Chapter 8 #2
“That’s good to hear. We’ll need to discuss your family a bit more, but that can wait. You didn’t answer about how you were feeling. You said you felt like you had been dropped off of a cliff. Are you still feeling that way? Is there anything I can do to help you more?”
I grinned and snuggled back into Maxwell’s embrace. “I’m feeling better. There’s something about the water that is incredibly soothing for both my physical aches as well as my energy. I don’t know what is in that oil, but it’s amazing.”
Maxwell chuckled. “I can ask him if he knows what is in it, but it’s also possible that Master Edison doesn’t know either. Or we might not want to know what’s in it.”
“Oh, I’ve not thought about that.” We fell into a bit of silence, and I took the moment to run my hand down Maxwell’s arm where it was wrapped around me.
I laced my fingers through his and brought his hand up to my cheek before I held it close to my heart.
“Where do we go from here? I need to move, yes?”
“One or both of us do. It will be painless though, I promise, because I can have us moved in a moment. But yes, we will have to figure out the logistics of where we’re going to live.”
I shook my head. “No. I want to live here. I’ve seen three rooms in your house, but it’s gorgeous.
And bigger than the one I was given. Maybe they expected me to move soon?
I’m not sure. It’s not a bad house, but it has two bedrooms, and with us in the main one, that leaves only the one for the baby or babies.
” Maxwell kissed the side of my head. I was feeling well enough that I moved out of his embrace and turned sideways so I could make eye contact.
“I don’t even know how many bedrooms you have. ”
“Four. This one and three more. There is a fifth one downstairs, but I turned it into a home office with a library with all of my books.”
“Oh. That sounds nice. I have a few books too. Is there anywhere that I can have mine? I don’t want to take over your space.”
Maxwell grinned and pulled me back toward him.
When he leaned down, I met his lips. He kept the kiss chaste, but I understood.
Now certainly wasn’t the time to try and start something.
Did I want my mate? Always. But at the moment, I wasn’t in the mood.
My head was still throbbing, my body could certainly use a day’s break at least, and I really wanted a huge meal.
“How would you like to spend the day?” Maxwell asked. “I know how I feel you should spend it, but I’m going to let you make the call.”
I groaned. “I know I need to rest. I’ll go back to bed.
I was looking for you. I heard the water and thought you might be in the shower.
I know I could have used our bond, but I hadn’t realized until I was halfway to the bathroom that I really should have stayed in bed.
” I sighed. “I didn’t remember my heat starting.
I was under the impression it was Monday and we needed to get to work. ”
“I have no doubt that news has spread at this point that the new doctor for the council is also my One and we wasted no time claiming one another. I did receive a few messages, all congratulating us, and another letting me know that we aren’t needed at the clinic for the foreseeable future.”
“But who will see the patients?”
“I’m not the only doctor in the area. Both the pack and the den have a doctor on staff. Both work more part-time than I do, but they are quite capable. If a warlock doctor is needed, the one from Amherst coven, which is Master Edison’s previous coven, is always willing to come and help.”
“Oh. Well, I guess that’s a good thing. I didn’t realize there were other doctors so close.” Why did the council need me, then? If there were two others that the council could have come and fill in, why was I here? “Why was I needed if you have others so close by?”
“They have patients off of the mountain they care for. The last I heard, they were going to combine clinics in between the pack and den lands, and everyone would just come to them there. But they have all of the den and pack, which are more patients than I have here.”
“All right. I think I’m just too worn-out still because it’s just not making sense to me.”
Maxwell ran his hand down my arm and kissed my forehead. “The pack is larger than the den and has a lot more omegas. There is also a council neighborhood down past Timber Valley that is full of fairly newly mated couples, so there are a lot of omegas there as well.”
“Okay. That makes sense.” I sighed and closed my eyes. “How long do we have before we need to go to work? As terrible as it may sound, I’m not really in a hurry to go, despite the fact that I just arrived and haven’t really started yet.”
“There are no worries about that. We have at least two weeks, but the council knows they can call on me if it’s an absolute emergency.”
I looked up at Maxwell. “Us. They can call on us,” I said in agreement.
“I’ve heard about the bond time from Alpha Osmund.
But if we’re working together and at the clinic at the same time, shouldn’t we be able to go back to work after a few more days?
I would go today, but I’m not sure I can stand for more than a few minutes. ”
“I’ll take care of that,” Maxwell said. “What would you like for food? Are you hungry?” I felt water pour over my head and realized that Maxwell suddenly had a cup from somewhere.
“I am hungry, yes. I’d love anything as long as it’s enough for two people,” I told him.
“I can handle that.” More water trickled over my head, and I leaned my head back and just enjoyed the attention. The water was warm and felt amazing on my scalp. I was slow to realize it, but by the time Maxwell had my hair thoroughly wet, my headache had lessened to a dull ache.
“I’m seriously in love with whatever is in that oil that is in the water,” I said. “My head has been throbbing painfully since I got out of bed, but now that you’ve poured water all over my head, it’s only an ache.”
“You should have told me,” Maxwell said. “I could have made you a tea that would help.”
“There’s tea that helps? Where do we get this? That sounds lovely.”
Maxwell chuckled and then held out a steaming mug of tea in front of me. “You get it here,” he said. “You sip on your tea, and I’ll wash your hair.”
“Oh, that sounds lovely. I’ve never had someone wash my hair before.
” I thought about that for a moment. “Well, not since I was a young child.” Then, it was simply something that needed to be done.
Once I was older, it was an intimate thing, and one that I’d not experienced with anyone before Maxwell.
“I’ve washed it with magic a few times in the past several days, but I’m very much looking forward to pampering you in all of the ways. We’ll start with tea, a bath that relaxes and soothes, and then a meal of steak and chicken. I seem to remember seeing something about those being your favorites?”
I moaned. He must have seen them in my memories when I was in heat.
“You sure know how to romance an omega,” I said quietly.
“Not any omega. Just you,” Maxwell responded. I felt those fingers rubbing through my hair and start massaging my scalp, and any other thought left my mind. That felt absolutely wonderful, and I was going to enjoy the pampering.