CHAPTER 6
Ethan lifted his arms and moved them from side to side, loosening cramped up muscles. He’d been stuck in the office all day, every day it seemed, for the past week work was endless.
There was a knock on his door. “Come in.” Ethan called out. He’d sent Susan home a few hours earlier since he still needed to do some work so it must be either Emma or Henry.
“Hey, Ethan .” Emma opened the door and held out a file for him. “This is a list of all your accounts and I’ve given Harper access to the ones indicated here. I’ve also included a list of your investment and corporate accounts on the next page just in case you needed to make more changes.”
“Thanks a lot, Emma.”
After his mate had blown up about the contract, he had declared to throw the document into the shredder and now he wanted to make it up somehow so he asked Emma to modify some of his accounts to allow Harper access to them. He did it as a sign of goodwill despite the fact that Harper didn’t seem to need his money. Would have to talk to her about it sometime.
Ethan glanced at his watch, not too surprised to find out that it was past nine in the evening already. He’d just finalized the plans for restructuring Gems, the jewelry company he’d been. working with the past few weeks.
He was lucky the CEO was mostly agreeable to the changes he wanted to make. It wouldn’t be the first time he had clients try to shoot his ideas down but he’d learned to be patient and build up his argument so the clients could see how his suggestions could actually help them run the company better.
“Don’t you have a date?”
“He does.” Henry interjected, entering his office as stealthily as ever. His footsteps were light but sure as they crossed the room. He flashed Emma an amused grin, which the other answered with a sigh.
“Mason said one of the pipes at our house must have a leak because he found the living room floor flooded. I have to go home before he gets any ideas about trying to fix anything. Hell, I get chills thinking of Mason with a wrench in his hand in a flooded room.”
“I didn’t know you were such a kink, Emma.” Henry drawled.
She shot the head of security a scowl but he must have thought of something that did involve her mate because the tips of her ears turned a deep shade of red before she burst into laughter just as Henry did. “You shut your mouth, Henry!”
Ethan couldn’t help but join in their laughter.
“Anyway,” Emma seemed to shake some sense of semblance into herself after a while. “I have to go home soon. It’s raining really hard tonight too.”
“Thanks again, Emma.” Ethan placed the folder his admin gave him into one of his drawers.
“You should call Harper. She went to the other side of the city today and her car is still in maintenance.” Henry suggested as he leaned on the edge of Ethan’s
desk.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed at the other alpha.
Henry immediately raised his palms up, looking like he could barely stop himself from laughing. “Don’t be mad Ethan. I have to keep tabs on your mate now too, you know. I asked for her schedule last week and she gave it to me.”
Well, that made sense. It was just that Ethan himself hadn’t had much of a chance to sit down and spend some time with his mate in the past couple of weeks and he figured that might have made him a bit edgy. They were both extremely busy and while that should have been the perfect set up giving their arrangement, he found himself detesting it.
He found himself thinking about Harper a lot, what the omega liked or disliked, the things that mattered to her.
He took out his phone and speed-dialed his mate.
Harper picked up on the second ring. “H-hello? E-Ethan?” Her voice wobbled, which made Ethan frown.
“Where are you now, Harper?”
“Can you come get me? P-please? I-I’m near the university subway station. I—”
He heard the omega let out a small yelp when a particularly bright flash of lighting lit up the night sky followed by a loud clap of thunder and the line suddenly dropped.
Ethan sprang to his feet, a ripple of anxiety coursing through him. “I gotta go.” He didn’t bother looking back at the men in his office as he jogged to the elevator. There was something wrong.
He didn’t like how his mate’s voice sounded and he knew he had to see the omega as soon as possible.
Rain was still pouring heavily when he exited his car but Ethan found Harper easily. The omega stood under the shelter of a bus stop, her shoulders hunched, her hands fisted on her laps.
“Harper, hey,” Ethan touched the omega’s shoulder gently. “I’m here.”
His mate lifted her head, eyes wide and fearful. “Ethan, I don’t—” Harper recoiled and jumped as a roar of thunder chased another bolt of lightning. The omega clutched the lapels of Ethan’s coat and stepped close, his cheek on the alpha’s chest. “I-I’m sorry, Ethan, Can you take me home now, please?”
“It’s okay. I’m here now.” Ethan wrapped an arm around Harper’s shoulders and steered the omega toward the car, rubbing the omega’s back soothingly. “Let’s get you home.”
Harper headed for her room the moment they entered the apartment and Ethan would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little disappointed. Still. He didn’t want to seem pushy. He told himself to wait until she was ready to talk to him.
He’d turned off his lights and was in bed about an hour later when he felt the other side of his mattress dip. He steadied his breathing. It took everything he had not to turn around immediately. He didn’t want to scare her.
Harper's scent told him the omega was still shaken and he didn’t want to do anything that would push his mate away.
“Are...are you awake, Ethan?”
“Yes. I’m awake , Harper .”
“Can I stay with you? Just for tonight? Just until the storm passes, maybe?”
Despite the black-out curtains, the pitter-patter of rain on his windows told Ethan that the storm didn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon and he couldn’t ignore his mate’s unease. “Come here. Do you want to lie down?”
The omega didn’t respond but Ethan felt her inch under the covers and stretched out behind him. He released the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. The seconds ticked by and he was just about to close his eyes when Harper spoke up.
“I was in a car accident. It was raining really hard. I came from a party and I was a bit out of it. I didn’t see the turn. It all happened so fast. I don’t... The next thing I knew I was seeing blood, glass everywhere, and I was trapped inside my car with a broken leg.”
Ethan’s heart ached for his mate. He shifted, reaching out and wrapping an arm around Harper’s shoulders as he tucked the omega’s head into the curve of his shoulder. “Thank you for telling me, Harper. I’m really sorry you had to go through that.”
He was relieved and happy when Harper pressed closer, as if seeking more comfort, his body almost humming in contentment. “Thank you for coming, Ethan . I have never drank since then and I’m really careful when I drive now but I feel so stupid that I still can’t be outside during a storm and not have flashbacks even though it was years ago.”
The alpha smoothed Harper’s hair from her forehead. “Everyone has something they’re scared of, Harps. It’s not stupid.”
His mate’s gaze snapped up, the look in his eyes doubtful.
“I hate hospitals.” Ethan confessed, finding it surprisingly easy to admit one of his worst fears
In his effort to lessen his mate’s distress. “I had to go to the hospital where my parents died eight years ago. I hate the smell, the syringes, and the monitors...just everything about it.”
“I’m really sorry about what happened to your parents, Ethan.” The omega’s arm draped around his waist.
“It was a long time ago, Harps. I’m glad I had my grandfather and my brothers by my side.” The alpha pulled Harper even closer. Half of him wanted to reassure his mate that he wasn’t going anywhere and the other half simply reveled in their proximity. “Sleep now. I’ll keep you safe.”
Ethan listened silently as Harper’s breathing became deeper, glad that his mate had trusted him enough to talk to him and in turn, listened to him. “Harper?”
“Hmm?”
“This doesn’t count as our first date. Just so you know.”
Ethan grinned as Harper’s melodious laugh rumbled between them.