Love Bites (Bitten Book 4) (17 page)

Slowly, I raised my eyelids and blinked rapidly until my vision cleared. As the fuzziness faded, Calder’s haggard face came into focus. He looked as though he’d been awake for days. His hair stuck out around his head in a tangle and there were deep, dark circles beneath his swollen eyes.

“Calder?” I had to clear my throat, making me grimace because the sensation was akin to knives slicing through my larynx. “What happened?”

I had no sooner asked the question before memories flooded my mind. The vampires breaking into the house and finding us in the panic room. Shannon shooting three of them like some sort of badass out of an action movie. The vampire who hurt me had made it clear he intended to kill me.

“Oh God,” I moaned. “Is Shannon okay? Please tell me she’s okay.”

“Sh, sh, sh,” Calder soothed. “Other than a couple of cuts and bruises, Shannon is fine. In fact, she saved your life.”

“She did?”

He nodded. “She shot and killed four vampires. I’ve never heard of a human doing something like that before.”

I smirked a little. “Shannon is a piece of work and tough as nails. Remind me to send her a nice bottle of wine.”

Calder smiled at my words. “You’re definitely on the mend if you can make a joke.”

“How long have I been out?”

His answer surprised me. “About twelve hours.”

“Is that all?” I asked a touch incredulous.

“Yep. Longest twelve hours of my life.”

Staring up at his beautiful, exhausted face, I asked, “So I’m a werewolf now, huh?”

“You will be soon,” he answered, the light in his eyes tender as he brushed a lock of hair off my forehead. “It’ll take a couple days before you change.”

“Will it hurt?” My voice was timid and small. A little pain normally didn’t frighten me, but remembering the agony of the attack, I wasn’t sure I could handle much more any time soon.

Calder looked sad when he answered, “I’m sorry, darlin’, but it will.”

I took a deep breath, noticing that the sharp twinges I’d felt upon waking were beginning to fade. “I’ll deal. It could be worse. I could be dead.”

I felt like an ass for saying that when his face shut down tight. I started to apologize, but he placed a finger over my lips.

“Sh, Ricki. I’m glad you’re not dead. I just hate that you’ll have to deal with more pain in the coming days.”

I reached up and took his hand, holding it to my chest. “It’ll be okay.
I’ll
be okay.”

Abruptly, I became aware of the tight, itchy feeling of the skin on my stomach. I glanced down and saw that I was clad only in my bra and panties and I was covered in dried blood.

“Holy shit! Is that all my blood?” I asked, my eyes wide.

Calder’s jaw tightened. “Most of it, yes.”

I remembered the spray of hot liquid right before I lost consciousness during the attack and realized some of the blood on my skin belonged to the vampire who’d attacked me.

Swallowing back a gag, I demanded, “I need a bath.”

“You’re too weak right now, Ricki,” Calder argued.

“Now! I don’t want his blood on me. I need it off!” I wasn’t going to let this go. I wanted my skin clean, immediately.

“Okay, okay,” he soothed. “Let me run you a bath.”

“Just turn on the shower. It has a seat, right?”

He nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

I struggled to sit up as he disappeared into the adjoining bathroom. The water came on and he scowled as he came back into the bedroom.

“Wait for me, dammit,” he scolded. “You’re still weak.”

I rolled my eyes, but he was right. I could barely sit up without help. There was no way I could make it into the bathroom or through a shower alone.

Calder carefully scooped my body into his arms, pausing when I hissed in pain.

“I’m okay,” I insisted. “Just a little twinge. I’ll be fine.”

He merely shook his head and carried me into the bathroom. Because they had been soaked in blood, my bra and panties were dried to my body, so Calder set me under the water while I was still wearing them. After a few minutes under the hot water, the garments loosened enough to be removed without causing me pain. He tossed them into the trash can by the toilet before stripping off his own clothes and climbing inside the stall with me.

