Total pages in book: 167
Estimated words: 164838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
You can do this.
Don’t think.
Don’t let your mind get in the way.
A teeny tiny orgasm and you’ll be free.
Nodding along to my peptalk, I slowly hitched up my nightgown and wriggled deeper into the bed.
My breathing ratcheted as I spread my legs, angled the toy X bought me, and cursed the tears that welled, spilled, and rolled hotly down my cheeks.
* 28 *
Zander
Stranger Danger
I BOLTED UPRIGHT IN BED.
Blinking in the dark, I froze. What woke me? What had I heard? Adrenaline ensured I was ready to fight an intruder or leap from a burning building.
Fumbling with my bedside light, I scanned the industrial loft feel of my bedroom. Nothing had fallen. Sailor wasn’t screaming. No wind or rain or thunder.
So what?
Something howled, tiny and miserable.
“What on earth?”
Slipping from my sheets, I plucked my glasses from the table and padded in my boxer-briefs downstairs.
I didn’t bother turning on any lights, knowing the corners to avoid and managing to get to the back door in the conservatory without stubbing a toe. The howling came again, interspersed with a sad little meow.
Unlocking the door, I swung it wide and peered into the cloud-covered garden. No starlight or moonlight. Everything was hazy with mist.
Something warm and tiny bumped against my bare ankle, wrenching my gaze down.
“Penguin?” Bending over, I scooped him from the deck and held him up. “How did you get out here?”
He meowed again, his eyes dull and tail tucked.
He looked lost and alone and—
Panic shot through me.
Sailor.
“What happened to Sailor, Peng?” Holding him tight in one hand, I glowered at him as if he could tell me everything. “Where is she?”
He meowed and hung his head.
“Is she in danger?” Clutching him close, I bolted over the grass to the fence palings.
Then froze.
If I went over there as Zander—in my boxer shorts, no less—I might do more harm than good if she was having another nightmare.
But if I took the time to go as X…could I afford the ten minutes?
Fuck it, no time for hair dye and contacts.
Peng squirmed and meowed as if he agreed with me.
Racing back the way I came, I scaled the deck steps, and careened into the kitchen where I grabbed my motorcycle scarf and black baseball cap. Dumping Peng on the sideboard where my keys and mail lived, I quickly yanked both on, left my glasses on the countertop, raided the laundry rack holding a pair of black sweats and a t-shirt, and dressed as fast as I could.
Once decent and disguised, I scooped up the little kitten and ran out of my house without locking up.
The fence palings tried to snag me again. Peng whimpered as I squished him a little too hard. I raced over Sailor’s lawn then plopped him onto his tiny paws to push up the lavender pot, claim the spare key, and unlock her back door.
Nothing.
No scream.
No cries.
Where is she?
My legs ached to chase through every room and find her, but I couldn’t leave Peng outside. Replacing the key back under the pot, I grabbed the kitten and dumped him on the floor in the dining room. The kitchen window was open, hinting that was his escape route.
Closing it, I spied a saucer with some leftover food and shoved it under his nose. “Eat. I’ll come check on you once I know your mistress is okay.”
Leaving him to munch, I marched through the house, as familiar with this floorplan as I was with my own.
I didn’t find her on the bottom level.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I charged down the corridor and into Melody’s old bedroom. I’d almost slipped the last time I was here and praised Sailor’s wallpaper choice. It’d modernised the room a lot from the pale lemon lace that Melody had favoured.
But the door was open.
The bed empty.
My heart went berserk.
“Sailor?”
Where the hell is she?
Striding back the way I came, I arrowed to the bathroom across the hall.
Just as empty.
“Sai—”
Fuck.
X knows her as Lori, you idiot!
“Lori?”
No reply.
“Answer me. It’s Z—eh, X.”
Wow, you’re on a roll tonight.
Swinging open the study door, I peered through the shadows of stacked furniture looking like abandoned soldiers in the dark. The only other door was Sailor’s old bedroom.
With my heart in my mouth, I swung the door open and peered into the blackness.
A sniffle made my chest clench.
Shoving my way past a dresser and almost tripping over a tower of boxes, I managed to navigate the room enough to reach the bed tucked up against the wall. The window where I used to watch her let in just enough light to find her buried beneath a mountain of covers.
She stiffened into a tight ball as I slowly sat on the edge of the mattress.
She trembled so hard the entire framework shuddered as I tugged part of the sheets away, revealing her sodden, tear-streaked face.