Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
“What kind of collaboration?” Brodie asked.
At the same time, Wizard muttered, “He’s not her male narrator, just the one she hired for the job.”
Ignoring his club brother—for now—I focused on the person who mattered to me, Brodie. “Duet narration means that we each handle our character’s lines of dialogue, even when the chapter is in the other character’s point of view.”
“Fuck,” Brodie groaned, heaving a deep sigh.
“If it’s any consolation, I’ve only done two other books as a duet and am not a big fan of it.” I patted his muscular thigh with an apologetic smile. “If any other author besides Thea asked me to take on this project, I probably would’ve turned them down. And I don’t have more books lined up that require duet narration. I can turn them down in the future, if you prefer.”
“I hate to limit your career when you’ve worked so hard to make a name for yourself, but I gotta admit I’m not a fan of you recording sex scenes with another guy, even if it’s just acting and from completely different rooms.”
I didn’t miss how some of the tension in his shoulders eased at my offer. And if I was being completely honest with myself, I got a feminine thrill over how possessive Brodie was of me. But that didn’t mean I would keep doing something I didn’t even enjoy just to push that particular button. “I’m not going to take a hit by turning down duet narration projects. I have a long list of clients who like working with me and get plenty of inquiries from new ones each week. I will need to start slowing down on how many I accept anyway, if I want to have time to spend with you.”
“I’ll make it worth your while, baby,” he vowed before kissing me, not caring that his club brothers were watching.
“Another one bites the dust,” Ace joked, elbowing Wizard in the side. Brodie had introduced me to him when we arrived, explaining he was the club’s treasurer. With a warning to never play cards against the guy because he was too damn good and didn’t mind cheating when necessary. Not that anyone had ever been able to prove it.
Wizard shook his head. “When I claim my woman, I’m not gonna be pussy-whipped enough for her to act out hot-as-fuck sex scenes with another guy.”
“Quit starting shit,” King rumbled. “I read somewhere that babies are sensitive to their environment. Don’t need Cadell to get all worked up.”
Wizard raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Sorry, Prez.”
Cadell let out a soft cry, and everyone’s attention turned to the baby. I heaved a sigh of relief to have their focus off Brodie and me.
He dipped his head to my ear and rasped, “You okay?”
I smiled up at him with a nod. “Yeah, I’m still curious about why Thea’s books are stuck in Wizard’s brain, but I’m having fun.”
“There’s a reason we go to him when we need intel to be gathered.” At my quirked brow, he added, “But I will admit that it’s strange since there was no reason for him to dig up anything on the authors you work for beyond their names.”
“I’m glad you can see it, too.”
I started to glance at Wizard, but my attention was pulled back to Brodie when he added, “And the guy you’re doing that duet narration with.”
“Are you really going to ask Wizard to look into him?” I asked, my eyes widening.
“After we’ve wrapped shit up with the ring we’re taking down, fuck yeah.” His eyes heated. “Gotta make sure he doesn’t pose a risk to you, even if your contact with him is limited.”
Any irritation I felt over the idea melted away. “I love how you look after me.”
“I’m never gonna let anything bad happen to you, Violet,” he vowed. “Every inch of you is mine and only mine.”
I didn’t hesitate to agree. “I am.”
“Never had much of anything that I could call all my own, but you gotta know that I take care of what’s mine.”
11
ECHO
“Why did I let you talk me into this again?” Ash grumbled, yanking on the collar of his tuxedo shirt.
“You have the least ink and went to fucking law school. You can pull off the high class, rich motherfucker better than most of us,” I grunted as I watched him on the video monitor from our hotel suite. “Now stop acting like you’re uncomfortable in a monkey suit.”
“I am uncomfortable in a monkey suit,” he grumbled. But he quickly dropped his hand and put on a smile when Cynthia—formerly known as Jean—reappeared at his side.
“Hello, darlin’,” he drawled, his natural Texan accent thicker than normal.
Ash was the club secretary and our legal counsel. He’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the only child of a Texas politician and his wife, who pretty much had a kid because it polled better. But instead of becoming a spoiled douche, Ash had been an A student and got scholarships to cover his bachelor’s and law degree. He’d worked for anything extra that he needed, not taking a single penny from his Mom and Dad.