Shyla sits so close to Jack I’m convinced she’s about to climb into his lap, curl up like a cat, and purr while he strokes her head. It’s an uncomfortable closeness for me, and I want to separate them, yell at them to get a room, but I can’t, I won’t, because I have no proof anything is happening between them, and even if it was, so what? Jack isn’t mine, no matter how many times I check his social media, and besides, plenty of supervisors bang their subordinates.

I understand Shyla’s appeal. …

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Carys leaned back on her heels, wiped sweat from her brow, and surveyed the flower bed in front of her. Blossoms of all colors spread out before her: delicate pinks and brash crimsons, bright golds and pale yellows, purples and oranges and whites. Beside her, wrapped in a blue blanket, her infant daughter Nyah slept in the same tiny cradle Carys herself had slept in as a baby.

A little boy wandered over and grabbed a tulip. “Pretty!”

Carys chuckled.

“Son, how many times have I told…

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Storm was half-crazed with worry about Carys. She hadn’t signaled for him in nearly two months. He’d asked around town and learned that Lady Llyswa hadn’t left her house for more than a few hours at a time, but no one he talked to seemed to know why. Illness, perhaps, or not wanting to be out in the heat. Some rumors even said she’d lost favor with the new king, who had less taste for her way of doing business than his father.

Whatever the reason, Storm was overjoyed…

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

As summer progressed and the city became more hot and humid, Lady Llyswa’s mood declined as well. Nothing Carys did met with her approval, and it took all her concentration to avoid being whipped for little mistakes. Even worse though, her mistress’s gout flared up, leaving her unwilling to leave the house and often unable to leave her chamber. Nearly two months passed that Carys was unable to see Storm, and despite his promises, she feared he’d change his mind about rescuing her or forget how much they loved each other.

…

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The next day was the longest of Carys’s life. She was grateful her mistress was away; she found herself dropping things, having to redo tasks several times, and staring off into space as she thought about her night with Storm. As wonderful as her first kiss had been, the best part was simply having someone to talk to. She hadn’t even realized how lonely she was until he came along. Her thoughts turned to her future, something she’d never allowed herself to do before now.

Not that it mattered what she might plan…

Read Part 1, Part 2

The next day Storm returned to the street outside Lady Llyswa’s house, but the girl didn’t appear. Undaunted, he came back the next day, and the day after that, tucked into the shadows so that the few passersby or the house’s inhabitants wouldn’t notice him waiting for hours. On the fourth day, he was rewarded when the window opened and a blonde head popped out.

“Hello!” he called up to her.

She looked down and smiled. “Have you been waiting for me?”

Storm considered a witty reply, but he was so happy to see her…