Page 33 of Rogue Wave

I wasn’t aware of anything that could get rid of this feeling, but I was willing to try anything at that moment.

Hazel darted into her house quickly, but I moved much slower thanks to the burning and stinging feeling all over my skin.

Shadow was by my side, concern all over her face.

“Here, sit down,” Hazel said, pointing to one of her kitchen chairs.

I complied and turned my focus to Shadow, trying to pet her so she didn’t lick my welts by accident.

“If you can, take your shirt off so I can see where they all are,” Hazel said, rooting around in her kitchen cabinets.

I did as she asked, but it hurt far worse than I’d thought it would. It felt like scraping an open cut, but the cool air felt good once my shirt was fully off.

When she finally turned back to me at the table, she halted somewhat abruptly for a moment.

I wasn’t sure if it was because she enjoyed what she saw or if my welts were worse than I imagined and she was shocked by them.

She set a bottle, an ice pack, and some cotton balls on the table next to me before she kneeled down in front of me.

This was the second time in as many weeks that she’d been in front of me on her knees, and my dirty mind couldn’t help but imagine what she would look like in that same position but doing something else.

Keep your mind out of the gutter, McAllister. She’s helping you, not offering anything else.

Focus.

I looked at the bottle of liquid that she poured onto a cotton ball before moving to put on my welts.

“Is that vinegar?” I asked.

“Yes. Wasp venom is alkaline based, so vinegar helps to neutralize it,” she said, and I instantly loved the coolness of the liquid on my raised marks.

If someone had asked me an hour ago whether I thought this holistic approach would work, I would have had no idea what to tell them, but now I realized the agony and discomfort I had been feeling was fading away.

She placed the cold compress on top of the cotton ball where I had a cluster of welts, and the combination felt amazing.

“You’re not allergic, are you?” she asked, and I shook my head.

“Thank you,” I told her, appreciating the relief.

“You’re welcome,” she said as she ran her finger ever so lightly over the rest of my arms and chest, investigating the rest of the marks.

I felt the blood pumping through my veins at a rapid speed. When her fingers brushed against my skin, all my blood rushed to one location.

Man, did I have it bad if a woman wiping vinegar on me stirred this much excitement.

The fact that she was openly staring at me didn’t help, either.

She spent the next ten minutes treating each of the seventeen stings—she counted—on my body. Thankfully, none had gotten on my face, but my arms and shoulders had taken more than their fair share of damage.

“Here, come with me,” Hazel said, standing up. “I think I have some cream you can put on top to help keep them from bothering you the rest of the day or at least some antihistamines to help with the swelling and itching.”

I stood, taking a moment to adjust the growing bulge in my pants, before following her down the hallway.

Shadow stuck to me like glue as we entered her small guest bathroom. Hazel was squatting down, looking inside her under-sink cabinet when we arrived.

Shadow’s head jerked to the side as a splash sounded from the bathtub next to us, causing me to look in that direction as well.

I was surprised to find the bathtub was full of water, but even more surprised to find a slimy, pink, transparent creature swimming in it.