She really didn’t look good. Her skin was a strange grey-green colour, and her eyes looked a little unfocused.
‘I don’t feel too great actually.’
‘Here.’ He stood up and pulled out a chair for her. ‘Sit down.’
She came towards him and put her hand on the back of the chair, as if not entirely convinced it was what she wanted to do.
‘I felt a bit light-headed last night, but I thought it was because of the… um… wine.’
And the sexual tension, he filled in silently for her.
There was a sudden flash of panic in her eyes and she took a hasty step backwards. ‘Sorry. Excuse me for a second—’ and with that, she dashed back inside, the door to her bedroom slamming loudly behind her.
Panic inched through him. He had no idea what he should do. Should he go into the bedroom to check if she was okay? If she was being sick she might prefer that he leave her alone. Or was she hoping he’d go in there and hold her hair and rub her back? No. He couldn’t imagine her wanting that. Especially with their relationship being so… confused right now. So, he stayed at the table and waited, with his pulse beating hard in his head, until he heard her bedroom door open again.
Striding into the living area, he saw her standing in the doorway, seemingly holding herself up by propping her hands against the door jambs.
‘You should go straight back to bed,’ he said, noting how she was trembling now.
‘I don’t think I drank too much last night, I think I’m ill,’ she murmured, looking at him with bloodshot eyes. ‘I must have picked up a tummy bug from somewhere, or perhaps it was something I ate?—’
‘I agree. Straight back to bed for you.’ She nodded and turned around, heading back into her room, where she climbed shakily under the fresh cotton sheets of her bed.
Good that we used my bed last night, so her sheets are clean, he thought as she snuggled into the pillows and let out a small sigh of relief. At least she’d be able to lie there without being constantly reminded of what happened between them last night. He didn’t want her associating it with feeling ill.
Not that that should be his priority right now, he reminded himself sternly. ‘I’ll go and fetch you a glass of water,’ he said, heading quickly out of the room and into the kitchen.
He filled a glass for her and searched out a bowl from the cleaning cupboard, which he then took into her bedroom.
‘Here you go, just in case you feel ill again and don’t think you can make it to the bathroom. Not that it’ll be a problem,’ he added quickly, not wanting her to think he’d be angry if she made a mess.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered, clearly trying to smile at him, but not quite managing it.
‘Try and sleep,’ he said quietly, backing out of the room. ‘If you need me, shout. I’ll be right next door.’
He saw her give him a small nod before he turned around and headed back to the living area.
It looked as if the conversation about what had happened last night was going to have to wait.
* * *
Soli slept fitfully, weaving in and out of consciousness, sometimes aware of Xavier’s presence in the room, other times thinking she must have imagined it.
In the middle of the night, she rolled over and stretched out her arm to see whether he’d got into bed with her, but had found the other side cold and empty.
Not that she could blame him. Who’d want to sleep next to someone who had to get up to vomit every half an hour? She hoped to goodness he wasn’t sick too – that would really make her feel wretched. He’d been really kind, looking after her, coming in to check on her regularly and refreshing her water. Luckily, she’d not needed the bowl he’d brought in. The thought of him having to deal with that had given her the horrors.
She couldn’t bring herself to think about what had happened between them the night before though. As wonderful as it had been, it made her stomach tie into knots just thinking about it, so she pushed it to the back of her mind. It would be something she’d mull over once she was feeling better – which would hopefully be soon.
She hated being ill.
Especially when she was meant to be on holiday.
And with Xavier right next door.
* * *
She was still sick the following day and only got out of bed to dry heave before crawling back under the covers to sleep, but the morning after that she woke up feeling as if the worst of it had lifted and tentatively sat up in bed to check the time.
