Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Surprisingly, it worked on cranky, sleep-deprived bikers too. Wylde stood and took my hand. Not without a bit of grumbling, but I called it a win.
“Is everything important you need on your desk?”
He stopped and narrowed his gaze at me. “Why.”
“Because when we come back in here next time, I’d like to be able to breathe. The trash needs removed, and I don’t want someone mistaking something you need for trash.”
“No one goes in my command center.”
I nearly smiled at him but knew that would put his back up and he’d buck me. Instead, I kept my tone and my features firm and even. “This is happening, Wylde. The room is going to be cleaned. The floor vacuumed. No one will touch anything on your desk. What about the couch? Is there anything there that you’ll need later?”
He stared at me a moment as if weighing how far how he could push. I could all but see him formulating and discarding ways to get around me. Finally, he sighed before walking to the couch and picking up two stacks of notebooks and printouts. He picked up a plastic tote and dumped out the contents in the corner with the other trash and put the stack in the tote along with a couple of other stacks. The tote was now full to overflowing, but he had everything he needed on or under his desk in less than five minutes.
“There. That’s it.”
“Good. Come with me.”
Surprisingly, Sting stood outside the door to the office well out of the way, but making a presence. I laced Wylde’s fingers through my own before stepping through the door into the hallway.
“Sting, could you please ask someone to clean Wylde’s office while we’re gone? Everything he needs is on or under his desk. Don’t let them touch that. Everything else needs picked up and taken to the trash.” I smiled up at him, trying not to sound too much like I was giving orders in the middle of a biker club. And to the president, no less. “I’m not trying to order you around or anything, but I’m asking. I need to stay with Wylde to make sure he takes care of himself for a couple of hours.”
“Not a problem, Dani. I’ll have the prospects get on it. We’ll have it cleaned and… uh… aired out when you get back.” Yeah. The smell wasn’t pleasant.
“We appreciate it.”
“You appreciate it,” Wylde grumbled. “I don’t need a break. And I don’t need my office cleaned. Don’t want no one fuckin’ around with my shit.”
“Honey, not only do you need your office cleaned, if you don’t take a shower in the next ten minutes I’m not going to be able to stand to be near you.” I gave him my best exasperated look, frowning as fiercely as I could. “And if you don’t get at least a couple hours sleep, you’re not going to make any more progress and you’ll end up breaking something important.”
“An hour.” He stuck his chin up, looking for all the world like a grumpy toddler. While I’m sure I wasn’t the only one making that comparison, I was pretty sure Wylde wouldn’t appreciate me stating it.
“Whoever this is isn’t going anywhere, Wylde. You’ll be better able to find him if you’re fresh. You’ve not had a break since you brought us back here.” When he opened his mouth to argue, I plowed on. “You’ve got to rest. Take a shower. Have a decent meal. Sleep for a few hours. When you get up, maybe you can look at the problem from a different angle and get the answers you need.” When he opened his mouth again, I put my hand over his mouth. “Do you love me?”
He jerked back, pulling my hand from his mouth gently. “Of course, I do, Dani. You know I do.”
“Yes. You do. And since I know you love me, I know you’ll do this for me.” I tugged him after me down the hall. To my shock, he only muttered his discontent, but followed me without further argument.
Once in his rooms, I led him to the bathroom where I started the shower. Wylde stood there, watching me like a wary animal wanting what I offered but afraid I’d hurt him. While the water heated I turned back to him, meeting his gaze steadily. Instead of reaching for him to take off his clothes, however, I stripped off my own clothes. That seemed to prompt him to do the same.
When we were both naked, I stepped into the shower and ducked my head under the spray. Wylde stepped in behind me. Thankfully, the shower was plenty big enough for both of us, so I reached for him and pulled him under the water with me. He groaned as the hot water fell over him, resting his head on my shoulder.