Chapter Nine
BETH OPENED HER eyes to dusky early-morning light and the weight of Xavi’s arm over her belly and the delicious feel of his chest and thighs spooned into her.
She smiled sleepily to herself and wriggled her backside, ready to tempt him into waking and making love to her again before he left her for the office and she collected Diego from Salma. After five magical days away together, reality could wait a little longer.
His arm tightened around her stomach. His mouth nestled into her hair.
She wriggled again, luxuriating in the wakening of his arousal against her buttocks, and she turned her head to seek his kiss, only to find the movement hurt her head…
and now she realised her head was aching, she realised the weight of Xavi’s arm over her belly was constricting and hurting her.
She sat bolt upright without even thinking about it. ‘I’m going to be sick.’ The words came out with no thought, either, and it was without thought that she scrambled off the bed and threw herself into the bathroom.
She only just made it in time.
Xavi, propped against the headboard, stroked his sleeping beauty’s fevered forehead and closed his eyes.
He’d never known Beth to be sick before.
Sure, she suffered menstrual pains—at least, she used to—but that was it.
He couldn’t remember her even having a sniffle, and it enraged him all over again to remember his doctor’s refusal to say whether she was suffering from food poisoning or a stomach bug.
He hadn’t paid him an extortionate amount of money to drag himself to his apartment at eight in the morning and diagnose his new wife to be rebuffed with likely this or likely that.
He was the doctor. Make the bloody diagnosis and then give her something to make her better, not all this, either way, it needs to work its way out of her system crap.
Xavi was no doctor, but an internet search had given him a better bloody diagnosis than the so-called bloody expert.
If it was food poisoning then Xavi would be suffering from it, too.
They’d last eaten on the plane home, both eating the same meal.
If it was a stomach bug—much more likely, especially now that she’d developed a fever, too—then that meant some bastard had passed their germs to her.
When he found out who it was, he would kill them.
His phone rang.
It was his executive assistant. The head of his cabin crew had just informed her that two of the crew had been struck down with a virulent stomach bug and wanted to warn Xavi in case he was struck down with it, too.
He swore very loudly in his head. He couldn’t even take delight in seeking revenge in his imagination, not when the perpetrators were his hardworking crew.
He did, however, get his revenge on Doctor Do-Nothing by calling him and insisting he pay house visits to both his stricken crew. ‘Wear a mask,’ he said icily when Doctor Do-Nothing tried to protest.
Beth’s eyes opened. ‘You’re still here,’ she mumbled.
‘Where else would I be?’
‘In back-to-back meetings?’
He smiled at her feeble attempt at a joke. ‘I’m staying right here until you’re better.’ Screw the meetings he had racked up for the day. Some things were more important than work.
He didn’t let himself think about the video calls he’d cancelled on their honeymoon. That was a different matter entirely. He’d cancelled one because Beth had wanted to go snorkelling, the other because he’d gone three hours without having sex with her.
‘I’m fine. Go to the office.’
‘You’re not fine. You look like a corpse.’
‘You’re so romantic.’
‘It’s a gift.’
She gave a wan smile. ‘Honestly, I’m fine. I’ve not been sick for ages.’
He looked at his watch. ‘It’s been twenty-six minutes.’
She blinked her surprise. ‘Is that all?’
‘See, now you’re delirious.’
‘Now you’re a comedian.’
‘Another gift.’
‘Aren’t you afraid you’ll catch it?’
‘Germs are afraid of me.’ And even if they weren’t, there was no way on earth he was going to leave Beth alone in this state.
Isabel had offered to watch over her but, even though he trusted his housekeeper with every aspect of his domestic life, he was damned if he would trust her or anyone else to look after Beth properly.
Besides, Beth was too unpredictable to guess what kind of patient she would make.
So far, she’d been obedient, but it had only been six hours of illness.
‘I wish they were afraid of me,’ she said forlornly.
He smoothed her hair off her forehead. ‘I wish they were, too. Now, close your eyes and go back to sleep. When you’re feeling stronger, I’ll have some plain food brought to you.’
Her smile this time was soft. ‘Thank—’ The smile dropped. Her head lifted off the pillow, and, covering her mouth, she staggered back to the bathroom.
On Beth’s third morning back in Madrid after their honeymoon, she woke feeling much better.
