Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Holding onto the strap of her suit, I couldn’t help but notice how … full her tits were. This was a surprise to me, because I didn’t plan to notice Niamh. I’d do exactly as Ivan said. Put a baby in her womb, make her mine. I didn’t need to be attracted to her to achieve that. I could get my dick hard and ready for her when the time came. For now, there would be no fucking until I worked on winning her over.
“Peter, will you teach me how to swim?” she asked.
This surprised me. I expected her to be a dick over this, and stubborn.
Offering her a smile, I let go of the handle rail. I’d never taught anyone how to swim, but it wasn’t exactly hard.
My father liked the hard and rough way of training. He had no qualms about throwing his kid into the deep end and forcing him to learn to swim. He did this to me many times. There was no room in the Orlov family for a weak man. He wanted strong men, and if any of his sons, or daughters for that matter, were to drown, then so be it.
I lost a sister and a brother to that method. He didn’t shed a tear. Now that I think about it, neither did my mother. I nearly died that day, and during every task he gave me.
He was a cruel man.
Leaving Niamh to fight was not an option. I now gripped onto both straps of her swimsuit. As much as I’d have loved to stay in the deep end of the pool, Niamh had to learn to swim.
“What are you doing?” she asked, almost in a state of panic.
“I’m going to teach you how to swim, but you’re going to be doing it my way. Kick your feet out and stop fighting me. I’m not going to hurt you.” Not unless Ivan demanded it.
Right now, Niamh was on the “safe and protected” list. If that were to change, I’d have no qualms about doing what needed to be done. If Ivan wanted her dead, she’d be dead.
Niamh surprised me by doing exactly as I asked, and she kicked her feet out. I know she struggled as I moved backward, swimming toward the shallow end.
My feet hit the edge of the pool, and now I was able to stand and simply walk back. Once we got to the center of the pool, I let Niamh go, and she got to her feet and stood. The water came to our chests, but it was safe enough for both of us.
“Thank you,” Niamh said.
“Do you think that is the end of your lesson?” I asked.
“I … I … just thank you.”
“Why did you go to the deep end of the pool if you didn’t know what you were doing?” I asked.
Niamh shrugged and at the same time tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know. I figured it would all come to me on instinct. I didn’t exactly get a lot of time to learn to swim.”
“Your parents didn’t teach you?”
This made her laugh. “My parents didn’t have time for me.”
I saw how vague her answer was, and this made me smile. She was cautious. This was good. I didn’t have to worry about her telling anyone her little secret. The fewer people who knew meant it would be easier to keep her safe. In the small town of Pickle Quest, strangers were easy to detect, and the easiest way to be left alone was to blend in.
This is why I had joined the gym. It didn’t look like I was after anything in town, other than a job. I didn’t need a job. I had a job—Brigadier to Ivan Volkov with my own territory to run. For now, until my mission was complete, I would be a gym employee in Pickle Quest.
Ivan had to be fucking laughing at all of this.
“So you thought about throwing yourself into the deep end in the hope of not drowning?”
“I didn’t exactly think it through.”
“Well, at least I was here, and now your lessons can start. Come on, it’s time to get you ready to swim.” I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, but it wouldn’t be hard. Unlike my brother and sister, I didn’t die that day, and I had no choice but to figure it out.
****
Niamh
Taking lessons from the new guy in town wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I decided to stay away from him. It had been three days since he arrived in town, and I already knew he’d made an impression.
Several women, young and old, married and single, had spotted him as well. I heard them talking at the diner about the new guy who worked at the gym.