Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
His promise gave me the courage I needed to grab my phone and dial my mom’s number. When it rang four times before rolling over to voicemail, I sighed in frustration. Then I tried my dad, but I didn’t have any better luck. As Tane dropped down onto the chair next to me and flung his arm around my shoulders, I pulled up the contact for my dad’s administrative assistant. Unlike my parents, she picked up on the first ring. “Good morning, Calliope. How can I help you today?”
“Hey, Stephanie. I was hoping to speak with my parents, but neither of them picked up,” I explained. “Are they in a meeting?”
“Oh, um...I’m sorry you’re having a hard time reaching your parents. I don’t see anything on your dad’s calendar, but let me pull up your mom’s to check there, too.” There was a pause before she added, “Nope, nothing there to explain it either.”
“Okay, well just let them know I’m trying to get a hold of them please,” I requested since I hadn’t left a voicemail.
“Will do,” she agreed before hurrying off without saying goodbye.
I stared down at my phone and muttered, “That was super weird.”
“Is it usually easier for you to get ahold of your parents?” Tane asked.
I shook my head as I set my cell on the table in front of me. “No, it isn’t rare for me to need to have Stephanie connect me with one or the other. She always knows what’s going on with them, but she seemed off. It was almost as though she was trying to get me off the phone or something. Usually, she’d ask me all sorts of questions about what’s going on in my life. She likes to be in the loop on everything because it helps her do her job better.”
“Everyone has a bad day now and then,” Tane suggested, giving me a comforting squeeze.
“Yeah, I guess that could be it.” I leaned into his side. “But with classes starting up again on Monday, she normally would’ve at least asked me if I needed anything for school. She’s the one who makes sure tuition is paid and my account has enough money to cover all my expenses.”
Tane’s arm tightened on me as his body tensed. “How many classes are you taking?”
“I’m registered for five, but I’m only excited about two of them—Form and Space and Connections Through Color and Design.” I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. “Allegra and Larissa decided to bail on the next semester since getting their degree isn’t important to either of them, and I was seriously considering dropping out and heading to New York to try to get a jump-start on my design career before you showed up since college won’t be as much fun without them.”
“Whatever you want to do is fine by me.” He gently turned my shoulders so I was facing him. “Take all five classes or just the two you like, as long as you move out of the dorm and into our house. Or skip college and get to work on your collection, which is probably the best plan because my mom and sisters will shock you with how quickly they can get shit done when it’s for family.”
There wasn’t an ounce of doubt in his dark eyes that my dream was going to happen. His confidence in me—and support—made me want to do a happy dance while I also had the urge to break down in tears. Of joy, though. My emotions were kind of overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure what to say. “I-I-I’m not sure what I want to do. Can I take a day or two to decide?”
“Take as much time as you need, baby. Just do it with me.” I gave him a jerky nod, and he lifted me off my chair and spread me out on the table. Pressing his palm against my chest, he nudged me down until my back was against the hard surface before undoing my jeans and pulling them down my legs with my panties. “Let’s take advantage of my oral fixation and help you to forget all your worries. Now that I’ve satisfied the hunger in my belly, I think it’s time for me to get another taste of what I’m really craving.”
The bottom half of my body was completely bare while he was fully clothed in the pair of shorts I’d tossed to him earlier and a shirt he’d pulled on while I’d been in the tub. But I couldn’t feel vulnerable with the way his gaze practically worshipped my body. Anticipation of the pleasure he was about to give me spread through my veins, and a rush of damp liquid spilled from my core. His nostrils flared, and I knew the scent of my arousal was turning him on even more than he already was.