Unexpected Mates ~ Book One
Chapter 12

At first, when the doors opened, Sylvie heard nothing and a painful certainty sunk into her subconscious that Elias was dead. That thing ate him. Firm pressure around her waist made her body jolt, and she screamed until her voice went hoarse. She still had some fight left. Kicking and punching her arms, she barely heard the deep, calming voice in her ear.

“Sylvie, breathe. Open your eyes, Sylv. It’s gone.”

As recognition finally passed, the horror fueled cloud in her mind, her body went limp, and tears streamed down her face as Elias scooped her into his arms.

“It’s gone. It’s gone,” he hummed, lowering her body slightly.

Ashamed of her snotty, probably rosacea-covered face, she buried her head against his neck and used one hand to hide. He didn’t adjust her again, and she peeked beneath her sleeve to see where the monster went. To her relief, there was no sign of it. She relaxed as the steady steps of his feet brought them closer to his office, but instead of putting her down on the couch, he sat down with her on his office chair.

She was far too tired to argue, question, or feel awkward about his tender embrace. The adrenaline draining from her body drew her eyes closed even though her mind felt far too frantic to sleep. She jerked when Elias moved slightly, but he silenced her and stroked her hair.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m just adjusting the chair.”

She nodded, lifting one of her arms to drape across his shoulder, letting her shuddering breaths even out. Despite the flashing memories searing behind her lids, she could not open them up, and soon, only darkness embraced her.

When she woke, she blinked, surprised to be tucked against Elias slow breathing body. Her cheeks reddened as she slowly unpeeled her hand from beneath his buttoned shirt despite the enjoyable softness of his skin and sparse tufts of chest hair.

“You don’t need to get up yet,” Elias murmured against her head. “Rest longer if you want.”

Leaning back, she tilted her head up at him and sighed. “What the fuck was that?” Her voice was gone, and she was unsure how he even understood what her squeaking rasps meant.

“It was a Fae-Demon Hybrid. Demons are warded from this place, but Fae can portal in and out wherever they please, so that must have been how it got in.”

“Dead?”

He nodded.

“Where were you?” Her eyes flooded as she remembered the terror she felt. He had left her alone with that thing. How could he be so careless?

“Don’t try to speak, Sylvie,” he warned, but his jaw clenched as if pained. “Natalie tried to come in and use her computer, but I had to tell her to leave.”

Her brow raised.

“I don’t want her to know you’re staying here.”

“Is she a vamp?” she whispered.

Elias shook his head with a soft frown. “No, she’s human.”

Sylvie nodded and rubbed her eyes. “Don’t leave me again,” she said at last, not ashamed of the warming in her chest as she said the words.

His finger curled under her chin and tilted her head up. Their eyes met, and he nodded. “Never.”

Her eyes fluttered shut as his lips dipped and brushed across her mouth. Their soft, buttery texture made her melt deeper into his touch, but Elias pulled away instead of extending the kiss, tucking her head back beneath his chin. He seemed like an entirely different person, and she was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Picking up his phone, he called someone and brought the phone to his ear.

“It’s me. I need the room next to my office furnished immediately. A bed, wardrobes, curtains-”

“A potted plant,” Sylvie whispered, letting a small smile creep across her lips as he repeated her raspy words with complete seriousness.

“Fully furnished and dressed.” A pause. “It is to be used.”

Sylvie sensed his growing frustration with the tension tightening his muscled chest. He was fairly restrained, and she hid a smile. Good, she didn't want to like a guy who was rude to service people.

“You have twelve hours.”

Hanging up, he placed the phone down and placed his lips on her hair, kissing softly. The tension flowed away like water, and Sylvie pulled back, staring at his handsome, serious face.

“What time is it?” she croaked, covering her mouth when a cough spasmed from her lungs.

Elias rolled his eyes, apparently giving up his attempts to stop her ceaseless questioning.

“Six am.”

“Shit. People will get here soon.”

“I’m sure there are already people here, Hart.”

“I need to get changed,” she stretched her legs down to the floor when Elias scooped her back into his arms and stood, walking her to the ensuite bathroom. The modern set-up was tidy and clinical.

“Shower first,” he said. “Then I’m going to take you out.”

She eyed the shower and started to tremble. She couldn’t go in there alone, no fucking way. What if another one of those things got in and snatched her? Or ate her.

“Where?” she whispered, afraid her voice would crack.

“I have a cabin in the Redwood Grove upstate. About a three-hour drive.”

The thrill of leaving the glass prison and seeing nature almost made her anxiety ease about showering alone. Almost. Not quite.

