Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
“Not so much,” Seychelle denied. “He’s going to be so upset.”
“He should be,” Blythe said. “If he isn’t upset when you put yourself in a position where you could die, then he doesn’t really love you.”
Seychelle knew Blythe was stalling getting out of the car. She must have texted Steele the minute Seychelle confessed she’d helped the woman hit by the car. Motorcycles were already arriving, parking beside them in a neat row. Lyric recognized Steele from all the times he’d visited to heal her. With him were Maestro and Keys and definitely Savage.
Savage opened the door on the passenger side and, without a word, scooped Seychelle up in his arms, cradling her close to his chest. He wore an expressionless mask, one Lyric had seen on Keys often: the grim one, meaning they were going to be talking later—or he was.
“Take her to the back room in the tea shop,” Steele said. “I texted Hannah, and she has no problem with me using the space to take a look at Seychelle.”
“I’m sorry,” Lyric heard Seychelle whisper.
“We knew it would happen, baby,” Savage said. “We’ll just figure out a way to make you safer. It’s a compulsion you can’t help.”
“But I didn’t call you or Steele,” she confessed in that same muffled whisper.
Lyric had climbed out of the car and was following Savage as he crossed the sidewalk and opened the door to the tea shop. Several hats jingled merrily as he yanked at the door. Immediately, the mingled fragrant scents wafted from the inside to the sidewalk, inviting them in.
“We’ll talk about that later, Seychelle,” Savage said with calm assurance. “Right now, let Steele take a look at you. He’ll know what to do.”
Lyric followed Blythe and Anya into the tea shop. She was very aware Keys, Maestro and Steele were right behind them. Blythe reached out to Steele. “Thanks for coming right away. I have no idea if she’s perfectly fine or not, but thought it best if you examined her.”
“No problem, Blythe. This is my job.” Steele gave her a reassuring smile. “We aren’t going to let anything happen to Seychelle. Go enjoy yourselves while you can.”
Lyric stood by the window uncertainly, watching Maestro enter the back of the shop before Steele. Keys sent Lyric one look from his glittering eyes and paced behind Steele, looking for all the world like a very scary assassin—exactly what he was. But that single look acknowledged her. Made her feel seen by him.
“Come on, Lyric, let’s get a table. Seychelle is going to be just fine.” Blythe led the way to a booth by a window. “As you know, Steele can fix anything. He’s amazing.”
“You know Savage won’t be letting Seychelle out of his sight for months,” Anya said. “Reaper even tried to talk to him about it a few weeks ago, said he holds on to her too tight. That’s always been Savage’s fear, that a woman could never live with that kind of control.”
“That’s what he fears?” Blythe looked shocked. “That he’s too controlling? For heaven’s sake, Anya, I know he’s your brother-in-law and you have loyalty for him. I do too, just because he’s Torpedo Ink and he’s so serious about guarding Czar. But I asked Czar once about the rumors regarding Savage being a sexual sadist, and he said it was true. Maybe that’s what he should be worried about.”
Lyric turned her head to stare out the window. Keys wasn’t a sadist, but he definitely didn’t mind mixing pain and pleasure. Some of the time, when they came together, it was rough and intense and scary as hell. She had been on the verge of flight just because she’d never in her life experienced anything remotely as intense as she did with Keys. But…
She looked toward the back room where Savage had carried Seychelle. For the first time in her life, she identified with another woman. Seychelle seemed open and friendly, but any woman who loved a man who was a sexual sadist was hiding a part of herself from the world. And for a good reason.
“That sounds very judgmental, Blythe. I don’t know either of them,” she said out loud, looking toward Blythe without looking her in the eye. “But when he looked at her, his entire expression changed. Everything about him changed.” She rarely challenged someone with her opinion if she didn’t know them, but she felt like she had to stand up for Savage and Seychelle. In doing so, she was standing up for Keys and herself.
Blythe looked horrified. “I do sound judgmental. I love Savage. I do. I don’t know why I sounded like that.” She looked at Anya and then Lyric. “He’s wonderful in so many ways. The kids adore him. And like everyone, I worried that we might lose him until Seychelle came along. I believe we’re each responsible for our own happiness…” She trailed off when Anya leaned toward her shaking her head.