Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
He’d left her alone when he should have protected her. Even if he’d freaking thought she might have been guilty, he should have protected her, should have made sure.
He shoved that thought aside. She wasn’t ready to hear him apologize yet.
Grace moved out of her son’s arms, and her expression changed. She pointed a finger her son’s way and started to let him have it.
Big bad Kyle took a step back.
“Oh, shit.” Taylor’s hand came up, covering her mouth as though she could hold in her laugh. “That’s one mad mama.”
Kyle’s hands came up, and while Drake couldn’t hear what was being said, he could imagine it. “Sorry, Mom. My CIA job that you didn’t know about went south, and I had to blow myself up.”
Taylor chuckled and started to play along. “You know that’s how all CIA jobs go. Someone’s fake dying and coming back. Hope you kept my room clean.”
Oh, she was so mean, and he was here for it. He went into a bad Grace impersonation. “Bad, Kyle. I would give you a spanking but we both know that would be weird because we’re both into the lifestyle.”
Taylor’s head tilted up, those gorgeous eyes filled with curiosity. “Seriously? The Soldier Chef spanks his wife?”
He was not about to let her imagination go wild. “He is happily married and way too old for you.”
“That man is not too old for anyone.” She looked back. “Wait. Does Kyle go to the same club as his mom?”
“Absolutely not.” Out in the parking lot it looked like Sean was also having a word with Kyle. “There are several clubs in the Dallas area. Taggart owns one, but Kyle and his brother David go to a club owned by a man named Julian Lodge. Kyle says it’s to avoid accidently seeing his mother’s boobs. I can understand that. Not his mother’s boobs. Those seem lovely, but I would not want to see my mother’s boobs.”
“Don’t your mother’s boobs belong to the Senate?” She was back to laughing and then a little gasp as Kyle threw his hands up. “What was that about?”
It was good to know he could get to her through gossip. She liked gossip? He could give it to her. Especially about Kyle. “I don’t think being an elected official means her boobs belong to anyone, though my dad would probably disagree, and I would bet they just got on the subject of MaeBe.”
“Maybe?”
“She’s a woman not an adverb. Mae Beatrice Vaughn.”
Taylor nodded. “Ah, the woman he’s stalking online. She’s going to find out about that. Is she going to be surprised he’s alive?”
“Nah, but she will be surprised she’s been flirting with him online. I mean he says they’re only friends and he’s helping her get over him, but his online name is Kraven, so we should not believe him.”
Taylor made a vomiting sound. “That’s such a gamer bro thing to call himself. Have you thought about joining his guild, working your way up and fucking with him?”
There was a project they could work on together. “I’m not a big gamer but that could be fun.”
She turned, their bodies close together. “Seriously? You’re a gaming noob?”
“I’m not sure what that means.” This was the kind of honesty she needed right now. The kind that only sort of made him look ridiculous.
They were so close, and he could feel the heat between them. There was an electricity he felt the minute she walked in the room, and he’d forgotten how it brought him to life in a way he hadn’t been before. There had been a reason he’d never stopped thinking about her. There was a reason he’d been ready to blow up his world to be near her again.
Her hair curled slightly at the tips, framing her jaw and giving her a mischievous look. “It means you’re a newbie, and given your particular generation, the fact that you’re not an expert gamer means you’re a bit of a nerd.”
He could deal with that. Gaming and online life were the foundations of their generation. “But I was too busy spying.”
It was the truth. He’d spent the majority of his upbringing gathering intel and treating his peers like fountains of information to feed to his father. He hadn’t done a lot of killing virtual aliens or raiding weird cyberpunk dungeons, and now that seemed like a mistake.
The slight smile on her face faded, and she stepped back, breaking that fragile connection. “Yeah. I should remember that.” She moved away, looking to Brad. “When are we having the conference with Mr. Taggart?”
Brad’s grim expression let him know he’d watched the entire scene. “As soon as Mr. Lee and Mr. Seeger join us. You should know I’ve also been informed by our host that we won’t have access to the second level of the building tonight. Apparently there’s some kind of…how to put this…”