Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Lord.
Good Lord.
It was like they were made for her. Not having any worries or fears seemed like an impossibility. But if anyone could shoulder them it was the two of them.
“Brooks.” It was all she could say, but she knew they’d get where she was coming from.
They shared a glance. “Baby, your kid is sixteen going on forty,” Steele told her. “If I scared easily, it might scare me how mature he is.”
“I know. But he’s still a kid, and I need to look out for him. He’s my responsibility.”
“We understand that,” Grady said. “And you’ve done an excellent job with him. What I can tell you is that he already has more than a bit of an idea about us. And he did not in any way seem concerned about both of us wanting you. Although he did tell us that if we hurt you, he would find a way to get revenge on us.”
“He did?” she whispered. That was such a Brooks thing to do. “He’s such a good kid.”
“So if that’s all the worries you’ve got at the moment, how about we go feed our baby?” Steele suggested.
Their baby.
She liked that.
But what would they think when they learned that she actually liked regressing? That she was a Little?
Part of her knew she had to tell them.
And part of her was scared too.
30
Effie had the look of someone who was going to bolt.
Grady understood that feeling. When it came to speaking about his emotions, acknowledging that he had them . . . yeah, he’d rather run.
Her eyes were wide, and she looked slightly ill as Steele took her hand to lead her into the diner. That could be why Steele had taken hold of her hand—to ensure she didn’t bolt.
Although Steele was also far more demonstrative than Grady.
Not hard since Grady wasn’t really touchy-feely at all.
But when it came to Effie, he wanted to touch her. He hung back, trying to regain his control, which also gave him the chance to watch the two of them.
God, they looked good together. Grady wasn’t a small guy, but compared to Steele, he was. The other man was wide and tall. And while Effie wasn’t tiny, she looked petite next to him.
Beautiful.
Suddenly, he was regretting hanging back. He wanted to be a part of the two of them. But how?
Then Effie turned and gave him a worried look. And she did something unexpected. She held out her hand to him.
As she did, she bit her lip. Steele turned to look at him, glanced down at her hand and grimaced.
No doubt he thought Grady would reject her. He leaned in to say something to Effie. Her face dropped. She tried to hide it by plastering on one of those fake smiles that Grady fucking hated.
Nope. Not on his watch.
As she dropped her hand, he stepped forward and took it, grasping it in his far bigger one.
“You don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable,” she whispered up to him, trying to tug her hand free.
“Stop,” he told her firmly. “You try to pull away from me and I’ll be adding another five to Steele’s.”
He glanced over at Steele to check his reaction. The other man nodded at him.
When Grady looked down at Effie, he kind of expected her to be frowning or objecting. But her face had gone soft, filled with a sort of wonder.
Because he was touching her?
He needed to make an effort to do that more often then.
“People might stare,” she said quietly.
“Do you really care?” Steele asked.
She looked from one to the other. Then a twinkle of adventure filled her eyes. “No. I don’t think so. Most of them will probably just be jealous that I have two gorgeous hunks with me.”
“Hunks?” Grady asked. “Do people still use that word?”
“Effie uses that word,” she replied.
“And does Effie usually talk about Effie in the third person?” Steele asked, staring down at her like she was the most interesting person he’d ever met.
As though he wouldn’t mind putting her in his pocket and carrying her around.
“Effie does when Effie feels like it.” Then she started giggling.
Christ. He’d never heard her giggle like that. And he wanted to listen to it more often.
“Sorry.” She sobered. “I, uh, maybe I need some lunch.”
“Don’t apologize for that,” Grady said sharply.
She glanced up at him in surprise.
“If I could hear you laugh every day for the rest of my life, then I would’ve lived a rich life.”
He heard her suck in a breath, but he didn’t glance down at her. Instead, he headed into the diner. That might be the end of his mushiness for the day. Maybe the week.
Or, you know, the century.
Effie barely even noticed entering the diner. Or if anyone stared at her being led inside by two stunning men. She was too busy reeling from Grady’s words. Not only were they beautiful words. But they’d come from Grady, who clearly had issues expressing himself most of the time.