After the test was complete, we went home and made love. Grant was quiet on the way home, but the second we entered my loft, he was pushing me against the wall, his hard body all over me.

Now we lie in bed, his face resting against my chest, one finger drawing circles over my breasts, down my rib cage, around my naval, and back up.

“Are you scared?” I ask, worried he’s not expressing his feelings through words.

He blows out a puff of air, and it warms my nipple. “Yeah. I want to be a match.”

I cup the back of his head, holding him closer to me. “I want you to be a match too.”

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“Before meeting Greta, I had nothing in my life to live for besides you and work. Now the possibilities are far grander. A sister, brother-in-law, and a niece and nephew. I’ve never had a family before. And Luna, I want it. So bad I can taste it. It’s like I’ve been presented with this new life, one with you and a family, and I’ll stop at nothing to have it. Does that make sense?”

My eyes water, knowing this is hurting him. Understanding the ache he must have. I had it when I lost my father. Before his passing, my family of three was everything. Now my mother is traveling with her best friend, and I’m here alone. Except I’m not. I have Grant now and the studio and everyone in it.

“It makes perfect sense. And I have a feeling it’s all going to be okay.” I kiss the crown of his head.

He sighs and goes back to tracing my shape with his fingertips. I don’t know if it comforts him to touch me or if he’s attempting to go for round three, but with each pass of his fingertips around my erect nipple, a jolt of arousal shoots through my body and lands between my thighs.

I wrap my arms around him. He lifts up his face and smirks before shifting his body on top of mine and kissing between my breasts. Slowly, he moves to one aching tip and then the other, worshiping my breasts and neck, bathing me in kisses.

I sigh and arch into his ministrations, loving every second. He works his way down, nipping at my ribs, licking a circle around my belly button, until he reaches between my thighs.

“Spread your legs for me, lamb. I want my mouth on you.”

I do as he asks, opening my legs.

He sits up on his knees and slides both hands down my thighs. His touch is one of reverence, his expression, awe.

“I love every inch of you, Luna. Your pearlescent skin. Your bee-stung lips. Sky-blue eyes. Fiery red hair, but nothing…nothing compares to the beauty between your thighs. I’m starved for you.” He covers my sex with the heat of his mouth.

I cry out and grip his hair as he devours me, taking me higher and higher in mere minutes until every press of his lips and tongue sends ribbons of pleasure rippling through my nerve endings, and I fly apart. Lost to the magic of his dark kiss.

He brings me down slowly, leisurely, as though he has all the time in the world to please me.

And then his cell phone rings right as he’s about to enter me for the third time today.

His entire body goes rigid. Each of his beautiful muscles bulging, skin misted with sweat from giving me his all. The erection between those powerful thighs is long, hard, and so thick I mewl with the desire to have him inside, completing me.

He scrambles from between my legs and around the bed where his phone lies.

“Winters,” he barks into the phone. “Yes.” His once heated gaze turns sharper, more focused, and I watch as my man closes his eyes and then looks up at the sky as if he’s sending a silent prayer up to the heavens above. A serene expression crosses his face, and a small smile forms on his lips. “That’s great news.”

I sit up, tugging the sheet to cover my naked body. His smiles make me smile.

He’s a match. That must be the reason for his happy expression. I know it straight through to my soul.

Then, as if water was splashed over his face, he frowns, his eyebrows coming so close together on his forehead they’re almost touching.

“I’m sorry. Is that unusual?”

Those same expressive eyebrows seem to have a life of their own as they rise in what I can only assume is shock.

“What exactly are you saying?” His tone is firm and unrelenting.

I watch, my breath caught in my throat, as he starts to pace, naked as the day he was born, his erection deflating at whatever news he’s received.

“And that only occurs with full-blooded siblings.” He states matter-of-factly. “I see. Thank you. Set up the harvest as necessary. I will take whatever appointment is available.”

He hangs up his cell and tosses it on the bed. Grant’s hands go into his hair, and he starts to pace again. “Fuck!”

Uh-oh. He only paces when he’s trying to work through uncomfortable information.

“Grant, honey, what is it? You’re a match, right?”

He nods. “Yeah. Oh, I’m a match all right.”

I shimmy out of bed and stop him midstride. “Then what’s the matter? This is what you wanted, correct? To be able to donate.”

He puts his hands behind his neck, his fingers clasped, elbows parallel to the floor. “I’m a match.”

“Okay, that’s good.” I place my hands on his pecs. “Then what’s wrong?”

“I’m a perfect fucking match. None better.” His face is turning red.

He’s angry.

