Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
For some reason, it was mentioning the book that made Merritt blush. “I…I like being read to.”
He seemed to think that was bad or maybe made him high maintenance, but I only nodded and tried not to show I was reading into the statement. “That’s good to know. Would you like me to read to you every day as a part of our relationship or would it be part of your submission?”
When he blinked at me and went very still, I decided I needed to give him more information. “It doesn’t matter, but knowing would help me decide how to organize it in my head and maybe what kinds of books to pick out? I don’t know, but they seem to be very different things to me.”
Maybe it was a me thing?
“It might be a lawyer brain thing or maybe just a Pierce is anal thing?” I knew what I’d said and he had a hard time keeping little Merritt in check. “Come on. He wants to giggle. Just let him.”
“No.” Giving me a bashful grin, he hid behind his hands and scrubbed his face. “I’m hungry and you want a kiss.”
“So food comes before kissing?” I would’ve put it the other way around. “Is that just a now thing or is that generally how things work for you? No sex or intimacy until you’ve been fed and watered?”
“I’m not a horse.” His grumbling made me smile but it also made him forget he’d been embarrassed. His glare was as adorable big as it was little. “I didn’t think about the order. That was just what came out.”
“Understood.” No assumptions. Ask questions. Got it. “Well, how about I take my slightly nervous mate to dinner in town. Not the diner. There’s a pub place over near Walmart that has good reviews.”
And no locals to ask ridiculous questions.
“Then we’ll find someplace to walk or maybe see a movie. I might bribe you with ice cream.” Oh, that got his little side to perk up again. “Then I’ll wrap my arms around you and get a kiss. How does that plan sound?”
His lips barely curled into a smile. “Not the diner, huh? And you make it sound like the drive to Walmart is on the other side of the mountain.”
I shrugged. “That’s how everyone describes it. I’m practicing being local. Soon I’m going to start asking inappropriate questions to strangers. I think I might like that part.”
No point in hiding that.
A snicker escaped Merritt. “I think you would like that too.”
Barely shrugging, I didn’t feel bad about it. “People seem to want to confess everything too. It’s weird.”
Merritt blinked. “That is weird.”
It was strange.
We both sighed at the same time.
“Will you please check the diner for anything that would increase people’s susceptibility to answering stupid questions the next time you go in?” It should’ve been a ridiculous request but Merritt let out a long breath and nodded.
“Yes.” The change in topic somehow made him feel more confident because he stopped wanting to hide and wiggled closer until his head was right under mine and he was snuggled into me. “I wasn’t thinking about that when I went in before.”
“Me neither.” He’d touched me first, so I was fairly confident when I brushed my fingers over his head. “But I’m pretty sure the locals who aren’t insane haven’t thought of it either, so we can’t feel bad about it.”
Grumbling softly, he rolled over and hid his face high on my chest, tucking his head under my chin. “It might be something subtle?”
Oh, my boy didn’t like missing something like that.
“I’ll admit that there is too much dragon in my background for me to have paid any attention to Magic 101 kind of stuff.” I had to ignore his snickers since it was the truth. “But if there is something, I’m betting it’s something that makes people relaxed or want to chat. Something subtle like you said.”
The stiffness was starting to go out of his shoulders and he seemed more relaxed as he gave a faint nod. “Some kind of hospitality spell. Like one my grandma would’ve used to make guests more comfortable? My mom had to be the one to tell her that was manipulating people.”
I was the one snickering that time. “That generation used magic for that kind of shit on a regular basis. There were several church lady friends of my grandmother’s that she wouldn’t go over to their house because they used those kinds of spells to get the best gossip.”
Sure, the most recent generations were slightly reckless with magic, but if our grandparents’ generation had had cell phones with cameras everywhere, we’d have been outed a long time ago.
“They were devious.” Shifting like he was shaking his head, Merritt stayed pressed against me, so I started making long strokes from his head down his back. “You know. The old men aren’t devious.”