Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 166103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 831(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 831(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
She frowned, not liking that answer.
He picked her up, holding her against his chest. A small grimace crossed his face. Had that caused him pain?
“You should put me down.”
“Not happening.” He moved her to one hip and walked with her down the hallway.
“But it’s hurting you.”
“Pfft. I could be half dead and I’d still want to carry you around. Not sure I’m going to let you walk again.”
She rolled her eyes at his theatrics.
They entered the kitchen, and he put her on the counter. Grabbing her chin, he studied her. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
He gave her a stern look. “Really? And remember, you need to tell me the truth when I ask you a question.”
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m used to ignoring my needs. I’m pretty good. Nervous. I don’t want to do the wrong thing.”
“You can’t do anything wrong as long as you’re honest and talk to us. And we need to learn to do the same.”
She gave him a small smile and he kissed her lightly.
Moving away, he opened the fridge and drew out a plate of cut-up fruit and some small bowls of yogurt.
“Wow. Those look amazing.”
“Judd made them for us before he left.”
“Left?” she asked. “Where did he go? Is he coming back?” Fear filled her.
“Whoa.” He turned away from where he’d been putting some muesli into small bowls. “He’s coming back. They all are. They’re just giving us some time together alone. And then you’ll have some alone time with each of them.”
“And all of us will spend time together?”
“Of course.” He ran his finger over her freckles. “Okay with you? Do you want to spend time alone with me?”
“Yes. More than anything.”
“Yeah? You sure you can forgive me for not treating you better?”
“It was my fault,” she whispered.
“Nope. Not all on you. And we all agreed that you should punish us how you see fit.”
Her eyes widened. Actually, she had something to ask of them . . . and maybe Beck was the one to do it.
“Um, well, I think I just did punish you.” She winced. “Even if it was an accident.”
“You should ask for more than that.” He laid the food out on the island. Then he shifted her to a stool. “I’ve forgotten a few things from the playroom.” He eyed her. “Stay there.”
“Okay.”
As he walked away, though, she slid off the stool. She was busting. She raced through the house to where she’d seen a powder room, and she popped in to pee, sighing with relief.
After cleaning up, she made her way back to the kitchen to find Beck standing there, with his arms crossed over his chest. He’d put on a T-shirt which was a shame.
Seriously. The man should walk around shirtless all the time. It was a crime against humanity that he didn’t. Well, a crime against her eyes, anyway.
“What part of ‘stay there’ didn’t you understand, Freckles?” he asked sternly.
“Umm. Sorry?”
“You don’t sound very sorry. When I say stay put, I mean that you should stay put. I’m starting to see that Owen’s idea of a leash isn’t a terrible one.”
“Yes, it is! It’s a horrible idea.”
He crooked a finger at her, and she dragged her feet. “I needed to pee.”
“Then you should have told me. I would have taken you. After breakfast, that’s five minutes in the corner and then you’re going to write fifty lines stating that you will stay put when I tell you to.”
“Beck!” she grumbled.
“No moaning about it, either.”
He lifted her onto the stool and then put a bib around her. Was that what he’d gone to get? Yikes. She didn’t think she was a messy eater.
Then he mixed yogurt into the muesli and spooned some up. “Open.”
She knew better than to argue. And she was already on thin ice. She let him feed her several spoonfuls before shaking her head. Then he fed her a few slices of melon and a couple of grapes.
“No more.”
He gave her a worried look. “All right. I’ll make you a bottle after your bath. You can do your five minutes in the corner while I finish eating.” He lifted her down off the stool and pointed to an empty corner of the room.
“Off you go.”
She sighed and stomped her way into the corner.
“And because you stomped, you can also pull down your panties and poke out your bare bottom. Lift the shirt.”
Well. This sucked.
Beck massaged the shampoo into her hair, loving the sighs of pleasure she made.
Damn. His dick was getting hard. But he ignored that asshole. Now wasn’t the time. He’d finished getting dressed while she wrote her lines. Poor baby had needed a bit of motivation to write them in the form of a couple of smacks to her ass.
“Head back,” he ordered as he filled up a cup of warm water from the sink and poured it over her hair.