With Everything I Am (11 page)

In spite of herself, hearing Callum agree she was “seriously pretty” with that warm humor in his voice made a shiver dance across Sonia’s skin.

She pretended that didn’t happen, found the whisky, poured in two fingers, added the coffee, took it to the living room and handed it to the man.

“Thank you for bringing my –” she started but before she could finish Callum’s hands shot out, curved around her hips and she was flying through thin air for a moment before she landed in his lap.

This made Waring grin again.

It made Sonia twist around and glare before snapping, “Callum!”

Callum completely ignored her, his arms closing tight as he asked Waring, “You want a sandwich or do you want Sonia to grill you a steak?”

Waring patted his flat belly and said, “Had some fast food before I transformed. I’m good. The coffee and whisky will set me up. The weather’s not half bad a bit down the mountain. It’s just up here you’re really getting it.” His grin widened and he said, “And it’s all downhill on the way back.”

Both Callum and Waring laughed at this like it was the height of hilarity.

Sonia didn’t get it.

Then again, Sonia wasn’t getting
anything.
Except the fact that Callum, Sonia noted with extreme annoyance, had a great laugh.

Which was also part of the cosmos’s joke, no doubt.

“So, we go on campaign, is Queen Sonia coming with us?” Waring asked, grinning at her again. “She’d be useful. Makes good coffee,” he finished before he took another sip.

Queen Sonia?

Campaign?

“Likely not,” Callum answered. “She’s human. Only way to assure her safety.”

Human?

Safety?

“Figured,” Waring muttered.

Slowly, Sonia turned her head to look at Callum.

When her eyes met his, he dipped his head, rubbed his temple against hers, her body went rock-solid and he whispered in her ear, “I’ll explain later.”

He pulled his head back, she glared at him and then turned to Waring. “I don’t think we’ll be going on campaign since there are so many things Callum’s going to be,” she lifted her hands and made quotation marks, “‘explaining later’ that it might take until the new millennium for him to do it.”

Both Callum and Waring laughed at that too.

Sonia decided not to inform them she wasn’t being funny.

Then she decided, since this was way too weird for words, not to object that Callum seemed perfectly happy chatting away with Waring while she sat in his lap. Something which she was
not
perfectly happy about.

When Waring finished his coffee, Callum stood, taking Sonia with him and placing her on her feet. Waring stood after him and Callum left them to go to the laptop.

“Take this data stick to Caleb, will you?” he asked, handing the stick to Waring who took it.

“You got a back up?” he enquired and then looked at Sonia and said preposterously, “Saliva. Probably not good for data sticks.”

“What?” Sonia breathed but Callum was pulling her medication from the satchel and she saw it was wrapped in brown paper and taped to oblivion.

When the satchel was empty, he tossed it to Waring.

“Good thinking,” Waring said to Callum and again turned to Sonia. “That’s why he’s king.”

“King?” Sonia whispered but Callum was beside her. His hand sliding along her shoulders, he tugged her against his side and together they walked Waring to the door just like they were an old married couple moving to wave away a party guest.

At the door, Waring turned and bowed his head to Sonia. “It was an honor to meet you, your grace.” Then he lifted his head and grinned yet again.

Before Sonia could say a word, Callum squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

Then he and Waring walked out the door.

Sonia stared at the door and she did this for a while.

Then she asked it, “What just happened?”

The door didn’t feel like sharing its secrets.

She and a sharp knife were in the kitchen wrestling with the tape on her medication when Callum came back, again carrying the clothes.

Sonia stopped dead, package in hand, knife point inserted in a miniscule area not taped where she hoped it might find purchase and watched as Callum walked to the closet, threw in the boots then walked to the bathroom and came out without the clothes.

He moved into the kitchen, stopped close to her, leaned a hip against the counter, reached out and pulled the knife from her frozen hand and set it aside. Then he took the package out of her hands.

Coming out of her stupor, Sonia asked, “Is it later?”

His eyes never leaving her, he brought the package up to his mouth and with his even, white teeth, he tore open a section of the tape. Then he ripped off the rest of the packaging, held both boxes in his hands and gazed at them.

