Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
“What are you?” Caden asked.
“I’m–uh–that’s not important, and really, do you need more information to process?”
“Are there really mermaids, demons, and messengers? Also, what’s a messenger?”
He opened his mouth to answer, then thought better of it and closed it with a smile. “You know, while I don’t think wiping memories is cool, I gotta admit that maybe the less you know, the better. Messes with your head more, you know.” He lifted up his shoulder. “Okay then. I’m out. The code to get in and out is on the board by the door. It changes every time you enter the place, so make sure to look at the new one to get back inside. It’s a whole automatic security thing.” He gave another wave heading back. “Hope you have a great rest of your adventure.” The door slid open for him, and shut once he cleared the doorway.
We heard his jeep pulling away a little later.
Caden turned to look at me. “Holy fuck.”
He spoke for both of us.
8
“You doing okay?” Caden touched my stomach, his hand sliding up under my tank and cupping one of my breasts. His thumb rubbed over my nipple, slow and purposeful. We’d laid down for a nap. It was too late in the morning to go to sleep sleep for us, and since I didn’t want to totally mess up our sleep schedule, a nap it was.
Glancing at the clock, I saw that was six hours ago.
There went that idea.
I rolled towards him, and moved my leg between his, reaching to hug him. Caden helped pull me over so I was half laying on him. I nestled down in the crook of his shoulder, and his hand reached up to smooth down my hair, my back, sliding to my ass before coming back up to my stomach. I loved when he did that.
I yawned, getting more comfortable, and not wanting to wake up. “I’m okay, considering everything this morning.” I was ignoring what happened last night because there was no comparison to this morning. That was the real mind-blowing event. “Mermaids are real. Holy shit, Caden.”
He chuckled, his voice low and a little gritty from sleep, and rubbed his hand over my back. “And demons and whatever that girl was.”
“Shay. She has the same name as our Shay.”
His phone began ringing, and grabbing it, he showed me the screen. Shay calling.
I didn’t think it was the girl version.
He answered it and put it on speaker as I sat up, drawing my knees to my chest. “What’s up?”
Shay snorted from his end. “My dick. All night.”
Caden grinned. “Kennedy wound up?”
“She’s writing lists, and then she’s writing lists of those lists. She thinks if she can organize all this new madness, that she’ll feel better.” He sighed. “I have a conditioned response to when she starts getting all Organized Kennedy. I want to fuck it out of her, so yeah. I’ve been hard all day. How are you guys doing? How are the digs?”
Caden yawned as he answered, “They’re nice. Real futuristic and shit. Also, you’re on speaker.”
“Aw. Fuck. Hi, Summer.”
I leaned towards the phone. “Kennedy’s aware of your conditioned response to her getting uptight?”
He laughed. “Fuck yeah. It’s why we got together.”
I smiled. “Piss her off.”
“I’m planning on it right after finding out if you guys are sticking around or heading out?”
Caden and I shared a look. He raised his eyebrows. “I’m good for sticking around. We don’t have a set plan, and we have friends here. When are you guys leaving?”
“Kennedy wants to stay and see more of her brother. We don’t see him that often.”
Caden asked me, “You good with that?”
I gestured around the room. “We weren’t told how long we could stay here, but the way Gum was talking, his friend wasn’t coming back anytime soon. We could stop by Mermaid Bar, see if he’s working? Run it by him, just to be safe.”
“If he says no, Gage said you could pull park your truck here. That’d kinda be fun.”
Caden’s smile flashed. “I don’t think you heard the important part that Summer said.” He sat up, holding the phone and his stomach flexed, all his nice tattoos shifting from the movement. “She wants to go back to the bar.”
Shay caught on. “Drinking.”
“Day drinking.”
“Fuck. Let’s pretend we’re in college again.”
Caden gave me a wolfish grin as we finalized the details of when to meet up. Shay had a plan to go and ‘piss off’ Kennedy, preferably in the shower, and catching how Caden was looking at me, I was thinking he had similar intent.
I started to rise up from the bed, but he caught me, lifting me fully in the air. “Caden!” But my body was already responding. And as he carried me to the bathroom, the shower turned on, and within a moment, my back was pushed up against the wall.