Page 25 of Law

She shrugged and repeated, “Pretty much, yeah.”

“Did you ever see any documents about a man named Jaxon Ruiz?”

Lovie’s heart hurt at the mention of Jaxon’s name. It made sense that Law would know Jaxon since both men grew up in Darling. Law was a lot older, though, so they couldn’t have knowneach other well. Law’s name had never come up in the court cases, though he was one of the men who visited Jaxon in prison at least once a month, according to the prison visitor logs.

“I’ve read about the case made against him. I know it was false and, reading between the lines, I know that Jaxon was the fall guy for things the General did.”

“Holy fuck. No wonder they want you back. Do you know where all the bodies are buried? Figuratively speaking.”

Wait. She hadn’t expected him to say that. “You believe me?”

He gripped her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “What kind of question is that? Of course, I believe you.”

The relief that swept over her was hard to contain. She wanted to kiss him. Instead, she pulled away and stared down at her stuffies for a minute before meeting his gaze. “I’m glad you believe me. Not many people do. But, yeah, I know where all the bodies are buried.”

CHAPTER 9

As soon as her Viking mentioned they were headed to Sabre, Lovie’s stomach twisted in knots. They had spent the past several days documenting everything she could recall from what she had read over the past four years.

“Are you sure they want me there? What if they don’t like me?” Lovelyn asked for the tenth time.

Sure, Law had told her all about the people she’d be meeting. He’d even written it down for her, including names and descriptions of all his brothers and the women in their lives. There were a lot of them. Like, a whole lot.

And since this was the town of Darling, they were free to carry on in their Little space or Big space, or anywhere they liked. As a resort town for families with children, Darling centered around all things fun and fabulous about childhood. Visitors never suspected that the residents were practicing the DDlg lifestyle; they believed the people of Darling were the nicest, most understanding individuals in the world.

According to what she’d read in The Daily Nugget, the visitors were right. However, everyone in the room she was about to enterhad been living the lifestyle for a while now. And Lovie had never met an actual Little before. Not in person.

Her Viking, as always, had his hand on her thigh. He’d bought her several pairs of shorts, skirts, and dresses so he could put his hand on her skin.

“I don’t want anything keeping me from touching your silky skin or anything else I wish to touch,” he’d said. And the one time she put her leggings back on, he’d torn them off her and spanked her bottom.

“They are going to adore you. Are you joking? What’s not to like? You’re as sassy as sassafras tea. The girls will love you for your t-shirts alone. I give it three weeks before they offer you a crown.”

Oh, wow. That was a lot to process. Today, her shirt read, “Stop Rushing Me. I’m Waiting For The Last Minute.” She had to glance down to read it to be sure. That pretty much summed it up on most days.

Now, to examine Law's points one by one. She was a lawyer, after all, on paper anyway. “First, I’m not sassy. I’m loquacious. Wait, no, that isn’t first. That’s second. The real first is, what do I have to do to get the crown sooner?”

Her Viking smiled, sending swirling butterflies winging through her stomach and fluttering downward. He was beautiful in a scary tattooed Viking kind of way. If he smiled like that again, she might forgive him for constantly throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her where he wanted her to be.

Shoot! She’d decided to show him how much his caveman tactics upset her by not talking to him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Every time her stepfather had refused speak to her when she’d been a child made her feel isolated and unimportant, something she didn’t want to inflict on Law no matter how many times she got tossed over his shoulder. “Sorry, fairy cat. I don’t know of any shortcuts.You’ll have to be patient. But the sass will help.”

Aw, she hated waiting. Wait, what did he say? She crossed her arms and glared at him. “I already told you I’m not sassy. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

That would show him. When in doubt, quote your favorite movie, and hers wasThe Princess Bride. Not that a Viking like him would be caught dead watching a movie like that.

He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road. “Inconceivable!”

Her jaw nearly hit the seat. He had quoted the movie as well, with a lisp and everything. “You’ve seen The Princess Bride?”

“Of course, I’ve seen it. What, do you think I’ve lived under a rock all my life?”

Great. Now, she’d insulted him. “You couldn’t fit under a rock, um, Viking. Besides, Vikings live in longhouses, but theirs aren’t made of glass. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He flashed her a lopsided grin. “I was just teasing you, fairy cat. I’m not upset. I do have a question. What’s up with you and Vikings?”

“You don’t like Vikings?”

“I like Vikings just fine. I’m just not sure why you call me Viking. Should I be honored or offended?”

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