Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 35933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“I’m going to bed,” I announced. I looked at Halo and Gidget. “You two keep me updated.” Swinging my gaze to Noah, I asked, “You coming up, mama?”
“In a bit,” she said, already on her feet and heading for the kitchen. “I need more food.”
“I don’t know where you put it,” I called after her. “You’re a twig.”
She flipped me the middle finger over her shoulder. “My empty soul swallows it all.”
I snorted a laugh and headed up the stairs, honestly too tired to go back and forth with her. But tomorrow, after I had some sleep, would be another story altogether.
I fucking loved getting that woman all riled up and pissed off with me. It was the sweetest form of torture.
I grinned to my self. It was the best form of foreplay, too.
8
Noah
By the time I’d emerged from the kitchen after throwing myself together a sandwich, scarfing it down, and chasing it with a bottle of water, the sitting room was empty and only a lamp had been left on to light my way toward the stairs. Tugging my phone from my pocket, I turned on the flashlight, using it to guide my way up the dark staircase to my room.
The house was eerily quiet, but given how big it was, it wasn’t that huge of a surprise. Why one man needed a place this huge was beyond me, but Alejandro also seemed like the type who needed things to be luxurious—his cars and clothes included. It made me wonder what his woman—Elaina, I thought I remembered him saying—was like. Did she like things as lavish as he did?
Pushing open the door to my room, I found the light switch, then turned off the flashlight on my phone. The door shut behind me with a quiet click, and I moved further into the room, dropping my phone on the comfortable-looking bed before toeing off my shoes.
I’d already showered earlier when we made it to the house, so I was good to shuck my clothes and fall into bed face first. And I had every intention of doing that until Blayke’s voice outside made me pause with my shirt halfway up my torso. Frowning, I tugged my shirt back down, then padded barefoot over to the curtains. When I tugged it back, I was surprised to find a balcony.
A balcony that connected our fucking rooms.
Fuck you, Alejandro, I thought sourly. I was trying to keep my distance from Blayke. Make him work to get me in his clutches. This certainly wasn’t going to fucking help.
“Best plan we’ve got right now, Prez. Until we can pinpoint a general location, there’s not much even Geek can do.” Blayke sighed heavily as he listened to Johnston speak. I found it amusing that he was just as put out by his president as I was. Johnston was a fucking dick.
Uncaring of how nosy I looked, I pushed open my balcony door and stepped out, arching a brow at Blayke. I was coming off cool and aloof, like he didn’t affect me, but seeing him shirtless with only a pair of boxers covering his package had my mouth running dry.
Blayke didn’t have a six pack, though his stomach was flat. Truth was, Blayke didn’t need one. There was strength in every part of his body—one that spoke of hard work and a rough life rather than the kind of body men got from hitting the gym numerous times a week. And all that colorful ink? I wanted to run my tongue over every single tattoo so I could memorize them and recall them even when I was damn near one hundred and my memory was fucking shot to hell.
Blayke turned, smirking when he laid his eyes on me. And even though I was fully clothed—even my feet were still in socks—I felt naked when he raked his eyes over me.
“I know you want results overnight, Johnston, but shit doesn’t work like that, brother. Give me time. When I know something, I’ll make sure you know, too. Alright? Get some rest. If you keep bugging me, I’m calling Aaliyah.”
Johnston didn’t seem particularly thrilled about the prospect of being on his old lady’s bad side because he snapped at Blayke loud enough for me to hear his voice, though I couldn’t make out what he said. Blayke was obviously unfazed though—I mean really, it seemed like nothing fazed the man—because he snorted a small laugh. “Goodnight, Prez.”
He ended the call, then turned, tossing the flip phone into the depths of his room. I leaned against the balcony railing and crossed my arms over my chest. When he was facing me again, he crossed his arms over his chest, too, mimicking my pose, except he was smiling like the cat that ate the canary. “To what do I owe the pleasure, mama?”