When she thought it was safe to drop her guard everything changed. A single mother of four adopted kids she was protective of her children. Though she had accepted she was alone in raising them after an accident claimed her brother. When the worst thing happened and her daughter went missing she needed help and the people around her stood up and helped her. One of them more than the others. She knew that he changed everything in her life.
All eyes turned and looked at the new arrival. The rain had made most of the people not even bothering to come to the second annual Alone unValentine event as the guys at the building were calling it. The group of fifteen or so men all looked her over and were surprised she had ventured out in the rain to come. It was out of her office, which she seemed more apt to hide in than socialize with them.
"I can't believe she is here." one of the guys said softly, just loud enough for the group as a whole could hear over the music. They all had their drinks, and though it was supposed to be an event for the specialized teams, it seemed more of a Friday night get-together. Everyone had stayed in their own groups that were made up of people they worked with or knew for years. There were a few younger ones who tried to mix in though they often left the group within a short amount of time.
The woman who had just walked in and looked around was the top researcher they had. She was normally the quietest member in any room as she sat with her glasses perched on her face and her eyes in a binder taking notes. She spent almost every second on the job in her office, hiding behind her screen. No one really knew her that well. They had all written her bookish ways off as not interesting enough to hold their collective attention for longer than a conversation.
The group of men moved closer to the bar where she was headed if only to see what she really wanted there. It no doubt had something to do with work, and she wasn't there to be a part of the gathering. The main boss of their building was sitting on the bar and had waved her over. Though he was quite a bit older than everyone else, he was still known as a lady's man and was probably working on his newest divorce.
"Good to see you, kid," he said as he stood up and looked around them to see if anyone else was interested in her. He locked eyes with the group of men inching their way over, and he smiled a knowing smile. "Glad to see you could get a sitter."
"Wasn't that hard," she replied. Sitter, they all looked around, trying to figure out the word. None of them knew anything about her enough to know what that meant.
"Well, you rarely make time for anything but work." the main boss stated.
"Friday's are soccer days." she laughed. "Not to mention Saturdays are for dance."
"I forgot what it is like with kids." the main boss said as he laughed.
"Hectic is what it is like." she smiled.
"Well, you have some good ones there, so you must be doing something right." He said as the bartender asked what she would have. She placed her order which was non-alcoholic, much to everyone's surprise.
"I still have to drive," she said with a smile. Everyone who was looking at her wouldn't know she was the nerd in the office with her head in manuals at that second, as she had her glasses off and a smile on her face. Though she seemed smaller than any one of them remembered her to be, they were still moving forward towards her but as a group.
She turned and saw them as she chuckled at the movement. When she got her drink, she looked the room over and thought it was like a junior high school dance but with older people and more issues present. The thought almost had her laughing to herself. She didn't know why she even bothered coming to something like this, but in all honesty, it was the fact her two oldest daughters were on dates tonight, and she would be stuck at home watching the other two fighting over what game to play. Going out and being in an adult setting might make her feel human again. She knew how everyone in the building thought of her. It didn't change the fact that she was still a person and wanted to be treated as one though she was really good at her job.
"So, um, you're the lead scientific researcher?" one of the guys asked as they were close enough to speak without yelling. She looked up and saw they were all looking her over as if they had never seen her before.
"Yeah," she replied.
"You needed to get a sitter?" another one asked. She knew then no one even knew she had kids. She smiled and let out a chuckle.
"Yeah, For my kids," she said.
"You have kids?" one of the guys asked. He was the tallest of the bunch and probably one of the older ones as well. Though she had seen him before, and he was the one who flirted with every female, well, every female but her.
"Four," she said.
"You have four kids?" the Green team leader asked in disbelief.
"Yup," she said.
"Where is your husband?" one of the younger ones asked and then got hit upsides the head.
"Never had one," she said as she continued to drink and look around.
"So you have four kids, but you haven't married the father?" one of the guys she did sort of knowledge as the lead of the research team she worked with the science officers of the other team, not closely but enough to know them by sight.
