Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Bingo. Time for fun.”
Thankfully it was one of the polite Canadians who spoke up to prompt the right conversation. “I don’t remember where he’s from.”
Wren laughed through the bond again when a man from the place called Scotland would not be left out. “Or his name? He was at that weird birthday party wedding thing. I remember that.”
“Who’s going to guess first?”
Wren’s delight filled my head as looks were exchanged around the room.
“Well, fuck.” Wren’s surprise made me laugh as the strange man from Florida spoke up first to show he understood where I was from.
Wren smiled, clearly pleased as he leaned against me. “That’s what I said when I first met Daddy Manny.”
I performed the rolling my eyes movement to explain my thoughts without having to verbalize them.
“But I meant something different.”
The foreign men needed to learn not to upset my mate, and the locals needed to stop egging him on as Miss Nancy from the diner had said.
Most of the laughter that filled the room was understandable but I questioned my mate when the Canadians started mumbling about Americans always having to upstage everyone. It was not an expression I had heard the diner men or my mate use, so Wren’s quick explanation was helpful.
And even he had to admit it was accurate.
Wren’s delight at being the center of attention was difficult to resist. “Being special is hard sometimes.”
It was, however, time for him to tone it down as I had heard the deputy say in the past.
“So I’m sure we all understand why Wren will be included in the group.” Pierce seemed to be ready to get the meeting back on track and looked relieved when most people in the room nodded.
“Okay, I don’t know if this is a dumb question or not, but I’m going to ask anyway.” The confusing man from Florida shrugged off any worry of how he looked. “If he’s…come to visit…why are we going?”
I thought that answer was obvious. Another one of the Florida men seemed to agree but he used the time to ask another question. “I’m going to point out that we still don’t know his name or if expert Wren has somehow…kidnapped him?”
“For fuck’s sake.”
My mate did not think his question was as smart as the dinosaur man’s had been.
“Why would I kidnap my mate?” Wren’s frown was much milder than his thoughts said it should be. “Daddy Manny saw me. He smiled at me. He knew we were mates. We fucked like rabbits. It’s not rocket science.”
“We are mates from separate worlds, my Wren. It may actually be science of some sort. However, your behavior does not take a scientist to define as inappropriate.”
He paused, making a thinking sound before sighing through the bond.
“Sorry, Daddy.”
Possibly…I wasn’t sure that emotion would last throughout the entire meeting, however.
Chapter 19
Wren
“Daddy said I could ask you if it was okay to ask more questions.” Kenzie planted himself right in front of the doorway of the council room to make sure we didn’t escape before he got us.
I wasn’t sure if us being one of the last ones out because we’d gotten distracted was the reason for it or if it was just luck, but I was curious to see what was going to happen after he went to the trouble of warning us. “I will respect safewords and prior social commitments, though.”
Before I could figure out what to say, he kept going…earnest and adorable…and as pushy as everyone else in town. “Having dinner with us would be a new social commitment that would make your life easier because answering my questions one-on-one and letting me have dinner with an alien will help spread the rumors around faster and you won’t have to explain the same things a thousand times. I’ll tell everyone at the diner in the morning. I promise.”
I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be something we needed to praise him for or not. I was manipulative enough that if it had come from me I probably should’ve been punished, but Kenzie was different.
Daddy took the decision out of my hands because he was better at that kind of stuff, and he smiled at Kenzie. “That would be helpful. Thank you for thinking of us. Having dinner away from the diner tonight would probably be a good idea.”
Kenzie nodded like Daddy was brilliant. “They’re all going to be really nosy because I’m pretty sure the room is bugged somehow.”
Great.
Daddy’s head cocked, so I gave him the dictionary page that explained it. Once he got it, he straightened. “That’s fascinating. What do you know about those kinds of devices?”
It was Kenzie’s turn to look confused before having a lightbulb moment. He leaned around us and frowned before calling out. “Daddy. The aliens don’t have listening devices. But they said we can have dinner with the alien and his mate. I’m going to see if Wren wants to play too.”