Gift Wrapped in Tentacles, page 8
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.
But they couldn’t be the ones Erik had been wearing when he went into the lake.
When I heard the bedroom door open, I reeled back, forgetting that I couldn’t balance properly. I stumbled and found myself falling straight back into a pair of strong arms. Erik’s smaller body pressed against mine, his warmth radiating out. His arms were tight around me and he held me steady as I got my foot under me and found the right point of balance on my crutch.
“Thanks,” I said.
He let go of me slowly, letting me adjust to not having his support.
“You okay now?”
“Yes. I-I was just startled, that’s all.”
“Oh?”
Was it me or did he glance at the cupboard?
I cleared my throat. “I didn’t mean to pry. I thought I’d put the empty box away somewhere it was easy to reach.”
“Good idea. Sorry my cupboards are so full of junk.”
“Yeah.”
“Come and get some lunch. I’m going to take some paracetamol in to Sonny.”
That jolted me back to our current situation. “Is he in pain?”
Erik reached out a hand and rested it on my arm, as though to steady me in advance of some bad news.
“He has a slight fever. I just rang the doctor again. She said to give him paracetamol and see that he takes on fluids.”
“Does he need to go to hospital?”
“No. She said we should keep an eye on him and let her know if anything changes.”
“What if it does?”
My voice had gone high-pitched but that was because my mind was filled with images of Sonny burning hot and fevered, of him nearly dying all over again, of the snowy roads covered in ice and Erik’s car skidding into oblivion.
I felt a sensation on my arm and looked down. Erik’s hand was rubbing at my bicep, and his soft voice was calming.
“It’s okay. The doctor wouldn’t take unnecessary risks. She said we were to watch him overnight. If there’s no change by morning or he gets worse, I can take him to her in the village.”
“In the snow,” I said, and yes my voice was so high that it cracked.
“It won’t come to that,” he said. It almost sounded reassuring. Erik always sounded so certain, and I wanted to curl up and trust him.
He shoved the empty box into the cupboard and shut the door quickly.
“Probably don’t open that door unless you want to get hit by a box falling out of it. I keep meaning to clear that cupboard out but I never get round to it.”
I nodded absently and Erik began to manoeuvre me into the kitchen. Perhaps the shock had shaken something loose in me because I blurted out, “Your skates are back in the cupboard.”
“Oh.” Erik’s voice changed ever so slightly. “Those are my spare skates.”
“Sure.”
That was logical. It was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
I had no idea why I didn’t believe him.
I blurted again, “You were naked.”
Erik stopped ushering me through the kitchen doorway and instead eased me back against it so I could lean. Then he stepped up close, so close that I thought for a second he was going to kiss me. That would make me forget what we’d been talking about so it might have been a good tactic.
He didn’t though. He said, “Yes, I was.”
“How?”
The silence stretched out between us and Erik’s eyes drifted down my face to rest on my lips. I licked them, suddenly nervous.
“I can’t explain it,” he said at last. “It was the only way I could reach Sonny in time.”
I nodded. I’d take that explanation, as long as Sonny were alive and well.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t do something for him?”
“Why don’t you take the paracetamol in and try to get him to take them? I’ll make us some lunch.”
Taking the little packet, I made my way back through the cottage, hesitating in the doorway of the bedroom. When I went in, I noticed that the air was cool but Sonny had shoved his blankets down and was sleeping fitfully.
I made my way across to the side of the bed and sat down facing him.
“Sonny? Sonny, you need to take these.”
I popped two of the tablets from the packet and grabbed the bottle of water still on the side table.
Sonny opened his eyes and looked at me, though I wasn’t sure he was really seeing me. He looked flushed and his fair hair was damp with sweat.
“Here,” I said again and helped him to lean up and take the medicine.
When Sonny lay down again, he breathed out a long sigh. His voice was hoarse. “They’re gone.”
“What are gone?”
“My tentacles. They saved me.”
“Yeah, sure, of course they did.”
He nodded and closed his eyes, mumbling, “Will they come back?”
“If you want them to.”
