Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Shit.
“A spanking kind of consequence?” Somehow he’d shifted from pissed-off little to naughty and tempting in the flash of an eye. “Learning lessons is important.”
I wasn’t sure I was ready to ask what he was actually thinking, but I definitely wasn’t going to agree with him.
“I will not reward you for being dramatic.” The way he’d talked about spankings when he was little made me think they’d fall into the fun category no matter what headspace he was in. “I can, however, figure out lines you need to write or decide how long you need to stand in the corner.”
His dramatic sigh had me trying not to smile. “I’ve learned my lesson. Less drama. More communication. Got it.”
Brat.
“I’m so glad we’ve got that handled.” Tugging him just a bit closer, I thought about spanking him and let him see some of it in my eyes. I wasn’t going to do anything or say anything until I’d figured a few things out, but if he wanted more Dom and less grandma, I could do that. “I’d like to enjoy our date so I can show you off.”
The shiver that raced through him said he was thinking naughty thoughts, but he kept them to himself. “To my family?”
Rolling my eyes got a giggle from him. “To everyone.”
Letting my gaze scan down his body, I enjoyed the way his shirt showed off his chest and how the tight black pants he’d picked out showed off his legs. Somewhere over the last twenty-four hours I’d finally realized that he was a grown-up and not the kid I’d kept imagining him as. “Everyone.”
“Yes…I…” Sighing, he nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
There was no way I was going to ask a single clarifying question…he’d tell me what he was thinking.
“Good boy.” I was totally screwed. “Now, I’m ready for dinner and you’re going to behave.”
He nodded slowly, but his eyes had glazed over and I wasn’t sure he was completely with me any longer. “Yes, Sir. I’ll be a good boy.”
At least he was being polite?
“I’m glad.” For a variety of reasons. “If you can behave, we’ll talk about a reward later.”
I was a moron.
But I was a moron who had Orlando’s brain tuning back into reality. “What kind of reward?”
I shrugged, wrapping his arm around mine and getting a smile as I started the romantic portion of our date. “Maybe dessert. Maybe something else. I’ll have to think about it.”
Was I being deliberately vague?
Of course not.
I just hadn’t thought about what would come next and spelling it out didn’t seem like a good idea. The anticipation of what it might be would definitely get better behavior from him.
“Dessert is just part of the meal.” Orlando looked deviously innocent as I started us walking again. “Terrence said so. Dessert is only a treat when it’s unexpected.”
Bullshit.
“There’s no way Enzo agreed with that logic.” One glare at Orlando had him giving me a beaming smile. “Enzo didn’t. Terrence was just trying to convince his friend that was how dessert worked.”
He was a terrible influence.
“I like the logic.” Swinging my hand, Orlando stopped himself after a second and sighed. “You make it hard to stay big all the time.”
I thought that was a good thing, but since he didn’t, we needed to fix it. “Then we’ll talk about grown-up stuff and we won’t talk about Terrence or little stuff.”
It should’ve been simple but he glanced over at me like I’d said something confusing. “Like what? Like real-date stuff?”
Real date?
Real versus pretend?
Fuck it all.
“Yes.” What the fuck were we doing? “You can tell me about your week and I can tell you about mine. You could tell me what the family is doing and I can commiserate with you about the chaos they’ve caused.”
That finally got a laugh from him. “Lots. They’re still trying to break into Enzo’s house. He thinks the weather has been too mild lately and he’s hoping it drops in temperature so they get too cold to cause problems.”
“Does he know who he’s talking about?” They would not let a bit of bad weather or even a blizzard stop them. “There’s no way that will work.”
“I know.” Orlando’s shrug said we were on the same page with that. “But I’m enjoying the chaos and it’s keeping them out of my hair for the most part.”
Hmm…
“For the most part?” My question had him sighing, which was not a good sign. “What did they do?”
“Well, my mother called this morning at a truly insane hour and wanted to know if I’d like to make a trip to the library with her.” Good grief. My wince made him smile for a moment but it faded quickly. “And Uncle Marty texted me later asking what my thoughts were on a summer wedding. He said it was just to settle an argument but it was concerning.”