BrattI woke the next day thinking of Marley.Against my will, I might add.Every time I tried to divert my thoughts away from her, I somehow wound up wondering about her ex, or wanting to do some sort of sweet gesture, or wanting to kiss her…yeah, just kiss her.When I finally worked up the nerve to come out of my bedroom and look for her, I found the guest room empty. Noah was still fast asleep in his room, likely from whatever sleep he’d lost when he’d gone to find Marley and wound up conscripting her to put him back to bed. I felt oddly disappointed as I walked out to the kitchen, finding all the dishes washed and set in the drying rack.I thought she would have at least waited to say goodbye.Just when I was about to let her fleeing sour my mood for the day, however, I found a note written in her bubbly script on the counter.Thank you for everything you did for me last night. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I put your clothes in the washer—I just figured it would be e
The weekend passed way too quickly. It wasn’t like me to think that way right at the beginning of the school year, but I felt like I’d lived an entire month in the last five days. Regardless, I’d had just the weekend I’d needed. I read romance novels, drank wine, and talked to Lana over the phone about Travis—which was more like talking to a stone wall, to be honest. Still, when my alarm went off on Monday morning for my daily jog, I ignored it. My bed was far too seductive to leave behind, and I was completely at its mercy. Even when my second alarm went off to get ready for work, I snoozed it twice. As I brushed my teeth, I wondered if I wasn’t sleeping as deeply because I was subconsciously hyper-alert after the break-ins at my house. Whatever it was, I needed to do my best to act as normally as I could, even though I felt like a zombie. I was looking forward to one thing, though—seeing Bratt when he dropped off Noah. I tried to tell myself that I wasn’t, but as I welcomed the
My heart sank, not because I didn’t want him to see me as a mother figure, but because it didn’t feel like my right to take that role. Not when things were so up and down with Bratt—not when I wasn’t even sure what I was to Bratt. I reached over and wrote my name where he asked to have it. I would just have to text Bratt later and mention the situation, explain what had happened, and why I did it. I would just tell him that I wasn’t trying to insert myself in their lives, just that I didn’t want to make Noah feel even worse. Noah seemed content with his tree and excited to color it in with all the colors of the rainbow. It was just as well, too, because recess was basically over. When the other children came into the room, he was once again the talkative, friendly boy I was used to. I was the one who had become uneasy. “Okay, that’s it—Marley, what the fuck is wrong with you?” I jerked my head up from poking my lunch around in the teacher’s lounge. I’d brought some leftover pasta
Bratt “Are you trying to tell me you miss me?” I chuckled. “Does stoic, lone wolf Travis miss little old me?” “You’re making me regret asking if you want to get an early lunch,” Travis’s annoyed voice came through my phone speaker. “It’s not my fault you’ve forgotten the age-old edict of bros before h—” “Don’t. Do not finish what you’re about to say. I know you would never imply Marley is a h—” “Wholesome kindergarten teacher?” he interrupted in turn. “What’s wrong with that? Wait, did you think…Bratt Lucas, you should be ashamed. What would your mother think?” I laughed, the sound warm and full. In the chaos of my professional life and the tasks required of me as a father, it was easy to forget that Travis and I had been best friends since boyhood. “I guess you’re right. It has been ages since we hung out just as friends and not business partners.” “Yeah. So, lunch?” “I’ve got a few errands to run first. Let’s meet up at… I don’t know. What sounds good?” “How about a steakhou
Bratt I arrived at Polar Shift Academy a few minutes before the lunch break ended. I hurried in through the front door and walked to the office. When I got there, I was relieved to see Marley there, talking to Lana in hushed tones. “Hey,” I said. Lana gave Marley a look, brows lifting, then left the office. Marley grimaced apologetically at me. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m afraid this might be my fault.” “How so?” “When I was out with Noah on the playground during recess, I saw someone and got frightened. I think he sensed my fear, so when the kids crowded me during snack time, he got really protective. I wanted to go talk to him, but…they said it wasn’t a good idea,” she said. She looked down the hall toward the infirmary and frowned. Her guilt was pretty clear on her face. I wanted to tell her to go and talk to Noah, but it probably wasn’t a good idea for her to be around him when he was already feeling territorial over her. “Don’t worry about it, Marley,” I said. “I’ll go
My thoughts were consumed with Noah as I drove home. I had never seen Noah so distressed. I hadn’t been scared when the children swarmed around me during snack time, but it was as if Noah had been frightened for me. Paulette had been so quick to shift and take Noah away, and I knew that was likely to avoid the risk of Noah biting a human child and causing a big media mess, but I wished I’d had the time to try and help him. I hoped the incident—being taken away for shifting to protect me—wouldn’t hinder or damage him in any way. I didn’t like the thought that he might associate shifting with punishment. I heaved a sigh as I turned down my street. I had to trust that Bratt would take care of his son and make sure Noah didn’t feel bad about himself. After parking in my driveway, I got out of my car with my things. I scanned my thumb with the biometric scanner and realized suddenly that it was the first time in a while that I hadn’t felt scared or had that sensation of being followed.
BrattThe kiss blew me away. It was strangely intense in its slowness.Her lips were soft and pliant, opening just enough for me to seize her lower lip between both of mine. She tasted of wine. I wanted more of it, more of her, as I traced my tongue along the curve of her full lower lip.Marley’s sigh crested sweetly out of her throat, and I swallowed it. The sound awakened a sharp hunger in me that I hadn’t felt before. My pulse hammered in my neck. I wanted to pick her up and wrap her legs around my waist and—I tore my mouth from hers, breaking the kiss.“Marley,” I said in a gentle, chastising tone. “I came over to apologize for Noah’s behavior.”She shrank away from me, dropping back down to her heels.“I’m sorry,” she squeaked.“Don’t be. I want to do more of that. Hell, I want to do more than that. But I just… I told Noah we need to be careful about expecting too much from you before you really even get to know us, and…” I trailed off, going against my own words as I stroked a
Aroused Bratt was so unlike what I was used to. When Wyatt and I made love, it was always so aggressive and demanding. He threw me around like I was a toy for him to play with. But when I pulled my shirt off and revealed myself to Bratt, it was like I was a painting in a museum that he was trying to interpret.His brows were low and heavy, his lashes almost shining in the low light. He stared for so long that I almost felt the need to hide myself away from him again. I almost did, lifting my arms from my sides to cover myself in a show of modesty. Even though I was still protected by my bra, I felt like he was staring right through me.“No. No,” he muttered. He reached up, circling my wrists, drawing them away from my breasts and pinning them to my sides. “Don’t you dare hide away from me, Marley. Don’t tease me that way.”“I’m just… worried that I… didn’t look right,” I said.“You look exactly right. There’s not a single thing wrong about you.”The intensity of his gaze was overwhelm