Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 106065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Tate was with Kingsley…but I couldn’t see them here.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek and hesitated. Who should I greet first? It seemed everyone had already found their group. The tables were full. Everyone was chatting away, and I didn’t want to intrude—
“Corey! Get your sweet butt over here before anyone else steals you away.”
The sound of Greer’s voice brought me relief, and I mustered a smile at him. He was sitting with Colt and Reese, and I hurried over to them and sat down next to Greer on the sofa.
“Hi.”
To my surprise, Greer leaned over and kissed the top of my head. He was just too fucking sweet. I couldn’t deal, dammit. Funny how I usually needed pain to cry, and now I was ready to bawl my eyes out over a sliver of affection.
“How are you, sweetheart?” Reese asked.
“I’m good!” I was quick to say. I didn’t want my crap to show, so it was important I maintained a grin. “How are you? Where’s River and Shay?”
The only way to tell River and Reese apart was the big tattoo on Reese’s neck. Otherwise, I’d never freaking know.
“They went upstairs for a date with a cane or seven.” Reese smiled. “Colt, Greer, and I are in the mood for raising hell with brats instead. We’re playing tag in a little bit—I take for granted you’ll join us.”
I loved tag! I loved it so much, because I was pretty darn fast.
“Of course he will.” Greer answered for me before I could. “I need someone to chase down, and Archie would rather talk about babies with Ivy.”
I slapped a hand over my mouth and couldn’t help it; I fell into a fit of giggles. And it wasn’t so much what he’d said as it was the relief of seeing him again and not feeling like I was a nuisance. He wanted to catch me and play with me!
“If you really want me to,” I said. “But babies are cute!”
He smiled wolfishly and closed the distance, bumping our foreheads together. “You’re cute.”
God, this felt so good. He overwhelmed me in the best possible way. I giggled again, and I had to struggle to keep my emotions at bay.
“I’m just gonna finish these ginger plugs for the figging demo, then we can begin,” he said.
All right, think fast. I wanted to change socks, ’cause the ones I had on slipped down when I ran. It would do me good to pee first, too. “Okay. I’ll go up to my guest room and leave my stuff,” I said decisively. Then I dragged my butt off the sofa and picked up my overnight bag again. “I’ll hurry back, but feel free to start without me. I don’t want to keep anyone waiting.”
I darted back inside, already feeling lots better, and rushed through the club area, out into the lobby, where I grabbed the key card to my room, and then I was running up the first flight of stairs.
Oh, how I needed this lift of my spirits. And I thought I deserved it too!
Up on the third floor, I jogged down the long corridor toward my guest room, savoring every bit of it. The erotic art on the walls, the metal numbers on the doors, the dark colors, the memories, the crown molding, and even the smell. It was a strange combination of wood, leather, and strong cleaning products.
I loved, loved, loved this house.
My guest room had a green theme, and I only booked it for the nights Marcus couldn’t come with me. He preferred another room. But this was cozy and just for me. I liked earthy colors and soft lighting. It helped my brain relax.
It felt like being stabbed in the heart every time I thought about leaving House Mclean for good.
Mclean House, Reese would bark at me. A memory that made me grin. The community was sort of divided on the matter of our name. The founding members and those who’d been here the longest had named it Mclean House. But somewhere along the line, a younger crowd had started calling it House Mclean, and I was one of them. House Mclean sounded way cooler! So now it was almost a fight, a playful one, about what we called our community.
Digging through my overnight bag on the bed, I located my change of clothes, a bag of gummy worms, the carrot sticks I was saving for a midnight snack, a bottle of water, and my toiletry kit.
Before I got cracking on clothes, I pushed play on a more upbeat list of songs in my phone. I’d had “Sway” on repeat since I got home from Denver, and it was time for a break.
Yeah, this was better. This was music that pumped me up! Exactly what a game with Sadists required.
My jeans and hoodie could take a beating; good clothes for roughhousing, but these socks had to go. I jumped on one leg and took them off, replacing them with a pair that didn’t drive me nuts. I just liked the softer ones because of the feel.