Twenty-Five
Eshim
I t was done.
A cheer went out as Jerry read the email from the people at Hanover's saying they were happy with the designs and ready to move the project into the next stage, which would involve the marketing department and was none of our business. Mostly. Jerry was still part-owner and had a bunch of other responsibilities, but the design team was done with this project, which meant Lux would have to deal with losing his mate to work now. I was just glad to have mine back.
"Damn, I'm so glad that's done. I miss my kids," Aubrey said as she leaned against the wall beside me, and I hummed in sympathy. I'd spent every day—and night—with Jerry, and yet I felt like I'd barely seen him, so I understood what she meant.
"Okay, everyone! Thank you so much for all your hard work with this project. I know it was tough, and a little unfair, but don't tell the clients I said that," Jerry said, making some of them laugh. "You've been wonderful, and I'm glad to have a team like you. Now, I know Kat would call you all out for some drinks and food, but I'm sure you're all sick of being stuck in a room with all of us."
"Yeah!" someone shouted, making me laugh.
"Exactly. So why don't you take off early and spend the weekend relaxing, whatever that looks like for you. You can also take Monday or the next Friday off, whichever you prefer. A bonus will be included in your paycheck as well."
"With a boss like him, I'm happy to work extra," Aubrey said with a shake of her head. "Martin was an idiot to think he could talk shit about Mr. Cohen. I was on leave that day, but I heard what happened. I want you to know there were only a few people who believed him, mostly his own team members because he'd been filling their head with crap like that for a while. He didn't exactly mingle, and wouldn't let his team either. I would've set him straight if I was there, but I'm glad you did."
"Kat was the real star. She ripped into him," I said with a shake of my head, still impressed by Kat's ferocity.
"We have good bosses."
"We do."
People dispersed after that—no one would say no to an early day off, especially after the last two weeks—and I walked over to Jerry, who gave me a wide smile as soon as he spotted me. Didn't that make me feel loved.
"What would you like to do?"
"Hmm...I was thinking..."
"Yeah?" he asked as he closed his laptop and started packing up his temporary desk. I was glad we were moving back upstairs. While hanging out with the design team was fun, I liked it when it was just the two of us and I could pop into his office for a kiss anytime I wanted.
"First, we go home," I said, reaching out to caress his cheek with my right hand. At some point, we'd both started referring to his place as home, and I was just waiting for him to officially ask me to move in. I already knew where I'd put all of my stuff at his place. As soon as he asked me, I'd snap my fingers and everything would be exactly where it should be, including me.
"Then?"
"Then, we pick Tom up, and go to the cabin. We set him up nice and cozy, and spend the weekend in bed."
"Hmm, I could do with some rest and relaxation," he said, shooting me a smile as he collected all his stuff in a pile.
"Rest and relaxation wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I suppose I could make some time for it," I teased, making him shiver.
"Eh, who needs rest anyway."
"You do, my wonderful, fragile human," I murmured, and he scoffed.
"I'm not fragile."
"Compared to me, you are. Did Archer ever tell you about the time Lux jumped between him and Gunner and a moving car to save them from being crushed?"
"He did what?" Jerry asked, almost dropping the stack of things he'd picked up as he stared at me.
I took his things from him, then started walking toward the elevators so we could drop them in his office before leaving.
"Yep. They were walking, and some girl was texting while driving and almost crashed into them. Lux stepped in, obviously, then used his magic to make it look like the girl had hit the brakes."
Jerry shook his head as he pressed the button for his floor, then gave me a wide-eyed look. "I can't believe Archer bought that. But I suppose it was easier to believe than the alternative."
"Exactly."
Jerry chuckled as we walked across the floor to get to his office. Rita waved from her spot outside Kat's office, and I waved back, then followed Jerry into his office.
Placing his things on his desk, I turned to him, stepping closer so his ass pressed against the edge of the desk.
Jerry gazed into my eyes, then raised a brow, as if asking me what my plan was.
"We could just go home from here," I murmured, leaning close until my lips hovered over his.
"Rita just saw us come in. She'll wonder where we went."
"Nah. She'll think we left when she wasn't looking. Humans are great at making sense of what they don't understand, or at ignoring it completely."
Jerry sighed, then took a step back. "Come on. I have to tell Kat about giving the team Monday off, and that we're leaving. Then, we'll go downstairs and leave from our usual spot."
I sighed, but slid my hand in his, then waited to see if he'd protest.
Jerry simply smiled and led the way out, and I locked his office door with a wave of magic, letting him lead me to Kat's office. As soon as we got out of this place, I'd make Jerry forget everything but me.
Jerry
The moment we got home, Eshim pulled me into a deep kiss. We kissed like we had been apart for ages, which wasn't that far off.
Even though we'd been together literally all of the time, we'd been either working or resting. There had been no time to just be, to just enjoy each other's company, and I swore right then and there I wouldn't let it happen again.
