Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
“Yep.” Butch ran his hand through his hair then grimaced. “How long is my hair going to be blue, Emme?”
“I really didn’t think it would dye it blue. I’m starting to wonder if it’s permanent.”
“Emme,” Butch rumbled.
“Oh my God! I forgot about the spider!” Greer cried, jumping to her feet. She must have caught Hack by surprise because he let her go. Turning, she grabbed him, and tugged at him until he stood. “It’s all right. I’ll protect you.” She threw herself in front of him, her eyes roaming the walls and ceiling. Where was that damn spider?
“Um, Greer? What are you doing?” Hack asked her in a soft voice. Grabbing her shoulders, he turned her toward him.
“I’m protecting you from the spider!”
“What spider?” Hack asked.
Why didn’t he seem more scared? She’d heard him yell when he saw a spider in the bathroom of the hotel they’d been staying in.
She placed her hands on his chest. “Don’t freak out, but there is a spider somewhere in here. Me saw it earlier.”
“Uh, Greer, I made that up.”
“What?” She glanced over at Emme in shock. “You made it up?”
“Yep. There wasn’t a spider. I just pretended there was so I had a reason to jump on the sofa and hit Butch with the slime bomb.”
“Which was naughty of you, Wildcat,” Reyes said. Although she swore she saw his lips twitch.
“Oh, good.” She patted Hack’s chest. “You don’t have to be scared. There’s no spider.”
“Hack’s scared of spiders?” Sunny asked. “I never knew that about you, Hack.”
“Hmm, didn’t you?” Hack asked.
“He’s not scared of spiders,” Duke drawled. “Want to tell us what’s going on?”
“You’re not scared of spiders?” she asked, staring up at him in shock. “You lied to me?”
“It wasn’t a lie-lie. It was a white lie.”
“What? How?” she asked. “And why did you scream in the bathroom if you didn’t see a spider?”
“Oh, I can guess,” Reyes said, giving Hack a wicked grin.
Butch snorted.
“I’m so confused,” she said.
“I’ll explain on the way home.” Hack took her hand. “Let’s go. You need to go to bed.”
“Oh, so no second base?”
“Second base?” Duke drawled.
Hack shot him a look as she grew red. Whoops. There went her mouth again.
“Have you explained to Sav what’s going on?” Duke demanded.
“This all just developed,” Hack said.
“No, I meant about you and his baby sister. He might have some objections, don’t you think?”
“Aidan isn’t the boss of me,” she said hotly.
They all gave her looks of disbelief.
“And I’ll talk to him when he’s back,” she said. “I don’t want to interrupt his holiday.”
She had the feeling he might not take all of this well.
45
Greer followed Hack into the bedroom, feeling exhausted. The trip home had been a bit of a blur.
“Let’s get you ready for bed.” He grabbed her ladybug onesie, then placed it on the armchair. “I’m going to go and heat you up a bottle. You get dressed and brush your teeth. Go potty.”
She wished she was brave enough to ask him to help her. She knew that was what he wanted. To completely take control. But she just wasn’t ready to be naked in front of him.
But she wanted to push things. To push herself. To see whether she could do some things without breaking apart.
Maybe tonight isn’t the night, though.
Especially as you’re tired after your panic attack.
She chewed on her thumbnail, worrying about what to do. He was being so quiet. Was he really angry with her about the stalker?
Of course he is. Hack was so protective.
I should have told him.
She should have known he wouldn’t think she was nuts.
When he walked back in, carrying a bottle of milk, she was still standing there in the middle of the room, chewing on her nail.
“Why haven’t you gotten changed?”
“I’m so sorry!” she blurted out.
“About what?”
About what? About everything!
“For not telling you about my stalker. I just . . . it all sounded so insane, you know? I couldn’t really tell anyone. I didn’t want anyone to think I was making up stories . . . ”
His gaze narrowed as he set the bottle down on the dresser and moved toward her. “You thought that I would think you were making stuff up?”
She shrugged. “Not you so much, well, I don’t know . . . it’s so farfetched.”
He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face back. “You can tell me anything, understand? I will always believe you. Always. I will always listen to you. All right?”
“Yes, Daddy. I understand. I’m so sorry. I feel so bad. Will you punish me?”
“You’re asking to be punished?” He gave her a surprised look.
She understood. It felt weird and wrong to her too.
“I feel so terrible. Were you not going to punish me?”
“Oh, yeah, I was. But I was going to wait until tomorrow to do it.”
“I don’t think I can wait.”