The door slams shut, and my shoulders can’t contain a startled jerk. I sigh, kicking off my covers to find some clothes for a shower. That’ll wake me up with a cup of coffee too. I have been off caffeine for the last couple of days because the raw oysters plus the stuffed mushrooms at the event were not my stomach’s favorite guests.

I practically lived in my bathroom for the first day, and I had to take the stomachache medication to feel better.

All the articles had said that it should go away on its own and through my digestive system, but I had to bear the pain of needles poking at my intestines.

Today is the day that stomach doesn’t decide to suddenly wring itself into knots, but I wouldn’t have noticed anyway. Especially not with Silas here when my tummy is halfway into a tangled mess.

After the shower, I might have stayed in my bedroom longer than Silas had given me. I was nervous about facing him, but I also had this giddiness in me because I get to see him.

It’s a complicated whirl of emotions that I don’t know how to decipher.

The moment I step out of my bedroom, he was there with a glower and a hand almost to the door handle. I swallow thickly when the expression on his face darkens with dismay. I thought he was going to say something, but he turns around and walks off to who knows where.

I figure that I should let him get rid of his aggression in my house rather than have him explode in the middle of the airport. TSA is not that lenient, and I know that there are air marshals there. They don’t do anything because their assignment is to protect the flight that they are assigned on so even if a crazy person with a knife appears, they let the TSA agents handle it.

It’s also about stepping on toes and crossing jurisdictions. I could be wrong on so many different levels. I only know what I see on television when the news is on.

Yes, I’m one of those girls that watch the news instead of gliding in messaging apps to flirt with the first person I find attractive.

“Why haven’t you packed yet?” he asks curtly.

My tongue burns as I sip the coffee in my cup as I choke on the small droplets being inhaled into my throat. I didn’t hear his steps and given how big he is, I assume he would make some sound. He doesn’t even breathe loudly, and that’s odd since he’s so angry.

I clear my throat, wincing at the soreness as I set the mug down. I wouldn’t want him to get an idea of using the mug as a weapon if I say something offensive.

“I didn’t have time?” That comes out more of a question than the answer he wanted. “But I’ll pack right now.”

Scuttling to my bedroom, I haul out a suitcase perfect for one week of clothes and necessities. I have never packed so quickly in my life before, but I don’t want to risk giving more reason for Silas to be a prickly tiger.

Saying he’s a porcupine would be insulting to his size.

I come out to the kitchen in record time, hair messed up and tied in two loose braids with big scrunchies securing them. He’s still where he was before, and those angry eyebrows are not so expressive anymore as he blatantly ignores me.

I look over at the counter and see a yellow envelope which wasn’t there yesterday. I take it and flip it over to see the name, and it’s addressed to me by Sebastian; the mail has been sent through an overnight courier.

“We’re going to be there for a week, do you need anything?” I ask with my back turned towards him, finding it easier to not have my heart going to town with a rhythm that I’m not capable of dealing with.

“No,” Silas curtly answers.

“Not even clothes? I mean, you can’t wear the same clothes for a week. That’s just unhygienic.”

His silence is long, and I risk a look over my shoulder. A squeak catches in my throat when his green eyes are set on me, ready to breathe fire from those snarling lips.

“Don’t worry,” I say as I spin around with a laugh. “Sebastian left some clothes here, and he left his underwear too, which aren’t used and new from the manufacturer that he had begged to get his hands on.”

He frowns, confusion etches on his face when the snarling lessens.

“He’s still a child at heart. Every weekend is sleepover time for him if he isn’t working.” I shake my head opening the content of the yellow mail. “You can take his brand-new pack of briefs as compensation for dragging you into this.”

Gradually but surely, the frown leaves his face, and he frankly scrutinizes me with a pair of analytical green eyes. No obvious emotion and no subtle body language to let me know what is likely going to happen next. Then he grunts and drops his gaze on the kitchen island, his eyebrows curling inwardly as he concentrates on the design of the marble.

I laugh under my breath as my heart gives a light tug at Silas. He may have grown, but he can’t outgrow the tendencies that he thinks too much and does things by himself because he doesn’t like to be a bother or owe anyone anything.

Taking out the passport in the envelope, I flip it to see whose it is and it’s Silas face on the page. I tilt my head and shrug my shoulder; Sebastian must have found it and overnight mailed it to my house.

Silas is not someone who is forgetful, but he didn’t bring his passport with him to my house. Maybe he was planning on returning to get it, or this is a ploy that he thought of to get away from me.

That would be stupid, and Silas is not stupid. From Sebastian’s active stories. Silas takes his job very seriously and is one of the most hard-working employees at the company. He’s quite popular too. Clients want to book him for events and any public appearances that require him to be there.