I woke up on top of Wick.“Not again,” I groaned, even as I burrowed deeper against him because he was really warm and comfortable.After I had returned to his room last night with full pajama pants on, underwear, and a thick cotton shirt, we’d stayed up late watching Night Court. And in the midst of coming to adore the characters—Harry T. Stone, Bull, Mac, Roz, Christine, and even Dan—I fell asleep with my head on Wick’s shoulder, only to end up on top of all of him by morning.This was becoming a routine. Seriously, Wick was going to kick me out if I kept falling asleep on him like this.Or maybe not.Freezing when I started to crawl off him, only to realize he had some serious morning wood going on, I zipped my gaze to his face, worried that I’d awoken him by moving so much.But he slept on, his mouth partially open and face tipped to the side away from me.Hurrying off him, I started to cover him with the blankets when I accidentally skimmed my gaze over his lap area and my
“So where’s the roommate tonight?”Concentrating on the screen in front of me and the levers I was shifting on the control unit I held, I waited a moment to answer until I was able to eliminate the enemy in the game that I was facing off with. Then I shot Cannon a harsh glance. “Do you really have to say it like that?”He shrugged. “So where is she?”I shrugged too as his character and mine approached another building, side by side with our weapons drawn. “I’m not her keeper.”With a snort, he kicked in the metal door of the abandoned warehouse we’d just reached and disappeared inside. “You’re seriously trying to tell me you have no idea where she is?”I went in after him, tempted to just shoot his character in the head because he was beginning to annoy me. “She said she was going out for drinks with some friends.”Cannon sent me a get-real glance. “And you believed that?”I shook my head because he was too damn distracted with staring at me to notice that someone had taken aim
Issue 5 of “Hopeless Henry”By Alice BennetTaken from the University GazetteI pounded on Reuben’s door with hate in my heart and murderous rage running through my veins. No one did to me what he’d done and got away with it.He was going to die. Today.I was going to kick his ass from this century to the next.And nothing was going to stop me from meting out his punishment and attaining some justice.His door opened.I grabbed the front of his shirt by two handfuls and was dragging him out of his room and into the hall before he fully realized it was me.“You’re dead,” I growled, tossing him spine-first against the wall.“Jesus, man. What the hell?” he screeched, lifting his arms to shield himself as he cringed backward away from me.“Don’t you fucking what the hell me. You know what you did.”Balling my hand tight, I wound my arm back, prepared to deliver him with a blow he’d still be feeling when he was eighty. But before I could slam my fist forward, crushing bone, spli
Not gonna lie; I woke up extra early the next morning, straining under Haven and beyond ready for her to open her eyes, smile at me, and commence to fucking me any and every way she so pleased. I even arched up my hips, pressing my morning wood against her insistently, trying to remind her that, hey, here it was, ready and waiting for action.But all she did was grumble out a groan, roll off me, and turn onto her side, facing away from me.Rejected.Suffice to say, she didn’t wake up refreshed and hangover-free, seeking me out for that crazy, awesome sex she’d been so intent on getting the night before.Ignoring the disappointment, I sighed—because what the hell else had I really been expecting—and I crawled from her bed, leaving some water and ibuprofen on her nightstand for her before I took care of myself with a steamy, very soapy and lonely, thirty-minute shower.Before I left the apartment, I checked in on her to find her still asleep, but the cap had been removed on the ibup
No. Oh my God, no. Never again! Running was so not the thing for me.“Break,” I gasped, clutching my cramping side. “Let’s take another break.”Though I was freezing my ass off in the early morning chill, sweat poured down my face, while my throat felt as dry as the Sahara.This was just unnatural. And inhumane. Why did people willingly do this?“Just two more blocks and we’ll be home again,” Wick encouraged from next to me. “You got this.”I sent him a glare. I absolutely did not have this. I didn’t have shit.And it was his fault. He’d talked me into this damn crazy idea.Hey, let’s get up at the butt crack of dawn and submit ourselves to continuous physical torture for the next half hour straight. Yeah, it’ll be fun, said the lunatic hottie.And for that, he’d just made the top of my hit list, I swear.But I kept running because, hell… I don’t know. The sooner we got home, the sooner it would be over, I guess.Except half a block from our apartment, he made us stop running
Wick did win his game. I watched it on television, definitely not in the mood to head down to the stadium in person and by myself with all the rumors flying around about me and all the history I had of attending them to support Topher.But watching it alone was kind of depressing. Even though it was nice to see how well my roommate played, I just had no one to brag to about him, because Wick kicked ass. He seriously did. My hands grew sore from the amount of times I high-fived myself after he intercepted the ball, broke up a pass, or made an awesome tackle. It would’ve been nice to share that with someone. But alas, I made do on my own.Sadly, Topher had an on game as well. He was mentioned by the sportscasters just as often as Wick was. Bleh.To get over that bit of nastiness, I made Wick some spaghetti for supper to celebrate, even though if I really wanted to be honest with myself, it was probably mostly an apology meal for what I’d done to him with the bra and the socks and all.
