Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
She thought for a minute before saying, “I can be stubborn sometimes. I would act again in the same way to help that woman.”
“That does not surprise me. Could you commit to calling me first before you put yourself in danger?”
“Maybe?” she hedged.
He arched one eyebrow and maintained eye contact with her.
“Okay, if you were my Daddy, then I’d call as soon as possible.”
“Before interceding.”
His stern tone made her hesitate before admitting, “It depends on the situation. I might not have time to call.”
“If you endanger yourself, there will be consequences.”
“You sound like you’re my Daddy already,” she said, bristling.
“Yes.”
That simple word deflated her indignation. “How are you so confident?”
“There’s something in you that calls to me. You feel like home. Go get Puff now. I’d like to meet him.”
Thinking over his simple statement, Elizabeth allowed him to boost her to her feet. She walked slowly into her room and gently untucked Puff from his nesting spot. Cradling him against her chest, she returned to his side and hesitated. Should she sit back on his lap?
“Come here, Buttercup.” Talon solved her dilemma by guiding her back onto his lap. “This is Puff?”
“It is. Puff is very fierce. Be careful. If he doesn’t like you, he’ll set you on fire.”
“Wow. I hope he likes me. Hi, Puff. I’m very glad to meet you. Thank you for taking such good care of my Little girl.” Talon held out a hand to the stuffie for him to sniff.
“Snort! Puff says you’re a stranger.”
“To him, definitely. But you and I know each other. Can you convince Puff to give me a chance?”
Elizabeth turned the stuffie to look at her. Looking into the dragon’s amber eyes, she tried to reassure her long-time friend that Talon was okay. After several long seconds, the stuffie relented and snorted again.
“Puff is going to keep an eye on you, but he thinks you’re good for me,” Elizabeth reported.
“Thank you, Puff. Is it okay if I take Elizabeth out to eat now?”
The dragon nodded his head once.
“I’ll go tuck Puff back into his lair,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll introduce Borscht to him later.”
As she returned to the sitting area, Elizabeth paused. “Oh, I need to put on some makeup. I’m sorry I didn’t do that sooner.”
“No makeup, Little girl. I’d rather look at the real you,” Talon assured her.
“But I look cuter in makeup.” She hesitated.
“You look scrumptious now. Aren’t you hungry?”
“I’m starved,” Elizabeth admitted.
“Let’s go.”
Talon stood and ushered her out of the apartment. He paused in the doorway to make sure she had her phone and anything else she needed. When Elizabeth was ready, they returned to his motorcycle.
Chapter
Five
He could feel Elizabeth’s body tense against his as they rode into the Shadowridge Guardians’ compound. Taking a hand from the handlebar for a second, he squeezed one of her hands wrapped around his torso to reassure her. Pulling into his normal spot, he urged her to dismount before he put down the kickstand and turned off the bike.
Carefully, he helped take off her helmet. “You will have fun, Little girl. I promise.”
Her lips were pulled in a straight line as she nodded. He could tell she didn’t believe him.
“We can leave whenever you want. Just tell me ‘pickled beets’ and I’ll know we need to fly out of here just like that jerk threw the jar.”
That startled her out of the internal communication loop she had obviously created in her mind. “Pickled beets?”
“Can you remember that?” he asked.
Nodding, Elizabeth whispered, “I don’t like beets. I’m going to give my jar to Janine.”
“Me, neither. They taste like dirt. Or in that case, pickled dirt,” he told her.
“You’re going to give your jar away, too?” she asked, grinning at him.
“Definitely. Someone with no tastebuds here will love them.”
Sweet giggles made him smile. “Turn around, Buttercup. Let me fix your hair. That helmet roughed you up a bit.”
He pulled out her scrunchie and smoothed her hair into a high ponytail before replacing it. “Now all those tendrils of hair are out of your face. Ready to go meet everyone?”
“No. Talon, I’m scared.”
“I know. It’s okay, Buttercup. I won’t go far from you, and no one is going to be mean here. Someone would smash them into the dirt for hurting a Little girl.”
“Really?”
“Really. Can you be brave for me? It’s only scary the first time.”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth.” He kissed her lightly before taking her hand to lead her to the front entrance and inside.
“Talon! And you brought someone with you to brighten up the place,” a giant man greeted them.
“Hi, Bear. This is Elizabeth. She’s mine.”
“Hi, Elizabeth. Gabriel is making his highly coveted mac and cheese to go with burgers tonight. You chose a great night to come meet everyone.”
“Hi, Bear. I’m glad to meet you,” Elizabeth said politely.
Talon felt her scoot a bit closer to him and squeezed her hand. “You’ll love the mac and cheese. Come meet Steele’s Little girl. Do you remember meeting him this morning? He’s the guy over there.” Talon pointed out the president.