And that was the last I heard from him until morning.
11
FALLON
My head hit the pillow and all I saw as I closed my eyes were swirling numbers and symbols. It was as if I had taken a drug and I was seeing pictures on the inside walls of my mind. But even though they were equations, I couldn't make sense of them. I couldn't think.
Heat suffused my body. I probably had a fever with this cold coming on. I'd done what Keir had asked of me and taken some cold medicine. I lay back and tried to relax, waiting for it to hit.
I woke disoriented, glancing at my glowing nightstand clock to see it was 6:00 AM. I didn't remember falling asleep. The covers were soaked. Fever. My first thought dissipated when I realized I was completely aroused. This wasn't a cold or a fever. I was in heat.
Instant panic set in. I had to go back to work. It was the day before the day before Christmas Eve. The strange storm was close. Keir was counting on me. Santa was counting on me.
I wiped my hand across my brow trying to clear my mind. There had to be something I could do, a solution to stave off this problem for the next day and a half. Mind over matter? That might work during a heat for the first few hours, but that wasall. Plus, I was working with an alpha. It would affect him. But maybe I could work from home.
First, I needed a cold shower. It wouldn't feel good, but it would help.
I forced myself into the bathroom and under the icy running water. My inner reindeer could only compensate for my human form for a few minutes before I began shivering, my teeth rattling. I stayed under the spray for as long as I could stand it. Which wasn't long. Cold water hammering bare skin stung like mad. Pain radiated everywhere.
I got out and rubbed myself down fast and hard, then wrapped my body in a flannel robe.
I needed to move fast, get back to my computer. First I really needed a hot drink. I longed for cocoa with marshmallows but I knew it would just make things worse. Sugar was a comfort. But also, a stimulant.
I fixed myself decaf coffee and hurried in my favorite fluffy slippers to my laptop which sat on my new coffee table.
Immediately, I emailed Keir. I told him I had come down with a bad fever and that I would need to work from home.
It was a lie, but I felt justified. He didn't need to deal with the truth right now.
I received an answer within two minutes. He asked if I needed anything, medicine, food, a doctor.
Quickly, I typed.
No. I have cold meds. Hopefully they will keep my brain clear. Can you send me all the updates?
I hoped changing the subject to focus on work would get him to stop asking questions. But I was worried. Hearts were unpredictable for me. My mind could get lost in a haze. There was nothing, not even cold meds, I could take for that.
I received a document and immediately began to read it. For now, I could concentrate despite the powerful ache between mythighs. The cold shower and the hot coffee helped. I'd put a folded towel down on my couch so I wouldn't leak slick onto it. I was set for now.
The updates on the storm in the last hours were brutal. Everything was changing before my eyes. It was almost useless to try to keep up with it. I was constantly going back and rewriting the nav programs to compensate.
Every hour, Keir emailed me and asked how I was doing and if I needed anything. I couldn't tell him to stop. That would have been rude. But the more he asked, the more my omega instincts responded. Arousal returned through the roof.
It was the alpha's job to take care of his omega mate. That protective and caring instinct was everything I craved right now. Even though Keir was not my mate, my body didn't know that. It wanted him with every cell.
For just a moment, I closed my eyes and put my head down on a pillow on the couch. The computer fell to the side.
The next thing I knew, my phone was buzzing. When I looked with my bleary eyes, I saw a bunch of missed texts and three missed calls. It was just around noon. I'd gotten through the first six hours but I didn't think I could last six more.
I poked my phone trying to listen to the most recent message. I missed a few times but finally got it to play. Damn, I was out of it.
I leaned back and listened.
“Fallon. Are you there? This is my third message. I'm assuming you're not all right. I'm on my way over to check on you.”
I sat straight up, shock coiling through my body. Keir was on his way here? That couldn't happen.
I heard my own voice as if from far away. “No no no no.”