I don’t know why I was suddenly so nervous. Haven had been living with me for weeks now. I’d grown accustomed to walking into a room and finding her there. The shock of seeing her in my home and among my things should’ve definitely worn off by now.But ever since she’d caught me jerking off in the shower, it was hard for me to make direct eye contact with her. I’d avoided her pretty much most of the week, worried about what she thought of me now.To learn she would be coming along on my sibling spook night, on top of all that, just… I don’t know. I wasn’t sure how she’d mesh with my sisters. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for her to see me in a different environment. I wasn’t… Hell, I wasn’t sure that I really wanted her to go. It just felt as if so many things could go wrong. And I didn’t want anything to go wrong.Rushing through my preparation, I was tugging my shirt on as I raced back to the front room, almost afraid to leave her alone with my sisters for too long.What if they d
As Charlie read off the directions to the spook house we were going to, Darcy plugged her phone into the console and typed in the address, making a map pop up on Wick’s navigation screen.All the while, Izzy leaned in toward me and commentated.“Watch this,” she murmured discreetly. “Next, Darcy will bring up a whole playlist of songs she picked out just for this trip.”A second later, Darcy announced, “And… Now for the playlist,” as she tapped buttons on the screen of her phone. “Exactly two hours of eclectic awesomeness.”Izzy and I exchanged secret grins before the song “Shotgun” began to play. On the other side of me, Charlie nodded her head to the beat, tapped her fingers against her knee, and sang along with George Ezra.While Wick concentrated on getting out of the town and onto a stretch of nothing but highway, Darcy twisted in her seat to talk to me. “So, you dated Topher Nicholl, huh? What was that like?”“Darce,” Wick warned, shooting her a hard glance.“What?” his si
Linda writes romance fiction from YA to adult, contemporary to fantasy. Most Kage stories lean more toward the lighter, sillier side with a couple meaningful moments thrown in. Focuses more on entertainment value and emotional impact.Published since 2010. Went through a 2-year writing correspondence class in children’s literature from The Institute of Children’s Literature. Then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, English with an emphasis in creative fiction writing from Pittsburg State University.Now she lives with her hubby, two daughters, cat Holly, and nine cuckoo clocks in southeast Kansas, USA. Farm girl. Parents were dairy farmers. Was youngest of eight. Big family. Day job as a cataloging library assistant.Harry Potter House Gryffindor, Patronus White Stallion, character match Hagrid. Supernatural Team Dean. Game of Thrones Team Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister. The Walking Dead Team Daryl. Outlander Team Jamie Fraser. Teen Wolf Team Stiles. Avenger Team Thor...or Hulk (can’t
I definitely gotta start my list of thanks to my three: Kurt, Lydia, and Sadie. Whenever I disconnect from everyone, you guys always pull me back to reality. Thanks for being my very own life raft. I love you guys to the moon and back.To Holly: Kurt says you’re our service cat. No matter how bad of a day we might have, you’re there to remind us the world doesn’t revolve around us. It revolves around you, fur baby, and your needs still have to be met no matter what. Thanks for keeping us humble.To my most dependable beta readers ever: Shi Ann, Alaina, and Amanda. I’m still bracing for that day when you decide you’ve read too many of my stories and don’t want anymore, but I haven’t reached your limit yet. So thank you so much for sticking with me this long and giving me your invaluable feedback.To Summer at the Red Pen Revolution: You’re more than I deserve. Thank you for being so nice and helpful with all your editing awesomeness. Love you hard.Then to Shelley at 2 Book Lovers R
To figure out where everyone fits into the Forbidden Men world, feel free to check out their timeline, family tree, and book order at these links!Timeline:https://lindakage.com/fmtimeline.pdfFamily Tree:https://lindakage.com/fmtree.jpgBook Order:https://www.lindakage.com/fm.html
“Bad Liar” Selena Gomez – 3:34“Barracuda” Heart – 4:21“Bills” LunchMoney Lewis – 3:24“Brass Monkey” Beasty Boys – 2:38“Break Stuff” Limp Bizkit 2:46“Candy Shop” 50 Cent – 3:29“Don't Take the Girl” Tim McGraw 4:10“Funkytown” Lips, Inc. – 3:59“Good Feeling” Flo Rida – 4:08“Heathens” Twenty-one Pilots – 3:15“I Cross my Heart” George Strait – 3:31“I Will Survive” Gloria Gaynor – 3:18“It’s the End of the World” R.E.M. – 4:06“Jump Around” House of Pain – 3:34“Kokomo” The Beach Boys – 3:35“Loser” Beck – 3:55“Old Town Road” Lil Nas X – 1:53“One Way or Another” Blondie – 3:27“Party Rock Anthem” LMFAO – 4:22“Respect” Aretha Franklin 2:27“(Rock) Superstar” Cypress Hill – 4:36“Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” Big & Rich - 3:20“Shotgun” George Ezra – 3:21“Tangled Up in You” Staind – 4:35“These Boots Were Made for Walkin’” Nancy Sinatra – 2:45“Thrift Shop” Macklemore – 3:55“Thunder” Imagine Dragons – 3:07“Unsteady” X Ambassadors – 3:13“We Didn
2 cups sugar1 stick margarine1/3 cup milk1 heaping tablespoon cocoaOn the stovetop, bring ingredients to a boil, stirring continuously. Then boil for one minute.Add:1/2 cup peanut butter1 teaspoon vanillaA pinch of salt and3 cups oatmeal oatsOnce all ingredients are mixed together, drop huge tablespoonfuls onto wax paper and allow to cool...or, you know, eat them hot and gooey!
