
    “Wait. What’s going—”
    But he was already out the door and racing down the hallway before he could hear the end of her question.
     
     
    “So you and Tanner hooked up?”
    “Meg, you know how much I hate the phrase ‘hooked up’,” Hilly chided, pulling out her sister-who-is-more-like-your-mother card.
    Allie and Meg exchanged a look and crowded next to her on the sofa, one on either side of her, and bumped into her. “Hey, watch it. You almost made me spill my drink on my brand-new couch.”
    Meg squinted at her with the suspicious expression Hilly knew so well. “Go ahead and spill away. But while you’re at it, spill the juicy details, too.”
    “You had drinks with the man. Then, according to Shana, he showed up at the bakery. We know that much at least.” Allie ignored her phone’s incessant chiming. She finally picked it up, checked who was calling, then clicked it off. “I’ll call Tom back later. This is more important.”
    “But maybe it’s about Emma Grace.” Hilly adopted a worried attitude, although she knew it wouldn’t fool her sisters.
    “Emma Grace is with Tom’s mother, and I know she’s fine.”
    Meg slapped Hilly on the arm. “Stop trying to change the subject. We want to know everything about the handsome Mr. Tanner Cage. Where’s he from? What does he do for a living? Is he good in bed? You know. All the pertinent deets, sis.”
    Hilly studied her drink. Anything to keep from looking at her sisters. Who knew what Meg might sense? “I didn’t say anything about getting into bed with him, did I? Besides, I really don’t know him well. I just met the man.”
    “Yeah, you met him in the bushes.” Allie’s eyes grew wide. “Did he figure out that you were masquerading as Emma Grace’s twin?”
    Hilly squirmed, hating the feeling of being penned in, both literally and figuratively. Truth was, she needed to tell someone and who else would she tell besides her sisters?
    “Yes, he did.”
    “Wow.” Allie was awestruck.
    Hilly lifted her gaze to find Allie shooting Meg a questioning look. “Yes, yes. I know what you two are thinking. He