Chapter 161: Chapter 161: First day (1)
The next morning came like a slap.
Elias had drifted in and out of sleep after the bath, dozing with damp hair on his pillow, the smell of soap, iris, and his mate’s scent still clinging to him. Victor hadn’t returned. For once in the last week, the manor was silent, no footsteps, no low voice, no glint of crimson eyes at the edge of the room. Elias almost convinced himself he’d dreamt the whole thing.
Then, at six a.m. sharp, the mattress dipped.
"Up," Victor’s voice murmured against his ear, warm and maddeningly awake. "We’re going in."
Elias cracked an eye open. The curtains still held the grey of predawn; his phone said 06:02. "In where?" he mumbled, dragging the sheet higher over his head. "I’m technically jobless. Whatever you’re plotting, it’s too early."
Victor tugged the sheet down with one hand, the other already smoothing his tie as though he’d been up for hours. "Numen Corp," he said simply. "From today on, you work with me."
Elias blinked blearily at him. "No," he said, flat and automatic. "Absolutely not. I’m not suicidal." He yanked his blanket back and rolled onto his stomach. "You promise to let me choose what I want. I choose sleep."
Victor’s laugh was soft and entirely unrepentant. "It was about your career, not lazy mornings," he corrected, fingers already sliding under the blanket to hook it away from Elias’s shoulder. "I gave you a choice about titles and projects, not about staying in bed while I’m gone."
Elias groaned into the pillow. "That sounds like a very convenient loophole."
"Mm." Victor bent low enough for his hair to brush Elias’s temple. "I’m a very convenient man."
"Liar," Elias muttered, trying to flip the blanket over his head again. "You’re a god with a spreadsheet problem."
Victor chuckled, low and pleased. "And you’re my mate with a power I’ve never seen before. Which is why you’re coming with me. I don’t care if you nap through the whole board meeting; you’ll be in my office where I can watch you."
Elias rolled half onto his back, eyes slitting open. "You want me at your desk like a houseplant?"
Victor’s mouth curved, unbothered. "Only if you sit naked on it," he said simply, as though he were reciting a line from the day’s agenda.
Elias stared at him for a beat, then let out a hoarse laugh. "It’s only my fault for walking into that one. Why do you need me at the office? I thought the security was good enough here."
Victor’s tie was already perfect, but he adjusted it anyway, a small, unnecessary motion while his eyes stayed on Elias. "Security here is fine," he said. "That’s not the point."
Elias dragged the blanket back over his stomach, still half-curled on his side. "Then what is the point?"
"The point," Victor murmured, leaning down until his voice was a warm thread against Elias’s ear, "is that I don’t want you out of my sight. Not after yesterday. Not when you’re holding something I don’t understand yet."
Elias blinked up at him, still groggy but starting to wake. "So this isn’t about company policy," he said dryly. "This is about you being clingy with better stationery."
Victor’s smile flickered, proud and unbothered. "Call it whatever you like. You’re coming. You can nap, drink my coffee, and insult my board. I don’t care. But you’re not staying here while I’m gone."
Elias sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "You realize you sound like a man who just adopted a stray and won’t leave it alone."
Victor’s thumb brushed a slow circle at the base of his skull, the same gesture as always, anchoring. "Good," he said softly. "Because that’s exactly how I feel. Now get dressed. We leave in thirty minutes."
Elias let his head thump back onto the pillow with a long groan. "Fine," he muttered, eyes closing again. "Fine. I’ll go. I could use a change of scenery anyway."
Victor’s grin widened in quiet triumph.
"But," Elias added, jabbing a finger weakly in Victor’s direction without opening his eyes, "I reserve the right to complain about the hour. And the total lack of warning. Normal people give notice before abducting someone for a full-day field trip."
Victor caught the finger, pressed a kiss to the knuckle and then set it gently back down. "Normal people don’t get to touch my core and live," he said, amused. "You get different rules."
"Great," Elias mumbled into the sheets. "Different rules and no coffee."
"I’ll feed you coffee the moment we’re in the car," Victor promised, already tugging at the blanket again. "And a croissant. Two, if you behave."
Elias cracked one eye open, his mouth quirking despite himself. "Bribery. Now you’re speaking my language."
Victor’s thumb traced its slow circle at the base of his skull once more, smug and fond all at once. "Then get up," he said softly. "Let’s start your first day."
—
The shower did what no coffee would. By the time the water had run warm over his shoulders and he’d scrubbed the sleep from his eyes, Elias felt almost human again. Steam curled off him as he toweled his hair dry, muttering under his breath about six a.m. abductions and godlike barnacles with corporate agendas.
The wardrobe Victor had stocked for him waited like a boutique showroom: rows of suits in every shade and cut. He reached for the softest rebellion he could find. One of the pale, crazy-expensive suits Victor had sent over. Light fabric, a white shirt open at the throat, slim leather shoes, and a watch glinting on his wrist. No tie. He wasn’t about to give Victor the satisfaction of looking like an intern on his first day.
When he stepped back into the bedroom, buttoning his cuff, Victor was already there. The deep burgundy suit clung to him like it had been cut out of a photograph: sharp lapels, dark shirt, the color setting off his skin and the faint glint of crimson in his eyes. Even his tie knot was perfect. He looked like a boardroom fantasy and a threat in one body.
For a moment Victor just looked at him.
Something flickered across his face, not the god’s shadow this time but something much simpler, hungrier. His eyes tracked the open collar, the way Elias’s sleeves rolled just enough to show his wrists, and the faint ghost of iris still clinging to his skin. He hesitated, caught between instinct and discipline, between taking his mate to an office and taking him back to bed.
Elias raised an eyebrow, sliding his watch into place. "If you’re going to change your mind," he said dryly, "make it quick. I’d like to know if I should be bracing for a board meeting or a different kind of workout."
Victor’s mouth curved slowly, a rare, genuine smile cutting through the smugness. "Don’t tempt me," he murmured, stepping close enough for his fingers to ghost along Elias’s open collar before he forced himself back. "You’re already late."