I woke in the middle of the night to a hand nudging my shoulder and Haven’s voice in my ear.“Wick. Honey, get up. The baby’s coming.”My eyes sprang open wide. “What?”She was already flipping on the nightlight and sliding out of bed to bustle around the room, opening drawers to pull out underwear and clothes. When she flopped a suitcase onto the mattress by my feet and began to stuff it with both our things, I sat up watching her from blurry, blinking eyes.“If we leave now,” she said, unsettling Bingley, who’d been curled up asleep in her pillowed bed on the floor as Haven tugged a jacket out from under the cat, “I think we can make it to the hospital by four.”“Hospital? Four?” I glanced toward the nightstand where the clock told me it was barely two in the morning.“Yeah. I definitely don’t want to be on the road when the baby arrives.”Finally awake enough to think a bit clearer, I shook my head. “But what baby?”Pausing abruptly to send me a harassed glance, Haven cried,
“Hey, look,” Wick announced proudly as he appeared in the opening of the hallway that led into the front room where I was kicked back on the couch, browsing through Netflix and searching for something new to watch. “I was finally able to pop the centers out without breaking the outer chocolate rings.”He held up two Reese’s cups to his eyes so he could peer at me through the holes where the peanut butter centers usually went.“Hey, yay! Good job.” I began to clap, only to narrow my eyes when he moved close enough for me to see the cups better as he sat on the couch next to me. “Wait. You cut them out with a knife, didn’t you?”He laughed, dropping the Reese’s from his eyes and confessed, “Yeah. But it was the only way I could do it without breaking the outer ring.”“God, you’re adorable,” I answered, shaking my head and grabbing the front of his shirt so I could pull him in for a kiss.He met my mouth eagerly, tasting like chocolate and peanut butter, which had me humming in delig
Final Issue of “Hopeless Henry”By Alice BennetTaken from the University GazetteSenior year came at last. Thank God. I was so ready to get out of this college and away from certain memories. Certain people.I would always have a soft part for the marching band and the friends I’d made there. I had a feeling I’d remain in most of their lives long after graduation. But other parts, I couldn’t wait to escape.Just a few months to go, and it’d all be over.I was looking forward to starting fresh. I could make myself a clean slate. I could leave behind all the things that haunted me and hopefully find a job in my dream career, then meet someone I clicked with and build a life with her.I wouldn’t have to see Avery or Reuben or any of his bothersome friends ever again. It would be nice.Meanwhile, I was hanging on and making sure I got through as I remained focused on graduation.After being assigned a partner—Elliot—in my orchestration class, I agreed to meet with him at his dorm
“HayHay,” Wick whispered, his voice broken and full of pain and misery. He started to stand, but I held up a hand.“No, don’t get up. I think… I think I’ll just come down there with you.” And I sank to my knees right where I’d been standing in the doorway. Bingley wiggled in my arms. I let her down, and once she hit the floor, she bounded over to Wick, who picked her up and cuddled her gratefully.Gripping the tops of my thighs, I rocked back and forth and I watched the kitten comfort the man.“So,” I started, swallowing hard before glancing around the room and settling my gaze back on him. “You liked me three years ago? When we were freshmen?”“I…” Pain slashed across his features before he gulped and nodded. “I shared a class with you. The first time I saw you across the room, I thought you were pretty. So I told some of my friends on the team about it.”From the expression on his face, I knew he was downplaying it. Big-time.“Why?” I croaked, wiping wetness from my cheeks. “Wh