Page 57 of Wonder
Shirley came over and shoved a bottle of water into my hand, then she sat next to Nicky and made Tucker prop him up against his shoulder so they could get some water into him.
I kept one hand on Simon as I told Dominic and the others about the fight. Shirley glared at me to remind me to drink my water, and she brought me another bottle when the first one was empty. Dominic kept his face expressionless the entire time I spoke, but when I finished, he rubbed his jaw and shook his head. “Y’all were fucking lucky.”
“Trust me, I’m aware.”
One of the Hunters took photos of everything before they wrapped the dead vampires in some tarps and took them away. Dominic told me they’d be doing a reconstruction of the fight for training purposes. I shuddered. I didn’t want to know.
“Okay, if you’re done with me, I want to move Simon to my bedroom so I can give him some blood and get him cleaned up a bit.”
“I’ll help carry him.” Tucker started to stand, but Shirley put a hand on his shoulder.
“Stay with Nicky. He needs a familiar face if he wakes up. I’ll carry Simon.”
Dominic got up from his chair. “Do you want me to leave some Hunters here overnight?” He examined the blood and goo on my floor and the bullet holes in my walls. “Or we can take y’all to a hotel.”
“No. We’ll be fine. The danger’s over and tomorrow’s soon enough to clean up.” I needed to be in my own space with Simon. No, I needed Simon to be in my space.
Dominic followed the rest of the Hunters out the door, and the house was quiet again. I stood, wishing I were strong enough to carry Simon myself. I gestured at Jackson and Nicky. “Do you think we should move them too?”
Tucker gave me a horrified look. He pointed at Jackson’s neck. “We don’t know if that’s even... together!”
I shut my eyes. “Okay, yeah. Sorry, I’m tired.”
“I’ll order some pizza or something.”
I swallowed. If Tucker could think about eating right after discussing what might happen if we moved Jackson, more power to him. Maybe I’d be hungry by the time the food actually arrived.
Shirley carried Simon up the stairs to my bedroom. I put a towel over the pillows until I could clean his poor head, and she helped me get his shoes and jeans off. His shirt was covered in blood, so she just shredded it with her claws to remove it.
I got a couple of damp washcloths from the bathroom, and Shirley and I wiped the worst of the blood from Simon’s face and neck. His hair would be a problem for later, after he’d fed. At least the hole in his skull wasn’t as large as it had been earlier. I hoped the bullet would come out on its own, because I really didn’t want to figure out how to go in after it.
Once I’d removed my own blood-spattered jeans and shoes, I climbed onto the bed and positioned myself next to Simon’s head. “Okay, here goes.” Then I looked at my wrist. “Ugh. I forgot to bring a knife or something. Um, Shirley, would you mind using one of your claws to make a cut?”
She leaned over Simon and lifted his upper lip. “No need. His fangs are still mostly descended. If you use those, maybe it’ll trigger some of his feedin’ instincts.”
Huh. “Good idea.” She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Hey! I’m sorry I’m not a vampire expert after only knowing Simon for a few days!” Grumbling, I stuck my right thumb into the corner of Simon’s mouth and eased his jaw open. “Don’t bite down, now. I need my fingers.” I carefully scraped the inside of my left wrist against one of his fangs. The skin parted almost painlessly, and blood welled up. I pressed my wrist to his mouth, hoping Simon’s subconscious would take care of the rest.
After about thirty seconds of nothing happening, I stroked his throat. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing, but I’d seen a vet do something similar to a puppy he was trying to feed a milk bottle to on one of those animal rescue reality shows.
It worked! Well, something did. Simon started sucking on my wrist. I grinned up at Shirley. “He’s drinking.” And each pull seemed directly connected to my dick, but I wasn’t going to mention that to her. I dropped my free arm over my lap, hoping she wouldn’t be able to smell my arousal.
She smiled back. “Don’t let him take too much. I’ll get you some cookies or somethin’ to keep your blood sugar up until the pizza comes.”
“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure I had any cookies. Jackson had eaten quite a few last night before bed. Indeed, when Shirley reappeared, she was carrying a plate of butter crackers with jam on them, along with a large glass of ice water.
“This was the best I could do.”
“This is perfect, thank you. Any change in Jackson?”
“Not yet. Tucker cleaned the floor, though, and we put Nicky on some couch cushions right next to Jackson so he could lie down.”
I exhaled loudly. “That’s great. I was worried he’d get a crick in his neck.”
“Same. I’m gonna run downstairs, but when I get back, you’d better be done lettin’ him feed on you.” She raised an eyebrow at me. The same one she’d been raising at me for over forty years when I did something she didn’t quite approve of.
“Yes, Shirley.”
She sniffed and turned on her heel to leave the room.
