Dylan's Redemption by Jennifer Ryan

Author:Jennifer Ryan [RYAN, JENNIFER]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

* * *

SO HOT. WAY too hot. She needed to take the covers off and turn on the air conditioner.

Why is the house so hot?

Maybe she left the heater turned up too high. She tried to throw off the sheets, but someone held her arm still. She tried to kick her legs to push the covers down and pain seared up her thigh, making her grab for her leg. Fire shot through her shoulder. She tried to roll over and found herself barricaded on both sides by pillows.

“Stop, Jess. Stop moving.”

Someone put a cold cloth on her head and she raised her face to it. It felt so good to have something cool against her skin. She felt like she’d been in the desert for days, her throat dry and gritty, like she’d eaten sand.

“Water,” she tried to say and knew nothing came out of her mouth. She tried to work up some spit and nothing happened. Someone’s breath washed over her cheek. “Water,” she said again on an exhalation

“Take a sip, Jess. Just a little. You don’t want to make yourself sick.”

The voice sounded so familiar, but she couldn’t think past her desperate need for something to drink.

“That was an absurd statement, I know. Makes me want to laugh. Almost. You can’t possibly get sicker than you already are.”

The voice sounded lost and held a wealth of sadness. Drawn to the deep sound of it, she wanted to hear it again. A straw pressed to her lips and she drank deeply. Unsure of her surroundings, she tried to open her eyes. She managed a narrow slit, and discovered Dylan’s hips and thighs nicely shaped in a pair of worn jeans. She wondered if there could ever be a time she didn’t recognize him. Despite the pain and grogginess, a deep well of relief washed over her, knowing he watched over her.

He took the cold cloth from her head and turned and rinsed it in a bowl beside the bed. Then he ran the cool cloth over her neck and down her arm. With the room spinning, she felt like someone had put her on a spit and was roasting her alive.

Dylan rinsed then put the cold, wet cloth on her head and tried to cool her down. Her flesh burned under his hands. It went in waves. She could go for hours with a low temperature, and then it spiked. For two days, he’d stayed beside her trying to keep her cool while the doctors did everything they could to stop the infection ravaging her body. Drugs pumped into her hour after hour, and nothing. Every time he thought the fever had finally broken, it came back with a vengeance. Like now.

He needed to call the nurse to come and help him change the wet sheets before she started shivering. He’d cool her down with the water and wash away the sweat. She’d feel better if she were clean and cool. Her fever would go down. The shivers would come and they’d warm her again with another blanket.

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