Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
“Like in Get Smart?”
“Right.”
She rubbed her hand over her face. “It doesn’t stop me from getting embarrassed, though.”
“No. I understand that. But if you tell me something embarrassing, I’ll tell you something that embarrasses me.”
“You get embarrassed?”
“Everyone does.”
“All right,” she whispered. “Having those rules makes me feel . . . safe, I guess.”
“They do?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad. But if I go too far, if I scare you, if something is too much, you say red.”
“A safeword?”
“Yes.”
“All right,” she whispered. “And you’ll do the same? If I go too far?”
“Of course.”
She let out a breath, releasing the tension. “All right. Having rules and consequences seems to, uh, ease my worries. I think my Little side is on the surface right now because of all the anxiety and stress. Are you sure this is okay with you?”
“Looking after you feeds the Daddy beast inside me.”
She grinned. “You have a Daddy beast?”
“Uh-huh, and he’s a needy fucker. Always wanting more, more, more. Never shuts up.”
She giggled.
“Now, let’s get you your treasure.”
15
Hack took the phone call from the mechanic while Greer was in the shower the next day. They’d spent these past two days holed up in the hotel room, watching movies and eating crap. And both nights, he’d ended up sleeping on a chair next to her bed, watching over her as she’d slept.
Thankfully, it had stopped snowing sometime in the night.
“Hey, man,” the mechanic said. “Just been checking over your girl’s car.”
He didn’t correct the other man about Greer being his girl.
“What’s wrong with it?” he asked.
“Fuck, man, plenty.”
Shit.
“But the reason it wouldn’t start was the battery. I can replace it. But if she was mine, she wouldn’t be driving that heap of junk out of state, let alone all the way from fucking Georgia.”
He ground his teeth together at the mechanic’s words. “I didn’t realize it was in such a bad state. Is it reparable?”
“Guess the question is if it’s worth repairing.”
Shit.
He didn’t want her driving a crappy car. But he also didn’t have a clue about her financial situation.
“Can you get it running well enough to get to Montana?”
“Sure. I guess. Needs some snow tires for this weather, though. Oh, and her heater doesn’t work. And it needs an oil change. But if she wants to drive it any further then I wouldn’t recommend doing that without a few things done, and that might cost more than it’s worth.”
“Wait. Did you say that the heater doesn’t work?”
What the hell was she thinking driving here without a working heater?
“Yep,” the guy answered. “And I don’t think it’s worked for a while.”
Fuck. Shit.
She needed a spanking so bad. He paced back and forth.
“Thanks for your help. Get it ready for the road and call me when it’s done.”
“Might cost a bit.”
“Whatever it takes.” He’d pay for it. “Just give me the bill, not her.”
“You got it. We got to take care of our women.”
He had that right.
She walked out of the bathroom just as he ended the call.
“Everything all right?” she asked.
She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a lightweight hoodie. They had to get her some warmer clothes. And a coat. He’d take her shopping for that while they were waiting for her car. Maybe some boots with grip. He’d checked her shoes while she was in the shower.
Yes, he knew he was being obsessively overprotective.
But she only had one pair of boots and they were lightweight without any grip or padding.
She was his charge right now. And he wasn’t going to let her slip over and break her hip.
“I just spoke to the mechanic about your car.”
She moved to the bed and picked up Wally, her worry worm, holding onto him tight.
Shit. He hated that she was so stressed that she felt like she had to hold on to her toy.
Yeah, right. Tell the truth.
You wish she was holding on to you.
“Listen, baby, it’s going to be fine.”
“It’s toast, isn’t it? How much will it cost to fix?” she asked.
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
Instead of looking relieved, panic filled her face. “What does that mean? Is it beyond repair? Oh my God! It’s because I ignored that light that keeps coming on, isn’t it? Damn it, Greer. When are you going to learn to pay attention to warning signals?”
“Whoa. Okay. First of all, I want you to take a deep breath and then let it out slowly.”
She completely ignored him as she paced up and down, muttering about warning lights, broken heaters, and people who honked excessively and how that should be against the law.
He wasn’t quite sure how that last part fitted in with everything else, but he ignored that momentarily. He needed to get her to calm down before she completely flipped out.
“Greer, stop and look at me.”
He waited. Nothing.
Okay. He stepped in front of her, right in her path so she would have to stop and look at him.