"Do you have plans for thanksgiving this year?" Stone questioned Sam when they'd arrived back at her apartment.

He held her, curled beneath a blanket, on the sofa, relaxing after a fun dinner with the Everson family. He loved these moments with Sam. The ones where she just relaxed. When he wrapped his arms around her, or brought her onto his lap, she never failed to melt into him. It was as if the affection he offered in those simple moments did more for her than any amount of pleasure he brought to her flesh.

So, he made it a point to hold her, cuddle her, show her in every way he could, that she was important to him. He did his best to make their time together about more than just sex, though his body was in a constant state of arousal where Samantha was concerned.

Having her body wasn't the problem. He’d learned Samantha would willingly give all he asked for and then some, when it came to her body. He was more than happy to take what she offered, but what she wasn't so willing to give, those were the things he wanted most of all. Those were the things he was working for. When this was all said and done, Stone knew, those were the things that would keep her with him.

He wanted her heart, her mind, her soul. He wanted every single part of Samantha Covington. She had to be willing to give it though, and therein lay the battle.

"Most of the time, I spend the day with Carla and Cameron if they're in town.” She answered drowsily. “I don't know what they're doing this year, so no, I haven't made any plans yet. Why do you ask?"

"Would you come to Hartstone? Spend Thanksgiving with me?" Stone held his breath, waiting for her reply. He already knew the Everson family would be there. He would use that if he needed to, but what he wanted, what he needed, was for her to come because he was the one inviting her.

She went still in his lap, and his heart sank. Still, he waited for her response.

“I don't know.” She finally spoke. “That feels a little serious. Me coming with you to be with your family on such an important holiday."

"I'm feeling a bit serious about this relationship, if it makes you feel better. Don't think it's too farfetched for me to invite my girlfriend for thanksgiving. Plus," He added with a grin she couldn't see. "My girlfriend's got her own jet, so it's not like she has a good excuse to refuse me."

She pushed off of him, studying his face. He looked right back at her with as much softness as he could convey.

"Is that was I am? What we are? Am I your girlfriend? Is that how you think of me?"

His heart ached at the confusion written all over her face.

"Well, Yeah, Sweetness. I don't make too much habit of flying halfway across the country to see a woman I don't have some pretty serious intentions towards."

She dropped her eyes, plucked at a thread in the blanket.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything unsavory about you. I just... I’ve never done this before, you know? I’ve never had a boyfriend, not a real boyfriend."

She paused for a moment, then continued in a quiet voice.

"There was a boy, once. Truly, just a boy with so much going for him. I guess I was just a girl too, though I was always older than those my age."

She looked up, met his eyes. The deadness of them made his heart stop. Those cold eyes never left his as she confessed, “He said he loved me too. He said he would do anything for me."

"What happened?" Stone asked, not wanting the answer, and needing it all the Same.

"My father killed him."

Four words. Four words that made Stone's blood run cold, then heat to a boil. "What happened, Sam?” He prodded softly, willing himself to remain steady.

Sam rose from the Sofa and walked to the bank of windows. Stone followed, staying just behind her, waiting for her to speak.

Sam stood there for long moments, arms wrapped around herself, eyes looking out over the city and seeing none of it. Finally, she spoke, a shiver traveling through her body, despite the warmth of the room.

“I didn't have friends. Growing up, it was important to my father only that I was the heir to his empire. He wanted a boy, but he got me, so he did his best to harden me. To keep me from showing emotion, from showing feelings of any kind, except negative ones. Anything he thought I cared about, he destroyed. Or made me destroy."

She paused to collect herself, looking at his face through the reflection of glass.

"When I was fifteen,” She pressed on, “I met a boy who’d moved in next door. He was so fearless, so passionate. By that time, it had been just me and my father for a number of years. I was counting the days, doing everything I needed to do to survive him long enough to get out or take him down.”

She gave a pathetic huff of a chuckle and shook her head.

"If you think I’m closed off now, Stone, you should have seen me back then. I felt nothing most of the time. I couldn't afford to have feelings, to allow emotion of any kind to make an appearance. I met Javier by accident, and then he wouldn't leave me alone. Somehow, he got through to me and we started sneaking to see each other in the middle of the night."

Sam lowered her head, feeling the hot tears that threatened to fall, remembering that sweet, innocent boy.

"He made me laugh. He made me feel like I had some hope. Like I could get out from under my father and become someone else, someone free."

She paused, swallowing back the emotion remembering brought on. Stone continued to watch her patiently. Sam took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Javier, he saw how Michael treated me. He wanted to go to the police, but my father had them in his pocket. I’d already tried. All that came of that was that I hadn't been able to walk for weeks after I’d done it. No one could help me, so Javier said we had to do something. He couldn't stand it, the way Michael treated me. He got hotter every day. I never should have agreed to his plan. If I’d stuck with my own plan, he would still be alive today. He was so impulsive, had so much passion. My fifteen year-old self lost her vision, let someone else's take over." Sam shook her head sadly. "If I could go back... I would have kept away from him. I wouldn't have hoped for anything..."

"Sam..." Stone said softly, but she shook her head.

"Let me finish. You should know.” She took a breath, made the decision that she would let him see this part of her, not daring to hope that he would stay once she was finished.

"Javier and I made a plan. We would confront my father together and I would leave with him. He was determined to take me away, to protect me. He said he loved me, that I wasn’t like any girl he'd ever known.” She paused, closing her eyes at the memory. “He told me, ‘You are my sun. My moon. My stars. You are my world.’”

