I let out a shuddering breath. “Thanks.”
I waited a beat, but he turned away from me and headed toward the ice.
He had a job to do, and so did I.
CHAPTER TWELVE
WARD
The bump of her body beneath pale sheets lured me closer to the unmade bed. Sia hadn’t gone to the courthouse after she melted down at the ice rink. Not that she showed me how chaotic her internal process was, but it was a damn close thing. The way she fractured subtly before me was beautiful. Struggling with not launching herself at me out of frustration, but holding back all the same. Fighting every single urge, and yet still she didn’t put those damned papers in.
The ones I signed earlier in the week, that I’d had drawn up to keep her safe. The ones I needed her to file.
My stubborn wife refused to play the game by my rules, or even her own. She took the papers home, and came back to work as though nothing changed.
But everything had.
And so here I was to give her the reward she earned.
I paced to the bed, grazing my heavy gaze over her sleeping form. She was so exhausted after our run in earlier that her slumber was deep. The corner of my lips quirked. Good. That would make this part a whole lot easier.
Reaching over her, I braced one hand on the bed rest above her head, and ran my hand along the covers.
“Sia,” I murmured, then paused.
No warmth came from beneath the sheet.
No bumps where I’d expect there to be curves on her lucious as fuck body.
I ran my hand over her sleeping form again both bright and dark from street light slanted through her open windows. The bumps delved lower, and flattened out.
Breath left my lips in a rush, a snarl bursting free. The covers pulled back in my fist to expose—
Two heaps of shredded papers, one pile slightly more flattened than the other in the middle. Underneath sat a piece of black plastic. Exactly the same size and shape as Solace and I used to dispose of the Chimera’s little Lewis problem.
“I thought it would help get rid of the evidence later.”
I spun about, willing my eyes to adjust to the darkness as I sought the source of the voice. “Sia,” I warned her. “Get your ass out here.”
“I’m comfy right here, thanks.” Her sass was back. That was a good thing. But it wouldn’t save her from a spanked bottom in a moment if she didn’t—
My eyes adjusted to the dim corners from looking at the dappled light, and I found her. My wife was seated in the corner of the room in an oversized, overstuffed round love seat for one, with the damned cat perched on her lap. A cocoon of blankets surrounded them both, and she was dressed in what looked like a singlet top and long, cosy pants. Her hair was twisted on top of her head in a messy bun, her face completely makeup free.
She’d never looked so damn sexy in all her life.
“What the hell is this?” I kept my voice low and grumpy, giving myself time to check her out. I doubted she missed it, but I didn’t care. I also didn't miss the double entendre. So, she’d figured it out, huh?
She stroked the cat on her lap which purred in its sleep. “I knew you’d be here.”
I clenched my teeth. “Glad I’m predictable.” I twisted on the spot and headed for the window I just climbed through.
“The door’s unlocked.”
I paused with my back to her. “After everything I did for you, you left the fucking door unlocked?” Fury rose in me likeI'd never experienced before. “Sia?” I turned back, my shoulders heaving.
“I wanted you here.” Her voice was soft. She knew she’d screwed up.
“You should have fucking called.”
