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False Start (Vegas Aces: The Playbook

Book 2) Lisa Suzanne


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FALSE START
VEGAS ACES: THE PLAYBOOK
BOOK TWO
© LISA SUZANNE 2023

All rights reserved. In accordance with the US Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading,
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or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
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author, except where permitted by law and except for excerpts used in reviews. If you would like to
use any words from this book other than for review purposes, prior written permission must be
obtained from the publisher.

Published in the United States of America by Books by LS, LLC.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people, living or dead, is purely
coincidental. All characters and events in this work are figments of the author’s imagination.
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BOOKS BY LISA SUZANNE

THE VEGAS ACES SERIES


Home Game (Book 1)
Long Game (Book 2)
Fair Game (Book 3)
Waiting Game (Book 4)
End Game (Book 5)
The Complete Series

VEGAS ACES: THE QUARTERBACK


Traded (Book 1)
Tackled (Book 2)
Timeout (Book 3)
Turnover (Book 4)
Touchdown (Book 5)

VEGAS ACES: THE TIGHT END


Tight Spot (Book 1)
Tight Hold (Book 2)
Tight Fit (Book 3)
Tight Laced (Book 4)
Tight End (Book 5)

VEGAS ACES: THE WIDE RECEIVER


Rookie Mistake (Book 1)
Hidden Mistake (Book 2)
Honest Mistake (Book 3)
No Mistake (Book 4)
Favorite Mistake (Book 5)

VEGAS HEAT: THE EXPANSION TEAM


Curveball (Book 1)
Fastball (Book 2)
Flyball (Book 3)
Groundball (Book 4)
Hardball (Book 5)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE


DEDICATION

To my family.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 2: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 3: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 4: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 5: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 6: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 7: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 8: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 9: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 10: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 11: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 12: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 13: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 14: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 15: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 16: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 17: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 18: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 19: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 20: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 21: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 22: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 23: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 24: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 25: VICTORIA
CHAPTER 26: TRAVIS
CHAPTER 1: TRAVIS

I stare at the place where her shoes were as I wait for my brain to catch up. It’s like I can’t think
straight, like I can’t really process what’s happening right now. It’s an out of body experience for a
minute where I try to make sense of what’s happening as if I’m looking over my own shoulder at the
place where the shoes should be.
Thank God I’m not one of those asshole parents who yells at my kid to put her shoes away or I
might not have noticed they were gone. They’re always right there next to the door, spaced out since
she kicks them off as she walks in, and I’ve tripped over them more than once since she moved in
only two weeks ago.
Jesus.
How has it only been two weeks? It feels like a lifetime has passed.
My brain finally catches up, though I refuse to admit it’s any sort of processing speed issue, and my
eyes focus on the front door lock.
I always lock it after I get in the house, but it’s unlocked. She snuck out the goddamn front door to
go…somewhere. But where?
Maybe she’s close. Maybe there’s no reason to panic.
I run around the perimeter of the house. I check the yard, behind the bushes, the garage…
everywhere, and I just feel like I’m wasting precious seconds.
I pull my phone out of my pocket. In a panic, I dial Evan’s number first.
“Hey, Woods, what’s going on?” he answers.
“Harper’s missing. Have you seen her?” My voice doesn’t sound like my voice. I hear the fear in
it, and that spurs me into action. I grab my car keys and slide into the Mercedes. I’ll fucking drive
around until I find her.
“She’s missing? What do you mean?”
“I mean she’s not here in the house. I went upstairs to get her from her room when dinner arrived,
and she wasn’t there. Her shoes are gone.”
I fire up the car but sit there for a second. I don’t want to not be here when she gets home. Maybe
she just went for a walk. But wouldn’t she tell me if she did?
“Oh shit,” he murmurs. “What can we do?”
“Uh, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t even know what I should be doing. I’m going to go look
for her.”
“Where?” he asks.
“The school? She likes the school…” I trail off.
“It’s a four-mile drive from your place, dude. You really think she knows the way there?”
“I have no idea but I have to try something.”
“Does she have a phone?” he asks. “You can check her location that way.”
“No, no phone,” I say as my tires squeal down my driveway. But you better believe I’m getting her
one now and I’m fucking gluing it to her. Or maybe a chip to track her location.
Okay, I know that’s potentially going overboard, but anxiety is ripping down my spine as I fear
I’ve already fucked this thing up only two weeks in. It’s on me. Whatever the reason is that she left…
it’s on me.
She couldn’t have gone too far. She was only upstairs maybe an hour or two at most, and now
she’s probably hungry and maybe scared and fuck fuck fuck.
“I’m on my way, okay?” Evan says. “Trudy and I are both here for you, whatever you need. Call
the police, too. File a missing person’s report.”
“Can you do that for me? I need to drive,” I say.
“You got it. I’ll call the police then I’ll be on my way to help search for her.”
“Thanks, man.” I cut the call as I try to figure out who else to call, but my eyes are focused on the
road and the sidewalks as I make my way toward the school. It’s dark out, and it’s hard to see, and
fucking hell, what if somebody took her? What if she’s hurt or in danger or scared right now?
What did I do to fuck this all up?
Oh, right.
I told her not to contact Hartley outside of school hours. I used a bad word. I raised my voice, and
I told her we should look at different schools again.
I feel like I can’t do anything right. Maybe I can’t. I’m struggling here. Life changed overnight for
her, but it changed overnight for me, too, and I’ve been feeling my way through this like I’m walking
through the darkness with my hands stretched out in front of me, but then I miss something right
underneath me because I can’t fucking see and that’s what takes me down.
I don’t know how to do this.
I don’t know how to raise a kid or how to parent or how to be there for somebody besides myself.
I think about calling my father. Would he even know what to do? He’s a smart man, but being a
smart man doesn’t equate to being a good father. But this is his granddaughter, and I know he bonded
with her once he found out she was my kid even though he couldn’t say anything about it.
I pull into the school parking lot and glance around. It’s quiet and peaceful here tonight, with not
even a breeze moving the swing set or rustling the trees, and it looks deserted as an elementary school
should look on a weekend evening.
My heart sinks. I have no idea what to do. I don’t know where to turn next. My stomach twists and
a loud voice in my brain reminds me that I knew I couldn’t do this. I jumped in headfirst and tried, but
I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing here.
Feeling sorry for myself isn’t the right thing to do, but I’m really not sure where to turn next.
I stare helplessly at my phone, debating whether or not to call my father and admit I fucked up
when my phone rings.
I don’t recognize the number, and the first thought that crosses my mind is that it’s someone calling
with a ransom demand to get my daughter back.
I’ve been watching too many true crime shows, I think.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Hi Travis, it’s Victoria Hartley.”
I grip the steering wheel a little tighter. Like I need more shit from her when my daughter is
missing. Is she fucking kidding me right now?
Before I get the chance to come up with some witty remark about how she must really want me if
she’s calling my personal number the night after the kiss that never should have happened, she starts
talking.
“Harper is here with me. She’s safe.”
“Oh, thank fuck.” I let out a heavy breath as the tension in my chest eases at her words, but
different emotions move into its place—namely relief fused with fury. “She’s there with you? Safe?”
“Yes.”
“And she’s okay?” I ask, my teeth gritted together as I try to keep calm.
“She’s upset, but she’s okay.”
I stare ahead of me at the school. “Where are you?”
“Home. Well, Mandy’s apartment. I’m staying with her for now.”
My curiosity is piqued as to why that’s her current situation, but there are more pressing matters at
hand than Victoria Hartley’s living situation. “Can I talk to her?”
She clears her throat. “She’s in the bathroom now, but I, uh, think it’d probably be better if you just
came to get her. She was practically hyperventilating with sobs when she started banging on my door,
and she said she didn’t know where else to go.”
“How did she know where you live?” I ask.
“I think she used some app where she could find her friends,” she says. “Do you want me to bring
her home?”
“Text me the address. I’m on my way now to come get her.” I cut the call, text Evan that I found
her, and the address comes through a few beats later. So my kid can’t fucking read, but she can use her
apps to track down where her reading teacher lives?
That kid is real fucking smart, that’s for damn sure.
It’s not far from my place, so I turn the car around and drive back toward home.
In fact, I drive by this very apartment complex nearly every single day since it’s less than a mile
from my place, and now when I drive by I’ll remember the fear of the time my little girl ran from me.
I race over to Victoria’s place, and my heart hammers in my chest as I walk from the Mercedes
toward apartment two-sixteen, the one she sent me in the text.
I’m not sure if my heart is hammering because I have to deal with my runaway kid or if it’s
because I’m about to see Hartley again.
A combination of both, I suppose, but I don’t really want Hartley to be affecting me this way.
I don’t want any of this to be my reality, yet here we are.
I raise my hand and knock three times, and then I wait.
CHAPTER 2: TRAVIS

