“I was shitting my pants,” I confessed.
“You and me both,” she whispered back. “But that didn’t stop us, did it?”
“Nope.”
“I love you, kid,” she said, pinching my cheek gently.
“Love you too.”
“What the hell are you doing out of bed?” Alice bitched as she stepped into the room. “I thought I told you to bring her upstairs.”
“I was just about to bring her back,” Daniel replied.
“Alice?” Daniel’s mom called. She rose from her chair.
She must’ve seen something in Alice’s expression that no one else had, because the small woman nodded her head and then burst into tears. “He’s awake,” she choked out. “He’s asking for Erik.”
“Oh, thank the Gods,” Daniel’s mom whispered, her fingers pressed to her mouth.
She rushed toward Alice and wrapped the smaller woman in her arms, ushering her out of the room.
“Come on, baby,” Daniel said, scooping me up off the bed. “Time for you to rest.”
“I’ll come back down later,” I told my aunt and cousins. I met Ian’s eyes, worried because he hadn’t said a word. Relief filled me when he scratched his nose with his middle finger, flipping me off.
“Much later,” Aunt Halle called. “Get some rest.”
The house was silent as we moved through it, but Erik intercepted us on his way through the kitchen.
“Good news,” he announced as he passed us.
“Tell him I’ll come see him in a while.”
“You’ll have to get past Alice,” Erik joked, disappearing around the corner.
I laid my head on Daniel’s shoulder and didn’t raise it until we were in his dark bedroom and he was setting me on the bed.
“Lay with me?” I asked as he pulled back.
I could’ve napped by myself. The bed was extremely comfortable, and I knew that he was itching to get back downstairs, especially since his uncle had woken up, but I wanted him with me. It felt like years since I’d felt his body press into mine while I slept, not just a day.
With a silent nod, Daniel helped me slide between the sheets. He carefully situated himself next to me, his hand on my belly, careful not to brush against my hip.
“Your bed’s so big,” I mumbled, wiggling my toes. They didn’t even reach the end.
I didn’t hear his response because I fell almost instantly asleep.
I didn’t wake up for hours, and when I did, it was because my wounds were fucking throbbing.
“Fuck,” I groaned, opening my eyes. I’d somehow managed not to roll over in my sleep, and I was still lying on my back, one arm across my chest in the sling, the other hand tucked up under my chin.
“I ran and got you some painkillers,” Daniel said sympathetically. “I had a feeling you’d need them when you woke up.”
“Good call,” I rasped. “Gimme.”
I didn’t even bother sitting up. I just let him lift my head a little so I could take the two pills with water from a straw.
“It shouldn’t take long for those to kick in,” he assured me, lying back down beside me.
