Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Yes, polite and not worried.
Daddy looked like he was trying not to smile. “Good.”
I felt less silly once he gave me another kiss, but I knew we weren’t done with our conversation yet. “You…you got me lots to drink and you made me a big lunch.”
I’d been so full it was wonderful.
Daddy snickered. “And now you’re hungry again.”
“I am.” Lots of exercise. “Um, and then I got my massage, but we…I was tired and telling you about something.”
What had I said?
Being tired fried my brain.
“Oh, the man at the bakery.” He’d been weird. “He said stuff and I told you about it.”
Nodding slowly, Daddy waited quietly.
“Um, we talked a bit about my beetles.” I was pretty sure I’d told him they disappeared. “Then there was something about me deciding if I was a mage or a dragon?”
That was where the other random details got fuzzy, but the important blanks were starting to be filled in. “You…you didn’t tell me I sounded nuts and I don’t think it was just Daddy silliness.”
My beetles kept disappearing.
Poof.
I had it on camera.
The locals were weird.
Like, not normal kind of weird.
They’d talked about me being mated, not married, and everyone thought Daddy was going to keep me.
“Um, there are a lot of my beetles here.” That was curious in itself. “I didn’t expect to find so many.”
Daddy nodded slowly and spoke very carefully. “We have some very interesting local flora and fauna.”
That was an understatement.
“Um, do you know why things are so interesting around here?” Wait. “Is it why the trails are so weird?”
Daddy couldn’t seem to decide if he wanted to laugh or not, but he nodded. “Yes, it’s all connected.”
Nothing made sense but it was starting to make sense.
“Should…should you be explaining this to me?” Was he allowed to? “Do I want you to explain this to me?”
Daddy finally laughed but he shrugged. “Oh, those are very good questions. Yes, I can explain it to you, but I’m not sure if you want me to or not.”
Well, that was a frustratingly Daddy answer.
“What happens if I tell you that I don’t want to know yet?” Were there rules? “Do I have to know? I mean, I might want to know, but I need to know the…”
Ugh.
Daddy managed not to laugh but it looked hard. “I think you’re very curious and that you want to know. You can decide that we should just shelve the conversation for now, though, but it will have to come up again as we get closer.”
“Because you’re keeping me.” I was starting to think that hadn’t just been me thinking that he was happy to have a little or a sub.
“Yep.” Daddy grinned and kissed my nose. “We don’t have to live here if you don’t want to, though. I know you have a career and mine is probably more mobile.”
Wait.
“What do you do besides lead hikes? You said you did it part-time but then I got distracted. Everything around here is so distracting, Daddy.” His snicker said he agreed.
“I teach history and government at the local high school.” Daddy’s answer was such a surprise I must’ve looked silly. He laughed and kissed my nose again. “We’re on summer break.”
Yes, that made sense.
Nothing else about the town did, but his schedule was logical.
“We can discuss job mobility later.” Yes, we didn’t have to rush into things. “There are…there are probably other things to figure out first. Since you’re keeping me and all.”
Pressing his lips together, Daddy nodded and took a second to respond. “Yep.”
My sigh did not help his ability to control his laughter. “Stop looking so cute. I’m trying to behave.”
We had very different definitions of that.
“You’re being ridiculous.” That just made him giggle and hide his face against my head. “Ugh, fine. Dragging this out isn’t going to work. You’ll just spend the next few days giggling and making weird comments while the old men at the diner ask me stupid questions.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right about that.” Daddy pulled away, giving me one more kiss. “How about you sit on my lap? We’ll wrap you in the blanket if you want.”
Hmm.
“Is this an I’m going to need a quick getaway kind of thing?” I didn’t even know where to start guessing, but his shrug didn’t make me feel any better. “That’s not helpful. You were supposed to say no.”
He scoffed.
Still not helpful.
“I’m just trying to figure out how to explain this. I’ve never had to do the whole telling someone new thing.” Daddy looked so frustrated about not knowing whatever he was supposed to be doing that I couldn’t resist kissing his cheek.
“Yes, let’s cuddle. I like sitting on your lap.” And it would make him stop pouting. “Help me. I’m stuck.”
Somehow I’d gotten wrapped up in the sheets, and since it was probably his fault, I made him fix it. The slow and slightly frustrating process eventually came to an end and I could move, so I climbed up on his lap and brought the sheet with me.