When the door opens, Victoria stands to the side and I spot my girl standing just down the hallway.
She looks surprised to see me, and I rush over to her and collapse at her feet before I grab her into my
arms in the tightest bear hug anyone has ever given another person.
“Stop, dude, I can’t breathe,” she says, that sassiness that’s always present back in her voice.
She called me dude. That’s got to count for something.
I pull back, and that’s when the fury edges out the relief. I wrap my hands around her tiny shoulders
and get my face right up in hers. “Don’t you ever run away again, do you hear me?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“And I thought I told you to stay away from Hartley,” I snarl.
“You did, and I’m sorry but I really—”
“No buts, kid. When I ask you not to do something, or when I ask you to do something for that
matter, your job is to listen. You understand me?”
Her eyes fall to the ground. “Yes.”
“And here of all places?” I blow out a breath as I try to regain my calm. I shouldn’t talk shit about
Hartley. I know this, but she just makes me so fucking heated in every sense of the word.
The door opens and Ms. Miller walks in. She’s carrying a brown paper bag, and her brows pinch
together as she takes in the scene in front of her.
“Harper, uh, came to visit and didn’t tell her dad,” Victoria whispers to her roommate in a quick
summary of why we’re here.
“Oh, um, hi there Harper. Mr. Woods.” She nods at the two of us and sets her brown paper bag
down on the counter, and the way it clinks as she sets it down tells me she’s got liquor in there.
She shares a long look with Victoria before she glances at me, and then she looks at Harper. “Hey
Harper, can I show you something out on the balcony?” she asks.
No. No no no. I don’t want to be alone with Hartley, but Miller is forcing our hand here.
She takes Harper outside and shuts the door, and Victoria glances at me and opens her mouth to
speak, but I speak first.
“What was that look Miller gave you before she took Harper outside?” I demand.
“Look, I know you’re both going through a hard time, and I know you don’t like me, but I’m an
adult she trusts, so maybe you can just pretend for her sake. She came here because she was upset
with you.”
“It’s not that I don’t like you,” I growl, figuring we’ll get to the whole Harper was upset with me
thing in a minute. “To be clear, I don’t, but the issue here is that I want you but I can’t have you.”
Her jaw slackens as if she’s not quite sure how to respond to that, and if my kid wasn’t outside on
the balcony right now, I’d take Hartley right here up against the front door and fuck her until she
couldn’t see straight.
Jesus.
There’s passion and desire firing off between the two of us, this strange sort of lust I’m not sure
I’ve felt before, and I know it’s not just me. I know it’s not—it can’t be, not when it’s this strong. But
we’re both fighting against it for different reasons.
“You want me?” she finally asks. “I thought you hated me.”
“I do.”
She looks confused, and I’m confused, too—this whole wanting her but hating her thing has me on
edge, and so I clap back with words intended to hurt.
“It’s fine. I have a little black book filled with names I can call, and not a single one of them will
reject me like you have.”
They do their job. Her face falls a little, but she pulls it together. She nods. “That kiss last night
never should have happened.”
“Oh, now you want to talk about the kiss? Fuck off. You’re right. It shouldn’t have, and it told me
everything I needed to know.”
“That you want me but can’t have me?” she correctly guesses.
But I’m too stubborn to let her have the win.
I shake my head. “No. That even a one and done wouldn’t be worth it with you.”
I’m not sure why I say it other than because I want to keep twisting that knife and hurting her more,
but I feel like shit when I see the effect of my words.
The truth is I’m not sure I’d be able to keep it to a one and done with her…but it’s a truth I will
never admit to her.
She does look hurt, and I’m about to apologize when she says, “I’m worth way more than what you
could give me. The way you treat women is disgusting, and I feel sorry for your little girl that she’s
going to grow up thinking what you do is okay when it’s not. She’s welcome back here any time, but
you are not.” She snarls a little as she says it, and goddammit why do I find that so fucking sexy? My
eyes dart to her lips.
Why does the way she snags her lip between her teeth make me want to walk over and help myself
to a taste? Why does the way she has her arms crossed over her chest so she’s pushing up her tits
make me want to bury my face in her cleavage and breathe her in for the rest of eternity? Fuck.
If I had a swear jar for my thoughts, Harper would be rich.
I shake off those thoughts.
“We’re sort of a package deal,” I say dryly. “But don’t worry, she won’t be coming back here
again. Not now that I know you’re way too good for me.” I roll my eyes at her.
“Oh fuck you,” she says.
“Real professional way to talk to a parent of a student,” I shoot back.
“Maybe if you had a better relationship with her, she wouldn’t have come running here in the first
place.”
She hits where it hurts, and I press my lips together without another retort, head to the balcony
where Miller is showing my kid the bright lights of the strip that they can see far off in the distance,
grab her hand, and take her home without looking back at Hartley again.
I can’t do it.
I’m not sure what other weapons we’ll use to hurt each other when we both know all the harm
we’re doing is purely because we’re both denying the strong pull we both feel. But we’re also both
adamant it’ll never happen.
CHAPTER 3: VICTORIA

“Tell me everything and leave not a single detail out,” Mandy says once the door closes behind
Travis and Harper.
“He said some mean things and I said some mean things back and I regret it but I can’t change it,” I
ramble. She has her own story to tell considering she’s wearing the same clothes she wore last night
to the Gridiron and I haven’t seen her in nearly twenty-four hours.
She grabs the brown paper bag she set on the counter a few minutes ago and brings it over to the
couch, where I’m currently collapsing. She pulls a bottle of Tito’s out, cracks the cap, and hands it
over to me to take the first sip.
I chug a bit more than necessary before handing it back, and the burn feels good as it spreads
warmth through my chest.
“Start from the beginning,” she suggests as she takes the bottle from me and chugs her own sip.
I blow out a breath. “So I heard this quiet knocking on the door, and it was Harper. She was crying
and scared, and I guess she walked from Travis’s place here.”
Mandy’s brows dip. “Where does he live?”
I shrug. “No idea. She said he keeps threatening to pull her from Stratford and find her a new
school, and it’s like the one stable thing in her life right now that she actually likes, and she didn’t
know where else to go.”
“How’d she find you here?” Mandy asks.
“I was showing her how to message me in my office one day if she ever needed me and I shared
my location with her to show her how that works when we were at school. I never imagined she’d
actually track me down.”
“Jeez. Poor girl.” She hands the bottle back to me.
I nod before I take a sip, and then I say, “I think she just really misses her mom, you know? Can
you imagine how hard it is for a kid that age to lose both parents and have to move to a different state
with a father she never met? Not only did she lose both her parents, but then she finds out her dad
wasn’t really her dad…it’s all so messed up, but she’s a special little girl and I just want to help
however I can but he keeps pushing me away.” I sniffle a little as I feel the burn of tears threatening. I
hate that I’ve become so attached to her in such a short time, but I care about her. I want to help her
succeed, and while it’s not my place to parent her, I want to be there for her in whatever way she
needs me.
“I get it.” She takes the bottle back for another swig. “Maybe he’s pushing you away because he’s
scared, too. His life just got flipped upside down, you know? And we’ve both dealt with rough cases
in our careers, but there’s something really special about that little girl.”
I press my lips together as I consider her point that maybe he’s scared, too. She’s right, but I don’t
want to defend him right now. I’m too angry with him. “There is. I did my best to let her know she can
always trust me but that I had to call her father, and she eventually relented. I think part of her wanted
to scare him, and she succeeded. You should’ve seen his face when he walked in. He looked so
scared that I just wanted to hug him.”
“You wanted to hug him because he looked scared? Or because you wanted to feel his body
pressed up against yours again?” she asks, a little sly smile playing at her lips.
“Stop.” My voice is a little tired, as if I can’t quite muster up the denial to her claim because she’s
partially right. “I just…” I shake my head. “He’s such a jerk, and I hate him, but…”
“But you want his penis inside your vagina?” she guesses.
I can’t help a laugh at her words. “No. I want his tongue up in there first.”
“I knew it!”
“I don’t understand it, though. I hate him so much but when those blue eyes fall on me…” I trail off
as I picture them in my mind…as I picture his lips on mine like last night, as I remember how he
smelled. I sigh. “I could just get lost in them, you know?”
“You’re a smitten kitten. What are you going to do about it?”
I shrug. “Nothing. I’m going to keep his little girl safe when she’s in my care, and I’m going to
ignore the attraction I have to him. It’s my only choice after the things he said to me tonight.”
“What did he say?”
“That he has a little black book full of women who won’t reject him the way I do.” I don’t admit
how much those words cut into me.
“Ouch. You think he’s fucking around all over town still with a kid now?”
“I have no idea.” I chug more from the bottle, but it doesn’t seem to help ease the ache in my chest.
“I think I’m starting to have real feelings for him, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I can do anything
about it.”
“Sure you can. Why not take the shot? What are you scared of?”
“I’ve seen how just his words can affect me. I can’t imagine what sort of emotional suicide I’ll be
making if I were to actually get involved with him. Besides, there’s a kid in the picture. It’s not so
simple, you know?” I point out.
“Yeah, but kids are resilient.”
“She’s been through enough,” I say firmly, as if that’ll end the subject.
I should know better. Mandy always gets the last word.
“And she could probably use a steady female figure presence more often in her life…especially if
she’s running away from him to you on the weekend,” she points out.
I sigh, and then I change the subject. “So what happened after I left the Gridiron last night?”
Her cheeks burn pink. “Oh man, do I have a story to tell.”
I raise a brow, glad that the attention is off me for a change.
“So Jaxon and I were flirting all night, and he bought me some more drinks, and good God he’s
smooth, and we made out in the booth a little so he could preview the things he can do with his
tongue, and then he invited me back to his place for another drink, and then I gargled his ten-inch dick
for a bit, and I slept over but we didn’t have sex, just the oral stuff, and the things he can do with his
tongue?” She kisses her fingertips. “Chef’s kiss.”
I’m cackling by the time she’s done with her explanation. “You gargled his dick?” I repeat.
She giggles, too. “Sorry, would you prefer I say I gave him a blow job?” She gets all serious for a
beat as she says it with the most formality she can muster.
“Ten inches, huh?” I ask, twisting my lips as I consider that. “So when are you going to bang?”
“He had somewhere to go tonight, but he invited me to dinner tomorrow.”
“Whoa, already?”
She shrugs. “It’s the gargling. He was a big, big fan. It’s not the first time I’ve been told I give
good head.”
I giggle. “Too much information, my friend.”
She elbows me. “Never too much. So when are you gonna slob Woods’s knob?”
I wrinkle my nose. “Half past never?”
“Wrong answer. What do you have to lose?”
I think about that for a beat. There’s an awful lot to lose if I shoot a real shot with Travis Woods.
My heart, for one. Harper’s heart, for two.
Do I think what we could have would be explosive and powerful?
For sure.
But do I also think the inevitable end of it would be horrific, particularly with a child involved?
Absolutely.
And I’m just not ready to set myself up for that sort of failure.
CHAPTER 4: TRAVIS

We’re silent on the ride home.


