Total pages in book: 172
Estimated words: 155984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Thankfully it was a short distance to the front door. The three employees had been working on the plants closest to the front of the house. He could see at a glance the flowers and shrubs were all low to the ground just as they’d discussed. Even without the embellishments of stone or growth and blooms, it was easy to see improvements to the yard already. Flambé had paid attention to everything he’d said about security and there was nothing that would hinder his ability to see danger coming at them. Even so, she had created what would become an amazing landscaping piece for their front yard.
Sevastyan kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the front porch. His gaze had been riveted on his woman and the three men deep in conversation from the moment he had rounded the corner of the house and seen them together. The men were too close to her. Flambé’s potent scent, so heady to him, had drifted on the wind, inciting his leopard and stirring his own proprietary need of her. He was aware of everything around them in the sense of looking out for danger, but he hadn’t taken the time to see what progress had been made on the overall landscaping of his property.
He paused on the large verandah, taking that moment to really absorb what Flambé and her crew had done in the eight hours they’d been working. More trees had been added to the grove already in place, extending it toward Mitya’s property as well as toward the house. Quite a bit of progress had been made in that area. Some of the trees appeared quite tall, quite mature, and he could see they had to use a small crane to put them in place. Already, the branches were thick and looped down or upward, but extended outward toward the next tree so a leopard could easily run along the limbs and leap from tree to tree.
“The place looks amazing, Flambé,” he reiterated. “You increased the size of our woods by at least another fourth.”
“By the time I’m finished with it, we’ll have doubled it,” she said, suppressing another yawn. “I think I’m getting old. I’m feeling every ache from shoveling dirt.”
His gut knotted as he used the eye scan for quick entry. “Babe, why in the world, when you have such a big crew, would you be shoveling dirt? You oversee things, give orders, you don’t do manual labor.” He took her inside, closed and locked the door behind them.
“When we’re putting in those bigger trees, everyone has to help, Sevastyan. You get them in as fast as possible. It’s just safer that way.” She sounded offhand, a little distracted.
“Go on upstairs and start your bath, Flambé. The chef left our dinner in the kitchen. I just have to turn on the heat. I’ll be right up. Make the water hot. You know how I like it.” He brushed a kiss on top of her head. He’d already programmed the locks on the doors to open with her retinal scan.
“I’m going to wash my hair,” she advised him. “I’ll start filling the tub after I rinse off.”
He nodded and watched her go up the stairs. She was definitely exhausted, not just from her working day. That had started early, before light even, but most likely from the short, unexpected appearance from her female leopard. Her muscles had to feel abused by the contracting and expanding as the cat pushed against her frame, testing her strength. Shifting could be brutal when one wasn’t used to it. He’d forgotten that.
The house was large, and there were two smaller houses on the property for his men and other possible staff, but Sevastyan didn’t particularly want anyone around once the day was over. He liked his time alone and since he’d found Flambé, he wanted his time with her uninterrupted. More often than not, he knew he would keep their play in the master bedroom, where he’d set up his domain. With no one in the house and no way to be surprised, he wanted to be able to utilize any room in the house when the mood struck him.
He was pushing fairly hard to get the construction done on transforming the two garages into one massive greenhouse so they could have a tropical garden. He had been thinking about what types of equipment he would want hidden amongst the plants. He liked the idea of waterfalls and streams. He wanted to have very comfortable chairs to relax in and many places to inspire his imagination for tying on the ground as well as in the air. Flambé looked beautiful in ropes and, although new at erotic bondage, she was more than willing to try anything with him. He also wanted a place for the leopards to relax.