Shiver(22)

He hadn’t dreamt that he’d had his hands on her, his lips. That she had moaned his name, kissed him, grabbed his hips. She still desired him. He smiled inwardly. He hadn’t felt good about himself for a long time. Life had sucked for a long time.

Whether Raven wanted to admit it or not, she still cared. Her body’s response didn’t lie like the words coming out of her mouth. The same mouth that had kissed him, bit him.

She propped a pillow under his leg and covered him with a light blanket. He was still only wearing boxers. She kept stealing glances at his bare chest so he folded the blanket down, letting it rest over his hips as he leaned against the headboard. She set the tray across his lap and then moved back.

“Thank you,” he said. “I can’t remember a time when I’ve been so hungry.” He looked over Raven’s body until she blushed. Satisfaction rose inside him, warming him. He glanced at the tray of food wishing he could take a taste of her instead. A bowl of hearty stew with a side of crusty bread, lathered in butter, and canned peaches filled the plate. “Let Fiona know how much I appreciate her.”

“You’ll be able to tell her yourself, later.”

He tried the stew. Full-favored with chunks of moose meat. Must be leftovers from the roast the other day.

Raven busied herself straightening up the room while he spooned in the stew. There wasn’t much to clean so she soon didn’t have anything to do. She took a seat in the rocker and curled her feet up under her. A yawn surprised her. He wondered how much sleep she’d gotten while caring for him the last few days.

She caught him watching her. “Eva should be here to check on you soon.”

He grimaced. “The demon nurse from hell?”

She cracked a laugh. “You called that right. But she does know her stuff.” Raven leaned her head back against the chair.

“Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“I’m fine.” She yawned again.

“No, you’re not.” He spooned more of the stew into his mouth and chewed.

“Don’t worry about me.” She scowled at him.

He set the spoon down. “Does it bother you that I think about you? That I’ve thought about you many times over the years?” His voice lowered. “Wondered how you were?”

“Don’t do that.” She stiffened. “If you thought about me like you say, why didn’t you ever call?” She clamped her mouth shut, lips tightening into a line, as though she couldn’t believe she’d just asked that.

“You told me to never contact you again. Made me promise, remember?” He looked down at his stew, his appetite waning. “After your dad died, you had every right to hate me. I thought I was doing what you wanted.”

“You were. You did.” She sighed and rubbed her temples. “It was what I wanted.”

“Is it still?”

Her eyes met his, large and dark, and swimming with secrets. Would she be honest with him? She had missed him, he knew it. The way she’d responded to him told the tale, but was it enough with what lay between them? She opened her mouth to answer and then promptly closed it. The demon nurse from hell entered the room looking sweet in pink. What he wouldn’t give to know what Raven had been about to say at that moment.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Eva said as she sailed into the room, tossing her coat over the end of the bed and a bag on the floor. “And it looks as though the fever has gone.” She turned to Raven. “Good job, told you sponge baths would do the trick.” She regarded Aidan. “About time you started to cooperate.”

Like this had been his fault. He set aside the meal, finding himself full after only eating half of what was on the tray. Eva took his vitals, checked his blood pressure, and removed his bandages, all in the space of a few minutes. The little Napoleonite didn’t waste time. She was efficient, if not compassionate, in her ministrations.

“Hmm,” she hummed, while regarding his leg.

“What?” he asked, trying to see what she did.

“The swelling has gone down. I still want an x-ray as soon as we can get you to Fairbanks.” She narrowed a look at him. “Don’t go thinking you can get up and do cartwheels now.”

He hadn’t been thinking cartwheels, but getting out of this room was at the top of his list. Cabin fever had already started to wander in. The last few days, he’d only seen Eva, Raven, Fiona, and a little of Fox. He hadn’t seen anything of Lynx, who was obviously avoiding him. The coward. Aidan had hoped to sneak into town, clean up his dad’s messy life, and sneak right back out. Avoiding everyone.