Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Darius gets up, though it’s with a great deal of difficulty, and he’s walking a little funny, kind of a crab-like goat shuffle. I have my head bowed, so I’m totally unprepared for the brush of warm fingers on my shoulder. It’s a sensual touch, but probably not for him. For him, it’s just meant to be reassuring. But still, I nearly fall sideways, straight into the pool. My heart jackhammers worse than when I thought I was trying to save someone from drowning, and we were both drowning, appealing to the neon palm tree with sunglasses to please do something.
“Thank you. What you did was very kind.”
“Nutting you was kind?” I wince. I can’t believe that, on top of everything else, I just said that.
Darius and Hans both snort in amusement at the same time. I whip my head up. “That was an accident, and it started with noble intentions.”
“Oh boy, here we go.” Hans drops his magazine, walks over, and wraps his arm around Darius’ waist, supporting him. Because, yeah, he can barely walk and probably needs an icepack for the damage I just did to his babymakers. I watch them walk away together, and as they disappear behind a palm tree, I swear I hear Hans say, “Do you need me to carry you, wrap you up in my arms like a baby, and rock you sweetly?”
“Remind me to fire your ass in the morning,” Darius growls in response, so I’m sure I heard right. “Just as soon as I can walk and think properly again.”
I drop my head into my hands after they’re gone.
What a hell of a first night, and it’s not even over yet.
Chapter six
Darius
Breakfast and lunch didn’t happen. The thing about running an empire is that, sometimes, it’s a full-time job, and it means sitting through conference call after conference call and getting swamped with emails. I had Hans tell Everleigh that breakfast and lunch could be found in the dining room or the kitchen, her choice, but that, either way, it would be served and ready for her whenever she wanted it. He, of course, gave her my regrets about not being able to join, probably in a way in which only Hans could, and promised her I’d be available for dinner. It’s her first full day at the house, and since it’s like a palace and easy to get lost in—it’s also kind of gothic and not her home on top of it all—I wanted her to feel like she had the freedom to explore, but I also didn’t want her to be overwhelmed. I wanted to ease her into her new life, but work duty called.
“I think that’s the last one.” I scroll through the emails I flagged as ones that couldn’t wait, but all of them have been opened and answered. Documents requiring my signature have been printed and scanned, and multiple crises have been avoided. I also sent an email to my baby bro, who is the face of the company, giving him some advice about work and life in general, but so far, that’s gone unanswered.
“Did Bastard Bradford respond yet?” Hans is peeling an apple in his usual chair. The way he’s doing it, the peel is all coming off in one giant snake.
“Don’t call him that. He’s not a bastard.”
“He is. Even if he shares the same father as all of you. And shared the womb with you for nine months. It’s a good thing you came out first. If you had to rely on him as the firstborn, you’d all be fucked.”
I work out the kinks in my shoulder, rubbing at the muscles like I always do after a long or not-so-long day. “Anyway, no, he hasn’t responded yet.”
“Hmphf.”
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.”
“She’s waiting for you in the dining room already.”
I start and nearly fall out of my chair. “What time is it?”
“Six-thirty.”
“Damn.” I swipe my hand over grainy eyes. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.” I push myself out of the chair. “I’ll go join her.”
“Should I come with you?”
“Up to you. You don’t have to. You can take the rest of the night off.”
Hans’ brows shoot up, and I know what he’s thinking. “What happens if you have another drowning crisis and this time I’m nowhere to be found?”
“Very funny. I’ll survive. And you’re not going to leave here, so I know where to find you.”
He finishes peeling the apple and lets the apple skin snake fall onto his lap. Instead of eating the apple, he picks up the peel and starts munching on it, feeding it into his mouth a little at a time. I’m not sure what the point in peeling the damn thing was if he was going to eat the peel all along. “I told her she had free access to the grounds today, but I don’t think she went outside. She spent the morning in the library, poking around, and then, this afternoon, she spent most of it in her room. I think she was video-chatting with her family. She didn’t seem to want to have someone accompany her outside, and when I suggested hiring a friend or a companion for her if she was lonely, she gave me a look that said, please curl up and die.”