AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mr. Carrington,” Sienna greeted, catching herself at the last moment. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to hear about the status of your mission as soon as possible. Aiden already told me it was a success,” he replied with a small smile, then furrowed his brows as he took a better look at her. “You look tired. Are you well, child?”
Sienna’s cheeks burned red at the reminder of the reason for her current state. She avoided looking at Aiden when she replied, “I’m good, I just need to get some sleep in my own bed.”
Mr. Carrington’s expression turned sad as he nodded in understanding. “I’m afraid you won’t get much of that. We’ve gotten some reports of the Remingtons’ movements, and we can’t waste any time. Tomorrow you’re onto your next location.”
“Already?” Sienna asked, preventing herself from groaning at the last moment.
No matter how cordial Mr. Carrington was with her, it would do her well not to forget who he really was. They might be on the same team now, but they weren’t always and might not always be. Sienna refused to think about the possibility of the Carringtons being her enemies again. She promised herself she would do everything in her power for this not to happen. They were her family now, and she loved them a lot.
“You’re going with Jaxon to New York City,” Mr. Carrington told her, ignoring her question. “But before that, we’ll have a little meeting and update each other on the happenings in the city and its prominent families. I’m sure we have a lot to discuss. After that, you’ll be free to get some sleep before your flight early in the morning.”
“Can we stop for coffee on the way home?” Sienna asked, knowing that the meeting would be bigger than Mr. Carrington insinuated. They always were.
“Sure,” Mr. Carrington said, then turned to the driver to give him the directions.
Not even ten minutes later, Sienna was happily cupping her coffee, already feeling a lot better with every sip she took. Aiden took one as well, and the silence between them wasn’t as awkward as it was before. Mr. Carrington didn’t seem to pick up on anything, and if he did, he didn’t mention it. Brian sat next to the driver, observing the road as if he was the one driving.
Sienna told Mr. Carrington about the extra support they’d managed to rally on the yacht. He seemed impressed with their work. When they came to the part about Angelo’s demands, Mr. Carrington wasn’t too happy that they agreed to them, but after they explained their reasoning behind it, he had to admit that they did well.
At the sight of her home, Sienna’s lips turned up into a smile. She couldn’t wait to see the rest of the Carrington heirs and Adrianna. The Lockwoods still didn’t come back, but they sent their own reports that Mr. Carrington promised to give Sienna and Aiden at their meeting.
The car came to a stop before Sienna opened the door and ran out to greet the awaiting heirs. Jaxon spread his arms as wide as his smile was, and Sienna threw herself at him, burying her cheek in his chest. He chuckled, and the vibration tickled her cheek. At last, she was home with them.
She’d have a harder time pulling away from Jaxon if Xavier wasn’t waiting for her to give her a hug of his own. It was just as strong and fulfilling as Jaxon’s. They were her safe haven, and she loved them dearly.
They talked over one another, making it hard to understand each other, but that didn’t matter because their tone was clear about what they were expressing, and their actions solidified the meaning behind it.
When Sienna came to Jensen, she experienced a moment of awkwardness because, unlike his brothers, he didn’t open his arms for her. His expression was neutral, and if she hadn’t known him, she’d be upset, but because she did know him, she could see the softness and relief in his eyes, and his shoulders relaxed as if relieved of an unspeakable burden. They shook hands briefly, but it lasted long enough for Sienna to take in his long fingers, and her brain to acknowledge his calloused skin.
“You’re back!” Adrianna called, running toward her, jumping two stairs at a time.
Her interruption saved her from further awkwardness with Jensen as she turned toward her friend while the heirs greeted their brother. Adrianna crashed against her as if she hadn’t seen her in weeks.
“I missed you! Everything was so boring without you. Even the guys didn’t know what to do with themselves,” Adrianna complained, her purple hair messily sticking out of her usually neat ponytail.
“Hey, we had fun,” Jaxon argued with a tone that insinuated there was more to the story.
Adrianna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but everything is more fun with Sienna. Even you have to agree with that.”
“I can definitely attest to that,” Xavier jumped in, elbowing Jaxon in the stomach.
Sienna’s cheeks burned red as the hair on her arms pricked up, sensing Jensen’s and Aiden’s questioning eyes on her. She didn’t want to speak of her sex adventure with Xavier, Jaxon, and Adrianna.
“We should go in. I want to eat something before the meeting,” Sienna said, changing the subject.
“I’ll tell the chef to prepare you something,” Jaxon said and went ahead to the kitchen before Sienna could thank him.
“We’ll meet in the war room in thirty minutes,” Mr. Carrington said, interrupting everyone’s thoughts. “Now go and don’t be late.”
Sienna nodded and barely resisted a curtsy. She rushed up the stairs and went straight to the kitchen. She didn’t consider herself to be a stress eater, but right now she’d eat her weight in ice cream. It didn’t help that in less than a day, she’d be on her way to New York City with Jaxon. At least she would get to sleep a few hours in her own bed before having to depart. Sienna reminded herself that once the war was over, she’d be able to stay in one place for as long as she wanted.
Either the chef worked fast, or Jaxon was more intimidating than she thought, because the food was already waiting for her on the table when she got there. Granted, it wasn’t anything special, but it was a home-cooked meal, and she was hungry. It didn’t take her long to clean up her plate, and in her rush, she didn’t even taste the savory roast peppers and the juicy meat.
Jaxon gave her a worried look but didn’t say anything throughout her meal. Not even when she used the bread to soak up the leftover oil on the plate. His only reaction was a furrowing of his brows. Once she wiped her mouth with a napkin, he stood up and gestured to the door.
“We should go to the meeting.”
