Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
He made a tsk sound and then said, “I will.”
I chewed my lip.
He was such a gentleman about it, reaching back and tapping his thumb against his other fingers in a gesture that invited me to grab his hand. I did and used his stability to pull myself up and then shimmied my bottoms back up, alternating with my left hand to do so. Once I was ready for him to turn around, I cleared my throat.
“Okay.”
He turned to me, eyes filled with concern as he lifted me up into his arms.
His eyes were absolutely melting me. I sucked on my bottom lip as he carried me toward the door.
“I have to wash my hands.”
He paused. “Oh?”
Oh. I didn’t actually wipe anything.
“Oh. Never mind. I didn’t actually wipe anything.”
He paused in mid-step and what I’d said registered and so of course I blushed. His eyes hit me, and I clapped my hand over mine.
“Oh my God. I just put my foot in my freaking mouth.”
He chuckled. “You what?”
“I can’t believe I just said that. It’s just that I’m in the habit of washing my hands after the bathroom, because, you know… we don’t have washer-dryer things built into our toilets so we clean ourselves with toilet paper and then, in case, you know… germs – we wash. But I didn’t touch any germs because I didn’t touch anything.”
Then it dawned that men would likely still have to wash as they typically held their … thing. Didn’t they?
I opened my mouth again to keep babbling and then clamped it shut, thankfully not blurting out that last thought.
“Do you, by any chance, have a spare toothbrush?”
He stopped in his tracks. “Of course. Just a moment. I’ll set you up better in there and bring you back.”
He put me on the couch at the edge of the bed and left the room, giving me the peace sign, and returning with a big papasan-style chair, which he put in the bathroom.
He then carried me to the bathroom and went through the menus on screen, selecting things. A hairbrush. A toothbrush (it looked a bit like my supersonic electric one). A jar of something with a flower on it. A fluffy washcloth and towel. He hit a command that made the sink move down several inches, so it was more at my level for sitting.
“There. That should get you by for now. We’ll go through the things I’ve ordered for you later on and then if there’s more you need, I’ll arrange it. Once we have a chance to talk some more, I’ll show you how to operate the automation hub for the house. What would you like for breakfast?”
Gosh, he was attractive. He was still shirtless, and every inch of his upper body was just perfection. Defined abs. Massive shoulders and biceps. Sexy chest. Thick veins climbing down his arms toward his wrists. And his lounge pants were precariously low on those hip bones. My eyes moved even lower. Was that the outline of his –
“Tanya?” There was amusement in his voice. I blinked and looked up into his blue eyes.
“Hm?”
“Breakfast?” He flashed dimples.
I nodded. He definitely knew I was checking him out.
“Any preferences?” he asked.
Sausage? I almost laughed at my train of thought, but instead I shook my head dumbly. He must think I’m an airhead.
His phone chimed and the screen in the bathroom lit up with symbols and then the screen switched to a tall dark-haired young guy who held what looked like my suitcase. It appeared he was at the entryway of a house. Colorful pots of flowers were on either side of him and behind him was a pathway of more flowers. And jewel stones throughout a pathway leading to what appeared from my limited view to be a cobblestone road.
“I think that’s my suitcase.”
“Right. I’ll get that. Be right back.”
CHAPTER 10
ZANE
Zane answered the door to the government messenger. He knew by the uniform who he was supposed to be opening his door to, and suspected he knew why, but that didn’t stop him from opening it armed, ready with a weapon in the back of his lounge pants, should it be someone else looking to steal her away.
He had strong emotions about the rogues from the day before. These weren’t simply a band of unorganized men, despite the idiot on his rooftop. They knew how to take down most of a power grid. They were armed with lethal weapons with the OcZenCo logo on them.
He still had that weapon, the weapon he’d taken from the man on the roof. He grazed the maker’s mark with his thumb as he stood, ready to aim it, thinking again about his brother.
The night before, it’d haunted him. The weapon with that maker’s mark, plus the recollection of the idiot on the roof that looked at him like he knew him and then indicated Zane looked like someone else.