Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Deciding to put tattling on the dramatic omega in my back pocket for the time being, I leaned back in my chair and tried to look at the situation rationally. “What do you actually need here?”
Yes, there was something I was missing or he’d have just fucked with me over text instead.
Shooting me a glance that said he thought I was stupid, he stopped pacing again and went back to glaring at me. “I need to know if I’ve scarred you or if you need more therapy.”
Yes, he really thought I was stupid.
“Obviously.” Rolling his eyes, he looked like he was trying to decide what to throw at me. “How can you not see that?”
Somehow, I seemed to be getting stupider in his eyes without having said anything. “You have to tell me that I didn’t fuck up by pushing you to be open with Dessie. You’re fucking fragile.”
Well, that was completely unnecessary.
“After everything you saw?” I thought I’d handled everything very well.
“Silas wouldn’t let me watch!” Throwing up his hands again, his gaze took on a wild glint. “I only saw a couple of minutes before he caught me. I don’t even know if you freaked out or if he thinks he pushed you too fast or if I need to find a therapist for anyone!”
He needed less caffeine in his diet and more yoga.
“You do not need to find a therapist for anyone.” I wasn’t going to say I didn’t need one because I’d spent my teenage years on an old and very judgmental therapist’s couch.
To say it hadn’t helped would’ve been an understatement.
“How do I know?” Back to glaring at me, which I thought was an improvement, Austin looked angry. “I’ve been patient.”
I didn’t think being patient was supposed to make someone quite this insane, but Austin was a special case under a lot of circumstances.
“Then let’s reward your patience.” And then I’d figure out how to make sure Silas knew that Austin was losing his mind. “Would you like to sit down?”
Because his pacing had been so fast he’d started making me nauseous.
Who knew it was possible to get carsick in a stationary office?
Stopping midstep, Austin jerked before coming to a halt. He looked so surprised, I gestured toward the small fridge behind me. “Would you care for a drink? I have bottled water, tea, or some wine.”
He looked like he could use something harder than water, but after a second, he shook his head and came over to sit down politely. “No, thank you. I just came from a tea party and I don’t need anything.”
Before meeting Dessie, I would’ve assumed Austin meant some kind of pretentious garden party, but looking at him, I realized he’d meant some kind of tea party with littles.
“That sounds like it was fun.” My reaction got a smile and a nod from Austin as he smoothed out his pants like he was wearing a dress.
“Yes, it was lovely, thank you.” Shifting so his legs were to the side, he slipped back into what I thought was his tea party personality and looked much less likely to stab me. “It’s a nice way to have a break in the middle of the day.”
Reminding myself that sweet omegas who had tea parties could still poison people, I nodded and tried to keep us moving in the right direction. “I’ll have to talk to Dessie about doing something like that. His references to playtime were more about the playroom at the club.”
Austin let out a breath and smiled. “He likes the playroom but he can be a bit of a handful.”
That did not surprise me.
“He had a lot of wonderful things to say about the playroom in general and his friends there, but I’ll have to ask what other kinds of activities he likes to do when we have our next date later this week.” Yes, that had Austin’s shoulders relaxing and he crossed one ankle over the other.
“I’m glad you’ve got your next date planned. Would it be alright if I asked if you had a significant conversation about important things last night or would that be too nosy?” Austin’s tea party persona was much easier to deal with but harder to tell no.
It was an interesting dilemma but I thought he’d already eavesdropped enough to know the answers, so there was no point in hiding it.
“Yes.” That got another pleased smile from him. “We talked around it a bit while we were outside, but once we got into the pool house, we were more specific in our discussion.”
Austin perked up and nodded. “That’s wonderful.”
The switch in his personality was almost creepy but I tried not to let that show on my face. “It went well. I will admit to having some reservations at first, but by the time Dessie started on his second glass of wine, he was not at his biggest.”