Page 103 of Protector Daddy

Mav immediately cursed and lowered his gaze. “Fuck, man, I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. And for what it’s worth, my sister is so into you, I have a feeling you could propose with a cardboard ring, and she’d dance down the aisle. Not saying I recommend that move, mind you.”

I rubbed the ache in my chest and stared sightlessly at the half-done report on my computer screen. “I can’t lose Honey. I need to figure this out.”

“She’s not going anywhere.”

“I’m buying her that Kindle. She loves reading. Then she’ll think of me every time she opens the cover.”

“If you get her the same model as she requested, pretty sure she’ll be thinking of Mr. Styles, but whatever gets you through the night.” Mav held up his hands. “Go you. We share a family account so if you want, I can let you know her favorite authors so you can stuff it with some new books. Or just get her a gift card.”

“Can you tell me her favorite authors? I want this gift to be as personalized as possible.”

“Sure, hang on. I have my own Kindle in my bag so I can see what she’s downloaded recently. Most of the time, I stay in my lane and avoid her books entirely. Except one time I saw a dude on the cover who was blue with a giant erection.” He lowered his voice. “Reminded me of Van’s drawings, but she swears she didn’t do that cover.”

“What? She mentioned they were steamy but not…that.”

“Steamy is one word for them. I peeked inside, and well, I learned to stick to my graphic novels like your brother writes.”

“Penn?”

“Unless Mr. Hair Gel has a secret sideline between all his posing.” Mav shook his head and went to grab his Kindle.

He returned quickly. Mav’s cover was a simple black with a hand-drawn decal of a skull and crossbones with an impressive amount of glitter.

“Van’s work?” I guessed.

“Of course. She wanted me to look bad ass.”

“You mean, your Kindle to look badass? Which negates the whole badass business to begin with.”

“You’re not very grateful for a guy who’s getting primo Christmas shopping intel right here.”

“I actually am. I really appreciate it.”

Mav opened his Kindle, pressed a few buttons, and then handed it over, pointing out the fifth item on the screen. “There’s blue dick. It’s called Cerulean Planet.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad. How do I open it?”

He told me to click the cover and how to turn pages.

I made it about ten pages before there was hardcore porn in verbal form on my screen. “Holy crap. No wonder she’s so horny.”

“Fuck, man, I’m taking that away from you.” He ripped his Kindle out of my hand, and it took a good amount of pleading and a vow of silence to get him to return it. “I’m going back to my desk. I can’t deal with you right now.”

“Okay, thanks,” I said distantly, already sucked into the next book I’d come across.

This one wasn’t science fiction and seemed set in the current time period. A couple times, I had to swallow my laughter. Soon, I realized I’d been reading for like fifteen minutes.

My shift was passing and I had not finished my report.

I was going down a dangerously derelict path. I hadn’t read anything but Dean Koontz novels and the local newspaper since high school. But man, these things could suck you in.

Though, shit, I’d have to write down this title and author and get a copy for myself to read on my phone because I had to give Mav back his Kindle soon.

I took about ten screenshots so I had a record of Honey’s favorites then returned Mav’s Kindle, dropping it in the center of his desk. About two minutes later, he finished a phone call and raised his brows at me. “So?”

“I like her books. Well, at least the couple I tried so far.”

“You do?” He shook his head. “Explains a lot. I don’t want to know. So you’re good for Christmas?”

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