Arawn I can’t help the big smile grow on my face as I step into the elevator to reach Nerthus’ apartment with a fancy package under my arm. I had barely left her home after the night we had, as I couldn’t help but make a small round into the offices on this Monday morning just to get out to buy flowers, as I saw that everything was rolling out perfectly without me, or could at least. Laughter fills the air as I open the door to her apartment with my key, and the sight makes me halt in my steps. “Oh, look. That is the crazy man that filled my apartment with flowers.” Nerthus is giggling as a little girl sitting on the counter throws her hands in the air. “Fofaaas.” She chuckles cutely, apparently not being able to say flowers yet. “Yeah, so many flowers.” My heart is the last part of my body to pick up its function again before my legs do. Walking along a path that Nerthus made through the sea of roses, I reach her to kiss her. “Hi, crazy man,” Nerthus greets me, wrinkling her
Nerthus I’m wearing my happiest smile and a basket filled with muffins as I halt in front of a big wooden reception desk. My outfit consisting of a knee-long woolen skirt with a gray and beige square pattern, and a black pullover worn over a white blouse shouts ‘good girl’ from a mile away.And I really hope it will give those stuck-up people a bit of trust in a total stranger.“Good morning. I have an appointment with Mr. Johnson. If you’d be so kind to advise him that Gemma Ferguson is here.” I say in a honeyed, placated voice.The lady at the reception smiles at me and picks up the phone. “Of course, Ms. Ferguson.”I turn around to watch the interiors of the historic building as she announces me to the lucky fellow who doesn’t know about his luck yet.“Ms. Ferguson?” I jump as if torn out of my staring in awe as I look at her. “Mr. Johnson will be ready to receive you in a minute. If you’d be so kind as to take a seat, his assistant will pick you up in a bit.”“Oh, thank you very
Arawn Checking my phone, I sigh as there is still no text from Nerthus.Looks like someone wants to get a visit at all costs.The usual hostess in an elegant skirt and blouse waits for my arrival on the floor and accompanies me into the room.After years of going to the same room on the same floor, it gets kind of unnecessary in my opinion, but it is all part of the image, so I’ll ride with it.As she opens the door and I enter the room, my gaze falls on her immediately.Nerthus is sitting at the poker table wearing her hair collected in a high ponytail, showing off her delectable neck.Hearing the door close behind me, I try to shut up my running thoughts sending indecent pictures into my mind at how beautiful she is.“Where is everyone?” I ask, not able to contain my grin.Nerthus shifts and crosses her legs seductively, her red dress with a deep neckline revea
Arawn The memory of Nerthus screaming my name in pleasure while I slam into her lying on the poker table is the only thing that has me grasping onto my sanity. I finally got her to agree to come back to work for me, and I can’t wait to get out of here to make up for all the time we had lost while playing cat and mouse. I know that she was going out with her friends tonight, but even if she tried to reject me, she knows exactly that I will be waiting for her as soon as she comes home. We had been entwined into each other sharing another cigarette as we were discussing our schedules. She had rolled her eyes at it, but I could see how she had to force down her smile. My heart blooms at the thought of her being as desperate for our intimacy as I am. The look in her eyes as I told her how she was lucky enough to not be tied to a bed for me already, would be able to fuel my lust for years. I love how she overcame her discomfort with me, and I can’t wait to have her in every possible wa
Arawn I push through the crowded and sticky halls filled with thundering music to reach the catacombs and reach Bernard, who is already waiting for me with a huge grin.“Bernie,” I growl, making him laugh.He points to a steel door with his thumb, being in the best mood ever. “We had a little incident in one of our dealer rooms.”“What happened?” I ask annoyed.Rubbing his hands, he seems to have the time of his life. “Two ladies were here to buy drugs. One of our dealers was about to settle the deal with one of them when he noticed the other moving strangely. He said they were having a good time, and the beauties were even partying with him. But fortunately, he is in the business long enough to not be scammed by a pair of boobs.”I shake my head while his eyes continue to sparkle. “I still don’t know why I’m here.”“Oh, I thought you would love to see the boobs. It’s quite spectacular.” He snickers as he lowers his voice. “They are VIPs.”“VIPs?” I ask, making him nod.“Yeah, I thou
Arawn Nerthus flinches as she turns around and gets up immediately as she sees me. “Oh my God.”“You can call me all you want, woman. I’m still going to be pissed.” I growl as I slam the door close behind me.Her eyes widen as she steps towards me. “Arawn, you have to believe me that I didn’t take anything! I’m so sorry. I was being stupid.”“Shut up!” I say, and she pulls back her hands that were about to grab for me.She holds her hands to her chest as she speaks again. “I know that it isn’t an excuse, but I was tipsy, and she always gets the worst out of me.”“I told you to shut the fuck up!” I bark, making her wince.As she goes silent, I can finally force my brain to function normally again, even if her big eyes are still horribly distracting.“Want to tell me what happened?” I ask.She avoids my gaze, tugging a strand of her hair behind her ear as she nods. “We were dancing, and everything was fine. But then a guy hit on her, and she told me that she knew him because he was a d
