One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide. – Brene Brown
Jolene stepped out of the Family Advocacy Center and looked up at the sky. She closed her eyes and soaked in the sunshine with a small smile. Reaching up, she touched the spider web necklace that she had yet to ask Neo to remove. The weight of it brought her comfort. The little spider gave her confidence.The hair on the back of her neck prickled as she felt someone close to her. Then there was a small breeze, and she smelled the cologne that engulfed her at night. Her smile widened and when she opened her eyes, she was looking up at Neo.“Shouldn’t you be at work?”“I’m the boss.” He shrugged as he smiled down at her. “I get to do whatever I want.”Jolene laughed because she knew that he was lying. He might not be in the office, but he would still be working. While he had been waiting on her, he had probably been on his phone orLet yourself be the person you’ve secretly always wanted to be. – Troye SivanNeo unlocked the door and reset the alarm once he and Jolene were inside. After the alarm chirped, the lights began to come on with the different sections lit up one at a time. Low lights along the floor and ceiling filled the hallway that they were standing in. Small green lights above the doors indicated that the reems were all available.Which was obvious since the club was not open yet.“Pick a door.” Neo encouraged.Jolene took a deep breath and opened the door closest to her. As soon as her hand grabbed the handle, Neo realized he should have suggested any door other than this one. A shiver ran down her spine as she looked at the stainless-steel room.“It’s for blood play. Not my thing, but we have a few members who enjoy it.” Neo shrugged. “Might want to skip that one” he pointed to the door across the hall and the one next to it, “and that one.”“What are they?” she asked cl
When you’re scared but still do it anyway, that’s brave. – Neil GaimanNeo saw the disappointment in her eyes when he told Jolene that they were not going to play. The fact that she was disappointed was a good sign. The fact that she was admitting to being wet for him was an even better sign.Grinning at her, he kissed her lips with little nibbles. “But we won’t always play.”“Oh…” she sighed into the kiss.“Do you want to go home?”“No… Alpha.” Trying it out, she decided that she liked the way it sounded.A low growl emanated from his throat as he pulled her closer to him. “I want to watch you strip for me.”“Yes.” She breathed out just before his mouth attacked hers. The bite to her bottom lip was harder than usual and she gasped. Taking advantage of this, his tongue forced itself inside her mouth to run along her teeth and entice her own tongue into a dance.Neo pulled back and looked up at the dark ceiling. Pressing her head to his chest and menta
Your crown has been bought and paid for. Put it on your head and wear it. – Dr. Maya AngelouNeo’s phone rang lighting up a small area in the darkened room. Carefully disentangling himself from Jolene, he reached for the offending device on the bedside table. Reese’s name flashed across the screen, and he clicked the green button.“Yeah.” He whispered.“I wake you up?” Reese laughed.“Not all of us are vampires.” Neo informed his quietly.“Yeah, yeah.” The other man laughed. “You do realize that it’s after ten in the morning.”“It is not.” After they had cuddled in the purple and black room at the club, he had put them in a shower and then they went and ate lunch. Afterwards, they went back to the big house. He checked in with Shelby, her office was now set up here and she enjoyed being around the guys again. The warehouse was a total loss for the building. But the safe rooms and underground firing range were both still standing. The plan was to tur
Life doesn’t get more real than having a newborn at home. - Eric ChurchJaxon walked into the nursery and found Bunny standing next to the crib looking down at their sweet little mermaid. Ariel was laying on her back with the blanket pulled up around her chest. Her short curly hair was creating a small black crown around her milk chocolate skin. Gentle sucking motions on her lips and the occasional twitch of a limb was the only movement from the sleeping baby.Wrapping his arms around Bunny, Jaxon pulled her into a gentle hug. “What are you thinking?”“I feel guilty.” Bunny admitted as tears pooled in her eyes.“You shouldn’t.” he assured her as he kissed her neck. “We talked about this. It’s best for her. It’s best for you.”“I know. But what if she needs me?”“Bunny, if anything happens, the daycare will call you. They’re professionals.”She scoffed. “I worked at a daycare in college. Don’t give me that shit.”“And we checked out every daycare in to
Fifth General Order of the Navy: To quit my post only when properly relievedIt had been tradition for as long as Dean could remember. And whenever her mom had been gone, it had been Reese who did it. But now, her mom was gone forever. And Reese had a wife and babies. And JD was gone.Looking at the ring on her finger, she smiled through her silent tears. He had promised to come home to her. Had said that this was only temporary. That he would always come back to her.Mary had made the same promises.Dean knew how those promises meant nothing to the universe. It didn’t care about teenage girls who just wanted to know that she was loved.Her body shook with a silent sob and Monster moved closer to her and nuzzled her with his snout. She wrapped an arm around his body and held him close.Lost in her own thoughts and tears, she did not hear the bedroom door open. She was only vaguely aware of the bed dipping behind her as a large body lay down behind her. A lou
If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you. – Zig ZiglarWalking through the halls that JD had walked through for all four of his high school years was conflicting for Dean. There was the comfort of being surrounded by those who knew him. And annoyance at constantly being asked how he was, where he was, what he was doing.Boot camp.Boot camp.Boot camp.Seriously, didn’t any of these people watch any military movies? The montage of videos for the boot camp scenes never showed the recruits traipsing through a field of wildflowers with the drill sergeant riding a rainbow and glitter farting unicorn. The image conjured in her head had her snickering in English. Maybe that would be her answer to the next person who asked what JD was doing.Then as she listed to the teacher go over the reading list, she found herself wondering, what did the Navy call their drill sergeants? She was certain that they we
It’s hard to see things when you are too close. Take a step back and look. – Bob RossReese turned and looked at the mural that Dean had painted on the wall behind his desk. For the past month, he had been trying to find the zombie. He had been nose to wall over just about every inch of the wall. Still, he could find nothing.Grabbing his phone he looked to see if she had responded to his text.You don’t have to tell me where the zombie is, but give me a hntHint. Hnt should have been hintThere still was no response.“Teenagers.” He complained out loud.“Give them an inch and they swim all over the ocean.” Gigi said from the doorway.“Okay, Sebastian.” He chuckled as he turned around to face her.She laughed as she propped herself against the doorframe. “That was my mom’s favorite quote for the longest time. And if you asked her, she had teenagers for the longest time.”“I just realized; I’m going to be seventy when these three will graduate
Sixth General Order of the Navy – To receive, obey and pass on to the sentry who relieves me, all orders from the Commanding Officer, Command Duty Officer, Officer of the Deck and Officers and Petty Officers of the Watch only.Dean sat in the window seat of the private plane watching the land below them grow further and further away. She smiled as she thought about when she and her mom flew to Washington D.C. Her mom had pointed at the baggage handlers.“Those guys are the most important members of the crew.”“Why?” Dean had asked, expecting some philosophical explanation since her mom was notorious for making sure that her daughter knew that fancy titles did not mean that the person was more important than anyone else.“They make sure the pilot has clean underwear.”Laughter bubbled up, even now as grief washed over her. Reaching down, she gently touched her bracelet flipping open the heart. Her mom smiled at her from the small picture. Swiping at her tears, she