“Keep telling yourself that and maybe one day one of us will actually believe it.”
“Argh. Can you please stop touching my junk.” I whine, closing my eyes against the dizziness I’m not altogether sure isn’t from his touch, not the marshmallowy wooziness of my stuffy plague head.
“Right. Out. You look like you’re ready to drop.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to move and bends, whisking me up and into his arms, ignoring my squeals and protests when water sloshes all over him, ruining his shirt and suit.
Ignoring me he whips a towel off the bar, dries me and then walks to the clean bed that he’s stripped and remade and puts me between the sheets.
“Take a nap while I go start dinner. The pharmacy should have delivered your medicine by then.”
I close my eyes with a smile and drift off to sleep a minute later, feeling bad but not altogether as terrible as I did an hour ago before he showed up and completely bulldozed his way in here.
The sad truth is that I’d needed some care and attention since I’ve been moping around in a funk since leaving him and the boys. When even Immie hadn’t been capable of keeping the gloom at bay I’d had to face facts; I miss the oaf like crazy and I want him so much I burn with longing.
Is it bad to be thinking about offering him another friendship type bargain if that’s what he wants? Probably, but I so would. I would, if the thought of being rejected again weren’t still so fresh in my mind.
Uhoh.
Chapter Thirty Eight
I wake a few hours later just as the sun is setting, feeling much better. The ache in my bones and the muzzy feeling are still there but my nose is no longer stuffy and I can turn my head without feeling like someone’s dropping anvils on the thing.
Sliding out from under the sheets I grab my robe and slip it on before leaving my room and tiptoeing down the hall into the kitchen. The smell of vegetable soup hits my nose and my stomach growls loudly, letting me know that skipping breakfast and lunch is not an option for someone who’s taken pride in feeding herself regularly.
“Ah, you’re up. I was about to bring you your dinner on a tray.” Devon says, looking up from the pot he’s stirring.
“Naw, I’m feeling much better. Just hungry. Did you cook?”
“Are you nuts? I actually want you to get better imp. No, I ordered this from Ramone’s and they delivered just after your medicine arrived. Here, take this while I dish up.”
I take the pills from him and swallow them down with water as he serves us both big bowls of steaming soup with crusty bread for dipping. I finish half before I’m full and watch in silence as he eats his fill before clearing the dishes and coming back with two glasses of water.
“You’re looking much better since your nap.” He says and I can’t escape the heat that flares when his eyes land on me and stay, drawing me in and pulling at something deep in my belly.
“I, uh, feel better. Just a little muzzy but it beats the jackhammer of earlier. You can, uh go home now, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Nope.”
“But the boys…”
“Are just fine. Garret’s home for the break and he’s catching up with Davy since the lad refused to let him come down for his surgery. Now stop trying to get rid of me and relax. I won’t try to ravish you while you’re feeling ill.” He growls. “Unless you ask really nicely.”
I want to ask! Maybe order him to lean over the table and kiss me before shoving me onto the hard surface and stripping me bare. I want a lot of things that include tongue and lips and sucking and then maybe if I’m still able to function without half my brain he could drop his pants and-
I snort to cover the choked whimper the images evoke and focus instead on a point directly above his right shoulder.
“Imp.”
“Don’t start.” I warn when his tone goes soft and low, just like every other time he’s tried to talk to me about the night I’d left.
I shoot him down not because I’m still angry, because I’m not. Well not much. No, the reason I won’t talk about it is that I am still mortified by the whole event. I mean come on, I’d been eight months pregnant and sprouting troll’s ankles and trying to seduce a guy who’d told me flat out he didn’t want me.
“Don’t start what?”
“Don’t start trying to talk about things now. Please. That was all a big mistake and we both know it. Leave me some pride here and just forget it ever happened. Please.” I beg again, meeting his eyes. “You’re not stupid so I know that you figured it out, just…let it go.”