Chapter 37

As he stepped into the elevator to go to his floor, he thought about that. It wasn't just his suite anymore. It was his and Agnes's. He smiled to himself. He had already claimed her, and only in an unguarded moment like this did he realize. But, he had promised her that he would not push, and wasn't going to. He wanted her. But, it had to be on her terms. She had to come to him willingly. He had never forced a woman, and he wasn't about to start now. No matter how badly his body ached. Smiling again, he realized that due to their age difference, a lot of people would assume that she was with him for his money. He knew better. Agnes had no desire for money. In fact, he believed that his astonishing wealth frightened her. It wasn't that she had been or was destitute. But, in the report he had been given, he had read about a boyfriend who had used his money to get what he wanted and it had cost Agnes a very dear friend. Once she was more comfortable with him he would ask her about her friend Abbey. Agnes was just coming out of her room, her hair still wrapped up in a towel and one of the luxurious robes that the hotel provided wrapped around her. She blushed bright pink when she realized that he was back. "Sorry, just getting some water. I was thirsty after everything today. Meet you here in the sitting room, when you are finished?" Graeham nodded. He didn't speak. He was a little afraid that he would spill the revelation that he'd had in the elevator.

"Okay. I'm going to dry my hair and get dressed. Causal, right?"

"Yes. Leggings and t-shirt kind of causal, if Charlotte has anything to say about it." With that, he turned and left the sitting room to go take his shower. Agnes was in the ensuite bathroom drying her hair when Charlotte texted her. "Food be here in twenty. Just talked to the concierge. He's setting us up in the small private dining room. I hope you like tea. I ordered three gallons of it."

"I like tea. I'm starving. Anything sounds good at the moment."

"Me too. Jaxson and Rio can eat. Their dad, Anders can too. They're bears. so they eat more than wolves. So, I hope there is plenty of food."

Agnes finished drying her hair and put on some leggings and a comfortable t-shirt. Sliding her feet into her sandals, she walked out in the sitting room to wait for Graeham. She hadn't been waiting long when he walked out of his bedroom. He too had showered and changed. His salt and pepper hair was still damp from his shower and he had changed into worn and faded jeans and a t-shirt. Agnes giggled a bit when she got a good look at the shirt's graphic design.

It was Animal from the Muppets, sitting at his drums, playing.

"Really, the Muppets?" She questioned, laughing.

"Hey, everyone needs a bit of Animal in their life, every now and then." Graeham replied smiling at her.

As they entered the elevator, he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen over her eyes. She was nervous and not sure how to act. She knew he wanted her physically, but did he want to keep her around for a while or even... no, probably not. Then she remembered Charlotte's words. "There has never been anyone since my grandmother died that he has brought around us grandkids."

"You don't date, do you?" Agnes wanted to die of embarrassment. That had come out of her mouth before she realized it.

Graehams eyes twinkled when they looked at her. He almost looked like he could read what was going through her mind. "I do not. I find it to mentally draining to try to deal with the high maintenance women of the elite rich. Most of them are over-grown spoiled brats that not only need a firm hand, but that firm hand should sometimes land across their backside."

Agnes gasped. He understood. All too well. "Don't worry, I have never raised a hand to a woman and I never will, Agnes. I'm just saying that some of the women act like they were given everything that they ever asked for and it shows."

Agnes nodded and said, "I went to high school and college with some girls like that. It was like, as long as they wanted, they could take it. Even if it belonged to another girl." She winced, remembering a particular episode where that actually happened to her.

"You're getting the idea now. Women like you, Agnes. They're few and far between in my world. I find you refreshing and a welcome addition to our family." Agnes just stood there looking up at him with wide eyes. It was the first real indication of what he wanted.

Holding out his hand, Graeham led her out of the elevator and into the small private dining room.

Agnes had been so caught up in what he had said that she hadn't even realized that the elevator had stopped or that the doors were open.

When they walked into the dining room, they were met by three couples and five members of the security team. The hotel had provided a buffet style setup and there were several servers standing behind the dishes waiting to serve them.

As Agnes looked over the food, she saw everything that had been mentioned. Chinese, sushi, BBQ, pizza, Italian, Mexican, and American foods. There were garlic rolls, buttered and grilled thick slices of bread, there was french bread, cornbread, buttermilk and sweet, and of course tortillas. Then there were desserts. Agnes saw cheesecake, churros, baklava, buttermilk, lemon, pecan and blueberry pie. There was even chocolate cake.

"Who's going to eat all of this?" She asked in wonder.

"We will!" Came the unanimous reply from Anders, Rio and Jaxson, along with the other five men.

