Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
He’s rambling about how he’s going to decorate his terrarium. Good sign! Kisses.
When I came home again, I had steaks and chicken for our first barbecue of the season—and a new text from KC. Apparently, Ash was stopping by earlier and couldn’t stay long. “Kid emergency” was the reason for the change of plans, which I’d gotten used to. I’d grown so close to Archie that I was learning all sorts of things about their kids—how plans always changed—and why I never, ever wanted children of my own.
Nothing against the kids in my life, whether we were family or I was a friend of a parent; that level of responsibility just wasn’t for me. I had a Master, a Daddy, and a Noa to take care of. And they didn’t smell weird. Kids sometimes did, for no reason at all. Plus, they always had fluids seeping out of them one way or another.
Assuming that Ash was no longer having dinner with us, I made a quick plan for snacks for his visit instead. Archie’s garlic knots, vegetable sticks and dip… Hmm. I tapped my pen against my lips. Oh, we had charcuterie and cheese. Easy enough but tasty.
It was going to be nice to see Ash again. He was fun. I didn’t know him well on a personal level, but I’d been to enough events when he’d been a member to have him sort of pegged. He’d been jokingly referred to as River and Reese’s big brother, primarily because he was a few years older than the twins and gave off Reese vibes in his sadism and primal play. Though, that was about it when it came to similarities.
I’d found him more similar to Greer, to be honest. Ash was a Daddy-like primal player, and he loved kids. He had to, ’cause he had four of them, all adopted, with his ex-husband Nathan.
It was sad that they’d split up, I thought. They’d reminded me a lot of Colt and Mr. West in a time I’d still been trying to figure out who everyone was. Ash was the rough-around-the-edges blue-collar guy who ran his own scaffolding and construction business with his brother—except, there was a part of their story I didn’t know, because KC had mentioned they came from money. And Nathan was the book-smart psychologist specializing in grief and trauma.
Given the number of kids they had, Ash wasn’t one of those kinksters who’d showed up at Mclean every weekend. Far from it. But I could admit they’d left an impression. It was actually Nathan who’d opened my eyes to bondage. I’d eventually discovered it wasn’t a big kink of mine, but when done right, it was so beautiful. I loved to watch rope sessions, and Nathan was one of the best riggers ever.
“Cam!” Master called.
“Yes, Owner!” I responded.
“I’m bored!”
I gigglesnorted and poured him a cup of decaf.
Safe to say, Lucian did not always know how to relax. This week alone, he’d started and given up on four projects. Planting tomatoes was not happening. Neither were crossword puzzles, gardening, or washing our cars. And he was irritated because he couldn’t get cracking on home renovations. We’d picked out colors and materials for a revamped kitchen, dining room, and living room, and he’d booked meetings with contractors, painters, and whatnot. But we were leaving for our vacation in a week, so everything had to wait till after we got home.
I found him in the living room and noticed he’d opened up the pool area to let some sun in.
He sighed and tossed his book onto the coffee table. “I’m restless.”
“I figured.” I handed him his coffee, doing my best not to laugh. He was just so…slumped. In KC’s chair, to boot. A very comfortable chair that you sort of sank into, and you needed the mechanical shove to get out of it. “Anything I can do, Sir?”
He hummed and eyed the remote that was out of his reach. “When did you have your Zoom thing?”
I checked the clock in the entertainment center. “In twenty minutes. Do you want me to make you a snack?”
Was he…was he pouting to himself?
Don’t laugh, don’t laugh.
“No, thank you,” he muttered. Then he reached for my hand. “Cuddle with me?”
Always.
I set his mug on Daddy’s side table, and then I sank down on Lucian’s lap and propped my legs over the armrest.
One might think he’d indulge in sweats and tees around the house, but something had happened the other day when he’d decided to buy a polo shirt. Now it was all he wore if he didn’t put on a suit.
My man could be endearingly strange sometimes.
“Why aren’t you in comfier clothes, Sir?”
He peered down at his polo. “Compared to a suit, this is flannel pajamas in a mountain cabin in front of a fire. With cocoa and marshmallows.”