Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
More amusement in his tone when he asked, “Manspread?”
“You know, when you sit down and you haven’t appropriately contained the family jewels, or you wish to declare to all the other male species in your vicinity your manly endowments are bigger than theirs. I don’t know why you guys do it. But it’s when you spread your legs really wide, even if you’re sitting in the middle seat of an airplane or something.”
“You have a lot of experience with someone in the middle seat?”
Not even close. I had the means, so I was first class all the way.
“No,” I allowed.
“You own your own plane?”
I didn’t answer.
He shook me, and there was vastly more humor in his, “Nadia?”
“Dedulya sold it,” I mumbled.
He bit back laughter, because we were “out,” but we were still keeping our nighttime sleeping arrangements a secret from Ledger.
“Do I do the manspread?” he asked when he got control of his hilarity.
“Not that I’ve noticed. But we haven’t really been out, as it were, like sitting in a booth together or something.”
“We’ll remedy that tomorrow. Mom knows. Ledge knows. Mom, I know, went right home and called Kate, so Kate knows. The whole of MP might as well know. You ready for that?”
It had only been a few days, so it was crazy, but still, I was ready for a whole lot more.
“Sure,” I replied.
“We’ll go to the Double D for breakfast or something. Since Ledge has his sleepover at Dustin’s tomorrow, we’re fucking and sleeping at the cabin, though.”
Lord.
A fantasy come to life.
“Good for you?” he asked.
“Totally.”
“You make yourself come, thinking of me in that bed?” he asked right out.
That was a big fat yes.
“Um…”
“Definitely this bed, thinking of you,” he shared. “Also, the shower.”
I was getting turned on again.
“Um…”
“Fuckin’ cute how you get shy,” he murmured, turning toward me so we were face-to-face, tangling our legs, and the cherry on that sundae, gathering me close in his arms.
Yes, I’d learned Riggs was naturally affectionate, and this included a lot of cuddling while watching TV, hanging in front of the fire, definitely post-sex. We might separate in the night and go our own way, but we always fell asleep something like this.
And since he did this, I knew he was ready to go to sleep.
And Lord knew, I was.
It hit me, sleepily, after I was nearly out, that I forgot to tell him something.
“Riggs?” I mumbled.
“Right here, princess.”
“You might wanna check the south end of the east side of the lake.” I was still mumbling. “I saw a flash in the woods there before dinner. Like the sun hitting a mirror. I think you might have hunters.”
Then I was out.
And because I was so drowsy, and then I was asleep, I missed Riggs’s body getting tighter and tighter with every word I said.
TWENTY-FIVE
Chaos Theory
Nadia
I was shaken awake by Riggs.
I opened my eyes.
It was already full-on sun, but dawn came early this far north in the summer.
However, I could tell it was earlier than normal, since I was an early riser (if Riggs let me go to sleep at a decent hour (not complaining), which he had last night), and I’d still been dead asleep.
So I blinked at Riggs, sitting fully clothed on the bed beside me.
“Is something up?” I asked.
“We’re going into town for breakfast. You can go back to bed, but thought you might want plenty of time to get ready. Though, in a couple of hours, gotta ask you to wake Ledger up so he can get showered and be good to go.”
I pushed up to an arm. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Gonna check the south side of the lake.”
“What? Now?”
“Honey.”
That was all he said, but I didn’t like the way he said it.
“What?” I whispered.
“Hunters take care not to have anything reflect off them. Not easy to shoot a deer if you warn them you’re coming.”
Oh shit.
“Are you…going to take your gun?”
“No, I’m gonna take Harry, who’s waiting downstairs for me, and he’s got his gun. So I gotta go.”
“Oh.”
“Kiss me.”
I pushed up and kissed him, we both used tongues, but it was Riggs who ended it, and he did this too soon.
“Be back in a while,” he promised.
I nodded.
He leaned in, kissed the top of my head, then he was gone.
You’d think, the amount of time I spent around children, I’d be good at keeping something from just one.
But perhaps it wasn’t that I was bad at it, instead, that Ledger clearly took after his father in more than looks, but also in brain capacity (and I was a professional—I could ask him to take tests, but I already knew he was significantly advanced in far more than reading).
As such, I was about to learn that I sucked at keeping stuff from him.
“Was there another break in at the cabin or something?” he asked. “Is that where Dad’s at?”