38. Thea
38
Thea
J ust as I crawled back into bed, I heard a knock on my door. For fuck’s sake. Why couldn’t people just leave me in peace? I was starting to think I’d have been better off if Torrance had finished the job. At least if I was dead, I’d get some sleep.
I ignored the knocking, but within a minute, my phone began to ring.
And ring.
Landon your future husband: Open the door.
I picked up my phone and edited his name in the contacts to Fuckboy . It seemed appropriate, given what I knew about him. While I was thankful for his help in the shower last night/this morning, I was under no illusions about his motives. He probably thought helping me when I was in a bad spot would lead directly into my pants.
Spoiler alert: not a chance.
Me: No.
Fuckboy: I have heat/ice packs and chicken soup.
I hesitated. A heat pack would be useful. It might help the bruises fade quicker. Ice pack too. Then my stomach rumbled loudly, reminding me I’d eaten nothing since last night, and it was now early evening.
Me: I can’t move.
Before I’d even put my phone down, the door clicked open and Landon hustled in, looking like every girl’s wet dream in a tight white tee and gray joggers. It took a lot of effort on my part not to stare, particularly at the outline of his cock pressing against the fabric. I’d seen his cock. I knew exactly how large it was.
But then I reminded myself how awful I looked. The mirror hadn’t lied when I’d dragged myself into the bathroom a few minutes ago.
It told me I looked like a girl who’d had the shit kicked out of her. Oh wait . I had.
“How are you feeling, gorgeous?” He sat down on the bed and scanned my face and torso. Feeling way too exposed in my loose tee and panties, I pulled the sheet up over my breasts and scowled.
“Like the least gorgeous woman in the known universe, but I’ll be fine.”
Ignoring my petulance, he smiled. “I have a heat pad for your ribs and an ice pack for your face. Kyril says they’ll help bring the bruising down and ease the inflammation.” He was right, but I wasn’t about to admit it.
I watched while Landon plugged in the heat pad and then pulled out an ice pack. He passed it over. It was already cold, so I pressed it to my cheek, hissing at the chill.
Next, he poured some chicken broth from a thermos flask. “Drink,” he instructed. “Florrie made this for you. She swears by it. Reckons it has extra special healing properties.”
“Did you go all the way home to pick up chicken soup?”
He smirked. “Of course. Florrie’s chicken soup is legendary. It helped me get better when I had the flu last year.”
“It’s good,” I admitted after swallowing down the soup in record time. Florrie was an angel. Landon had no clue how lucky he was.
“See! Told you!” He took the cup from me and put the thermos to one side. “And now for the bed bath.”
I glared at him, but the annoying dickhead just laughed. “Only joking!” His smile faded. “You need to get some rest, but first, have you taken your pain meds?” I shook my head.
The heat pad felt amazing, easing the pain in my ribs, but the pills were more than necessary, so I stretched my hand out.
Just as Landon dropped two pills into my palm, there was another knock at the door. Who the fuck was it this time? I swear, if it was Kyril again, he could go off himself. I was not in the mood for another interrogation. Landon looked at me with one eyebrow raised and I shrugged.
Maybe it wasn’t Kyril. If it was, Landon would know.
Before I could protest about not needing another visitor, he was on his feet and opening my door.
There was a sharp gasp from the other side. “Landon? What are… you doing here?”
“Oh hey, Eden.” I noticed how Landon made sure the door stayed mostly shut, so Eden wouldn’t see how battered my face was. “Visiting Thea.”
“Um, OK? Is she there?”
“She’s asleep.”
I could picture Eden’s face. Knowing her, she was desperate to find out what was going on. I was amazed she hadn’t forced her way in already, but also relieved she hadn’t. While we’d become friends, I wasn’t ready to admit what I got up to in my spare time.
“Hmm, well, when she wakes up, ask her to call me, yeah?”
“Sure.” Landon closed the door, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Eden would no doubt want to know what he was doing in my room, but I’d deal with that in a few days, when I was feeling more alive.
“You know she thinks we’re fucking, right?” He smirked as he sauntered back over to my bed. “I’ll have to stay for a bit or she’ll think I’m a fuckboy.”
“Why would she think that?” My voice dripped with sarcasm.
“I’ve clearly screwed you senseless if you’re so exhausted you’ve fallen asleep. It wouldn’t be very nice of me to leave while you’re in a sex coma, now would it?” He sank down into my desk chair and rested his feet on the end of the bed, ignoring my glare.
“Or maybe I was so bored I fell asleep waiting for you to finish?” I sniped.
He gasped with mock outrage. “Sweetheart, I can assure you that would not happen! No woman ever leaves my bed unsatisfied.”
I had a strong suspicion he was right, but his ego didn’t need to know that.
“Whatever. Thanks for…” I reached out for the pills he’d dropped on the bed and swallowed them dry. They tasted gross, but compared to the pain I was currently in, it hardly counted. “…everything. I have no problem if people think you’ve treated me like a random hookup you can’t wait to get rid of, so no need to hang around on my account.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said firmly. “Get some sleep. I’ll watch over you while I work on my essay.” He reached down into his bag and pulled out a paper-thin laptop.
I was about to argue, then decided I didn’t have the energy. If he wanted to hang around while I slept, then fine. I trusted him not to molest me in my sleep, which was odd because I usually trusted no one.
