Rune I hadn’t been able to skitter away from the community center fast enough, the emotions churning inside almost too much for me to handle, but, of course, I didn’t have a choice in the matter. It felt amazing to have access to my own mode of transport once more, and I said a silent thank you to Sam and the guys for their aid in getting my car back into my possession, simultaneously cursing Kiki for her constant undependability. Having kids, especially one that required a booster seat to travel safely, made it more difficult to accomplish certain tasks, but I would never regret taking on the challenge, Roman and Isla being my greatest sources of joy during this tumultuous time in my life. My cheeks remained bright red the whole way back to our house, the memory of Micah and Shanes’ lips replaying in my head on a reel, but I knew nothing could come of my mounting attraction for the time being. Roman and Isla had to remain my sole focus, and I knew returning to Griffin Fashion wo
Rune Micah’s chocolate-brown orbs flashed as I met his eyes, and I melted at the fervor burning bright for two point five seconds as Elisabeth exited in a huff, Amy’s annoying voice drowned out by the power of the moment. Then, he’d opened his mouth, reminding me why I was pissed at him most of the time as he said, “Follow me, Ms. Hendrix,” snapping his mouth shut before he spun on his heel, totally disregarding Amy in the process. The sound of my last name on his lips sent a sharp pain through me as he appeared to be adhering to my request for everything to remain professional inside the office. I didn’t have any plans to continue a relationship with Shane or Micah, but something about Micah’s overt formality left me disappointed. Amy’s hurt feelings were the last thing on my mind as I shadowed the new CEO out of the room, her blatant indifference when Elisabeth had been accosting me at the forefront of my brain as I left. Micah didn’t slow, and I was having trouble keeping up w
Shane Rune didn’t raise her voice or hurl unfair accusations at me, and I was grateful her reaction to my idea had gone better than I’d expected. Just the same, the flat tone as she’d delivered her inquiries had wormed its way deep, and I couldn’t wholly refute her snap judgment. She didn’t know much about my past, so it was easy for her to see the nice clothes, fast car, and luxury apartment I had in the wrong light, and I couldn’t blame her for the upset she’d tried to smother at my proposal. I’d seen how passionate she was about the center, and it was part of the reason I’d made up my mind. Yet, an even larger piece of me desired to do some good for kids who might be going through tough situations at home, well aware of how dire a need that could be for some. So, no, I didn’t know how this particular rec center served the community, but I was familiar with the positives it could create within our youth from my experience on the other side of the fence. Moreover, her reaction o
Micah It only took a few minutes to put away the leftovers and load the dishwasher, but that regrettably left me with plenty of time to fret, to overthink and analyze how I could help change Rune’s opinion of me. Although it might seem a bit odd for me to be doing the dishes when I had more than enough money to last me a lifetime, my parents had instilled the value of hard work in both Shane and I’s brains. They had somehow managed to juggle it all without the extra help when I was growing up, and I was more comfortable without somebody invading my personal space. Not to mention, Shane cooked better than anyone I knew, so it made sense for us to do everything ourselves. There was something to be said about my friend’s ingenuity when crafting a meal, but, musing to myself, I think that I relished the sometimes-exotic dishes he tested out the most. When I couldn’t find anything else to keep me occupied, I gave up on finding a distraction, pouring myself a stiff drink instead before
Micah Sara called the second Rune had pushed through the double glass doors into the main office, and I was on my feet in an instant, determined to meet her before she made it to her own office. I’d asked the receptionist to have Rune come see me before she did anything else, but there was no guarantee that the stubborn woman would listen, disregarding her assertion to the contrary on the voicemail. Be that as it may, I was stunned when I’d strolled through the doorway, almost running into the woman in question in the process of pulling the door shut behind me as she hurried in my direction. Part of me had expected her to try to dodge me all day as she had on Wednesday, but I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong in this matter, though I supposed passing by my office was the fastest way to get to her own if I really thought about it. Still, Rune’s hands were clearly full, and I was shocked she hadn’t spilled a drop from the cup she was precariously balancing with her right arm pres
Rune I cringed as Micah did a terrible job of hiding his emotions, the green monster on his back as plain as day as he spat out, “Avery? As in the Avery that’s a designer and editor here?” “We’re one and the same, boss man.” Avery replied, grinning rakishly as he shot me a wink. Avery and I weren’t best friends by any means, but he’d been my ally when Amy and Elisabeth were crammed in here with us, leaving a shared bond behind that kept us close. We both had hectic schedules that required flexibility, albeit for different reasons, so it wasn’t often that we ended up working in the office together. I still couldn’t believe Micah had found a way to make this happen, but I was also prepared for the uptight man I’d experienced since being reintroduced to him in a new role after sneaking out of his bed that first night. Avery tended to take things too far at times, and I didn’t miss Micah’s furrowed brow and clenched jaw in response to my friend’s disrespect. In any case, I knew Aver
