As I stand with the Hayes brothers in our makeshift classroom for that week’s Nanny Lessons, I feel incredibly awkward. This is the absolute last place I want to be. I hoped to avoid the brothers as much as I could, possibly forever, but there is no avoiding this. At least they all showed up, even
I move toward Archer first, since he has been the most combative for the entire lesson and therefore likely wants to leave first. I would have no problem with him leaving after his attempt here. But he looks at Mia and then up to me and says, “No.” Simple. Definite. Infuriating. “I know you
After biology, I’m reviewing my pop quiz with a sinking pit in my stomach. Even with Steven’s help, I’m doing poorly. With as tense as things had been, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to asking him to tutor me more. Debbie is sitting beside me, patting my back in sympathy. “It’s not all bad. I me
“Please, Chloe. You have to help me.” I shake my head. “There’s nothing I can do for you, Tide.” The Hayes brothers are still so pissed about my fight. If I even lean in the direction of one, who knows what they might do? Secretly, I wish I could tell Tide I’d be his bodyguard and help him stand
I ignore Beau’s remarks, knowing he’s just trying to get me upset. “What are you doing here?” Beau stalks closer to me, much as a shark would come nearer an injured fish in the water. He stops only a few inches away, smirking down at me. His eyes hold fire though. He’s definitely angry. But wh
I glare. “You can’t tell me who to be friends with.” He shrugs like it doesn’t matter to him either way. “I’ve said my peace. Now go straight to the Pyramid, Nanny. Mia needs you.” He tapped at his neck, over where the collar sat on mine. “We’ll be watching you.” Ug, this damn tracker! I wish I
Unacceptable? What the hell does he mean by that? “I’m allowed to have friends,” I say, parroting what I earlier told Beau. I’m taking a chance, hoping Beau was lying earlier about what’s in the contract. “Not if they disrupt the usual order of our lives.” Neil’s voice is low and annoyed. Like t
At my use of the word silly, he straightens and glares me down. “It’s your job to keep her on the schedule, Chloe. Any nanny worth her salt could guess when a baby will use the bathroom based off when they ate.” “’Any nanny worth her salt?’” The insult rankles over my nerves. I’m quickly losing pa
I’m happy because I have four hearts beating alongside mine.“Do you feel it, too?” I ask. “My connection to each of you?”I blink my eyes open once more. I want to see their faces, their reactions.Neil has his hand over his own heart. “It’s strange. It’s like part of you is inside of me.”“Me, too
In the darkness of my mind, I floated, surrounded by the comforting embrace of love. Distantly, I could feel another presence, one that grew stronger and stronger, the more I focused on it: my wolf.As I thought of her, she appeared before me as if I willed her into being. Maybe I did. We are in my
Damn alpha wolves and their heightened senses.“I’ve already made my choice,” I say. “Honestly, I think I made it a long, long time ago.”Archer relaxes marginally. Steven starts to smile.Neil turns to me, worry still on his face. “You say that now, Chloe. But the pull could be strong…”“I don’t ca
The eve of my birthday, I rest in bed and stare at my ceiling. It’s late, near midnight, but I still have my bedside light on.With my feelings shared and grown with Neil, Archer, and Steven, I didn’t expect to spend any night alone, especially the one right before the day that could change everythi
I awake to a sharp knock on my bedroom door. Neil’s arm is still draped over me but some distance had inched between our hot bodies in the night. I’m able to slink out from under his arm without him waking.Naked, I quickly stop by the bathroom to throw on my fluffy bathrobe. Then, after glancing ba
They.Beau glances at me and see my incredulous look. “What do I need to go out every night? Can’t a man just enjoy staying home for a change?”“You can do whatever the hell you want,” I say.“Good, then.” Beau slumps down on the couch. He stretches out, lifting his feet up and into my lap. “Now tel
For the rest of the morning, I desperately try not to think about Neil. Whoever he’s in love with, I won’t be offended by it. The hurt I feel has nothing to do with this new person. She must be great for her to have won Neil’s affections.The hurt is my own loss, my own problem. I let my feelings fo
After Steven and I have cleaned ourselves up with a quick shower, we fall back into bed together, giggling and laughing all the way. My now, Steven has discovered a few of my tickle zones, which he is exploiting. As revenge, I touch the places I now know make him shiver.For a while, nothing seems l
His hands fumbled with the buttons of his own shirt. Such usually steady hands are rendered useless by his nervousness.“Allow me,” I tell him. I lightly bat his hands out of the way before replacing them with mine on his shirt buttons. My times with Neil have served me well. I’m able to undo all th