Arawn I’m still wiping my lip as I reenter the room with the skinny woman. “So, Bridget,” I say, making her look at me annoyed. “Want to share your story with me as well? Before I let them throw your entitled ass into the East River?” She laughs, the drugs in her system blocking every function in her brain. “I have nothing to tell you.” “Fine,” I say, taking the tablet Bernard is passing me. She fidgets on her chair and bobs her leg nervously while I go through the security footage. I watch Nerthus coming into the club, and how she becomes the third wheel to her supposed friend and one of my soldiers. I have to keep myself from smiling as I watch her sipping on her drink and dancing to the music with small movements while her friend is trying to buy drugs. The footage switches as they move to the catacombs, and I know the woman already well enough to see that she is not feeling comfortable being where her friend takes her. My heart squeezes as I think how concerned she was abou
Nerthus “See you, babe! Love you!”I hear Bridget’s high-pitched voice through the door, which makes me look up. Keeping myself from answering her, I bury myself further into Arawn’s coat as I hug myself.It doesn’t take long for Arawn to open the door to my improvised cell. My smile at seeing him falls slightly as I see the angry frown on his face.“Let’s go,” he simply growls before disappearing into the hallway.Sprinting after him, I risk twisting my ankle. We exit a back door to a dark alley where there are already a few bulky men standing around, waiting for us.Reaching a black limousine, he opens the door for me to slide in before getting in after me.Just as he shuts the door behind him, the car starts rolling.He pushes out a deep sigh, and I push down the urge to speak, not wanting to interrupt him arranging the thoughts in his head.After a few moments, he clears his throat and scoots closer to lay his arm around my shoulders. “Are you still cold?”I shake my head as I le
Thank you so much, my lovelies for reading, your amazing support and for your patience as I had to take several breaks to finish this one. I hope you loved Nerthus' and Arawn's love story and will be following me for the sequel. XoXo, Shelagh
Lenore Her high-pitched giggles sound like razor blades in my ears as my gaze is fixed on the huge diamond sparkling on her finger. “Well, you will surely understand, right?” Jason asks with a stupid grin as he shoves the hand of his new fiancée under my nose. “We weren’t compatible anyway.” I force up a smile, caressing my arms as I hug myself against the cold. “Of course, you are so cute together.” “Thank you so much,” Gina squeals in her fake happy voice, putting her hand on her chest. “It was so important for me that you would understand.” This scene is so telling. Also, because I’m standing in the open, freezing to death in my cute dress while the snowflakes fall on me, sticking to my hair and melting into my already freezing skin.My best friend and my ex-boyfriend, on the other hand, are standing beneath the roof of the entrance to his house, smiling at me like it’s about to be Christmas.And luckily it is. I gave the best days of my life to this man, my high-school love,
Danny “Is this thing on?” I clear my throat as I tap on the microphone, smiling uncomfortably. “Hey everyone.” The guests are staring up at me and I squirm on my feet as I push out a deep breath. I have never spoken in front of so many people and my throat feels raspy. “As my brother asked me to be his best man, I felt honored, but the first thing I asked him was, ‘Don’t you have any friends?’” A low chuckle goes through the crowd, and I wet my lips with my tongue. “Of course, I know that he has a lot of friends, but he wanted me as his brother to do it. And thank God, Bernie was not too offended about it to help me with the planning of the bachelor party.” “Hear, hear!” Bernard lifts his glass, cheering loudly, getting other guests to join him. I play with my notes, my nervousness increasing as I feel my throat close. “Well, the bachelor party was great. Sorry, Amber, but there were a lot of beautiful girls.” Amber laughs, the diamond pins holding up her hair sparkling in th
Arawn“This is not fair! You can’t treat me like this.” Amanda screams at the top of her lungs, making me close my eyes exhausted.“Well, why don’t you go ahead and sue me?”Her theatrical gasp must cost her so much air that I’m surprised she doesn’t faint.“I hate you!” She screams even louder. “I never want to see you ever again!”So dramatic.It has been quite a while and I still struggle to adjust to this ‘love topic’.All because of that woman.Fifteen years have passed since I asked Nerthus to be my wife, and claimed she just said yes because of her job.I might have her punished for this.But she made me pay severely anyway.“Well, what a shame that you are stuck with me, isn’t it, Amanda?”“I hate you! I hate you!”Groaning, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “You keep repeating yourself. We already figured it out that far, didn’t we, my love?”The shrill scream that she is used to producing during her tantrums risks bursting my eardrums.Well, my fucking fault for thinking I coul