I gasped as I felt him change into his true form, and then exhaled roughly when he picked me up like I weighed nothing. I clung to him, arms and legs twined around him even though I knew there was no way he would ever drop me.
Tom's barking made me pause, and Eshim pulled back as he noticed my preoccupation.
We both glanced down at the dog, who was standing up on two legs, his front paws pressed against Eshim's leg, his tail wagging rapidly.
"Hey, Tom," I murmured, realizing just now how much I'd missed him. Eshim had brought him over to work a few times, but I still hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time with him.
Eshim lowered me back to the floor, and I picked Tom up, holding him to my chest as he continued wagging his tail.
"Did you miss me?"
In answer, Tom started licking my chin, making my nose wrinkle as Eshim laughed.
"Come on. We'll go to the cabin, and we can play with Tom outside in the woods tomorrow."
"When did you book it anyway?"
"I didn't."
"Huh?" I glanced up at him, and he shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face.
"You liked it so much last time, so I bought it."
I blinked, stunned. "You bought it?"
Eshim nodded, and I frowned. "I know you don't need money for stuff, but how did you pay for it without money?"
"Uh, magic? I made their accounts show the transaction saying I'd made the payment."
"So they don't actually have the money?" I asked, wondering if I'd have to give him a lecture on not cheating humans.
"Oh, they do. They can use the money in their account, I promise."
I supposed the rules were different when it came to magic.
"Okay, that's good. You didn't have to buy it, though."
Eshim shrugged, telling me he didn't agree. Of course, he probably knew how much I loved the idea of having a place we could run away to whenever we wanted.
Tom wriggled in my arms, ready to get back to the floor. "We should go before Tom decides to jump out of my arms."
Eshim nodded, then wrapped all four of his arms around me. The air around us flickered as the lights turned down, and a moment later, we were in another dark room, though I could smell the woods outside, and hear the chitter of crickets, sounds I'd rarely get to hear at home.
The lights flicked on and the fireplace started burning as Eshim stepped back, and I shook my head at him.
"Showoff," I teased as I set Tom on the floor, who instantly took off to investigate every inch of the place.
Eshim snapped his fingers again, and I looked around, confused since nothing had changed.
"What did you do?"
"Stocked up the pantry, fridge, and the closet," he explained, and I realized traveling with him would always be this easy.
"That's handy." Eshim grinned, then wriggled all his twenty fingers, making me roll my eyes. "You know that's not what I was talking about."
He snorted, then stepped closer, intent on resuming our earlier activities. "Are you sure? You do seem to enjoy what my hands can do."
I exhaled softly, raising my face as he drew closer. Before he could kiss me, my stomach growled, breaking the moment.
"We should have dinner first," he said as he stepped back and I growled.
"Nope, I can wait."
"But Jerry—"
"Nope, nope, nope. It's been two weeks since we've had some proper time to ourselves where we're both alert enough to actually do something. I won't die if I eat an hour late."
"True, but I have plans for you. Plans that will take way more than an hour. So dinner first, and then I'll take Tom out, and then we'll head to bed."
"Eshim," I growled, but he merely gave me his sunny smile.
"What would you like to eat? Chinese?"
I said yes simply because I needed dinner done with now , and he grinned, then snapped his fingers, filling the small coffee table with a bunch of takeaway cartons.
We ate, and I tried to finish my food as quickly as I could without choking myself, while Eshim watched me with twinkling eyes as he leisurely ate his food. Clearly, he was enjoying making me wait.
When he wasn't done eating by the time I finished, I took Tom outside to hurry us along.
Tom, of course, loved being out in the wild, and I almost lost him in the dark. Next time, I'd put the leash on before I brought him out there. The last thing I needed was for the little thing to get lost. Who knew what kind of wild animals roamed these woods.
I imagined it wouldn't be hard for Eshim to find him, but I didn't want it to come to that at all.
Once Tom had done his business, I brought him back inside to find the table cleared and Eshim nowhere to be seen.
Puzzled, I checked for Tom's food dispenser, smiling when I spotted it sitting by the far wall with his water bowl, and Tom's bed sitting near the fire. Giving him a few rubs, I let him run off as his feeder beeped, and made my way into the bedroom. That's where he had to be, right?
I heard the water running as soon as I stepped into the room, and grinned. Quickly ditching my clothes so Eshim wouldn't torture me with that too, I walked into the shower.
Eshim had shifted back to his human form because he wouldn't fit in the bathroom otherwise, and he grinned when he saw me, his eyes heating up as they slid over my body.
"Would you like to join me, Jerry?"
Rolling my eyes at the senseless question, I undressed and slid into the shower with him, wrapping my arms around his waist as I slammed my lips against his. Like this, we were almost the same height, and I didn't have to wait for him to lean down to kiss him.
I poured all of my annoyance, frustration, hunger, and need into the kiss, and Eshim groaned against my lips before his tongue slid into my mouth, dominating it—dominating me —completely.
Fuck, how could I miss something this much when I'd only had it for such a short while?