Mia and my laughter seems to have broken some of the tension between Neil and me. He still seems a bit off, like he’s distracted and maybe uncomfortable, but he’s not as angry anymore. That feels like a win. He passes Mia back to me. I finish toweling her off, then set her down on the changing tab
“Any weakness that Mia exhibits will be a reflection on all of us,” Neil says. “But mostly me.” I can see now, the pressure he’s under. It doesn’t change anything, but I can at least see it. “I hope you understand.” “I don’t really, not exactly. But thank you for telling me.” I sigh. “I want t
That night, I’m heading to the kitchen to prepare Mia’s late night meal. She hasn’t woken up yet, I’m holding her baby monitor. But I expect her fussing at any moment. This, at least, is generally predictable and something Neil and I added to our schedule. Which is part of the reason I’m surprised
Later, I go to the bank and take out the money Tide needs. I want to save Tide, but I’m also pissed at the brothers. To hell with what they think. I’m going to do what I think is right, forget the consequences. I head to class and afterwards, pull Tide aside to give him the money. It’s in a thick
Neil walks around me to approach Tide. He doesn’t ask, doesn’t say a word. He simply rips the envelope from Tide’s hands and gives it back to me. Tide whimpers in response. That pathetic little noise seems to be what finally triggers Neil’s voice. “You are the lowest kind of low. Here you are te
So I don’t argue that point. “I understand now why you thought to sell your clothes, but you need to learn not to trust people so readily. I’ll help you. You can come to me and I’ll tell you who can be trusted.” “I can trust my own instincts.” “Can you? Because you nearly trusted Tide.” I hu
Angela. Neil’s girlfriend. Supposedly in name only, what with her regularly fucking Beau. Not that Neil knows about that. Or does he? It’s hard to tell. Neil immediately releases his hold on my arm. He steps away from me an inch or two. I feel embarrassed but I’m not sure why. Despite my horny t
He’s been cruel to me. I can’t forget that. Even now, he’s saying what we shared was nothing. He isn’t worthy of me. He doesn’t deserve me when he acts like that. But fuck it all, I still want him. I close my eyes, anticipating a kiss. It doesn’t come. In my mind, Neil presses up behind me
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