Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
By the time she had finished her day and was walking home with a loaf of purple bread and a pat of green butter carefully wrapped in paper (the daily allowance of everyone who worked in the bakery) she was almost as afraid to go home as she had been to go to work the day before.
Penny let herself into the house, not sure at all what she might find or how V’rex would act towards her. She also didn’t know how she ought to act around him. What if she did something to set him off? What if he was a ticking time bomb of rage inside and a vat of boiling hate was lurking under his handsome, roguish exterior? What if—?
“Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?”
V’rex was suddenly there in front of her, wearing a white apron which strained over his broad chest and a genial smile on his face.
“Oh, uh…” Penny wasn’t sure what to say. “Fine, I guess,” she said, smiling weakly.
“You don’t look fine.” V’rex’s face was suddenly serious. “Did that big asshole bother you anymore? Because if he did—”
“No—no!” Penny exclaimed hurriedly. ”Nobody bothered me at all—honestly they didn’t!”
The last thing she wanted was for V’rex to come back to her work and start chopping off any more fingers.
“Hey, take it easy, little girl.” He smiled at her again. “Just checking on you. Wanna make sure you’re okay, that’s all.”
“I’m okay—really I am,” Penny assured him, in a rather strained voice. “Uh, what are you cooking?” she added, gesturing to the apron he was wearing.
V’rex made a face.
“Vegetable stew, but I’m afraid it’s fucking bland. Sorry, baby—I’m not much of a cook when it comes to the green stuff. I’m great at anything to do with meat but I know after what you heard from your friend…”
“No meat, no thank you,” Penny said quickly. “I brought some bread and butter,” she added, holding up the loaf and the paper with the softened green butter in it. “So that should go well with the stew.”
“Can’t hurt.” V’rex motioned for her to come into the kitchen with him.
Penny followed him in, musing on the apron he was wearing—the strings of which were tied in a big, loopy bow at the small of his back. This domestic look was completely incongruous to the cold-blooded killer she’d been picturing all day. Could it be she had misjudged V’rex yet again?
She honestly didn’t know.
Fifty-Seven
V could feel her confusion and worry and yes—Goddess damn it—her fear of him the minute she walked in the door.
I went too far at her work today. Shouldn’t have chopped off that fucker’s finger, he thought ruefully. I went overboard and now Skrug isn’t the only one who’s terrified of me—Penelope is too.
He hadn’t meant to scare her like that—he’d only wanted to make it crystal clear to Skrug that he’d better keep his hands off. But the Rage had gotten the better of him. In fact, for a moment he’d had a hard time not cutting the other male’s head off—let alone his finger.
And now Penelope is frightened of me all over again. I’ve lost all the trust I earned in the past two days, he thought in frustration.
As he stirred the pot of bland, minced-up vegetables he was calling “stew,” V considered what to do—how to mend the situation. He supposed he could come right out and tell her that he wouldn’t hurt her and he didn’t mean her any harm… But he sensed words weren’t going to be enough to assuage her new fear of him. What was it that Tarn, the captain of the first ship he’d served on used to say?
Speak with your actions, not your mouth. The tongue can lie but the hands tell the truth.
Something like that, anyway. V’rex sighed as he looked into the contents of the steaming pot. The best thing he could do was show Penelope she didn’t have to be frightened of him. That meant lots of patience and persistence, speaking softly and treating her gently.
Which honestly, wasn’t hard for him. His Kindred side was definitely dominant to his Kru’ell One half, which meant he was naturally respectful of women.
He just had to get Penelope to see that because he was going to have to gain her trust all over again.
Fifty-Eight
“Sorry it’s so fucking bland,” V’rex muttered, stirring his own bowl of vegetable stew morosely. “I used as much sodium as I could without overdoing it, but it didn’t help much.”
“It’s fine,” Penny smiled at him woodenly and ate another bite of her own stew. “And please don’t blame yourself—it seems like everything here is bland. I remember at the Breeding and Conception Center, I used flavor sticks on everything they brought us. We were only supposed to use them in the Mother’s Milk but I…Oh!”