Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
I tried not to think about the fact that we weren’t even really talking at that point.
“Pembroke Pines,” she said, and I giggled.
“That’s like, the cheesiest one of them all.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “It’s a solid show!”
“I’ll bet,” I teased her. “So, what’s your role?”
She looked at me with a wicked sparkle in her eyes, then leaned over and told me over our drinks, her voice hushed.
“I play Debra McMillan’s long lost daughter,” she told me, and I nodded. Debra was one of the older members of the show. She must’ve been on TV for decades. “I come back to her in her dreams and then she starts seeing me in real life, too.”
“Exciting,” I raised my eyebrows bemusedly.
“BUT!” Maria grinned. “What she doesn’t know… is that I’m a ghost!”
I gasped and faked a fainting, and we both giggled.
“I’m really excited about it,” she said. “They’re talking about giving me a permanent spot on the show as well.”
“Yeah?” I gave her a doubtful look. “They’re giving a ghost a permanent spot on the show?”
She laughed. “Stranger things have happened.”
“True,” I nodded.
Like this friendship.
“Hey,” I said in a small voice, toying with the lemon slice in my empty glass with the straw. I couldn’t really look at Maria, but I could feel her eyes on me. She probably knew what I was going to say before I even opened my mouth. “I kind of want to go home now.”
I thought she’d make a big deal out of it, with ‘I told you so’ and meaningful looks, but she merely nodded, took her wallet out of her bag and pulled out some money. She left it on the table, winked at the bartender who’d been in awe of her since we’d walked in, and offered me a hand to help me up.
I stared at her for a second. This gorgeous, selfless Amazon that was willing to help me, even though I was with the man she presumably still had feelings for. What a strange creature.
I took her hand and got up. She linked her arm with mine and we walked out of that bar, feeling everyone’s eyes on us as we sauntered through the door.
Eighteen
King
When the doorbell rang, I practically fell over myself to get to the door.
Before I opened it, I tried to regain some composure. I couldn’t let her see me weak.
I cracked my knuckles and pulled the door open, a neutral expression on my face.
My Pet stood in front of Angel, with her hands demurely clasped in front of her body. She couldn’t quite look at me, her eyes trained on the floor and her cheeks blushed a red so deep it could’ve been scarlet.
I couldn’t even look at Angel, even though I owed her as much. I could only stare at Pet and battle with the desire to shake her. Make her tell me all her secrets.
“Thank you, Angel,” I said without looking at her. “You can leave now.”
She didn’t say a word, merely turned around and walked out of there on her fuck-me heels. Not before she gave Pet a gentle nudge in my direction, though.
Pet stumbled into the apartment and I stepped aside so she wouldn’t have to touch me. She was shivering.
I closed the front door and locked it, then walked to the sofa in the living room. She just stood in the middle of the room, looking like a lost little lamb. It was making my cock all kinds of hard.
“Pet,” I called out. My voice was so fucking rough, strained and tired like I’d been up for days. “Come here.”
She looked up at me and her bottom lip trembled. She didn’t move, just wrung her hands in front of her. Her eyes were terrified and it made me scared. I wasn’t scared very often.
“Come on.” My voice was gentler now. Sweet. Caring. Nothing like me, but everything she needed in that moment. “Come sit on my lap, Pet.”
She made a half-hearted attempt to move, but it felt like she was glued to the spot. Her eyes danced over my features and the room felt oppressively hot.
I tilted my head to the side and stared back. I patted my knee and motioned for her to come with my finger. It made her moan out loud.
“I’m not going to ask again,” I said gently.
She dragged herself over to me and practically collapsed on my lap. I pulled her on my knee and ran a hand down her back, making her fucking shudder. She wouldn’t look at me, covering her face with those dainty little hands instead. Fuck, she was making this even harder. All I wanted to do was bend her over my lap and punish her tight ass for making me wait. But, like always, I didn’t have a fucking clue how I was supposed to punish someone so damn broken.