Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
* * * *
Nate stretched on the big bed and watched as Daisy walked out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a towel and an oversized robe around her body. He’d taken a shower with her, slowly making love to her again. He’d pressed her against the tile and filled her with him.
Fuck, she was beautiful. And he’d meant what he’d said. She was his. Oh, he was absolutely certain she was thinking this was all play, but it wasn’t. If this was a game, it was the most important one of his life, and he intended to win.
“You don’t need the robe.”
A brow arched over her emerald eyes. “What if I’m cold?”
He pulled the covers down. “Then I’ll keep you warm. I’ve been told I’m a furnace. It’s sad for you, but you’ll get used to it.”
She wrinkled her nose, an expression he was learning meant she was going along with something but she wasn’t totally sold on an idea. The robe came off, and she crawled into bed with him. “What do you think that’s about?”
He glanced over and frowned. How the hell had he missed the floor-to-ceiling, velvet painted rock-star portrait? Well, his mind had been full of her, but it was a detail he was certain would have registered at any other time. “Someone really likes old music. I’m not sure. He looks familiar, but in a classic rock way. Though I’m not supposed to call it classic rock because my father then does some math and bemoans his age.”
Daisy sat next to him, her back against the headboard. He noticed she didn’t pull the covers up, preferring to leave her gorgeous body on display. Yeah, that was why the blond dude in the bandana hadn’t made an impression. “I have never actually been in the club part of this building. There’s a daycare in the building next door. I spent a lot of time there, but I never came in here. I finally get why Uncle Ian calls The Hideout a dump. We don’t have anything like this. It kind of makes me wonder how much all this cost. Da complains about the price of raspberries. I wonder how much the obviously custom-built spanking bench cost. I bet it’s a lot of raspberries.”
“Well, from what I understand, this place started out a lot like The Hideout.” He shifted so he was facing her. So it was easy to lean over and brush his lips against her shoulder.
Her family had put a wall up between them, and he had to find a way to break it down. He’d been certain crying would help shake those walls, but he worried she’d rebuilt them.
“Well, it’s beautiful now. I suppose that’s what matters,” she said. “It’s just weird to be here. Like something forbidden.”
“I’ve been to this club, though I don’t remember it.”
She looked his way finally, curiosity in her green eyes. “I didn’t know you spent much time in Dallas. I mean I know you came to visit over the years, but we mostly visited you.”
He’d been told the story, though it wasn’t one he shared often. It felt right to share it with her. He eased down so he could lay his head on her lap, feel her soft skin against his cheek. “My mum got into a spot of trouble. A bit like you have. She was trying to help someone and it caught the attention of some very bad blokes. I was only a few months old. Mum went on the run and came to the place where she felt safest.”
Her hand came to his head, fingers starting to play in his hair as though she couldn’t stop herself from touching him. “She went to my mom.”
“She did,” Nate replied. “She came to Dallas looking for help, and a day or two later my father showed up. He was standing in the daycare room at the McKay-Taggart building when he found out I existed.”
“Really?” The hand on his head moved in soothing strokes. “He didn’t know? He wasn’t there when you were born?”
He felt like a big tiger being utterly tamed by a kitten. “Nope. He’d been a dumb arse who decided he wasn’t good enough for my mum, and so they had a one-night stand and he left. She tried to contact him, but he wouldn’t take her calls,” Nate explained. “So, yeah, he wasn’t there when I was born. He didn’t know I existed until he walked into the McKay-Taggart building and I was in the daycare. Adam Miles still complains about his back because my tough old dad fainted dead away at the sight of me.”
A chuckle came from her. “Oh, now I understand what Uncle Adam means when he says Australia fell on him. I always thought it was some weird metaphor. So let me guess. They decided to stash your mom here.”