Total pages in book: 184
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
“You will.”
Well. That didn’t sound ominous or anything.
“You aren’t drinking your juice.” He took it from her and opened it. It looked ridiculous in his large hand. Especially when he pulled off the straw and poked it into the box.
Then he passed it back. “Drink up.”
Bossy didn’t even begin to explain him. She didn’t know what he was. But there was bossy and then there was Alexei.
And he was completely unapologetic about it.
Moving to her foot, he fussed over it again.
“Alexei, my foot is all good, now,” she told him. “And I have so much to do. I’ve got to finish dusting in here. And now I have to clean up bird poop. Plus, I’ve got to do the vacuuming. I don’t have time to lie here and let you baby me.”
He froze for a second.
That was a strange reaction. What had she said wrong?
Oh, maybe it was the ‘baby her’ comment. Had that sounded rude?
Maybe you shouldn’t have used the word ‘baby.’
Yeah, that was likely it. She wasn’t being babied. That had been a silly thing to say.
Maybe it was a Freudian slip of the tongue because you want to be babied.
Wait. What?
Did she?
Sometimes she’d see Littles at clubs and wonder . . . then there were the women who lived in Escana. How often had she envied their lives?
But was it because they were Littles?
Or because they had lives that seemed magical?
They were happy.
Safe.
Well, as safe as their men could make them.
Their men and maybe in a small way, her . . . but then they didn’t know about the part she’d played, did they?
And they never would because that secret would have to die with her, or she’d be signing her death warrant.
Not that she really thought she’d live that long. She figured she’d get to thirty . . . tops.
Then she hoped she’d go out with a bang.
One could wish that would be the case. But the game she was playing wasn’t a safe one.
Alexei opened his mouth . . . to say what, exactly, she didn’t know. But just then the living room door swung open and would have banged into the wall if it wasn’t for the door stop.
Roman rushed in, looking flustered and carrying two large plastic bags. “What happened? What’s going on? Is she sick? Injured? Oh God. Did you break your leg?”
He came to a stop in front of the sofa, the bags dropping to the floor. Then his horrified gaze moved from her to Alexei. “Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”
“I haven’t broken my leg,” she said with exasperation as she sat up.
“Lie down,” both men told her.
Well, barked at her.
Not unusual for Alexei, but the last time that Roman had spoken to her like that had been . . . the last time she’d injured herself.
All right, then.
With a sigh, she laid down.
“You know, it’s my foot that I hurt, right? I don’t know why I have to lie down.”
But the two of them weren’t really paying any attention to her.
“She looks pale to me,” Roman said. “Do you think she’s pale?”
“She’s always pale,” Alexei answered. “I don’t think she eats enough.”
Wait. Was she always pale? She didn’t think she was, but she reached up and pinched her cheeks.
“Don’t do that!” Alexei reached out and drew her hands away from her cheeks. “No hurting yourself.”
“That’s not good. Do you think she’s tried to hurt herself before? She didn’t hurt her foot on purpose, did she?”
What the heck? Why would Roman ask that? Were the two of them losing their minds? This was a total overreaction.
“In a way she did,” Alexei replied.
What? Why would he say that?
“I did not!” she cried.
“I can get a private doctor here within minutes,” Roman said.
He could?
Holy heck.
That was nuts.
“It just seems like a small twist,” Alexei said grudgingly. “But perhaps she should get an x-ray.”
“No x-ray!” she said firmly. There was no way she could go on any records. “Not happening.”
“I bought every liquid painkiller that I could find.” Roman frowned. “But what is wrong with our painkiller?”
“She doesn’t like pills,” Alexei explained.
“But I gave her pills the other day,” Roman said.
“Um, yeah, I might not have taken them. Sorry.”
“Tut-tut. Very naughty,” Alexei told her.
“You should have told me,” Roman told her.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a wince.
Roman kneeled and grabbed the bags, pulling everything out and placing it on the coffee table. “I wasn’t certain exactly what was wrong, so I bought some other things too. Fever reducers, antihistamines, muscle relaxers, a heating pad, ice packs, nausea relief. Painkillers that are especially for, uh, period pain. This stuff is to help with constipation and this helps with diarrhea. Plus, some indigestion stuff. Oh, and some electrolyte drinks to help with the diarrhea and vomiting.”
“Who has got diarrhea and vomiting?” a deep voice asked from the doorway.