Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
As her dad often hung out there, she avoided it as though she would die if she walked through the doors.
“Harlow, do you want to do this? I wanted to watch scenes with you so I would get an idea of what you enjoy, but you’ve done nothing but get more uncomfortable with every scene.” Niall had his hands on her shoulders, a comforting warmth. “I’ve never seen you play. I’ve heard you once did, but I haven’t witnessed it.”
Because she’d been so upset about Jensen. Was she going to allow that asshole to ruin everything for her?
Niall had been lovely. He was everything she wanted in a Dom. He was comfortable talking about his wants and needs and wanted to listen to her. He’d been patient, and she understood his issues. He was being careful with her. It felt nice.
Of course she’d also liked the rough way Jensen had barged in, shoving an asshole aside and telling him to get lost because she was taken.
It wasn’t feminist of her, but she’d been all over him that very night.
Was she holding back on Niall because of what Jensen had done? She wasn’t telling him what her problem was. She wasn’t asking him for what she needed. The truth was she wasn’t giving him a real chance.
She turned and took his hand, leading him away from the stage. When they were on the outer edges of the crowd, she turned to him. “I haven’t played in a long time, and everyone is watching me. I’m nervous, and I hate to admit that. Honestly, I’m wondering if this isn’t a terrible idea.”
He took her hand and started to walk away, moving toward the locker rooms.
Was he done with her? Was he giving up the first time she had one worry?
She started to pull her hand away but he pulled her close.
“Go and get dressed. We’re going to my place. We’ll pick up some food on the way and we’ll talk in private,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re right. This is a lot, and we don’t need this kind of pressure. Not on our first night. Don’t take too long, princess.”
He kissed her forehead and stepped back, a challenging look on his face.
“You want to go back to your place?” Harlow asked.
“If we go back to my place, I don’t think your family is going to show up. Even if they do, they won’t be able to figure out how to get up to my studio,” he replied. “I typically go through the gym. You can tell Ruby where you’re going if you’re afraid.”
That made her eyes roll. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“Yeah, we’re going to talk about rolling your eyes at me when we’re in this place.” He leaned in, his voice going low. “I want you to keep doing it because I’ll spank that gorgeous ass of yours every single time.”
The thought sent a thrill down her spine. Damn it. Her long dead libido was starting to come back to life, and she did not want to stop it. “I’ll be quick, Sir. Are we taking my car or yours?”
“Oh, I’m driving. It’s a piece of crap but I love that junker. I’ll be waiting right here.”
She hurried along.
An hour later Harlow was fairly certain this man had figured out the way to her heart.
French fries.
“So you had private tutors because no school wanted to deal with your dad?”
He seemed amused with her stories of Deranged Dad. “Not really, but he was a pain in the ass. My dad is a genius. I mean he’s so smart his brain doesn’t function on the normal level, and that includes being able to handle things in a reasonable fashion. He has an eidetic memory.”
“Is that where he remembers everything?”
Harlow nodded. “Everything. It’s annoying, and he loves to argue. But it wasn’t his fault we ended up with private tutors. My sister caught a lot of hell because of how odd our family was. There was a lot of teasing, and she was kind of an outcast.”
“I’m sure that was hard, but it would have been hard on you, too.”
She shook her head. “Not the same way. Greer always wanted to fit in. Don’t get me wrong. She loves our parents. She would never be upset at our parents, but it had an effect on her when some mean girls put shit on social media about us. There were a lot of gang bang jokes and some guys who thought maybe if Greer’s mom didn’t mind a couple of guys, she wouldn’t either.”
His face flushed with obvious anger. “Tell me your dad fucked them up.”
“Yeah, one of the girl’s fathers was involved in some business with my father’s friends. They have this investment group. The Masters Fund. The fund decided to sell their shares in her dad’s company, and they were bought in a hostile takeover shortly thereafter. They pretty much lost everything. He was kinder to the parents who were embarrassed. A couple of the parents apologized profusely. I took care of the kids, though. Their parents shouldn’t suffer, but they needed to pay.”