Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 111359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
It felt like much longer.
Alec nodded. “Probably smart. But make sure she knows you’re serious.”
“She does. She just has moments of doubt. Did you know her mom dumped her with her grandma because her new husband didn’t like having a kid around?”
“Fuck. No.”
“Hannah is worried that one day I’ll get sick of her. She’ll soon learn that I’m completely serious.”
Alec nodded. “Has she talked to you about ever returning to Saxon’s? About her needs as a sub?”
He narrowed his gaze. “A bit. This asshole took her to a club once and humiliated her. Didn’t honor her boundaries. He held her down and choked her. She said that once, he left her tied up, and she had no idea when he was coming back. She was there for over an hour.”
“Motherfucker.”
“Yeah. So she’s nervous about playing again. But I think she needs it. She needs to take back that part of herself. Even if she doesn’t want to play like she did before, she likes it when I take charge.”
“And you’re going to give her that?”
“Yeah. I am. I’m going to talk to Saxon about classes.” That would make the other man happy. He’d texted Raid several times since he’d seen him the other day, checking on Hannah.
“Good,” Alec said. “I’m glad you brought her here. We’ll take care of her.”
“Damn right. No one fucks with the Malones.”
Hannah was making faces at Seb when Raid strolled into the kitchen.
“Time for a nap.” He grabbed her hand.
“Hi Raid, nice to see you. How are you doing? Oh, good, me too,” Mia said with a grin.
“Sorry.” Raid sent Mia a sheepish grin. Walking over to her, he kissed the top of her head. “How are you doing?”
“Good. I baked you some cookies.”
“I love you, Mia. Are you sure you don’t want to dump the old guy and marry me.”
“Raid! What about Hannah?”
“What? We’ll be in one of those poly relationships, like Maddox, Beau, and Scarlett. You’d be okay with that, right, Hannah?” He put his hand to the side of his mouth and whispered loudly. “Mia can bake. And cook.”
Hannah found herself smiling at their banter. “Sure, I wouldn’t mind a sister-wife.”
“There. Done. Mia, you’re dumping Alec and marrying me.”
“You’d think I might have something to say about this?” Mia asked.
“Mia, are you saying you don’t want Hannah? That’s really rude.”
Mia rolled her eyes, but she was grinning. “You’re an idiot. Here, take these cookies. And go take Hannah for that nap. She looks exhausted.”
Drat. She must look terrible.
Raid took her hand again. “Come on, darlin’.”
She waved to Mia and Seb before leading her outside. They walked back to the bunkhouse hand in hand.
“Should I ask how Alec would be able to get someone to talk to Steven?”
He shot her a look. “Probably best you don’t.”
“That’s what I thought.” She leaned into him.
“You feeling all right, baby? No dizziness?”
“No, I’m good. Just . . . tired. Or my body is. I don’t think my mind will be able to shut off enough to let me nap.”
“You need to try.” He led her inside and into his bedroom.
Raid had an enormous bed. It took up most of the room. But it looked so inviting.
“Here, baby. Put this on and use the bathroom.” He handed her an old T-shirt. She thought about telling him that she had pajamas. But the T-shirt was soft and worn from use. And it was his.
So she moved to his attached bathroom and stripped before putting it on.
When she returned to the bedroom, he had pulled the curtains, and the bed was ready. She climbed in and he tucked the covers around her before kissing her forehead.
“Want me to stay here until you drop off?”
“You’re not napping with me?” she asked.
“No. I have some things to do.”
Shoot. Well, she couldn’t ask him to put off what he had to do. She was already disrupting him enough.
“You go do what you have to. I’ll probably be asleep in five minutes.”
34
She was not asleep in five minutes.
In fact, half an hour later, she was still tossing and turning. This was pointless. There were other things she could be doing.
Shoot! She had to let Doc know she wouldn’t be able to work for a while. Getting up, she looked around for her handbag.
Rats. She must have left it in Raid’s truck. She slid her feet into some flip-flops and made her way out into the common area.
Raid must have sensed her because he looked up from his phone and turned as she walked in, giving her a concerned look. “What’s wrong, baby? Can’t you sleep?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think I can sleep anymore without you.”
Shoot. She hadn’t actually meant to say that, to show her vulnerable side. But the look on his face was worth opening up for.
“Come here,” he said huskily, holding out a hand.