Neil takes another breath. Then, like it pains him, he says, “I’m drawn to you… in a way I don’t fully understand.” I blink once, twice, as I try to let my brain process the words. It’s taking a good long while. Neil motions to Archer. “Archer is too.” Now, I’m doubly confused. Triply, when Ar
Steven leaves first. Then Archer, with Beau behind. Beau winks at me as he passes. I ignore him, feeling too emotionally raw to interpret whatever he thinks is about to happen here. I highly, highly doubt that Neil feels up for any kind of sexual intimacy. Once Beau’s out the door, he closes it
“Sorry for tasting like silver,” he says. “I can’t tell,” I say honestly. Without a wolf of my own, I don’t notice. Maybe if I was young like Mia, with a vulnerable immune system, I would feel a sting of pain in Neil’s presence. As it is, at my age without a wolf, I feel only his lips. “I might wa
“Promise me you will never approach my father,” Neil says. His eyes hold mine prisoner, the intensity in his so captivating, I can’t look away. “Never speak to him. Even if you are summoned, do not go.” This all seems a bit extreme. I know he’s a major asshole, but… “I’m pretty sure it’s illegal
Neil is still sound asleep beside me, gently snoring. I’m hesitant to leave his side. He looks so peaceful in sleep. But then I hear Mia again and my mind is made up. Carefully, I extract my limbs from around Neil, and roll out of bed. I wait a moment as I stand, half expecting Neil to rouse, bu
Beau leans back and looks at me, affronted, like I’ve horribly offended him. “Oh, I see what’s happening here.” “Good,” I say, grateful that he’s finally come into some self-awareness. It is incredibly inappropriate to take a baby into a bar to meet a random hook-up date. “You’re jealous,” he sa
I focus on that thought, that feelings are out of the equation entirely, and take Mia back to the playroom. Unfortunately, that thought doesn’t block out the burning discomfort in my chest. I set Mia down near her blocks then quickly check my front and profile views in the nearby view. My boobs ar
The longer it takes Steven to answer, the worse I feel for bothering him with this kind of question. It’s insecure, for one thing, which goes against my nature generally. Freaking Beau makes me feel like I’m on unequal footing sometimes. It isn’t fair of me to push that onto Steven to deal with. “
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