“You normally take stronger stuff?”
“Naproxen, but I forgot to bring it.”
“I have some.”
I squint. “Why?”
“Old shoulder injury. Acts up sometimes.”
He disappears out of the room, giving me a chance to replace my towel with his clothes. They smell heavenly—a combination of fresh washing powder and something entirely Hunter. My hormone-riddled brain is apparently making me crazy.
He reappears with a steaming cup in one hand and a glass of water with a box of familiar pills in the other. I take the meds with the water, then sniff the cup.
“It’s chamomile.”
I hum in the back of my throat as I take a sip. It’s actually nice, and the heat helps loosen up the tight muscles from inside. I take a minute to drink half the cup before another wave of cramps hits, and he plucks the cup from my hands before I scald myself.
“Lie back.”
I blink at him as he climbs into the other side of the bed. “I’m not staying here with you.”
“While I can assure you a little blood doesn’t bother me, the first time we fuck won’t be while you are crying out in pain and clutching the sheets waiting for cramps to pass. I have no motivation other than to go to sleep. So lie back, Eleanor, close your eyes, and wait for the meds to kick in.”
Sitting frozen at the edge of the bed, I mumble, “I might leak again.”
“It’s sheets, Eleanor. Don’t panic about it.”
But I do. We were punished if we had accidents and were taught men didn’t like knowing women are messy creatures. It’s illogical, I know, but I’ve never been able to shake it.
He slides in beside me and pulls me down next to him, pulling the covers up and over us both. “No funny business,” I warn him.
He chuckles in the dark, his breath moving the stray hairs on my forehead. “You are safe with me, trouble. It’s my virtue I should be worried about. Did you know orgasms are natural pain relievers?”
“I do.”
“Whatever you need to do to manage it, I’m here for. No judgment.”
“It looks like Armageddon right now, and you’re still flirting with me?”
He sighs. “You’re female; it’s natural. It’s not like you’re sprouting alien tentacles and declaring you’re going to possess my mind.”
A small smile softens my face. “That’s a lot of clashing cultures. Aliens. Sea creatures. Demons. My, don’t you have an active imagin?—”
I groan low and roll onto my side, unable to handle Hunter seeing me at my weakest.
“Where does it hurt?”
I pant through the pain, gritting out, “My stomach and back.”
“What helps?”
“Heat.”
“That’s why you were reenacting the Titanic in my shower. I don’t have a hot water bottle, but I will grab one tomorrow.”
“I should be over the worst of it by then.”
His warm hand lands on my back and rather than shy away from his touch, I groan low as he rubs firm circles with his thumb. “How does that feel?”
