Chapter 27
Down was just breaking as Sullivan stirred awake
It was the heat that did it. He found himself clinging to a human furnace, soaking his pajama top with sweat.
Blinking his eyes open, he saw Megan’s unnaturally red cheeks.
He touched her forehead and recoiled at its burning temperature.
Jumping out of bed, Sullivan hurried downstairs and instructed the housekeeper, “Call Dr. Katherine, have her come over right away.”
The housekeeper, looking anxious, asked, “Are you feeling unwell, sir?”
Sullivan was halfway back up the stairs when he paused, “Tell her Madam has a fever, and it’s urgent.”
Within half an hour, Dr. Katherine arrived
The bedroom was pristine, the traces of last night’s intimacy gone.
After a thorough examination, the doctor declared, “She’s got a high fever. I’ll give her something to bring it down. Also… Mrs. Lowry’s been running on empty. She needs to beef up her diet”
The message was clear, but Sullivan understood the subtext. Megan had been buming the candle at both ends, often skipping meals.
She used to be so pampered.
Megan was g
given an injection, and Dr. Katherine advised, “Best she stays in bed for the day”
Sullivan nodded and motioned for the housekeeper to escort the doctor out.
After the doctor left, Sullivan called out, mistaking the returning footsteps for the housekeeper, “Prepare a bowl of chicken soup, let it cool, and bring it upstairs.”
But at the door stood Bianca, carrying a bundle of Sullivan’s suits and shirts that she had taken for dry cleaning the week before and was delivering them early.
Surprise registered on her face as she saw Megan in bed.
Megan was back? And clearly, she and Sullivan had shared a bed. Even if the room was spotless, a faint kiss mark on Megan’s neck told its own story.
Sullivan, noticing Bianca and her bundle, frowned slightly. “Just leave them on the couch and go. And from now on, you don’t need to worry about these things!”
Is for Sullivan
Blanca’s eyes dropped, a flush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. She liked taking care of these personal details pretending, if only in her mind, that she was Mrs. Lowry. But Sullivan had seen through her charade.
As she left, Bianca couldn’t help but wonder why she felt such animosity towards Megan yet was indifferent, even accommodating, to Cressida. Perhaps deep down, she knew that if Sullivan were to fancy anyone it would be Megan
Because men always go for the most beautiful. Sullivan was no exception.
Once Bianca had gone, Sullivan glanced at the woman still sleeping in his bed. He pinched her cheek gently, gradually applying more pressure until she turned away with a grimace.
Satisfied, Sullivan’s gaze darkened. He moved to the living room, eyeing the freshly laundered clothes. They were clean, but the solvent scent was off–putting. More importantly, he disliked strangers handling his personal belongings.
He was a rather conservative man, Matters of intimacy, for instance, were private. While some men reveled in conquests, Sullivan had never entertained such thoughts.
The expressions men make in the heat of passion are hardly flattering. A reserved man like Sullivan would never want an audience for such moments, and so he had never strayed
Only Megan had seen him moved by desire.
Blanca sat in the foyer, a cup of coffee served to her by the housekeeper.
She held the cup with an elegant poise, the very picture of the lady of the house.
That’s when Sullivan descended the stairs, dressed not in his usual formality but in casual attire–khaki slacks and a white Armani knit.
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The relaxed outfit did not diminish his presence, on the contrary, it added a certain domestic charm.
