Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
He was sweet and caring too—though no one seeing his rough exterior would believe it. She still remembered the time she’d had an especially nasty confrontation with her ex and Thrax had comforted her.
She’d been feeling especially low that day after coming from dropping Lindsey off with Brian. This was just after he’d tried to get her to resume their relationship like nothing had happened and Andi had refused.
Her ex had said some cutting things—telling her she was a bad mother for refusing to come back to him and implying that she was never going to find anyone better than him because she was too old to start over and not pretty enough to find a man even if she wanted to.
“If that’s true—if I’m so old and ugly—then why do you want me back?” Andi had demanded, glaring at him. “Could it be that you’re missing having someone around to cook and clean and give you sex whenever you want it? Because maybe you should have thought of that before you decided you wanted an ‘open marriage.’”
“That was a mistake on my part, I admit that,” Brian had said stiffly. He was still trying to win her back in his own twisted way at that point. “But it’s in the past—it’s over. Now you need to come back—if not for me then for Lindsey’s sake.”
“Don’t you dare try to use our daughter to make me feel guilty!” Andi had snapped. “Lindsey is doing fine and you brought this separation on yourself.”
“How can she be ‘fine’ when you’re gone most of the time?” Brian shot back. “She needs her mother here with her—not flying around the galaxy with some big devil-looking bastard all the damn time!”
“Thrax and I aren’t just ‘flying around’—we’re doing a job,” Andi told him. “We locate missing Kindred warriors and bring them home!”
“Meanwhile, your own daughter is sitting here in our home, missing her mother,” Brian had accused her. “You need to come back, Andrea—your family needs you.”
The guilt trip was a good one—Brian was excellent at making her feel like shit. And though Andi had told him off and refused again to “come home” as he put it, she had gone back to her suite aboard the Mother Ship and cried about it afterwards.
It wasn’t that she missed her husband or the one-sided relationship they’d had—she really had done all the cooking and cleaning, despite the fact that she’d worked more hours than he did outside the home. It was the fact that she actually did miss seeing her daughter every single day. Despite the fact that Lindsey seemed to be thriving and was making good grades, she still felt like a shitty mom—which of course, had been her ex’s intention.
She had still been feeling bad when Thrax had come to her suite to ask her about something. Andi had nearly turned him away but the minute he saw her face he’d said,
“Hey, what’s wrong, baby?” in a surprisingly soft, gentle voice that completely undid her.
“Nothing,” Andi tried to lie. “I’m just…I’m kind of busy right now. Could you maybe come back later?”
Thrax had studied her face for a moment and then shook his head.
“Huh-uh. I don’t think you ought to be alone right now.”
Then he had pushed his way into her suite with Andi trailing behind him and protesting that she was fine, even though she wasn’t. He had taken a seat on her couch, right in front of the firewall, which was flickering with gold and blue flames, and patted the cushion beside him.
“All right—tell me all about it,” he said.
“Tell you what?” Andi demanded, angry and defiant because she hated looking weak in front of him. He had interrupted her in the middle of a good cry and she wanted to get rid of him so she could finish it.
But Thrax wasn’t going anywhere.
“Tell me why you’ve been crying, baby,” he murmured. Reaching out, he cupped her flushed cheek with one hand and swiped a tear away with his thumb.
“I…I’m not crying,” Andi protested, which was obviously a lie.
“Yeah, you are. And you’re going to tell me why. Because I’m not leaving until you do.”
“What? But you can’t just camp out on my couch like that without my permission!” Andi exclaimed.
Thrax gave her a level look.
“Watch me. Now are you going to talk to me or not?”
Then, before she could protest anymore, he had swept Andi into his arms and placed her firmly on his lap.
Andi struggled at first. Their size difference was so great that she felt like a child being held by an adult. But her partner wrapped his arms around her and held her gently but firmly, refusing to release her.
“Tell me,” he said again. And since it had become obvious that he wasn’t leaving until she talked, Andi finally did.