Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 42796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
His grandmother didn’t seem too concerned. She tried to eat well and exercise—which she’d always done in the past as well. Brooks hated to imagine a future without her. That’s why he’d stayed in one place for so long. Having time with her meant a lot to him.
As he turned into Skye’s nursery, sad thoughts blew out of his mind. The room was so her. The high ceiling and enormous windows would make this a perfect art space for her creations. Already, Skye had drawn dragons on the longest wall, creatively using the door in the design to make it blend in beautifully. He guessed this room connected to her Daddies’ rooms on each side while giving her some quiet space.
Arriving last, Brooks quickly took a seat on the floor next to Skye. He inadvertently let out a groan as he sat on his spanked bottom. Catching himself, Brooks scanned the room, hoping the others hadn’t noticed.
They all smiled at him. Brooks immediately shifted to jump to his feet to flee. Skye put a hand on his knee and pointed around the circle. Three women raised their hand.
“Join the club,” she told him cryptically.
“What club?” he asked, not wishing to jump to a conclusion.
“The ‘we made bad choices, and our Daddies spanked us’ club,” Lalani admitted. “We all winced or moaned as we sat down. It’s a dead giveaway for everyone else. Skye needs pillows.”
“Next time,” Skye promised and made an X over her heart.
“Okay. Let’s move to the story. I hope you like this new chapter I wrote last week. I was inspired after recovering from a cold. Daddy had warned me it was too chilly to swim in his pond, but I insisted,” Ciel admitted.
“Oh,” Aurora said, waggling her eyebrows. “Our Daddies have all sorts of old-fashioned medical tools they collected years ago.”
Brooks tried to unpack all that statement had included in it as the others nodded in agreement. He really wanted to ask what type of equipment their dragon shifters had, but maybe he didn’t want to find out.
“Let Brooks listen to the first chapters. He hasn’t heard the story yet,” Lalani suggested as Ciel started passing out the chapters.
He got the sixth chapter and forced himself to turn it upside down on the floor so he didn’t get distracted while the others read. By the time Ciel was halfway through the first chapter, he stretched out on his stomach. Others chose to follow his example. He guessed it wasn’t for the same reason since they didn’t need to hide their arousal, but it was more comfortable for his butt, too.
Ciel was really good. He enjoyed the story. The sixth chapter was sweet, to his relief. Reading the steamy stuff might have challenged him.
“I love hearing Brooks read. The story is even better in a man’s voice,” Lalani said when he finished.
“Want me to read the newest chapter?” Argenis asked from the doorway. He, of course, had already heard it. Ciel had shared she always read the newest chapter to her Daddy after finishing one.
“Daddy! You’re supposed to be in with the other Daddies. Shoo!” Ciel said, using the papers in her hand to wave him away.
“If I must,” Argenis agreed with a smile. “I thought I would offer since I’d come to check on you.”
“We’re good,” Lalani told him, nodding frantically to convince him.
“Perfect.” With that, Argenis disappeared back down the hallway.
“Is he gone?” Aurora whispered.
“I’m gone.” Argenis’s voice drifted to them from a distance before the front door closed. Brooks had already learned those darn dragons had extremely accurate hearing.
“Okay, here’s the new chapter. Fingers crossed you like it!” Ciel lifted the paper and read her newest addition.
Her audience listened in absolute silence as she detailed the main character’s illness and her Daddy’s treatments. Brooks’s gaze rose to fix on the ceiling. He couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze as he struggled to control himself. From the corners of his eyes, he could see the other mates shifting restlessly. Everyone was affected.
When Ciel finished, Skye demanded, “More!”
“I haven’t written any more. Sorry, Skye.”
“You’ll write fast through, right?” Lalani asked.
Ciel smiled. “As fast as I can. Daddy will only let me work a couple of hours a day. He thinks I need fresh air and sunshine.”
“I’m never getting sick,” Brooks said softly. The women quickly agreed with that before he added, “I can’t believe these books existed, and I never knew. The others can’t be as good as Ciel’s.”
“Thank you, Brooks. There are great stories out there. The ones I found first were on my e-reader,” Ciel shared.
“Time to go, Brooks!” Rogan’s cheerful voice shattered the hushed atmosphere in the quiet room.
Brooks turned to see him checking out Skye’s drawings on the wall. “Um… Do I have to?” He wasn’t quite ready to get up yet. His body was on hyper alert still.