"I would have never married their father. That I think is illegal in most states regardless," she said and laughed with the knowledge she knew, and they didn't.
"Explain." one said.
"Excuse me?" she countered.
"Could you explain that statement? Lori is what he meant to say. He doesn't really know how to talk to people." one of the men stepped forward and bowed to her hand. She knew of this one. She had heard the other women talk about him and his antics.
"I adopted them ten years ago. They are my brother's biological kids," she said with a smile.
"That is wonderful!" one said as he moved forward, and she saw he truly meant that.
"How old are they?" one of the last men asked.
"Sixteen, Fourteen, Eleven, and Nine," she said.
"Wow, you have your hands full." someone said.
"The three oldest are girls, so I do indeed have my hands full," she replied with a laugh.
"Now it makes sense why you never came out with everyone." one person called out.
"Yeah, they keep me pretty busy," she said as her phone went off, and she looked at the incoming text. "And they keep me running around." Her face fell as she was finally able to talk with people, but she knew she had to go. "Sorry, I gotta run."
"Sitter not working out?" one of the guys prompted.
"Boyfriend trouble," she replied.
"Oh." one of the guys said.
"She never listened to me, but now she is finding out," she said with a smile as she set the drink on the bar and gathered her coat which she had placed there.
"Not you but one of your kids." one of the guys said.
"Yeah. I don't have one," she said with a laugh. "No guy wants a woman who has four kids."
She put her jacket on and smiled one last time as she turned to leave, and the guys went back to the area they had been in the first place. The last words echoed through someone their minds, and they realized for the most part that the last statement was true. No sane man wants to go out with a woman with four kids. One man, though, thought she was dead wrong as he watched her back as she walked out the door. He also placed his drink on the bar and walked out after her.
"Need some help?" he asked as he closed the distance between them in the parking lot.
"With?" she asked.
"The boyfriend," he said with a lopsided grin. "Sorry to say most teenage boys will not back down because of a mom. However, they will back down if another man is involved."
"Experience?" she asked with a laugh.
"Sort of, more observations, You know what I am good at," he replied.
"Sure, a little help would be nice," she said as she walked over to her car, and he got in the passenger side as she unlocked it.
"I was thinking minivan," he said with a chuckle.
"That goes with the workaholic soccer mom stereotype, I am afraid," she said.
"Vincent," he said as he put out his hand.
"Lori." she placed hers in his.
"Really, your name is Lori?" he asked.
"After fifteen kids, my parents couldn't think of any more good names," she said with a shrug.
"So you're the youngest?" he asked.
"Yes." she replied, "Though you would never know that fact, by the way, my brothers and sisters act. It should say a lot that I was given these monsters when I was barely eighteen over all the rest of them."
"That does say a lot," he replied as he thought of how hard everything must have been for her at the time. "It says a lot about you too."
"How so?" she asked as she was driving.
"You were nothing but a child as well, and then you had to raise four more. How old were they when they came to you?" he asked.
"Six, Four, one, and three days old," she said.
"So you had to grow up fast," he said.
"I was already grown up," she said. "Years of conditioning made me able to just accept four kids and keep going."
"That doesn't sound easy," he said softly.
"It wasn't," she said as she smiled.
"I had already done the college thing and was in my second year of med school," she said. "So not only did I have to work a full-time job, I had to go to school then go home and be a parent."
"How did you manage?" he asked.
"I just did." she said." I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but it was also the best experience of my life. They keep me busy, but I know if they were with someone else, they might not be able to do the things they can now."
"But you gave up your life for them," he said, and then he instantly regretted it. "That came out wrong."
"I know what you meant. I did. I did so willingly, though. I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew what it would take and what I was giving up." she said. "It isn't like people go 'oh she is a beauty' when they look at me. I accepted it years ago."
"You're wrong," he said.
"How so?" she asked.
"People do say you are a beauty when they look at you," he said.
"Well.... I ...... Urm." she said.
"Did that fluster you?" he asked with his grin spreading.
"I am a stunted eighteen-year-old with a few extra years. So yeah, fluster is the right word," she said as they pulled into the mall parking lot, and she turned off the car.
