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)
I cleared the sleep out of my voice and pushed away the covers. “What time is it?”
“A little past noon.”
Oh fuck. Past noon. I almost lost my balance as I stepped into my sweats, and I pictured Master waking up to learn I had abandoned him in the middle of the night.
Lucian should be awake now. Maybe he was even home.
I would’ve checked my phone, but Master Greer had stolen it from me.
“I’ll take care of that, pet.” He’d just snatched it from me.
“But—!”
“No buts. You need to think about yourself. Plus, your Daddy said I could.”
He’d allowed me to send Master one text, then to let KC know, and that was that.
In retrospect, I wasn’t sure I should’ve sent that message to Master.
I righted my tee and then made a half-assed attempt at making the bed, but Archie told me we could do that later.
Was I sleeping here tonight again?
I swallowed my unease and nodded. Then I excused myself for a quick bathroom break, and I grabbed my toiletry kit. And, of course, fucking everything reminded me of Lucian, our lifestyle, our community. It even said freaking Mclean House on my toiletry case, which always prompted Noa to call me a traitor. He’d bought his own kit, only to order a patch that said House Mclean instead.
When I entered the bathroom, it was easy to tell this was the children’s area. Every toothbrush had a cartoon figure except one, similar story with the towels. Toothpaste splatters on the mirror, a laundry basket that… Well, it could look worse. Some underwear and socks littered the floor, but Archie ran a tight ship. With five kids in the house, I supposed one had to.
I sat down to relieve myself and avoided my reflection in the mirror. Instead, I took in the sight of no-tears shampoo, the toddler’s changing table, two big packs of pull-up diapers… We didn’t have a changing table at home, but Noa did love his no-tears shampoo, and KC was in charge of the diaper supply.
“It’s gonna be okay, Master,” I cried. “You have to be okay!”
I flinched at the memory of Master’s pained expression. I could still hear his labored breathing, bordering on hyperventilation, and I could see the fear in his eyes. And even then, he’d gritted out he was fine.
I clenched my jaw and flushed the toilet, then made quick work of washing my hands, splashing water on my face, and taming my hair.
If I heard one more fucking time that he was fine…
I left the bathroom and almost stumbled over a toy truck. One of the children had to be at home still. Kyla, probably. I knew she didn’t attend day care every day. But the others were undoubtedly in school by now. Or day care and kindergarten.
I wasn’t sure I could identify the kiddos by name, except for Kyla, the youngest. All I knew was that they ranged in age from one to eleven or something like that.
Trailing down the stairs, I was reminded by the presence of their million dogs too. They all waited for me in the hallway as I descended. I supposed they knew the upstairs area was off-limits to them…?
Two of the dogs were massive, but Corey had assured me that “Buddy and Beast are just oversized cuddle pups!”
They had an old Great Dane too. I patted him on the head, while avoiding stepping on the little Chihuahua, and veered right to go to the kitchen. Past the living room, where, sure enough, little Kyla was watching cartoons.
“Hi!” She waved at me with her sippy cup, causing some of the contents to splash over her. Which she just found funny.
“Good morning, Kyla.” I smiled tiredly and continued toward the kitchen.
“That’s why I only give her water,” Archie said with a wry grin.
I mustered a weak chuckle and slid onto one of the stools on the dining room’s side of the kitchen bar. “Anything I can do to help?”
He shook his head, busy with what looked like lunch. “Just sit there and take it easy.”
I loved their house. It was messy in a cozy way. The bar was the dumping site for a crate of vegetables and potatoes, one big bowl of eggs that I knew came from their own chicken coop, and two bread baskets. One stack of mail too, and two drawings from kids. I could barely see the fridge and freezer for all the children’s drawings there as well. Every time I visited, it made more and more sense for Archie to stay at home. It had to be a full-time job to keep this house standing.
“I’m surprised you slept through the morning hurricane of seeing the kids off to school,” he commented. “Not to mention that Master can’t spell indoor voice.”
I exhaled a laugh—perfect description of Master Greer. He was a loud one—and he loved meeting children at their level.