Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
She shook her head, feeling oddly defiant, which wasn’t like her. She was never this ornery. In fact, she’d spent twenty years being taught to obey this man who would be her master. A man her mother told her she would service in every way for the rest of her life. And here she was defying him at her first opportunity.
In a strange twist, she’d learned from her visions—if they could be trusted—the mates of Alpha Protectors didn’t seem to hold the role she’d been raised to believe would be expected of her. She’d seen no evidence of any of the mates cooking or cleaning. On the contrary, she’d witness the opposite. It appeared that Alphas took care of their mates in every way instead of the other way around.
Madness. Nothing made sense. And because the world she’d been snooping around in was so far off what she’d been taught to expect, she found herself totally doubting the validity of her visions.
Cradling her with one arm as though she weighed nothing, Jayce stroked a hand down her cheek before tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “This dark silky hair is exactly as I envisioned it. Amber told me how pretty it was. She was right.” He threaded his fingers in it and dragged them through the length, which took some time considering it reached her butt.
As was customary, she’d never cut her hair. As was also customary, she’d worn it down most of her life, only pulling the front of it back in a clip or a small braid. Today she had intricate braids running from her temples, the two thin lengths clipped together at the back of her head.
“I know you’re scared, Sienna. It’s normal to feel nervous, and doubly so considering what I suspect you’ve been experiencing. I want you to know that there’s nothing wrong with you. You have a gift. Together we’ll learn to explore it and find out what it means.”
She trembled in his arms, melting a little when he stroked her cheek with his fingers.
“Will you look at me, Baby girl?” The endearment was so odd. He’d used it several times out loud so far, but he’d also written it on the sign he’d made her. Considering her small size in comparison to him and the fact that he was cradling her in his arms, she shouldn’t be surprised.
But who was she kidding? She’d witnessed so many things lately that most days her head had been spinning. If even a tenth of what she’d visualized turned out to be true, she was in for an awakening.
When Jayce stroked her eyelid, she realized she still hadn’t obeyed him. Finally she held her breath and opened her eyes. For a moment, she simply stared at him, both shocked and relieved to find he was exactly the man from her vision.
His smile was huge and kind. “Hi.”
She licked her lips. “Hi.”
“I’ve waited so long to meet you, Little one.” He lifted her higher so he could kiss her forehead. “You’re even prettier than Amber described. And you smell amazing. Gardenias?”
She nodded. How did he know?
He breathed out a dramatic sigh of relief. “Amber thought she’d smelled gardenias on you, so I bought you bath soaps in that scent.”
“You did that for me?”
“Of course. I did everything I could think of to prepare for you. Unfortunately Amber didn’t know what your favorite color is, so you’re stuck with a rainbow of colors until you decide to change things. But you know that already, don’t you? You’ve seen your nursery, haven’t you?”
She slowly nodded. She’d seen every inch of his house, including the room he’d worked so hard to prepare for her. She’d watched him paint it late at night. She’d seen how much effort he’d gone to, arranging everything in the room for her.
The nursery. Because that’s what it was. It even had a crib and changing table. Toys and games. A rocking chair. Though she hadn’t been able to fully wrap her head around the lifestyle she’d witnessed in other homes, she knew now with certainty everything she’d seen had been accurate.
She had a million questions, but they were stuck in her throat.
“Did you see my sign, Little one?”
She nodded again. “Yes, Sir,” she managed to murmur.
His grin… It could stop traffic. “I hope it brought you some peace.”
“It did,” she whispered.
“I’m so glad. I wish I had thought of doing something like that weeks ago. The idea didn’t come to me until a few days ago. It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I could communicate with you even though I had no way to receive a reaction. I bet you’ve been so lonely and afraid.”
Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. He had no idea how unnerved she’d been. She was struggling to believe any of this was really happening. She hoped it was all true. Well, most of it. Some parts made her very nervous.