Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Nico watched her worriedly. “Liam’s right, Lottie. You can let something like that destroy you, or it can make you stronger.”
“I’m not destroyed,” she protested.
“No. Because you’re so fucking brave. You’re a fighter.” Liam gave her a firm look.
“Now who’s lying,” she said dryly. “I’m no fighter. I’m a wimp.”
“I won’t have that.” Reaching over, Liam took hold of her hand, squeezing lightly. “That’s your first warning.”
“Warning?”
“About putting yourself down,” Nico told her. “Liam hates when you do that.”
“It’s a rule,” Liam added. “And neither of you are to speak badly about yourself.”
“Why would you put yourself down?” she asked Nico in shock. “You’re perfect.”
Nico snorted. “Hardly. I’m a slacker in a family of over-achievers.”
A slacker? She didn’t think so.
“Someone doesn’t want to sit comfortably tomorrow,” Liam drawled.
“I’m not sitting comfortably now.” Nico glared back at him.
She had noticed him shifting around a lot on his seat.
“So, you’d think you would be mindful of what you said.”
Her mind spun, trying to catch up with what they’d said. “Wait. Are you saying that. . .” She could feel herself growing red as she looked from Nico to Liam. “That, um Liam . . .”
“Spanked his ass?” Liam asked. “I sure did. He deserved some punishment.”
“You hurt him?”
“It was consensual,” Nico told her quickly. “Like we talked about last night. And that doesn’t mean he’d do that with you. It’s something I enjoy.”
“What about now, though? Afterward . . . I mean, after . . .”
“After the pleasure?” Nico asked, with a return of his playful smile. But that faded quickly. “I like the reminder of what we did. It’s also a way of me remembering what he feels for me.”
Liam observed her carefully. She wanted to ask more but didn’t want to insult either of them.
“You should both eat, it’s growing cold,” she said instead.
Wimp.
“Don’t do that.” Liam leaned forward.
“What?”
“Don’t try to change the subject. Don’t bury your needs. Ask what you wanted to ask.”
“I don’t want to upset you or make you think that I . . . I don’t want to make you mad,” she confessed.
“You think I’d get mad at you?” Liam asked.
“I don’t know. I just don’t want to make either of you mad.”
“You know what would upset me?” Liam was back to rubbing at that stubble on his chin. She wondered what it would feel like against her skin. What it would feel like to have his arms around her.
She was certain she’d feel safe. Like nothing could touch her.
“What?”
“If you needed something and didn’t ask for it. If you did something to endanger yourself. If something happened to you that I could have prevented. That would upset me. Questions about our relationship, they don’t upset me. In fact, I want them.”
“You do?”
“I do.”
“Nico?” she asked. She didn’t want Liam talking for him.
“Me too.”
She pondered that as she stared at their food. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“We don’t eat until you do,” Liam told her simply. “Unless you want some of my omelet?” He cut a piece off and then held it out to her. “Open.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean I wanted any,” she told him.
“Open. Have some.”
“Best just give in to him,” Nico advised.
“Does he always get what he wants?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Pretty much. That’s why he’s so arrogant.”
She snorted then covered her mouth at the uncultured noise. “Maybe he should be challenged a bit more often. We don’t want his head getting too big.”
“Yeah, it’s already pretty large,” Nico agreed. “Getting his way all the time isn’t good for him.”
“No. I agree.”
Liam sighed. “If the two of you are finished? Lottie, eat.”
She took the forkful of omelet without really thinking. That was pretty good, if a bit cold.
“What did you want to ask, Lottie?” Nico asked her.
“I just . . . well, you obviously trust Liam not to take things too far. How did you develop that trust?”
“Time,” Nico told her. “I got to know him. Fell in love with him. And I know he’d cut off his right arm before he’d harm me.”
“But we also have safeguards,” Liam told her before feeding her another bite of omelet.
The door opened as he finished feeding her the bite, and Alice walked in. She didn’t look at them as she served Lottie her breakfast. Maybe she’d decided she’d been rude earlier when she’d gawked.
“Is there anything else?” she asked after setting down Lottie’s food.
“No, you can leave us for a while now,” Liam told her.
“Thank you,” Nico added, rolling his eyes at Lottie, who nearly giggled.
“I constantly have to remind him to use manners.”
“And I have to remind you not to be a smart ass,” Liam growled back.
Nico just smiled. It was amazing for her to see the way they worked. Liam could snarl, growl, and threaten, but Nico never looked worried. In fact, he often seemed excited.