Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 139606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 558(@250wpm)___ 465(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 558(@250wpm)___ 465(@300wpm)
Kara’s eyes rolled as she sat down. She was looking perfectly respectable in her dark suit and killer heels. She reached for the coffee. “Well, let’s hope there’s no paparazzi floating around taking pictures that could get back to her dad eventually. Because she looks like a woman who recently had sex. Like two minutes ago.”
That had Tasha sitting up straight and ensuring her robe was actually covering her. She also smoothed down her hair.
“I don’t think there’s paparazzi here,” Dare assured her.
Tasha’s head shook. “My s…cousin is being a dick. She’s jealous because she’s not getting any.”
“But she could,” Brian offered.
A bright smile crossed Kara’s face. “Still might.”
Those two were going to kill him. He wished they would hop in bed together because the sexual tension was so thick, he could cut it with a knife. Sometimes. Other times he got the feeling Kara couldn’t be less interested. She was playing games, but Brian didn’t seem to mind.
He was glad his Tash didn’t play any games. She said what was on her mind and never prevaricated.
Tasha was a woman he could trust.
If Oakley wanted to ogle her, maybe that would give him more time with Huisman. She could flirt a little, provide some distraction. It would be perfectly safe because he wouldn’t let her be alone with the man, and she could handle herself.
Shouldn’t he be jealous? He wasn’t. Tasha wanted him. Tasha cared about him. It was the weirdest, nicest sensation. “Oakley wants to flirt with you, sweetness.”
She grinned. “If I’m flirting with that horny billionaire, you can talk to Huisman.”
They were so in synch.
“I’d love to talk to Huisman,” Kara said. “Any chance I can tag along?”
Shit. The answer was no, but he didn’t want to disappoint Tasha’s cousin. She was close to Kara. Closer it seemed than she was to her sister, Lou, who never came by.
“Absolutely not.” Tasha sent her cousin a narrow-eyed stare. “You aren’t going to ruin Dare’s big meeting.”
Kara’s expression went totally “what me” innocent. “I can flirt, too.”
“No,” Brian said in a wholly serious tone. “This meeting is important. I honestly don’t like sending Tasha into it, but Oakley asked for her and I can’t go. You are not going in there to flirt with billionaires.”
Kara wrinkled her nose. “Fine. I’ll stay here and flirt with the regular people.”
Kara seemed to flirt with everyone. Men, women, young, old. It didn’t matter. She drew them in like flies to honey when she wanted to. And when she wanted, she could shut it all down and become distant and mysterious. Brian was obviously captivated by the contrast.
“Are you going to this secret place with them tonight?” Brian asked before digging into the eggs he’d ordered the night before.
This had become their morning ritual. Brian and Kara showed up, and they all had breakfast on the terrace overlooking Sydney Harbour. Like they were some kind of a family. A found one, but a family nonetheless. He liked it. Even Nate had become something of a friend.
“I thought the secret place was supposed to be a secret.” Nate frowned his way before taking the sterling-silver cloche off the plate in front of him, revealing the full “fry up” he’d eaten every morning he was here. Smoky bacon, three fried eggs, toast, beans, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, and a plethora of sausages and hash browns.
Dare took a long sip of his coffee. That was one of the things he loved about Australia. The coffee was surprisingly amazing. Australian coffee culture was something he would miss, though Canada had its own. “He knows, and I suspect Kara knows her cousin is a sub.”
His sub.
“Of course I do,” Kara said with a wave of her hand. “We pretty much tell each other everything. I’m going, too, you know. I don’t belong to this particular club. It’s way fancier than anything I could afford. We’re only getting in because Nate’s dad here used to work with the owner.”
“Which is why we’re going to be polite. He sent over a contract for visitor’s rights.” Tasha went still, as though waiting for him to argue with her. “There was a clause that allows you Master rights. I was surprised by that. That would mean he had a reason to give them to you.”
She needed to know how far he was willing to go for her. When it was made clear that more than money was required to get the rights he needed, he’d made a decision. “I talked to Master Colin when Nate first reached out to him. He explained that we could be visitors and you would have all rights because Nate’s father vouched for you, but he couldn’t do the same with Master rights for me.”
“I know. That’s why I said we could watch the scenes,” she said.
But he didn’t want to watch. He wanted to play. He wanted to be with her in a place where they were free to do as they wished. The way he wanted the world to be. “Or I could give him the number of the man who runs the Toronto club I was a member of and let him vouch for me. I called Tom first and explained the situation. He’s a kind man.”