27. Chapter 27
Callahan
Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Rory’s attack and she was wasting away in front of me. She pretended she was eating, smashing food around her plate and taking tiny helpings. She only ate when I begged her to take a bite. She was so dehydrated, her lips were cracking and still she refused to drink.
Worry consumed me. My gut churned with fear. My eyes stung with aggravation at my inability to fix this.
The party we needed to attend at Elio’s was in twelve hours and she could barely stand long enough to shower. Something had to give.
In the weeks since I had brought her here, what I felt for her had grown from intense attraction to something so much deeper. What I felt for her made my chest feel tight. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let her leave our bed. Sex between us had been explosive but since the attack, the only intimacy we’d had was the few times I’d brought her to finish with my fingers. I was craving my wife, and she was wasting away in front of me.
For the past week, she’d been so weak and tired that she slept most of the day and all night. I swallowed a knot of emotion and pulled her slight body more tightly against mine. Her ribs pressed against her skin as I ran my fingers across her soft stomach. She was so tired she didn’t even stir at the feeling.
This has to stop. I won’t let her die, not even by her own doing.
I sighed and rolled her onto her back. She frowned slightly, her lips pursing before her features settled back into sleep. I ran the backs of my fingers down her cheek before hooking my forefinger behind the curve of her jaw. Something about that little spot reeled me in from the very beginning. The feeling of her pulse settled me a little, but my worry for her was a living, breathing thing. It crawled under my skin like a thousand insects, making me anxious and irritable.
“Aurora, wake up.” I shook her gently and her eyes fluttered. “C’mon, baby, wake up. We need to talk.” Her eyes opened and she frowned at me, confused for a moment before the sleep cleared from her eyes and she blinked at me.
“Cal? What’s wrong?”
I sat up and pulled her with me, supporting her with an arm behind her back. I stuffed pillows behind her back for her to rest on before turning on the bed to face her. Her eyes ran appreciatively down my torso. For just a moment there was a spark of arousal in her gaze before she blinked and it disappeared.
“I’m worried about you, solas.” She immediately frowned at me. “I know you’re not eating. You’ve had barely three pieces of toast over the last three days.” Her cheeks lit with a fierce blush and she dropped her eyes. Her breath hitched and she trembled with nerves. I raised her face to mine with a gentle finger under her chin. Shame burned in her gaze and she looked away only moments after meeting my gaze. “Please, solas. Please tell me what’s going on in your head?”
She took a deep breath and blinked rapidly before a tear fell down her cheek. I pulled her into my lap and kissed the tear away. She tucked her head under my chin and curled into my chest. I ran my hand over her back and my fingers bumped along her protruding bones. She shivered under my touch and took another breath before speaking.
“I don’t know why it’s happening.” Her voice shook and hitched as she burrowed further into my chest, running her nose through the hairs. “Every time I see food, I just can’t help but wonder who had access to it. Where did it come from? How many people touched it before it made it to my plate? How many people had the opportunity to poison it?”
My heart ached and my throat constricted. I had no idea how to help her overcome this. “We have to do something, mo solas, or you’re going to die.” My voice cracked in a way I hadn’t heard since puberty. Pain exploded behind my sternum at the thought and my arms tightened around her. “Please, baby, we have to do something. Our doctor has agreed that you need medical attention. He said he can give you IV fluids and nutrients to help you regain your strength faster.” Fear flashed in her eyes. “Please, baby. Please. The man helped my mother deliver me. He would never betray our family.” I pulled her away from my chest and met her eyes as a tear tracked down my cheek. “Please, mo solas. I can’t lose you.”
She rolled her lips between her teeth and nodded hesitantly. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and shot a text to the doctor, who was waiting downstairs. Moving to the closet, I pulled one of my shirts off a hanger, pulled on a pair of underwear and took the shirt out to Rory. I helped her pull it on and settled beside her just as a knock sounded.
Rory grabbed my hand immediately and squeezed. “Don’t let go of me.”
I called out for Aruthr to come in before rearranging on the bed so that I was leaning against the headboard with Rory between my outstretched legs, propped against my chest.
“Good morning, sir. Ma’am. I understand we had quite the scare a few weeks ago?” As I explained what had happened, Arthur went to work, laying equipment out, snapping on gloves and explaining everything he did as he did it. His weathered voice seemed to put Rory at ease as he tied the tourniquet and inserted the IV. Once she was hooked up to the IV bags, he showed me how to change them out when they ran dry and how to remove it when the second round of bags finished.
Rory shivered from the cold medications and I pulled the comforter around us, wrapping her into my heat as tightly as I could.
“Call me this evening and let me know how she’s doing. If she shows no improvement, we can do this again tomorrow. It would be good to eat something, but start small and bland. A banana or a piece of plain toast would be a good place to start. Not too much at once or it will make you sick, okay?”
Rory smiled at the old man, laid her head on my chest and closed her eyes. “Thank you, doctor.”
“My name is Arthur, ma’am.” His eyes flicked to mine. “Sir,” he said with a polite nod before showing himself out.
After the medication, Rory looked more alive. I could tell she felt better too, because she asked if we could take a shower. I helped her from the bed and carried her to the bathroom for a shower. I washed her hair and smoothed conditioner through her lock locks, running my fingers through them as she sighed with contentment. When I was done rinsing the conditioner away, I washed every inch of her skin, running the soapy sponge over her flesh and watching goosebumps trail behind my touch.
