Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
I gasp and squirm in my seat. “They’ll hear you.”
“Do I look as if I care? I’m too old to hide how I feel about you.”
“About that, how old are you?”
He winks at me. “You’re not ready to know that.”
He moves to take the throne beside me. Bradan stands and comes to bow before me. I give him a smile and nod.
“Welcome to the family, little sister. It’s an honor.”
“I hope I can live up to being a part of the family,” I say.
He winks one of his amber eyes at me. Quickly, I count his piercings, remembering what Kendrick told me last night. I count three in his right ear. However, his long, wavy, fiery-red locks are covering his other ear.
Dropping my gaze to his red beard, I note a piercing in his chin. Okay, that’s six, from what I can see. Then he smiles and his dimples pop, revealing a piercing in his cheek I hadn’t noticed last night in all my nervousness. Still not as powerful as Kendrick.
Makes sense. He is, after all, younger. The piercings take nothing away from their masculinity and ruggedness. Somehow, it adds an edge to them. I can’t deny the power I feel coming from them, and the piercings are meant to lock it away.
Suddenly, Bradan flips his long, wavy red hair to the other side and turns his head, giving me enough time to count the ones in the other ear. I sit, counting to myself. Okay, maybe not too far from his brother.
He turns to look at me again and winks. I whip my head in Kendrick’s direction. He looks at me and smiles.
“You told him my thoughts,” I hiss.
He shrugs. “You are curious about us.”
I glare at him. It is in that moment he turns his head and I note he has more piercings I didn’t see last night. He has three helixes, a forward helix, a daith, and a tragus piercing, which I didn’t count yesterday. That’s… oh my god, seventeen levels of power, holy shit.
“Close your mouth, baby.” He chuckles in my head.
I close my eyes and swallow hard. I can’t help wondering how powerful that really is. I have no point of reference for all of this.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Ardan.”
I open my eyes and find a handsome blond version of Bradan. I note to myself that so far, they all have voices like gods. Deep, rumbling, and sexy.
“I promise to talk in your ear while I fuck you from now on.”
“Oh my god, how do I block you out?”
He only chuckles in response. I focus on Ardan to give him a proper greeting. He’s looking at me strangely with his brows knit as if he’s in thought.
“What is it, brother?”
Ardan shakes his head. “It’s nothing. Ray just has a familiar face.” He shrugs.
While he’s speaking to Kendrick, I take him in. I notice his nose is pierced, as are his right brow and both ears. I count four to the naked eye. I’m starting to think they may be ranked by age.
“I get that sometimes,” I say. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ardan. I hear we have numbers in common.”
His eyes light up and his face becomes animated. I get the feeling he more than loves numbers. I think I like this brother as well.
“We will talk more soon. I’d love to hear your thoughts on our bookkeeping system.”
I nod, allowing my geek to show. “I’d like that.”
Ardan places a fist over his heart and bows. So far, his brothers aren’t as scary as I thought they would be. They’re also not as intimidating as one might believe them to be at first glance.
Next, the dark-haired brother with beautiful golden eyes like Kendrick’s lifts from his throne and comes to stand before me. His dark brows bring something mysterious to his face. This one has a presence about him.
However, I can’t see any piercings other than the ones in both his lobes. Strange, I guess this one isn’t that powerful. Kendrick snorts beside me.
His brother gives me a knowing grin and the tip of a metal piercing peeks from between his lips. Ohhhh. Um, maybe he’s hiding more like his brother.
Kendrick growls beside me. I reach to cover his hand, gripping the arm of the throne chair. He looks to me and flames are showing in his gaze.
“It was just a thought. He is the least pierced of you all, yet I don’t get the sense that he’s the least powerful.”
“There are reasons for that.”
“I am Reilly. It’s nice to finally get to know you, little sister. There are many excited you are here. They’ve been buzzing all morning.
“Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your homecoming as welcoming as possible. I am the youngest, but I tend to be the most responsible as well. I will look after you as much as I can,” he says.