Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Isaac collapsed on Maverick’s chest, panting. Maverick didn’t comment on it, staring blindly at the ceiling. He’d attempted to warn Isaac off, they didn’t have time to deal with Maverick’s knot right now, but he couldn’t say he was disappointed. The pleasure was out of this realm, and he was almost greedy for Isaac to take him. It’d been so long since someone else had, he couldn’t even remember the last person who’d been brave enough to let him knot them. He couldn’t resist rocking his hips, feeling the snugness of Isaac’s hole clenching it.
“Maverick,” Isaac moaned. “Don’t we need to get back to work?”
Technically, yes. They shouldn’t have left like they did in the first place. Though he could admit it was necessary at the time. Isaac noticed even before he did that he’d reached his limit and was too close to losing it. All because Taron had been sitting too damn close to Isaac.
A low growl rattled his chest, and Isaac sighed heavily, poking him in the ribs. “No. We don’t have time for another round. You can’t pretend to get all growly just to stay here. I don’t want to get fired for slacking off.”
He swallowed the noise down. Isaac was wrong about why he made it, but he felt no need to enlighten the little mage. He was surprisingly possessive of the man. He wasn’t sure when it started or why, but he could admit to himself that it was a problem. He already struggled with his temper. Losing it every time a male came close to his assistant wouldn’t help. But he wasn’t willing to stop what they were doing, either. It was frustrating, and he wasn’t sure how best to proceed.
While he was having an internal debate on both options, his knot deflated and he slipped out of Isaac’s warm body with too much disappointment. The little mage really did have the perfect behind.
Pushing off his chest, Isaac grimaced and glanced between them. “Sticky. I’m going to hop in the shower. Can I trust you to keep your hands to yourself if you join me?”
No. And they didn’t have time for another round. “You can go first. I’m going to make a few calls.”
Isaac shrugged and rolled off him. Maverick tracked him on his way to the bathroom, narrowing his eyes on the mage’s porcelain skin. Maybe if he marked him up a little, the possessiveness would stop being so intense. Next time, perhaps.
After Isaac disappeared into the bathroom, Maverick stood and went looking for his phone. Their clothes were scattered throughout the apartment, and he wasn’t sure exactly when he’d dropped his pants. He found them in the living room and was digging through the pockets when his eyes skimmed the room and a splash of red caught his eye on the coffee table. Turning, he looked at the papers scattered across the surface. Tests, given weekly by the dates displayed on the upper right-hand side, all with big red numbers slashed across the top. Thirty-six, forty-two, fifty-eight. The highest score Isaac seemed to get was a sixty-three, and that score had been changed from the original fifty. Maverick barely took the time to pull on his slacks before sitting on the couch and grabbing the first test.
“Your turn. If we hurry, we can–” Isaac’s voice faltered as he came to an abrupt halt just inside the living room. When Maverick looked up, he watched as Isaac’s face flushed bright red, his eyes wide with horror and embarrassment as he looked between Maverick and the tests.
“What is this?” Maverick demanded.
For the first time since he’d met him, his assistant was speechless. His mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to figure out what to say, but the words just wouldn’t come to him. Maverick pushed to his feet, showing Isaac the test he’d been flipping through.
“You said helping me wouldn’t affect your school work. You lied.”
That seemed to snap Isaac out of his shock. His spine stiffened and his gaze jerked to Maverick’s, a deep scowl on his face. “No, the hell I didn’t! Those tests have nothing to do with you! Professor Larson is a jackass who hates me. Even if I wasn’t helping you, he’d still do everything in his power to screw me over.”
“Why?” Maverick demanded. He didn’t like the thought of Isaac failing his classes just to help him. Maverick made his bed. He had to lie in it. He wouldn’t let Isaac take himself down with him.
Isaac threw his hands into the air, frustration clear across his face. “Who knows? I know he has a problem with people who don’t go to school full time. He thinks those of us who are working at the same time are not giving our full focus on our education and are just wasting his time. He also takes issue with me specifically because I’ve argued with him in the past. He’s an idiot who thinks he’s never wrong.” His face was still bright red with embarrassment, so intense that even the tips of his ears were crimson. It was a fascinating color on him, but not a situation that Maverick could enjoy it.
Maverick glanced down at the tests again. “What class is it?”
“Contracts. You’d think it’d be really straight forward, but he’s an ass about it. It’s why I requested to fix that contract for you. I wanted more hands-on experience. I feel like either he’s purposely screwing with me or I’m missing something important, and actually getting to put one together might help.”
