Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Maddie expected this would be the time that MaeBe pointed out she was perfectly capable of getting herself up the stairs. Instead the other woman merely turned her Dom’s way.
“Of course, Sir.” MaeBe handed over her backpack. “I won’t forget again.” She smiled sweetly up at him. “I was overly eager to get the op started, and I forgot our protocols. I want you to know that I appreciate everything you do for me.”
When she went up on her toes and kissed his cheek the scary dude practically melted. His jaw went tight, and a flush stained his cheeks. But he simply nodded, holding the backpack. “See that you don’t.” He carefully placed the backpack in the overhead bin and closed it. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to warn the flight attendant that Boomer missed lunch. Deke is making sure all our equipment is on board. You two stay out of trouble.”
MaeBe snorted as Kyle exited the small but luxurious plane. “Like I’m ever allowed to get into trouble. You get one little stab wound and everyone freaks out.”
“Stab wound?” She’d come to enjoy MaeBe’s company. The woman was a bit younger than her but so sunny she was a genuine pleasure to be around. Normally Maddie would worry that happy smile was a mask, but she was trying a new life skill—optimism.
Mae grinned as she sank down onto the seat across from Maddie’s. “Yeah. A couple of months back, I got between a friend of mine and a creepy stalker guy. Lucky for me he was bad at stabbing. Missed all my vital organs, and now I have a cool scar and Mr. Grumpy became even grumpier. Though he seems to be in a good mood lately.”
She wasn’t sure she would recognize the differences in Kyle’s moods. He seemed to frown. A lot. “You’re handling the whole thrown-together-fake-relationship thing well.”
MaeBe shrugged. “Oh, it’s so not fake. It’s more of a fake fake-dating situation, but then I think we’ve been doing that for a while.”
“So he’s dating you but pretending to not date you.” She couldn’t quite get a handle on their relationship dynamic. They were obviously into each other, but they didn’t seem to be dating in a traditional sense.
“That sums up my life since meeting Kyle. He says we’re just friends and then pays for everything and makes sure he always walks me to my door and is way too into my business. He acts like he’s my boss when I don’t even work in the same department he does. But I put up with it because I know it bothers him when he’s out of control. Like I would let some random friend have any kind of control over how I do my job,” MaeBe said with a shake of her head. “That man adores me and I adore him, but he’s got some serious baggage. This whole op is his way of sneaking into a real relationship with me. I’ve been waiting a long time for this. My patience is going to end in wedding bells, you wait and see.”
It was odd. She’d only known the woman for a couple of days, but it felt like longer. They’d been in the training trenches together. MaeBe had been the one to walk her through things the day before. She’d been the one to sink to her knees beside Maddie when they greeted their Masters. “That’s great for you.”
MaeBe’s expression softened. “He’s a great guy. Weird, but he’s also my best friend. Sometimes I’m oddly grateful we got this time together. If he’d been less traumatized, we probably would have ended up in bed the first night we met and I would have freaked out and run from him like I do sometimes. Instead, we built something.”
The last few days had been one long reminder of how she and Deke had influenced each other’s lives. “Deke and I have known each other since we were kids. He used to stop anyone who tried to bully me.”
“He’s a great guy, too. It’s impossible to not like Deke.” She glanced toward the door. “Is there a reason you’re not climbing that man like a tree?”
Maddie winced. It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about it every single minute of the day. “I don’t think that’s what he wants.”
“Oh, hell no. I’ve watched him watching you.”
Well, Mae wasn’t there at night when he sent her to bed alone even though she’d pretty much done everything she could to let him know she was willing. Well, everything but telling him she was willing. “He’s playing a part. He seems very dedicated to his job.”
“He’s not usually,” MaeBe mused. “Deke is a good guy and he works hard, but he’s not obsessed with his job like some of the guys. He doesn’t work constantly. He takes all his vacation days. He likes to have fun and spend time goofing off with his friends. And he’s also not obsessed with being a Dom. I’ve been going to Sanctum for a couple of years, and I would call him a casual top. I’ve never seen the man be so serious about protocol.”