They were words she would never forget. Spoken from the heart of a boy who loved the wrong girl. Sam swiped at the tear that fell to her cheek.

"The night came and we found my father in his study, told him I was leaving with Javier, that he wasn't going to stop us. I knew it wouldn't be that easy, so I’d retrieved his gun from the safe he thought was secure. I’d also taken all the cash from it. I thought that if we had to, we could get out by threatening his life."

Sam smiled a bitter smile.

"He laughed. My father, he laughed at us, said he was so proud that I’d finally grown a backbone. Then, he asked me if I loved Javier, or if I was just using his resources to get what I wanted."

She met his eyes again in the glass.

"Stone, you should understand, for me to love was the highest form of weakness in my father's eyes. So, I told him I loved Javier."

Sam closed her eyes against the wave of nausea that rose with the memory.

“I had his gun in my hand. He just stared at it, at me, just laughing. Everything happened so fast. He pulled a gun from under his shirt and shot Javier right in the head. I didn't even know I’d shot my father until I saw the blood on his shirt, felt the reverberation in my own arm."

She sank to her knees, and Stone immediately moved so he knelt in front of her, taking her cold hands between his own.

"That's not the end.” She said ominously, then laughed like someone about to lose their grip on sanity. He hauled her into himself, held her while she regained composure.

"Tell me the rest." He prompted.

With a shuddering breath, she finished the story.

“I shot him, but I was shocked that I’d done it. Shocked that he'd shot Javier. I just stood there while he fell to his knees. He kept saying how proud he was that I’d finally found the balls to stand up for myself."

She paused for a long second, reached up to touch her shoulder, feeling the scars there.

“He shot me then. My own father shot me three times."

She felt him stiffen, but kept going.

“I don't remember anything after I blacked out, but someone called 911 I guess, because I woke up in the hospital two weeks later. I was alive, and I was the one with CSM on my shoulders. Here I am today, feeling like I’ve lived a hundred lives."

"The tattoo. Your scars. They're from your gunshot wounds." He stated cautiously.

Sam nodded slowly. "The tattoo is a lotus flower with flames emerging from it, covering the scars, burning the things of the past. The lotus represents rebirth. The flames are my reminder that my path is to reduce everything my father worked for to ash."

"You sound like you're on a revenge mission." He observed.

“I am.” She replied determinedly. "The meeting today, that was with a company that may absorb us. I’m calling it a merger, but really, I just want to wash my hands of CSM and move on with my life. I need to make sure the employees and partners are taken care of though."

"How can you do that, if you're being absorbed?"

“I’ve laid out very specific terms for the other company. They're contractually binding, giving the employees power for compensation if they're breached. If this company decides they don't want to agree to my terms, I'll keep CSM under my control and continue working other avenues. I want to be free of everything Michael Covington ever created, but I won't allow innocent people to be hurt while I make that happen."

Stone was impressed. He didn’t know many high-level business leaders who truly gave a damn about their employees. Samantha was opening his eyes more and more to the kind of woman she was when the chips were down, and his respect was growing by the minute.

"You've offloaded so much tonight, Sweetness. I want to say I’m sorry for those things that you went through, but it seems such an insignificant word compared…"

"Stone.” She interrupted with disbelief. “I just told you that I killed my father. How are you not running for the door?"

He sighed and pulled her closer.

"Baby, you shot him because you had to. He was trying to kill you. You’ve got the scars to prove it. Well before that night, I know he did atrocious things to you. There is no shame in the actions you took, no guilt, though you may still feel it."

He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head the way he did so often. It was a gesture both of comfort and affection.

"What do you need from me, Sam?" He asked her softly. "What can I do for you tonight?"

Stone was the only man who’d ever asked her that question. In fact, other than Carla and Cameron, she couldn't think of anyone who’d asked such a thing. She felt so... Cherished. It was completely foreign and wonderful at the same time.

"I'm so exhausted, Stone. Take me to bed, please. Stay with me tonight."

"Ah, Love. I’m so happy to do that for you."

Stone stood, gathering Samantha into his arms. Warmth poured through him when she wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled into his chest. She was allowing herself to find comfort in his embrace. At that moment, Stone knew he would move heaven and earth to keep her safe, to make her understand just how completely she'd taken his heart.

Sam was so thoroughly exhausted that she could barely lift her head from Stone's chest as he carried her to her bedroom. He set her on the bed and began removing her clothes. His touch was gentle, his fingers deft in their movements. It didn't feel sexual, yet even if it had, she didn't think she had the energy or fortitude to respond. She felt like a doll, or a child. Weak. She hated feeling weak, but Stone made her feel safe in her weakness. She didn’t understand what was happening. She only knew that this was a feeling she didn’t want to give up.

Once she was undressed, Stone pulled the comforter and sheets back, tucking her in with nurturing tenderness. Sam watched him take off his own clothes, smiling when he smiled down at her.

"Not so exhausted that you can't enjoy the show, are you?"

"You're beautiful.” She whispered back to him.

"Can't say anyone's ever said that to me that before."

He went to the other side of the bad and climbed in, pulling her against him so her head rested on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her like he would never let go, then kissed the top of her head, murmuring softly, “Go to sleep, Love. I’ve got you."

Sam let herself relax against him, closing her eyes as consciousness fled from her.