Ava watched the clock on her bathroom vanity tick, tick ever closer to the time that Noah was meant to pick her up. And, still, she stayed rooted in her spot, sunk nose deep in her bathtub as the previously scalding water became increasingly lukewarm.​ She was undoubtedly stalling, but she didn’t know where the source of her reticence came from. Her first date with Noah had been…amazing from start to finish. Not much had happened after they’d finished their ice cream, but he’d taken her back to the club and, unlike last time, he didn’t ask for a kiss. ​ He’d wanted one, she was pretty sure. Spending as much as she did living in a building that was perpetually filled with horny men, Ava had gotten fairly good at recognizing when someone was interested in her. What she wasn’t used to was no one simply acting on their desires without checking with her first. ​ No, going out with Noah wasn’t the problem. If anything, Ava was a little too eager to see him again. Maybe that was

The trio of Red Moon members didn’t waste a beat before turning completely hostile. One moment, they were blinking away the confusion of suddenly coming face-to-face with their Pack’s most reviled criminal, and in the next, they were charging. ​ As one, they came at her, pushing through the crowd, sending unsuspecting humans sprawling. Ava leapt onto the counter of the game booth behind her and took off running down the length of the counter, racing past her pursuers as she kited around them. ​ Ava came to the end of the counter and hopped off, her feet barely hitting the floor before she was off, zigging and zagging her way through the crowd. She didn’t have a clear idea of where she was going – Noah was off somewhere in the opposite direction, and the carnival had changed quite a bit since she’d last been here. ​ As Ava flew through the park grounds on sure feet, she only had two clear objectives – putting as many bodies as she could between herself and the people chasin

The ride back to the club was quiet and awfully tense, but Ava could acknowledge that all of the awkwardness probably stemmed from her. On the contrary, Noah didn’t give off any particularly strong vibes one way or the other, which only made her more nervous.​ Needless to say, she’d never intended for Noah to find out about the stuff with Red Moon. Far beyond the fact that she’d hoped that it wouldn’t impact their arrangement, Ava wanted to just be Ava to as many people in her life as she could manage.​ For a fleeting date and a half, Noah had just known her as herself. Now, she was Ava the Convict. Ava the Murderer. Just the thought of it was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach.​ She turned over the scrap of paper in her hand. She’d clammed up as soon as they’d left the maze, and thankfully, Aiden didn’t press her on either of the bombshells that had been dropped on him tonight. He’d simply written his phone number on the back of a flyer and handed it to her, mak

Every other weekend was the same. Xavier would meet his father outside of the Dire Lake University of Psychiatric Wellness, and they’d spend two heart wrenching hours, walking on eggshells while they visited his mother, Renata.If they were lucky.It seemed that they might be today. Her eyes were clear, and her smile came easily. She seemed at least partly interested in what August had to say, as he recounted the boring surface-level information he always brought with him from the Pack.If her attention seemed to fade in and out of focus as his father droned on, Xavier didn’t blame her. After all, what did she care about who had just had a baby, or gotten married, or graduated from whatever, when she couldn’t stand to be outside of these walls long enough to enjoy it.After Sophia had died, the despondency had almost immediately set in. She’s become listless and apathetic, wringing joy from nothing and no one. At first, her father had chalked it up to her particular brand of grieving.

She didn’t think, once again letting her instincts take over as she leaned forward, taking Noah’s lips with her own. He responded in kind, peppering her lips with sweet, soft kisses that quickly deepened into deep, penetrating caresses when Ava slid her hand down Noah’s chest.“Noah,” Ava pulled back, the apprehension and need warring within her making her voice small. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Noah, I’ve never….”His eyebrows rose, prompting her to continue. “I know that’s probably surprising considering I, uh, live and work in a brothel, but it’s just never….”Noah closed the distance between them with another one of those sweet, hungry kisses. When he pulled back, he ran a hand down her cheek, “There’s no rush, Ava. There’s never any rush with me.”She nodded for him to continue, and he did, pressing small kisses down her jaw until he came to a small scar she’d gotten years ago. He flicked it playfully with his tongue, causing her to giggle and moan at the same time.