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)
Unexpected.
Weird.
Kind of sexy?
No, I wasn’t going to say any of that, so I did the smart thing and pressed my lips together. I expected laughter from Fraser or at least a smirk, but he kept his sweet smile in place. “Thank you for letting me know that I didn’t do anything wrong. That’s enough of a response and I’m proud of you.”
That should not feel as nice to hear as it did.
I didn’t know him well enough to have any reaction to his words.
He was a stranger who’d just been watching me eat breakfast and he’d be leading me in the woods.
Ugh, I sounded like some weird version of Hansel and Gretel.
“I’m not going to ask what you’re thinking, but I am going to let you know that I’m going to keep doing what comes naturally to me. All you have to do is to let me know if we’re still at the not doing anything wrong level.” Fraser paused and waited.
He was going to be a pain in the butt.
“I can agree with that plan.” And I was going to hope we didn’t move past that not doing anything wrong level of weird. “Also, thank you for not asking about my thoughts.”
They hadn’t made enough sense, so I didn’t want to suffer through explaining them.
“And…and I can make sure you understand that we’re still at the not doing anything wrong level.” Of whatever he thought we were doing.
Ugh.
I was getting to be as weird as the rest of them.
“I’m glad.” He was still wearing his confusingly sweet smile. “I’m going to trust you to let me know where we’re at.”
Hmm.
“I’m trustworthy.” That was one thing I knew and could articulate. It was the rest that I was confused about. “We’re just…we’re just going to talk and get work organized and get to know each other.”
Yes, that was a list that made sense and his nod said he was on the same page.
“That’s right.” Giving the seat belt strap a tug where it met the wall of the car, he chuckled when I rolled my eyes as he teased about trapping me like I was a wiggly kid. “And we’re not going to worry about reactions. We’re just going to be trustworthy and explain what we know.”
I could do that.
I didn’t know much yet…but that didn’t seem to be a problem. Fraser liked making decisions, and even though he seemed to have a very go with the flow attitude, he seemed to be controlling the flow.
That was probably cheating but I wasn’t going to point that out. He might make me take charge if I complained, and I had no idea where we were going.
Metaphorically or literally.
I had no idea what he was thinking or where he lived.
“I think that’s a good plan.” As long as I wasn’t the one in charge but I got to tell him when to stop. “I’m sure you’ll keep things going in a reasonable direction.”
“I’m going to do my best.” His wicked grin finally peeked back out. “And I have no problem with being in charge.”
That was definitely some kind of warning, but I wasn’t going to poke at it.
I had enough on my plate and I wasn’t going to add to it.
No, we were just going with the flow and it would be fine…no matter if it was a date or not…because I still wasn’t sure.
Chapter 4
Fraser
Paxton could talk about work no matter what else was going on around him or to him. It was impressive but it made me wonder what else he could ignore. “They’re just very good at natural camouflage. I need to work out how but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”
Yes, the bugs that could fucking disappear were just blessed by nature.
Probably some fucking mage with a nature name, but he was close.
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” At the very least, someone had to figure out how to fix them, so we had to find them. “You say you’ve heard about them being all over?”
How far had they gone?
Who the fuck had messed with the bugs of all things?
“I’ve found verifiable reports of them in Scotland and here in your area, but there are internet stories about odd bugs in a variety of places in the US and abroad.” Paxton didn’t seem to realize how strange that list was, but I did. “I’m not sure if they’re a localized species that was accidentally transplanted or if they’ve always been around and have just been well-camouflaged.”
The first option.
Definitely the first.
Knowing my neighbors, some mage had been one-upping someone else and it’d gotten out of hand. It might’ve been here or one of the other towns that had a lot of mages and dragons, but the whole situation screamed mage shenanigans.
“Have you been able to narrow down their natural habitat?” That had him chattering away until we reached my place, but the only thing I really learned was that people needed to clean their kitchens more and the bugs might like McDonald’s.