Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Lexi dreamed of him every night. In her dreams he was always bent over his workbench, shoulders hunched, his face bleak and sad. He never spoke, never turned toward her, but she knew—she knew—he was as lonely as she was. She woke crying, aching for him, miserable and depressed.
And her students just made everything worse.
Before, teaching had been bearable. Sometimes even rewarding. But now the kids seemed louder, rowdier, and more impossible to deal with than ever.
“Skibidi Toilet!” they shouted in unison, bursting into laughter, when she tried to quiet them down.
“Settle down!” she snapped, her voice sharper than she meant it to be. But they wouldn’t be still. They screeched and laughed and howled like lunatics, shredding her nerves until she thought she was going insane!
Her head throbbed and her chest felt like it was splintering apart.
I can’t do this anymore, she thought, pressing her fingers to her temples. Not after everything. Not after him. How can I go back to a normal life after everything we went through together?
But she had no choice. This was her life—her paycheck…her bills…Aunt Helen and Uncle Herbert were depending on her. She had the extra sixteen thousand in the bank, but that was marked for paying off her student debt and starting her PhD. She didn’t want to touch it if she could help it. She would just have to keep soldiering on, trying to keep going until she could forget the big Kindred who had shattered her heart.
But as bad as things were now, Lexi had no idea how much worse her life was about to get…
46
LEXI
On Friday, Lexi stayed late at school, determined to finish her lesson plans for next week before she went home. The hum of the overhead lights was loud in the empty classroom, the stale smell of dry-erase markers clinging to the air. She rubbed her temples, forcing herself to focus on the columns of objectives and assignments glowing on her laptop screen.
If she finished them now, she wouldn’t have to think about them later. She didn’t want lessons planning hanging over her head when she was strapped to the milking machine in the lab on the Mother Ship, tubes tugging at her nipples while Dr. Brandt avoided looking at her like she was nothing more than equipment.
Better to get this done now. Better not to try to do it after the milking.
Because she was pretty sure she was going to be emotionally shattered after her time with the big Kindred—in no shape to make any kind of plans for her students.
She was tempted to skip the milking session entirely to spare herself the pain but two things stopped her. One—even though she and Brandt couldn’t be together because of his vow, his research was still important. If he really could cure breast cancer, it would save thousands of lives. Lexi wasn’t going to stand in the way of that, no matter how hurt she was.
And two, her breasts were getting really full and achy. She’d been leaking golden droplets of nectar for the past few days, wetting the fabric of her bra. Her nipples were tight and her breasts felt swollen. As much as she hated to admit it—she needed to be milked.
So she had reluctantly decided not to skip the milking. She would just have to manage the best she could. There was supposed to be a Kindred shuttle coming for her around six o’clock and she fully intended to be on it.
By the time Lexi packed up her plans and laptop and left the school, her car was the last one in the cracked lot. Dusk pressed against the windows of her old Honda, the yellow pools of light from streetlights flitting by as she drove. She gripped the wheel the whole drive home, trying not to think about Brandt, about the ache in her chest whenever she dreamed of him and how hard it was going to be to see him again tonight.
When she finally walked in the front door, Lexi intended to change into something comfortable and get ready to go when the shuttle came. But Aunt Helen was waiting for her.
Looking at her aunt, Lexi knew something was wrong at once. Her hands were twisted in the dish towel and her lined face was pale with worry.
“Lexi—thank God you’re home. I’m worried sick!” she exclaimed. Herbert said he was going out for some milk two hours ago and he still isn’t back. I’ve called and called, but he’s not answering his phone. Where can he be?”
Lexi’s heart dropped into her stomach. She knew exactly where Uncle Herbert had gone…and she had a pretty good idea of what had happened to him.
The twenty thousand dollars she’d given him to pay his debt should have been enough, but men like Butcher were never satisfied.