“Big man, you’re going to have to help me out here. I’m not catching on to the problem.”

“Apparently, the test they did not only proves your percentage of compatibility, but it confirmed that Greta Tinsley is my biological sister.”

I frown. “We already knew that. You share the same mother.”

He shakes his head and speaks through clenched teeth. “No. That would make her my half sister. She’s my full sister because we share the same mother and father.”

I open my mouth and gawk. “No…”

“Yes,” he growls.

Gooseflesh rises all over my skin. “How can this be? Greta said that when your mom left, she was pregnant with another man’s baby.”

Grant turns around and goes over to the rack of clothing we added for him near my own wardrobe. It’s a makeshift clothing alternative for now until we have our new home. He rips off a T-shirt and pair of jeans.

“Means we don’t have all the information, and neither does Greta. I spent thirty years not knowing my sister. I’m not spending the next thirty in the dark.”

“What are you doing? Where are you going?” I ask as he slips on a pair of underwear and then his jeans.

“To talk to my father.”

“Um, do you think that’s a good idea when you don’t know all the information? Besides, shouldn’t we get to Greta first to tell her and Brett the good news?” I’m trying to be the voice of reason. He needs to cool down before he speaks to Grant Senior.

Grant tugs on his shirt, the black material stretching delectably across his muscular chest. I follow his lead, slipping into a pair of underwear and then yoga pants, a bra, tank, and a tunic.

“Fine. I’ll call him while we’re there. Have him meet us. This bullshit ends today. I want answers, and someone is going to give them to me.” His tone brooks no arguments.

I nod and slip into some gladiator sandals before pulling my hair up into a ponytail. Makeup is not an option. Grant is already about to burst out of his skin if we don’t get in the car and head to the hospital soon.

He grabs my hand as I cross the strap of my purse over my body. We’re out the door and headed to the hospital at lightning speed.

The minute we enter the room, the three people already seated stop speaking. Greta is lying in the bed, Brett on one side of her, a redheaded woman I can just barely remember at her other side.

The woman stands up, her hair falling down her back like I recall from my memories. Her hair and eyes have haunted my dreams. And in every last one of them, she still leaves.

“Grant. Son,” she whispers, as if my presence is hurting her emotionally.

I narrow my gaze at her as Luna glues herself to my side. I wrap an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close. I’m going to need her fortitude to get through this moment.

Ignoring the woman, I turn my focus to Greta. “I’m a match.”

Brett, who stood when I entered, leans heavily over his wife’s bed, his shoulders starting to quake. “Thank you, God!”

His wife grabs his hand, but her eyes are on me. “You’re a match?” Her voice quavers.

“Yes.” I choke down the emotion swelling in my throat.

“You don’t have to do this.” Her voice cracks, and her eyes fill with tears.

“Yes, I do. You’re my sister. I’m your brother. I take care of what’s mine.”

Tears rain down her cheeks in rivulets.

Brett comes around the bed, arms open wide. Luna releases me, and I let the man hug me. He claps my back hard. “Grant…I can’t thank you enough. Shit…” He sobs, and I wrap my arms around him and hug him back as he breaks down.

“Owe you, man. Owe you everything.” He barely gets the words out on a hoarse whisper before pulling away and rubbing a hand down his face, getting himself back together.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” I announce. “Her body has to accept my marrow, though the hematologist doesn’t see any problem with that since we’re a perfect match, which often comes with full-blooded siblings. Isn’t that right…Mother?” I grate through clenched teeth and glare at the woman standing silently to my right.

Greta clears her throat. “What are you talking about? Mom?” Greta grabs our mother’s wrist, and she jolts as if she’d been zapped with electricity.

“I don’t know, baby girl…” she attempts, but there is no way in hell I’m going to let her continue to lie to either of us.

“You absolutely do. Stop lying. For once. Tell her the truth. Tell us all the truth.” My voice rises to the point where I’m almost yelling.

Luna sidles back up to me and puts a hand to my chest. I can feel her touch seep deep into my soul, soothing me like a cool balm over a heated burn.

“Your father didn’t believe me!” she says. “I told him the baby was his, but he cast me out anyway. Said I was fooling around on him. Over and over I told him I wasn’t. He wouldn’t believe me.” Her volume turns a bit high-pitched.

I close my eyes as the ramifications of what she’s saying slam into my heart.

“Why would he think you were unfaithful?” I say flatly.

My mother twists her fingers and looks down at the floor. A shameful stance if I ever saw one. “There was this man. Chris. Another father at your kindergarten class. We became close. He was a single father, and um, very attractive.” She picks up a hunk of her hair and runs her hands over it in what seems to be a nervous gesture.