I’m seething over my conversation with Hartley that was forced because this little girl found it just
a-okay to run away from home to the one person I’d marked as off-limits.
She’s seething over…whatever it is ten-year-old girls seethe over.
I’m ready to yell. I’m ready to unleash the anger and the fear I felt because of her.
But I don’t. I try to pull it together instead with a lot of deep breathing on the short ride home. I flip
a quarter up into the air over and over when I’m at stoplights. I very slowly start to calm down.
I pull into the garage and cut the engine, but I don’t move for a beat. The girl, however, rips off her
seatbelt, tosses open her door, then slams it shut. I watch as she storms into the house and slams that
door, too, and I wonder if they make some sort of contraption that makes doors unslammable so she
doesn’t destroy the frames in this rental.
I draw in a fortifying breath before I head inside, and when I finally do, first I trip over her shoes,
and I find her near the kitchen table sobbing.
I sink to the floor beside her, and then I pull her down onto my lap and cradle her like a baby for a
beat.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
Her only answer is a sniffle.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I admit. “I know your world just changed, but so did mine, you
know? I’m not trying to make this about me, but I’m doing the best I can, kid. I’m doing what I think is
right for you, and you might not always agree with that, or with me, but we’re in this together. You can
run all you want, but you’ll never be able to run away from your problems. Maybe I’m not one to talk
about this shit because I’ve done it too, but you can run as fast as you want to and the problems will
still be there staring you in the face when your legs give out. If there’s any one lesson I think we can
both take from this, it’s that we’ll only get through the hard part if we stick through it together.”
She’s silent, but I know she’s listening.
“Do you want to talk about why you ran?” I finally ask. I’m still holding her, and she’s letting me.
She’s leaning back into the arm held across her back in support, her head is resting on my chest, her
legs are across my lap, and my other arm holds her behind her knees.
I want to ask her not why she ran but why she ran to Victoria, but it doesn’t seem important right
now.
She swipes at a tear as it escapes her eyes. “I miss my mom.”
“I know, ladybug,” I murmur. Does Victoria remind her of her mom in some way? Or is it just the
adult female presence she’s craving? “I know you do. What do you miss about her?”
“I dunno.” She shrugs a little, and it strikes me how little she actually is. “Her homecooked meals,
for one.”
I laugh. “What’s your favorite thing she used to make you?”
“Macaroni and cheese with hot dogs cut up in it.”
I wrinkle my nose. “I got you macaroni for dinner tonight,” I point out.
“Yeah but it’s not the good stuff. It’s restaurant stuff. And there’s no hot dogs.” She sniffles and
wipes more tears.
“What’s the good stuff?”
“The blue box, the one with the powder.”
“Kraft?” Hell, I can make that shit, and I can microwave a hot dog. It sounds nasty to me, but if it’s
what the kid wants, it’s what the kid gets.
She nods. “Yeah, Kraft.”
I hug her toward me for just a beat, and then I press a soft kiss to her forehead because it just feels
right to comfort her right now…and then I’ll comfort her with my kickass kitchen skills.
I release her from my grasp. “Go get your shoes on.”
Her brows dip. “For what?”
“You’ll see.”
She returns a second later, and then I direct her back out to the garage. I take her to the grocery
store, where we stock up on the good macaroni and her favorite hot dogs, and I let her pick out two
tubs of ice cream and we take a swing down the candy aisle, where she fills up the cart with sour
candies to her heart’s content.
We head home, and I make her the good stuff. My first attempt at microwaving a hot dog results in
it exploding all over my microwave, but I do a better job on my second attempt, and I only burn my
finger a little when I take it out to cut it up into little chunks that I then mix into the macaroni.
But her laughter and her wide smile while she helps me make it worth every second of effort I put
in, and when she pats her full tummy after her second bowl of ice cream with a smile playing at her
lips, I feel like I finally did something right.
Now to replicate it all over again tomorrow.
I get her down to bed in her own room as has become our routine even though I know she’ll appear
in my bed before I’m ready to call it a night, and I head back down to binge some true crime.
I don’t really have a little black book per se, but I scroll through my contacts as I try to find
somebody, anybody, who I’d want to invite over for a quick romp in the backseat of my car in the
garage.
I can’t really think of any other place where I could get a quick bang. My bed’s out. My guest room
is no longer a guest room, and the couch is out. The backyard maybe? I’d be worried she’d catch me
out there. Hell, I’d be worried in my garage, too, but I need to get my rocks off. My hand just ain’t
cutting it anymore.
I blow out a breath as I scroll.
Tabby, Talia, Tamara, Tatum, Taylor…the list goes on, and not a single one is igniting any sort of
spark in me.
Maybe Harper needs another sleepover and maybe I need a night at Coax to work off some of this
energy.
And then she shows up in my brain again.
Her lips. Those soft, strawberry lips that pressed to mine for a moment that was far too short.
Fuck.
What is it about her?
Is it because she’s a challenge? Because she rejected me more than once now? Because she’s
smarter than me and too good for me?
Is it because I only had that one little taste and now my body won’t stop until I have a second one?
Or is it because she’s hot as fuck and has a tight little body that I want to find my way into?
I need something to get Victoria Hartley out of my mind, that’s for goddamn sure.
Why do I have a feeling that the only thing that’s going to get her out of my mind…is her?
CHAPTER 5: VICTORIA

I swing by Mandy’s classroom a little before the final bell rings so I can grab Harper for our first
after school tutoring session before the hallways start to fill with kids scrambling to get out the door
after a long Monday.
Well, it was long for me, anyway. I know I’ll see him at pick-up since I’ll be walking Harper to
her father’s car, and the thought of seeing him again convinced me to dress a little nicer and put a little
more effort into doing my hair today.
I’m not sure why.
I don’t want to impress him or anything, and yet…admitting to Mandy that I might be having
feelings for him seemed to unlock something inside me.
It still isn’t right. I still should fight against it.
But I’m not her teacher, and even if I was, there’s no law stating that teachers can’t date parents.
Given my desire for that district reading specialist position, though, I probably need to be careful
about getting caught up with a parent.
Not that we’re getting involved. It was one kiss that we both said should never have happened.
If it never should have happened…why can’t I stop thinking about it?
Why do I so badly want it to happen again?
I’m already thinking about this weekend and whether I can talk Mandy into going out to the
Gridiron again. I’m even thinking about how I can get Jaxon to invite her to something he will be at
and she can invite me and we can create an opportunity for another kiss…or more.
God, what am I thinking?
I hate him.
But maybe Mandy’s right. Maybe we just need a little angry sex to work out whatever this is, and
then we can both move on.
Harper walks with me back to my office, and I’ve honestly been wondering all day whether I
should bring up what happened this weekend with her, but ultimately I decide that Travis handled it
however he did and it’s a moot point between the two of us now.
“Your hair looks pretty today,” she says to me once she sits in my office at the little round table
where I work with kids.
“Thank you,” I say, flipping the curls a little over my shoulder, and she giggles as I’m reminded of
a great fine motor skill that might even help her with her grip a little. “Speaking of hair, do you know
how to braid?”
She shakes her head as her giggles fade. “My mom used to braid my hair but she never taught me.”
I reach over and squeeze her hand. “My mom taught my sister and me how to. I can teach you if you
want.”
She nods, blue eyes wide, and I wish she didn’t have eyes the exact shade as her father’s because
all they do is remind me of him. “I would love that.”
“Okay, we’ll do a little reading practice, and then we’ll take a break and I’ll show you. Sound
good?”
She nods eagerly, and we get started on reading a book filled with sight words she should know.
It’s a lot of repetition at this point, so once she gets through the first book, I grab a rubber band out of
my desk drawer and do a quick braid on her hair. I talk out the steps while I do it, and then I sit in the
chair.
“Now you try,” I say, and she stands behind me as she grabs a chunk of my hair as instructed.
“Now take the hair in your left hand and put it over the hair in your right hand.”
“I need a third hand,” she says with a giggle, and I laugh, too. And that’s when I hear the shouting.
“What the hell is going on in here?”
We both whip our heads toward the door, and she drops my half-braided hair in the process.
There stands her father, and he seems like he’s almost trembling with anger. “Why weren’t you
outside at the pickup line?” he roars as he zeroes in on Harper, his eyes moving right past me.
“I had tutoring today,” she says quietly. “Ms. Hartley said it was on the paperwork that you
signed.”
He narrows his eyes as his gaze falls onto me. “Is this a tutoring session or hair club?” he
demands.
“It’s tutoring,” I say, forcefully keeping the defensiveness from my tone. “We were taking a
braiding brain break, something to reward her after she had a great reading session.”
“Nobody told me it started today. I was waiting out there for twenty minutes and nobody knew
where my kid was,” he says. “After the shit you pulled this weekend, I had no idea if you ran off again
or what. I should’ve known she’d be here with you.” The way he says you makes me physically feel
the hatred he feels toward me.
Okay, maybe angry sex isn’t the answer. But seeing him all worked up like this…I can’t deny that
it’s kind of sexy.
“I apologize if you were worried, but it was on the paperwork Ms. Miller sent home,” I say.
“Fine. Let’s go, Harper.”
“We still have another ten minutes,” I say.
“Of braiding hair?” he sneers. “I think she’ll be fine.”
“The next session is Wednesday and it runs a half hour again. Ms. Miller and I will make sure
she’s where she needs to be,” I say.
“Or we can hire a private tutor to help her out,” he practically spits at me. “You know, one that
actually works on reading skills and not hairdos.”
“I like working with Ms. Hartley,” Harper protests, and my heart warms both that she likes
working with me and that she’s sticking up for herself. She’s stronger than she realizes.
He stares off with her for a beat before he relents. “Fine. What days and times is this tutoring thing
again?”
“Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until three-thirty,” I say. “I will be sure to walk her to your car at
the end of our sessions.”
“Great. And when can I expect she’ll be able to braid hair?”
Oh fuck off, I nearly say, but I catch myself since Harper is present. Instead I offer a sugary, fake
smile. “However many brain breaks it takes. See you tomorrow, Harps.” I’m not sure why I shorten
her name, but she does it back.
“Later, Harts.”
Harps and Harts. I like the ring of it…and maybe even more so because her dad just stands there
looking like he’s about to barf at the cuteness of it all.
“Again I apologize, sir, for worrying you,” I say to Travis.
I watch his entire demeanor change at my use of the word sir.
His eyes seem to glaze over as they dart to my lips, so I play it up by snagging by bottom lip
between my teeth.
His tongue darts out to wet his own lips, too, and then he tears his eyes away from me. “Let’s go,”
he says to his daughter, but I don’t miss the gruff rasp in his voice that tells me he feels it, too.
This thing between us might be becoming a little too big to ignore.
CHAPTER 6: TRAVIS