Rune Neither Shane, nor I spoke as we exited the room, remaining silent as we ambled down the hallway to the elevator, but he did reach out to help me with the tote bag I was carrying that had all my work things in it. Micah stepping in to help me when I’d arrived earlier today was the last straw, our resulting conversation leaving me off kilter even now, and I’d broken down and rummaged through the lost and found for the bag to ensure I was able to make it downstairs in one trip by myself. Regardless, I didn’t argue with Shane when he offered his aid, knowing it would do no good, and the reprieve from the hefty weight was welcome. However, I cleared my throat once we were enclosed within the diminutive metal box, risking a glance up at him as I admitted, “My car is okay, but thank you for the offer to take a look at it.” He was already observing me, and the intensity in his deep brown orbs ensnared me as he answered vehemently, “Your car is on its last leg, baby, and I’m not conv
Shane I had hoped to be able to get some firsthand experience when I’d headed to the rec center on Thursday, but Tom, the man in charge from what I could ascertain, had put a swift halt to my unrealistic expectations. To be fair, I’d been thinking about the possibilities of what we could accomplish together with Rune’s help, but I hadn’t considered one of the most important things. They had to run a background check. It didn’t matter who I was or how much money my company was donating to them. I respected the hell out of Tom for how they took the safety of the kids into consideration, and I knew then and there that there was no better place for Griffin Fashion to invest in giving back to the community. Even so, the day wasn’t wasted, and I was able to hash out some details with Tom without the distractions of kids running around or a stunning blonde stealing my focus. It didn’t come as a surprise when he informed me that he would be retiring soon, but we were amazingly of like mi
Shane “So, are you guys going to tell me the whole story now?” I asked once Isla and Roman were tucked into bed, having already ensured the house was secure earlier in the evening with my shadow’s help. Roman seemed to have taken a real shine to me, and I was determined to be the best role model I could be for him, knowing I’d done a shit job of emanating that with my sister. I ran through the things I’d taken note of as I’d observed the kids’ and adults’ behavior since Rune and Micah had returned home as I waited for someone to start the discussion, recalling a few worrisome thoughts I’d put a pin in until later. Rune had given her son a brief rundown of why his sister was injured, but it was obvious at the time that her explanation had been missing quite a bit. Isla evidently had a broken leg and had a few nasty bruises and scrapes that I could see, but I didn’t believe for one second that her injuries had come from her falling down the stairs unless something had caused her to
Shane Micah’s message wasn’t surprising in the slightest, and it only served to fuel the ire spreading rampant through my system. I’d never been a fan of Rune’s friend Kira, having seen what her idea of ‘watching’ little ones was from the beginning, but I’d been able to push my reserve to the side when my girl had explained how close she was with the other female and all she’d done for her. It helped that Kira had seemed to be doing better with the task the last time we’d interacted together, but I could see that my intuition had been right from the get-go. In any case, I was positive that Rune’s emotions had to be running the gamut, and I was glad that Micah was the one she’d asked to join her in the back with Isla, knowing he would be able to soothe both girls’ frayed emotions far better than I could for the time being. My go-to in stressful situations was humor, but I highly doubted that Rune and Isla would find anything funny at the moment. I’d noted a few curious looks and e
Rune The change in Kira’s features was damn near palpable after Isla revealed the truth, a truth that my former friend had evidently been hiding for a very long time. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe whatever relationship she’d had with him was new based on her reaction, but I was determined to learn everything I could about her involvement with my children’s father now that I was in the know. Derek hanging around could jeopardize what I was trying to accomplish with Roman and Isla, and there was no way in hell I was going to let that deadbeat delay my kids having a permanent stable home any longer. After years of back and forth with him stalling through the legal system, less than two weeks were remaining before he finally lost his rights altogether. He’d been nothing but a thorn in my side since Belinda had passed away, naming me as the children’s guardian, but I knew he didn’t give a shit about what happened to either child. I was well aware that he only wanted the government
