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)
Hauling out my phone, I snuck closer and opened my camera.
Right there.
Forehead to forehead, gorgeous smiles, trapped in their little bubble. Perfect photo.
I smiled and nodded in satisfaction, then sent it to Archie in our group chat.
He responded quickly.
They’re so bloody stunning together. We need to start an album with our favourite photos that we can’t hang on the wall. Thanks for sending it to me, love! Have fun tonight, or whatever you tell someone who’s about to get waterboarded.
I snickered and texted back.
It will definitely be fun! Probably. Maybe. Well, I hope so. Kisses!
After saying goodbye to Daddy a few hugs and kisses later, I skipped over to Colt because Greer excused himself to get something from the truck.
“Hello there, Texan Sir. How do you do?”
Colt smirked and folded his arms over his chest. “I think I’m gonna tell Kit to always greet me like that when I get home from work. I’m fine, kiddo. How’re you?”
“I’m fine, thank you very much.” I beamed. “I was wondering, are we doing the waterboarding scene in Greer’s cabin, your cabin, or TenShay’s cabin?”
“TenShay—good one,” he chuckled. “No cabin, actually. We’ll be in the house.”
Excuse me?
I looked over to the house, then back to Colt. “That house right there?”
“Second and third floors have been cleared to enter for shorter periods of time,” he replied. “But the shower rooms weren’t damaged at all, so an hour or two won’t be a problem.”
Huh.
Just seconds later, Reese and Shay appeared from their cabin, and I could tell by the look on Shay’s face that he already knew we’d be in the main house for this scene.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet.
“We ready?” Reese asked.
“Greer’s just grabbing something from the truck,” I answered.
“Probably the lawn chairs I asked him to buy at lunch,” he said.
What was wrong with the ones we had? The patio was filled with lawn furniture.
“Y’all head up,” Colt said. “I’m just gonna slip into something sluttier.”
I laughed. “Can’t wait to see you in lace and satin, Sir.”
“My jeans are slutty enough,” he retorted. “Have you seen my ass in them?”
He was too silly!
Colt was wearing jeans now too, but maybe he was talking about specific jeans. He wasn’t the first Dom to have favorite pants to play in.
“Let’s go, boys.” Reese pressed a kiss to Shay’s temple. “You’ve got this, baby.”
“If you say so,” Shay mumbled.
I followed behind them, and I felt so bad for him. I knew he appreciated the lengths River and Reese went to to push him toward better days, but God, it had to take a toll.
“Deep breaths through your nose,” Reese murmured. “It’s better you accept the smell out here than have it smack you in the face when we enter the house.”
I spotted Greer coming from the carport as we reached the front of the house, so I slowed down a little to wait for him. And to give Reese and Shay some space.
Indeedio, Greer was carrying two lawn chairs, and now I saw the difference between them and the ones we had on the patio. These reclined.
I stopped just a foot or two away from the porch steps. “We’re gonna be upstairs, Sir.”
Greer nodded with a dip of his chin. “You tell me if it gets to be too much, you hear?”
“Yes, Sir.” The smell was stronger here, but I felt okay. Maybe a little bit uneasy in my stomach.
I took a deep breath and walked up the steps.
No door to open because it was gone.
So we walked straight in, and yeah, it was a very sharp smell. Not only from burned wood but from paint that’d melted off the walls and the water that had damaged porous materials.
Thankfully, the smell of burning electrical wiring had disappeared.
I slipped my hand into Greer’s, and we took the first steps up the stairs together.
They creaked in some places as they’d always done.
It was so hard to believe that the last time we’d been here, Greer had sprinted down the stairs with me on his back. Thick, black smoke had stopped us from taking a single breath. Flames had crept up the walls, and we’d felt the heat on our skin.
“I don’t think I’ve ever coughed so much as we did right after,” I said quietly.
He squeezed my hand. “It’ll be a story for the grandkids—about that one time we spent the night in a kinky club, and then a fire started and Gramps flew down the stairs with a mini gramps on his back before they hacked up a lung.”
I squeaked a laugh and shook my head. “Mini gramps. Oh my gosh.”
Damn, he was good at brightening my mood.
It was a funny, hopeful glimpse into a future I wanted too.
“Okay,” I heard Shay say, and he released a breath. “It went better than I thought it would.”