Page 30 of Primal Bonds 1

“Right,” I said and then left the room.

Down on the first floor, I met Adam at the foyer. He was leaning back against the wall near the reception desk, looking lost in thought.

“Adam,” I said.

He straightened then and smiled at me. “Ready to go?”

I nodded. As I came close, I said, “Thanks for coming to pick me up.”

He ruffled my hair. “No worries.”

Was it just me or was Adam slightly disheveled as compared to before he left? Sure, he still looked sleek and immaculate, but there was something a little off I couldn’t put my finger on.

“Let’s go home,” he said. “I’m ready for some shut-eye.”

“You were out all day, so you must be tired,” I said.

He looked at me and said, “Yeah. Did you shower? Your hair is wet.”

“Janet made me before she treated my injuries,” I said.

Adam snorted. “So I wasn’t doing such a good job at treating your wounds after all.”

“I thought you did a great job,” I said.

“You mean putting Band-Aids on you here and there, wherever there’s a scratch?” he asked.

“Better than nothing,” I said. “I’d be worse off if...”

I didn’t want to think about that. I just didn’t want to picture the scenario of what would happen if Adam didn’t happen to walk past that alleyway and I called out to him.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and then drew me with him toward the door. We arrived back at the penthouse—yes, a penthouse and not an apartment as Adam had told me in the car—about twenty minutes later. After closing the front door, Adam said, “Go straight to bed, Shiro.”

“Okay,” I said, heading to my assigned room.

There, I took off my shoes and changed into my new pajamas. Then I headed into the en suite to brush my teeth.

Adam was very prepared, wasn’t he? There were even spare toothbrushes and toothpaste. Or was this spare bedroom meant to be for his girlfriend when she wanted to spend the weekend with him? But a girlfriend would be sleeping with him in his bed, right?

A knock came, and I poked my head out.

“Shiro?”

“Hmm?” I responded, the head of the toothbrush inside my mouth.

Adam opened the door, and when he saw me, he smiled in amusement. “I see you’re already in your new pajamas and brushing your teeth.”

I pulled the toothbrush out and said, my mouth full of foamy toothpaste, “You told me to go to bed straightaway.”

He chuckled. “What are you? A kid?”

Old habit died hard, huh? You just didn’t say no when the officer at the institute told you to go to bed, that was if you didn’t want a beating.

“I thought you’d join me for a cup of coffee and some cake.”

Cake!

I said quickly, “I’ll join you. I can brush my teeth again.”