Rune Shane’s words trickled through my brain, slowly registering through the fog that had set in due to all the mental uproar I’d already been experiencing so early on in the day, but the only thought running through my mind once I comprehended what he was telling us was, “What the fuck?” I saw red, and I was intent on flying out of the vehicle with only one thought seared into my head -Kiki was going to face my wrath. I barely noticed the ache the seatbelt strap caused as it dug into the flesh on my upper chest where my tank top had left it exposed, but it did briefly prevent me from advancing forward, only causing my anger to simmer in the forefront of my mind at the delay. Somehow, I managed to unbuckle the latch in my rattled state as I simultaneously flung the car door open, and then I was storming across the relatively short distance separating Kiki’s and my houses. Some small part of me recognized that I was behaving irrationally, but it didn’t take much for my ire to drown
Rune Yawning, I rubbed my hands over my face before concentrating on pouring myself another cup of coffee, feeling a slight thrill at not having had to make it myself like usual. I could already see how easy it would be to get used to having someone else around to help out, or two someone’s in my case, but there was still that voice in the back of my head that worried things were going too smoothly. Some part of me kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, having experienced near constant turmoil in my life it seemed, and nothing I told myself could make that anxiety disappear. Subtly, I glanced over to where Micah was sitting, his laptop opened at the table as he steadily worked to clear the backlog of emails that had been piling up ever since he’d been devoting more and more time to my children and I. The apprehension only continued to coil low in my belly as I realized the full extent that I was affecting my males’ lives to. It was to the point that I almost overfilled my cup w
I am so sorry I haven't been uploading. I swear I'm working on it. My life is just hectic at the moment. I lost my babysitter for standing up for my son, and I'm struggling to find another one I trust and can afford. I'm doing my best. Things are just rough for me for the time being. I've outlined the rest of this novel, but I've been too stressed to sit down and focus on what I want to write. I have to write at least 100 words to post this update, so this is me writing nonsense to meet the quota.
Micah “What messages? What’s going on guys?” Rune’s bell-like voice rung out less than a minute later, slicing through the palpable pressure in the large open area that made up the kitchen and living room. Startled, I turned from where I’d been slouched in a chair at the table, jumping to my feet as my eyes connected with Rune’s sleepy, silver-gray orbs. I was surprised Shane hadn’t noticed her arrival with his view of the hall, but I wasn’t upset that she had overheard us either, guessing I had just missed her when I’d rotated in my seat to look in the direction of where she had been dozing prior. “Good morning, sweetheart. How did you sleep?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her as I did so, and I relaxed some as she willingly accepted my gesture. Shane didn’t need me to lead by example, already moving towards our girl the instant he’d realized we weren’t alone any longer. It appeared that I needed to get my reflexes checked if this morning was anything to go by. That was twice
Micah The day had gone off without a hitch to my relief, and I was well sated with Rune resting in my arms where she belonged, Shane’s big body scrunched up on her other side. It was a tight fit for us all in her queen size bed, the mattress not having been intended for one average height woman and two men over six feet tall, but it only meant I got to hold her closer to me all night. Even so, I felt confident that Shane planned to order her a bigger bed at some point, the other male preferring to have room to stretch out as he slept, but he was wisely waiting for a less hectic moment to spring the change on Rune. We would have to have a deeper discussion about living together more permanently after she was out of danger, which I wasn’t convinced she would be until that bastard was behind bars permanently, or dead, but I was content to follow her to the ends of the earth, regardless. Thus far, she’d been resistant to any attempt on our part to aid her in any way, especially when t
Rune Shane’s lips slammed over mine in a bruising kiss, keeping my pulse rising as I felt someone’s hand glide sensuously down my side and over the curve of my hip. The positioning of it told me it was likely Micah, but I didn’t give a damn who the appendage belonged to when two calloused digits met my sopping wet center, making me whimper with the feeling of them thrusting into my heat without warning. Gasping for air, I tried to catch my breath as Shane’s attention also moved to more erogenous areas on my body, but they gave me no measure, two mouths and four hands being capable of a hell of a lot as it turned out. Heretofore, my one-on-one experiences with the men had scarcely prepared me for the intensity of the moment, and I knew I would swiftly become addicted to the feeling of ecstasy that was coursing through my body, of being at the center of their attention. Someone plucked at the taut buds my nipples had become, but I kept my eyes sealed shut, not caring which male was