I stayed with him for a while longer, just watching him sleep, listening to his regular breathing and the little moans he let out as he thrashed his head from side to side. I wanted to take away all his pain, wished I could draw it into my own body and keep it away from him. My ray of sunshine. Love of my life.
The first tear that rolled down my cheek took me by surprise and I brushed it away. My eyes were fixed on Sonny, almost afraid to look away. Even now, with his flushed face and damp hair, he looked so beautiful.
I wanted to reach out and wrap myself around him, desperate to keep him here with me after he nearly slipped through my fingers.
“Don’t leave me, Sonny,” I whispered.
He moaned and thrashed his head again. I didn’t think he’d heard me. Probably just as well.
I jumped guiltily when Erik opened the door and peered around it. “Lunch is ready.”
When he saw Sonny, he came further into the room and walked around the bed to the other side. He sat on it, mirroring me, and placed one hand on Sonny’s forehead.
“Is he getting worse?” I asked.
“No, the same.”
“Is he in pain?”
“No, I think it’s just a bad dream,” he said.
I watched in amazement as he reached out to stroke Sonny’s forehead and the frown that had marred Sonny’s brow even in sleep smoothed out and he quieted. Erik murmured some soft, soothing words almost too quietly for me to hear. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Sonny heard them. And they calmed him down.
In barely two minutes, Erik had lulled Sonny into a deep, untroubled sleep.
My throat felt tight as I watched it. It was such an obvious thing, I realised. Of course Sonny would fall for his rescuer. It made sense.
And, as I watched the two of them together, their slender frames and their goodness radiating out, I couldn’t think of a single reason why it wasn’t the best idea ever.
Erik and Sonny would be perfect together.
And me? Well, I could be glad for them.
At least they were both here and alive and if they were happy then I’d be happy, too.
It took me a few times to be able to swallow properly because my throat was too constricted. Then I managed to ask, “Do you really think he’ll be okay?”
“Of course I do. He’s already sleeping more soundly than before.”
“He might have been delirious. He was muttering about tentacles.”
Erik’s cheeks went pink and he ducked his head, easing off the bed and walking to the door. “He was probably dreaming. Come and have lunch; it’ll make you feel better. I’ve heated up some soup and rolls.”
I stood, leaning on my crutch, and made my way out of the bedroom. Behind me, Sonny slept and I didn’t know if I were imagining it or not but his cheeks were less flushed than before. I hoped so.
Chapter 16
Erik
I’d been way too careless about revealing my tentacles. But they seemed to have a mind of their own where Sonny was concerned. It was as though my octopus thought that, now we’d wrapped Sonny in our arms once, we could do it again whenever we wanted. But we’d only let our tentacles touch him because he’s been in the water. Now he was in bed, tucked up and meant to be sleeping. I don’t know why I kept reaching them out to slide over his fair skin.
If I wasn’t careful, he’d wake up properly and notice that those tentacles he kept dreaming about were real.
Worse, Declan might get suspicious.
I couldn’t deny it if they accused me. What would I say?
Sweat broke out on my forehead and I took a deep, calming breath. I just needed to get through the rest of the day.
Declan came back into the room and sat on the couch, lowering himself carefully. It made me smile despite myself. He was such a good patient.
“How is he?”
“He’s sleeping much more calmly. I think his temperature is going down.”
“That’s great. He’ll probably be fine by morning.”
I’d been saying that every half an hour, it seemed, because Declan kept going in to check on Sonny. It was as though he couldn’t bear to take his eyes off Sonny, as though if he were out of sight, he might slide beneath the surface again.
I reached out a hand to rest on his shoulder. “Declan?”
“Yes?”
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Nothing.”
I made an annoyed sound in my throat.
“Try again,” I said. “You know me better than that.”
He sat very still for a moment and then he let out a breath. It seemed to deflate him, making his shoulders slump and his head fall forward.
“I think I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
“Why Sonny told me he loved me.”
