In a country of ideas, consciousness is its' citizen.

Superorganism. A biologist coined that word for our great African ant colonies, claiming that consciousness and intelligence resided not in the individual ant but in the collective ant mind. The trail of red taillights stretching to the horizon as day broke around us made me think of that term. Order and purpose must reside somewhere other than within each vehicle. That morning I heard the hum, the respiration of the superorganism. It's a sound the new immigrant hears but not for long. By the time I learned to say "6-inch Number 7 on rye with Swiss hold the lettuce," the sound, too, was gone. It became part of the what the mind would label silence. You were subsumed into the superorganism.

She cleared her throat. __ryan, I know you__e interviewed a lot of caregivers____oo many,_ Bryan shot back.She inched her chin up a notch. ____ not your typical caregiver. I__ different.__ryan laughed with no humor. __eah, I__e heard that one before__kay, impress me, Delilah Walker. What exactly makes you different?

Bryan, I know you__e interviewed a lot of caregivers____oo many,_ Bryan shot back.She inched her chin up a notch. ____ not your typical caregiver. I__ different.__ryan laughed with no humor. __eah, I__e heard that one before__kay, impress me, Delilah Walker. What exactly makes you different?

I know I'm the one who put limits on this... this thing," she said, and bit her lower lip, suddenly nervous. "But I'm pretty sure we're not quite done with each other." He looked at her for what felt like a long time. "You want another night." Still unable to take her eyes off his mouth, she didn't muzzle herself. "I want as long as it takes." He cupped her jaw, lifting her head up so that she was looking into his eyes again. "Don't make promises you can't keep." "What makes you think I can't keep it?" "Because you seem to like things one night at a time," he said in that low, sexy voice. "But no way is one more night going to be enough.

I'm ready," she promised. She kissed his jaw and then rubbed her cheek against it, letting out a low hum of arousal at the feel of his stubble on her skin. He had a scent that every single one of her senses responded to. The texture of his skin, the taste of his tongue, the latent strength in his hands - everything about him did it for her. "I want this," she said. "I want you.