Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
I sighed and patted my lap. Immediately, he rose and crossed the distance between us. I tugged him down onto my lap and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Sometimes, perrito, I have to be mean. It comes with the business.” I cupped his cheek. “But I will never be mean to you. Understand?”
He nodded. “I understand.”
I kissed him. “Good boy.” And fuck, the way he preened under my praise… “I need to get some work done. Do you want to stay here with me or go back to the couch?”
He immediately rested his head on my shoulder. “I’ll stay here.”
Good choice.
CHAPTER TEN
Anurak
Alfonzo looked like death when he stumbled into the dining room. I blinked in surprise, and Rico grimaced at him. Every time I’d seen Alfonzo, he was always well put together. “Christ, you look like shit,” Rico grumbled. “The fuck is wrong with you?”
“Stomach virus,” Alfonzo muttered. He kept his distance from us, which I was grateful for. I didn’t want to catch whatever he might have. If a strong man like Alfonzo was brought down by whatever he had, I knew it would make me feel like death.
Rico must’ve felt the same because suddenly, my chair was being yanked to the head of the table. I squeaked, looking at Rico in alarm, but his eyes hadn’t left Alfonzo, who was looking a little green.
“Take your ass back to bed,” Rico ordered. “I’ll have someone bring you something for your stomach. I’ll handle the exchange with Jax today.”
Alfonzo nodded once, gave a low moan, and rushed off. A moment later, I heard the nearest bathroom door slam shut. I winced. Poor man.
“Is he going to be okay?” I asked.
Rico nodded. “He’ll be fine, perrito.” He dragged my pancakes in front of me. I’d already finished my eggs, bacon, and fruit. It was a stipulation that I had to eat that first before I got to indulge in pancakes. Rico thought I was too small and frail, and honestly, he probably wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t like Master had fed me all that often, and when he did, it had never been anything actually nourishing. So, Rico was very big on protein before I got to eat anything sugary and, as he put it, fun.
And pancakes were very fun and sugary.
“Eat your pancakes,” Rico gently ordered. “I need to make a phone call.” He stood from his chair and leaned down, dropping a kiss to the top of my head before he slipped from the kitchen, more than likely heading to his office. Bento popped in almost immediately after Rico left, smiling at me as he dropped into the chair that had been across from me before Rico had dragged me next to his seat.
“Good morning,” he greeted, his accent thick this morning. “Did you finish that book you started reading yesterday evening?”
I shook my head. “No. But I got about halfway through. Rico made me put my phone away so I could get some sleep.” That was another thing Rico was big on—rest. He said I needed a lot of it after all I’d been through. And honestly, putting that book down hadn’t been hard when Rico wrapped his arms around me and spooned me from behind. The weight of his arms around me and the warmth of his chest pressing to my back had knocked me out like a light.
Bento chuckled. “Sounds like him.” His phone vibrated, and with a sigh, he pulled it out, reading whatever was on his screen. I focused back on my pancakes as he got involved in a text message conversation. When I was finishing my last bite, he was shoving his phone back into his pocket.
“Rico wants me to bring you to his office,” Bento informed me as he stood to his feet. “Come.”
I quickly finished my juice, then stood, following Bento out of the room and to Rico’s office. When I walked inside, Rico was shrugging on a leather jacket over his black t-shirt. I frowned. “You’re leaving?” The thought of being here without him—or anywhere without him, really—made my stomach hurt, and the food I’d just eaten sloshed uncomfortably in my belly.
Rico frowned at me for a moment before he sighed. “Go put your shoes on, perrito.”
I beamed at him as he rounded the desk, then leaned up on my tiptoes to press my lips to his cheek. He laughed softly, his eyes warm and soft as he looked down at me. With a light pat to my ass, he gripped my shoulder and gently turned me to face the office door. “Shoes, perrito. We need to get going.”
I quickly hurried out of the room and raced up the stairs since I didn’t want to make Rico late for wherever he needed to be. I quickly yanked on my sneakers, then tugged a hoodie over my head. When I got downstairs, Rico was already waiting by the front door. My cheeks were flushed, and I quickly latched onto the hand he held out to me, out of breath.