Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
When she talked about something that excited her, her green eyes lit up and her smile made me smile, too. She could be snarky, yes, but as far as I could tell, she hadn’t been outright mean to anyone but us. She was even endlessly patient with her assistant. Though Penny didn’t usually appear on camera, Lila often sought out her opinion, and she seemed very good with the shy young woman.
The main word that came to mind when I thought of Lila was sassy. The word itself sounded very dated, but it was what my grandfather always used to describe a spirited woman—my grandmother included.
Somehow, it suited Lila.
When we were hatching our plan, I’d sometimes speak of Lila in ways that gave the other two pause. Brady once told me that I sounded like half of me wanted to punish her and the other half of me wanted to fuck her. Then Gideon had made a very off-color remark about combining the two, but it was Brady’s observation that had stuck with me.
Lila had insulted me, my cousin, my friend, and my home… which meant, in essence, that she had attacked my family. That pissed me off, but I couldn’t help recognizing that it seemed out of character for her.
And I couldn’t shake the conviction that she was one intriguing, vibrant, and sassy young woman.
“What’s this?” Brady was holding an oblong black bag. Lila grabbed for it, but he spun around, dodging her reach. He’d never been the biggest guy on the football field in high school, but he was fast. Once he got the ball, he’d dodge and weave until he’d cleared the end zone.
“Give me that,” Lila said, lunging for it again, but Brady easily avoided her.
“I will if it’s not electronic,” Brady said. He untied the draw strings of the black fabric and shook the bag. Something hot pink fell into his other hand. “What do we have here?”
“It’s none of your business,” Lila said.
“It definitely looks electronic to me,” I said. The item was made of translucent pink plastic, and while the device was foreign to me, the shape wasn’t.
“And battery operated,” Gideon observed.
Brady fiddled with a dial, and suddenly it was buzzing and quaking. And not just a little, either. That thing would’ve vibrated its way off of Brady’s open palm if he hadn’t shut it off. “That’s definitely on the naughty list.” He grinned at Lila. “So to speak.”
He tossed it to me, and it took me so much by surprise I nearly fumbled it. I examined it, struck by how realistic the shape was. Except for being hot-pink and translucent. “Do women really like this kind of thing?”
“Hell, yeah,” Lila said. “Shall I reiterate what I said on the day of the ambush? Real men don’t know what they’re doing half the time—or more. But fortunately, we live in the modern world, so women have technology that will give them what men can’t.”
“If I recall, we proved you wrong on the day of the ambush, as you call it,” Gideon said. He was rewarded with a flying bullet vibe. Somehow, he dodged it and kept the camera relatively steady. “How much of that crap did you bring?”
“Lots,” Brady answered for her, holding up another toy. This one was phallic as well, but there was a little extra part at the base that stuck out and then curved upward. “What’s this thing for?”
“You’d be amazed how many men ask that,” Lila said dryly. “But okay, fine, take my stuff. Just stop handling it.”
Her tone was perfect. As if she was resigned to losing this battle, but still had hope of winning the war. Her followers probably loved that kind of thing.
But then she was back in high form, hamming it up for the camera. “I knew I’d be bored to tears this week, but if you want me to live like a nun as well, bring it on. I’ll survive—somehow.”
“Did we miss anything?” Brady asked, rifling through the clothes and makeup in another one of her suitcases.
“Not that I can think of, but by all means, keep manhandling my lingerie. I’m sure you gents don’t get many cheap thrills this far out in the middle of nowhere.”
“You’d be surprised,” Gideon said. “Are we done here?”
Lila rolled her eyes as she faced the camera and gave a quick sign-off directly to her audience. Then she gave Gideon a nod, and he stopped recording and tossed her phone on the bed.
“Are we done here?” Lila imitated Gideon in a mocking voice. “I thought you were supposed to be a professional.” Her tone indicated that she thought no such thing.
“We pre-record our videos,” I said, trying to keep things calm. “And edit all the extraneous stuff out.”
“So I’ve seen. I think your video on watching paint dry was nominated for an Emmy, wasn’t it?”