“I know.” Kaelin smiled briefly.

Mom sighed. “That’s not entirely true,” she said. “Hookers…well…I hope you never have to resort to that. But…” She held up a hand. “It’s none of my business. But it did disturb me again that something like that happened. I could kick myself, but I did have a moment where I was annoyed at you for acting so irresponsibly.”

Kaelin covered her mouth with her hand.

“But that’s all it was,” Mom continued. “It wasn’t life or death or anything to get so worked up about.”

This was freaking him out. He rubbed the back of his neck, glanced at Nick and Kaelin, who both took it all in, trying to keep their faces expressionless, apparently. Though when his eyes met Kaelin’s he saw a hint of a smile.

“But most of all, I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.” Her voice caught. “I wanted to tell you last weekend. I was looking forward to you coming home, so I could finally tell you how proud I am of all that you’ve accomplished. Your life was spiraling out of control, and I’m so proud of what you’ve made of yourself. I could see how bright you were, how creative, how talented. I didn’t know what you were going to end up doing…”

“Neither did I,” Tyler said dryly.

She smiled, eyes shining. “But I wanted you to have the best life you could. To make the most of yourself. That’s all any mother wants, I think. I just didn’t do a good job of telling you that, I guess.”

“Mom.” His chest ached and emotions swirled inside him.

“I’m proud of you. And I love you. It hurt me to see you so angry at people who love you, just because you think you’re not worthy of their love.” She glanced at Kaelin, and then, surprisingly, at Nick. “But you are. And I think…I hope…maybe you’re figuring that out.”

Tyler didn’t know what to say.

“We’re trying to show him, Mrs. Wirth,” Kaelin said softly.

Mom turned to Kaelin and studied her face. “And you, dear…have you figured things out?”

“I think so.” She smiled.

Mom touched Kaelin’s cheek, her smile full of warm affection. “I’m so glad, dear. I always had this feeling that you weren’t entirely happy. I hated to think that you were going to end up feeling like…” She hesitated. “End up feeling unsatisfied.”

“You’re okay with…this?” Kaelin asked. “With us?”

“I am if you love him.”

Kaelin nodded. Christ. Tyler scowled. She’d told Nick she loved him, she’d told his mom she loved him, but she still hadn’t told him. But then, he hadn’t told her yet either. Suddenly Tyler felt a little less afraid of that and some of the tension eased out of him.

Mom looked at him, fiercely. “And you. Don’t hurt her. You may be too big for me to spank, but you’ll hear from me if you do that. Understand?”

“Yes, Mom.” Her protectiveness of Kaelin startled him, warmed him inside, but not as much as the way she stood up to him. Jesus. It really did make him feel—strangely—loved.

“I should go.” She set down her cup on the counter. She paused. “Do you think I could have a hug?”

Tyler’s feet felt frozen to the ground. His throat closed up and he tried to swallow. It was hard to get past all the old hurt in just a few minutes. No, it was impossible. But the look on his mom’s face, so vulnerable, so tender, wrenched at his heart, and he moved around the small counter and took her in his arms. She hugged him fiercely back.

“You will never know how much I regret the last ten years,” she said, her voice clogged with tears. “How I wish I’d been smarter or stronger…”

“It’s okay, Mom. I could have done things differently too.” His throat tightened and he closed his eyes and hugged her. “And maybe…” It killed him to say it, but… “Maybe what you did was for the best. For me.”

She drew back, eyes wet but a smile on her face. She nodded. “You were a child, Tyler. Don’t blame yourself for how you reacted. But now, it takes a man to say something like that. You’re a good man, Tyler.” She patted his cheek. “Okay. I have to get to the airport.”

“Are you driving? How did you get here?”

“I have my car. I’ve arranged long-term parking for it. I’ll be in touch. I’ll email you from Sabina.”

“Okay. Geez, Mom. Take care of yourself. Are you sure…” The idea of his mom flying half way around the world, to a strange country, all by herself, suddenly bothered him.

“I’m sure.” She turned to Kaelin and opened her arms for a hug, and Kaelin hugged her too. Then she turned to Nick and got another hug. Drawing back, she smiled up at him. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to know everything, but…I want you to be happy too, Nick.”

He nodded, his silvery gray eyes shining, a bemused smile on his mouth.

When she’d left, the three of them stood there looking at each other.

“Whoa,” Tyler said. He felt a little…drained. But exhilarated. Powerful. As if he could take on the world and win. He looked at Nick. “We’re not taking that Healthy Solutions account.”

Nick’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

Tyler headed down the hall. “I’m going back to bed.” He shot them both a grin over his shoulder.

Nick stomped down the hall after him. “Where the hell did that come from?” he yelled.

Tyler stripped off his jeans and jumped on the bed. “I was thinking about it yesterday.”

“You’re fucking nuts, man,” Nick said, but he smiled and unzipped his shorts. Kaelin walked in behind him, shaking her head.

“I thought you didn’t like lying around in bed all day,” she said.

“I’m not planning to just lie around. C’mere, sweet baby. Nick and I want to do all kinds of wicked things to you.”

She kept his shirt on and climbed up between them. “Oh yay. I like wicked things.”

His chest expanded and he glanced at Nick, who smiled too.

“You know there is something I want you to do,” Kaelin said, stretching out on the bed. “I want you to tie me up.”

Tyler’s dick leaped and he licked his lips. “Uh…sure, babe.”

“I mean, tie me up and do wicked things to me.” She held his gaze meaningfully.

He stared at her, heart thudding. “You mean…”

“Yes.”

“I can’t…”

“Tyler.” She reached for his hand and inserted her fingers between his, curling them together. “I trust you enough to let you tie me up. Do you trust me enough to do it?”

His heart swelled up so huge he thought it might explode out of his chest and he closed his eyes against the wave of emotion washing over him. Yeah, hell yeah, he trusted her. After what she’d done for him, he trusted her with his life, and he’d always trusted Nick.

“I love you, Kaelin,” he said hoarsely, giving in to his last fear. “Yes, I trust you. I trust you and love you. He looked at Nick. “Both of you.”

For a guy who’d never thought he was worth being loved by anybody, now he had two people who loved him. Maybe he’d actually start believing he deserved it, wasn’t sure why he was so lucky, but he was so damn grateful, and he planned to spend the rest of his life showing them that. Starting right now, giving Kaelin what she wanted.

He could do that. He could tie her up. He was into that, had always liked the control, the power. He knew the trust required for her to let herself be bound. It took even more trust for her to admit and ask for what she really wanted, putting her at her most vulnerable. He recognized the power he had over her because of that. But he also recognized the deep responsibility it gave him.

He looked at Nick, at the love and trust in his eyes, and recognized the same truth. A sense of strength and a deep desire to live up to that responsibility filled him, like water in a well, seeping into every crevice of his being.

Loving and trusting someone had always seemed to him to be the ultimate vulnerability. But now he could see that loving and trusting someone wasn’t just the ultimate vulnerability—it was the ultimate strength. That in finally letting himself love and be loved, he was freeing himself from the worst kind of bondage. That the exchange between the three of them made them all vulnerable–but made them all stronger.