Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
I grinned.
His own smile was a bit chagrined. “Sweatpants are too addictive, and I’ve come to realize it’s a slippery slope for me. One second, I’m just walking around the house—no harm, no foul—but the next, I’m driving across town to wage war on Noa’s mother.”
I snickered and brushed my knuckles over his stubbly jaw. I really liked the stubble.
He let out a sigh and leaned back some more. “Is this my life now?”
I shook my head in amusement. “No, Master. It’s phase one in your recovery—and please let it last a month or four.”
“What’s phase two?”
I shrugged slightly. “Maybe finding something new to do that doesn’t put you in the hospital?” I suggested. “A part-time job?”
He hummed. “It has to be a new field. You can’t work part time in finance.”
Understandable. He’d always been so busy staying up-to-date with what was going on in the world. Talk about a field in which you had to know the ripple effect. A tsunami in Asia, an Ebola epidemic in Africa, war—everything left a mark on the economy. And it didn’t have to be natural disasters, of course. Master had seemingly known about every political bailout, every major bank merger, and every shifty Wall Street guy.
“Unless I become a lowly day trader…” he muttered to himself.
I wrinkled my nose. “My big, awesome, snobby Master, the last thing you need is to spend your day at the computer looking at stocks going up and down.”
He made a face, which came off as super derisive. “I’m not a snob.”
I grinned. “Okay.”
He was a total snob, but I had my kryptonite. Businessmen were the alpha to my omega. Sue me. I loved that Master had his expensive tastes and walked around with an air of I own the world. And maybe I loved it because I knew Master better than that. He didn’t actually think that way or look down on anyone else—except possibly day traders…?
I kept my mirth to myself and combed my fingers through his hair. “You’ll find something, love. And in the meantime, go through a million hobbies and try to find a way to relax—and enjoy it.”
He covered my hand with his and kissed my palm. “Just promise me you’ll have me admitted if I become even slightly interested in reptiles.”
I laughed.
“I mean it,” he said. “I watched KC and Noa look at terrariums online last night, and before I knew it, I was browsing for different kinds of substrate. I had to compensate by suggesting we simply throw sawdust in there. You should’ve seen the look on Noa’s face.”
I laughed even harder but suddenly had an idea. It wasn’t a part-time job, but the comments from the photos we’d uploaded of Noa as a Post-it pad yesterday should entertain Master for at least an hour. It would almost be enough for me to get my Zoom meeting out of the way.
“I know what you can do during my meeting.” I picked up his phone from the side table and punched in the six-digit code. “Have you seen the comment section in the photo album yet?”
“No, I was saving that for my next bathroom break.”
I snorted and logged in to his account. “I think lesson one in finding inner peace is not to multitask. Comments first, poop second.”
He rumbled a chuckle and pinched my nipple. “Damn brat.”
I was not a brat!
“Here.” I leaned against him and scooted down a bit so we could watch the screen together. Seven photos of Sharpie doodles, and three of the pictures showed Noa’s teary eyes and wide grin. A combination that was cuter than words and made me wanna bake him all the goodies he loved.
I scrolled past the photos and showed Master the beginning of the comments.
First up, Mr. West!
@MrWest: Oh, I remember that night. I vowed to myself to never let Colt mix me another drink! (Lovely photos, Noa. Thank you for sharing.)
@TheirBoyKit: LMAO I love this! I need all these memories in its own album. But what does bioactive mean? Also, MASTER LOOSH NEEDS TO BE A THING.
@NoraOfTheNorth: Uh-oh, someone is getting a new pet! So exciting! Awesome pics! Ping @Untamed and @DaddyOfTerra
“That’s Lane’s friend from the Old Town community, isn’t it?” Master asked.
“Nora?” I nodded. “Yeah, he recruited her. She has a big crush on Mistress Penelope.”
“Does she, now?” Master appeared very interested in that tidbit. “Untamed—that’s Lane, correct?”
“Yes, and Ty has a little dog named Terra,” I explained.
Next in the comments was Corey, our farm frog.
@Farmfrog: GREEN MOHAWK, @BeQuiet? GREEN MOHAWK? BAHAHAHAHAHA I love it, Noa! #TeamRiverInAMohawk #TeamMasterLoosh
@BeQuiet: Leave me alone.
@Texan: I should rename myself TheTexanBartender. @MrWest, you ask me for drinks every weekend, darlin lush. #ButImOnBoardWithTeamMasterLoosh
Master chuckled. “Okay, this was highly amusing. Master Loosh nonsense, notwithstanding.”
And he had plenty more comments to read.
I kissed his cheek. “I gotta work for a moment, Sir.”