“These are the sections we’re going to be focusing on, so read the whole thing, but you need to memorize this part, do you understand?”I nodded along to what Simon was saying, looking at the documents in my hands. I wondered if I’d received the full document or if he was keeping parts of it away from me. I’d skimmed several pages before stopping where he’d highlighted, and a lot of the info seemed strange. Or maybe he just didn’t want to reveal all his cards to me, yet. I was a little surprised that he was treating me as an actual partner and not just a lowly assistant. If he were just treating me as an assistant, he’d get me to do all the research and do the more important parts himself, but he was including me in everything.It didn’t stop me from being suspicious, but it did lower my guard a little bit.“We have a while until the next meeting, so read up. There’s some research material at the end of the document that you should also look into. I’ll be doing my homework, and when w

I parked the car and paused to take a breath, running a hand through my hair. I’d driven home, but it felt ridiculous like I’d run all the way there. Because my heart beat just wouldn’t fucking slow down at the thought of trying to talk sense into Rogue.I started to regret fucking him at all, now. I still didn’t know the reason for his attitude yesterday. All I needed to know was that it was a problem and I might have contributed to it somehow. The entire thought seemed impossible to me, but it would be bad if he suddenly got the wrong idea about that night.I needed to explain things to him, and then we could settle down into a somewhat normal housing relationship.Thinking that, I jumped out of the car with determination. My heart didn’t calm down, but I knew how things had to be, especially after that visit from his parole officer. If we weren’t careful, he really would be going back in the slammer soon.What happened last night, him leaving because he was mad at me for whatever r

I was laying my head on Rogue’s chest, eyes closed and breathing calmed down. I could think, but in all honesty, I didn’t want to.“Claire?”I sighed because obviously, Rogue had different ideas.It would have been fine if we’d just let things go as they were. I’d do my best to make sure it didn’t happen again, but that would just be an awkward thing to ask for when we were still naked and entwined together on my bed.“Are you pretending to be asleep?” he asked after I didn’t answer for a long time.“I’m not pretending or anything,” I murmured. “What is it?”Guilt had already started to settle in for me. I had come home, early at that, with a clear objective. And yet, it was so simply thrown out the window so easily that I felt a bit ashamed of myself. Maybe it was because we’d already been together before, and it was only a day or two ago, so my mind and body still remembered his touch and how good it felt. But I had no self-control around him.So then, didn’t that mean, no matter wh

I kept checking the time as I worked. It was getting so close to lunch. I’d only been waiting for a few hours, but it felt like it had taken so long and there was still half an hour left to go. I was anxious, but I did my best to hide it.If I’d just been on my desk, it would have been okay, maybe. But the problem was I was still sharing a room with Simon, even though our meeting was long over. He’d insisted I stay and work nearby, and since all my other cases had been cleared so I could focus on this one, I couldn’t even say no, dammit. It was so fucking uncomfortable, because it was a closed office with only the two of us, and I wasn’t used to it. My position in the company was still pretty low, so I had a desk, but it was on an open floor where my area was separated from others by some partitions, and that was it.Having a door between me and the rest of the floor was a bit strange for me. Especially when I had to be on this side with Simon. He was minding his own business while wo

I let Hannah lead me through the hospital. We didn’t go far, stopping at what looked to be the cafeteria. There were a few people around, patients sitting with people in street clothes and chatting. She led me to an empty table and had me sit, then sat down across from me.“Would you like something to eat?” she asked, arching her eyebrows.I frowned. I hadn't eaten, but I honestly didn’t feel like it. Especially not after seeing Dad looking like that.“No, thank you,” I said.“The food here isn’t as bad as people like to stereotype,” she said. “Are you sure you won’t be having any?”I nodded quietly, ducking my head to stare at the tabletop. I fidgeted with my hands on the table, curling and uncurling my fingers from around each other. I hadn't seen or spoken to Hannah longer than Dad, and though she was my Hannah, I didn’t know how to approach and talk to her most of the time, and the reverse was probably true. In the time since she’d gotten married to Dad I’d only talked to her a fe