She turned in my arms and grabbed the sponge from me before pressing it to my chest. Her eyes followed her movements while I stared at her face, looking for any signs of the exhaustion that had clung to her like a cloak of darkness for the past two weeks. When she reached the bottom of my torso, she coyly met my eyes before lowering to her knees in front of me. She ran the soap over my legs, up to my thighs before reaching around and running it over the globes of my arse. With one arm around my arse, she swiped water from my chest down my torso and over my hips, sending it running down my legs. With every swipe of the water, soap washed away and skin was revealed. I laced my fingers through her hair, waiting to see where she was going with this. I wouldn’t let her do anything that would tire her out. She kissed each patch of revealed skin around my hips until her lips ran through the trimmed hair on my groin. She rubbed her cheek there, inhaling deeply before running her lips softly along the base of my cock. It was an intimate, loving gesture and that spot in my chest, the one reserved only for mo solas beag, it clenched tightly. A love that burned so hot it pulsed under my skin spread through my being, burning a spot into my soul that only she and her love could fill.
I ran my hand along her cheek before leaning down and cupping the side of her neck. My other hand went under her arm and I lifted her to her feet, pressing my mouth gently to hers. I lifted her around my waist and turned the water off without looking.
I laid Rory on the bed, not bothering to dry us off. Cupping one side of her neck, I ran my lips along the other side. She moved her head into my touch, allowing me more room to explore with my mouth. I kissed, licked and nibbled on every inch of skin I could reach as I worked my way down her torso. She ran her fingers through my hair and moaned softly as I swirled my tongue around her belly button.
When I settled between her thighs, I looked up to check her reaction as I ran my nose over her mound. My mouth watered at the smell of her and I swiped the flat of my tongue along her slit. She inhaled sharply, spreading her thighs wider for my head. With my fingers, I spread her open to latch my mouth on her clit and she cried out, her fingers pulling my hair hard enough to make my eyes squint.
I feasted on her, devouring her with lips and teeth and tongue. Her nose scrunched and I knew she was close. I plunged my tongue into her, pressing my face tightly into her cunt, and moaned as her flavor deepened on my tastebuds.
Her thighs clamped around my head, her knees pulling up so that her feet were perched on my shoulders, and she came with a soft cry. I slowly circled her clit with my finger, allowing her to ride out her orgasm without overstimulating her. She sighed and her fingers relaxed in my hair, changing from a clenched fist to stroking the strands, scraping her nails against my scalp. I laid my head on her thigh and shivered beneath her touch, running kisses along the soft, downy skin and wiping the remainder of her wetness against her skin so that I could lick it off and savor every drop.
We laid like that for a long time, my arms around her thighs that rested on my shoulders, her fingers running through my hair as I nuzzled into her silky skin. She seemed content to just enjoy the quiet and intimacy, so I watched her lay there with her eyes closed, feeling more blissed out on her pleasure and beauty than I would have if I’d been the one to come.
My mind wondered as I watched her peaceful face, trying to puzzle out how I could help her overcome the fear that had been plaguing her after the attack. An idea hit me and I wondered if it would help her. I ran the idea over and over in my head. If it worked, it would not only help her overcome her fear of food, but it might also help cement to her that I would do anything to keep her safe.
A knock on the door followed by Finn’s voice telling us the cars would be ready to leave in fifteen minutes interrupted our peaceful bubble. Rory’s eyes opened and met mine anxiously, her brow furrowed.
“We’re still going to Elio’s?” She sat up, pushing herself back with her arms, her legs slipping from my shoulders. I almost whined at the loss of my new cradle.
“Only if you want to, solas. If you don’t feel up to it, we stay here.”
She swallowed and flicked her eyes between mine and the clock on the nightstand, which read 5:13p.m. “But the party isn’t until eight tonight,” she said with a questioning brow.
“Yes, but I thought you might like a new dress, since you threw most of yours out.” She sent a small smile my way before throwing her legs over the edge of the bed and heading to the closet.
I stopped by the dresser to grab my wallet and as I was clipping my watch around my wrist, Rory’s voice echoed out of the closet.
“Uh, Cal? What is this?” I smirked as I walked to the closet.
“What’s what, solas?” I leaned against the doorway of the closet as she stared at the small blue box perched on top of the drawers in front of her.
She lifted it and held it out on her palm, eyeing it like it might be rigged to explode. I walked toward her and took the box from her palm, removing the lid and showing her the contents. The diamond tennis bracelet, small, dainty and understated, shimmered under the lights in the closet. She smiled and looked from the bracelet to me.
“Is that for me?” she asked, her tone laced with awe.
I laughed. “No, I thought I’d give it to my mistress.”
Her face immediately colored. “What’s her name? I will murder her. I will strangle her with- well actually, I’ll probably have to pay Connor or Carson to do it because I’m too weak right now. And I’ll have to borrow the money from you. But I want her name! I swear to-”
I removed the bracelet and grabbed her hand, clasping it around her wrist as I spoke. “I’m joking, solas. It’s for you, of course.”
She ran her fingers over the delicate chain. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you so much.” Tears shimmered in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around my waist. Another knock on the door spurred her into movement and she dressed quickly in jeans and a sweater, pulling on a pair of furry boots that were worn and stained. I frowned at them as I followed her out to the car.
Once seated in the backseat, I pulled out my phone, inconspicuously snapped a picture of her shoes to send to Ebony.
Me: Order Rory a new pair of these boots.
Ebony: Of course, sir.