Page 67 of Worthy Promises
At three-thirty in the morning, Worth’s alarm went off. With a yawn, he did a quick calculation and realized he’d probably had no more than an hour or two of sleep. In the dark, he snagged his phone from the nightstand and smiled as he tapped the screen, then held it to his ear.
“Morning,” a voice still scratchy from sleep said one ring later.
“Hello, Owlie.”
“How is that you wake up every morning right after my alarm goes off?”
“Magic, I guess.”
“We’ve talked about this, Worthington. You better not be setting an alarm to get up this early. You have a full day of work ahead and need your rest.”
“Don’t fuss. My hours are flexible; I’ll get to my desk well-rested and give my duties my utmost focus.”
“That’s a lie. You eat breakfast at the same time every morning. I doubt you’ve ever slept past it.”
“I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with a dragon wishing to hear his mate’s voice before he starts his day.”
“I doubt your dragon is even awake.”
A grumbly roar filled Worth’s mind. “As if my dragon wouldn’t wake at the sound of your voice. Don’t be cross, Owlie. Tell me how you slept.”
“As well as can be expected.”
Immediately concerned, Worth rolled over slowly so he wouldn’t wake the still-resting Asteria. Although she slept in her private space when he and Oliver were making love, she preferred to be sprawled on the covers to sleep. “Is everything okay? Did Orion wake up with a nightmare or something?”
“No, everything is fine. I’d just…well. My owl and I like being near you.”
“I can understand that fully,” Worth replied with a grin, his worries vanishing at Oliver’s words. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“Me too. How busy of a day do you have ahead?”
Worth flipped through his mental calendar and was undaunted by the number of tasks he had to accomplish. Being idle didn’t appeal to him—a century of isolation had created a drive in him to keep busy. Thankfully, Worth had a rewarding job and was also fueled by the responsibilities handed to him by his High Kings. “No more than usual, how about you?”
“Nothing too nuts. Can I call you on my lunch hour, or will you be in the middle of a meeting or something?”
“No meetings,” Worth answered, which was the truth. However, if he’d had to cancel something or juggle his schedule to take a call from Oliver, he would’ve done it with enthusiasm and lied to his mate’s face to avoid having him fuss about it.
“Great. Then I’m going to grab a shower so I can get my day started.”
In the dark, Worth closed his eyes and conjured up a picture of Oliver with water cascading down his gorgeous muscled form. “Thank you for that mental image.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Owlie?”
“Yes?”
“Go strip off your pajamas and send me a photo.”
“Will jerking off help you get back to sleep?”
“Absolutely.”
“Fine, I will, but I expect you to reciprocate by sending me one once you’re done and relaxed.”
“I’m normally inclined to negotiate on any proposal, but I think this is a win-win for us both.”
Oliver laughed. “Agreed. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good morning.”
