Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Neither male had an answer.
Then again, that was more than likely true on a variety of levels.
There simply was no answer. Their behavior was inexcusable.
“Fillion, my love,” Queen Calisa murmured, her voice an ache.
The king’s attention shifted to Aleksei.
“Is this official?” he asked confusingly.
“It doesn’t appear it needs to be,” Aleksei replied quietly.
“But in these chambers,” the king pressed.
“We both know, in these chambers, it has to be,” Aleksei said.
The king nodded. “Let there be no upset, son. Truth told, it’s a relief.”
And with that, saying nothing nor looking at anyone, with dignity I admired, the king walked out.
“Son,” Queen Calisa called.
“Don’t,” Aleksei said tersely. “You know I don’t want it.”
“And you know it was an inevitability,” she replied gently.
She moved to him, touched his arm, glanced at her two younger sons, her daughter, and followed her husband.
“Don’t even open your mouth,” Aleece warned.
Timothee’s eyes had fired, and he was openly pouting. But he kept his mouth shut.
“Laura.” She called my attention to her. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. But not like this.”
“Same,” I pushed out, so blown away by all that had happened and perplexed by a lot of it, I was unable to say more.
“So that’s it?” Errol demanded of Aleksei. “One day, you just walk into a room, issue orders, act like a bully, and we’re supposed to click our heels and salute?”
“Thank you for asking, I’m just fine after someone tried to kill my beast,” Aleksei returned. “Thank you for asking, I’m extortionately happy I’ve found my mate. Thank you for asking, I’d love for you to get to know her and her friends better.”
That said a lot.
And, right…
We were doing this now.
Since it needed to be done, I kept my mouth shut and my hold on my mate.
“Like you reach out,” Timothee spat.
“I asked you to join my ring ice team. Then the team asked me to lose you because you’re a dirty player and an inveterate cheat.”
Color started to hit Timothee’s face.
Aleksei carried on.
“I asked you both to stand up with me when I was engaged to Anna, and the night of our engagement party, you made a messy, inebriated pass at her,” he said to Timothee, then he turned to Errol. “And you got drunk and were caught urinating on her mother’s prized roses.”
Errol suddenly was fascinated with the oval coffee table in front of him.
Aleece crossed her arms on her chest and glared between the two, and I had the distinct impression what Aleksei was sharing was news to her.
Aleksei, sadly, wasn’t done.
“I asked you both if you were interested in working with one of my businesses. Tim, you threw that offer in my face. Rol, you took me up on it, and then I had to sack you for sexually harassing a colleague.”
Errol now made a study of his shoes.
Ugh.
These males were a disaster.
And I was seeing Aleksei and I might need to spend less time having sex and more time talking (might).
“As ever, you’re perfect, and we’re fuckups,” Timothee bit out.
“You said it, I didn’t,” Aleksei fired back. “But I’m far from perfect, Tim. You simply haven’t bothered to try to get to know me. Also, I don’t put everything I am into being a fuckup for whatever shitty reason you have for doing it. You are not me. You will never be me. You’re you. That could take any form. Are you happy with the person you crafted yourself to be? Because if you are, we’re dealing with something a great deal deeper here, because you’re fucking insufferable, and anyone in their right mind would know the many ways you are.”
Timothee shrugged. “You twist us into villains when we’re just normal males. We’re just not shining examples of glory, like you are.”
“A normal male does not drug a woman to force her to have an abortion, Tim.”
“You don’t get this, but she was blackmailing me,” Tim retorted hotly. “She got pregnant on purpose. She had me by the balls. What would you do?”
“I wouldn’t have gotten her pregnant. It’s a simple matter of taking the serum once a week,” Aleksei returned.
“She can take the serum too,” Timothee rejoined.
Aleksei sighed.
And I counted my lucky stars that my male regularly imbibed the birth control serum (and yes, we oh so had talked about that).
I did too, but you could never be too careful (until you didn’t want to be, of course).
“I won’t apologize to that bitch,” Timothee decreed. “The rest, I don’t give a fuck. Do what you have to do. You’ll see what kind of female she is when you sit down with her. She was out to get exactly what you’re giving her.”
“And this is why you take the serum, Tim,” Aleksei said with strained patience. “If she is indeed a female like that, you don’t hand her the rope to hang you.”