Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
He opened it then led me into a massive bedroom with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the desert landscape. A large bed sat against the far wall with a stunning wrought iron headboard and posts. The wide mattress was covered with a thick white down comforter that looked very inviting. Red, navy, and gold pillows decorated the bed, and a large Navajo blanket hung on the wall above. A big, comfy looking dog bed sat in a corner of the room.
“Does Honey sleep in here with you?” I asked while pointing at the floor. “That dog bed looks big enough to fit a small adult.”
“No, Honey stays with Tiffany at night. I got that for Vali. He sleeps with you at night, right? I figured he might want a comfortable place to rest if we’re…using the bed.”
I didn’t know whether to yell at him for presuming that I’d share a bed with him or find it sweet that he was looking out for my Vali.
Mark motioned me over. “Come here.” Pausing with his hand on the handle of the door, he took a quick breath then said, “Okay, don’t get freaked out.”
I jerked back a little. “Are you going to show me your sex room?”
That got a slow blink out of him, then a grin, his teeth white against the darkness of his silvery beard. “Not quite, but I like where your mind is going with this. Feel free to redecorate any one of those floral nightmare guest rooms into a sex dungeon, please. This is a storage room.”
Feeling like a dork, I laughed. “Sorry, sorry. I read too many BDSM books.”
He winked at me, then hesitated again. “Before I let you in, I should probably give you an explanation of what’s inside.”
“Oh God, please tell me it’s not full of dead women, like Bluebeard. Man, that was one screwed up fairytale. Like who sits around and thinks, ‘You know what would make a great story for kids? A serial killer!’ That’s just wrong.”
“What?” He opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head. “No, no dead women. Jesus, what kind of guy do you think I am?”
“I was kidding. Go on.”
After rubbing the back of his neck, he gave me some side-eye then said, “I think about you, a lot. Even when we’re not talking, and I’m running around the world doing some bullshit for the Cordovas, I think about you. You are constantly on my mind. I’ll be walking down the streets of Venice and I’ll see some glass that I know you’d love so I’ll stop and get it. Or I’ll be in Japan and notice that one of your favorite artists is doing a signing and I get excited, because you’d love a copy. I like buying these things for you because I know you’ll appreciate them, and they make you happy. It was a way for me to share my world with you. To always make you a part of it even if we weren’t physically together.”
I stroked his arm, enjoying the feeling of the big muscles of his bicep beneath his soft shirt. “I loved it whenever you sent me something, because I knew it meant I was on your mind.”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, well I’ve only sent you a small portion of the things I’ve gotten you over the last few years.”
When he opened the door and turned on the lights, I gasped.
“Holey moley, batman,” I whispered as I took in the boxes stacked up to the ceiling, filling the enormous walk-in closet. “What is all this stuff?”
“I told you, I thought about you a lot.”
I slowly turned, my neck going back as I took in box after box.
There had to be hundreds.
“This is all for me?”
“Yes.”
I curiously picked up a box wrapped in pale blue paper with golden pineapples embellished on it. “What is all this stuff?”
“Why don’t you start opening and find out? After all, everything in here belongs to you. I just haven’t given it to you yet.”
For a second, I just stood there, stunned while Vali sniffed around my feet. “This is crazy.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but I told you, Layla. I like making you happy.”
I had to blink back tears as I said, “But you didn’t need to buy me all of this to make me happy.”
He joined me by a stack, his blue eyes gentle while he stroked my cheek. “I know that, baby bear. But I like spoiling my girl.”
Turning into his caress, I closed my eyes and leaned into him. “You make it so hard to be mad at you, even though I have every right to be.”
I slid my hands around his trim waist, resting my head on his hard chest. When he wrapped me up in his arms, I let out a sigh of pure contentment. No matter how conflicted my mind might be, my body was one hundred percent team Mark. Shivers raced down my spine as he traced his fingers down the back of my arm. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Vali wander back into the master bedroom. Poor guy was probably tuckered out from playing with Honey. Knowing my dog, he’d probably go claim that big dog bed and sleep for four hours. He was a big fan of naps and took them whenever he could.