I saw her when she walked Harper out after tutoring, but I refused to actually look at her. Instead I
sat in the car and peeled out of the parking lot as soon as Harper was buckled in the back.
“How was tutoring?” I ask.
“Fine.”
“And hair club?”
“We didn’t do braiding today. She said you didn’t like it so we couldn’t, so thanks a lot,” she
sasses.
I remain quiet after that. Are my feelings toward Hartley affecting my kid now? Because that’s not
okay. Do I need to find a way to smooth things over?
What I really want is to get her to finally give in so I can hate fuck the hell out of her and we can
move forward into whatever direction that takes us, but that seems unlikely.
“It’s fine to do your hair stuff for brain breaks,” I finally mutter.
Another day passes, and thankfully I don’t have to see Hartley on Thursday. I get a text from my
old Thursday night group chat making arrangements for the Gridiron for dinner and possibly a club
afterward, and I could really use the night out but I still have no idea who to have watch my kid.
I voice text Evan while Harper is at school.
Me: I know it’s unconventional, but any chance Harper can spend the night tonight so I can
meet up with some of the guys on offense?
I realize it sounds like a work-related meeting, which it isn’t, but I let it fly anyway. I’m starting to
get a little desperate for a slice of my old normalcy back, and the night out with the old crew might be
just what I need to get Hartley out of my mind.
He replies about a half hour later.
Evan: Works for us, and Trudy said she’ll be sure to get her off to school in the morning.
Relief filters through me, and she’s thrilled when I pick her up and tell her she’s spending the night
at Bella’s.
“On a school night?” she squeals.
“On a school night,” I confirm.
We pack her overnight bag and make sure both dinocorns make it in, and I drop her just before
dinnertime with two extra hugs—initiated by her, by the way.
Maybe I actually am getting somewhere with her.
Hartley’s words from the other night come back to me, though, as I navigate my car toward the
Gridiron.
I feel sorry for your little girl that she’s going to grow up thinking what you do is okay when it’s
not.
Do I have a different example to set tonight? Or can I just have a night off where I’m back to the
old Trav?
It’s what I want. I want a night where things feel normal again, but I’m not even sure what normal
feels like anymore.
It should feel normal when I’m shooting the shit and eating the best chicken wings in Vegas with
Jaxon, Cory, and Austin—the only three members of the Thursday night crew in town during the off-
season this year—but it doesn’t. It also doesn’t feel normal when I bet Cory I can chug a beer faster
than him—which I do, by the way.
And it certainly doesn’t feel normal when Cory suggests Coax for our post-Gridiron evening
activity as we finish our fourth round of drinks, but I guess I’m going for the ride anyway.
“You coming?” I ask Jaxon.
His eyes twinkle a little as he glances up from his phone. “I’m meeting Miller tonight.”
“Again? What is this thing between the two of you?” I ask.
“Oh, she’s nasty,” he says with a stupid, goofy grin on his face as he studies his phone.
“Jesus, man. That’s my kid’s teacher you’re talking about.” I make a face at him.
“Yeah, yeah. She’s also the hottest fuck I’ve had in a long time.”
My brows knit together. “You had sex with her?”
He nods, and he looks up slowly from his phone. When his eyes meet mine, I can tell this is
actually something with her. It’s not just a one-time deal. “Oh, we had the sex.”
“Spare me the details, but be careful with her. She’s not a Coax girl, you know what I mean?”
He nods. “Yeah, I know. And I have a feeling she’s the one who needs to be careful here. The fact
that she’s not a Coax girl is one of the things I like about her.”
I get what he means. Coax has sort of become an in-person Tinder for people who make a certain
amount of money each year, which means when you go to Coax, you sort of know you’re going into it
for sex, and while many times this leads to feelings and emotions and wanting more, it’s always been
one-sided for me and this crew here, at least. I’m sure love connections have happened there, but if
I’m going there as a single dude and not bringing my girl with me, then I’m going to hook up. That’s
just the way it is.
“Are you gonna take her there?” Cory asks.
He shrugs. “Maybe.”
An image of Jaxon on top of Mandy Miller in one of the viewing rooms on the third floor appears
right there in my brain, and I chug the rest of my beer to try to get it out. Please don’t take my kid’s
teacher to a club where there’s an entire floor where people can have public sex if they want.
Old Trav would never have said those words aloud. New Trav barely holds himself back, but it’s
not my place to tell Jaxon what he can or can’t do.
Austin drives since he’s only had one, and I guess I’m at the mercy of whenever he wants to leave,
though the owners recently started employing drivers to bring people out here or back home since it’s
a half hour drive toward the middle of the desert from the Strip. I’ve used the service once or twice,
and as I recall, it was a great place to pregame.
I don’t need to drink to have a good time at Coax, but it’s always nice to take the edge off before I
find someone to take up to the suites. There’s four viewing rooms up there and six private rooms, and
as long as there’s availability, we’re welcome to use them. I’ve only hooked up here a handful of
times. I actually find it more enjoyable to hang out on the second floor, which is a high-rent strip club,
or the first floor, which is one part traditional nightclub and one part gentlemen’s parlor with a bar
and pool tables.
When we arrive, I beeline for the bar and grab another beer. I play a round of pool with Austin
after Cory tells us he’s heading to the second floor to find a dancer to hook up with.
It doesn’t feel right being here.
How would I feel if somehow word got out that I’m not just visiting this exclusive club, but I’m a
member? How would that look?
Why do I care?
Oh, right, because I have a kid now…but it’s not just that if I’m being honest.
I spot two women lounging on one of the leather couches as they watch our intense game on the
pool table.
I see the blonde giving me the eyes, and a few weeks ago, I probably would’ve found a quiet space
at this club to bang her.
But tonight…something’s off. I’m not interested. I don’t even know why I’m here, to be honest.
Those words come back to me again. I feel sorry for your little girl that she’s going to grow up
thinking what you do is okay when it’s not.
Is she right?
What kind of role model am I for a little girl to look up to when I treat women the way I do? It’s
been almost a month since I’ve been to this club because I was ghosting some chick I didn’t want
more than one night with.
How would I feel if my daughter was of age and someone treated her that way?
I’d fucking rage on the asshole, that’s how I’d feel.
And now when I look around this place, all I can think about is how every woman in this room
was once a ten-year-old girl, and this is what they grew into, and they all have dads—they may not be
good dads, or dads who care, or whatever…but maybe they are. Maybe some old dude is sitting at
home wondering what his daughter is up to tonight, thinking she’s out dancing with her friends at a
club when in reality she’s going to hook up tonight and the guy isn’t going to call her tomorrow and
she’s going to feel very hurt because of that.
It's not the case for everyone here, certainly.
I have two balls left on the table and Austin has one, and I miss an easy shot as these thoughts
plague my mind. He sails his final ball in for the win, and I grab my phone to Venmo him the hundred
bucks we bet on the first game.
“Double or nothing?” he asks.
I glance at the women watching us, and I see they’re both gathering their drinks and they’re
standing up and looking in our direction, which means they’re coming over to shoot their shot.
Austin doesn’t see them, but I do. I should probably let him have his shot with the brunette starting
her approach, but I need an excuse to reject the blonde because I’m just not feeling it tonight.
“Yeah, double or nothing,” I say before they get to us, and he starts gathering the balls to rack them
up again.
“You’re Travis Woods,” the blonde says to me as the brunette makes her move on Austin.
I press my lips together and nod. “I am.”
“I’ve heard about you,” she says, leaning in so her mouth is close to my ear. “Good things. Really
good things.”
Is this supposed to be turning me on? It’s not.
It screams of desperation as much as her jasmine-scented perfume.
“I’m sorry, baby, but I’m just here playing pool with my buddy tonight,” I say as I try to let her
down gently.
She doesn’t take the hint, though, and instead, she presses herself further into my side.
And that’s when I spot them across the room.
Jaxon Bryant with none other than fifth grade teacher Mandy Miller on his arm.
Her eyes zero in on me, and she looks a little surprised that I’ve got a girl pressed up on me.
Great. This is just exactly what I needed…Miller going back home and reporting to her roommate
what a scum dog I am when Hartley already thinks it anyway.
Fuck it. If the reputation is already there, I may as well play into it.
I turn toward the girl next to me. “Let’s talk after this next game, okay? I’ve got two hundred bucks
riding on it.”
“I’ll be cheering you on from right here,” she says, and she runs a long fingernail along my
jawline.
I know Miller is watching the entire exchange, and as she passes by me with wide eyes, she winks
and wiggles her eyebrows then brings a finger up to her lips as if to say shh.
Maybe she won’t report back to her roommate after all.
Jaxon takes her up the stairs, and maybe I didn’t need to know that my daughter’s teacher might just
be a nasty freak.
CHAPTER 7: VICTORIA

