Firefox

She told Sparrow how Norman thought they were going to get back together. How he thought Chloe belonged to him. And she could sense his anger with each new revelation and the way he kept telling her she didn’t need to worry about Norman or anyone else anymore.

She almost felt as if she was taking advantage of him, laying in his lap, confessing, but he’d suggested it, and acted as if her willingness to do so made him happy.

At bedtime, though, when she said she was going to have to sleep and headed for her bedroom without inviting him, he stood there looking forlorn, leaning forward as if it to follow her, though he made no move to do so. She stopped at her bedroom door and said, “We can just sleep again, right?”

He beamed and followed her to the bed. When she sat her alarm, Sparrow asked, “What are you doing?”

“I have work tomorrow.”

“Gaia, that’s of no concern to you now. It’s unnecess—”

“It’s my job.”

“But you no longer need to follow a human routine.”

“I know you keep saying that, but it’s another example of something that’s going to take me some time. I think I’ll feel better if I stick to my usual routine for right now, while I’m…coming to grips with things. All right?”

He’d paused for a moment, then spoke softly. “As you wish.”

The truth was, her job wasn’t the greatest thing, but it was hers alone.

Without a college degree, she’d had trouble finding a good job, but she’d started out as a simple file clerk in a law office and worked her way up to a receptionist with a lot of other duties. People hesitated to use the word secretary, but that’s essentially what she was, for three of the lawyers who worked in that firm.

The job allowed her to pay her own bills and be independent. She had responsibility there, people who relied on her, and as lost as she felt right then, if she’d given that up, she wasn’t sure if she could handle life in general.

She wasn’t ready to trust anyone that much, not even the man—the fox-demon or whatever he was—who held her so protectively.

With his warmth at her back and his gentle breath against her ear, Chloe slept like she didn’t have a care in the world.

The next morning, getting out of bed was a bigger challenge than even those mornings where her head felt three sizes too big and her stomach lurched the moment she opened her eyes. Sparrow’s body melded against hers, hard in all the right places, and Chloe felt drawn to him in a way that surprised her.

She wanted to roll over, spread her legs and take her chances. And maybe if life had treated her even a tiny bit better, she’d have been able to do that. Instead, she wanted an ordinary day to clear her head. She had time before Norman was released. Time to make decisions about whether or not to “consummate the joining” as Sparrow kept putting it.

Sparrow shadowed her as she got ready for work, and wanted to come with her, but she convinced him to stay there instead. Or go wherever he wanted, as she wouldn’t be home until after five. She offered to bring dinner home.

And then she left, and noticed that as soon as she was on the other side of her front door from Sparrow, she felt a little cooler. But she caught the train to work and walked into the office with a smile on her face, and everything went as it normally did for the first hour or so.

A delivery man carrying flowers and a box of chocolates showed up before the morning had gone on too long. “Chloe Greyson?”

A lawyer walking through frowned at him, then her. She went by Chloe Rossi here—they didn’t know her married name had been Greyson. So she waited until he’d left the room before saying, “Yes, that’s me.”

He had her sign for the delivery, then left Chloe there frowning at it all. It was sweet, but it pressured her. She was sure she’d gotten through to

Sparrow that she didn’t want to be pressured. She had to take things in her own time.

Still, maybe he thought it was the appropriately human way to woo someone? In that case, it was kind of sweet.

And she wasn’t one to turn down chocolate at any time.

When she opened the long, narrow box of candy, she realized her mistake. Sparrow hadn’t sent this. Norman had. Each piece from left to right was decorated with a number, counting down the days until he was released.

A card was taped inside the lid of the candy box. Her hands shook a she opened it, and a cry tore from her when she read the simple message:

Not long now before we’re together again, Chloe, and starting the family we were supposed to have.

Her desk phone rang, but Chloe couldn’t answer it.

She shot up from the chair, dumped the box of candy and flowers into the trash can behind her desk, and raced for the bathroom, sure she was going to be sick.