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)
“Seriously? Every single one of the Torpedo Ink members is lost without the others. I doubt if they could exist if they left the club. Having said that, Reaper definitely doesn’t do well without me. I feel that responsibility every single day. I don’t think Czar would do so well without you, Blythe. Where is this coming from?”
A young woman with a wealth of thick black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail approached the table. “Have you had a chance to look at the menu?” She smiled at Lyric. “I’m Sabelia.”
The first thing Lyric noticed was that Sabelia wore a mask—not a tangible one, but a mask nevertheless. Lyric always recognized masks because she wore one. That’s how she’d gotten together with Keys in the first place. She studied the woman without seeming to. She was very young. She had enormous dark green eyes shaped like a cat’s. Her features were very delicate. She appeared open and friendly, with a slightly impish smile, but just as Lyric always did, she was using a fake persona to help her get through her workday.
“The apricot scones are amazing,” Blythe said. “We’d like high tea with all the works, Sabelia.” She pointed it out on the menu to Lyric. “You’ll be able to sample all kinds of things if we order that, and each of us can choose a different tea.”
They put in their order and Sabelia hurried away. Other customers had come in, and she was suddenly quite busy.
“Blythe?” Anya persisted. “What’s wrong?”
Blythe leaned her forehead into her palm. “I don’t know exactly. I’m so restless. I feel cooped up all the time. I’ve gotten to the point that I feel like I talk to kids and teens all day and have no adult interaction whatsoever.”
“You have a lot of children, Blythe,” Anya pointed out. “And very little help. I can see you getting overwhelmed.”
“Everyone thinks I’m such a saint,” Blythe said. “I hate that they think that. I can’t complain or throw a little temper tantrum because I have to live up to my saintly status.” She looked up at Lyric. “You’re definitely getting a baptism by fire. First Seychelle and now me.”
“You’re entitled,” Lyric said. She was used to conversations with women, what with having had a beauty salon for several years. “I don’t have children, but if I did, I wouldn’t want to spend every waking minute with them. And who wants to be known as a saint? No one can live up to that reputation. No one.”
Blythe scrubbed her hand down her face. “Club members collect lost children like candy and bring them home to me. It isn’t that I don’t want them, I do, but I’m tired. Really, really tired. Saint Blythe apparently has limitations. It’s just that no one can see them.”
Anya reached over the table and took Blythe’s hand. “Honey, you need to talk to Czar and have him put a stop to it. There are others who would be willing to help by taking in a child or two if it was needed.”
“I can’t talk to Czar. I’d be letting him down.”
There it was. Did every woman fear she was letting her man down? Lyric certainly felt Keys carried the weight of their relationship. Seychelle felt Savage did. Now, Blythe admitted to being fearful of telling her husband she was tired and couldn’t take on another child at the moment.
“It isn’t just that I don’t want to let him down,” Blythe said. “These children had been trafficked and have special needs. They aren’t easy, but they deserve a home where they feel safe and loved. I know I can provide that for them. I also know others have said they would be willing to take a child if needed. Airiana and Max have four they adopted and now a toddler. I’m going to just come out and say it. They have to sneak out of the house to have any sexual relationship at all. Czar isn’t like Max—he doesn’t care who is around, but I do. If we have trouble, and we’re tame in comparison to some of the others, how would it affect their marriage, bringing a child into it? I have to think about that.”
Lyric shook her head. “No, you don’t. They have to think about that before they volunteer to take on a child. All of us do. You only have to consider how children affect you and Czar, not any of the others. That’s for them to decide.”
“She’s right, Blythe,” Anya agreed. “Every single couple, including Reaper and me, has to figure it out ourselves. The sex with any member of Torpedo Ink appears to be wild, there’s no question about it. Some, like Savage, have proclivities that aren’t good to expose a child to. He isn’t the only one, but all of us can learn to be more circumspect when it comes to sex. It’s just another evolution we all have to embrace. It doesn’t mean giving it up, it means learning how to handle it when we have children around.”