"Granddad, we waited on you two before we got started. Since you were paying, we thought you and Agnes might like to go first." These people continually surprised her. It wasn't her grandfather Charlotte had waited on. it was the two of them together. A couple.

Agnes felt tears prick her eyes. She had never had anyone be so generous.

The thing with Graeham and his family was that it wasn't just for show. It was genuine.

When Graeham realized that Agnes was crying, he stopped filling their plates and asked her, "Agnes, what's wrong? Did we do something wrong? Have we offended or hurt you in some way?"

Agnes wiped her tears and gave him a watery smile. "No, it's just that I have never seen such a genuine generosity and giving nature before."

Out of everyone gathered, HUnter walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder and said, "It's not just with you either. Although, you might be favored a bit in Graeham's eyes. A year ago my mom had a bad fall. Broke her hip. She was in the hospital for several months, in rehab after that. She had all kinds of therapy. She had to learn how to walk again, how to step in and out of a tub, how to go up and down stairs again. It was rough. And expensive. I honestly didn't know how I was going to pay for everything. Then one day, Caleb called me into his office. He had been keeping tabs on my mom, see. Because of my constant worry about Mom, I was a bust for any kind of security detail, except for the most basic. He tells me to have a set and I'm thinking, 'This is it, I'm gonna be let go.' He hands me a folder with all of my mom's medical bills. They are all stamped PAID IN FULL in big red letters. Then he hands me a brochure for a place for people like mom. They could live independently, if they wanted to. She would have her own apartment with a real kitchen, a bathroom outfitted for her to be able to move about in, get in and out of the bathtub. Even maid service to come help her once a week with things like changing the sheets, dusting and vacuuming. the whole idea was a place where she could be a fully functioning adult and be independent. But have help with things if she needed it." Hunter didn't say anything for a minute, letting Agnes absorb this information, before continuing. "That's the kind of people the Fraziers are, Agnes. They are what we would call 'good people.'"

Agnes was quiet during dinner. She took the time to watch everyone interacting with each other. They were loud, boisterous, laughing and generally a happy bunch of folks. She smiled at the idea that she was welcome into their obviously tight-knit group.

Reaching over to take her hand, Charlotte looked her in the eye and said, "Welcome to the family, Agnes."

Instead of saying anything, she smiled at the words and looked around the table. Everyone picked up their glass and raised it in her direction, as if to salute her. As if she were their queen.

Of course, in his world, Graeham was a king, to be sure. Not real royalty. But the power and wealth he commanded seemed to make him so. And her as his obvious counterpart, a queen.

Soon enough, all of the food had been eaten and they were sitting around relaxing and having dessert. One of the servers had thoughtfully asked if anyone would like some coffee to go with their desserts. Of course, almost everyone said yes.

When everyone decided that they were finished, they got up and gathered their dishes and helped the staff clean up.

Going up to their rooms, all of the couples were discussing the day's events. As they all exited the two elevators, Miney reminded them of the events for the next day.

"Rest well ladies. Tomorrow we shop for Alpha, Beta and Mating ceremony dresses and then we spend the rest of the day at the spa. So, a light breakfast and then we leave with coffee."

The males just grabbed their mates and rushed them to their rooms to spend as much time with them as possible.

Graeham and Agnes watched as the three mated couples left to go to the suites. All six had smiles on their faces as the went.

"They all look very happy, don't they?" Agnes said quietly.

Graeham watched the expression on his woman's face. It was filled with longing, an unspoken desire to have what the three couples had. That connection that seemed to satisfy the need for every desire couples can have.

"We can have that, you know. You feel it the same as I do." Agnes turned to look up at him. "The only thing stopping you from having is you." Leaning over, he kissed her gently on her cheek and then moved to her lips. Then after the merest brush of his lips against her, he pulled away. "But I promised you that I wouldn't push you in any way, and I will keep that promise. Even if it kills me to do so."

"But, we just met. How can you be so sure?" She asked.

"Agnes, I've lived a long time. Six decades. Think about the things I have witnessed. How many presidents have I seen elected? Viet Nam, Panama, The Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, the protests of Tiananmen Square, 9/11, the myriad world events that you have only ever read about or seen in news clips or YouTube videos. Some of these things that I mentioned, you have seen some of them, but definitely not all. I'm trying to say, rather badly, that I am old enough to know my own mind and my heart. I may not love you yet, but I definitely can see myself being with you. For a long time. I'm not really interested in another woman at this point in my life. You surprised me when you came to our table two nights ago. I wasn't interested in having a companion or a regular woman in my life. But then, I met you and you set me on my ear."

Running a hand over the top of her head, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Agnes." Then, leaving her standing there stunned, he left her and went to his room.