Peter led Chad into the living room and deposited him on the couch. He sat down next to him, sinking into the soft seat cushion, and draped his arm over his shoulder and curled it around his neck. Chad pulled his legs up on the couch and cuddled up under his arm. Peter stroked his hand through his hair, neither one of them saying anything.
Peter was still furious, but that was mostly because of how scared he had been. Chad hadn’t set out to be foolishly brave or acted recklessly on purpose, he’d just done the best he could in the situation he was in. Lowering his mouth and pressing his lips against Chad’s silky locks, Peter closed his eyes and breathed in Chad’s scent, letting it calm him. He would just have to teach Chad how to handle future attempts on his freedom.
“Do you know what the really awful thing about all this is?” Peter asked after about half an hour of just sitting together. Chad turned his head and looked at him, his brow scrunched up. He looked exhausted.
“What?”
“My financial advisor wants me to vote no on the merger.”
Chad’s eyes were wide with horror. “That’s terrible. Youcan’t.”
Peter grinned, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry, I’m voting yes. My family is the driving force behind the deal and it would look bad for my parents if I voted against them. Even though my financial advisor thinks it’s a bad deal, everyone who’s looked at my voting record would know that I never vote against my mother and father.”
Chad breathed out a sigh of relief, and Peter nuzzled his nose back into the younger man’s hair. The longer they sat together, the calmer he felt.
“That’s good.”
Chad yawned, and Peter smiled at him. It was still early in the day, but Chad was blinking up at him like he hadn’t slept in weeks.
“Let’s go take a nap,” Peter said, forcing himself to rise from the couch. Chad stayed where he was, looking at him like the idea of having to move was abhorrent.
“Or you can nap here,” Peter said, leaning down and pushing Chad so that he was lying flat. He grabbed a pillow from the other end of the couch and pushed it under Chad’s head, and then draped a wool blanket over his legs and chest. He leaned down and kissed Chad’s cheek, stroking his hair out of his eyes and massaging his scalp.
“It’s the middle of the day,” Chad objected, closing his eyes and turning onto his side.
He fell asleep instantly.
Peter watched him for a few minutes, looming over him and counting his breaths, before turning around and heading for his office. He walked around the dark mahogany desk and sat down, leaning forward and picking up the phone.
First he called Dawn. He needed her to compile a report detailing Andrew Silkwood’s attempt to derail the merger, including his use of company funds to do so, so that Peter could pass it on to his father. The Tank Industries board would no doubt want to know every detail of the failed attempt to block the merger.
He was unsurprised when Dawn told him that the report was already completed. She was scarily good at her job, and Peter thanked his lucky stars that he’d hired her.
Next, Peter called his father. The call went right to voicemail, so Peter left a quick message telling him that the issue with Silkwood had been resolved and that a report would be arriving in his inbox any minute.
With that taken care of, Peter logged onto his computer and spent a few hours working. With everything that had been going on he’d been dangerously distracted, and there were several things that needed his attention. He was so immersed in his work that he didn’t notice the door opening and Chad stepping into the office.
“Everything okay?” Chad asked, making him jump. He looked away from his computer and grinned. Chad looked like the nap had done him good, his face no longer drawn and exhausted.
“Everything is fine,” Peter said, standing up and walking toward his mate. “I was just getting caught up on some work. How are you feeling?”
Chad shrugged. “Pretty good, I guess. My head hurts a little, but not too bad.”
Peter snagged the front of his shirt, pulling him in for a kiss.
“Do you want an aspirin?” he asked, biting down on Chad’s lower lip. Chad shuddered, mouth parting to allow Peter access.
“I’m good,” he said, hands clutching at Peter’s waist.
“What do you want?” Peter asked, his hand sliding around to Chad’s back to press the younger man into his chest.
Peter wanted sex, but if Chad wasn’t feeling up to it he wasn’t going to push.
“Spaghetti,” Chad mumbled, his voice breathy and hoarse. “With garlic bread.”
Peter froze, pulling away and giving Chad a droll look. Chad just grinned at him.