I’m home alone at Mandy’s place on Thursday night since she had a date with Jaxon. I’m surprised
she decided to go out since it’s a school night, but I get the attraction of not wanting to turn down a
chance to see the NFL star currently trying to court her.
I’m scrolling through my favorite Vegas entertainment website when I see my favorite band is
coming to town in a couple months.
I click the link to see what two tickets to the Imagine Dragons would set me back, and the prices
are definitely out of my range.
Too bad.
I’d love to see them, but considering I’m currently homeless, I should probably not splurge on
tickets so I can save up for a deposit on a new place. Living with Mandy is fun temporarily, but it
kind of sucks living in someone’s guest room. I need my own space, and I’m sure Mandy wants her
privacy back, too.
And it’s not just the price that stops me short.
Who would even go with me?
My sister and I used to go to concerts together, but she has two kids now. Owen and I used to go to
concerts together, but we broke up. Mandy might go, but now she’s seeing Jaxon and she might want
to go with him.
Looking at the tickets does nothing more than make me feel incredibly lonely.
I force myself off the ticket website and scroll through home rentals instead. It looks like an
apartment is my best option financially, but the ones here in Mandy’s complex are all full, and there
aren’t any others super close to Stratford, so then I’d have a bit of a commute to work. I check for
anything near the district office just in case. It’s on the other side of town from Stratford, so it’s a
good twenty-minute drive without traffic…and in this town, there’s always traffic.
I give up my search and check the district website to see if the reading specialist position is posted
yet, but it’s not. I spend a little time looking over my resume and jotting down the ideas I have for the
district reading program, but my heart just doesn’t feel like it’s in it tonight.
I make myself a stiff drink and steel my nerves to try calling Owen, but he doesn’t pick up. I leave
a lengthy voicemail. “Hey, it’s Victoria. I’m not sure why you’re holding my ball hostage, but I’d
really like it back. It represents a special memory for my father and me, and I know you know that.
Look, we had a lot of good times together, and I’m hopeful that throwing all my belongings onto the
front lawn was therapeutic for you. I still have grass in my jeans and I’m looking for replacement
frames for the photos you broke. I didn’t want to end things this horribly, Owen. I’m not sure why
you’re acting like this, but it hurts after everything we shared. Okay, I’ll stop rambling now. Can I just
please come by to get that ball? Thanks.”
I cut the call. I wasn’t expecting to get so emotional over it, but I haven’t really given myself any
time to mourn the loss of our relationship. It fell apart somewhere along the road, but for a long time I
thought he was my forever. I thought he was my future. I thought he’d father my children and we’d ride
off into the sunset toward our happily ever after.
But we didn’t, and now he’s holding onto the most important possession I own, and he won’t even
get back to me to tell me why or what I can do to get it back.
I decide to just head to bed. I’m emotional, and I’m a little exhausted, and I keep hopping from one
thing to another but I just feel lonely and sad.
It’s early, but I’m in the middle of a good, spicy series about a hot baseball player, so I decide to
spend a little time reading before I call it a night. Maybe it’ll be enough to distract me from the mess
my life has suddenly become.
I’m dead wrong about that. The worst of it all is that I keep picturing the hero in the book as Travis
Woods, and I can’t focus on the book.
I keep thinking about yesterday when he picked Harper up after school and he wouldn’t even look
at me. I spent the entire day working myself up to seeing him, and then he didn’t even acknowledge
me.
I wonder if his daughter noticed.
I’m making strides with her already, and we’ve only had two after school tutoring sessions so far
along with our regular daily work. She’s struggling, but she’s trying—and that’s half the battle with
kids, getting them to actually try.
I’m not sure what drives me to do it, but I open up Instagram and search his name. I click it and
peep on his profile, and there he is in all his football glory.
Every picture of him on there is somehow related to athletics, whether it’s him in his uniform or
him advertising some protein powder or my favorite, the one of him not wearing a shirt while he lifts
weights.
Scratch that.
It’s not my favorite, and it doesn’t make my thighs clench together like they seem to be doing a lot
lately.
I’m just a woman who can appreciate the male form, and he has a nice one.
Like…a really nice one.
I zoom in on his hands in another photo.
They’re strong and lean, and maybe a little rough since he uses them so much, and I wonder what
sorts of talents he has with them. What would I feel like if he brushed those fingertips across my
nipple? I try it myself and visualize that it’s him doing it.
I allow my hand to trail down my stomach and dip into my panties, and I brush my finger against
my clit before I push it inside.
I’m still looking at his picture. I’m still pretending it’s him touching me.
It feels wrong. I turn off my phone and toss it beside me, but I’m in it now. The ache is growing,
and I need a release.
The phone is off, but he’s still in my mind. I really start to go to town on myself and add in another
finger. I’m not stopping until I come, and I dip my finger in and out, pulling all the way out to spread
the moisture around my clit before pushing back in.
But the fact remains that by the time my knees clamp together as I give myself an orgasm, it’s his
hand I’m thinking about. It’s his face I’m picturing. It’s his body I wish was climbing off and settling
in warmly beside me.
Instead, as the waves of pleasure start to subside and a relaxed warmth fills my entire body, my
eyes open and I stare at the empty, cold side of the bed next to me.
I turn the other way so I’m not looking at the emptiness.
Because emptiness sure beats the reality of dealing with Travis Woods.
Another random document with
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Fig. 261.—Valves of a Chiton
separated to show the
various parts (anterior valve
uppermost): a, a,
articulamentum; b, beak; j,
jugum; pl, pl, pleura; t, t,
tegmentum.
Fig. 262.—Valves of Chitonellus
separated out (anterior valve
uppermost): a, a,
articulamentum; t, t,
tegmentum. × 2.
The Polyplacophora are characterised, externally, by their usually
articulated shell of eight plates or valves, which is surrounded and
partly kept in position by a muscular girdle. These plates overlap like
tiles on a roof in such a way that the posterior edge of the first,
cephalic, or anterior valve projects over the anterior edge of the
succeeding valve, which in its turn overlaps the next, and so on
throughout. Seven-valved monstrosities very rarely occur.
A certain portion of each valve is covered either by the girdle or by
the valve next anterior to it. This portion, which is whitish in colour
and non-porous in structure, forms part of an inner layer which
underlies the rest of the substance of the valve, and is called the
articulamentum. The external portion of the valves, or tegmentum, is
generally more or less sculptured, and is largely composed of chitin,
impregnated with salts of lime, thus answering more to a cuticle than
to a shell proper. It is very porous, being pierced by a quantity of
minute holes of two sizes, known as megalopores and micropores,
which are connected together by minute canals containing what is
probably fibrous or nerve tissue, the mouths of the pores being
occupied by sense organs connected with these nerves. The
tegmentum of the six intermediate valves is generally divided into
three triangular areas by two more or less prominent ribs, which
diverge from the neighbourhood of the median beak or umbo. The
space enclosed between these ribs is known as the median area or
jugum, the other two spaces as the lateral areas or pleura. The ribs
terminate with the edge of the tegmentum, and are not found on the
articulamentum. In certain genera these areas are either non-
existent, or are not distinctly marked. The sculpture of the lateral
areas (which is, as a rule, much stronger than that of the median
area) will generally be found to resemble that of the anterior valve,
which has no proper median area. In the posterior valve the median
area is very small, while the sculpture of the rest of the valve
corresponds to that of the lateral areas generally (see Fig. 261).
Fig. 263.—First, fourth, and eighth
valves of a Chiton, showing l.i,
laminae of insertion; n, n,
notches; s.l, s.l, sutural
laminae. × 2.
The articulamentum of the intermediate valves is divided into two
equal parts in the middle of the anterior edge, opposite to the beak,
by a sinus. Each of the portions thus formed is again divided by a
notch or suture into two unequal parts, the anterior of which is known
as the sutural lamina, and is more or less concealed by the valve in
front of it, while the lateral part, or lamina of insertion, is entirely
concealed by the girdle. The articulamenta of the anterior and
posterior valves are either simple or pierced by a series of notches
(Fig. 263).
The girdle of the Chitonidae varies considerably in character.
Sometimes its upper surface is simply corneous or cartilaginoid, with
no other sculpture than fine striae, at others it is densely beset with
spines or bristles, or tufted at intervals with bunches of deciduous
hairs; again it is marbled like shagreen or mossy down, or covered
with serpent-like scales. The width of the girdle varies greatly, being
sometimes very narrow, sometimes entirely covering all the valves
(Cryptochiton). As a rule, its outer edge is continuous, but in
Schizochiton it is sharply notched over the anus.
A description has already been given of the dorsal eyes in Chiton
(p. 187), the nervous system (p. 202), the branchiae (p. 154), the
radula (p. 228), and the generative system (p. 126).