With tender hands, he shampooed my hair twice and conditioned it. Then he soaped up a wash cloth and cleaned the remnants of the blood off my skin, starting with my face and working his way down my body. Once I was clean, he quickly soaped himself up and rinsed off.

I let him wrap me in a bath sheet and carry me to the counter. The ache in my muscles was subsiding the longer I was up and about, but when I tried to dry myself off, he scowled at me.

“You sit still and let me do this,” he growled.

I shrugged and let him have his way. After he dried me off and wrapped me in my robe, I let him run a comb through my damp hair but insisted on brushing my own damn teeth. While I leaned against the counter and brushed the nasty taste out of my mouth, Calder followed suit.

I didn’t argue when he lifted me into his arms and carried me into the bedroom. While we were in the shower, someone had come in and changed the bedding, getting rid of the bloody sheets. Calder placed me in the center of the bed before disappearing into the closet. He returned a few moments later, dressed in a pair of loose pajama pants and carrying clothes for me.

As though I were a child, he dressed me in a t-shirt, panties, and a pair of my sleep shorts, then pulled the duvet back so I could slide beneath it.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

I shook my head.

He held out a glass of water. “At least drink a little more water, okay?”

I did as he asked, draining the glass. Once I handed it back, he climbed under the blankets with me, pressing my face against his chest. I let my weight rest against him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“It’s only four in the morning, darlin’. Let’s try to get some more sleep. I don’t know about you but I feel like I’ve had my ass kicked.”

Rubbing my nose against his bare pectoral, I inhaled his scent. For some reason, he smelled slightly different than usual. “I did get my ass kicked.”

I squeaked when he squeezed me a little too tightly.

“Don’t remind me, okay babe?”

“Okay,” I mumbled on a yawn.

“I love you, Ricki.”

I tried to respond, but sleep claimed me before I could form a coherent thought.

*     *     *

“Babe, you need
to wake up and eat something.”

“No. Sleep.”

The warm, smooth pillow beneath my head shifted. “Ricki.”

I stretched beneath the long, slow stroke of a hand on my back. “Hmmm. Shut up and keep rubbing.”

Calder chuckled, the sound little more than a low rumble under my ear. “Darlin’, you have to eat. It’s been twenty-four hours since you’ve had anything.”

“Fine,” I snapped. “Eggs and toast. And coffee. Don’t come back unless you have coffee.”

I grumbled under my breath and snatched his pillow, hugging it to my chest as Calder shifted me off his shoulder. I opened one eye and watched him walk into the closet and immediately exit with a t-shirt in his hands. He smiled at me as he put it on.

“How do you feel?” he asked, the dark circles under his eyes gone.

“Cranky.”

He chuckled again. “You certainly sound like your usual self.”

I hummed under my breath and let my eyelids close again. I didn’t even hear him leave because I was already drifting back to sleep.

“Ricki.”

“What?”

“I’ve got your breakfast.”

The scent of coffee tickled my nostrils and my eyes popped open. “Coffee,” I breathed.

Calder lifted the cup out of reach. “You have to sit up before you get coffee.”

My body no longer ached as I pushed myself up into a seated position, but I felt stiff. At the sight of the tray full of eggs and toast that Calder settled across my lap, my stomach growled loudly. I accepted the cup of coffee from Calder and drank deeply.

“That is better than sex,” I murmured, inhaling the dark, delicious aroma of the liquid.

Calder settled on the side of the bed, reaching for one of the plates on the tray. “I think I’m offended.”

I put my cup to the side and realized that there was another plate on the tray, obviously for me. Picking up my fork, I lifted a mound of fluffy eggs to my mouth. After the first bite, I realized how hungry I truly was and quickly devoured everything on the plate and drained my coffee cup. I also emptied the small glass of orange juice Calder had brought for me.

Finally sated, I leaned back on the pillows, my energy levels higher than before. Apparently my body needed food more than it needed sleep.

