“I have Fallon things to do.”
That kiss was a mistake. I showed him too much of the mixed-up feelings inside me for him to stay out of my business. Body and soul dripped with exhaustion and I hated it. It wasn’t in me to give up the fight. I couldn't.
“I have to get up.” The words came out with more conviction than I thought possible.
Did my joints look as swollen as they felt? What answer might I drum up for that?
“I don’t think you do,” he said.
He looked down at my hands, my wrists, and I waited for him to flinch. I went on the defensive. “I have onions toprep.”
“Hang the onions, Fallon.”
Irritation at him, at myself, my weakness, my body surged up. “Easy for you to say. This isn’t your ticket to getting your life back. I want to see my Goddschild. I need to know if Evie’s cankles look hideous during pregnancy. And if Maggie is driving her crazy. I’ve already wasted enough time here trying to get my powers under control.”
He flinched at that direct hit. I didn’t exactly mean it that way. Maybe. Probably. Fuck. I was fucking this up too. The agony made it impossible to untangle this. I needed to get out of here.
I struggled with the blankets like they were sheets of lead. Declan moved faster than he had a right to, caging me with his body. If he could have sat on me, I think he would have, but some wolfie sense told him not to. Maybe it was my teeth grinding as I attempted to move a bedsheet.
“You’re not going today. Momma will understand. I let it slide in the pantry because you let me take you back to bed. This seems worse.”
It was worse. Much worse. “I have so much to do!”
My embarrassment at snapping at him, at my body’s betrayal, made me more surly than ever.
Declan's smile showed two sharp fangs. “I know.” His laugh was so evil it arrowed right between my legs. “We’ve been on an official date, even though it devolved into chaos. You’re going to be my mate today and you will let me help. What can I do to help?”
“It’s not that bad.” I hated the lie when he was being everything I needed. “This is the first time I’ve ever not been able to get out of bed. I just had one too many trips down the hill.” I was in too much pain for it not to come out breathless.
If only it worked like that. There were certain things like the change in weather or exhaustion that made it worse, but the part that drove me crazy was that random flares would happen for no reason.
Calmly, he leaned down close to my ear and growled, “What can I do to help?”
A ripple of pleasure cut through the pain for just a moment. It wasn’t just his deep voice in my ear, but his warm breath on my neck, the steel cords of those whisk-twirling forearms in the periphery of my vision.
The urge to bite them struck up a chorus in my mind. I didn’t know why. My pleasure never involved pain. I had never been possessive in my life. Men weren’t worth it. But Declan. He was so sweet. Would he taste like it too? The haze of his nearness whisked my brain and for once, it had nothing to do with the brain fog.
“Sometimes a warm bath helps,” I mumbled.
Luckily, he was right on top of me so he didn’t miss it.
“Then you will have a bath and as much hot water as you want.”
I shook my head, one last protest on my lips. “The wash tub in your washroom is too small. I’m going to cramp up just sitting init.”
A devilish sparkle lit Declan’s eye. “Don’t move.”
He sprang off me and raced out of the room. I didn’t move while my mind galloped like a panicked horse. I barely clutched the covers. How would I explain my laziness to Anise? He hadn’t asked why I couldn’t get out of bed, but I saw the questions hovering in his eyes. That he wanted to help regardless started my leaky eyes again.
Have you moved yet?
He walked back into the bedroom carrying a metal tub larger than he was, muscles flexing. Had he always been that strong? Declan maneuvered it with ease.
“You’re going to get in this without complaint because if you didn’t move while I was gone, then you really need it.”
I eyed the vat he had set as close to his fire as possible. “What is that thing?”
“The clothes wash tub. Momma needed one big enough for all of us.”
