It was cool in here and I walked up to the bed to check that Sonny was warm enough. His face was red and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
Gently, I laid my hand across it and felt the hot skin burning me. Shit. How long had he been feverish?
Chapter 14
Sonny
Iwas skating on a vast lake, so big I couldn’t see the edges of it. It could have been the ocean for all I knew, just a long eternity of shiny, sheer ice. It hurt my eyes and I wanted to close them, but I could see the ice either way.
A loud crack echoed around me. I was familiar with that sound by now, the sudden breaking of the ice. I tried to skate as quickly as I could, pumping my legs for all I was worth, trying to get away from the broken ice.
I thought I’d make it.
Then I fell straight down, down into the freezing water.
It pressed in on me, dark and cold, making my movements sluggish and slow. I was drifting down, no matter how hard I fought.
Then I felt them.
Those tentacles.
The moment they wrapped around me, I relaxed. I knew I was safe and I let them wind around and around my middle securely.
I made a little sound to try and get them to wrap me tighter. I wanted that long tentacle around my chest and neck, soft and safe as a warm woollen scarf.
I got my wish and they slid around me in coils, dancing with me as I broke the surface of the water.
When I opened my eyes, I was confused. I was in a small bedroom and Erik was standing beside me. He was on the phone, talking into it and looking at me.
Those long, lovely tentacles slithered over my torso, though, below the blankets. Erik couldn’t see them. He looked down at my face and I blinked up at him, trying to work out whether I was awake or not. The world had a slightly tilted feel to it, as though I were drifting in and out of sleep.
Those tentacles moved, tracing patterns over my hot skin and leaving cool trails in their wake.
I wanted to moan with how good it felt.
Maybe I did moan.
Erik frowned down at me and spoke again, but his voice was distant.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on those tentacles that held me close. As long as they were there, I was safe.
I drifted on the surface of a sunny lake, wrapped up completely in those long, dexterous arms. Raising my face to the sun, I closed my eyes and breathed out a sigh of contentment. I wished I could stay here forever.
Chapter 15
Declan
Ihad to stand for a moment and get my balance before I could move off. When I was ready to move, I bent down and picked up one of the empty cardboard boxes that had been filled with decorations. It was light enough that I could hold it in my spare hand as I manoeuvred my way on my single crutch through the cottage.
I opened the only other door in the place, assuming it was a cupboard. I was right. It was stuffed full of coats, shoes, bags, a model of a spine, rolled up posters and—
I shifted position, letting more light shine past me into the cramped space.
Yes, those were definitely Erik’s ice skates. They had the same blue marking down the side that I’d noticed the day before.
Slowly, I leaned forwards, resting my shoulder against the door frame. I reached out to touch the skates. The soft padding inside was wet and spongy.
Those skates had been in water.
