Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Hawking nodded to confirm her guess. “The owner of the resort is funding the son’s treatment. She reported that she hadn’t found you to the people that sent her here.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Celeste asked.
“Maybe. You’re not safe on this floor, though. We’ll move you to the fifth floor as soon as you can be ready.”
“I just have my computer and my suitcase. Want me to throw everything together now?” she asked.
“Yes. I’ll breathe easier when you’re secured.”
Sadie helped her gather her few things and return them to her purse and suitcase. The kind woman didn’t chatter as they packed everything, but she did comment on Celeste’s black cat stuffie’s name.
“Hades? Isn’t that the god of the underworld? Isn’t that scary to sleep with?” Sadie asked.
“My Hades is a girl. She’s still the ruler of all the scary stuff. That’s the best part because she keeps everything bad away from me,” Celeste explained.
“That is really smart. They have to do what she says,” Sadie said with a grin.
“Do you have everything?” Hawking asked.
Celeste looked around and then dashed over to the coffee pot and grabbed something from next to it, which she added to her purse. It looked like a hard drive. Had she been hiding it? He wondered if it held the unaltered data from her cancer research.
With Magnus watching from the basement to give them the green light by text, the trio dashed into the elevator.
“There isn’t a fifth-floor button,” Celeste pointed out. She then fell quiet as Hawking placed his thumb on a section of the wall above the numbers.
He glanced at Celeste and winked. “Magic,” he whispered.
The elevator glided upward and opened on the top floor where Hawking once again used his thumbprint to open a door that led into a large gathering area with comfortable seating and a huge TV. He knew this was all a shock to Celeste.
Sadie ran across the room to point at the door with a penguin on the front. “This is where I stay. I love penguins. Your door is there.” She pointed at another door before looking at her watch. “I have to get back to the front area. Will Celeste be at dinner tonight?”
“She will,” Hawking assured her.
“See you there,” Sadie said and dashed forward to give Celeste a hug. “Don’t worry. Hawking and the guys will keep you safe.”
“I guess we’ll have to put a black cat on my door,” Hawking said with a laugh.
“I’m staying with you?” Celeste whispered.
“Yes. There’s a separate room for you if you wish to sleep by yourself,” he assured her.
Immediately, she shook her head. “I want to sleep with you and Hades.”
“I’d love that, too. Let me show you our area,” Hawking said, wheeling her suitcase into the large bedroom. “The dresser drawers on the right are empty, and there’s space in the closet. Unpack and settle in before dinner. The bathroom is through there.”
“What’s through there?” Celeste asked, pointing at an adjoining door.
“That’s the other bedroom. A type of playroom.”
“Like for video games?”
He chuckled. “No, Little girl. A playroom for you. A place where you can be Little.” He hoped she was ready to hear all this.
Her eyes went wide. “Can I see it?”
“You can do more than that. You can explore anything, Little girl.”
He opened the door and escorted her inside. He hadn’t done much to prepare this room because he hadn’t known until two days ago that Celeste was coming, let alone that she was his Little girl. “There’s a desk. You could claim that for your own if you wish.”
Celeste darted forward to set her oversized purse on the flat surface. “Mine.”
Hawking had to laugh. “Yours, CB.”
She turned around in a circle several times, taking everything in. The day bed, the dresser, the rocking chair, the bookshelf. “But…”
He chuckled again as he stepped behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. “I’ve been looking for my Little girl for a long time, Celeste. I was getting prepared.”
She twisted around, causing his hands to drop to her hips. “I don’t understand what’s happening. You haven’t told me how you know my name or about my problems. And why do you care?”
He pulled her closer, flattening his chest to hers. She felt so good against him. Even though he’d slept next to her on her bed last night, he hadn’t been this close to her yet. He really wanted to kiss her again, too. Her full lips were so tempting.
“Let’s start with the last question,” he said. “I care because you’re mine, CB. I’m pretty sure I knew that before you even arrived, but the moment I set eyes on you, it was confirmed.”
Her jaw fell open.
“As for the rest, all I can say is that the owner of this resort, Baldwin Kingsley, knows a lot of things. He’s made it his mission to help people. I can’t say how he knew about your problems, but he assigned me to keep you safe.”