Chapter 11 Moving in
Moving in
Ernest
“This is weird,” Lawrie said, staring at the shelves in the closet I’d cleared for him. “I’m not moving in with you.”
Yet. He wasn’t moving in yet. But I got that he needed the distance. I really did. “You’ll be staying here with me for the next week. You don’t have to live out of your duffel. This will be more comfortable.”
He harrumphed and opened the duffel.
“I’ll make us something for lunch,” I said. “Pasta okay?”
If I was flying later, I needed the carbs.
“Sure. Thanks.”
After Lawrie unpacked into the shelves I’d cleared for him in the bedroom, we ate lunch.
I was excited about taking Lawrie for hikes and flights during the free week we now had. But when I tried to strike up a conversation about the national parks, he seemed distracted. He looked at his screen for the second time without typing anything, only to put the phone back on the table.
“What is it?”
His mouth tightened. “I’m figuring out what to write to Mr. Sullivan.”
“Ah. Sorry.” Okay, it was time to open up about that little issue. “I’ll talk to Davidson.”
Lawrie pushed the last piece of fusilli around on his plate and massaged his forehead. His anxious frown made me want to walk around the table and hug him. “You can’t exactly tell him I’m not coming to work because I’m staying in your bed all week.”
“Actually, I can.”
His eyes flashing, Lawrie pointed his fork at me. “Don’t you dare. I’m great at what I do and have a spotless reputation. It doesn’t matter that Mr. Sullivan is your friend. He’s still going to think I’m an idiot or worse if I fall into a relationship with you and immediately stop caring for work.”
“Or worse?”
“A gold-digger? A slut?”
“Lawrie,” I said as mildly as I could. “I can tell Davidson the whole truth.” I waited for him to understand my meaning.
His lips parted, and the fork clattered to the table. “Nooo,” he said, drawing the word out in disbelief.
I nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”
“Mr. Sullivan is…the same as you?”
“A dragon, yes.”
Lawrie swallowed and leaned back in his chair. “Fuck.” He went a little pale.
“I’ve known him for a long time. He moves in the same circles.”
He kept shaking his head infinitesimally, as if disagreeing with reality. My poor Lawrie. I hadn’t made it easy for him. “And Mr. Burnes?” he asked in a weak voice.
“Harry Burnes is human and doesn’t know about us.”
“But Mr. Sullivan is single.”
“Yes, Davidson is still unmated at forty-four, to his great dismay.” He used to joke about it, but in recent years, I hadn’t heard him mention it all.
Only sometimes, I caught this half-wistful, half-angry look on his face, like he had an ongoing argument with reality.
I couldn’t blame him for his crabby nature.
“Is that why he’s so irritable all the time?”
“He’s getting a bit jaded.” I swallowed. “Up until yesterday, I thought I’d be like him in a few years.”
Lawrie squirmed in his seat, looking down at his hands. He ignored my remark. “But even if you tell Mr. Sullivan about us, I still need a viable explanation for others. Like human resources.”
“Let’s talk to Davidson and see what he says?”
He blew out a deep breath. “Okay. Whatever.”
I picked up my phone and dialed. To my surprise, he answered immediately. But it was Sunday, and if I knew him well, he was at work, enjoying a quiet office in an empty building.
“Hello, Ernest. What is it?” The familiar bleak voice of my friend sounded even more tired than usual.
Lawrie stared at me over the table, still as a statue, only his cheeks paler than usual.
“Hi, Davidson, sorry to bug you on a Sunday, but I need to explain something to you. It’s important and personal. Do you have a minute?”
“I’m at work but alone in my office. Go on.”
“Something happened at the party on Friday.”
Davidson gave a rumbly half-laugh. “You texted you were headed for the dry cleaners. That’s your second ruined suit jacket at Sullivan and Burnes, but it’s all your fault. No refunds. You didn’t have to show off with that revolving door, by the way.”
I paused and locked gazes with Lawrie, who chewed on his lip. “I didn’t go to the dry cleaners on Friday.”
“No?”
With Lawrie’s glistening brown eyes pinned on me, all hopeful and nervous, I had to smile. “I found my mate, Davidson. He’s your assistant. Lawrence Winchester.”
And nothing. A sliver of doubt slipped into my mind. Would Davidson get angry? Would he try to make it difficult for us? But he couldn’t. You never mess with another dragon’s mate—that was unacceptable. He was probably just surprised.
“Lawrence.” The phone crackled with Davidson’s loud exhalation.
“Yes. You assigned him to me as a guide at the party, remember?”
Davidson was quiet for a long while, and in the silence, I heard Lawrie’s heartbeat accelerate.
“It’ll be okay,” I mouthed.
He took a shuddering breath. He was truly afraid of Davidson, wasn’t he? How did the man treat my Lawrie, making him this nervous?