NerthusMy birthday was more than memorable. Especially because after getting proposed to by the love of my life, I got to party my entry into a new life-year with my friends. I drank way too much, fearing I would have spoiled my chance of a tasty breakfast. “I’m out!” I hear Danny shout before the door slams close. Groaning, I fight myself out of bed, desperately needing a cup of coffee. As I reach the kitchen, a strange sensation rises in me. I notice that there is no staff around whatsoever. Not even the usual bodyguard is scurrying around my feet and I guess that Danny left with Goldie to go to the dog school, making the house awfully silent. I tie my morning gown tighter around my waist, concentrating on refilling the water tank of my coffee machine. My heart drops as I hear footsteps nearing, but I don’t turn around. Pressing the button to get the coffee to start flowing, I ignore my body shivering in anticipation as Arawn puts his hands on the counter, caging me in. “I
Nerthus - Six months later I take a sip of my coffee, hugging my denim jacket closer as I watch the children run around the statue of Alice in Wonderland. Thinking about how my life has changed in the last year, I nearly can’t believe my luck and I push down the urge to ask myself how I deserved this kind of life. So many things have happened in these six months and it is just crazy how I’m just living my days with a partner in crime, an adopted boy and a stolen dog. As they had liquidated my uncle’s and aunt’s assets, and as they couldn’t get hold of my cousin, I got nominated as their heir. First, I didn’t want to have nothing to do with it, but with Arawn’s and Danny’s support, I got to the house where I lived before I came to New York and we searched for something that I would want to keep before he arranged for the clean-up and the sale of the house. Naturally, I didn’t want to keep anything. But as we searched the house, Danny found a hidden safe where there were various docu
Nerthus It takes my lungs a few seconds to fill with enough air to push out a horrified scream. But it actually feels like it takes an eternity. Lizzy looks at us with a blank look before she sinks to the floor, collapsing in her own pool of blood. Arawn steps towards her with his gun still pointed and picks her gun up. “Are you alright?” he asks in our direction as he pushes the gun into the belt in the back of his pants. Danny nods, exhaling a deep breath, and I loop my arm around his, hugging him closer. “Let’s sit down. Shall we?” He slumps to the ground nearly immediately, tearing me with him. Nodding once again, he lets his shoulders slump and I turn my head to watch Arawn crouch down before me. Cupping my chin gently, he turns my head to inspect my face. “The ambulance is already on its way. I called Detective Ramirez. Are you feeling well enough to wait for them? Or shall I drive you to the ER?” “I’m fine,” I say, my voice nearly failing me as sobs rise in my throat.
Nerthus The first thing I feel as I wake up is the cold surface I’m lying on. Turning my head to the side, I wait for my sight to focus while I notice that I can’t move. I seem to be constricted by ropes that are tying me to the table and I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe. My clothes are missing, my body shaking as I’m only dressed in my lingerie and I dread the moment when we will find out why we are in this shitty situation. My panic is crushing my throat, my breathing getting heavy as I try to pull at the ropes constricting me on the shiny surface. Checking the room, I see Danny lying next to me. He is bound to a table as well but seems to be still knocked out, and for a moment, I’m glad as I couldn’t take his desperation which would be adding to my panic. The gas must have been inducted into the room on purpose to knock us out and I fight hard not to faint at the thought. I groan, turning my head to the other side as I hope it will reduce the pulsating pain in my skull.
Nerthus “Get him off me!” I scream pushing the dead body from me but failing miserably. Danny scurries around him a few times before he decides on what to do and how to get hold of the body the best way. With a groan, he pushes him off me, making me take a deep breath. “Oh, my God.” He remains standing, staring at the dead man with a void look while I drag myself over the ground to get to the gun he had kicked out of my hand. “Are you alright?” I ask as I sit up with a pained groan, and Danny nods. Laying the gun into my lap, I massage my hand as I take another deep breath. “I think he might broke my hand too.” Sighing, I look up while I let my shoulders slump. I watch Danny while my desperation still streams through me, and I can’t seem to be able to push it down. I know exactly that there is more where he came from. Danny has his gaze still directed to the dead man, his look is flowing into the void, and I gulp as I think about how I must get him out of this dark place as s