Shifting Boundaries

Chapter Twenty

Everett

I was still on my phone call with Harry when Felix got home. I hadn't meant to leave Harry alone for so much of the afternoon, but sealing my bond with Felix had been more important than providing him with support. It was selfish of me, but if I had kept putting it off, I might have lost my nerve, and who knows how long it would have taken me to find my bravery again?

Harry summarized every single meeting he had attended throughout the day and each of his decisions. I could hear in his voice that he was reading from a list and I wondered whether he had written down such meticulous notes for himself or just so he could read them back to me later.

I was sitting at the little dining room table, which was perfect for the space but not for working. I didn't want to use the office until I moved my own desk into it, since Felix's desk was an absolute mess. I was afraid to touch anything lest it never be seen again. At least if Felix couldn't find anything in that jumble it wouldn't be because of my interference. Felix sat down in the chair next to mine and scooted it over so he could look at my laptop screen, which had a budgetary spreadsheet up. He quickly realized it wasn't interesting and shifted his gaze to me, distracting me from whatever Harry had to say.

"Sorry, I'll wrap this up as quickly as I can," I sent through our bond. It was my first time reaching for Felix telepathically and he jumped in surprise, making me snicker.

"Is everything okay over there?" Harry asked.

"Sorry, yes, everything's fine. What were you saying?" I responded. Felix's fingers traced a path up my arm, raising goosebumps in their wake. I shot him a reproving look, but Felix only smirked and did it again.

Harry was telling me about rumors of the original CEO of CyberBoards coming back to the company, which could help the stock recover some of its value. It wouldn't jump back to its original value right away since people would feel more cautious about investing in it, but it would help. Harry hadn't bothered selling off the shares Leon had purchased while I was away since they were worth so little and there was still a small hope of them recovering.

"Hold them for now," I said, falling back into my usual role with Harry. Then I realized I was too used to being the leader in this relationship and needed to learn to step back so Harry could fully take the reins. "Unless you had a different idea?" I added hastily.

"No, I think it's worth waiting, at least for now."

"Was there anything else you wanted to discuss tonight?" I asked, pleading silently for him to say no.

"No, there's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow. I just wanted to catch you up."

"Thanks, Harry. I'll check back in tomorrow."

We hung up and I turned to my mate. He looked exhausted, I realized. Or... was that disappointment? "What's wrong?" I asked, my heart racing with nerves.

He sighed and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. His stubble scraped at my skin, which was startling. When would the adjustment period be over? When would it finally feel natural to be with him? I had hoped that once we slept together, everything would fall into place. It definitely helped and I was glad we'd done it, but apparently sex was not a magical solution.

These were worries for later. I focused on Felix, who was grimacing. "It looks like I'm going to be working longer hours for a while."

Disappointment filled me, but I didn't want to add onto Felix's pain. "Oh. Why?" There. That was a neutral enough response, right?

Felix recapped his meeting for me and my frown matched his by the end. "I heard the forest fires going on right now are really bad," I told him.

Felix winced. "I haven't been keeping up with the news, but Spencer thought this would last for at least a couple of weeks. We're preparing to host them for a month, but hopefully they can return home sooner."