Skylar I was beginning to think that the streets would have been a less stressful option. By the time dinner was over, I really wasn’t sure I could take much more tension. Holly, who had made her dislike known from the very beginning, now positively despised the very sight of me. When I had finally fully calmed down from my panic episode, Mac had ordered Liam to go home and despite my protests and Holly’s objections, he had refused to budge on his decision. So Liam, after another round of profuse apologies for scaring me, had left. Holly had glared at the two of us, spun around on her heels and stormed upstairs to her room, making sure to slam the door so hard the frames rattled. Which had left me and Mac. I was in near tears from mortification at this point and all I wanted to do was slink away and find somewhere to hide. I forced my
MACShe smelled of vanilla and wildflowers, a combination that up until now, I'd had no idea was capable of driving me wild. And it had just topped the list of my all time favorite smells in the entire universe. And it was even wilder because up until a few seconds ago, I didn't know I had such a list. But I did now. And Sky's scent, fresh from a bath and looking deliciously content, was the number one.I adjusted my normally comfortable jeans, the material now felt very constricting with how hard I was. It had taken a great deal of self control to keep myself from reaching out to touch her soft, supple skin, I'd barely stopped myself from finding out if she tasted as good as she smelled and as sweet and heady as I remembered.It hadn't helped to know that she probably wore nothing underneath tha
SkylarA week passed with me doing nothing more than sleeping, waking up, eating the enormous portions of food that Mac insisted I consume, then spending the rest of the day lazing around either watching TV, playing games or reading novels on the brand new cellphone Mac had bought for me.I had offered to take over the cooking or cleaning or whatever chores that needed to be done, including shopping for groceries, but Mac had expressly forbidden me from doing any such thing saying I still needed to rest and get my strength up. So I obeyed. However, I was starting to feel restless, the result of now having so much pent up energy in need of an outlet. Sitting still became a challenge, so I would occasionally explore the huge house. I found a pool at the back and spent quite a bit of time sitting on the edge, dangling my feet in the heated water, wishing I had learned how to swim. I was alone in the house. Mac had decided to drop by the office today after extracting a promise from me th
SkylarBy the time I got over my shock to hear Mac's furious voice and struggled to my feet, he and Holly were already engaged in a heated argument.Holly's face contorted with anger as she glared at Mac. "Are you kidding me? You think I'd intentionally hurt her? We were just practising Taekwondo, which, by the way, she asked me to teach her. This was just an accident!"A flare of surprise crossed Mac's face and he looked at me, searching for confirmation. "It's true." I said, my words still coming out in a stutter since I was still out of breath. "She was just showing me some basic self defence moves but then I tripped and took us both down."Mac looked like he'd been kicked in the gut. He passed a hand over his face and I heard him mutter a curse under his breath. "I didn't know what was happening. It looked like you two were fighting and she was -"Holly scoffed and rolled her eyes. "If I wanted to kick her ass, I would do it some other way.Mac broke off mid-curse to glare at Hol
BlairI could feel much needed warmth seeping through my aching body from the central heating of the office building and I involuntarily let out a sigh of relief that quickly turned into a grimace as a bolt of pain seared through my bruised ribs like a knife slice.I cringed and gritted my teeth, my hand coming to rest over my left side as I stifled a moan, breaths escaping my nostrils in small whistles as I struggled to breathe through the pain.In, out …. In…out. I counted silently, making the breaths as shallow as possible so as not to jar my bruised ribs. Bit by bit, the pain receded and I sat as still as possible, dreading the next wave. Soon, I could feel my eyelids getting heavy, the warmth and sheer exhaustion that came from a lack of sleep taking over.With a slight shake of my head, I fought it off and carefully straightened in the comfortable chair. Even though my body needed rest to speed up the healing process, I couldn't afford to fall asleep now. What kind of impression
BlairWithout waiting for a reply from either myself or the stunned receptionist, Lucy spun on one perfectly balanced heel and strode away briskly. For a second, I stood there, unsure of what to do until Sadie gave a light nudge.“Go on,” she gestured with her head in towards Lucy’s retreating back, handing me a visitor’s pass. “Good luck.”With muttered thanks, I hung the ribbon around my neck and hustled after Lucy, ignoring the jarring pain that dogged my every step. My sneakers, once pristine but now ragged and grimy, made a squeaky sound on the floor in tandem with Lucy’s clatter, the sounds echoing off the white walls of the hallway.My mind raced with a million thoughts as I caught up with her, hope clashing with trepidation as to what she wanted from me. I blinked as we passed through and entered a brightly lit open office space furnished with floor to ceiling windows and skylights that let in the natural light in addition to the dozens of artificial lighting on the ceiling. R
BlairNext Monday“Ms. Strand, I’m so sorry.” Embarrassed to have been caught sleeping on what was supposed to be my first day on the job, I apologized profusely, while silently offering a plea to the moon goddess that I had not just blown my chance.Ignoring the lingering pain, I shot to my feet, nervously trying to smoothen the creases out of my outfit - a light green pinstripe shirt which I’d paired with black pants, and ballerina flats. Except for the shirt - which was one of the only two I owned at the moment, everything else was the same as I’d worn last week and the only clothes I had in addition to a pair of tights, hoodie and sneakers. The clothes had all cost a fortune and bought from high end shops but due to overuse in the last month, they had begun to show signs of wear and tear.I’d given myself a haircut - and botched it badly. To conceal the uneven edges, I’d put the entire mess up in a bun at the back, but of course, in my short nap, a few strands had slipped free and
BlairHuge…The single word echoed in my head as the gorgeous, dark haired, viking built like a tank, barged into the office. I auto switched into defense mode as my instinct reacted to the presence of what it considered an alpha male.I shrank back against my seat with a gasp, trying to put some distance between us. My fingers gripped the armrests until my knuckles turned white as every nerve inside me screamed to escape.“What the bloody fuck am I hearing about a new employee, Lucy?” His voice, deep and gravelly, came out in a growl and made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.I was put in mind of a predator, a large, formidable one and the thought only served to ratchet my anxiety several notches up. Now, I couldn't help but wonder if Mac Walsh was Lorekind. Humans didn't breed them that massive.I wanted to bolt, but his large frame was between me and the door.Shit.“I thought we agreed at the last meeting about not hiring more staff?” Mac crossed his arms across his chest. “A