Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Hmm. Maybe I didn’t need to keep my distance. In this area, I excelled.
Callen and Jamie strode into the room before I could work up a good strategy, and the space immediately shrank. They were just so big. If muscles were gold, I’d be inside a treasure chest right now.
I cleared my throat. Not that I was admiring the physique of either male. The pair weren’t my type, and both scowled at me, deducting multiple points from their hotness scale.
“Da!” Mirren called, and both men blanked their expressions. They went from angry to neutral in a nanosecond.
Aaah. So that wasn’t something Callen did to keep me in the dark about his emotions. It was a berserker thing. Meant to protect their fragile womenfolk?
I rolled my eyes.
“Are you leaving?” Radiating concern, Mirren popped to her feet and ran to her father. As before, he caught her in his arms. “I’m not ready to say goodbye yet,” she cried, clinging to him.
“I’m not saying goodbye.” He held her close.
“You’re not?” Slowly, she raised her head. Tears glistened on her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her wrists. “I get to spend the day here?”
Oh, wow. Okay. That one hit me straight in the feels.
“Nay, love.” His gaze flicked to me and lingered for a single heartbeat. “You’re moving into the castle with me. Aunt Gavina, too.”
Mirren brightened. “I get to live with you again? You mean it?”
“I always mean what I say.”
“You really do.” She hugged him tight. “Oh, Da! I’m so happy!”
And the hits kept coming. Why would a father as loving and considerate as Callen marry someone like Isobel, simply because she calmed him? A berserker’s temper must be something fearsome and terrible indeed.
How had Callen known Isobel was his fated? I’d wondered before, but now I craved the answer.
Gavina’s eyes went round as saucers. “Of course I’ll move into your home, majesty. I mean, Mr. Bruce.” Complexion pinkening, she bowed her head. “Whatever you request, I will do.”
Why the new change in direction? Tavish? Or had something else happened? If not for Mirren, I would’ve asked, but I didn’t wish to frighten the little girl with talk of war.
Callen didn’t face me again as he kissed his daughter’s temple and passed her to Gavina. “The two of you will wait for me in the car. There’s something I must discuss with Isobel before we join you. But you have nothing to fear, all right? Magnus will be with you the entire time.”
A big ox of a man with red hair and a bushy beard stepped forward. Magnus, no doubt.
I licked my lips. Oh, yes. Something more had happened. Had Callen learned of Isobel’s body-swap betrayal?
“Why would I fear?” Mirren asked, truly confused.
“Exactly.” He gave her cheek a playful pat before nodding to Magnus, who led the women out of the office. Callen and Jamison shared a look before the prince took off, leaving me alone with the king of berserkers.
Wringing my fingers together, I asked, “What’s going on?”
“You want money. Verra well. You’ll get the money.” He pinned me with his gaze and took a step closer. “But in return, you’ll give Gavina your bedroom and be kind to our guests, without exception.”
My heart raced. Okay. He hadn’t learned about the betrayal. Yet. “How much money? Never mind. Twenty thousand pounds, and a day of horseback riding, and we’ve got a deal.”
He blinked. “No riding. But I will give you the twenty thousand pounds.”
Dang it! Why wouldn’t he take me out on those horses?
“You agree to my bargain, then?” he asked. “Without protest?”
“Why would I protest something I’d do for free?” I liked both Gavina and Mirren. “I’m happy to take a spare bedroom.”
“Nay, lass,” he replied, his irises glinting. “For the foreseeable future, you’ll be staying in mine.”
Chapter
Twelve
Tight Squeeze: Maneuvering in Cramped Quarters
From A Beginner’s Guide to Berserker Bliss
Author Unknown
Callen’s words rang inside my head. “Your room?” I rasped. “Why?”
He lifted his chin. “Before we wed, you agreed to do anything I asked, without question.”
How many times and ways would our previous bargain bite me? “Isobel Campbell agreed to those terms.” I pasted a too sweet smile on my face. “Hello. I’m Elle Bruce. Also, I’ve acquiesced to nothing of the sort.”
He worked his jaw. “Jamie learned Tavish succeeded in turning more of my men against me, and thereby you. He’s planning your downfall, and I want you by my side.” Determination laced his voice.
“Is he not a threat to the others?” Why not move Gavina and Mirren into his room, too?
“His focus has always been my romantic partner. And now that that’s been explained, let’s go.” Callen wrapped an arm around my waist, led me out of the building and into an actual limo, making it clear the conversation was over.
I reeled the entire drive home. In one seat, father read to daughter, both ignoring the rest of the world. How he could read in a moving vehicle without becoming sick, I didn’t know. Beside me, Gavina stared out a window, wistful as she watched tree after tree whiz past.