Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“Her name is Bay.” Hearing him call her “the woman” annoyed me. “And she’s here until Ellen gets back.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I thought she was cleared to go home.”
Not his business.
“She will go when I’m ready for her to.”
“Oh,” he replied.
I could tell from his expression that he was assuming something that wouldn’t be far off real soon. As in tonight.
“Just take care of Slash. Who I have here isn’t your concern.”
He nodded. “Right. Sorry.”
Ransom had asked me basically the same shit yesterday. It was why I had told him that I didn’t need his help today and not to stop by. He was more intrusive than his younger brother. I didn’t want to deal with that, and I wasn’t going to.
Slash left the room, and I already knew where he was headed. Bay would be happy to see him. Might bring her out of hiding away in the library.
“Ellen leave any caramel pie?” Than asked with a hopeful expression.
“Yeah, there’s one in the fridge.”
“Hot damn!” he said, spinning around and following Slash’s exit.
“Get me a piece too,” I called after him.
“You want coffee with it?”
I headed toward the bar. “No, I got my drink.”
Forty-Five
Bay
A loud whistle caused Slash to lift his head from my lap, where I’d been rubbing him while reading, and then he looked woefully back at me before he climbed down from the sofa and headed toward the door. I hoped he didn’t have to leave again. I enjoyed his company. He glanced back at me one more time, and I stood up, deciding to go see if I could convince Hale to let him stay. I didn’t mind taking care of him.
Another whistle, and Slash hurried off. Setting my book down, I followed behind him, although he was already out of sight by the time I made it to the hallway.
Hale had left me in here over four hours ago, and I’d gotten very involved in the book until Slash made his appearance. There hadn’t been any naughty scenes yet, like Hale had mentioned, except for one where the heroine masturbated to thoughts of the hero in the story. But I didn’t think that was what one would consider naughty. Although I had blushed. A little.
As I made my way down the staircase, I could hear male voices and paused, not sure I should interrupt their conversation. I assumed it was Than since Slash was here, but I wasn’t sure. What if they were talking about the criminal stuff? I didn’t want to walk up on that. I’d decided perhaps it was best I left this place and Hale, never knowing what it was he did exactly.
The talking stopped, and I waited for a moment before continuing down. When I didn’t hear any more, I hoped I hadn’t waited too long and missed Than leaving with Slash. When I was at the bottom of the staircase, Hale appeared with a cigar between his teeth. I didn’t like smoking, so why did I find that sexy?
“We both could use some sunshine,” Hale said. “Get your shoes on. Let’s go for a walk.”
Although a walk outside sounded nice, I wasn’t sure spending more time with him alone was a good idea.
“I, uh, thought you were going to the office,” I replied.
“Changed my mind.”
We stood there, gazes locked for several seconds. There was no harm in walking outside with him. I did want to go out. At least he was clothed.
“All right,” I agreed. “I’ll go get my shoes.”
Thankfully, my clothes had finished in the dryer, and I’d had a tank top and shorts to put on because while it was lovely out, it was also hot.
Hale led us over to a shaded path, and we walked for a while without talking. I didn’t mind the silence. It wasn’t awkward for some reason. It was…comfortable. I guessed after you bathed a man, not much was awkward after that.
His property seemed to go on for miles, and I was curious as to how much he owned, but decided against asking him. That would spark conversation. Perhaps it was better not knowing any more than I already did about him.
“Do you know much about your birth mother?” Hale asked.
That was an odd question. “Uh, not really. At least not more than what I learned from the DNA test I took.”
“You did one of those?” he asked, glancing over at me.
I nodded. “Yep. Figured it might give me some kind of—I don’t know—link to my birth parents.”
“And did it?”
“No,” I replied, remembering my disappointment. I had been hoping for some kind of family connection. That hadn’t been what happened. “All I found out was that my father was Scottish and had been dead for ten years, and the woman who had given birth to me and left me in the hospital while she snuck out overnight had been dead twenty years.”