Page 184 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

“Yep. And don’t ask anything else. You really don’t want to know. So do you like it?” Viv asked.

“I do. I wish someone would explain to me exactly why I need restorative smoothies. I mean, I’m a healthy guy. Young. In my prime or whatever. I eat my vegetables. I can just, you know, eat food.”

Viv shook her head at him like she was judging him without words— which she probably was because when she found out he’d never tried Korean food, she’d had opinions on his life choices— and returned to her attention to her cutting board. “As Cecil pointed out, you are often distracted and don’t eat the most healthy options. You are also burning more calories than you realize between training and… other activities. This way, you’re getting all the nutrients you need.”

Sawyer blushed but decided to ignore her acknowledgment of his so-called other activities. “I swear, it’s like I’m four and not twenty-four. You’re all ganging up on me.”

“Aww, poor muffin. I’d feel sorry for you, but I don’t.”

After giving her a very stern glare that earned him a giggle in return, Sawyer went and plopped down on Pearl’s oversized doggy pillow by the sliding glass doors in the breakfast area.

It mysteriously appeared one day and featured a Tempurpedic temperature regulating something or other and was basically more comfortable than the mattress Eduard had custom made for the master bedroom. When Sawyer asked Cecil about it, he’d simply received the look in return.

The entire staff had a way of judging him without saying a word. He pretended like he hated it, but mostly he loved the attention. Besides, they were kind of spoiling him rotten and acted like overly-doting parents. He didn’t have parents to dote on him, not since Mama Thea and Papa Smith had passed away.

“Hey, baby girl. You feel sorry for me, don’t you?” Sawyer patted his leg and waited for his girl to snuggle up to him.

Pearl laid her head on his knee and looked up at him expectantly. He gave her ears a scratch and looked out at the backyard. The workmen were busy, putting in pipes for plumbing and steel bars for the foundation of the pool.

The giant hole had already been dug and they were making it stable for the concrete or whatever they used to form the shape. They couldn’t finish it fast enough.

Pearl agreed. She had been limited on her outside time, too. She’d scratched her paw on something and Cecil had about had a coronary. Sawyer had never seen the butler flustered before, but when he’d seen Pearl limping? Whoa. It had been intense.

Sawyer hadn’t known who to comfort first. He sighed as Pearl wiggled over onto her back for a belly rub. He complied, as he always did.

“Good morning, Sawyer.”

“Hey, Cecil. Anything new to report?”

He’d finally managed to convince Cecil to stop calling him Master Sawyer. It was creepy and old-fashioned, and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Nothing, sir. Progress on the pool is ahead of schedule. The gardeners have assured me that they’ll be able to get the landscaping in order not long after.”

“But still six more weeks.”

“Yes, sir. Master Eduard would like for you to join him in the study when you can.”

Sawyer nodded and gave Pearl’s belly one more rub. “Okay. I’ll head that way.”

While Sawyer had spent the past couple of weeks trapped inside the house, Eduard had spent it either buried under a mountain of paperwork in the room he’d claimed as his office or training with Andvari.

The paperwork came as a result of his duties as a griffin. They were known for their ability to draw wealth to them and for protecting it with their lives. It was an interesting combination that Sawyer enjoyed reading more about. Griffins were pretty much considered supernatural royalty because they were all stupid rich. The money Eduard managed for Sawyer in his role as the chosen one had a whole lot of zeros on the end of the statement.

Sawyer had simply blinked and handed the giant spreadsheet back to Eduard. He was used to dealing with an account with no more than three zeroes on the end of it, and that was only until he paid bills. Then he usually had one zero. If he was lucky. He was used to living on grants he received as a student, and those didn’t exactly provide a luxury lifestyle.

Eduard was on the phone when Sawyer pushed open the office door, so he leaned against the frame and watched him. He’d been attracted to Eduard from the start, and the attraction had only grown deeper as they became closer.

Eduard was elegance personified. Tall and lean with carefully groomed, deep red hair. His clothes always fit him to perfection and even though he wasn’t leaving the house, he could usually be found in a button down shirt and dress slacks. Sawyer never wore either of those things unless someone forced him.

Then there were Eduard’s hands. Sawyer hadn’t even known he had a thing for hands until he saw Eduard’s. Since when were fingers sexy? But Eduard’s were. And when he used them to light Sawyer up? Touched him and teased him until Sawyer was a quivering mess of want and need? Yeah. Sexy fingers. Really, really sexy.

Eduard ended his call and smiled over at Sawyer. “Morning, love.”

“Morning,” Sawyer said. He crossed over to the desk and leaned over for a kiss.

Eduard pulled him onto his lap and proceeded to check his tonsils. The other thing Eduard was good at? Kissing. So good at kissing.

When they finally parted, Sawyer was gasping for breath and ready to drop to his knees and make Eduard very untidy. But Eduard held him firm and cupped his hand around Sawyer’s cheek.