Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 114284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“I’m not gonna lie,” Ty said. “When Colt gave me a heads-up about the nature of River and Reese’s relationship, I thought it was weird as fuck.”
“Most of us do.” I patted his leg. “All it takes is the unconventional.”
“Right, but—” He shrugged. “Once I met them, it seemed like the most natural thing.”
We’d traveled the same road. It’d taken me about one evening too, to understand the closeness those brothers had. Because it’d been so vivid between them, their connection, how they essentially shared a mind.
I had the added privilege of being one of River’s closest friends, so he’d confided in me more. I knew how they’d grown up. He’d told me about the anxiousness and his inability to sleep without Reese nearby. As if missing a big part of himself. And likewise, Reese was always going to be overprotective of River. Which had been their professional relationship as well. He’d been River’s security detail when they’d been PMCs.
“My point is, I ain’t judgin’,” Ty said. “If you and Dean had a similar thing goin’ on, there’s nothin’ wrong with that. And I’d understand why Macklin would want y’all to reconcile. He was quick to push Lane into my arms too.”
He just had to say that last part.
Yeah, that was Macklin in a nutshell. Where he lacked finesse, he made up for it with his big, selfless heart. He wanted Lane to be happy. He wanted Dean and me to be close.
“So that’s what Macklin was talking about in Florida when you eavesdropped?”
He smirked at my playful dig. “I don’t eavesdrop. I listen.”
I grinned and leaned in to kiss him.
I kept it brief and just deep enough for me to taste syrup on the tip of his tongue, and then I inched away again and watched him. The last twenty-four hours—less than that—had messed me up in the most wonderful way. It’d come out of nowhere.
“I don’t want this to be a one-time thing between us,” I admitted.
“Me either.” Something softened in his gaze. “At the risk of upsetting the kinky Master in you, I’m kinda hooked on the vanilla.”
I actually didn’t need any clarification, because that was exactly what this was. Utterly vanilla—and I was just as hooked. More than that, I understood what he meant now by “equal ground” in a relationship. Not to go against what I’d said last night; Macklin and I were very much equal, but Ty had a point. Last night had turned us into beginners of something brand-new, and there was no power exchange, no one who had more experience than the other, and no BDSM component—other than when we discussed other dynamics and people.
“So am I.” I squeezed his hand under the table, and he leaned in and kissed me. Indescribable feeling, truly. “Have dinner with me tonight.”
He smiled and nipped at my bottom lip. “Spend the whole damn day with me.”
I grinned. “Done. What do you want to do?”
“Loaded question…” He chuckled and shook his head, as if he needed to clear it, and backed away.
We could probably lose track of time in my workshop, but in the spirit of vanilla, I had a weird craving for stereotypical date activities.
“There’s an AMC not far from here,” I mentioned.
Had I ever gone to see a movie in the middle of the day? The answer was a resounding no.
Ty’s gorgeous steel-blue eyes flashed with interest. “I’ve been meanin’ to see the latest Star Wars movie, but Marina said it sucked.”
I waved that off. “Of course it does, in comparison to the original trilogy. Doesn’t mean we won’t see it anyway. We gotta have something to complain about.”
I hadn’t seen it yet either.
So it was settled. Ty reached for his phone to check when the next showing was, and I grabbed my own phone to read my messages.
If Macklin hadn’t responded before I’d bought the biggest popcorn with way too much butter, I was going to call him. Last text from him had registered at four in the morning when the power had come back.
In the meantime, I had texts from a whole bunch of people. Lucian and Greer confirmed in our group chat that the house in Mclean was still standing. They’d checked on their way to work this morning. No damage, so that was good.
Oh. It seemed our friends from San Francisco were already on the East Coast. Rio had landed with his sub in Atlanta last night, and now they were driving up to DC. Meanwhile, Cade and his two Littles had traveled with Nick and his girl to New York for a couple days in the city, so they were taking the morning train tomorrow.
Saturday was going to be fantastic. I hadn’t seen my West Coast friends in so long.
The last message was from none other than Lane.
Hello, Master McKenna, this is Lane. Can you call me when you have a moment? I think I’m going to cancel on Saturday.