Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Zane said very little, but knew by Tithe Nova’s eyes and his line of questioning that Nova was putting two and two together.
Zane needed to speak with his father.
***
He entered the bottom level of his home in time to see Ollie dive from the high diving board and land in the water with a splash. His eyes then caught a flash of skin, seeing Tanya’s profile as she bolted up and clapped excitedly at Ollie’s accomplishment. She had wet hair and wore a swimming suit of black skintight material that crisscrossed over her back, showed ample cleavage, and had ties around her neck. It was cut high at her hips. The sight of her stopped him cold in his tracks.
Zane’s father sat poolside, in a chair, watching, while feeding the pink fuzzball a bottle, dressed for a swim himself.
Zane shook his head at his father, who shrugged. Both men’s faces were amused. No Zenith would’ve ever expected to be playing nursemaid to one of those pests.
Ollie climbed out of the swimming pool and got under the vent and was blown dry with a gust of warm air.
“No way!” Tanya exclaimed and darted to the vent and got under with him, giggling at how the air blew both their hair in every direction, drying it.
She then spotted him and waved her hand in the air at him.
Ollie ran to the table beside his grandfather and grabbed a glass of beverage for Tanya and lifted another for himself.
“I’m having chocolate milkshake, Daddo. Tanya introduced us. You have to try one. She’s gonna have the machine make us something called sheez-burjurs and fun-yan rings, right Tanya?”
“Cheeseburgers and onion rings, Ollie. But there’s something called funions, too. We don’t have those today, but they are awesome. We should try to make some of those another time. Hi Zane,” she greeted, shyly. “If you had something else planned for dinner, we don’t have to---"
“Hi Tanya,” he smirked at her and took in her body with his eyes lazily moving from her eyes to her feet and back up again. “Let’s have what you want.”
Her breasts looked scrumptious in that tight fabric. And her legs and ass? He wanted to do dirty things to that body.
She bit her lip and then threw a semi-translucent black V-neck short dress on over her swimsuit. It only came to mid-thigh and he could still make out the outlines of her body due to mostly mesh fabric allowing his eyes to graze over plenty of skin.
She sat down and sipped a drink the same shade of pink as Chili. “Would you like one?” she asked.
“I’ll taste yours,” he offered.
She held out her cup. “Mine is strawberry.”
He sipped it and enjoyed the creamy concoction.
“Elaina Blackstar told me of Earth women’s fascination with ice cream. I made sure to have some here,” Zane said.
“Who’s Elaina Blackstar?” she asked.
“Uncle Quid’s wife. He is a cousin to my first mommy. She’s from your planet and she’s completely hilarious,” Ollie put in. “And so pretty. Though she has brown hair, not pretty fire-colored hair. I like your color hair. If we have baby brothers and sisters, maybe they’ll have eyes like Daddo and hair like you. But wait… what if they have nothing like me because I have my first mommy’s eyes and my Daddo’s hair?”
“If you have a brother or sister, no matter whether they’ve got or don’t have the same momma as you, the same colored hair or eyes as you, they’ll still be your family, Ollie,” Tanya told him. “We can all look different and be very much alike on the inside. Even if you’re not related by blood you can be a family with someone.”
Ollie looked relieved. And then he turned to Zane but kept speaking, obviously to Tanya.
“I know that part. You can be in my family. I want you to be. Do you wanna be?”
Tanya stared blankly.
“Ollie, don’t put her on the spot,” Zane’s father said.
Ollie looked contrite. “You told me, Daddo, with your face that you didn’t want me to tell Pace about Tanya’s earring being broken. Was I right?”
“Good catch, Ollie,” Zane said.
“But, why? Are you worried he might try to take her from us and make her his wife?”
“It’s risky for anyone to know,” Zane started, “But yes. That’s one reason.”
“So, why don’t you just marry her already then? Then no one can take her from us, ever.”
Everyone went silent.
Zane’s eyes met Tanya’s and she was studying him avidly.
Zane’s father stood and took Chili to his cage and put him in.
“Father, I need a word in private,” Zane said.
“Absolutely, son,” Ollie Sr. said and followed Zane, who led him down the hall toward Zane’s library where he could close the door and have a private conversation.
“He just ignored me,” Zane heard his son tell Tanya.
He heard Tanya answer. “Well, sometimes a question comes at the wrong time for adults. Or maybe it’s something he wants to discuss with you privately, Ollie.”