Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“I gave you pants.” His words somehow sound thick, and I glance down at my bare legs.
They aren’t long and sexy like I think most men desire. I’ve always been on the shorter side, but it bugs me that he doesn’t like what he sees. All I have on is the shirt he’d given me, which falls almost to my knees. It’s longer than the dress I had on before. I didn’t want to put my dirty panties back on. They might not have actually been that dirty since I’d only had them on for a few hours, but they felt that way because of what I’d been wearing to begin with.
“I couldn’t get the pants to stay up,” I admit.
“Right.” He grabs one of the tall high-top chairs at the kitchen island and pulls it out. “Come eat. You clearly need it.” I drop my gaze as my insecurities start to rise at my small size. “Demi, come here now,” he orders. My feet move on their own, drawing me closer to him. “You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”
“No.” I go to grab the back of the chair to climb up but Curt beats me to it, lifting me by the hips and setting me down into it.
“Let’s get you a bit of everything.” I watch as he starts to pile food onto the plates in front of me. How long was I out for? It looks like he pulled together a feast while I was in the bathroom. There’s a mix of all kinds of things from pasta to steak to even grilled cheese and fried chicken.
“This is a lot of food.”
“Pierce keeps things ready to make in the fridge for me. You can help yourself to whatever, whenever.” He says it like I’m going to be hanging around beyond this meal.
“Thank you for all this.” I pick up the fork and take a bite of the pasta first. A small moan leaves me, and Curt stops pouring me a glass of water. His eyes once again stare into mine, and he looks pissed-off again.
“No one should go hungry. Especially a girl who should still be taken care of by her own parents.” He places the glass in front of me before he picks up a knife and starts to cut the steak he’d given me.
“She needs help.” I swallow my food and take a drink of the water. “My mom, I mean.”
“Don’t make excuses for her. It’s bullshit.” Easier said than done. Especially from a girl starving for attention and affection from the one person who is supposed to give it to her.
“Still, thank you. I won’t stay long.”
“You’re not going anywhere while you’re not a legal adult.” He pushes the plate with the steak on it back toward me. Then he picks up a fork and stabs a piece of it before bringing it to my mouth. I open it and take a bite and try not to look at him as I chew and swallow. “I’ll take care of you.”
“For now,” I agree.
Maybe that’s not a terrible idea, and I can stay here until then. It might be nice to be taken care of for once. I can pretend this is a small birthday gift that I’ll let myself have.
For now, I remind myself. Things like this never last, and it’s always better to remember that.
Chapter Four
CURT
After we have dinner, Demi is practically falling asleep at the table. I’m careful to touch her as little as possible to help her up the stairs and into her room. Once she’s tucked into bed, I go to my room and have a fitful night of sleep.
The next morning I’m up with the sun after only a few hours of rest. I checked on Demi three different times to make sure she was okay, and each time she was sleeping like a rock. When was the last time she had a safe place to lay her head?
After checking on her once more, I softly close the door and decide to get a jump on the day. Pierce has coffee ready for me when I get downstairs, almost like he knew I’d be up early. When I got into my office, I begin looking into Demi Slater and why she’s in this situation.
At one point I need some help with the research, so I wake up the guy I use for surveillance. Tim has been useful with information for Boone and me before. He’s helped us check in on people and find out secrets that we could use to our advantage in business. I like to think we use his powers for good instead of evil, but right now, I need to know all of it.
“And her birthday is tomorrow?” Tim asks, and I nod. We’re on video chat now and he’s typing on his desktop while I drink my coffee and look over the notes he’s sent me.