Page 5 of Forbidden Impulses

"Your house is the bomb. Breakfast was amazing. Your brother is the coolest, no matter what you say, and your dads are awesome." I sum it all up for her in as few sentences as possible because I know she won't be happy until she's got all the information she wants or needs.

"Good enough to convince you to stay longer than a few months?" She checks me with her hip before leading me down a long hallway. “My room is that way,” she says, pointing in the opposite direction. “Lorcan and Mont have a suite on the ground floor. They’ve put you in the guest suite here because I didn’t think it would be kind to subject you to Ethan’s old room, even if it is next to mine.” She rolls her eyes as she explains, and I nod along to show I’m listening.

When she pushes open the door and shows me the lush suite, I feel a relieved breath huff out of my chest. I couldn’t give two flying fucks what it looks like inside, but I’m so ready to just have five minutes to myself to just be.

“Okay, honey. I’m down the hall. It’s the first door on the right. The door still has all my Pride stickersplastered all over it, so you can’t miss it. Two hours and then you come bashing it down, pretty please?”

“Deal,” I whisper before giving in to the hug I know she’s dying to give me.

And once she closes the door behind her, I fall face down on the bed and give in to the overwhelming emotions flooding through me.

Chapter Four

Annie

It's been one whole week.

Seven days of bliss.

I know I should have at least tried to get something started in Suzie's studio, but she's very convincing when it comes to getting me next to the pool with her. It's not like we completely wasted the pool time either. When I'm not working my way through my ridiculously long TBR, I'm flipping through applications for open positions at studios in the States. At first, I tried to stay local, but there are so few places even considering hiring, that it became clear, very early on, that I might have to branch out a bit. Even if it means I have to move away from Suzie and my new comfort zone.

So far, I've successfully avoided her dads. I don't go down to breakfast until well after they've left for work, or whatever it is they do during the day, and when it's dinner time I beg off, insisting Suzie spend some time with them instead, while grabbing a plate and hiding in my room.

It's been semi-successful, but I can tell Suzie is tiringof my excuses. I'll probably have to give in and spend some time with them soon, and hope above all else that Suzie can't tell how mouth-watering I find them.

Or maybe I've been imagining it all and they aren't really the sexiest beasts I've ever seen, and I just need to get over myself.

Giggling at my ridiculousness, I push up from the lounger and pop my e-reader under the pillow. Suzie is working her way through a crossword with serious concentration. "Hey, clever clogs. I'm going to do some laps. Do you want to go out and get some pizza after?"

My friend looks up from her puzzle book with a large smile on her face. "Pizza and my best friend? Sounds perfect. How many laps are you doing?"

"The usual," I say, shrugging.

"Good," she responds, smirking. "Gives me plenty of time to finish this crossword and get a good start on the next one."

Giggling at her antics, I gently smack her on the back of the head before I walk over to the large, heated pool. Their house is pretty amazing, with a lot of great amenities. But the pool is my favorite. Not because it's getting close to winter, and I can still get my swim on. No... It's because if there is one thing I really missed while working under asshole Jackson, it's that there wasn't a decent public pool close by, and the one at the local gym was always filled with old grannies doing their water aerobics.

In the week we've been here, I've gotten back into my old habit of doing fifty laps each morning and evening.

The feel of the water rushing over my body as I dive in feels like a welcome and warm embrace. Soon my muscles loosen up nicely and I set a steady pace, movingfrom one end of the large pool to the other, cutting out everything else.

DaddyJackson’s actions and how he contacted my parents when he felt our relationship had run its course becomes background noise and I forget about my mother's harsh words and my father's cruel sneer when he informed me I'd be cut off from any further support immediately.

I stop thinking about the way my heart broke when the one man I thought I could depend on for everything stomped on it with no pause whatsoever.

When I'm in the water, all I feel, all I focus on, is the next breath I need to take, and the next move I need to make. It's so calming and cathartic that I can even ignore the fact that, more often than not, I'm crying.

Suzie is great about ignoring my red-rimmed eyes when I get out each time. And this time, she isn't even there to pretend she sees nothing.

She's left a note on my lounger to inform me she's gone to get dressed, so I quickly grab my towel, wrap it around me and pick up my phone and e-reader so I can head to my room to shower and change.

If I play my cards right, I might even convince her to go out after too. We haven't been dancing at all since we got home, and I'd love to experience the nightlife here at least once before I pretend to be a grown-up and do all the responsible things like work and earn a living.

I'm so busy focusing on my cell phone and texting Suzie about the possible change of plans that I don't notice I'm not alone in the pool room anymore. Not until I'm stopped by two strong hands wrapping around my biceps, stopping me from crashing into a large chest.

"Hold on there, Annie," Montgomery's smooth voicewarns me. It sends a delicious shiver down my spine that's very hard to hide, especially when we're standing this close together. "You should probably put that phone away and look where you're going."

"Sorry!" I croak out before clearing my suddenly frog-filled throat. I try to take a step back, but his hands stay clasped around my arms, keeping me hostage. They're so warm, firm and rough that I can picture them on other areas of my body too.

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