Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
“So this is a massive headache for you, but mostly, you’re upset the female you knew and cared about might turn out to be one serious asshole, and you can’t tell her to go fuck herself and be done with her.”
That brought me a glamorous white grin. “Exactly.”
I was not smiling when I said, “I’m sorry, honey.”
He shook his head, took a sip of his drink, and replied, “Don’t be. We’re getting closer to the threat being neutralized, if, indeed, they intend to carry it through now that we’ve found each other. Your beast will emerge very soon. I’ve done that bloody interview, and both of our approval ratings are up, something neither of us care about, but it’s making Mom and Germaine stay off our backs. We’ll get through the engagement photo op and interview, we’ll deal with your bloody parents, and then we can fucking relax for a while. At least until the Masque.”
He might be able to.
I was way behind on work.
I didn’t mention that.
I said, “Do you want to finish that?” I tipped my head to his drink. “Or do you want to go to bed?”
He leaned forward and set his glass on the table in front of the couch. He then took mine and did the same.
But he replied, “I don’t want to go to bed.”
I fought pouting.
Aleksei twisted into me, taking me to my back on the couch.
My belly dropped and my sex flooded.
“We’re going to fuck right here,” he murmured, his eyes lazy with banked purple fire.
“That’s good for me,” I wheezed.
That earned me another grin.
Then I got a kiss.
After that, I got well and truly fucked on the couch.
Mixed bag evening with the Anna news.
But for the most part, our couch action put the cherry on top of an awesome night.
Chapter 28
One
The next evening, we were on the couch, and I was multitasking, because I was screwed.
I had my tablet hovering in front of me (Aleksei showed me it also had hovering capabilities, which was so cool it was unreal) and I’d entered the measurements of the heroine of the movie I was working on into the Seam-Stitch at the studio. Now I was selecting the textiles to go with each part of the pattern and entering all her costumes into the queue, so the Seam-Stitch could build them.
What screwed me was, I’d left it too long. The Seam-Stitch had a big backlog that had been programmed in by other productions. With each costume I was entering, the estimated time of completion was just the day before the fitting appointment I had with the actress playing heroine, which was four days from now.
I needed to get all of them entered before someone else threw something at the system and slowed my roll.
I also needed to get the other characters’ designs entered, because the fitting appointments were stacking up and I didn’t need the stress, or what it would say to Bodi that his suddenly very famous costume designer was falling down on the job just weeks before we were to begin filming.
I had a feeling he cared more that his actors had something to wear than he did about me finding my mate.
Aleksei was on his back on the couch beside me, his head on my thigh, reading a book (yep, a real one!), his long legs up, calves resting on the back of the couch, ankles crossed, showing again his capacity to be cute.
Nova was lounged on him, stomach to stomach, purring loudly because she was with her chosen one, and he was stroking her, head and booty (again with the cute).
And my multitasking included my work with the Seam-Stitch, my fingers playing with a curl of Aleksei’s hair (see? hover capacity with tablets ruled!), and I was on a comm with my friend, the designer, Lancet.
“I’ve been waiting for you to comm about this since the minute I saw you on the dragon’s back!” he complained. “Now, I don’t even have a month.”
I’d had a conversation with no less than four people that day (Nata, Allain, Queen Calisa and Germaine) about whether I should design my gown for the Masque or honor another designer with outfitting me for my first public and official event as Aleksei’s mate and the future queen.
Allain and Queen Calisa said designer, because this would highlight the talent of a citizen of Night’s Fall, something I would need to consider doing on the regular.
Nata and Germaine said me, because they felt it would show the realm my talent, and make them feel they knew a little more about me.
I decided Lancet, because he was immensely talented, but his label was relatively new, and he needed the exposure.
And because he was a friend.
“I have some ideas,” I told him, touching my stylus on the enter button on my tablet to send off another costume, then pulling up the next one.