Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
I glanced at Cam and was super relieved to find him turning to me too. At the same time, Tate and Shay paired up, and Lane was with that girl, NoraOfTheNorth or whatever she called herself online.
“Wanna team up?” Cam asked.
“Yeah, definitely.” I nodded.
“Gael!” I heard Macklin call over the chatter.
I stood on my toes, ’cause people were flooding the front where the only two sinks were. I had to raise my hand too for Macklin to locate me.
He offered a quick smile and pointed at a station. “I want you up front, pet.”
Oof, here we go. “Yes, Sir!”
“Pet?” Cam lifted his brows, his curiosity clear as day.
I grinned sheepishly and followed him toward the front. “Dean and Santiago want to see if Macklin and I have good chemistry before the group-play thing on Thursday.”
He knew about it, considering KC and Noa had signed up to attend. But Cam himself—and Master Lucian—weren’t interested in scening with others outside their poly family.
“I see. Noa told me a lot of people are attending.” Cam grinned. “You looking forward to it?”
“Yeah—but I’m trying not to think about it too much yet,” I admitted. “I’m gonna be crazy nervous right before.”
Noa wasn’t wrong either. Everyone who’d received an invitation had signed up, plus a few others. Although, the extras were only going to watch. River, Reese, and Shay, for instance…? I’d been surprised to see them on the list until I’d spotted the “watch only” symbol next to their names. Well, next to River and Reese. Shay’s name had come with an asterisk but no explanation about what it meant.
Also, Tate’s Master was going to watch. Master Kingsley. Not Tate. Just Master Kingsley, along with Franklin’s Owner, Jack. But Franklin was going to play.
“Once you’re buried in bodies, you’ll stop thinking altogether,” Cam replied.
Fingers crossed. I just wanted to feel.
After a few minutes, everyone had washed their hands and put on aprons that Archie handed out. He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept last night. Maybe that was to be expected? Between Master Greer, Mister Sloan, Corey, and Archie, they had five children, so yeah.
“All right, please pipe down, everyone!” Macklin called. “One last thing before we begin! My Master has installed a camera—” He gestured at a spot behind him, and I saw the camera in the corner. “It’s not recording anything, but he, Master Dean, and Santiago are watching downstairs. Just so you know.”
Tate cocked a brow. He and Shay had the station next to Cam’s and mine. “And why are they watching?”
“Call it homework for our group-play event on Thursday,” Macklin responded. “Don’t worry, they’re not collecting dirt to pass on to your Owners. But—” He paused briefly and eyed Tate. “Perhaps they can persuade Master Kingsley to get you to join us…?”
I raked my teeth over my bottom lip.
Tate laughed and shook his head. “Nope. I opted out. I have tests to grade—and benefits to reap when Master comes home with a head full of inspiration. Besides, they’re just there to humiliate Franklin.”
Ooh, nice strategy. I wanted to try something similar with my Daddies. Like, at another event, we could just watch? And then go home and take out our frustrations on each other.
So many possibilities!
“That’ll be fun to watch.” Macklin smirked lazily, then moved on. “Okay, subbies! Everyone knows me already, but Archie’s still a newbie with us. What he’s not new at is pasta.” He handed the proverbial microphone over to Archie, who rose from a stool and smiled tiredly.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Archie, Master Greer’s slave. Before I talked him into claiming me as his property—”
“As if he took long to wear down, babe,” Tate laughed.
Archie smirked, half proud, half smug. “Yes, well. My cooking sure helped. And—long story short. I spent my twenties in and out of university, and I was lucky enough to take a quick class in pasta making in Naples. Which works out great because Macklin’s primarily schooled in northern Italian cooking, where the pasta has an extra ingredient. Eggs.”
Macklin nodded and folded his arms over his chest. “Today, we’re going to make two kinds. Tagliatelle from northern Italy, and cavatelli from the south.” He began bringing out ingredients from the shelf below their worksurface. “Underneath your counters, you’ll find everything you need. Flour, semolina, durum flour, eggs, and salt. You can bring it all up.”
Alrighty, I got cracking right away. There was one of those pasta makers too—like, the ones that rolled out spaghetti and whatnot. Meanwhile, Cam raised his hand.
“Yeah, hon?” Macklin replied.
“Is there a way to skip the salt?” Cam wondered. “I’m aiming for low sodium with Master.”
Hm, he raised a good point. Could Master eat pasta all he wanted? I mean, there was no white sugar in there, but it was a white carb. So…maybe in moderation…?
“That’s not a problem,” Archie assured. He sounded a bit British. “The salt goes in the water, not the dough, and you can absolutely skip it.”