Page 122 of Love By Design

“Cory is bidding on Cahuenga Pass,” Silas blurted, covering his face with his hands. “He has me working on the proposal.”

It was just like Cory to come in at the last minute and get his hands onto what had otherwise been a sure thing. But it made sense they were bringing in another option. The gap between what Stanley had offered against what I’d designed would have been insurmountable. I couldn’t fault them for wanting to stack someone more competitive against me before making a decision. It also explained why the award had been delayed. They were giving Cory time to finalize what he wanted to present.

Rather, what he andSilaswere going to present.

“And you didn’t think you could tell me that?” I asked.

“Wejusttalked about it.” Silas angrily wiped fresh tears out of his eyes. “You’ve been expecting this job for weeks now.”

“Silas.” I smoothed his hair back from his face, held him gently in my hands. “This would not be the first job Cory stole from me, and I doubt it would be the last. Our careers have always run competitively, but with you on his side, I think that I may find myself at a loss more often than not.”

Another wretched-sounding cry ripped out of Silas’s mouth. He was a disaster, worse than the night he’d gotten fired. Putting enough space between us to bend down and pull up his shorts, I got him mostly reassembled before wrapping him back into my arms. He was soft against me like he always was, not arguing as I walked him out of the bathroom and bedroom, down the hallway and onto the couch. The cushions there were softer than my bed and far more forgiving than the dining room chairs or the barstools at the counter.

“Why do you hate that so much?” I asked.

“You asked me to work with you, and I said no. Then I just went and stole?—”

“Bold of you to assume your win on this bid is already a sure thing,” I teased, even though I knew it was.

He gave me a watery smile, shoulders heavy. “I didn’t want you to be mad,” he finally said. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“I would never be mad at your success, Silas.”

He looked like he wanted to argue more, but I raised a hand to stop him. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and swiped open to my bank app, then I dropped the device into his hand.

“Losing Cahuenga Pass isn’t going to make or break me,” I promised.

He stared down at my bank account totals, nostrils flaring. I tapped another tab that opened up my investment portfolio and I heard his breathing hitch.

“I also had a feeling something was up with this bid, but I wasn’t certain.”

Silas blinked hard at my phone and handed it back to me. “I didn’t know,” he whispered. “You didn’t say anything.”

“I didn’t say anything about my financial security, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. I didn’t say anything about this bid because I wasn’t sure what was going on.” I slid my phone back into my pocket, regretting I’d left my wine in the bedroom. “There’s plenty of things I know to be true that I don’t say out loud.”

“Like what?”

“For one, I knew I loved you long before I told you,” I told him, and the flush on his cheeks turned far more solid than before. “Do you want another example?”

Silas looked like he wanted to crawl out of his skin as he answered with a choked off, “Yes, Sir.”

“I want you to move in with me,” I said.

He went still.

“I want you to move in with me. I want you to make my home into our home.”

“I…” he trailed off.

“I also don’t want you to answer that in any way right now.”

“Yes, Sir,” he whispered. “Yes, Marshall.”

Something about the clarifier had been so needed. It was Silas’s way of telling me he heard me not only as a dominant—as his Dom—but also as a partner. I worried sometimes that our age gap would create its own power imbalance, but with the simple use of my name, Silas once again rendered that fear moot.

“I want to celebrate your first day of work,” I said again. “And later this week, when you snatch this award right out from under me, I want to celebrate that too.”

He managed a weak laugh but nodded along with me.