“My assistant is your mate,” Davidson finally stated, his voice even but with a little bit of an edge to it. “And I served him to you at the gala. You’re not kidding.”
“No, I’m definitely not.”
There were a few more beats of silence during which Lawrie dragged his hand down his face and shook his head.
“You lucky shit.” Davidson sounded hollow but not unkind. “He’s clever. I haven’t been the best boss.” A deep sigh. “But he’s been my best assistant.”
I smiled at my friend’s admission.
“He’s here with me,” I said. “He’s worried that he’s never had a sick day since he started at your company, and now I’m going to keep him away for a week.”
“That’s not an issue. Tell him to call in a family emergency and that I’ve been informed about it.”
“That’s what I was hoping for, thanks. Should he inform his HR?”
“Yes. He’s under Theo. If he gets into trouble, text me, and I’ll talk to Theo myself.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, congratulations. Even you beat me to it.”
“It’ll happen for you too, my friend.”
“Don’t make this about me. Go and enjoy. I hear it’s a special time.”
I smiled at Lawrie, who held his head between his hands, his cheeks deep pink. “It is.”
“Goodbye, Ernest.”
“Goodbye.”
Lawrie swallowed and folded his arms on the table. “So?”
“He says you should let Theo know you have a family emergency and that Davidson has been informed about it. If Theo gives you a hard time, we text Davidson, and he’ll deal with it.”
“Wow.”
I shrugged. “He gets it.”
“You don’t understand. He’s been my recurring nightmare for a year now. I get that he’s your friend, but…”
My smile fell. “I’m sorry, Lawrie. He’s not a bad person.”
“Just a terrible boss.”
“If it helps, he admitted that very thing to me and said you’ve been his best assistant. I think he might change his behavior toward you now that you’re in on the secret.”
Squinting, Lawrie leaned forward. “Meaning, he treats all omegas like shit until they have a mate he respects? That explains a lot.”
“His increasing bitterness gets the best of him, I guess.”
He blew out a long breath, his expression thoughtful. “In a way, I get it. But he should pay my damned overtime.”
“That he should.” I would talk to Davidson about it.
“And don’t you dare meddle more. It’s my work. I’ll deal with it myself.”
Sheepishly, I retracted my plans. “You saw that, huh?”
“Your face is very expressive.” Lawrie raised an eyebrow, his look brightening. “So, do you like have this clandestine network of influential people who help each other out because they’re all dragons?”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “No. Although it would be useful sometimes.”
I collected the dirty dishes while Lawrie typed on his phone, presumably emailing HR.
“What are we going to do now?” he asked once the dishwasher was running.
“I have a delivery due in about thirty minutes, and then we can go flying.”
Lawrie gaped, then just threw his hands in the air in a “whatever” gesture. “Sure, why not? Let’s. I got the fancy catsuit after all.”
“You can put the pants on directly and take the jacket with you. Wear your hiking boots.”
“Just to be sure, we’re not taking off from the balcony, are we?”
I grinned. “That would be cool, but no. We have to go somewhere remote and wait until after sunset. I was thinking Cross River since it’s the closest.”
At that, Lawrie’s expression softened. “I like Cross River. I’ve been there on a hike just recently.”
“Which route?”
“From the falls up along the valley and back through the ravine by St. Thomas Mountain.”
“We’ll park by the falls. The place should be deserted late on a Sunday.”
The budding excitement in Lawrie’s face made me giddy. “We’re really going to fly.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll make us some sandwiches.”
The delivery came while Lawrie was in the shower. I couldn’t wait to see him in that outfit again. He looked dangerously hot, all wrapped up in Kevlar.
And sure enough, when he emerged in those pants, a tight black T-shirt, and open jacket, I almost swallowed my tongue.
“What?” He frowned, looking down at himself. “Am I wearing it right?”
My eyes on his lean thighs, I nodded. “You look good enough to eat.”
His lips twitched. “Let’s go then, before I lose my courage.”
“Can I kiss you first?”
He squinted and tilted his head to the side, appraising me. “Hm. Let me think.”
“Lawrie.” I attempted a warning tone, but it only made him grin.
“Come here.”
I strode to the other side of the room, and he bit his lip when I neared him.
“Good enough to eat, huh?” he asked.
He made me burn, damn him. I roped my arms around him and hauled him to my chest while he let out a surprised giggle.
Then I slanted my mouth over his. He responded immediately, welcoming my tongue.
He tasted of toothpaste, and his mouth felt slightly cooler than mine, as if he’d drunk cold water.
After a moment, his tongue warmed against mine, and his unique taste took over, the hint of toothpaste almost gone.
He moaned into the kiss, and my cock ached as if we hadn’t had sex only a few hours ago.