“Continue.” I glance at Greta.

Brett’s sitting on the hospital bed, his wife in his arms, her face planted against his chest but her eyes on our mother.

“I was married, and I never went there with him physically. Not really.” Her voice shook. “Your father, he couldn’t see reason. He was gone all the time, barely ever home, always working, and I was lonely. So lonely.”

“And…” I prompt when it doesn’t seem like she’s going to continue.

“One day he came home early from a business trip. He found us having a play date. Chris and I were on the couch. You kids were playing in your room, and I don’t know what happened, but Chris kissed me. It was only ever the one kiss, and your father walked in and saw us kissing and lost his mind.” Tears fill her eyes. “A week later, I found out I was pregnant. Told Grant Senior this was our second chance to find happiness. All he could see was Chris. He believed the child was Chris’s because he was gone all the time. I tried for four months to get him to believe otherwise. Tried to be the perfect wife. I never saw Chris again, but it wasn’t enough.”

“He asked you to leave,” I surmised.

She shook her head. “No. He cast me out. Said I needed to leave and take my bastard child with me but to leave you behind. If I didn’t, he’d ruin Chris’s life, mine, as well as that of my unborn child. I was young and scared. I had nothing but your father and you. I believed him. He was very powerful. Had a lot of money and contacts. He’d do as he threatened. So I sat you down, said goodbye, and left. It was the worst day of my entire life. There hasn’t been a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could have found a way to take you with me or to get your father to believe me. But you know him. Once he gets something in his mind…”

“There’s no changing it,” I add flatly.

She nods.

“Then why did you tell me my father was from an infidelity from your first husband? You lied to me all these years, Mother?” Greta’s voice is filled with heartache.

My mother closes her eyes, more tears falling. “Because I couldn’t bear to have you think your own father didn’t want you. It was better that you thought I was the one in the wrong.”

Jesus, what a clusterfuck. The end result being my father is the biggest prick in the universe and my mother another one of his victims.

“I loved you every day, Grant. Missed you every second. And I wrote you like I promised.”

I scowl. “I didn’t get a single letter.”

My heart pounds against my chest as my body temperature rises, and she takes a step closer to me. I take one back in return, making it clear I do not want her near me. Not right now.

“No. Each one was returned unopened and labeled Return to Sender. Still, every week until you went off to college, I wrote to you. Told you about our lives, wondered about yours. Wished for your happiness. Hoped maybe one day you’d get the mail and open it yourself. Still, we went to your sports games, watched you graduate both high school and college. Those were very proud moments for me,” she whispers and wipes at her soggy eyes.

Shivers ripple up my spine, and tears prick against my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. Not here. Not now. I focus on the fire in my gut, the tornado of anger building up my chest.

There are too many conflicting emotions battering me. I swallow and reach for Luna’s hand. “I need to go check in with the hematologist and find out what the next steps are. Greta, let’s focus on getting you well, yeah?”

She nods.

“The rest we will deal with in time.” It’s the only promise I can offer her right now.

“Okay, Grant.” She sniffles, and it sends an icepick into my gut.

“Luna, let’s go.” I grip her hand.

Without waiting for goodbyes, I drag Luna out of the room.

“Grant, wait, just stop.” She tugs on my hand until I stop and spin around.

“What? What do you want to talk about? How fucked up that scene in there was? How my father is the world’s most giant prick! Maybe about the fact that my sister just found she has a father, and he’s the same one everybody hates!” I roar, not caring about the people bustling around me.

Luna grabs my hand and walks me to the stairwell, where we escape inside.

“Look, I know it was messed up…”

“You think?” I respond, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

Luna scrunches up her nose and glares at me. “Your anger is not helping the situation. You need to calm down and think all of this through. A lot just happened. You have seen your mother for the first time in thirty years. Let’s start with that.”

I shake my head. “What about it?”

“Well, what are you feeling?”

I groan. “Numb. I’m feeling numb.”

She purses her lips. “Okay, I can understand the feeling. It’s got to be hard, knowing what she went through. Losing her the way you did.”

I swallow around the sudden lump in my throat. “Yeah.”

Luna pulls me into a hug, and I curl my arms around her. Her warmth, energy, and love fill up all the emptiness I had before her entry into my life.

“Are you going to be okay? This was a lot to take in, and you’re planning to go through the harvesting process, which is a whole other big task ahead.”

I sigh and inhale the scent of her strawberry shampoo. “As long as I have you, I can face anything. Just don’t ever leave me.”