Fig. 264.—Girdles of various Chitonidae. A, Radsia sulcata


Wood, × 2; B, Maugeria granulata Gmel., × 3; C,
Enoplochiton niger Barnes, × 3; D, Acanthochiton fascicularis
L., × 4; E, Tonicia fastigiata Sowb., × 4.
The recent Chitons are thus classified by Dr. W. H. Dall:—
Section I. Chitones Regulares.—Anterior and posterior valves
of similar character.
A. Leptoidea.—Insertion plates obsolete, or, if present, unslit;
Leptochiton, Hanleyia, Hemiarthrum, Microplax.
B. Ischnoidea.—Insertion plates sharp, smooth, fissured; with
eaves; Trachydermon, Callochiton, Tonicella, Schizoplax, Leptoplax,
Chaetopleura, Spongiochiton, Ischnochiton, Callistochiton.
C. Lophyroidea.—Insertion plates broad, pectinated, projecting
backward; Chiton, Tonicia, Eudoxochiton, Craspedochiton.
D. Acanthoidea.—Insertion plates thrown forward; Sclerochiton,
Acanthopleura, Dinoplax, Middendorffia, Nuttallina, Arthuria,
Phacellopleura.
Section II. Chitones Irregulares.—Posterior valve abnormal, or
with a sinus behind.
E. Schizoidea.—Posterior valve fissured; Lorica, Schizochiton.
F. Placiphoroidea.—Posterior valve unslit, internally ridged, umbo
nearly terminal; Enoplochiton, Ornithochiton, Plaxiphora.
G. Mopaloidea.—Posterior valve with posterior sinus and one slit
on each side; Mopalia, Katherina, Acanthochiton, Notoplax.
H. Cryptoidea.—With double sutural laminae; Cryptoconchus,
Amicula, Cryptochiton.
I. Chitonelloidea.—Posterior valve funnel shaped; laminae thrown
forward; Chitonellus, Choneplax.

Fig. 265.—Chitonellus fasciatus Quoy; ant, anterior


end.
Sub-order 2. Aplacophora.—Animal vermiform, foot absent, or a
mere groove, cuticle more or less covered with spicules.
According to Marion, one of the principal authorities on the group,
the Aplacophora are perhaps Amphineura whose development has
been arrested at an early stage, their worm-like exterior being due to
adaptation to surroundings. They have hitherto been found chiefly in
the N. Atlantic and Mediterranean, generally at considerable depths,
and often associated with certain polyps in a way which suggests a
kind of commensalism.
Fam. 1. Neomeniidae.—Foot a narrow groove, intestinal tube
without differentiated liver, kidneys with common exterior orifice,
sexes united, ctenidia present or absent. Genera: Neomenia (Fig.
266), Paramenia, Proneomenia, Ismenia, Lepidomenia, Dondersia.
Fig. 266.—Neomenia carinata
Tullb.: a, anus; gr, ventral
groove; m, mouth.

Fig. 267.—Chaetoderma
nitidulum Lov.: a, anus; m,
mouth. × 3.
Fam. 2. Chaetodermatidae.—Body cylindrical, no ventral groove,
liver a single sac, kidneys with separate orifices into the branchial
cloaca, two bipectinate ctenidia. Single genus, Chaetoderma (Fig.
267).

Order II. Prosobranchiata


Visceral loop twisted into a figure of 8 (streptoneurous), right half
supra-intestinal, left half infra-intestinal; heart usually in front of the
branchia (ctenidium), which is generally single; head with a single
pair of tentacles; animal dioecious, usually marine, more or less
contained within a shell, operculum generally present. Cambrian to
present time.
Sub-order 1. Diotocardia.—Heart with two auricles (except in the
Docoglossa and Helicinidae), branchiae bipectinate, front end free;
two kidneys, the genital gland opening into the right (except in
Neritidae); nervous system not concentrated; no proboscis or siphon,
penis usually absent.
(a) Docoglossa (p. 227).—Heart with a single auricle, ventricle
not traversed by the rectum, visceral sac not spiral, shell widely
conical, non-spiral, no operculum; radula very long, with few hooked
teeth in each row.
Fam. 1. Acmaeidae.—Left ctenidium alone occurring, free on a
long stalk. Cretaceous——. Principal genera: Pectinodonta, front
part of head much produced, radula 0 (1. 0. 1.) 0; Acmaea (=
Tectura), with sub-genera Collisella and Collisellina, no accessory
branchial ring, shell closely resembling that of Patella, but generally
with a distinct internal border; Scurria, accessory branchial ring on
the mantle.
Fam. 2. Lepetidae.—No ctenidia or accessory branchiae, animal
generally blind. Pliocene——. Principal genera: Lepeta; Propilidium,
apex with internal septum; Lepetella.
Fam. 3. Patellidae.—No ctenidia, the osphradial patch at the base
of each alone surviving, a circlet of secondary branchiae between
the mantle and sides of the foot. Ordovician——. (i.) Patellinae.—
Three lateral teeth on each side, two of them anterior. Principal
genera: Patella, branchial circlet complete; chief sections Patella
proper, Scutellastra, Ancistromesus (A. mexicana Brod., measures
8–14 in. long); Helcion, branchial circlet interrupted in front;
Tryblidium (Ordovician).—(ii.) Nacellinae.—Two developed laterals
on each side, one anterior. Genera: Nacella, branchial circlet
complete; Helcioniscus, branchial circlet interrupted in front.
(b) Rhipidoglossa (p. 225).—Ventricle of the heart traversed by
the rectum (except in Helicinidae), one or two ctenidia; jaw in two
pieces, radula long, marginals multiplied, rows curved.
Of all the Gasteropoda, this section of the Diotocardia approach
nearest to the Pelecypoda, particularly in the least specialised forms.
The auricle, the branchiae, and the kidneys are in many cases
paired, and more or less symmetrical. The ventricle is generally
traversed by the rectum, there is a long labial commissure between
the cerebral ganglia, special copulative organs are usually absent,
while the shell is often nacreous, like those of Pelecypoda of a
primitive type.
Section I. Zygobranchiata.—Two ctenidia, shell with apical or
marginal slit or holes, corresponding to an anal tube in the mantle (p.
265).
Fam. 1. Fissurellidae.—Two symmetrical ctenidia and kidneys,
visceral mass conical, shell conical, elevated or depressed, with a
single anterior or apical slit or impression; no operculum. Jurassic
——. (i.) Fissurellinae. Shell wholly external, apex entirely removed
by perforation, apical callus not truncated posteriorly; central tooth
narrow. Genera: Fissurella (Figs. 171, p. 261; 178, p. 265),
Fissuridea, Clypidella. (ii.) Fissurellidinae. Shell partly internal,
otherwise as in (i.); central tooth broad, mantle more or less reflected
over the shell, apical hole very wide. Genera: Fissurellidaea,
Pupillaea, Lucapina, Megatebennus, Macroschisma, Lucapinella.
(iii.) Emarginulinae. Shell usually wholly external, apex usually not
removed by perforation, sometimes with internal septum, anal tube
in a narrow slit or sinus. Genera: Glyphis, externals of Fissurella, but
holecallus truncated behind; Puncturella (sub-genera Cranopsis and
Fissurisepta), slit just anterior to the apex, a small internal septum;
Zeidora, large internal septum as in Crepidula: Emarginula, shell
elevated, slit very narrow, on the anterior margin (in subg. Rimula, it
is between the apex and the margin), radula bilaterally asymmetrical;
Subemarginula, margin indented by a shallow groove; Scutus (=
Parmophorus) shell oblong, depressed, nicked in front, largely
covered by the mantle.
Fig. 268.—Scutus australis Lam.,
Australia: m, m, mantle; sh,
shell, × ⅔.
Fam. 2. Haliotidae.—Right ctenidium the smaller, epipodial line
broad, profusely lobed; shell rather flattened, spire short, last whorl
very large, with a row of perforations on the left side, which become
successively obliterated; through these holes, the posterior of which
is anal, pass tentacular appendages of the mantle; no operculum.
Cretaceous——. Single genus, Haliotis; principal sub-genera
Padollus, Teinotis.
Fam. 3. Pleurotomariidae.—Central tooth single, narrow, about 26
laterals, 60 to 70 uncini. Shell generally variously trochiform,
nacreous, operculate, with a rather broad marginal sinus in the last
whorl; as this sinus closes up it forms an “anal fasciole” or “sinus
band.” Cambrian——. Principal genera: Scissurella, epipodial line
with several long ciliated appendages at each side, shell very small,
slit open, sinus band extending nearly to apex; Schismope, anal slit
closed in the adult into an oblong perforation; Murchisonia
(Palaeozoic only), shell long, turreted, whorls angulate or keeled with
a sinus band; Odontomaria (Palaeozoic only), shell tubular, curved;
Polytremaria (Carboniferous), shell turbinate, slit a series of small
holes connected by a passage; Trochotoma, shell trochiform,
perforation consisting of two narrow holes united by a slit;
Pleurotomaria, branchiae almost symmetrical, radula as above, shell
variously spiral.
In Pleurotomaria we have the case of a genus long supposed to
be extinct. More than 1100 fossil species have been described, and
within the last 38 years about 20 specimens, belonging to 5 species,
have been discovered in a living state.