“Can you- will you...”

He lowered her feet to the ground, and she stood still, gripping his forearm as she stared at the shower stall. The clear glass door faced the mirror, and the wall nearest them obscured the inside. No way.

“I can’t”, she whined, leaning into his body and burying her face in his chest. His cool body soothed her red face. The thought of the monster hiding in the shower stall, its clawed limbs suspending its wiry body between the tiled walls-

“Do you want me to stay?”

The idea of him seeing her naked made her flush, but she turned, looking up at his neutral face and relaxed. This wasn’t an invitation, and he knew it.

Pulling her lip free from her nibbling teeth, Elias helped tug her jumper over her head. If he was surprised about her nudity beneath the clothing, he didn’t show it. Instead, he walked past and turned the shower on, still holding her trembling fingers.

“I can wait behind the wall-”

“No,” Sylvie shouted abruptly, leading to a mini coughing fit.

“You want me to come in?”

She nodded, tugging down her sweatpants but keeping on her cotton underwear. He didn’t need to see all of her. Yet. She nearly choked on her spit. When did her mind get so dirty? Fern was rubbing off on her.

Following her to the door, Elias unbuttoned his shirt with one hand, eyes glued to her face. She felt a sense of gratefulness at his resolve. Any ordinary man would have gazed down at her chest, but he didn’t. Not once.

Her resolve was far weaker, and she let her gaze rake up and down his rippling torso. While Kian had a leaner symmetry to his musculature based only on her scrutiny through his tight clothes, Elias’ muscles were bulkier and gave him a more substantial appearance. Basically, he was big. Everything was. Sylvie resisted the urge to trail her fingers through the troughs in his abdomen. Dear god.

He kicked off his shoes and went to follow her into the steamy shower stall, pants still on, when she paused. “You’ll ruin them.”

He went to walk under the spray when she pressed her hand to his taut abdomen and lowered her fingers to his belt, slowly unlooping the leather. She pulled it free and unbuttoned him, letting the trousers fall to the floor, revealing his black briefs. She lifted her eyes to his and smiled, respectfully ignoring the ‘semi’ pressing against the soft fabric.

Pulling him into the stall, she kept a soft grip on his wrist as she washed with his expensive cleansers and soaps. Finally, after watching her struggle and drop the soap bar twice, he pulled his hands free from hers. She whined, reaching for him again when he clutched her wrist.

“Sylvie, stop. I’m not going to disappear. I’m here now.” As her eyes turned glassy, he sighed, taking the shampoo from the shelf. “I’ll wash your hair so we are still touching.”

Conceding, Sylvie half-turned, quickly spinning to look back at him when he took too long to touch her.

“Sylvie,” he growled, burying his fingers into her hair. “Turn around,” he said softer, letting his finger pads massage her scalp. After forming a lather, she rinsed, and he did the same thing with the conditioner. That time he let her place a hand on his waist as she couldn’t feel him lathering the ends of her hair.

Once they were all clean, he wrapped her in a large towel, and she slipped off her underwear. He did the same and pulled some clothes from a tall cupboard turning to dress. She stared at his rippling back as he changed and walked to his side, burying her face in his freshly pressed shirt.

“You’re getting me wet,” he stated, but he made no effort to move her away.

“I’m sorry for being so-”

“Don’t be. I should have never left you alone, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you feel safe again. Kian’s magic must be wearing off, which would explain your anxiety.”

He wrapped his arm around her body and guided her to his chair. “That being said, I need to grab you a change of clothes from your office. Natalie’s here now, so unless you want her to see you in a compromising position, I suggest you wait here.” At her crumpling face, he knelt and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Do you trust me?”

She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut as he padded from the room.

From her position, she heard a chirpy “Good morning, sir.”

“Morning. Would you mind heading to IT and informing them about a virus in Miss Hart’s computer?”

“How on earth did she manage that?”

“Natalie.” The warning in his voice was clear, and Natalie’s heels clacked as she walked towards the elevator. From Sylvie’s position, all she could see was Elias’s broad back blocking Natalie’s view of his office and her until the elevator doors closed.

He turned towards her office and ducked in before returning to her side in less than a second. The fresh whoosh of air hit her face as she processed his movements.

“You’re fast,” she said with a small smile, taking the clothes from his hands. He turned his back to her, hiding a smile, and she changed quickly before sitting back on his chair. He took her damp towel and tucked it away in the bathroom, disappearing for a few seconds.

Despite the increase in her heart rate, she quickly calmed as he desensitised her to his brief absence. When he returned to her side again, she let herself smile.

“So, about that road trip?”