She leans back and cups my cheeks. “Grant. You’re never getting rid of me.” She stands on tiptoe to kiss me. I take her mouth, and I take it deep. I drink from her lips, sucking in all of her goodness and light, allowing her essence to blanket me for the challenges ahead. And my lamb gives it freely.

I rub my forehead against hers. “I love you.”

She hums and kisses my lips briefly. “I love you too.”

We stand there for a long time in the empty hospital stairwell, embracing one another and reinforcing our connection.

Luna runs her fingers through my hair. “What’s next?”

“We go to Hematology and find out what we need to do.”

“And then?”

“Then I pay a visit to my father.”

* * *

The process for a bone marrow donation is unbelievably easy and the hospital top notch. They wasted zero time in getting me scheduled for the next morning. It would be an in-and-out, same-day procedure. I’d go in at eight o’clock and then be released late that afternoon. I’d be asleep for the procedure. The doctors would begin preparing Greta for transplant, and we’d know in the coming weeks if the transplant worked.

I was eager to get the show on the road and restless as Luna held me in her arms in our bed.

“I’m glad you decided to wait to see your father.” Luna runs her hand up and down my bare abs.

“Me too. I need to be clearheaded for the procedure tomorrow, and there’s too much to say to him. My thoughts and feelings are too raw and disjointed to make any sense. Plus, I’m more worried about getting this done for my sister than anything else. She needs to be my focus right now.”

Luna nods. “What you’re doing for Greta is amazing. You know that, right?”

I sigh and place my hand on her arm. “I’m doing what anyone in my situation would do.”

Luna shifts up onto her elbow so I can see her face in the moonlight shining into our loft.

“That simply isn’t true. Not every man would step up, especially for someone he barely knows.”

I run my fingers through her silky hair. “She’s my sister,” I say, as if that answers all.

She frowns. “Yes, but you didn’t know until recently. And with everything going on… I just… I think you need to realize what you are doing is commendable. Honorable. And I, for one, am proud of you.”

I grip her around the waist and tug her up and on top of my body so she’s plastered to my chest. “Thank you for being here with me. For being you. For not leaving my side. You’re my rock, Luna. I could never have maintained my sanity without you in my life.”

She dips her head forward and kisses me before speaking. “And you’re never going to be without me.” She moves to kiss me again, but I cup her cheeks, stopping her forward progress.

“Do you mean it?”

Her nose scrunches up in the cute way I adore. “Mean what?”

“That I’m never going to be without you?”

She smiles wide. “Of course. I love you with my whole heart, with my entire being. You’re my one, Grant Winters.”

“Then let’s make it official.” My heart speeds up, and butterflies take flight in my stomach as I wait for her to answer.

She sits up, and I move my hands to her waist as she rests her palms flat against my chest. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I want you with me forever. As my woman. As my one and only. As my wife.”

She gasps. “Grant…”

“I’m serious. I want to marry you. When all of this blows over and we have some breathing room, I want to make you my wife.” The decision was so easy it just came out.

I want Luna as my wife.

“You’re not kidding?” She shakes her head, her curls falling over her bare breasts, her nipples poking through the fiery strands like a carnal game of hide and seek.

I shake my head. “No. When I know what I want, I chase after it until I get it, make it mine.”

Her voice is low when she replies. “You don’t have to chase me. I’m already yours.”

I lick my lips. “Prove it. Marry me.”

“It’s too soon. We’ve only been together a couple months.”

“Luna, you can’t put a time stamp on love. I want you with me until the day I take my last breath. I want you to bear my children. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”

“Sweet Shiva. Now you’re planning to get me pregnant!” She gasps and puts a hand to her heart.

“Lamb, do you want to be with me forever?” I ask, my heart in my throat, my entire soul open, bared to her, waiting for her to accept the gift.

“Yes,” she whispers but loud enough so I can hear her perfectly.

“Then what does the amount of time between us matter? It only matters the amount of time we have left and that we not waste it.”

She smiles wide. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. My mother is going to freak.”

I grin. “Does that mean what I think it means? You’re going to marry me?”

Luna places both of her hands on either side of my head, plasters her chest to mine, and whispers against my lips, “Yes. Yes, I will marry you, Grant Winters.”

I lock my arms around her and roll us both until I’m hovering over her. “I’m going to make you so happy.” I kiss her lips and pull back, smiling.

“You already do. Just by being you. Now come here. I want my fiancé to make love to me.” She tugs at my back and neck to bring me closer.

“Anything you want, lamb. It’s yours.”