“I don’t see why showing human decency needs to be reduced to a job. You’re sick, and I’m looking after you.”
He pushes himself to his feet, but the momentum of it makes him sway violently. I step forward, grabbing his arm.
“Goddamn it, I can’t evenstand up, for fuck’s sake. Alright, you may have a point. Would youpleasewake me in a couple of hours, though? It’s taken me all week to review the agreement with legal, and if I don’t send the revisions back to Martha this afternoon, she’s going to lose her shit.”
“Doesn’t she work foryou?”
“Sure, but I poached her from my last firm because she was so good. She’s known me since I was twenty-two, and I have as much authority over her as a post-it note.”
I snort, putting my arm around his waist as we move slowly to the stairs. I roll my eyes as his hand lowers over my ass as we make our way to his bedroom.
“God, I’m not even feeling well enough to fuck you. I really must be sick. What have you done to your hair? You look seriously hot today.”
I lower him into the bed, taken aback by the compliment. He rarely comments on my appearance outside of sex.
“I bought some new barrettes,” I say, touching the pieces I’ve braided and pinned at the back.
I go still as he raises his hand and runs his fingers through it. The intimacy of the gesture throws me off guard, and I swallow, my throat tightening.
“It’s beautiful. I love looking at it.”
He lies back in bed. I’m not even sure if he knows what he just said; all I can feel is a rising wave of happiness growing inside me as I tuck him in. As I turn away from the bed, Alexis pads into the room, hopping up beside him as his hand automatically finds her belly.
I watch them, my heart in my throat as my body yearns to crawl in beside them. It isn’t even about sex, I just want to feel part of them—soft and content beside them both.
I leave the room as quickly as possible.
Get it together, Amelia. He’s your boss, and this is just a job.
Chapter 24
Lucas
Iwake up to sharp claws pushing into my chest. I open my eyes and stare at Alexis’s large green ones that blink slowly at me as she stretches.
“Urgh, that’s my skin, sweetie,” I grumble. “Could you just shift for a sec?” She stands up, giving me side eye, and struts away as I sit up.
I feel a lot better than I did earlier. The throbbing headache I had has finally receded, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
A smile spreads over my face as I listen to Amelia doing something in the kitchen downstairs. I thought she would show up, drop off the files, and leave. But instead, she’s playing nurse, and… I don’t hate it.
In fact, it’s been nice having her here. She’s come to check on me regularly, pressing cold towels on my forehead and leaving me water and pain relievers.
I glance at my bedside, reaching for the Tylenol beside me and swallowing them down as I swing my legs over the side of the bed. But as I sit fully upright, my head starts to pound again, and I curse under my breath.
Okay, maybe not fully recovered.
I rise, walking slowly to the bathroom to pee, before heading to the balcony that looks down on the lower floor of the apartment. I pull a t-shirt from the back of a chair and tug it over my head.
Looking down into the living room, I see Amelia in the kitchen. She’s cooking something that smells delicious. I run my eye over her beautiful figure, the sparkling barrettes in her hair, and those endless, sexy legs. She’s barefoot, and I can hear her humming to herself.
It’s nice to have someone in my home again. Megan rarely spent time here. The first day she came to the apartment, she bitched about how high up it was, complaining that she had always had a fear of heights.
From that day on she insisted I went to her place instead. She didn’t set foot in my apartment more than a dozen times in our whole relationship. It didn’t help that she was terrified of Gerald, and Alexis would attack her ankles every time she came within five feet of her.
Frowning, I glance around for my peacock, worried he’ll be starving. I haven’t fed him for two days. But I relax when I see him below me, pecking at some food Amelia must have left out for him.
“You’re awake.” I look back at her. She’s smiling up at me, and it’s so dazzling I’m momentarily speechless. “I made some food. You might not have much of an appetite, but do you want to come down?”