It took a while to get comfortable, but with the aid of the heat pad, I eventually fell back to sleep. And for once, none of my usual nightmares caused me to wake up screaming.
When I next prised my eyelids apart, Landon had gone, replaced by Milo. I half-opened my mouth to protest about the near constant presence of annoying men in my room, then decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
“What happened to fuckboy?”
“Fuckboy? Is that what you think he is?”
“Well, yes. He seems to fuck around, ergo, fuckboy.”
“I guess he does,” Milo replied, looking thoughtful, like he hadn’t really considered Landon’s behavior as problematic.
Milo wasn’t like the other three. I never saw him talking to anyone but them. While he was handsome in a nerdy way, with his cute little glasses and floppy hair, he didn’t flirt or act like an asshole.
Instead, he hung back on the fringes of whatever bullshit they were up to.
I’d noticed him watching me a lot around campus. Whenever I turned around, he was there. Then there was that time he caught me leaving Lucian Forsyth’s office at the Masked Ball. Something we hadn’t discussed.
“Did you tell the guys about seeing me at the ball?” I asked.
He stared at me, showing no sign that my question bothered him. “No.”
“Why not? You must be curious about what I was up to?” If I’d caught him somewhere he shouldn’t be, I’d be damn curious.
“Are you going to tell me what you were doing there?”
“No.”
“Are you planning to hurt my friend in any way?”
I hesitated for a moment because, in truth, I didn’t know if what my father planned would hurt Cassian. I hoped not, but his plans had yet to be revealed. However, I would do my best not to drag Cassian into it.
“Not if I can help it.”
“Then that’s good enough for me,” he said with a shrug. “For now.” He tilted his head to one side. “I can help, you know. With tech stuff. If you need any help.”
“Why would you help me when you have no idea what I’m doing?”
“Because I like you.” He looked away, and I sensed his admission took him by surprise.
“Do you like me like me?” I teased.
When he turned back to face me again, the heat in his eyes floored me. Now it was my turn to feel uncomfortable, but mostly because my nipples were hard and I couldn’t help but wonder what calm, controlled Milo was like in bed.
“I do.” His voice trailed off. He ground his teeth with irritation. “I’m not sure why.”
“Gee, thanks,” I coughed, annoyed he’d ruined the moment completely. What was he saying? He liked me despite the fact I looked like roadkill right now?
“No, I mean, I don’t usually like girls in that way.” He hesitated, as if weighing up whether he wanted to reveal some deep, dark truth to me. I had to admit, I was a little curious. “I like to watch girls, but you’re not the kind of girl I’ve watched in the past. They were dolls. Pretty but shallow. You’re different. I enjoy watching you, but I want to do more than watch.” He grimaced. “It’s…confusing.”
I shifted into a more upright position, ignoring the screaming agony from my cracked ribs. Landon had strapped them up for me after my shower, but they still hurt like a bitch. There wasn’t much I could do other than pop pain meds and wait for my body to heal.
“What do you want to do to me?” My voice came out all breathy and seductive, which was annoying.
Milo came and sat on the bed, close enough for me to smell the clean, woodsy scent of his skin, but not quite close enough to touch. It was the sweetest kind of torture, and a welcome distraction from the pain.
“I want to touch you,” he rasped. His hand hovered over mine. Particles in the air shifted, generating electricity and heat. The cover resting on my legs felt too thick. I wanted to kick it off, but I didn’t dare move in case the spell broke.
“Touch me where?” I whispered. God, I was so turned on. He was close enough that I could see light stubble on his sharp jaw. I noted the small scar just above his left eye and wondered how he’d got it. Childhood accident maybe?
“Everywhere,” he said before his lips brushed mine.
Heat exploded inside me, and I grasped his head to pull him closer. For a moment, he froze, and I wondered if I’d made a huge mistake, but then he relaxed into the kiss, meeting me half-way.
He was nothing like Kyril, who kissed like he wanted to devour me. Milo was sweet, almost hesitant. At first, anyway. When I parted my lips to give his tongue access, a deep groan rumbled through his chest. The kiss deepened. Our teeth clashed, and he pushed me backward, his fingers raking through my hair.
A small moan escaped, partly because any movement caused me agony, but also because I wanted him. I wanted him to part my thighs, touch me there. Take what he desired and give me so much more in return. But before I could throw all my inhibitions away, he pulled back, eyes wild.
He swore softly, his expression a mix of surprise and wonderment. “That was…”
“Good?” I asked, hating the thread of insecurity in my voice.
“Amazing,” he breathed. His eyes sparkled as he reached down to adjust his dick. I tried not to look, but my eyes slid down, regardless. The bulge in his jeans was impressive. More than. Were all these guys hung like horses?
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” He grimaced when saw me wincing with pain. “I shouldn’t have done that. You need to rest.”
“I’m OK.” I was far from OK, but kissing Milo had distracted me, if only for a moment.
“You’re not OK. Now lie back and get some sleep while I watch you.” He moved away from the bed and settled in the chair next to my desk. Like Landon, he’d come with a laptop, which he placed on his knee.
As much as I wanted him to kiss me again, he was right. My body needed rest. I closed my eyes and listened to him tapping away on the keyboard. The sound was surprisingly soothing, a bit like rain on glass, and before long, I’d drifted off to sleep again.