Fig. 269.—Pleurotomaria
adansoniana Cr. and F., Tobago.
× ½.
Fam. 4. Bellerophontidae.—Shell nautiloid, spire generally
concealed, aperture large, sinus or perforations central (Fig. 179, p.
266). Ordovician—Trias. Genera: Bellerophon, Trematonotus,
Cyrtolites.
Section II. Azygobranchiata.—One ctenidium (the left) present.
Fam. 1. Cocculinidae.—A single cervical ctenidium, foot broad, no
eyes, shell patelliform, with caducous spire. Single genus, Cocculina.
Deep water.
Fam. 2. Stomatellidae.—A single (left) ctenidium, front third free,
shell nacreous, spiral or patelliform, depressed, last whorl large.
Jurassic——. Genera: Stomatella (subg. Synaptocochlea, Niphonia),
shell depressed, spirally ribbed, spire short, operculum present;
Phaneta, fluviatile only, shell trochiform, imperforate, last whorl
keeled, sinuate in front; Stomatia, spire short, surface tubercled or
keeled, no operculum; Gena, shell haliotis-shaped, surface smooth,
aperture very large; Broderipia, shell patelliform, spiral apex often
lost.
Fam. 3. Cyclostrematidae.—Tentacles ciliated, thread-like, snout
bilobed, foot truncated in front, angles produced into a filament, shell
depressed, umbilicated, not nacreous. Eocene——. Principal
genera: Cyclostrema, Teinostoma, Vitrinella.
Fam. 4. Liotiidae.—Epipodial line with a lobe behind each eye-
peduncle, shell solid, trochiform, longitudinally ribbed or trellised,
aperture round, operculum multispiral, hispid, corneous, with a
calcareous layer. Silurian——. Principal genera: Liotia,
Craspedostoma (Silurian), Crossostoma (Jurassic).

Fig. 270.—Monodonta canalifera


Lam., New Ireland. (After
Quoy and Gaimard.)
Fam. 5. Trochidae.—Snout short, broad, frontal lobes often
present, epipodial line furnished with cirrhi; shell nacreous, variously
spiral, operculum corneous, multispiral, nucleus central (Fig. 182, p.
268). Silurian——. (i.) Trochinae.—Frontal lobes present, lateral
teeth (= side centrals) 5 only, no jaws, peristome incomplete.
Principal genera: Trochus (subg. Cardinalia, Tectus, Infundibulum,
Clanculus), Monodonta (subg. Diloma), Cantharidus (subg. Bankivia,
Thalotia), Gaza (subg. Microgaza), Callogaza, Bembix, Chlorostoma.
(ii.) Gibbulinae.—Frontal lobes and jaws present, laterals often more
than 5, peristome incomplete. Principal genera: Gibbula (subg.
Monilia, Aphanotrochus, Enida), Minolia, Circulus, Trochiscus,
Livona, Photinula, Margarita, Solariella, Calliostoma, Turcica,
Basilissa, Euchelus (subg. Olivia, Perrinia). (iii.) Delphinulinae.—No
frontal lobes, jaws present; shell solid, surface spirally lirate, scaly,
spinose, umbilicate, peristome continuous. Single genus, Delphinula.
(iv.) Umboniinae.—Eyes pedunculate, left tentacle attached to a
frontal appendage, mantle reflected over edge of aperture, lateral
teeth 6 on each side; shell polished, peristome incomplete, umbilicus
generally closed by a callosity. Principal genera: Umbonium, Ethalia,
Isanda, Camitia, Umbonella, Chrysostoma.

Fig. 271.—Phasianella australis


Gmel., Australia.
Fam. 6. Turbinidae.—Epipodial line with slender cirrhi, snout
broad, short, eyes pedunculate at outer base of tentacles, a frontal
veil between tentacles; shell turbinate, solid, aperture continuous,
operculum solid, calcareous, usually paucispiral, convex exteriorly
(Fig. 182, p. 268). Silurian——. (i.) Phasianellinae.—Shell bulimoid,
polished, not nacreous, coloured in patterns, aperture oval. Single
genus, Phasianella (Fig. 271). (ii.) Turbininae.—Shell very solid,
nacreous within, aperture circular or long oval. Principal genera,
Turbo, whorls rounded above and below, spines, if present,
becoming more prominent with age, operculum smooth or granulose,
nucleus sub-central; subg. Callopoma, Ninella, Marmorostoma,
Sarmaticus, Prisogaster; Astralium, whorls flattened above and
below, spines, if present, becoming less prominent with age,
operculum oblong, often excavated at centre, last whorl large,
nucleus marginal or sub-marginal; subg. Lithopoma, Imperator,
Guildfordia, Bolma, Cyclocantha, Uvanilla, Cookia, Pomaulax,
Pachypoma. (iii.) Cyclonematinae.—Shell nacreous, umbilicate,
operculum conical outside, whorls scalariform. Principal genera:
Cyclonema, Horiostoma (?), Amberleya (Silurian to Lias). (iv.)
Leptothyrinae.—Shell small, solid, depressed, operculum nearly flat,
nucleus sub-central. Genera: Leptothyra, Collonia (?).
Fam. 7. Neritopsidae.—Tentacles wide apart, long, eyes on short
peduncles at the outer base; shell solid, neritiform or naticoid,
aperture semi-lunar or oval; operculum (Fig. 183, p. 269) thick,
calcareous, non-spiral, exterior face smooth, interior face divided into
two unequal parts, with a broad median appendage. Devonian——.
Principal genera: Neritopsis (one recent species), Naticopsis
(Devonian to Miocene).
Fam. 8. Macluritidae.—Shell discoidal, whorls few, longitudinally
grooved behind, right side convex, deeply umbilicated, left side flat;
operculum very thick, nucleus excentrical, internal face with two
apophyses, one very large. The general appearance is more that of
an inequivalve bivalve, such as Requienia, than of a spiral
gasteropod. Palaeozoic——. Single genus, Maclurea.
Fam. 9. Neritidae.—Snout short, tentacles long, eyes pedunculate
at their outer base, branchia triangular, free at the front end,
epipodium without cirrhi, penis near the right tentacle; shell solid,
imperforate, turbinate to almost patelliform, spire short, internal
partitions absorbed (p. 168), columellar region broad, edge simple or
dentate, operculum calcareous, spiral or non-spiral, with prominent
apophyses on the interior face, one of which locks behind the
columellar lip. Jurassic——. Principal genera: Nerita (Fig. 13, p. 17);
Neritina (chiefly brackish water and fluviatile), sub-genus Clithon,
usually coronated with spines; Velates (Tertiary), Neritoma
(Jurassic), Deianira (Cretaceous), Septaria (= Navicella), shell more
or less narrowly patelliform, with terminal apex, aperture very large,
with a broad columellar septum, operculum too small for the
aperture, more or less covered by the integument of the foot;
fluviatile only; Pileolus (Jurassic to Cretaceous).
Fam. 10. Hydrocenidae.—Branchia replaced by a pulmonary
chamber, eyes at the outer base of the tentacles, marginals of the
radula very oblique, centrals often wanting; shell small, conical,
whorls convex, operculum calcareous, with a prominent apophysis.
Recent. Principal genera: Hydrocena, Georissa.
Fam. 11. Helicinidae.—Branchia replaced by a pulmonary
chamber, heart with one auricle; shell globular, with a short spire,
internal partitions absorbed; operculum without apophysis.
Carboniferous——. Principal genera: Helicina (Fig. 18b, p. 21; subg.
Alcadia, Schasicheila, Heudeia, Calybium), Eutrochatella (subg.
Lucidella), Stoastoma, Bourcieria, Dawsonella (Carboniferous).
Fam. 12. Proserpinidae.—Branchia replaced by a pulmonary
chamber, mantle partly reflected over the shell, eyes sessile; shell
depressed, discoidal, columella folded or truncated at the base,
whorls with one or more internal plicae, internal partitions absorbed,
no operculum. Eocene——. Single genus; Proserpina, subg.
Proserpinella, Cyane, Dimorphoptychia (Eocene), and Ceres (Fig.
18c, p. 21).
Sub-order II. Monotocardia.—Heart with one auricle, one
ctenidium (the left), monopectinate, fused with the mantle (except in
Valvata), one kidney, not receiving the genital products, nervous
system somewhat concentrated, proboscis and penis usually
present.
(a) Ptenoglossa.—Radula with formula ∞. ᴑ. ∞, teeth similar
throughout, outermost largest (p. 224).
Fam. 1. Ianthinidae.—Snout prominent, blunt, no eyes, shell
helicoid, fragile, bluish, no operculum; eggs carried on a raft of
vesicles attached to the foot (Fig. 42, p. 126). Pelagic only. Pliocene
——. Genera: Ianthina, Recluzia.
Fam. 2. Scalariidae.—Shell long, turriculate, whorls often partly
uncoiled, with longitudinal ribs and prominent lamellae, aperture
circular, operculum spiral, corneous, animal carnivorous. Ordovician
——. Principal genera: Scalaria, Eglisia, Elasmoneura (Silurian),
Holopella (Silurian to Trias), Aclis.
(b) Taenioglossa.—Radula with normal formula 2.1.1.1.2,
marginals sometimes multiplied (p. 223).
Section I. Platypoda.—Foot more or less flattened ventrally.
Fam. 1. Naticidae.—Foot very large, produced before and behind,
propodium reflected upon the head, eyes absent or buried in the
integument, central and lateral tooth of the radula tricuspid, middle
cusp strong; shell globular or auriform, outer lip simple, operculum
corneous or calcareous, nucleus excentrical. Carboniferous ——.
Principal genera: Natica, with many sub-genera; Ampullina (Tertiary);
Amaura; Deshayesia (Tertiary); Sigaretus (Fig. 91, p. 186), shell
auriform, last whorl very large, operculum much too small for the
aperture.
Fam. 2. Lamellariidae.—Mantle reflected over more or less of the
shell, shell delicate, no operculum. Eocene——. Principal genera:
Lamellaria, shell completely internal, transparent, auriform; some
species deposit their eggs on compound Ascidians (p. 74); Velutina,
shell almost entirely external, paucispiral, with a thick periostracum;
Marsenina, shell auriform, partly internal; Onchidiopsis, shell a
membranous plate, internal.
Fam. 3. Trichotropidae.—Branchial siphon short, eyes on the outer
side of the tentacles; radula closely allied to that of Velutina; shell
conical, last whorl rather large, periostracum thick and hairy,
operculum blunt claw-shaped, nucleus terminal. Cretaceous——.
Genera: Trichotropis, Torellia.
Fam. 4. Naricidae.—Tentacles broad in the middle, with sessile
eyes at the exterior base, propodium narrow, quadrangular, a large
epipodial veil on each side of the foot; shell naticoid, cancellated,
with velvety periostracum. Jurassic——. Single genus: Narica.
Fam. 5. Xenophoridae.—Foot divided by a groove, anterior portion
the larger; central tooth heart-shaped, with blunt cusps, lateral large,
roughly triangular, marginals long, falciform; shell trochiform,
somewhat flattened, attaching various fragments externally.
Devonian——. Single genus, Xenophora (Figs. 25, 26, p. 64).
Fam. 6. Capulidae.—Ctenidium deeply and finely pectinate,
visceral sac scarcely spiral, penis long, behind the right tentacle;
shell roughly patelliform, with scarcely any spire, interior polished,
usually with a septum or internal plate of variable form, no
operculum. Devonian——. Principal genera (Fig. 155, p. 248);
Capulus, shell cap-shaped, no internal plate; Platyceras (Palaeozoic,
see p. 76), Diaphorostoma (Palaeozoic), Addisonia (?); Crucibulum,
internal appendage funnel-shaped; Crepidula (including Crepipatella
and Ergaea), shell slipper-shaped, with a large septum; Calyptraea
(including Galerus and Trochita), internal lamina semi-spiral.
Fam. 7. Hipponycidae.—Foot aborted, animal sedentary,
adductor-muscle shaped like a horse’s hoof, fastened on the ventral
side to the region of attachment, or to a thin calcareous plate which
closes the aperture like a valve; ventral side of the body surrounded
by a mantle with papillose border, which corresponds
morphologically to the epipodia, head emerging between the dorsal
and ventral mantles. Shell thick, bluntly conical, surface rugose.
Eocene ——. Genera: Hipponyx; Mitrularia, a narrow half funnel-
shaped appendage within the shell.

