Chapter 18 Separation Anxiety
Separation Anxiety
Lawrie
On the dreaded Monday morning, Ernest and I carpooled to the headquarters in tense silence. Since it was before eight, the reception area was still empty when we arrived. Ernest looked around perfunctorily and kissed me. Then he grunted in protest while I disentangled myself.
“Lunch?” he asked, looking again like a kicked puppy. I didn’t find it funny since I felt similarly bummed by having to say goodbye to him, if only for a few hours.
“I only have thirty minutes. I usually eat in the staff room behind the reception.”
“Can I join you?”
“Lunch on plastic folding chairs in a stuffy cloakroom. Sure. Twelve fifteen.”
Ernest grinned, dimples deepening. “Great. I’ll pick you up.”
One more peck, and I made myself move. I could feel his gaze on me as I walked to the discreet elevator leading to the executive offices.
At the office, I sank behind the desk and booted my computer. My surroundings felt unreal, as if I returned after years away and not a mere week. My life had changed so much…
A creeping unease made my stomach clench. I wanted back to Ernest, dammit. The door to Mr. Sullivan’s office clicked, and I started. Was he already here? So early?
He ducked under the doorframe and blinked at me.
“Lawrence. Morning.”
He’s a dragon too. My heart thumping, I shot up from my chair.
“Good morning, Mr. Sullivan. Do you want to go through your schedule for this week?”
That was what we usually did first thing on Mondays unless he had an early meeting.
“Sure. Later. Um. Would you mind stepping into my office for a moment?” His voice sounded strange. Insecure? That couldn’t be.
Wordlessly, I walked around my desk. Mr. Sullivan held the door open for me, which he’d never done before. Not once.
“Sit down, please,” he said, closing the door behind us.
He settled into his chair and shuffled a few items around on his desk. Was he nervous? Davidson Sullivan was nervous in front of me. Wow.
“As you know, Ernest has informed me about your relationship.” Not meeting my eyes, he stacked a few papers and moved them to the left, only to place them into a drawer a few seconds later. “I assume you are now also aware of my…nature.”
“I’m a part of the secret now, Mr. Sullivan. I won’t disclose it to anyone—not that anyone would believe me. And I don’t expect our work relationship to change in any way.”
He flashed me a strange look and glanced at his desk again. He picked up a pen and twirled it between his fingers, studying it as if it were a fascinating artifact. “I’m not worried about secrecy. As Ernest’s mate, you won’t ever have the slightest motivation to disclose anything to anyone.”
And he was quiet again. What was going on? I waited him out.
“I assume that since you’re bonding, you’d prefer to stay in each other’s vicinity.”
“Um.” Why did he care?
“I want you to know that I’ll be accommodating. You are welcome to accompany us on the prototype tests this week, and I don’t expect you to travel with me during the upcoming months unless Ernest is also joining.”
Had Ernest talked to him? But no. He wouldn’t do that behind my back. “Thank you, sir. You’re very kind.”
He winced and peered at me, frowning. “We both know I am not kind, Lawrence.” His tone was harsh, but his words held a new, self-deprecating edge. “Working for me is difficult.” No, he wasn’t going to apologize. I refused to believe that.
“Sir, I don’t want you to suddenly start treating me differently just because I’m mated to your friend. Honestly, I would find it insulting.”
His mouth tightened, and he squinted at me evilly. Now, that was the Davidson Sullivan I knew so well.
“Will you prefer it if I continue treating you like shit, Lawrence?”
“Have you been treating me like shit?”
He coughed, seemingly suppressing a laugh. Looking at me for a long time, he was silent. I managed not to fidget, realizing an amazing thing. I wasn’t afraid of him. Not anymore. Even knowing he could change into a freaking dragon, I could handle this man.
“I think it’s impossible for our work relationship not to change under these circumstances,” he finally said.
“I’ve had some time to think about it, and I am very much interested in keeping you as my assistant.
Not only have you been tolerating my, let’s say, prickly personality,”—his lips twitched—“but you have also been the most reliable and efficient assistant I’ve ever had. ”
I raised my eyebrows. Had Mr. Sullivan just complimented me?
“I’m trying to say, Lawrence, that I appreciate your work. And if you don’t thrive at your workplace, one day, you’ll leave. I’m merely being pragmatic.”
