Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“Jensen,” Jack called out.
But he walked on. He had a job to do.
* * * *
“I don’t appreciate the way you’re talking, Leah. Brianna is a perfectly nice young lady, and I enjoy playing with her very much.” Niall rarely had to use a hard tone when he wasn’t in the middle of a scene. But then he didn’t usually have subs being so intensely rude about other subs.
Leah’s sweet expression went distinctly sour. “You can’t think she’s hot. She’s ten kinds of chunky.”
He glanced over where the young woman they were talking about stood with her friends. “She’s gorgeous.”
Leah’s eyes rolled and not in a sweetly bratty way. In a “I don’t want to be around her” bratty way. “You all say that about every sub. Come on. You gotta be authentic. We connected the other day. You can be real with me.”
His crop had connected to her ass. It wasn’t like they talked a lot. He gave her the aftercare she required, and it did not include any sex at all. He hadn’t even taken her to a privacy room because the last thing he wanted was for Harlow to hear he was hanging out with subs in privacy rooms. “I am being real with you. She’s lovely, and I enjoy her company. She’s smart and funny, and if I wasn’t interested in someone else, I might pursue her.”
Honesty. He’d made the decision to be open and honest. It’s what the whole damn lifestyle was about. Being open about what he wanted. He wanted Harlow. He was being honest about that.
It was just the whole why he was here and who he knew he wasn’t being entirely honest about.
“I do not get this place,” she said under her breath. She stepped back and then she sighed, and when she looked at him again there was a pout on her face. “Niall, come on. I was hoping we could play tonight. We had a good time last weekend.”
“Whoever you are, he’s not like most of the other Doms. He’s an actual working dude. He owns a gym, and not the fancy kind,” a husky voice said. Harlow. She stood there with her fists on her hips and those glorious green eyes narrowed. Now she did sound like a sexy brat. “His monthly fees are like forty bucks, and he lives in a studio apartment. If you’re looking for a trust fund, Gabe is in the back. You are barking up the wrong tree with this one. He drinks protein shakes he buys at Costco.”
They were pretty good.
“And he doesn’t even have a freaking Costco membership. He goes with whoever’s on a run that week and pays them back. With cash.” She said the last like it was a bad thing.
Leah looked like she’d heard the most horrifying gossip she could have heard. “Eww. He doesn’t even have an app?”
“Like his phone is smart,” Harlow finished.
Leah ran as fast as she could.
Such a brat. The kind he wanted to spank and then fuck and then cuddle up with. “Just to clear a few things up, I do have a smart phone. I like to keep my gym fees low. My studio is above the gym. It was part of the lease.”
“Is it crappy, Niall?”
He shrugged. “Pretty much. And the Costco thing, they let me throw in the protein shakes because I help carry everything. I like cash. What’s wrong with cash?”
Her lips curled up. “Nothing. Did I interrupt an interaction you were enjoying, Sir?”
Oh, he liked it when she called him Sir. He fucking loved it when she looked at him with that challenging gaze. “No, I was not. She was being quite rude. I don’t think I want to service her anymore.”
“That’s an interesting word. I would think you would use the word play.”
This was definitely something he’d learned over the last couple of months. He was surprised how often the tops sat around and talked about what went on here on the dungeon floor. He would have expected them to brag about the sex or complain, but what they did was discuss the subs and their needs and how to provide for them. He was rapidly discovering being around people who genuinely cared about each other and were open about themselves made him want to be more open, too. He was kind of over the masculine bullshit that said he shouldn’t talk about his feelings—shouldn’t have feelings at all. “Play is something we mutually enjoy. I have never enjoyed my sessions with Leah. I don’t believe she’s here for the right reasons.”
“She’s looking for a rich boyfriend,” Harlow surmised. “There are always a few. They’re usually allowed in by dumbass men who can’t see through the mask. I’m glad you did.”
“Oh, her mask is not firmly in place,” Niall replied. “But we should talk about shaming other people for not having a trust fund, daughter of billionaires.”