Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
He leaned down and kissed her, and she was pretty sure he was too good to be true.
Chapter Three
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
Zach stopped shaving and looked over to where his brother stood. Cooper was already dressed to go into the office. “Getting ready to go to brunch and then trying to figure out how to get my reports done asap so I can spend the afternoon with her, too. After the conference meeting, of course. Can’t miss that, but then I think Big Tag won’t care if I have everything done that I need to do.”
He was feeling optimistic, but then a night of ridiculously hot sex with a woman he was crazy about put him in a good mood. It hadn’t simply been the sex. It had been the real intimacy. She’d been open and honest with him. They’d really talked.
He’d really lied. But not about the important stuff. Just the stuff that could get her killed.
“I meant with Devi. Hunter told me you played with her last night, and Tris mentioned you two left the club together. I happen to know you didn’t walk into this house until about an hour ago,” Cooper pointed out.
Damn. He washed the shaving cream from his face and dried off before turning to Cooper. “I stayed at her place. We went out for waffles and ended up talking all night. I didn’t realize there was a curfew. I’m sorry. I’ll let you know next time. I appreciate you letting me stay here. I hate getting stuck in hotels.”
“And if I ask you to back away from Devi?” Cooper asked.
Wow. He felt himself stand up straighter, felt his fists threaten to clench. He kind of thought he would pick his brother over anyone, would do whatever it took to make Cooper feel comfortable around him but this…no. He liked Devi. He felt good when he was around her, and even if this wasn’t going to last forever, he wanted the time with her. She was important.
Before he could formulate a response, a slow smile crossed Coop’s face. “You like her.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. His brother was pressing a button to see how he would respond. He could understand. Cooper had known Devi his whole life. “I like her. I like her a lot. I…I don’t think I’ve liked anyone in a long time the way I like her.”
“I think that’s great,” Cooper said, leaning against the wall. He looked all happy and carefree now. “Devi’s a great girl, and she’s been looking for a play partner for a long time.”
It felt too good to have his brother on his side, but he should make his position clear. “It doesn’t bother you I want to date Devi?”
Cooper sobered. “Date? As in see her outside the club?”
Why did everyone think he only wanted a club relationship? He liked regular things. He liked movies and waffles and hanging out in places where there were no spanking benches. “Well, I definitely saw her outside the club last night. I’m planning on the same tonight.”
Cooper nodded. “I like it. Devi needs someone with a firm hand when it comes to D/s and an indulgent one in life. But you know she’s planning on moving, right? She wants to get back to Manhattan.”
He thought Coop was wrong. They’d spent several hours in an all-night diner talking about this. She’d told him what was going on in her career. “It’s not about the city. It’s about the job. She’s been applying at a bunch of design houses. That’s what she called them. The New York ones didn’t pan out. She’s trying to get into sportswear or something. I think she should do fet wear. The stuff she does is stunning and easy to use, if you know what I mean.”
Cooper nodded. “She did a couple of Kala’s corsets, and she designed Carys’s wedding dress. Not that she got to wear it for long.”
Zach winced. He’d heard about what happened at the failed wedding of Aidan and Carys. He was kind of glad since he knew how much Tristan loved them both. Tris was trying to distance because of the secret op they were involved in. The one none of their team knew about.
But then Tristan didn’t know the whole story either. Tristan had no idea how Zach manipulated the situation, and he was going to keep it that way. “She showed me some of her work when we went back to her place. She’s so talented. If she ends up in LA or Paris or wherever, the good news is I can travel.”
“I’m glad you’re serious. Devi’s great. You should know though that Kala loves her cousin and if you fuck her over…”
“She will kill me. I’m cool with that. I have zero intentions of fucking Devi over. I’m going to get to know her.”