Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
The better question was when had he lost control?
“Thursday,” Aidan replied. “We were flying out tonight and staying at a nice hotel before we joined the group at the compound.”
A brow rose over Ian’s eyes. “This isn’t being held at a convention center?”
“Like I said, it’s exclusive. We’re staying just outside the city. Dr. Huisman has a number of guesthouses on his property. It’s more like a meeting of some of the greatest minds in the business. Though we are supposed to get a tour of the foundation,” Aidan explained. “I got the feeling it’s a lot of talk around a fire pit and stuff. Exchanging ideas.”
Aidan could get him into Huisman’s home?
There it was. There was a part of Tristan that loved the chase so much he actually excited at the thought. One percent of him. The rest was terrified, but he couldn’t deny the thrill was in there, too.
If they were on this mission, they would also be working under him to some degree. No one could cut him out. No one. Not even Ian Taggart.
“But I don’t want to work with Tristan,” Carys said in a firm voice, her chin stubbornly up.
“Then you won’t work at all,” Ian replied. “Because he’s the subject matter expert here, and I’m not in charge of him when it comes to this. Make no mistake. I will take care of you. The team will watch out for you, but Tristan’s pulling the strings here.” Ian turned Tristan’s way. “Tell me, who would you call if I tried to take you off?”
“The director. I would go straight to him.” He wouldn’t waste time moving up the line. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency was well aware of what he was doing.
“And there you have it.” Ian stood. “Think, niece. You work this op, you’ll work with him, and you’ll likely have to take some orders from him. Now I’ve got calls to make including to Canadian intelligence.” He sighed. “I said that without laughing. My world is dark now. Get something to eat and figure out your situations. Sean and Grace, Avery and Li, come down to my office so we can get the shouting done and I can tell you how I’ll protect the babies with my balls.”
Kala sat back, looking cool and collected. “Nah, we’ll be the ones protecting them.”
Tasha groaned. “That’s what he meant. We’re the product of his balls.”
“Eww,” Kenzie said, nose wrinkling.
“We’ll take care of them,” Cooper promised.
The parents all left, following Ian, and he was damn straight happy he didn’t have to sit in on the meeting. He was sure they were going to Ian’s office to conference in his folks.
Would Adam Miles ever find himself in the same place? Never. He would have figured it all out and managed to make it to his incredibly luxurious wedding like the boss hero he was, and Jacob Dean would have been right beside him. His dad and Papa didn’t fight. They worked as a team, and never at cross purposes.
They were absolutely in synch with how to take care of his mom.
“And I’ll head out and make sure our place is set up for you, Aidan.” Cooper pushed back from the table. “You and Carys should be comfortable. TJ, you want to come help me make sure the security system is working?”
Kala snorted. “Carys isn’t going home with Aidan and Tris.”
“We have a lot to talk about,” Aidan said almost pleadingly.
Carys’s brows rose. “Do we? It seems to me like you’ve been doing a lot of talking. Maybe we don’t have anything to talk about and my cousin is right. I’m going home with them. You and Tristan can spend all the time you like together. It’s obvious I don’t have a place as anything except the toy you want to protect.”
“You are the woman we have both loved since we learned the word. And how are you going to avoid us when we’re all working together?” He might be terrified for them, but there were some upsides to Carys’s stubbornness.
The tension was so thick as Carys stared at him. He could feel it. It was anger and hate and sex and need.
She hadn’t been getting everything she needed. She’d been lovingly taken care of, but Aidan couldn’t top her the way he could. He didn’t even want to.
Sometimes, though, she couldn’t ask for what she wanted. Sometimes she used D/s to get what she wanted without saying it. She simply pushed him, and he knew she had a safe word. They’d talked about it, decided it was an odd form of communication between the three of them. She would push and push, and he would punish her until she found what she needed. Then they could breathe again. Then they could talk.
“Carys, you might think about this.” TJ was the only one who wasn’t watching them with wide eyes. He was completely oblivious. “The only free bed is the one in the… I think they call it an office, but it turns into a torture chamber at bedtime, and not the fun kind.”