Maverick bit back a growl. It’d been a long time since he was in law school, but he did take classes every once in a while to refresh himself and learn about new areas of law, like technological regulations, as it applied to their company. He knew very well how some professors could get so full of themselves that their word outweighed even common sense. And because Isaac was only a student, nothing he said would have much weight to it. He’d need help to fix this.
Unfortunately, right now, they didn’t have time. They’d already missed too much while Isaac was helping him get himself back under control. But Maverick promised he’d help him study. He could help with this, too.
“Pack these up. I want to go over them with you later.”
The incredulous look that Isaac shot him almost made Maverick laugh. The little mage did not look pleased by the idea at all. Too bad Maverick was more stubborn than he was.
“Absolutely not,” Isaac snapped. “I’m not going to purposely embarrass myself in front of my boss by showing him how awful my grades are. You need to shower so we can get going. I’ve got work to do, and I bet Elijah is looking for you.”
Maverick shot him a dirty look. He didn't appreciate the reminder that he was being shadowed by SR.
“I promised to help you with your studies in exchange for helping me on weekends. This counts. Bring them with. We will go over them after work.”
Isaac’s arms crossed over his chest, and his chin lifted stubbornly. “I’ve got class after work. It’s in my contract that I don’t work past five. And if I want to get to class on time, I can’t linger. Let it go, Maverick.”
He spun on his heel and stomped off without a backward glance. Maverick growled his annoyance, but he was relaxed enough from their earlier tryst that he didn’t feel even close to losing his temper. He couldn’t force Isaac to meet with him after work, and he would never ask him to miss out on his classes. But the weekend was another story entirely. If Isaac could boss him around about shifting and doing stupid meditation exercises, then Maverick had the same level of control with his studies. So far, he’d only quizzed Isaac on some of his other classes to help him prepare for upcoming tests, but Maverick was determined to tackle whatever this professor’s issue was head on. As soon as the week was through.
Proving that he was a smart man, Maverick brought them first to the courthouse. He had paperwork to pick up and at any other time of day, the lines would be obscenely long. It gave them a good excuse for being late, and when they arrived back at the office, no one questioned their reasoning. A few gave wary glances to Maverick, but he was a lot calmer than when he’d left. Almost too calm.
“People are going to know if you’re in too good a mood,” Isaac pointed out when they were alone in the elevator.
Maverick raised his eyebrow. “I’ll try to maintain my scowling persona,” he deadpanned.
“Thank you.” Isaac pursed his lips against a laugh. While it was true that people were going to be able to tell something was up because of Maverick’s good mood, it was a little unreasonable to tell the dragon to scowl just to hide it. Still, he liked that Maverick played along. And it didn’t take long for irritation to replace his good mood anyway, since Taron was standing in the middle of the reception area, chatting with a few of the staff.
“... And they all looked at me, like it was somehow my fault,” he exclaimed, mock wounded.
“Was it your fault?” Schultz asked with a smirk.
Taron winked at him. “A magician never reveals his tricks. Needless to say, I was never invited back to that strip club.”
Maverick’s sigh was long suffering and so irritated. Luckily, he was relaxed enough not to lose his temper, though his voice was gruff when he snapped at Taron.
“How is that topic appropriate for the office?”
Taron spun around, giving Maverick a wide smile. “Mav, my friend! You’ve returned! I missed you!”
Isaac rolled his eyes, scooting past them to head back to Maverick’s office. He wanted to work more on fixing the contract, and he had the time since Maverick would need to go to his meeting with Ozen soon. Isaac was definitely not invited to that.
“Why are you so mean to me?” Taron whined. “I covered for you! People were asking where you were and I made up a lovely story about needing to meet with a potential client. You should be thanking me.”
“We were late because we were stuck at court,” Maverick said gruffly. “I didn’t need you to cover for me.”
Taron made a tsk sound, shaking his head. “That’s a terrible cover story. Come on, you can do better than that. I know you’re a stickler about lying, but at least make it believable.”
They both came into the office together, Maverick’s jaw ticking with his irritation. Isaac didn’t want the shapeshifter to ruin Maverick’s calm, so he picked up the documents they’d retrieved from the courthouse, waving them at Taron.
“We were at the courthouse. The lines were atrocious.”
Taron looked at the paperwork with a frown. “Oh. That was true?” He wrinkled his nose. “That’s boring. I thought you’d run off together to fuck.”
