“Mm….” I moaned in delight as I sucked the deliciousness down, closing my eyes in pleasure. It was the best thing I’d ever tasted in my life and was gone in seconds.
When I felt Daniel shift, I opened my eyes and watched in amusement as he adjusted himself. By the time he looked back at me, I’d been able to raise and hold an eyebrow at him.
His cheeks darkened. “Don’t blame me for how I react to your delicious moans. They remind me of….” He trailed off, looking off to his left.
When I followed his line of sight, I snorted. Rose was lying on a cot, fast asleep. He was truly ridiculous. I licked my lips again, amused once more when he shifted in his seat. Deciding it was probably time to change the subject, I motioned to the cup still in his hands and asked, “More?” then startled at how gravelly my voice sounded.
The lust I’d seen in Daniel’s eyes evaporated in an instant. He nodded, then busied himself with filling the cup again. When he sat back down, I noticed it was fuller than it had been the first time he’d filled it.
It didn’t matter. Like before, the cup was empty in seconds. Unlike before, I stifled my moans. The water was still the best thing I’d ever tasted, but I didn’t want to keep teasing him.
There was plenty of time for that later.
“What’s the time?” I asked, still appalled at how gruff my voice was. My eyes widened when I realized I didn’t know what day it was. I could have been asleep for days. I didn’t think it had been too long, considering Rose was here, but anything was possible. “What day is it?”
Daniel stilled, the sound of water pouring from the jug for the third time and the consistent beeping of the heart rate monitor the only sounds breaking the silence. He shook his head before he refocused on his task. “It’s a little before 5:00 a.m. on Friday. You were out for nearly twenty hours.”
Slowly, I nodded, taking stock of my body, one limb at a time. My head felt heavy, with a slight throbbing sensation just behind my left ear. My legs felt a little twitchy, but that could be down to how long I was asleep. The rest of me felt sluggish and slightly stiff, which wasn’t a surprise if what Daniel said was true. I always felt lethargic if I slept too long.
A distant memory of being in agony rose before it dissolved into the ether. I felt fine now, apart from general exhaustion. If there was something I needed to worry about, I assumed I wouldhave been hooked up to multiple machines rather than the single small one attached to my index finger.
The doctors and nurses would have more to say later, which would probably answer any medical questions I had. For now, I was awake and focused on getting as many answers from Daniel as I could.
“You called my parents.”
He raised an eyebrow and settled in front of me again, lifting the straw to my lips. “How do you know that?”
Sipping more slowly this time, I quirked my eyebrow in response. “I heard you. Mom screeched. Loudly.”
The corners of his lips twitched. “I can’t say that I blame her. She was very upset that you’d been hurt.”
“Hmph.” I pursed my lips in annoyance. She was going to be insufferable the next time I saw her.
“They called when they stopped for the night.” He paused when my eyes widened, then continued when I opened my mouth to respond. “Your dad said they were using their camper, which was slowing them down.”
Closing my eyes, I groaned. “Fantastic.”
“Is something wrong?”
Oh, sweet summer child. What wasn’t?
“Camper means long stay.”
“And that’s a problem because…?”
I opened one eye and glared at him. “Mom and Rosey? Disaster in the making.”
He looked over at his daughter and snorted. “Yeah, I can see that.” His eyes softened. “Hopefully, they’ll distract each other.”
“That’s fair.” I tilted my head in acknowledgement, then narrowed my eyes at him. “Probably by wedding planning.”
The blood drained from his cheeks, and I could see his Adam’s apple bobbing under his now-scruffy beard. “What?”
“I refuse to let her plan my wedding.” My eyes softened, and I reached for him, squeezing his shaking hand. “Ourwedding.”
He swallowed again, his mouth opening and closing like he wanted to say something but then thought better of it.
“I heard you talking to one of your brothers. I love you too, Daniel,” I said quietly. “I know it’s crazy to be saying it this quickly.” I gripped his hand hard. “But if my mom is on her way, and with the camper no less, we need to present a united front from the start. I’ll be damned if I let her turn our wedding into a taffeta spectacle.”
