Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“It took my parents eleven years of trying to have me, so I wouldn’t count on it.” The silver in his hair glinted as he ran a hand through it, then stretched out. “The Cordova Empire invests and donates heavily in the medical field. They don’t mind doing the occasional favor.”
“Suuureee.”
He ignored my sarcastic smirk. “We’ll go to the pharmacy, then if you’re up for it, maybe we can take a walk in a nearby park.”
“A pharmacy at three in the afternoon…it’ll be pretty busy. And a park is also going to be busy on a beautiful day like today. On the weather yesterday, they said the high was only going to be eighty degrees today. That’s practically sweater weather.” My nerves danced around in my belly as I imagined what it would be like to go to such an…exposed place. “Is it safe?”
Moving us so we both sat up, he cupped my face with both hands and stared at me in a weird, intense way. “Layla, I’m telling you, I know you can do this.”
“I mean…what if the people that burned down my house are still after me?”
The words tasted like ashes coming out of my mouth, and I waited for the familiar panic to set in, but my pulse—while slightly elevated—stayed steady.
“I swear to you, nothing will happen while I’m at your side. We’ll have two guards following us everywhere we go, from a discrete position.”
“Wow.” I pulled the sheets up higher, feeling more than a little worried. “What if they get hurt protecting me?”
“So sweet,” Mark murmured before tracing his finger along the edge of the sheet. “They’ll be fine. Even if someone is after you, they won’t expect you to show up in the middle of suburbia.”
“Right, right.” I chewed my lip a little, then glanced over at Vali who’d wandered back into the room from wherever he’d been. “I still don’t know if this is a good idea…”
“Do you trust me?”
I looked away from my dog to Mark. “Of course.”
And I did. I knew, inside and out, Mark would keep me safe. While he was sweet and caring with me, I’d seen the scary side of him a couple times over the years. Once, he’d forgotten to hang up with me on his phone as we video chatted at work. He’d placed the phone on his desk, and I’d heard him ream some guy up one side and down the other for leaving his guard post unattended to go take a shit. I’d hung up after a few seconds, embarrassed for the stranger that was getting his ass chewed to pieces by a really pissed off Mark.
If I’d been on the receiving end of his cold, savage snarl, I would’ve peed my pants.
Vali jumped up when Mark patted the mattress, and as I watched him cuddle Vali, I giggled.
“I just realized something.”
“What’s that?” Mark asked as Vali wiggled between us, luxuriating in having four hands petting him at once.
Over my dog’s happy grunts, I smiled at Mark. “You and Vali are kinda alike.”
He paused his scratching and looked at me, cocking his head slightly to the side just like Vali.
I burst into giggles. “That head tilt you just did, Vali does the same thing.”
“Brat,” he began to tickle me, and I squealed as I thrashed beneath him.
Vali began to bounce around on the bed, barking, and Mark eased off.
“Okay, okay,” he said with a smile to Vali, who tried to lick my face. “Too rough, I get it. Don’t worry, boy, I’m not hurting her. See?”
I pushed Vali away and sat up again, then tackled Mark. He probably could have withstood my attack, but he fell back in the bed with me on top of him again. As I looked down at my man, my heart swelled with love and happiness. I’d wanted this for so long, and it was hard to believe I was finally with Mark. Slowly inching my fingers through his chest hair, I leaned forward and gently licked his nipple.
Clearing his throat, he said, “I need to call in your prescription.”
“It can wait.”
Chapter 13
Layla
The jingle of Vali’s tags seemed loud as we walked into the large convenience store housing the pharmacy.
People milled about, mostly older men and women, along with a few mothers and their kids. It was ten o’clock on a weekday morning, and the sun shined bright outside. People glanced at us as we entered, most doing a double take. I don’t know if it was me, Mark, or Vali that caught their attention, but pretty much everyone paused what they were doing to watch us pass.
Mark slipped his hand into mine, and I looked over at him, deciding that he was probably the reason the women stared.
His thick, muscled, hairy calves exposed by his shorts flexed with every step he took, and his broad shoulders stretched his pale gray t-shirt that brought out the silver in his eyes. His arms were pure visual porn, all ropy with muscle and tendons, while his ass filled out his black shorts nicely. With his beard freshly trimmed and his sharp bone structure, he made my body tingle.