Maverick’s head whipped around, and he snarled. “Taron!”
Taron’s hands went up in surrender, his eyes wide. “Sorry, sorry! I just…” He paused and took a deep breath, frowning. “You two realize you smell like the same shampoo, right?”
Isaac dropped his head into his hands. He hadn’t even thought about that. Then again, who pays such close attention to a person’s shampoo? Especially a person you aren’t interested in.
“See? I was right, wasn’t I?”
“If you don’t get out of my office, I’m going to hurt you,” Maverick growled.
“Now, Mav. That’s not very nice. I’m trying to help. You have to meet with Ozen soon. You should have your story straight.”
Maverick’s growl was threatening, and it was only by sheer dumb luck that Isaac dropped his hands and saw Elijah heading down the hall towards the office. He shushed them both, giving Maverick a pointed look and tipping his head toward the hallway. Maverick swallowed down the growl just before Elijah knocked on the open door, a pleasant smile on his face.
“Welcome back, Mr. Van Buren. Are you feeling any better?”
Taron spun around, a bright and obviously fake smile plastered on his face. “Hello, again. You are a sneaky one, popping up behind us. That’s dangerous around shifters, you know. They don’t like to be startled.”
Elijah opened his mouth to respond and snapped his jaw closed suddenly, frowning at Taron. “You–”
Taron raised an eyebrow, an almost smug look on his face. “Me? Did I do something?”
Maverick looked just as confused as Isaac felt. What the hell was Taron up to?
Elijah looked flustered, but seemed to think better than to keep asking questions. He shifted his gaze to Maverick instead. “Can I ask where you went? I–”
“We went for a walk and had to go to the courthouse for some paperwork,” Isaac answered quickly. He still hadn’t gotten around to talking to Maverick about shielding his mind yet, and he didn’t want Elijah poking around. “Mr. Van Buren, your meeting is in ten minutes. You should probably head upstairs.”
Maverick nodded, tucking a file under his arm, before he grabbed Taron’s elbow and steered him out of the room. He ignored Taron’s protests, dragging his friend along without looking back. Isaac would have laughed if that move didn’t leave him alone with Elijah.
The telepath’s attention turned to him, and Isaac felt his spine stiffen. He put every ounce of his magic into his mind’s shields, narrowing his eyes when he felt Elijah’s magic brush against his.
“You’re very powerful,” Elijah commented. “I’m surprised you’re working as a temp. Stronger mages usually get recruited to the military, don’t they?”
“They asked. I refused,” Isaac answered curtly. “Am I under investigation too? If not, I’ve got some work that I need to do, and Mr. Van Buren doesn’t like people in his territory when he’s not here.” Aside from Isaac, whose desk was in Maverick’s office. He hoped Elijah didn’t point that out, because he didn't want to answer why Maverick trusted him like that. He didn’t even know the answer.
“No. You’re not under investigation. Neither is Mr. Van Buren. I’m just here to understand where these rumors are coming from,” Elijah said simply.
Isaac didn’t believe that for a second. They wouldn’t send a telepath to shadow Maverick if they weren’t hoping to get dirty details on him. Isaac didn’t like how underhanded they were being about it.
Elijah tipped his head, a small smile pulling at his lips. “You don’t like me, do you?”
“I don’t know you,” Isaac shot back. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Elijah hummed, and Isaac could tell he didn't believe Isaac in the slightest. Maybe Isaac would be nicer if Elijah wasn’t so sneaky about how he used his magic.
“I think I’ll talk to the rest of the staff while we wait for Mr. Van Buren’s return. Will he be gone long?”
Isaac couldn’t answer that, even if he wanted to. The meeting was only scheduled for an hour, but it was a meeting with the CEOs. It took as long as it took. Isaac was always careful to give a decent buffer around meetings with either CEO, so Maverick wouldn’t be rushed.
“At least an hour. If you finish beforehand, you can wait in reception. I need to head out for a while and you can’t be here without me or Mr. Van Buren present.”
Elijah nodded. “I’m well aware of respecting a dragon’s territory, Mr. Silverbreeze. I’ll see you in an hour.”
Isaac slumped back in his chair, relieved and a little unnerved. Why the hell did they have to assign a creep to shadow Maverick? It was lucky the good outweighed the bad in his life right now, or he’d be seriously spiraling. And if Maverick was a major part of the good? Well… no one had to know that but him.