“Let me make sure I understand correctly. Before I was with Ernest, I was a young, inexperienced omega, drowning in student debt, fully dependent on keeping this job. It didn’t matter to you whether I loved or hated it because I needed to perform anyway. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“But now I’m a dragon mate, and suddenly, you have to respect me because I could quit on you tomorrow, and then you’d have to go through the hassle of finding someone else who’d tolerate your behavior.”
“Exactly.” The vile beast had the audacity to look smug.
I exhaled loudly, and it felt like letting out a year’s worth of stress and humiliation.
My chest and stomach loosened as I stared at the man who’d been my nightmare for so long.
“You are a horrible human being, Mr. Sullivan, and the worst boss.” Lord, it felt good to finally say it out loud to his face.
Despite the insult, he remained calm and even smiled at me. “I’m not even a human being, Lawrence.”
Inexplicably, I found myself smiling back.
“I don’t expect you to suddenly change, sir. But I will give you my notice unless you pay me for all the overtime.”
Lifting his chin, Davidson Sullivan measured me. “How about this? I’ll pay you your overtime and a three-month sabbatical once you have a child. When you feel like you need to leave Sullivan and Burnes, you will talk to me first.”
“Four months paid parental leave, fifteen percent raise, and full health insurance,” I blurted. Apparently, I was on a roll today.
He tilted his head to the side, squinting. “Are you getting cheeky, Lawrence?”
“I’m worth more than that, and you know it.” To my surprise, instead of nervous, I was giddy with excitement.
Davidson Sullivan stood to his full height, towering above me, and offered me his hand. I rose from my seat, and he squeezed my fingers with his meaty paw.
“You got yourself a deal,” he said. “Not that you’ll ever need any insurance, but whatever. Bring your laptop, and we’ll go through the schedule.”
I nodded and turned, about to open the door.
“Lawrence.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Ernest is a lucky man.”
There was a hint of regret in his eyes, and for the first time ever, I felt a little sorry for my cantankerous dragon of a boss. “I know.”
When Ernest entered the office two minutes before the decided time, I all but fell into his arms. He smelled so nice. I closed my eyes and rose on my tiptoes, trying to push my nose into the warm spot underneath his ear.
“I’ve missed you so much, Lawrie. I couldn’t focus.” He squeezed me to him, lifting me from the ground.
“It’s only been three hours.”
“Almost four.”
He found my lips, and I sighed into the kiss. Three hours and forty-seven minutes, but hey, who was counting? When our tongues slid against each other, my hole loosened, and my nipples tingled. How would I make it until tonight? I needed him now, dammit. Forget lunch. I needed his cock.
“Is he in there?” Ernest whispered against my mouth, apparently reading my thoughts.
“No.”
“Does it lock from the inside?”
“Forget it.” God, I wanted him so much I could weep.
“Lawrie…”
“I can’t have sex with you in my boss’s office.”
“Please, Lawrie.”
“Executive bathroom. C’mon.”
“Thank fuck.”
We rounded the corners, the hallways empty.
As soon as the lock clicked, Ernest was all over me, frantically unbuttoning my shirt.
I unbuckled our belts, and both our pants pooled around our feet.
He chucked his shirt and lifted me onto the bathroom counter.
I bit into my fist when his lips closed around my left nipple.
He sucked forcefully, making me shiver with the sweet sensation.
I could feel the slick leak out of me and onto the counter. Fuck, I was so needy.
“Dammit, Ernest. It’s like heat.”
He shoved two fingers into me roughly, and I gasped.
“Yeah, you’re drenched.” He blew on my nipple and opened his mouth wide, taking the flesh in deep. I arched into the intense sucking sensation.
“Suck me dry and fuck me.”
When he switched sides and added a third finger, I came, my cum spraying my belly. Except the need didn’t abate. Not at all.
“Look at you. So fucking horny.”
“Please, Ernest, give me your cock.”
He gripped my thighs, lifting them, and I had to brace myself against the mirror, or I’d topple into the sink.
Of course, Ernest could sense my discomfort.
He grabbed me by my ass and moved me to the corner, holding me folded in half against the wall.
Then he impaled me to the hilt on one rough thrust, muffling my cry with his mouth.
He all but drilled into me, grunting and growling like the monster he was, and my system exploded into flurries and tingles.
“That’s it. My Lawrie coming on my dick.” He bit my lip and licked it. “You’re so wet for me, sweetheart. You’ve ached for me all morning, haven’t you?”
He prolonged his thrusts, and I could only nod and moan. Adjusting his grip on me, he held me with one arm, and with the other hand, he covered my mouth.
“You can’t scream, love,” he rasped.
And that was all the warning I got.