Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 124140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
“You could probably catch her from here,” Sampson suggested.
No. No, she couldn’t drop. She shook her head. She couldn’t.
“Pequeña, do you trust me?” Alejandro asked in a low voice.
This wasn’t fair. He couldn’t ask her to do this. She couldn’t do it!
“Pequeña?”
“I trust you, but I can’t drop. I can’t!”
“It’s all right, you don’t have to. I’m coming up.”
He started to climb, but she screamed as the silks moved.
“Fuck! Cat, stop. Please stop.”
That was the closest she’d ever heard him come to begging, and it helped get her under control. She took in a few quiet, sobbing breaths.
“You’re going to need to let go. Trust me to catch you.”
She shook, the sobs wracked her body. Exhaustion weighed her down, making it hard for her to think.
“Cat, are you listening to me?” His voice was stern now. “You’re going to be a good girl and do exactly what I tell you. If you don’t, I’ll have to punish you.”
What? That was so mean.
“On the count of three, you’re going to let go. Do you hear me? One. Two. Three!”
As he said three, her hands let go. She screamed as she fell two hundred feet.
Okay, it was really just a few feet.
Then she landed with a thump against him. He fell back onto the mattresses, which had been piled up behind him. She let out another cry. Tears fell freely down her face as she tried to sit up.
“Stay still,” he told her, but his voice was void of any dominance. He sounded breathless.
“Did I hurt you? Are you hurt?” She tried to check him over.
“Boss?” The Scot asked.
“I’m fine.” He stood up with her in his arms and started striding toward the bedroom.
“Wait, where are you taking her?” Immy asked.
He turned, and she stared at all of her friends in shock. What were they even doing here?
“I apologize. I need to go have a chat with Cat. The Scot will show you to your rooms since Bernard seems to be absent. We’ll be back.”
“Sure thing, Boss.” The Scot winked at her. “Hope you can still sit tomorrow, Little Queen.”
“She doesn’t deserve to,” Sampson muttered as they left.
Immy sent her a sympathetic grimace.
Right. This was a new level of embarrassment.
“Alejandro! You can’t take me away to spank me!” she chided him.
“Why not? Did you not just put yourself in danger?”
“Yes, but . . . but . . . my friends!”
He walked them into his bedroom, closing the door with his foot before he sat on the side of the bed and settled her on his lap so she was facing him. “Where is Bernard?”
“He’s out. He didn’t know what I was up to.”
He raised his eyebrow. “I don’t believe that for a second. What the hell did you think you were doing, Cat? That was ridiculously dangerous!”
“The silks would have been fine. I’ve always wanted to try them. I just went too high and then realized I might be a teeny-tiny bit scared of heights.”
He glowered at her. “You will not do anything like that again, understand me? No more stunts. You’re giving me gray hairs,” he grumbled.
“But you look so good with gray hairs.” She reached up to brush her fingers through his hair.
He frowned at her. “If this keeps up, I’ll be fully gray by the end of the year.”
“I’ll still love you. But I will try my best not to give you too many gray hairs.”
He snorted. “Don’t strain yourself, brat. I mean it, though. Your ass is toast for this stunt.”
“Surely being scared out of my mind is punishment enough?”
“No. It’s not.”
“But my friends are here. Wait. Why are my friends here?”
“I invited them.”
“You . . . you did?”
“Yes.” He ran his finger down her cheek. “I know how much you miss them. I wanted to do something nice for you.”
“You kept it a secret, though!”
“Well, you were so nervous leading up to me going to dinner with Jake and Elsie.”
They’d had dinner with Jake and Elsie a couple of weeks ago. It hadn’t gone that well. Jake wasn’t at all happy that she was engaged to Alejandro.
“I didn’t want you to spend all your time worrying,” he explained.
“That’s . . . that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“Yeah? You like that I did that?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I think I’ll make them stay.”
“Wh-what?” she asked.
“Stay here. With us. They’re your family. I should take care of them. Especially Immy. She’s obviously a Little. She needs protecting.”
“Um, no. Alejandro, that won’t be necessary.” He was being slightly over-the-top, and it was her turn to rein him in.
Not that she would ever tell him that.
God, she loved this man.
She sniffled.
“Everything all right?” he asked, framing her face with his hands.
“Everything is perfect, Papi. More perfect than I ever thought I would deserve.”
“You’ve got it the wrong way around, Pequeña. It’s me who doesn’t deserve you. But I’m going to keep you. Forever.”