Paul
The way that Sylas lost his family was absolutely horrific and I felt terrible for forcing him to relive the nightmare just because I’d been bored. Honestly, I knew that I would have never pushed him if I’d had even an inkling of how terrible the story was, but that wouldn’t change the fact that I’d once again been acting childish and selfish and it had bitten someone else in the ass. Par for the course in my life’s decisions. As I’d held the selfless Alpha against my body in the dark that night, I’d given myself a stern talking to. I’d been all too willing to take and take everything Sylas had offered since he’d stepped in to be my hero and it was time for me to give back, I decided. Starting first thing in the morning, I’d committed to standing up on my own and showing Sylas that I could take care of myself. At the very least, I’d be able to give him some sort of breather if I wasn’t clinging to him constantly. I was still formulating a plan to put into action when sleep overtook me.
~*~
“Paul?”
I was already finishing up preparing breakfast when I heard Sylas call for me. He’d slept much later than usual, giving me the perfect opportunity to put operationon my own two feetinto action.
“In the kitchen,” I called back, wiping my hands on the dishtowel tucked into the waistband of my pants and reaching for a clean coffee cup.
“Is everything okay?” Sylas’s sleep-rough voice sent a delicious shiver down my spine. I gave myself a minute to feast my eyes on his nearly naked form.
“Yep, fine,” I agreed with a smile. “Since you’re always feeding me, I thought I’d take the opportunity to fix you some breakfast.”
“Oh, thanks,” Sylas sounded confused but smiled warmly as he accepted the coffee I handed him. “I missed having you in bed when I woke up.” He sipped from his coffee and gave an appreciative groan. “Why didn’t you wake me up for your morning treatment?”
I laughed at his veiled reference to the way he took care of my morning wood nearly every day. “You were tired,” I pointed out. “And I have two good hands so I took care of it in the shower.”
“I see.” Sylas smiled again but there was something missing. He drained his coffee in a few swallows and stepped past me to rinse the cup and place it in the dishwasher. “I guess I better hit the shower myself.”
Before I could ask what was wrong, I heard the bedroom door close and I was alone again with the pile of bacon and bowl of scrambled eggs. Shaking my head, I dished a plate for myself and then covered the rest, hoping it would stay warm until Sylas finished his shower. When he re-entered the kitchen a short time later, he was fully dressed.
“Ready for some food?” I offered, rising to fix him a plate.
“Oh, no, but thank you.” Sylas said easily with another of those smiles that just seemed off, reaching for the basket that held his wallet and keys. “I’ve got something I need to take care of this morning and I’m already running late.”
“But..” I trailed off when Sylas left the room, closing the front door carefully behind him. I dropped back into my seat and shook my head. “What was that all about?”
I finished my breakfast and tidied up the kitchen, stowing the leftovers in the fridge even though I really wasn’t sure that eggs reheated well. Restless, I wandered into the bedroom only to find that Sylas had already made the bed and even picked up the clothes I’d dropped on the floor the night before. Frowning, I resolved to adddo a better job of picking up after myselfto my resolution from the night before.
I watered the basket of birthday plants still blooming cheerfully on the dresser and was about to collect my dirty clothes to put in a load of laundry when a small folder on my nightstand caught my eye. Opening it, I found a temporary checkbook for the new investment account in my name along with instructions to contact Drey to set up the debit card and finalize the account. Shrugging to myself, I headed out to the living room to make the call. After all, it wasn’t as if I really had anything more demanding on my schedule.
Sitting on the sofa with the check register, I stared at the colossal opening balance in disbelief. I had unlimited access to enough money that there was literally nothing I couldn’t do – within reason, of course.
Enough money that there wasn’t any reason for me to be mooching off of Sylas and taking advantage of his generosity instead of simply buying a place of my own before I was too pregnant to get everything settled.
Instead of excitement, a sliver of dread wound through me at the thought of leaving the man who had stepped up to take care of me when he had no obligation to. Which, I told myself firmly, was exactly the reason that I needed to move on and free him from that commitment. After all, as far as I knew I wasn’t in any danger from my asshole father or his family any longer.
Drawing in a deep breath, I dialed the phone number listed for Drey and waited nervously until a crisp, polite female voice announced that I had reached the law offices of Haldrian Christof. He was out of the office, she explained. Did I want to leave a message?
I hung my head for a split second before shaking it off and explaining the reason for my call. Reassured that he would be informed as soon as he returned, I tossed my cell phone onto the cushion beside me with a sigh.
Overcome by a sudden wave of melancholy, I gave up on the wholestrong on my ownpersona and gave in, letting the tears drip down my cheeks to soak my jeans as I cried.
Chapter Forty-One
Sylas
“Sy?” Drey looked up from his cell phone in confusion. “Did something happen with Paul and you?”
I swallowed and kept my eyes on my nearly untouched plate. “Not exactly,” I hedged. “I told him about my history, though.” When Drey didn’t respond, I looked up and caught him watching me with a concerned look. “Why?”
“He left a message with my receptionist asking for a referral to a real estate agent to help him buy a townhome or condo.”
I forced myself not to react. “Bad investment in this area,” I muttered, stabbing at the potatoes on my plate. “No real resale value. You should suggest a single-family home, instead.”
“Should I?” Drey sounded mildly amused. “Why is he moving out?”