She’d made it the whole night without using the bathroom, and the only ache in her stomach was the ache of hunger.
Since falling ill, she’d eaten a couple of bananas and three slices of toast in total, and that was just to shut Xavi up.
She didn’t have to check his heart was beating.
He was cuddled into her, his breaths of sleep dancing into her hair, his warm hand on her hip.
She had a moment of wondering whether to wriggle her bottom to wake him, but then thought she didn’t want to push her luck.
She’d never been that ill in her life. Lord knew how Xavi had dodged catching it.
Maybe he was right that germs were afraid of him.
Besides, she must stink. She hadn’t showered in days. Or brushed her teeth.
Creeping out of bed, she dragged her weak legs to the bathroom, scrubbed her teeth to within an inch of their lives, and stripped off her pyjama shorts and T-shirt.
She smiled to remember Xavi’s insistence that she wear them.
‘I’m not sleeping without you, mi vida, and I am not going to risk accidentally making love to you while you’re ill and defenceless, so let me put them on you. ’
How he could accidentally make love to her was a conundrum to be mulled over when her brain was fully functioning again.
For now, the only thing she wanted to think about was how well he’d taken care of her.
He’d given up two full days of his precious work to watch over her.
Yes, she was aware he’d worked on his laptop while she’d slept and had often heard his low voice holding conversations, but he hadn’t left her.
He’d even eaten his meals in the room and insisted they be plain, bland food in case strong scents set her tender stomach off.
Lathering herself, she thought that he did care for her, and though she hardly dared allow herself to think it, that he’d put her over the Rosbel Group must mean she meant more to him than the company did. Or at least put her on a par with it.
‘What are you doing?’ the voice she so adored chided from behind her.
She turned slowly, her smile forming much quicker than her legs were working, and was thrilled to find Xavi in all his naked glory. ‘Destinking myself.’
He stood beneath the pouring water, closed the gap between them and, his hands firm on her hips, bowed his head to kiss her gently. He grinned. ‘Much better.’ The grin quickly faded. ‘But you should be taking it easy. Are you all clean now?’
‘I need to wash my hair.’
‘I will do it for you.’
Reaching for the shampoo, he stood behind her and massaged a good dollop into her hair.
The sensations in her still-tender head felt heavenly.
After rinsing it out, he reached for the conditioner.
His erection stabbed into her back the whole way through, but he didn’t even mention it, let alone attempt to seduce her.
Once the conditioner was rinsed out, he turned the shower off and enveloped her in a huge, fluffy Egyptian cotton bath towel.
‘Back to bed,’ he ordered firmly, even though his erection was now trying to stab her stomach.
‘My hair’s still wet.’ It was still dripping.
Guiding her to the bathroom chair, he patiently and gently towel-dried her hair as best he could before nodding. ‘That will do. Now back to bed. I will have food brought up for you.’
‘Can I have scrambled eggs and toast?’ she asked once she was settled and Xavi had propped a load of pillows behind her back and head.
‘Can you manage it?’
‘I think so…but I will only try if you go to work.’ It was Sunday but she knew he had lots of stuff to catch up with, stuff he’d neglected while looking after her.
He pulled the stern face she’d become so accustomed to these past few days.
‘I’m better,’ she insisted. ‘I just need to build my strength back up, and then I’ll be as right as rain.’
He pursed his lips. ‘One more day,’ he decided. ‘If you hold down the food you eat today, I’ll go back to work tomorrow.’
She smiled. Her heart came close to exploding. ‘You have a deal.’
Beth managed to eat most of her breakfast and keep it down.
Even better, Xavi continued neglecting his work to snuggle in bed with her and watch a mindless action film.
They were halfway through it when Carlota called.
After chatting with Beth and satisfying herself she’d come off death’s doorstep, Beth gave the phone back to Xavi.
When he spoke his native language, it was always at a breakneck speed she struggled to keep up with, but she picked up the gist of the conversation.
‘Have I translated it right that Carlota’s going to Egypt?’ she asked when the call was over.
He stretched back out beside her. ‘You have—she flies out in a couple of weeks.’
‘How long will she be gone this time?’
‘It’s a big site, so who knows.’
‘Is your mum going to do one of her big family meals to see her off with?’
‘Probably.’
‘Good. I love your mum’s big family meals.’