Strands in the Web (Fate of the Dehmi Book 1) by K.T. Host

Author:K.T. Host [Host, K.T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: K.T. Host
Published: 2024-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Temptation

- Valorie -

“Easy, easy!”

“Conall, I’m fine. Take, like, several breaths. It’s ten feet across flat hardwood to the bed, not a solo trip up Mount Everest.” He already insisted on carrying me up the stairs, but I drew the line at being hefted to the bed like an injured calf.

The hospital finally set me free after night had already begun to fall, but not until they cocooned me in a football field’s worth of gauze and plaster. I’m on strict instructions to rest as much as possible for the first week of recovery, something Conall is apparently planning on taking to extremes. I’d be more annoyed if his mother-hen act wasn’t so damned cute.

I prop myself against the bed’s footboard and look longingly at the shower. I’d kill to be clean right now, but I’m not attempting that until Conall leaves. I can only imagine the hyperventilating that would ensue if he saw me trying to maneuver myself towards the tub for the woefully inadequate sponge bathing I have to settle with for the next few days. The doctor said once my rib wrapping comes off I can wrap the cast in cellophane and use a hand-held shower head. Until then, I have to work around my cocoon as best as possible.

“What are you doing, kitten? Get in the bed, please. You look like you’re about to fall over.” Conall’s wide eyes are searchlights darting left and right over his grasping hands. He looks torn between picking me up and tucking me in himself and going into cardiac arrest right here on my bedroom floor.

I grimace at my filthy, worn clothes. David forgot to bring something new for me from the hospital, so I left in the same clothes I arrived in more than thirty-six hours ago. “There’s no way in hell I’m getting into my nice clean bed full of funk from the hospital and looking like a walking mud puddle. Nuh-uh. Nope. Not happening.” I punctuate each word with a head shake. “So go ahead and head home, I’ll text you before I go to sleep.” Carefully, I lean forward to brush my lips against his cheek.

He feathers his hands over my face and turns his mouth to meet mine instead. “Kitten,” he mumbles against my lips, “I’m not going home. You said it yourself, your parents are away for work and you won’t bother them with what you referred to—incorrectly, I might add—as a ‘minor issue.’” He pulls his head away enough to fix me with a side eye. “So, I’m staying here with you. The doctor said you need someone with you around the clock, and it was going to take a lot of effort for David to rearrange his whole schedule, so you’re stuck with me.” His smile falls a bit, and he adds, “Unless you’re uncomfortable. I could call Gabby instead? She wouldn’t mind, she wants to spend time with you anyway.”

I stop his hand halfway to his pocket. “Stay.”

I’ve spent months being

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