Page 67 of Medium
I opened my mouth to protest, but then I stopped. He was actually right. I was ready to sleep some more. “Well, fuck.”
They laughed, but Rory froze. He turned toward the door and held one hand up in aStopgesture. “No. You get out. Especiallyyou.” He pointed in the direction of the dresser. “I won’t have you making them uncomfortable and worry that you’re spying on us.”
Shane sat forward. “Is that Granny? Listen, you old bat. I didn’t put up with your nosiness when you were alive, and it goes double now. I’ll be happy to visit with you in the morning, but right now, Ellis needs to rest, and Rory and I aren’t planning on wearing any pajamas. So get out or get an eyeful. It’s up to you.”
He jerked his t-shirt over his head and tossed it in the general direction of the closet.
Rory relaxed and turned around. He got out of bed and picked up Shane’s shirt. “They’re gone.”
“Hold up.” I glanced between Shane and Rory. “Are you saying Shane’s grandmother is one of the ghosts who’s been helping you?”
Rory winced. “Yeah. She didn’t want me to tell Shane.”
I fell back against the pillows, my hands over my face. “This is too much for my brain right now.”
Shane kissed my cheek. “Sleep. Rory and I will get ready for bed, and we’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes, smiling to myself as I listened to them moving about the room and speaking softly to each other.
I managed to avoid dwelling on the giant gap in my memory, and especially the reason for it, before I fell asleep.
I woke up when Rory got out of bed. He patted my arm. “I’ll be right back.” He headed for the bathroom.
Now that I thought about it, I really needed to go as well. I sat up and looked around. I’d been pretty out of it last night, but we—the three of us! Fuck, yeah!—were in a guest bedroom, probably in the dryad’s compound. I automatically checked my magic to see if everything was right with my District and my connections, but all I could feel was Rory and Shane.
Shane was still asleep next to me. I resisted the urge to run my fingers over his stubble. I missed our bond, but—at least based on what we’d discussed last night—we were heading in that direction again. This time with Rory.
I smiled as I looked around for my phone. My smile dropped. The vampires must’ve tossed it. I shivered uneasily and moved my hand so it rested against Shane. Our connection was strong enough that the skin-to-skin contact gave the illusion of a bond.
I wanted to speak to him mind-to-mind, but he was having a pleasant dream. A sexy one, if I wasn’t mistaken. I looked down at my dick. It wasn’t reacting.
I probably needed more rest and recovery from losing all that blood. I shivered again.
Rory came out of the bathroom, so I slid to the edge of the bed and stood up.
He rushed to my side. “You feeling okay?”
“A little tired. But I need to piss, and I desperately need a shower.”
Shane stirred and opened his eyes. “No showering without help. At least until you get breakfast.”
I tapped my finger on my chin. “I am hungry, but if I take the shower now, you just promised to help me.” I wiggled my eyebrows.
They laughed, as I’d intended, but I regretted the innuendo. I didn’t want them to think I planned on having sex; my body was not up for any shenanigans this morning.
I went into the bathroom by myself and shut the door in Rory’s face. “I can pee alone. I’ll open the door right after.”
Without looking at the huge mirror over the sinks, I rushed over to the toilet and pulled down my boxers, closing my eyes in relief. When I was done, pulled my boxers back up. Normally I didn’t have any issues about the size or shape of my body, but right now I wasn’t ready to bare it all for Rory. Shane had seen me before, but still.
I took a big breath. Okay, I could do this. I walked over to the sink and looked at myself in the mirror. I tilted my head back and squinted so I could examine the marks on my neck. There were four of them. They didn’t look fresh, so—like the mark on Rory’s wrist—the bites were healing more rapidly than normal wounds.
Vampires had fed from me four times. Clutching the lip of the sink, I closed my eyes and breathed through the nausea. I completely understood why Rory had thrown up yesterday.
I needed a shower, and I needed it now.
I washed my hands and finally looked around. The bathroom was fairly large for a guest room. There was a cream-colored granite counter with a double sink, the toilet, a cupboard for towels, and a shower stall.
I walked over to turn on the shower so the water could warm up. Our hosts had provided sample-size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, which I appreciated. I hadn’t brought any shampoo with me since I usually only used it once or twice a week. But after whatever the vampires had done to me, I needed to wash my hair as well as my body.
