Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Oh, thanks for aiming the spotlight right at me. Sadist.
Ty smirked lazily and lifted a brow at me. “That right? I try not to scare away the first-timers.”
Think fast, think fast.
I cleared my throat. “I’ll be more gentle next time.”
“Hey, now.” Reese stood a little taller. Almost as tall as Ty. “I always said lube was overrated.”
Okay, that was funny, even more so when Shay scowled at his Dom.
Stepping out onto the porch after we’d changed into boardshorts was like love at first sight, and I didn’t know what I liked the most. The cozy barbecue area where seven Adirondack chairs circled a firepit, the fence or wall of some sort that framed the edge of the property, which was covered in potted plants and succulents, or the adventure that waited beyond the deck. The water was so beautiful. I walked up to the gate and just looked around. Sandy white bottom as far as the eyes could see. Countless mangrove islets. Sunrays bouncing off the turquoise surface of the ocean. A boardwalk that stretched along the shore. Okay, maybe it was a little wider than I’d first guessed. Ten feet or so.
Then I felt something butting against my calf, and I dropped my gaze to see a Jack Russell terrier.
I squatted down and greeted the boy. Erhm…scratch that. Girl.
“Hey, there.” I patted her head and soaked up her attention, and she jumped up, planting her front paws on my thigh. “Aren’t you cute as hell? Yes, you are.”
Macklin, River, and Shay got seated around the firepit, and I glanced back at them. With the way the second floor above us extended past half the porch, I could easily picture sitting there at sunset, watching summer storms roll in.
I returned my attention to the cute dog and the little garden. It wouldn’t surprise me if Marina had designed it. The second date I’d taken her on had been to the botanical garden in DC, and she’d lit up like the sun.
She hadn’t laughed when I’d admitted to collecting succulents.
“Come cuddle with me, Lane.”
I looked over my shoulder again and smiled at my man. A cuddle sounded good. Inside the house, Ty was greeting the new arrivals, and I still couldn’t believe my luck. The tension was rolling off me, finally allowing me to relax.
It was a tight fit, but I managed to squeeze in next to Macklin in his chair, and he draped my legs over his lap and kissed my neck.
“Your sleeve is freaking gorgeous, Lane,” Shay commented.
I glanced at my arm, finding him studying it, and smiled. “Thanks. I’d say the same about your backpiece.”
The guy clearly loved Japanese art, and whoever had inked his body had done an amazing job.
I’d had a great tattoo artist too. One of the best in DC. He’d covered my arm in snake scales, the shadows ranging in shades of blue, teal, red, and brown.
The smell of cheese hit my senses about thirty seconds after Reese put the patty melts on the grill at the center, and now that I was recovering from what’d happened earlier, I could appreciate it. Sun, salt water, grilled food, music, Mack cuddles, and warmth.
The sun was eventually going to dip low enough to drench the shaded part of the porch in sunlight too, so I decided to unpack my sunscreen before Ty showed us the boat. I’d want it nearby.
Mack sighed contentedly and took a swig of his beer. “This is the life.”
I yawned and rested my cheek on his shoulder.
That nap sounded better and better. Anxiety and stress always knocked me out.
“You gotta come too, Daddy,” someone said from inside the house. Kit, presumably.
“I’m right here, little darlin’. Daddy and I are just gonna leave the bags upstairs.”
“Then I’ll come with you.”
Macklin chuckled drowsily. “He’s too fucking cute. Lucas told me Kit’s regressed a lot since the Christmas party.”
“Oh yeah?” Reese replied. “Makes sense. Their first dip into the orgy pool was a complete fuckfest.”
“As it should be.” Macklin’s response came with a full-fledged grin. “Besides, Colt and Lucas reap the rewards now when Kit’s clingier than a toddler with the sniffles.”
I laughed, wondering where that comparison had come from.
“I don’t think he’ll engage in playtime outside his triad for a while,” Reese—no, wait. That was River. He spoke more quietly. “That’s how it should be too.”
Reese agreed. “Sometimes, you need a little Band-Aid even when there’s no wound.”
I glanced over at him. I liked that. A bit of reassurance and restabilizing.
Ty came out alone, and he said the newcomers would be with us soon. Then he sat down with a sigh of contentment in the chair next to ours, and he reached forward and poked at a patty melt on the grill.
He hadn’t changed much. The few differences I did see had only made him sexier. Like a little bit of gray at his temples, a few more laugh lines, and possibly a couple extra pounds.