I nearly snatched my hand away from his shoulder, reeling back. I hadn’t heard him say that, and I’d heard almost everything they’d said. I could hear Sonny muttering, though he hadn’t done that in a few hours (which was a good sign) and Declan talking to him in a low voice. I hadn’t meant to listen in, it’s just my senses were really good and I couldn’t help but overhear.
As it was, I had to force my hand to remain still and not shake.
“Oh?” I said. It was the best I could do under the circumstances. I half wanted to cheer that finally Declan was getting his head out of his arse and getting together with the man he was in love with.
I half wanted to grab his head and kiss him, though, to get just one kiss before he was lost to me forever.
Declan nodded and I realised his head was still bowed, his shoulders still slumped. He didn’t look like a man who’d just been told the love of his life was in love with him.
“So what happened?” I prompted.
I waited while Declan inhaled a shaky breath, and then another.
“It was while I was in hospital. Just after the accident.”
Oh, that would explain why I hadn’t heard it.
Wait…
“But that was months ago,” I said.
“I know.” He slumped lower, and I had to bite my lip not to chide him about his posture. He would be cramped and off-balance when he stood up if he stayed like that for long.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you love Sonny back, don’t you?”
Declan nodded miserably. “Yeah. But I thought—”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I gave his shoulder a little shake. “I told you that you don’t have to cut yourself off with me. Finish your sentence.”
“I thought he would stop.”
“Stop telling you?”
“Stop loving me.”
We stayed silent for a while as I tried to process that information. But no matter which way I looked at it, I couldn’t work out why Declan would think that. So I had to ask.
“Why would he stop loving you?”
“Because I’m disabled. He loved me before, when I was healthy and able-bodied. Then when I was in hospital, he panicked and told me how he felt. But then, he couldn’t keep loving me, could he?”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because.”
“Because…?”
He didn’t answer, though he opened his mouth as though he were about to speak. I watched him, felt the pain and shame and longing rolling off him, the confusion and hurt. I could smell his mingling scents and my hand tightened on his shoulder instinctively. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him, let my tentacles out to slide around his middle and over his thighs and pull him as close to me as he could get.
But that was what I wanted. What Declan needed was something different. Not soft cuddles.
I made my voice hard, the way I knew always shocked him. Sure enough, when I said, “You don’t have a reason,” he looked up at me, eyes wide in surprise.
“Ex-excuse me?”
“You were afraid, which is understandable, but you let your fear get in the way of your happiness. Of Sonny’s happiness. He said he loved you and you, what? Pretended not to hear him?”
I was pleased to see that Declan’s cheeks were heating with embarrassment. He nodded his head.
My voice grew harder. “You made Sonny’s choice for him. He wanted you, and you made his choice for him by denying him. If you weren’t interested in him, that would be different. But you do want him, you just cut him out to save your pride.”
“No, I—”
I raised my eyebrows as Declan’s eyes flashed with a challenge, ready for whatever he would throw at me. But he didn’t say anything else. The words dried up on his tongue and he lowered his head in shame.
I actually felt my tentacles ripple out of my sides, undulating against my skin as they wanted to break out and touch. I stiffened in my seat, trying to keep them under control.
“I thought he felt sorry for me. That he wanted to tell me he loved me before I died. Only then I didn’t die.”
“You don’t think that now?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“That’s good,” I said. “What changed your mind?”
“I-I love him. And I want to tell him. Even though you said he’ll be okay, I—”
Leaning closer to him, I ducked my head so I could meet his lowered eyes. “Yes?”
“I’m afraid. I thought I’d lost him.”
Finally, I gave in to my instinct and slid my arm around his shoulder, pulling him close to me. I had to adjust my body so I was at an awkward angle, rather than dragging him down to my height. I still had to keep my tentacles pressed tightly inside me, but holding Declan in my arms was heaven.
I ran my hands over his back, soothing him.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “He’s here. I’m so proud of you.”
“You are? Why?”
I nearly chuckled at the astonishment I heard in his voice. Instead, I answered. “I’m proud of you because admitting what you want is hard. Putting yourself out there is hard. And you’re working through a lot of stuff.”
