Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 151489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
“Trey, you can’t let her talk to me like that! This rudeness is uncalled for.”
“He’s not going to help you,” sang Taryn. “He likes sex too much to interfere.”
“There she goes again with that language. You shouldn’t talk like that in front of your elders, and you especially shouldn’t mention it in the presence of your own father and uncle.”
Lance did look as though talk of sex was making him a little uncomfortable, but – petty though it might be – Taryn was fine with that. She cocked her head at Greta. “So let me get this right: I can’t mention sex, but Dominic can deliver sleazy chat up line after sleazy chat up line, and that’s okay?”
Dominic pouted. “Aw, come on, Taryn, smile. It’s the second best thing you can do with your lips.”
Taryn flapped her arms. “I give up.”
Trey threw the last of his cake at him, growling. Dominic, of course, just laughed.
“It was a very nice ceremony,” declared Don, obviously hoping to change the subject.
“It was,” agreed Taryn. “Thanks again Nick for performing it for us.”
“No problem. I was happy to do it.” For like the millionth time, his gaze wandered to Shaya who, for like the millionth time, met his gaze and blushed. Caleb had also noticed and had been teasing her all night long about it, hence why she’d bitch slapped him at one point. Not many people were capable of making Shaya blush – she was just so flirtatious and bubbly – so it would be interesting to see if anything happened between her and Nick.
“I still can’t believe that you had a mating ceremony,” Tao said to Trey. “There isn’t a romantic bone in your body.”
“Oh and you’re a regular Romeo, are you, Tao?” Taryn’s question was rhetorical.
“Hey, I admit it – the likelihood of me ever having one is slimmer than slim.”
“Same here,” said Trick. Ryan grunted, agreeing with him.
Trey tskd. “You say that now, but it’ll be different when you meet your mate. They have a way of always getting what they want.” He gave Taryn a mock scowl. She smiled brightly.
Dante snorted. “Look, I’m not saying I wouldn’t have a ceremony. You know me, I love parties and if there’s an excuse to throw one, I’ll do it. But if you’re insinuating that anyone could have me wrapped around their little finger, you’re damn wrong.”
Marcus turned to Dominic. “With all your lines, they’ll be wrapped around your little finger,” he said sarcastically. “There’s no way a woman could possibly resist your charm.”
Dominic smiled. “Or my dick. Don’t worry, I won’t get it out. I don’t want you all to get intimidated. And in the interest of health and safety, I think it’s better that he’s not unleashed.”
Taryn gaped when Greta laughed. Laughed! “Excuse me a sec,” said Taryn, standing up, “I need to pee again.” Seeing that Marcus and Trick were trying to hide laughs, she smacked them both over the head as she passed the table.
“Hey, wait, I’ll come with you,” called Shaya. “So how are you feeling?” she asked as they walked, gesturing to Taryn’s belly.
“Fine, just irritated by the constant need to pee. How are you?”
“I’m good. Speaking of pee, I swear I almost peed in my pants earlier. Isn’t Dominic hilarious! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.”
“Yes, he is. And very cute. So is Nick.”
“Don’t start trying to play matchmaker.”
“Would I do that?” Taryn asked with mock innocence. Shaya snorted. After a quick journey to her en-suite bathroom to answer the call of nature, they both descended the steps of the mountain. To Taryn’s complete surprise, Lance was waiting for her at the bottom.
“I’ll just go back to the party and wait there,” announced Shaya, her expression confused.
Taryn faced her father and raised a brow questioningly.
For a few seconds, he just looked at her. Then, having cleared his throat, he finally spoke. “I’m not going to make excuses for any of my behavior toward you, but I will tell you that a big part of it was that you looked so much like your mom that it made recovering from her death that much harder. I know that’s not an excuse, and like I said, I’m not going to make any. Why are you looking at me like that?”
Her frown deepened. “It’s just that you sound, well, normal. I’m not sure whether that means we need to increase your medication or mine.”
He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, as I was saying, a decent father would have been there for you after your mom’s death. Maybe another father wouldn’t have shoved you aside on discovering that you were latent, or maybe he would’ve done exactly as I did. But I lied when I said that her mom would have turned her back on you. She never would have done that.”