And Then She Was Gone

A Long Day

Jason clenched his jaw and rolled his eyes in minor irritation as he took heavy footsteps up the stairs to get showered and changed, Adolphus shook his head and emitted a small laugh being reminded of Jason's angsty teen years by the Alphas response. The older man returned to his recliner and resumed his book to enjoy a little more peace and quiet while his whirlwind of a mate was away.

After about thirty minutes, Elizabeth and Catherine walked back into the home. Elizabeth holding some wildflowers they had picked as they followed the trail. The bouquet holding an array of petals in the shades of blue, purple and yellow which she placed in a vase to help them preserve their delicate appearance a little longer.

"You guys made it back unscathed and unharmed. Jason will be relieved." Adolphus said with a lighthearted smirk, meeting them in the kitchen.

"He's here?" Elizabeth asked quickly, a light eager tone carried in her words, even though she had been irritated with him earlier in the day.

"Yup. He went to take a shower, said something about a long day at work." the bearded man said covering for his sons lack of self care. "He should be done, you should go let him know you're here so he can relax a little. He seems a bit stressed." he shrugged to compliment his gentle suggestion, his mate giving him a side eye to which he ignored.

"Okay." she nodded in reply and left the kitchen to head up the stairs.

Her nose caught his scent as soon as she hit the top step, it lead down the long hall to the room she was staying in, which was technically his. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Jason sprawled out on the bed with just a towel wrapped around his waist and in a deep sleep. He had showered, as his father had suggested, but when he went to go get changed the smell of her potent lingering scent in the room coaxed him to lay down and he went out like a light.

He looked so peaceful laying there. She found herself staring at him and taking in his tight muscles on his chest and stomach rising and falling with his slow deep breaths, his arm draped over his eyes covering them from what remained of the daylight permeating through the windows. She thought to herself about how tired he must have been if he was sleeping so heavily in the early evening. He must have been incredibly busy today to be laying down for a nap, as this is the first time she had ever seen him do so. Just as she decided to stop staring at him like a creeper while he slept and began to slowly pull the door closed, he snapped awake as if he finally sensed her presence, a delay in his response to her scents increase, due to his own fatigue.

"You're here." he said sounding groggy, and lifting both of his hands to his eyes where he rubbed at them heavily. As he sat up his abs flexed at the motion, causing her eyes to drop to them momentarily before she scolded herself into returning them to his hand covered face.

"Your father said to let you know I was here, he said you had a stressful day." she said watching him finally remove his fingers from his eyes to look at her.

"No, I'm fine." he said shaking his head lightly with a smile to convince her he was being sincere. "Come here.." his hand waved to her, and her footsteps followed the waves direction, until she was right in front of him as he sat on the edge of the bed. His arms immediately wrapped around her hips and he pulled her closer placing his forehead on her flat stomach. "You didn't call or text. I was busy, but I was still hoping you would have."

"I was going to..." she said looking down at him, her hand going instinctively on top of his still slightly damp hair and rubbing at it lightly. "But then I got mad at you, and I decided not to." she said honestly.

He tilted his head back and sighed as he looked up to her. "What did I do this time?" his voice lazy and tired, clearly showing he felt he never did anything right when it came to her.

"Well, I didn't appreciate you registering my phone as a Childs phone, and having to have permission to download apps." she said looking down at him and finally seeing the dark lining underneath his eyes, and feeling a concern build within her, being surprised by her own reaction. "You look tired, maybe you should get some more rest."

"No. I'm fine." he said back quickly, feeling relief at the change of subject and not having to go down the rabbit hole of her phones setup, knowing she wouldn't be happy with his response as he would not agree to make any modifications on its settings. "Ill get sleep tonight when I go home. I came to see you, not to sleep." he said squeezing her hips in his arms, before letting her go so he could stand. "I'll get dressed. Dinners almost ready, I'm guessing?" he said as he stretched his arms upward and leaned to each side slightly to relax the tension in his muscles, her eyes once again catching the immaculate form of his upper body flexing and diverting them away before he caught her looking.

"Yes, it should be any minute now. I'll let you get to it." she said turning away and walking to the door.

"Elizabeth." he said before she could leave through its exit, her stopping and looking back at him over her shoulder as her hand rested on the handle. "Can you at least text me the next time you leave the house? So I know where you are? I wouldn't worry as much." his tone was calm and his eyes watched her intently with slightly raised eyebrows as he made the request.

"Yeah. Okay. I will." she said with a nod and a smile before she walked out and closed the door behind her and headed back down the stairs to rejoin his parents.

Jason was content with her answer and his dry eyes raked over the comforting lavender scented bed calling his name, but he once more rubbed at them before he walked to the closet. He didn't even bother to survey the limited selection, picking out a gray t-shirt and and a pair of black sweatpants to throw on carelessly, before he quickly threw on socks and shoes and left the room raking his hands through his hair and putting it in a ponytail as he walked down the steps. He only had a couple of hours with her and he didn't want to waste his time.

"Look what the cat dragged in." his mother said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Nice to see you too, mom." he said not even looking at her, but walking over to Elizabeth and beginning to help her gather the plates and other items needed to set the table.

"Long day?" his mother questioned taking in his features.

"Can everyone just stop saying  that? I was just busy, but I'm fine." he said his shoulders stiffening and beginning to get agitated with the repetition.

"Well, I hope you're hungry. The lasagnas ready." his mother said, changing the subject after sharing a glance with her mate. Both of them suspecting that he most likely wouldn't be eating much.