Fig. 272.—Two specimens of


Crepidula (marked a and b)
on an old shell of Murex
radix Gmel.
Fam. 8. Solariidae.—Foot large, eyes sessile, near the outer base
of the tentacles, radula abnormal (p. 224); shell more or less
depressed, lip simple, umbilicus wide, margins often crenulated,
operculum variable. The proper position of the family is quite
uncertain. Ordovician——. (i.) Solariinae. Genera: Solarium, shell
depressed, highly finished, angular at periphery, operculum
corneous, central tooth absent, laterals and marginals numerous,
long, and narrow; Platyschisma (Silurian). (ii.) Toriniinae. Genera:
Torinia, whorls usually rounded, operculum (Fig. 183) conically
elevated, spiral externally, central tooth present, marginals few, edge
pectinated; Omalaxis. (iii.) Euomphalinae, shell planorbiform, whorls
rounded. Genera: Euomphalus, Ophileta, Schizostoma,
Eccyliomphalus (all Palaeozoic).
Fam. 9. Homalogyridae.—Tentacles absent, eyes sessile, central
tooth unicuspid on a quadrangular base, laterals and marginals
replaced by an oblong plate; shell very small, planorbiform. Recent.
Single genus: Homalogyra, whose true position is uncertain.

Fig. 273.—Solarium
perspectivum Lam., Eastern
Seas.
Fam. 10. Littorinidae.—Proboscis short, broad, tentacles long,
eyes at their outer bases, penis behind the right tentacle;
reproduction oviparous or ovoviviparous, radula very long; shell
turbinate, solid, columella thickened, lip simple, operculum corneous,
nucleus excentrical. Jurassic——. Principal genera: Littorina (radula,
Fig. 16, p. 20), Cremnoconchus (p. 16), Fossarina; Tectarius, shell
tubercled or spinose; Risella, base slightly concave; Lacuna, shell
thin, grooved behind the columellar lip.
Fam. 11. Fossaridae.—Shell turbinate, solid, small, white, spirally
ribbed, outer lip simple. Miocene——. Principal genus, Fossarus.
Fam. 12. Cyclophoridae.—Ctenidium replaced by a pulmonary
sac, tentacles long, thread-like (radula, Fig. 17, p. 21); shell variously
spiral, peristome round, often reflected, operculum circular.
Terrestrial only. Cretaceous——. (i.) Pomatiasinae, shell high,
conical, longitudinally striated, operculum consisting of two laminae
united together. Single genus, Pomatias. (ii.) Diplommatininae, shell
more or less pupiform, peristome thickened or reflected, often
double. Genera: Diplommatina (subg., Nicida, Palaina, Paxillus,
Arinia), shell dextral or sinistral, small, columella often denticulated;
Opisthostoma (Fig. 208, p. 309), last whorl disconnected, often
reflected back upon the spire. (iii.) Pupininae, shell more or less
lustrous, bluntly conical, lip with a channel above or below. Genera:
Pupina (subg., Registoma, Callia, Streptaulus, Pupinella, Anaulus),
Hybocystis (Fig. 205, p. 305), Cataulus, Coptochilus,
Megalomastoma. (iv.) Cyclophorinae, shell turbinate or depressed,
operculum corneous or calcareous. Genera: Alycaeus,
Craspedopoma, Leptopoma, Lagochilus, Cyclophorus (Fig. 206, p.
306); including Diadema, Aulopoma, Ditropis, and others),
Aperostoma (including Cyrtotoma and others), Cyathopoma,
Pterocyclus (subg., Myxostoma, Spiraculum, Opisthoporus, and
Rhiostoma (Fig. 180, p. 266), Cyclotus, Cyclosurus, and
Strophostoma.
Fam. 13. Cyclostomatidae.—Ctenidium replaced by a pulmonary
sac, tentacles obtuse, foot with a deep longitudinal median groove;
central tooth, lateral, and first marginal more or less bluntly cusped,
second marginal large, edge pectinate; shell variously spiral, spire
usually elevated, aperture not quite circular; operculum generally
with an external calcareous and an internal cartilaginoid lamina,
rarely corneous. Terrestrial only. Cretaceous——. Genera:
Cyclostoma (subg., Leonia, Tropidophora, Rochebrunia, Georgia,
Otopoma, Lithidion, Revoilia), Cyclotopsis, Choanopoma (subg.,
Licina, Jamaicia, Ctenopoma, Diplopoma, Adamsiella), Cistula
(subg., Chondropoma, Tudora), Omphalotropis (subg., Realia,
Cyclomorpha), Hainesia, Acroptychia.
Fig. 274.—Cyclostoma
campanulatum Pfr., Madagascar.
Fam. 14. Aciculidae.—Ctenidium replaced by a pulmonary sac,
tentacles cylindrical, pointed at the end, eyes behind their base, foot
long and narrow; central tooth and lateral very similar, pinched in at
the sides, external marginal broad, edge finely pectinate; shell small,
acuminate, with a blunt spire, operculum corneous. Terrestrial only.
Tertiary——. Genus, Acicula (= Acme).
Fam. 15. Truncatellidae.—Ctenidium replaced by a pulmonary
sac, proboscis very long, eyes sessile, behind the base of the
tentacles, shell small, evenly cylindrical, apex truncated in the adult.
Eocene——. Genera: Truncatella (subg., Taheitia, Blanfordia, and
Tomichia), Geomelania (subg., Chittya and Blandiella), Cecina (?).
Fam. 16. Rissoidae.—Eyes at the external base of the tentacles,
epipodium with filaments, operculigerous lobe with appendages;
central tooth pleated at the basal angles, lateral large, bluntly
multicuspid, marginals long, narrow, denticulate at the edge; shell
small, acuminate, often elaborately sculptured, mouth entire or with a
shallow canal, operculum corneous. Marine or brackish water.
Jurassic——. Principal genera: Rissoa (subg., Folinia, Onoba,
Alvania, Cingula, Nodulus, Anabathron, Fenella, Iravadia, and
others), Scaliola (shell agglutinating fragments of sand, etc.),
Rissoina (lip thickened, operculum with an apophysis as in Nerita),
Barleeia, Paryphostoma (Eocene).
Fam. 17. Hydrobiidae.—Eyes at the outer base of the tentacles,
penis behind the right tentacle, prominent, operculigerous lobe
without filaments; radula rissoidan, central tooth often with basal

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