Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“What?”
“A dip in the hot tub.”
Frankie smiled. “I like that idea. But I have a delivery coming soon.”
He tucked a loose strand of her hair around her ear. “We’ll hear it arrive.”
“Okay then.” Upstairs, she quickly changed into a neon-orange bikini and scooped her hair up into a high ponytail. Walking into the backyard a few minutes later, she was surprised to find him wearing trunks.
Seeing the question in her eyes, Trick said, “I stuffed them in my overnight bag in case we used the tub.” He drew her to him, skimming his hands down her body, shaping and caressing. Possessiveness pounded through his veins. She was his. All fucking his. He tugged on her lower lip with his teeth and bit down. “It’s tempting to forget the tub and strip you naked so I can have my way with you now.”
“Later,” she promised with a wicked smile.
It didn’t take long to get the tub ready. As she sank into the curved seat, she let out a contented sigh. Trick sat opposite her, bracketing her legs with his, and curled his hands possessively around her calves. The tub was big enough for four people, so they had plenty of room to stretch out.
Goosebumps rose on her arms as she draped them over the back of the tub. The bubbling pressure from the jets deliciously hammered at her muscles. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she listened to the splosh and burble of the water and enjoyed the rising of the steam as it warmed her face.
Trick gave her calf a light squeeze. “Listen, I’m going to tell you something that I should have told you before. I wasn’t deliberately keeping it from you, but it occurred to me earlier that you might want to know.”
Unease crept over Frankie. Lifting her head, she opened her eyes. “Okay.”
“I told you I’ve never been in a relationship. That’s true. My past has been nothing but flings and one-night stands.” He paused. “I had the occasional one-nighter with Marcus.”
All right, well, that was a shocker. Frankie sat up straighter. “Just to be clear, you mean your pack mate, Marcus? The enforcer who’s mated to Roni?”
He nodded. “We’re close friends, but we were never close as partners. We didn’t have a fling. We just scratched each other’s itches from time to time.”
Frankie’s brow furrowed. It was just hard to imagine them together, since she’d never detected any attraction there. “So you’re bisexual.”
He grimaced. “I’m not really into labels. For me it’s not about gender. It’s about the person.”
Maybe so, but it occurred to her that he likely enjoyed the kind of fun she couldn’t physically provide, considering she didn’t have a cock. Was that going to be an issue? Would he miss that kind of fun? If so, it was possible that she wouldn’t be enough for him sexually, that she couldn’t fully satisfy him.
Trick growled. “Get it out of your head that this could mean you won’t be enough for me.”
Frankie gaped. “How did you—?”
“I know how your brain works. I knew your mind would go there. It’s a whacked place to go. Look, I get that your maternal family made you feel that you’re not enough. That’s bullshit. I don’t have needs that you can’t fulfill or anything stupid like that. The only thing I need is you.”
His voice rang with truth, but she couldn’t quite relax. “So there was nothing serious between you and Marcus?”
“Not at all,” he said.
“You were more like friends with benefits?”
“Not even that, because there was nothing regular about it. They were random encounters. To me this isn’t significant. It has no bearing on what’s between you and me. But I didn’t want you to find out another way.” Leaning forward, he slid his hands up to her thighs. “Tao once wanted to imprint on Taryn.”
Her mouth fell open. “No.”
“Yes. This was before Taryn and Trey knew they were true mates. Initially they were faking it so that Taryn could escape an arranged mating and Trey could then have access to her father’s alliances.”
Wow, thought Frankie. Having seen how tight the Alphas were, she found it hard to believe that they were originally brought together by nothing more than a deal.
“The plan was that she’d leave after a few months, and Tao made it clear that he was willing to leave with her. He didn’t love her, which was probably why that willingness died pretty quickly. There was never any lingering jealousy or a yearning that he tried to hide. It was just one weird, very short period in his life that none of us ever even thought about—it just faded to the backs of our minds. It was so insignificant to him that he didn’t think to mention it to Riley. But Greta did.”