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)
Right. Because he’d lived in a cold, damp studio apartment. It had been close to work and it had been peaceful.
Well, except for when the neighbors grew . . . amorous.
Or the occasional rat came to visit.
Yeah, he had to agree. This place was much nicer.
“Bring them to dinner. Promise me.”
“Of course I’ll bring them to dinner.”
Both men smiled at him. No doubt that was exactly what Alexei had planned when he’d called out a hello to his mother.
He ended the call.
“Well, that’s tomorrow night’s dinner taken care of,” Alexei said. “Now all we need is dinner for tonight.”
“I’ll cook,” he offered.
Mainly because he was the only one who could cook.
“Good. I’ll get back to work,” Roman said.
“Wait. Seriously, Roman, when was the last time you stepped outside?” he asked.
Roman frowned. “I’m not sure. Tuesday?”
“Of which week?” Alexei asked dryly.
“Last week?” Roman guessed.
“You need to go for a walk,” Salem bossed.
“I do? Why would I need to do that?”
“Um, to get some fresh air, some sunshine.” The sun was actually out today. “Some Vitamin D. If you don’t get enough of that you could get rickets or something.”
Rickets?
Was that still a thing?
Alexei just shook his head.
“Isn’t rickets a disease that children get?” Roman asked.
Maybe. Probably.
“Do you really want to take that risk?” he asked.
“I guess not.”
“But, uh, you might want to shower first. Change your clothes,” Salem added as nicely as he could.
Roman sniffed at his sweater which had a large Christmas tree on it. Strange choice of outfit . . . but Salem didn’t comment on it.
“I’ll go shower now.”
One problem down . . . now to tackle the next one.
Naked Alexei.
Alexei grabbed the grapes that Roman had left and started to munch on them. “You gonna fix me too, Daddy?”
Actually, screw it.
If he wanted to walk around naked, he could. Salem would just move somewhere else.
Like Antarctica.
As he strode up the stairs, he wondered if he should head to the club tonight.
He needed a way to get rid of this tension that didn’t involve murdering a naked Russian.
3
Go for a walk?
What was he supposed to do on this walk?
Roman glanced around in confusion as he reached a park and started walking through it. Pausing, he got his phone out to message Salem.
Roman: I really don’t understand the point of this. What am I supposed to do on this walk?
It was really quite boring. And unproductive. And he was starting to think that he should have researched rickets before he’d left the house.
Would Salem lie to him?
Salem: You take in your surroundings, you get some Vitamin D. You breathe.
Breathe?
Was that some sort of joke?
This was ridiculous!
He could have breathed at home in the safety of his own room. And taken some vitamin D tablets. All without these . . . these strangers staring at him. In fact, he was pretty certain someone was watching him right now.
Roman glanced to his right. There he was now. A blond with messy clothes and short hair staring straight at him.
Roman glared back.
And then his mother came and picked him up, setting him on her hip and giving Roman a strange look.
Ahh. Right.
You aren’t supposed to glare at children.
He remembered Salem telling him that. But he’d forgotten.
In his defense Salem told him a lot of things. Most of them, Roman cared little about so he pushed them to the back of his brain and brought them out as needed.
“Wow, you really don’t like children, huh?” an amused voice said from behind him.
He spun to see the most gorgeous woman standing there. She had curious-colored hair. It was a mix of red, blond, and brown. She was wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses that hid most of her face.
Her plump, pink lips were curved up into a small smile. His gaze moved downward over her oversized black T-shirt and black pants. Was she warm? Why wasn’t she wearing any color?
Why do you care?
She’s a stranger that came up to talk to you at a park.
Suddenly, she rolled back and forth, and he glanced down further to find that she was wearing roller skates.
Hmm. That was unexpected.
“You should wear a helmet if you’re roller skating,” he stated.
“I should?” she asked.
“Yes, you could easily fall over and hurt yourself. You should also wear some other protective gear. At the very least, you should have a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and gloves.”
“At the very least?” she repeated.
“Uh-huh. Preferably with reflective material on them, if not, a reflective vest is also a must.”
“Right. Good to know. Thanks for that.”
“You are welcome. You should also have a sweater on so you don’t get cold.”
“You know, you’re very concerned about what I’m wearing.”
Did she sound amused? Or angry?
It was hard to tell, especially when she wore those glasses.
“Just, uh, concerned about your safety,” he said awkwardly.
What was wrong with him?