Chapter 248

Grace

Charles smirked and licked his lips. A jolt of heat went through me, like lightning and desire. Eason shook his head and set a set of pages aside.

"Anything your heart desires, darling. But to start," Charles continued, his voice growing warmer, "You can come home and go to bed properly."

I smiled at him, touched and wondering if that meant I could expect more than sleep. His eyes seemed to say I could. Were we done fighting?

"Okay."

Eason rolled his eyes and stood. "When you're done, I'll be back. I'm going to talk to Amira. Five minutes, you two. We have things to do."

My face heated.

"Don't be a spoiled sport, Eason," Charles said.

"Tell your second-in-command to blow me then."

Charles snorted as Eason left and rounded the table. He leaned close.

His hands cupped my face, pulling me closer. Our lips met and a surge of heat ignited between us. His mouth tasted sweet. His tongue traced a path down my jawline, sending shivers dancing across my skin. Just as my hand rose to tangle in his hair, I drew back.

"Wh-What's going?"

He smiled. "Not entirely sure, but I really... really want to devour you."

I bit my lip. "I think... Eason's not going to let us fuck in the conference room."

"Probably not, and neither will I." He kissed my cheek again. "Not very comfortable and too much glass. I'll look into Lunar Remedies, you work on your dissertation and getting that plaque on my wall, hm?"

I smiled and nodded. "Deal."

That evening, I found myself half asleep, exhausted, on the table. A knock woke me. He stepped inside and cocked an eyebrow. Charles looked completely disapproving. Stepping inside, he shook his head. I sat up and grimaced as the half-eaten protein bar fell from my arm. The mess of scribbled notes beneath my arm were barely legible.

I felt embarrassed. I probably looked a mess.

"It's late, Grace," he said gently. "And I'm pretty sure you promised to come home and sleep."

I rubbed my eyes. "I did. I'm sorry."

He hushed me. "You're alright. Eason's worked out a slot of time with Amria for your announcement. I'm pretty sure he wrote it already, too."

I shook my head. "I wanted to at least try."

"You're exhausted. Come on. I'll stuff with your food and tuck you in."

I pouted. "I'd kind of hoped I'd be getting stuffed with something else."

He smirked. "You wouldn't even make it to the main event. Another night, love."

He helped me up and grabbed my bag. Eason still had all of my notes. He was probably more than halfway through my patent submission and preliminary research. He walked me out of the labs and outside. It was so dark outside. He put me in the car and held me close as George drove us back to the pack house.

I sighed. "I really... want this all to work out."

"We all do." Charles squeezed me close, his touch warm and reassuring. "And it will. You've come so far, Grace. It's okay to take a break."

I swallowed. "Five years isn't a lot of time."

"Running yourself into the ground won't make it any longer."

I sighed again and nodded. I had been pushing myself. It was like I was counting every second, but curled up to him it felt like maybe I couldn't hear the ticking clock so loud. I dozed off during the drive. When we reached the house, he helped me inside to the dining table. Dinner was still hot and waiting for me.

I settled into the seat and ate. Suddenly, he pulled out an envelope and slid it across the table.

I went still. The last time he gave me an envelop it had been my house.

"If this... is forgiveness for all my debts, I need blowjob lessons for the rest of my life."

His eyes flashed with red. "You can have those and all the gold stars, but it's not."

I narrowed my eyes. Something told me there was something he was leaving out from that statement. I really might have to charge a hundred dollars a pill so I could pay him back before he got the idea to forgive it all.

"Open it," Charles said, grinning at me. He lifted his glass to his lips. "It's a gift."

"My birthday was ages ago."

He rolled his eyes. "Cecil's birthday is coming up."

I frowned. "And?"

"Lycans don't have a Mother's Day," he rolled his eyes. "On a child's birthday, you give the mom a gift, too. Specifically, the child does."

I glanced at the envelope. "This doesn't look like cinnamon roll pancake vouchers."

He snorted. "It's not, but I did consult her and Richard on the gift."

I went still, smiling even as a bittersweet feeling hit me. I'd never be able to growl with Richard, now. He wouldn't see me the same way now, though he hadn't reacted badly to me...

He pulled out another envelope. "I had Cecil make the card."

I took it, smiling at the glitter all over the cover. "How is your suit not glittery?"

"Magic," he said. "I put a preservation spell on it."

I wrinkled my nose and opened the card. "Kind of takes away the fun of glitter."

Inside, there was a drawing of people. I recognized myself easily. She always drew me the same way, but this time, she'd put streaks of silver glitter in my hair. The figure that was supposed to be Charles had a beard and a crown. Richard was little more than a blob, but there was Eason there and Esme, too. Margaret had to be the one in a robe, and Seraphina had a witch hat on.

My eyes burned. The writing was messy but legible. When had she started writing? I hadn't taught her. Maybe Kelly had taught her or Charles. Tears pricked at my eyes. Would I get a chance to teach Richard how to write?

Dear Mommy,

Thank you for taking care of me. I hope when we get big, we can take care of you, too. And I hope Uncle Charles got the right thing!

Love,

Cecil + Richard

I sniffled. "It's... a very nice card." I looked down at the envelope. "I hope you got the right thing too... Though, what did they ask for?"

"They wanted you to have some peace because you seemed stress," he said. "They wanted me to give you what Devin should have."

Safety? Security? Love? Loyalty? There was so much on that list, and he'd given them all to me, but there was something poking at the back of my mind. Something told me that what was in the envelope was at once very simple and so very complicated.

I opened it and pulled the document out. It was giving me the distinct feeling of opening the package with my house in it. As I scanned the first page, my breath hitched. It was the notice of official delisting from the stock market and the recipets for the last few stocks that had been in circulation.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Wolfe Medical, aside from Charles' stake was now completely in the ownership of the Wolfe family again. Stability. Wholeness...

A choked laugh escaped my lips, a mixture of relief and joy. I sniffled.

"I'll have to tell her that the gift was perfect."

He grinned. "Please do."

I looked through the documents, sniffling and putting them back off.

"This is how you interpreted, hm?"

He nodded. "Support."

My jaw trembled, and I nodded. "Yeah. D-Definitely on the list."

He reached across the table and took my hand.

"You alright?"

I nodded. "Thank you, Charles. For everything."

Charles squeezed my hand gently.

I finished dinner, and he swept me up into his arms. As our clothes fell away, me upstairs. As their clothes fell away, a sense of vulnerability washed over me. Charles knew me in ways no one else had. He'd seen me at my best and my worse as far as I could tell, yet his eyes were filled with so much love for me. It was... everything I had ever wanted.

We didn't have sex, but he stepped into the shower with me. We kissed slowly, lazily almost, savoring the taste of each other and the warmth of the shower pounding down on us. Charles explored my body with reverence. His touch soothed the stress away and banished any doubts that may have still been lingering in me. He loved me. He really did love me exactly the way I needed to be loved.

Maybe it wasn't an exchange of apologies or even a resolution of the fight from what felt like a lifetime ago, but it was perfect. When he pulled me close and kissed my forehead, I felt the words he'd seemingly said in passing down to my core.

And they bubbled up, escaping me before I could think about it.

"I love you, Charles."