LOGIN"That woman..." she pointed at her without a shred of hesitation, "...should be ashamed of herself. If she wanted to help you, there were other ways. A decent woman would have taken you anywhere but here. Instead she surrounded you with this filth and expected you to believe it was a home." Denise
Hazel held her tightly, too tightly. As though letting go for even a second might mean losing her all over again. She buried her face against Gianna's hair. "You found me..." Gianna whispered through tears. Hazel couldn't answer. She only held her closer. Then, over Gianna's shoulder, Hazel lifted
Salvatore watched her, "Hazel." She didn't stop, "If there's even the smallest chance my daughter is there..." her hands shook as she pulled on her coat, "...then she's not spending another minute in that place." She was halfway to the door before Salvatore caught up beside her. "Hazel, we don't
She slipped off Denise's lap and crossed the room, wrapping one arm around the pole, she pushed lightly from the floor. Her body rose in one smooth motion. She curled around the pole like a ribbon caught in the wind, every movement precise, every line unmistakably shaped by years of ballet. For a
Gianna laughed, suddenly shy beneath all the attention, "It wasn't perfect." "Oh, listen to Miss Perfection." Denise pointed toward the chrome pole standing near the corner of the room, "What about that?" Gianna followed her finger, "The pole?" Tasha nodded, "You think you can climb it?" Gianna
Before she could react, Morgan gently pressed the black costume into her arms, "Wear it." Gianna stared, "...No." "Yes!" they all shouted in unison. Denise hid another smile behind her coffee. Gianna looked toward her for help, "Mama D?" Denise lifted both hands, "I've learned not to argue when
And just like that, my treacherous brain dragged me back into the dark. I wasn't seeing her in the living room anymore. I was seeing her on my bike, those same lips parted as she let out a broken, needy moan. I had to look away before the hunger in my eyes gave me away to my brothers. Fuck. “That
My jaw tightened slightly. My eyes moved once more before I forced them back up. Stepsister. I repeated the word internally, a desperate mantra meant to act as a fire extinguisher for the gasoline pouring through my veins. It was supposed to fix the memory of her legs wrapped around my waist in th
Raphael ━━ ⛓ ━━ Claire’s voice echoed across the room before I even looked up, “I’m serious,” she said, shifting the small bundle in her arms, “we should do this every week.” The baby made a small sound, his fingers curling into her shirt. She smiled down at him, soft and gone for a second, then
Morgan slowly pushed herself up, “What if we don’t make it in time?” she whispered. “Then we keep going,” I said. Bri looked at me for a long second, “You’re stupidly insane sometimes, G...” “Yeah,” Jasmine added under her breath, “a little.” I let out a small, tired breath. “Maybe.” Then Bri







