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)
He poked me back in the nose, but with his thumb. “How’d you know about that?”
“About you being a monkey?” I asked. “Well, for starters, you sleep in a tree…”
Ollie’s eyes darted toward his father with a serious expression. “She belongs with us, Daddo. You have to know it’s true. She said boop instead of doop but close enough.” He nodded at his father. “See you later.”
I didn’t get what that meant but saw something pass between Ollie and Zane that made me feel a little bit gooey.
“Sweet dreams, Ollie. When you eventually go to sleep. I guess it’s early.”
He smiled big. “Yes. Very sweet.” And then he made a bunch of monkey noises as he hurried off, taking Chili’s crate with him. “I’m in charge of Chili today and tonight.”
Zane snickered and called out, “Watch him closely.”
“Come.” Zane lifted me off his lap and we walked out to the nearest terrace, the smaller one. “I’ll just watch him cross over. My father always watches him come this way. I know it’s safe, but with the beast-shit the other day with those criminals…”
“You’re a good dad.”
He smiled at me.
We stepped out onto the terrace and watched as Ollie came into view and ran across the yard to the gate, which was opening before he got there, and we saw Zane’s father lift a hand to greet us. I waved and he smiled.
“What’s that boop-doop stuff?”
Zane turned to me. “I’d always touched my thumb to his nose, to Jaya’s and say ‘doop’. Jaya would say it back. Ollie always has. Just a little thing.”
I’d done boop with my index finger instead of doop with my thumb, but I could see why Ollie had pointed it out.
“Looks like I have you all to myself,” he said, thoughtfully, scratching his chin.
I sighed. “Yeah. And zero pressure.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. There might be pressure.”
“Hm?”
Zane’s expression was funny. “I think I caught a taste of something more than rubyfruit and razzleberry in that jam. There’s an aftertaste.”
“It tasted good. It looked kinda yucky and it was a little hot for my throat, but I liked it.”
“Hot? I didn’t find it hot, but there’s an aftertaste I’ve tasted before, and I have a suspicion. Come.” He tugged my hand and we went back to his room. His eyes were on the plate sitting on the table with six more crackers covered in that purple jam.
“This is a problem, Tanya.”
He still had my hand. I stared at the cords in his forearm and my eyes trailed lazily up to his handsome face.
“Hm?”
I felt another belly flip at the way he was looking at me.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Definitely a problem.”
“What?” I licked my lips and leaned toward him, squeezing his hand.
He reached to his hip and pulled off his phone, then pulled a stylus out of it. He then scanned his own ear canal and read his screen.
He closed his eyes and then chuckled. And he looked angry, too. But then he laughed again, shaking his head as if exasperated. “Little bugger.”
“What is it?” There was a funny taste in my mouth, too. But it wasn’t bad. Just, fruity, different than the jam flavor. And I was suddenly parched with thirst.
“Did Ollie have any clue about your fear of not getting… vaccinated?” His lips twitched.
I shook my head. “I’ve said nothing. I mean, of course not. He’s your son and he’s only four! Oh…” My belly dropped.
“Oh? Oh what?”
“Well…” I blinked a couple times as it sank in. “Maybe he heard me mutter to myself that if I didn’t get married today, I’d be dead. I thought I heard a noise when I came out and no one was there. But I’m confused… why are you asking?”
“Bear with me a second.” He made a call and put the phone to his ear. “Zorald. I think Ollie might have gotten his hands on some D25 extract over at your house. Is that possible? I need to know urgently.”
I frowned.
Zane waited. I sat on the bed. He paced.
Damn, he had a sexy walk. Confident. His leg muscles were just perfect. His ass. It was a sexy ass. And those biceps. He looked at me as he continued to pace, and his eyes looked … different. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the way he was looking at me made it very warm inside my undies. I licked my lips. He shook his head and his jaw muscles bulged.
“Yeah? What? They made it themselves?” he barked into the phone. “Fuck. Okay. Yeah, I know; it is malfunctioning, but it looks like I’m about to make it officially right… Yes… I trust that you’ll do that. Mm hm.” He shook his head and his eyes were on me. And then a smile spread across his face. “Right.” He laughed. “It’s a good thing he’s already agreed to keep Ollie and the pink monster tonight. A part of the Top-Secret plan, I’m sure. Right. Later.”