Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
When they all balanced on the small table, Ciel said, “You know our lives depend on saving Lettuce from the encroaching lava.”
“Oh, no! Lettuce!” Lalani cried out. “How are we going to save him way over there?”
“I bet we can take these chairs and space them out so we can walk across the seats,” Aurora suggested.
Ciel lifted one chair and set it as far away as she thought she could step. When she successfully made the leap, Lalani scooted the chair from one of the sides in that direction. With helpful advice from the others, she stepped over to stand crowded with Ciel before lugging her chair closer to the bed where Lettuce waited, looking scared.
“I’m coming, Lettuce,” she promised.
“I’ll bring the next chair,” Aurora said and got busy.
They all stood jumping on the bed, celebrating with Lettuce, when three dragons stepped into the room. “No jumping on the bed, Princess.” Khadar’s deep voice brought the action to a halt.
“The floor is lava, Daddy. You’re going to burn up!” Aurora cried.
The men simply crossed their arms over their chests.
“Maybe they’re safe because they’re dragons?” Lalani suggested.
“Dragons!” Ciel said and rolled her eyes so hard they practically made a sound.
A second passed as the women tried not to look at each other. Lalani slapped a hand over her mouth as reinforcement. Giggles escaped from Ciel’s lips, and she sat down on the bed, laughing so hard tears ran down her cheeks. Aurora was next.
“Stop! I’m going to wet my pants,” Aurora demanded, obviously squeezing her thighs together.
Drake walked forward to pick her up. He looked toward Khadar.
“To the right, halfway down the hall.” Khadar answered the silent question with directions to the restroom.
Watching Drake walk out of the room with soft footsteps as if he didn’t want to jar his mate into pottying, Lalani lost it. Roaring with laughter, she dropped onto the bed. Her impetus down on the mattress made it bounce Ciel up in the air. Her Daddy moved faster than Lalani thought was possible.
“Gotcha,” he assured Ciel as he caught his mate. He tossed her over his shoulder and patted her bottom firmly—not a spank, but a hard swat.
“Don’t drop me, Daddy. The floor is lava,” Ciel told him, giggling happily. She didn’t seem bothered in the least by his love tap.
“I’ll take this giggle bug home,” Argenis told Khadar as he walked toward the door.
“Come here, Princess. Let’s wave goodbye to your friends,” Khadar suggested as he scooped Lalani into his arms.
“I can’t go without saving Lettuce!” she protested.
Khadar rotated her body to hold her out sideways over the rumpled bed. He lowered her to grab Lettuce.
“Thanks, Daddy. The lava could have gotten him.”
“Pssst! He’s a dragon,” Khadar said with a perfectly straight face.
It took a couple of seconds for Lalani to process what he said. If Lettuce was a dragon and the lava didn’t affect Khadar because he was a dragon, then…
“He was safe the whole time? We worked so hard to save him,” Lalani said then dissolved in laughter at their unnecessary labor of love.
Her giggles set off Ciel’s and Aurora’s once again. When they finally climbed up on their mate’s backs, they were in control of their snickers unless they looked at each other. Drake and Argenis set off for their mountains, taking the long way around so they’d keep the two separated.
“That was a fun game, Daddy.”
“I’m glad you had a good time with your friends. I think I told you to stay in your nursery,” he reminded her.
“I don’t think you told me I was like locked in the nursery. We could go to the bathroom down the hallway, right?”
“It sounds like you’re prepping me for a big excuse as to why you were listening at the library door. That is in the opposite direction of the bathroom,” Khadar pointed out.
She could tell nothing she made up was going to get her out of this. She tried tears. It wasn’t hard to turn on the waterworks. Lalani just imagined how sore her bottom was going to be. Dashing her tears away with her fingers, she tried to look miserable.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t want to, but my guests wanted to hear what was going on. It’s not my fault. I had to be a good hostess, right?”
Khadar sniffed the air and smiled.
Crap! He can smell a lie!
Chapter 17
“Can I come out of the corner yet, Daddy?”
“Have you heard the buzzer?”
“No.”
Silence followed her answer. Lalani wanted to look over her shoulder so badly. Was he looking at her?
She could imagine the picture she presented. Naked from the waist down, Lalani somehow felt more exposed than if she was totally nude. Khadar required her to be in a certain position—stepped back from the wall with her forearms braced on the wall to hold some of her weight and her bottom thrust out for his view. My very red bottom.