Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
It wouldn’t be hard to have him around. It also helped that Horse didn’t like Eli as much as he did Kellan. He smirked as he remembered Horse walking around with Eli’s shoe in his mouth.
Arabella had been horrified.
Kellan was just amused.
Finally, as the sun was close to rising, he gave up and left the house. He took a walk around outside first.
What the fuck was going on here?
It didn’t make a lot of sense.
But he was determined to get to the bottom of it. No one messed with Kellan Jones’s girl.
No one.
28
“Ireally think I should be allowed out of bed, Eli,” she said with exasperation.
“Nope,” Eli told her. “I’m going to order some room service for breakfast. What would you like?”
“Um, I don’t know.” Right now what she really wanted was to get out of bed and pee and shower.
“We’ll go for some eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausages, fruit salad, and oatmeal. Will that be enough?” he asked. “None of that should have peanuts although I will double check.”
“Enough for who? The three of us? I don’t know.”
“No. For you, baby.”
“Eli Jones. I won’t eat that much.”
He eyed her for a long moment. “You missed dinner.”
“So? I’ve missed plenty of meals and I’m fine.”
“You have? Why? Who made you miss meals?”
“No one made me. Sometimes I get deeply involved with a cake and I forget what time it is.”
“That won’t be happening anymore.” He pointed at her. “No skipping meals.”
She sighed. “I wasn’t doing it on purpose, you know.”
“Still not happening. We’re in charge of taking care of you now.”
“I feel like you think that gives you the right to be bossy.”
“Nope,” he said.
Nope? That was surprising.
“Bossier,” he added with a grin.
This guy. She shook her head at him. “I think it’s physically impossible for you to get bossier.”
“Oh, think again,” he said. “I can always be bossier. And wait until Kellan winds up into full-on protective mode. He’s going to make me look like I’m easygoing.”
“What are you talking about? Kellan is protective now.”
He just grinned.
He was teasing her. He had to be, right?
“Will Kellan be back from his run soon?” she asked. “Shall we order him breakfast?”
“Yeah, I’ll order him some food.”
She pushed the covers back and slid her legs over the side of the bed.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Eli said, turning and pointing a finger at her. “Stay.”
To her shock, Horse rose from where he’d been lying beside her and placed himself over her lap.
She stared down at him in shock. Eli looked surprised then smug. “See? Even Horse agrees. Good dog. I’ll order you a bone.”
Lord.
She rolled her eyes so hard she nearly hurt herself. “First, I don’t think they have bone service here. And second, I have to use the facilities.”
“The facilities?” he asked.
“Yes, the toilet. I need the toilet.”
He grinned. “You can say the word ‘toilet’ to me, baby. One day, I’m going to have my tongue over every inch of your body. I think I can handle knowing you have to pee.”
Hmm. He had a point.
“I’m not used to being in a relationship that wasn’t very formal and almost . . . choreographed, I guess you would say. Other than my boyfriend in high school, my only two relationships were arranged.”
“Those weren’t relationships,” he said, frowning. “That was coercion and abuse.”
She shook her head. “I wanted to be engaged to Cole. I thought he was my ticket out of my life.” And it had hurt a lot when he’d ended things.
“And that first asshole . . . that wasn’t a proper relationship either.”
No, it hadn’t been.
“So what you’re saying is that I’ve never had a proper relationship with a man? At twenty-six?”
Wow. She was pathetic.
“Not a relationship where a man cares about you. Where it means something. Where he wants you and puts you first. That’s a proper relationship. Where you’re taken care of and your needs aren’t just met but exceeded.”
She sucked in a breath. “Right. You’re right. I’ve never had that.”
“You do now.”
Arabella swallowed heavily and nodded. She definitely hoped so. “That still doesn’t change the fact that I have to pee.”
“All right, baby. But I’ll take you. Horse, off.”
Horse just stared at him as if to say that he didn’t take orders from this man. Which was funny but a bit too little too late in her opinion.
“Horse, off,” she said.
Horse heaved a sigh and got off.
“Oh, Horse will need to go outside too.” Some dog owner she was. “I’ll take him down first.”
“I’ll take him down in a minute. First, you.” He carried her into the bathroom and set her down in front of the toilet. “Do you need any help?”
“What? No! Sheesh.” What sort of help would she need? “Out!”
“And you think we’re the bossy ones,” he grumbled. “Call for me when you’re done.”
She sighed as she used the toilet and got up to wash her hands. A squeal left her mouth as she took in her appearance.