AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Christian watched as she pushed the hair off Jayden’s forehead with the same tenderness she used with him. His heart lodged into his throat painfully at the picture she and Jayden made together.
The possibility that he might lose them again was never far from his thoughts. Even worse was the fear that he was only going to disappoint them.
Like with Jayden’s behavior this morning.
Christian had no doubt Jayden was throwing a tantrum and yet, he also knew that it was something he’d done that had triggered it. He wasn’t sure what, though.
In the month since he’d returned, he’d never seen his son so cranky and uncommunicative. Even after Priya had joined them, five minutes before takeoff, the little boy hadn’t thawed. He’d retreated deep into his seat, with a book open in his lap, even as Priya spent ages trying to get him to come out of his shell. He’d refused to eat or talk and wouldn’t make eye contact with Christian the entire morning. Finally, he’d fallen asleep, scrunched in the corner.
Christian rubbed a hand over his tight chest, feeling both powerless and exhausted.
For the past week, his sleep patterns had only gotten worse. At this point, he was in survival mode—he had no doubt of that. So he’d used all that restless energy to catch up on eight years of MMT’s operations, had gone through document upon document. He’d hoped to have some things finalized before Priya and he left for this trip.
Instead, the more he’d delved into all the goings-on at MMT, the more dissatisfaction he’d felt. And of course, then he’d had to deal with his annoying-as-hell cousin Bastien. Leave it to him to spin the eight years that Christian had missed into some kind of bizarre conspiracy tale. With Priya at the center of it all, apparently attracting far too many unsuspecting men into her web with her womanly wiles.
He’d understood Bastien’s dirty strategy within two minutes of his cousin opening his mouth. To drive a wedge between him and Priya and get Christian back as CEO. But suddenly drowning in stock numbers and board ultimatums, his cousin didn’t know that that was the last thing Christian had discovered he wanted.
He took a relieved breath, knowing that another part of the puzzling piece of his future was falling into place.
Priya was sitting in the seat next to their son, head tilted back and slim fingers resting on Jayden’s forehead.
With William Constantine and Bastien walking in and out of his study, they’d barely talked in the past week. Now he noted the tension that bracketed her mouth and the dark smudges that hugged her eyes.
She hadn’t been exactly cool with him since the night he’d told her he wanted to take this trip. But now that they were away from the house and work, he realized she hadn’t sought him out again. In fact, she’d been keeping a polite distance. Just like she used to do, before he’d disappeared.
He scowled. Almost as if he were an unknown to her again. As if they hadn’t bared their innermost fears to each other. As if he hadn’t tasted her and held her body after he’d brought her to screaming ecstasy.
And he missed it all. He missed her teasing, her touch, her hungry gaze and her warm concern for him. He missed her like a hole in his heart.
“You said routines were important to him. Is he unhappy because we took him out of school and away from his friends?” He was too tired, too grumpy to keep out the accusatory note in his tone.
If Priya noticed it, she was too damn nice for her own good to call him on it. Her shoulders drooped with the same exhaustion that Christian felt. Jayden’s body was tucked against her thigh. On top of managing Christian and his moods and Jayden and his crankiness, she’d also worked an eighty-hour week.
“Give me your feet.”
Eyes still closed, she raised a brow.
“Please,” he said, almost choking on the word. “You’re exhausted and I need to feel useful.” And because he was a needy, grumpy bastard, he added, “I know that’s the only relief you’ll allow me to give you.”
“You might be surprised at what I’ll allow,” she said, a soft smile curving her lips.
His body twitched in his jeans.
After a moment’s beat, she turned so that her feet stretched across the small gap and landed in his lap. With slow movements, he undid the tiny buckles and pulled off her high heels. Gently, he pressed at her toes, drawing lines to her heel.
A soft moan left her mouth, and her chest rose and fell on a deep breath. “You’re spoiling me,” she said in a low, hoarse voice.
“And that’s bad why?”
Her eyes still closed, she sighed. “You’re setting a dangerous precedent. I’m going to make all kinds of demands on you now.”
“So?”
Those gorgeous brown eyes flicked open and held his. “Is this extra grumpiness because of Jayden? Or because no sleep and no sex is finally wearing on you as much as it’s wearing on me?”
Continuing to massage her feet, he muttered, “I always thought of kids as running, screaming bundles of energy. At least that’s what I thought in theory. I know now that Jayden’s not quite like that. That he’s more...mature. But he’s been so withdrawn today. It’s worse than any tantrum I could imagine.”
“And you feel like the worst parent on the planet.”
