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)
Really?
Why hadn’t he just walked away from her?
“Do you concern yourself with every stranger’s safety?” she asked.
“No. In fact, you might be the first.”
“Well, I’m honored, kind sir.”
She bowed and wobbled.
“Be careful!” Without thought, he reached out and grasped hold of her arm. Usually, he hated touching people.
Although most of his problems stemmed from strangers touching him.
She let out a small gasp. Obviously, she had realized how close she had come to falling over and harming herself.
Now, she would tell him that he was right and that she should have been taking greater care with her own safety.
And he would be gracious and not tell her that he had told her so.
Because he could be a gentleman like that.
“Your hand is so warm.”
Wait. What?
Was that why she’d gasped?
“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the fact that you nearly fell over?”
“You know, you might be right,” she said slowly.
“Well, of course I am.”
Wait. Did that sound arrogant? Sometimes it was hard for him to judge. Apparently, it was arrogant to speak about how good you were at something. Or to assume you would be good at something.
Those were also things that Salem had told him.
“I think that I should have grabbed a sweater or something. It’s getting a bit chilly out. Thanks for the advice. I better get going before it grows even colder.”
Wait.
That was the piece of advice that she was going to listen to?
She skated about a meter away, then turned. He tensed as it looked like she was about to fall.
“Don’t go scaring any small children, okay?”
Did she have to say that so loud?
Roman glanced around, noticing the way several parents were staring at him.
Wonderful.
This walk was turning into such a fun experience. He never should have listened to Salem.
Why did I listen to him?
He had to start asserting himself. Although that seemed rude. Was it rude?
Roman knew Salem was just looking out for him. But sometimes it was frustrating to have Salem and Alexei treat him like a child who couldn’t take care of himself.
Except you often hide in your room and forget to eat and shower . . .
All right. So he had to make more of an effort to take care of himself.
Then perhaps they wouldn’t feel they had to look after him.
Sometimes he wished he had someone else to focus on. A reason to tear himself away from his work. But where would he meet someone? Most of the time he barely left the house.
Perhaps he should go out more.
Maybe he should visit a club like the one that Salem frequented.
Well, he wasn’t sure how often Salem went anymore. That felt like something he should know if he was being a good friend and roommate.
Yeah, there was a reason why Salem and Alexei treated him the way they did.
He sighed.
Roman wasn’t sure that a BDSM club was for him. Although he did enjoy reading romance books with Dominant heroes. Those books were his secret pleasure. Something he never told anyone else about.
Reading those passages where the hero took charge . . . it was what interested him and not because he wanted to be bossed around.
Which would likely shock most people who knew him.
And his favorite books of all were Daddy Dom ones. Particularly, the books written by CJ Bennett.
Those books were really addictive. He bought them as soon as they came out.
In paperback and eBook form.
Because he was a huge fan and had to have both. As he headed along the path through the park, he thought about going home. This really seemed like an exercise in futility.
However, there was some research to suggest that getting outside and walking could boost your creativity and problem-solving.
Which was something he could use.
It was grating at him that Pinky always seemed to be one step ahead of him. They’d nearly had him, though, before Alexei’s cover was blown. However, since then, he’d grown even more careful.
There had to be a way of tracking him . . . of figuring out his movements. Anticipating where he might be.
The ideas swirled in his head, and he was so preoccupied that he very nearly missed her. In fact, he was several steps past her before he stopped and let his brain compute what his eyes had just seen.
Swinging around, he gaped down at her in shock.
“What are you doing?”
“Um, well, I thought I’d just lie on the footpath and wait for someone to step on me. You very nearly did, you know. You must have been deep in thought. Or maybe you need glasses. You do kind of squint.”
“That’s because it’s sunny outside!” he protested indignantly.
He didn’t squint, did he?
“It’s not that bright,” she pointed out.
“It is to me,” he muttered.
She rolled onto her bottom with a groan. He suddenly realized that he was standing here arguing about the brightness of the sun, when she’d just fallen over and possibly hurt herself.