I sat up straighter in my seat, sending Eddie a pointed look. “Have you been having sex in my office?”
“What does that have to do with us going to Ibiza?”
“Eddie–”
“I would never do such a thing!” He put on a scandalized expression and I pursed my lips. “I can’t believe you would accuse me of doing something like that!”
“Eddie.” I let out an exasperated sigh as he sent me a sheepish look. “My office is not a hotel room, and you owe me money for that sofa because now I have to burn it,” I grumbled before downing some of my wine.
He chuckled, half-heartedly apologizing before he went back to rambling about Ibiza. I hardly paid him any attention, too busy thinking about the future renovations for the manor and the executive suite of King Industries.
∞∞∞
Lunch with Eddie was the highlight of my day because after the two of us parted ways and I came back to the mansion, the usual overwhelming sense of boredom that came along with living alone in a humongous mansion struck.
Besides the staff, there was no one for me to talk to, and they were all too busy doing their jobs to hold a long conversation with me, anyway. As usual, I tried to figure out some way to entertain myself, but it was impossible. Should I watch TV? No, I’d had enough of lounging around and doing nothing aside from watching mind-numbing television while I was ill and it was literally all I could do, and the few shows that I was still interested in watching, I only wanted to finish watching with Quinn.
Should I go out to the tennis court and play a game of tennis? No, I couldn’t do that by myself. Should I go to the game room and play air hockey or foosball? No, I couldn’t do that by myself. Should I go to the pool room and have a swim? I could try, but it won’t be any fun swimming alone. No one to splash or play chicken with.
I thought of going to the conservatory to tend to the plants, but Cheryl would kick me out the second she found out because I wasn’t the best at keeping plants alive. I could go to the library and read, but I was already getting a headache, so that wasn’t a good idea. I could go into the kitchen and learn a new recipe, but what fun would that be without Quinn around?
I contemplated what to do for nearly an hour before giving up with a quiet sigh. The mansion was eerily quiet, just as usual, as I made my way to my master bath. The sun was beginning to set, but I resigned myself to having a shower and heading to bed. I was tired anyway, and a hot shower would help me to relax.
The water was turning cold by the time I turned it off, and I shivered as I stepped out and grabbed my towel. My head was spinning, toes tingling momentarily before that was replaced by a sudden numbness. I stumbled over to the counter, legs nearly giving out as I did, and I just barely managed to make it without hitting the floor. I gripped the counter tightly with one hand as I reached for the phone with my other.
It only rang twice before it was picked up, and Nigel’s familiar voice flitted through the speakers. “Hello, sir–”
“Nigel, please come to the mansion,” I gritted out. The words came out slurred for the first time in a while now. My speech had never gone completely back to normal, but it had improved. The improvement was nowhere to be found as of right now. I squeezed my eyes shut, swallowing thickly. “It’s happening again. Please–”
“I’m on my way, sir.”
My hands trembled as I wrapped my towel around my waist with some struggle and then slid to the floor. I wished that I could say this was all completely unfamiliar, but it wasn’t. I had been through this once before. This is exactly what my body had felt like three years ago, when my illness had very first reared its ugly head.
I pressed the palms of my hands into my eyes, trying not to spiral out of control even as my head swarmed with a million thoughts and my heart raced in my chest. I tried to calm my sporadic breathing by doing breathing exercises, but I couldn’t focus on them. With every breath I took came another despairing thought.
Was my illness really coming back again? What had I done wrong? Maybe I hadn’t done anything wrong. Maybe this was just what the rest of my life would be like. Maybe I would become too ill to function as a regular human being, then make a miraculous recovery after years of hoping for a miracle, then have all happiness ripped away once the illness came back in full throttle again.
I had spent the last three years of my life bedridden, depressed, and barely functioning from day to day. I’d spent the last three years needing assistance for all my activities of daily living. I couldn’t go through that again. Not after finally regaining my independence and dignity. I couldn’t have it all ripped away from me yet again.
It wasn’t logical, but I wondered briefly if this was my karma. Maybe this was my punishment for not living a more upstanding life during my early twenties.
Time ceased to exist as I dove deeper inside my own head, but I was pulled out of my stupor by the sound of footsteps pounding down the hall. The door swung open moments later.
“Jasper!”
Upon seeing Quinn, I frowned. My eyes shifted to Nigel when he kneeled beside me. “Why is she here?”
“I was having dinner at SharpEats when I received your call! Are you alright?”
“What’s going on?” Quinn stalked closer to me, as if afraid that she’d frighten me if she made any sudden movements.
I tried to ignore the feeling of relief that flooded through me as I realized that she still cared enough to worry. I thought she wouldn’t want to see me again for any reason after I broke things off with her.
“It’s just like the first time. The symptoms of my illness are recurring, and I don’t know why.” I ripped my eyes away from her, shaking my head as my voice cracked.
One of her warm hands squeezed mine, the other cupping my cheek. “Oh, Jasper… Don’t worry, okay? We’ll figure this out! Come on, we’ll go to the doctor right now. I’ll go with you, I’ll–”
I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward and pulling her in for a kiss. It began reassuringly, almost playfully, but it was impossible to kiss Quinn and not immediately become more aroused. Our kiss deepened, and her initial hesitation gave way to a heated response. I slid my tongue into her mouth, relishing her warmth, her taste, and the rasp of her teeth.
