“Bath,” she whimpers.
“Let me go check the water level, I’ll be right back,” Knox says.
I dial Walker’s number instead of sending him a text. He answers on the second ring.
“I’m three minutes out from your place. How is she?”
“She didn’t drink the tea Dr. Quinn prescribed her,” I say without preamble. “Knox just got her here from Tansy’s. She’s burning up, Walker. This isn’t normal preheat.”
There’s a pause before I hear the screeching of tires over the phone. “I’ll go talk with Dr. Quinn. What are her symptoms?”
I peek into the bedroom and see Knox helping her out of her clothes. For a moment, all I can do is stare.
He slips her cardigan off, and already her heavy breasts are on display more than they usually are, since she always wears her clothes a bit baggier than most. Her skirt falls to the floor, and my mouth goes dry. Those thighs of hers are so soft and inviting.
I never knew just how pillowy she was underneath her clothing.
“Eli!” Walker barks.
It snaps my attention back to him. “Sweating, but not flushed. She leaked a bit in Knox’s truck. She’s practically begging for a hot bath.”
“She can’t have a hot bath, she’ll pass out.”
“We know. Her scent is also overly sweet, like cinnamon rolls with too much icing. She’s whining, too. A lot. And cramping.”
“Fuck.”
“This shouldn’t be happening,” Lia whimpers. “I should have a few more days.”
I peek back into my bedroom just in time to see Knox sweep her off her feet. His bulk blocks the majority of her naked body, but her legs are on full display and my teeth ache to sink into them.
Focus, Eli. She needs you.“I don’t know if she needs a dose of her tea, or if Dr. Quinn has something else that might work. But she’s insistent that she should have a few more days.”
“I’m pulling into the clinic now.”
“Want me to stay on the phone?”
“Nope. I’ll text when I’m on my way. And Eli?”
“Yeah?”
“Take care of our girl until I can get there. This might be it, and we’ll have to do this by her book if we want to prove ourselves as Alphas of our word.”
I know exactly what he means.
If this is her heat crashing into her, we can’t allow our instincts to get out of control. We’ll have to listen to her and what she needs.
Even if it isn’t what our knots want.
“Read you loud and clear,” I say as I venture back into my room.
“Be there in a few. I’ll text when I’m on my way,” Walker says.
Before the line goes dead.
I jam my phone back into my pocket as I mosey over to the doorway of my bathroom. Knox is kneeling beside the tub, with Lia already submerged into the bubbles.
“It’s not hot,” she whines.