I watched as Calder gathered our dishes and lifted the tray. “Thank you for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he left the room, I tossed back the covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I desperately needed to pee. Cautiously, I got to my feet, testing the steadiness of my legs before giving them my full weight.

Though they were a bit shaky, I managed to stay upright. Slowly I shuffled into the bathroom and took care of business. Once I was done, I washed my hands and face and brushed my teeth.

I was just leaving the bathroom when Calder re-entered the bedroom.

“Dammit, Ricki! You should have waited for me,” he exclaimed. “You could have fallen and hurt yourself!”

I waved a hand at him, but he still gathered me up and lifted me off my feet. “I’m okay, Calder. I needed to walk a bit.”

“You can walk later, right now you need to save your strength.”

I sighed as he settled me on the mattress. “Calder…”

He got in next to me, and pushed me down onto my back. “Look, I’ll nap with you, okay? God knows I could use one.”

I paused in my arguments and studied his face. He still looked tired, though the gaunt, haggard appearance was gone. “Fine,” I conceded, “but I’m getting out of this bed after we wake up.”

He turned me away from him and curved his body around mine, spooning me. “We’ll see.”

“Oh no,” I argued, “none of this ‘We’ll see’ bullshit. I’m getting up. Period.”

He buried his face in my hair. “Shut up and go to sleep, Ricki. We can discuss it later.”

“No discussion. This bed is history after this nap.”

Calder squeezed me a bit tighter. “Sleep. Please.”

With a put out sigh, I tucked one hand beneath my pillow and rested the other on top of his where it rested flat on my sternum. To my surprise, I had no trouble falling asleep.

Calder

T
hree days later
and Ricki hadn’t yet experienced her first shift. Most of the turned endured their change within forty-eight hours and we were rapidly approaching seventy-two. I managed to hide my concern from her, but I was definitely worried.

Unfortunately, the same night that Conner’s mansion had been attacked, the Faction launched an assault on the pack compound. They began with Lachlan’s house, killing Belinda and severely injuring Lach. We lost two other pack members, but both were unmated males, another horrible blessing. A wolf who’d lost her mate would need constant care and nursing and any pups would need to be looked after.

Because he was still unconscious, I couldn’t call Lach for advice. I’d talked to Chloe several times in the last few days and she told me to be patient and not to worry. Easy for her to say. Still, her grandmother had begun her life as a human and been turned by her mate, at her own insistence, so Chloe might know things I didn’t.

I hated that I wasn’t with the pack when they needed me, but my mate took precedence. Chloe agreed, insisting that I stay at Conner and Donna’s house until after Ricki turned. Then the two of us could return to the settlement and get the pack organized. I only hoped Chloe was telling me the truth when she said that none of the pack members were giving her trouble.

Ricki didn’t tolerate my hovering very well. In fact she threatened to make me sleep in the doghouse more than once. It was her little jab at the fact that I was a werewolf. She thought it was hilarious until I pointed out that she was going to be a wolf too.

She seemed to be getting a little anxious as well and had asked me that morning when she would change. I hated lying by omission, especially after the horrible fight we had a few days ago about my keeping things from her, but I had no answers to give. Plus, I really didn’t want to freak her out when she should be close to her first transition. If I did, things could be rougher than they had to be.

I decided that I would give her until tomorrow morning, and if she hadn’t shifted by then, I would tell her my concerns.

It seemed Fate was on my side when later that afternoon Ricki and I were in the den, watching a movie. At first, Ricki was snuggled into my side, her head on my shoulder. A few minutes into the movie, she began to fidget.

“Damn, is it hot in here?” she asked, moving away from me and fanning her face.

I shook my head.

Five minutes later, she was burrowed into my side. “What the hell? Now I’m freezing.”

It was then I realized what was going on. I stopped the movie and turned off the television. “Okay, darlin’. I think it’s time we move down to the basement.”