Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“I’m falling for her,” I admitted.
“No shit.” He pressed a kiss to my temple and flashed his signature grin. “Enjoy it, hon. I think she’ll be good for you. She’s feisty as fuck.”
I smiled, unable to control it. She sure was.
Nora Lilja
“Let it all out, kiddo.” Ash held me tightly, and I sobbed my ass off. “You made both me and Pen so proud.”
Oh my fucking God, it hurt so much. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sit down anytime soon. But at the same time, I was freaking flying. My brain was at peace; there was no noise, just emotions fleeing the scene.
“Five points for Nora,” Reese declared. “Excellent job.”
Kingsley and Tate were still at it, and I could hardly believe it. Tate was a rock star!
I sniffled and wiped at my face, and Ash ushered me over to one of the cabins that had furniture. Santiago was quick to catch up, and he’d come prepared. He gave Ash a towel and said it was soaked in cold water. A bottle of aloe too.
“Thanks, man. Saved me the hunt. Thanks.” Ash accepted it all, and he ushered me to the nearest sofa. It scared me a little, ’cause this was going to hurt! No matter how soft the cushions looked.
“Let’s be very careful here,” I croaked.
“I gotchu, li’l cub.” He released me long enough to fan out the wet towel, and then he poured lotion on it too. “I’ll be ready to wipe away those tears. Have a seat.”
Ugh. Yeah, this was gonna suck, but…I was so tired! I wanted to get off my feet. Being locked in a pillory was no cakewalk. My back was strained, my neck too, and my calves were ready to give up.
He held me as I very slowly sat down on the cold towel, and I hissed. Helvete, helvete, helvete! The ice crashed into the fire, threatening to short-circuit my brain, all while the rest of my body—that wasn’t covered in budding bruises—cried with relief.
A fresh round of tears welled up in my eyes, and I went back to crying.
“Where’s Penelope?” I whimpered.
“She had to return to her station, but she’ll be back soon,” he murmured. “She said she was gonna ask Lucas to cover for her. She wants to be here.”
I nodded and wiped fruitlessly at my cheeks, before he took over.
He smiled faintly and cupped my cheeks. “Was it a good scene?”
I nodded again, because holy crap, I’d gotten the best emotional release. “Yes, Sir. Part of me wanted to go a bit longer, but since we haven’t played harder than this, I figured it was b-best to stop.”
“Good choice.” He nodded firmly and let me be weepy for a moment.
Exhaustion was beginning to seep in, slowing down my cries, and I wondered how the heck I was going to get through the rest of the event. They’d planned it well, making sure we didn’t have anything strenuous after Reese’s station; we were due to draw more on our mascots, or simply take a breather, but my energy was so gone. I’d probably sleep like the dead tonight.
I shivered and sniffled. My butt had its own pulse at the moment; the pain came in waves that welled up and rolled over me.
“B-blue!” I heard Tate choke out.
Finally!
I let out a shuddering breath, and Ash dropped his hand to rub my back gently.
“We’ll sit here a minute, and then we’ll find some shade,” he said. “I wanna get some sugar in you too.”
That would be nice. I was getting thirsty.
I wiped my nose and swallowed hard.
“Did, uh…did you notice anythin’ weird about the scene?” he asked next. Almost carefully.
I scrunched my nose and peered up at him. “What do you mean?”
He exhaled a little laugh. “Some asshole tried to interrupt.”
Oh. Huh. “Why? And no, I didn’t notice anything.” When was this? And who?
“I guess he thought I was being too rough on you,” he admitted.
What the fuck?
I felt my eyebrows crawl higher. “Um.”
He was about to say something more, but he looked out over the lawn—scratch that. He looked toward Greer and Archie, who were approaching us.
“Is it okay to intrude?” Greer asked.
Ash left it up to me, so I nodded. I didn’t mind! But I wanted answers.
“Ash was just telling me someone tried to interrupt,” I said, still a bit hoarse. “I don’t understand why or who it was, though.”
“One part good intentions, three parts dick,” was Greer’s response.
“I would like to say five parts dick,” Archie added. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m great.” Except for the confusion building up. I was so lost. “Is it strange for a masochist to cry it out after a beating around here? Am I reacting weirdly?”
Greer chuckled and sat down in one of the chairs. “Not at all. We just wanna make sure.”
“And I would rather sit here than work on my smiley face at the mascot station.” Archie smirked and got down on his knees next to Greer.