"My dear, Mouse, I only spoke the truth," he said.
"Mouse, really?" she asked as she got out of the car, and he moved his cell phone to his other pocket.
"Someone calling you?" she asked.
"It is just the guys trying to figure out where I disappeared too," he said as he put out his arm, to which she looked out him confused. He then took her arm and wound his around hers. "You may be a stunted eighteen-year-old with a few extra years, mouse, but I think it is time you knew your worth in a broader sense."
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"One thing at a time," he replied. "Now we have a young man to surprise."
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
"You f*cking WH*RE!" roared Gaston St. Claire, my husband. Bringing his face closer to my terrified one, he snarled, in a lower voice filled with anguish and fury, "So it was true, eh? You were sneaking behind my back, spreading your legs and spreading your legs for other men, huh?' I shook my head, trying to focus, trying to plead, the shock spreading through me slowly. What was he talking about? I had no idea how I had gotten there-to that seedy-looking room-or how I had ended up beneath Stan Cummingham, naked and semi-conscious. Other men? What did he mean? Why didn't he believe me? April and Gaston St. Claire, the Mafia Don, have been wed and blessed with eight children. Their lives have had their fair share of ups and downs. But there's worse awaiting poor April! Bree Hampston, Gaston St. Claire's long-lost sister, turns up! She turns the Mafia Don against his faithful wife... Does she succeed? Or does April finally make a stand?
On her wedding night, Natalie's stepmother set her up to marry Jarvis, a disfigured and disabled man. Fortunately, she managed to escape, but little did she know that later she would fall for the man she was betrothed to.Jarvis pretended to be a poor man, but he didn't think that he'd fall head over heels for this woman.Their life went on until one day, Natalie found out her boyfriend's little secret."Huh? How could you have billions of dollars' worth of assets?" she asked in disbelief.Jarvis didn’t know how to respond.Being met with silence, she gritted her teeth angrily. "They said that you couldn't walk, but as far as I can see, you're strong enough to run a marathon."Still, he remained silent.Natalie continued, "They even said that you only have a few years to live. What about now?"Finally, Jarvis opened his mouth to explain. "Honey, this is all just a misunderstanding. Please calm down. Think about the baby.""Jarvis Braxton!"The man knelt down immediately.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
"Miss Brown, I am the butler here at your service," the butler replied. "My master wants to buy the baby in your belly." "What?!" Does that mean the abortion didn't take place? Did they kidnap her from the operating table just to buy the baby? But why her? "You..." Alice was about to ask a question, but the man in front of her calmly continued, as if he had expected her question, "You're pregnant with his child, and he needs a child. That's all I can tell you." Alice was forced to sign a surrogacy contract and eight months later gave birth to two healthy babies. Fortunately, the man was unaware of her daughter's existence. It wasn't until five years later that fate brought them together again...
"Get undressed and wait for me in bed. Keep your legs open until I finish my shower," he commanded with the power of his Alpha status and as her mate. She wanted to resist. "Do you think I'm the same Luna you forced in the past? I refuse to submit to you. I won't let you touch me." He growled softly, feeling a hot desire for her. She was no longer the unattractive Luna he remembered - she was gorgeous. He wanted to devour her with his tongue. He pulled her close and pushed her onto the bed, licking the back of her ear, making her moan in pleasure. He whispered, "I won't touch your body. Just your p*ssy until you beg for more." He used to be next in line for Alpha and was under the control of his grandfather, the Alpha king. He had to accept mating with the woman he disliked the most - the daughter of one of the most powerful Alphas in the werewolf kingdom. If he didn't, he might lose his chance at being Alpha king after his grandfather's death. He thought he was mateless at the time. He didn't choose to mate with the unattractive woman, so he cheated on her day and night. But, one drunken night, he lost control and slept with her. Later, he forced her to break their mating bond. But, he discovered she was carrying his triplets. He forced her to be his mate again, or she wouldn't see her children again. Six years later, he was no longer weak. He was the Alpha king of werewolves.