got up and walked away. I wasn’t offended. Annoyed that he wasn’t talking to me, but not offended. Too hungover to push, I left him alone to sort through his feelings. Instead, I used the bathroom before returning to bed. His bed. The pain reliever and the hangover demanded a nap.
In a form of mild protest over his persistent hang-up with my birthday suit, I didn't bother putting on clothes.
Cassie woke me a while later with a gentle knock on the door.
“How are you feeling?” she asked when I turned from my stomach to my back.
“Better. The hangover is way worse than the stitches.”
She grinned.
“Your mom was a little worried when she heard you came here, but Uan reassured her that everything was proper.” She lifted her brow and nodded at the bare shoulders exposed above the covers.
“Is everything proper?” she asked.
I snorted.
“Thallirin accidentally saw my boobs and acted like he wanted to gouge his own eyes out. I don’t think it can get any more proper.”
“Fair enough. Any pain where I stitched?”
“Not really.” I stuck my leg out so she could inspect it and listened to her instructions to take it easy.
“The cut wasn't very deep, and you’re young. You'll be up and moving around soon.”
“Yeah, it's not the leg that's keeping me in bed. It's the damn headache.”
She grinned.
“Sorry about that.”
“You don't look too sorry about it, but that’s okay. I can't imagine what it would have been like to get those stitches without a little bit of liquid help.”
She patted my hip and left me alone.
So did Thallirin. It gave me time to think. Two close calls were enough for me. I didn’t ever again want to relive the terror of wondering if I would turn. There were two options to ensure that didn’t happen. Stay locked in this house or gain immunity. Unfortunately, the only way to immunity was hiding somewhere in this house.
Thallirin had more than grown on me. But was I comfortable enough with him to have sex? My pulse started to race in a good way just at the thought of it.
Then I snorted to myself.
Did my comfort even matter, given his refusal of a simple touch to my stomach? I frowned, thinking of his likely answer to any actual advance I might make. He was resisting what was growing between us more than I was. Well, maybe just the physical piece. Yet, that resistance was what was helping to propel me forward. Thallirin wasn't like Van. I was starting to really see that the big grey guy wouldn't take what I wasn't willing to give.
I got out of bed and took one of the birth control pills my mom had given me. Only the third dose. She'd warned me not to do anything for a week after starting them. But that was fine. Thallirin and I weren’t quite there yet, anyway. Thankfully, the wait would give me a few days to work up to being ready. Given Thallirin’s repeated reactions to me, we would both need that time.
First, we needed to get him over the nudity thing. Since the day of my mom’s return home after her accident, that had been one of the rules in the house. Probably a weird one for some people, but I’d seen what it’d done for Mom. Dad couldn’t be there all the time. Zach and I had had to help with things most kids never had to deal with at our ages. Bathroom duty, especially bathing, hadn’t been easy on her or us. No one wanted to see their mom naked because it was weird…until we made it not weird. Removing the stigma and boundaries of nudity had freed us all from awkwardness and had helped start the process of emotional healing for Mom.
I hoped removing the stigma here would help Thallirin become more comfortable around me.
Tossing the pills back in my bag, I went out to the kitchen. Thallirin’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw me.
“Might want to close the curtains,” I said. “There are people out there with binoculars.”
He moved with insane speed and had every window in my vicinity covered in seconds.
“Did we ever make those cupcakes last night?” I asked, moving around the kitchen, looking for anything that resembled a cupcake.
“Brenna, go put clothes on.”
I glanced at him. He stood in the entry, completely still, his gaze riveted on me. Only this time, he looked his fill.
“Please,” he whispered harshly.
I went to him, placing my hands on