He sat down on the lounger next to her and used his thumb to clean off the chocolate frosting from the corner of her mouth. “It’s supposed to go in your mouth, not on it.” Her throat dried when he sucked the thumb into his own mouth.
Nat sighed a complaint. “Oh brother. Can you hold off all that private couple stuff until I’m gone? I don’t want to leave here needing therapy…or to get laid.”
They continued to chat until Nat had to go. “I have a work emergency, and my stupid car is giving me problems. I’m going to have to buy a new one.”
“Use my car.” Sam offered and eyed the cake again. “It’s not like I’m actively using it.”
Her face brightened. “Really? Oh, Sam, you have no idea how much I need it.”
“It’s no problem. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to come and get it since I left it at Chase and Sophia’s, but it’s yours for as long as you need it.”
“Thank you.” Nat bounced toward her friend and gave her a hug. “OK, I’m going.” She grinned and glanced at the cake. “Try not to eat that in one sitting. I have a feeling you’re going to need more of it.”
Nat left. Sam jumped when her stomach growled. What the hell? She looked down at her empty plate and then up at Riel. He watched her with raised brows.
“What?” She stood. “This is what happens when you don’t feed me. I’m going to make a sandwich, or two.” Or three. She strolled toward the kitchen, stopped and turned to glance back at Riel. He was still watching her. “Don’t touch my cake!” She marched inside in search of food, lots of it.
Chapter Eleven
Sam opened her eyes and groaned. She was starving but so damn tired. It was probably from all the craziness of the past few weeks. Her body was finally giving out on her. She sat up on the bed and groaned at the cramping in her stomach. Riel’s footsteps sounded, rushing down the hallway until his body filled the doorway.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He walked into the room and stopped next to the bed.
She dropped back into the pillows with a groan. “I’m either starving to death or dying from exhaustion and starving at the same time.”
“What?” He frowned as if she’d been speaking in another language.
She groaned through the hair that covered her face. “Food. I need food and sleep. God, I’m tired. I think all my running around has finally caught up with me.”
He pushed the curls away from her face. She glanced up into his worried eyes. “I’ll get you some food, you get some sleep. You’re sure that’s all? Are you in any other kind of pain?”
She shook her head. “No, just hungry. Well…more like starving.”
He nodded and turned to the door. “All right. I’ll be right back.”
Good, because she didn’t think she’d make it out of bed. She was exhausted. Falling into a fitful sleep, she groaned again at the sharp cramps hitting her stomach. When the smell of food reached her, she sat up in a flash.
Riel walked in carrying a tray brimming with food. She checked herself for drool. It would be such a shame for her man to see that this early in their relationship. He put the tray on the bed. He’d made her steak and eggs. How did he know she loved that? She grabbed the plate and a fork, cutting a nice chunk of meat and shoving it into her mouth. It was absolutely delicious. So much so, that she moaned as she chewed.
“Thank you,” she said through bites. It alarmed her a little when she ate the contents on the plate and was still hungry.
She glanced at him, wondering what he’d think, but he just grabbed a second plate and passed it to her. That plate had buttered toast, an omelet, and home fries. Digging into the food, she wondered if she had been eating too little lately. She’d never had problems eating, but the last few weeks were one big, jumbled mess in her mind. She was sure she’d never finish everything on the plate. It was a good thing she didn’t voice her opinion. Not ten minutes later she was passing him an empty plate. What the hell was wrong with her? Had her body finally decided it needed more food to sustain her curves?
Riel didn’t seem bothered by her overeating. In fact, he smiled wide and passed more food her way. When he offered her a cup with coffee and a glass of juice, she wrinkled her nose at the coffee and grabbed the juice instead. That’s when exhaustion hit full force. She leaned back and shut her eyes.
When Sam woke again, she was alone in the bedroom. Moonlight filtered through the windows. Damn how long had she slept? She stood and sniffed. Moisture gathered in her mouth. Burgers. Yum. Bypassing her shoes, she put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard Ry talking to Troy in the backyard. There was no longer a need to question how she could hear them from so far as if they were in the same room.