Page 52 of Blood Submission

“I’m not taking the chance.”

Aiden groaned from his prone position.

“Aid isn’t either,” Nik translated. “We’ll all go, and we’re bringing you females withus.”

That was just fine with Grace. She never liked being left behind. When the doors opened, she rushed ahead of Nik and ran to open the front door for him, but when she got there, Emma had beaten her toit.

“Is heokay?”

“Hallo, poppet,” Aiden managed with a wink, then started to dry heave as Nik carried him pasther.

Emma smiled with relief. “Oh, good.”

“He’ll be fine,” Nik confirmed. “Just needs to wash the demon out ofhim.”

“Can I do anything?” Emma asked Grace.

She smiled at her new friend. “Some tea would be great.” Emma had a big heart, and she didn’t like feeling helpless, Graceknew.

“Whiskey,” Aiden said, and started gagging again.

“On it,” Emma told them with a smile, and headed into the kitchen.

Grace followed Nik into the room she shared with Aiden. Laying his friend on the bed, he straightened and gazed down at him with a worried expression while she went in to start the shower. When she came out, he was still standing there while Aiden fussed athim.

“Stop it, Nik.”

“What?” Nik asked. “I’m just waiting for Grace to get the shower on so I can drag your happy ass in there forher.”

“You’re hovering,” Aiden argued. “Again.” He struggled to push himself up into a sitting position, and Nik quickly reached out and helped him, maybe a little over exuberantly. “Not so fast, you bloody Estonian. I’m not kidding about the retching.”

“Sorry,” Nik told him with no remorse whatsoever. “Shower ready?”

“Yup, bring him in. And I think I can handle it from there.”

Emma came in with a cup of tea in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. “Here you go.” She set the drinks on the nightstand, and bent down to let Mojo investigate her fingers before carefully rubbing hishead.

Grace got on one side of Aiden as Nik hauled him to his feet. He didn’t need her help, she knew, but she needed the reassurance of being able to touch hermate.

They got him into the bathroom and Nik propped him up against the wall. “You’re looking a little green, Aid. You sure you don’t want to wait and do this later?”

“Absolutely not,” Aiden rasped. “I feel like I’ve just swallowed the rotten insides of a fish. Or a bucket full of them.” Then he fell to his knees over the toilet and heaved up his insides.

“He’s all yours,” Nik told Grace. Giving her a light pat on the back, he left, closing the door behind him. It opened again almost immediately. Nik placed the bottle of whiskey on the sink and shut the door again.

Grace got a washcloth out of a drawer and wet it with cold water, then waited for Aiden to be done. Still hovering over the toilet, he stuck out an arm and she handed it to him. He waved his hand back and forth, the universal sign for “Not that, the other thing,” and she took the cloth back and handed him the whiskey.

Aiden hit the button on the back of the tank to flush, then fell back onto his ass and opened the bottle. Taking a large swig, he wiped his mouth with his forearm. “I’ll take that shower now, luv.” His eyes roamed over her T-shirt and boxer shorts, damp from the steam and sticking to her body. A light of interest sparkled within the gray orbs. “I think it would be best if you got in with me. I still feel a bit wonky. I might fall over and bash my prettyhead.”

The last of her nervousness settled, and she grinned at him and shook her head. “You’re going to be the death ofme.”

“I think you have that backwards, love. I do believe I am the life of you. The immortal life, that is. Now, start stripping before we lose the hot water.” His boyish grin appeared.

Laughing, she helped him to his feet and out of his boxer briefs, noticing that at least one part of him was feeling just fine. As he got under the spray of hot water, whiskey in hand, she took off her pajamas and pulled her long, mahogany hair up into a high bun. When she pulled the curtain back, she found her strong vampire propped up in the corner, shaking. “Aiden?” She took his face between her palms and made him look at her. “Aiden? Are youokay?”

Haunted eyes, though thankfully free of dark shadows, rose to meet hers. “I hate this, Grace. I don’t know what I was thinking, asking you to be with me when I have this thing inside of me. Putting you in danger. What if, tonight, he had—” He clenched his jaw, unable to continue that thought. “If I wasn’t such a bloody coward, I would remove myself and my bloody demon from yourlife.”

Tears welled and she blinked them away. Forcing a smile, she tried to reassure him. “Just try it, dude. You won’t get veryfar.”

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