Page 73 of Finding Her
“Excuse me?” She smiled with affront. “I was at work.”
“You don’t normally take a break.” I tried to reel my panic in. She was here with me, everything was fine.
If she was exploring on her breaks, I needed additional protective measures. I could wait outside the building. Inconvenient, yes, but an option. I always had Mykie watching the house in my absence, why hadn’t I applied that to the pub? I was becoming careless. That would need to change. She was trusting me to take care of her. I decided from that moment on, I would station myself outside the perimeter of the pub while she worked, monitoring.
“Is something wrong?” Her eyes peered accusingly at me through their corners, challenging me to dare make a fuss about this.
“I’m just curious what you enjoyed doing during your downtime.” I tried to sound passive, disinterested. That was likely telling. I wasalwaysinterested.
She lifted her nose proudly. “I went ice skating with a friend.”
My cool melted into a puddle of boiling water. I wanted Faeryn to have friends more than anything, but I wanted her to have therightfriends. Most critically, I needed to prevent her from having thewrongfriends. Mykie could scout anybody, but I couldn’t put her on the job if Faeryn wasn’t keeping me in the loop on who she was forming connections with. I couldn’tbelieveshe would be naïve enough to go off with somebody she just met.
“Is that a problem?” she asked sternly.
“What’s their name?”Deep breaths. Take deep breaths. My claws began to prick into my palms, and I tightened my fist to suppress them. This wasn’t a crisis. It could have been, but everything was fine. She was at my side.
Faeryn scoffed. “I’m not telling you if you’re going to act like that.”
“Act like what?” Did my voice sound as strained as it felt? I was teetering on the edge; I had no sense of how much I’d changed physically. Were my eyes their calm color?
“Like I’m cheating on you by hanging out with another guy!”
Did she really think this was about concerns ofinfidelity? Although generally territorial over my precious mate, I would never assume that of her. How insulting. I was plenty capableof keeping her satisfied within the walls of our home, she would never need to seek outside affections. On my long list of worries, affairs were at the bottom.
“I’m sorry I gave that impression.” My emotions were going south; I needed to reroute this conversation and try again later. “Why don’t you tell me something else about your day?”
I made it through dinner without interrogating Faeryn further, a feat worthy of praise. I instead brought up as many non-work-related topics as possible: books she was reading, plans for once the weather improved, her card game skill improvements, meal plans for the week. She slowly warmed back up to me and was chattering enthusiastically by the time there were only scraps left on our plates.
She had made her way to our bedroom shortly after eating and began her evening routine of reading in the armchair before bed. Every time she ascended those stairs to simply spend time in our room, my heart sang. It was an act of claiming the space as her own. I hoped that meant she would stay in the bedroom even if I ruffled some feathers tonight, although I was prepared to sleep on the couch if I had to.
I always made sure the fire was lit ahead of her reading time and prepared her a special drink to savor during her relaxation. Then, I made myself scarce for at least an hour so that she could enjoy some autonomy. By the time I returned, she had changed into her version of pajamas: a baggy, wide-necked cotton shirt and her panties. Her curved legs were draped over the arm of the chair, with her current book propped on top of her thighs. The orange glow of the fire danced against one cheek,casting the other in shadows. Her thick gray hair was piled to the side of her face with a wisp curling into her temple. My mate was beautiful, serene, and comfortable. I would do my best not to ruin that with my calculated probing.
“Good timing, I just finished my chapter,” she stated, closing her book and setting it onto the side table next to her empty cup of tea.
“How was it? Did you make much progress?” I was relieved her tone was normal; my efforts to reset the mood seemed successful so far.
She cupped her jaw and frowned. “Not as much as usual. I couldn’t seem to focus tonight.” I nodded, trying to hide my pleasure that she’d brought up an easy transition for me.
“You must be tired after your big outing today,” I said calmly.
She raised a suspicious brow. “I also didn’t sleep very well last night.”
I turned my back to her and pretended to mess with the bedding, hoping that concealing my expression would aid me in appearing innocuous. “I was surprised you wanted to go exploring, given how exhausting of a morning you had.” Faeryn loved to chat, surely if I kept us on topic, details would start spilling out without needing to prod.
Two hands pressed against my back and traced their way up to my shoulders. “I’m not going to tell you his name,” she whispered in my ear, then nibbled gently at it.
“You’re so difficult,” I groaned, turning to her with my head hanging to the side in exasperation. “I don’t want to kill the guy. I’m only curious.”
“Nosy is what you are,” she laughed, playfully shoving my chest so I obediently sat on the edge of the bed. “Let’s go to sleep. It’s been a long day.” She bent down to crawl past me.
“No ma’am.” Without a moment’s thought, I grabbed her and pulled her over my lap, restraining her in place with both arms. She wouldn’t be burying herself under those blankets and ignoring me. We would talk about this. Iwouldget his name.
“Graysen, let me go!” she laughed, kicking her feet in objection.
“Not until you talk.” I leaned my head to the side so I could stare into her obstinate green eyes. They squinted at me spitefully.
“And what’s your plan here?” she scoffed. “Are you going to spank me if I don’t?”