Finally, his head came up. “You need to take this now?”

“I asked if it’s later,” she repeated.

“And I asked if my mate needs the medication that will stop her from dying an agonizing death,” Callum returned calmly. “As you can see, my question has priority.”

It
was
time for her to take her medication though she could wait. Any time in the late evening was okay.

She’d rather have a few answers.

She looked at him, saw the set of his face and gave in.

“I could take it.”

“Let’s go,” he said and started to the bathroom.

Did he say “let’s go”?

Let’s
go?

Sonia stood stock-still.

Callum turned back. “Sonia.”

“Give me the meds. I’ll –”

He cut her off by saying, “You’re going to teach me how to give it to you.”

She stayed stock-still but her mouth dropped open.

Then she said, “No, I’m not.”

To which he replied, “Yes, you are.”

“No, I –”

“Sonia, come here.”

“But, you –”

“Come here or I’ll come get you.”

Her voice grew shrill. “I can’t believe you think –”

He started toward her. She started retreating.

In seconds, she was flung over his shoulder and in a few more seconds she was set on her feet in the bathroom.

She barely got her body under her control before his torso twisted and he closed and locked the door while she stared at him in irritated horror.

Then he twisted back and demanded, “Now, show me what to do.”

She made a snatch for the boxes but he yanked them away and he was far taller and had the arm span of a giant, drat the man!

“I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself,” she snapped.

“What if you’re not?” he asked.

“What do you mean, what if I’m not? I’ve been doing it every day since I was eleven. I
am
capable of doing it,” she retorted.

He bent at the waist to get closer and it took everything she had not to lean back.

“What if you’re not?” he repeated. “What if there comes a time where you can’t give it to yourself? You have flu and you’re delirious. As your mate, I need to know how to take care of you.”

Really?

Did he
seriously
think she was his mate?

She’d known him
a day!

And it was the weirdest, scariest day of
her life!

He was… crazy… as a…
loon!

“You aren’t my mate,” she snapped.

“Sonia, I am.”

“You are
not
.”

He straightened and looked to the ceiling before muttering, “Bloody hell.”

“You can say that again,” she huffed, crossing her arms on her chest.

He dipped his chin down to look at her. “Just show me how to give you the fucking injection.”

“No!”

“
Show me!
” he barked right in her face.

This was one of those times that set her teeth on edge and made her want to scratch his eyes out.

Sonia did not do that.

Instead, she said, “Give me the boxes.”

“Goddamn it, Sonia –” he started but she interrupted him.

“You want me to show you? Then give me the boxes so I can gosh darn show you!” she snapped.

He scowled at her a moment before he handed her the boxes.

Then with
extreme
ill-grace, Sonia showed him how to load the needle and with even
more extreme
embarrassment, she turned, undid her belt and cords and pulled her pants down to expose her upper right buttock.

“Just jab it in and press,” she bit out angrily. “The faster the bet –”

She stopped talking when she felt the heat of his fingers grazing her bare skin. She jerked up and whirled.

“Callum, just jab –” she started but he set the injection aside, grasped her hips and turned her. “Callum,” she said, twisting her head to look at him then snapped, “Callum!” when his thumb hooked in her pants and pulled them a few inches down over her hip while his other hand held her firm.

“Baby doll,” he murmured as his thumb slid along her skin.

“What are you doing?” she tried to snap but it came out breathy.

His thumb stroked back, softly, even tenderly.

Then his eyes came to hers. “You look like a fucking pin cushion.”

Her body grew tight and she looked away.

“That happens when you have to take an injection every night,” she informed him. “Now if you’d just –”

His hands at her hips became arms around her belly and he pulled her into his big, hard body.

“I don’t like this,” he said into the hair on top of her head.

He
didn’t like it? He should try being her.

“I don’t like it either,” she replied. “It’s not fun. That’s why it’s better just to do it fast and get it over with.”

For a moment, he was silent. Then he sighed.

Then, without letting her go, he reached out with one hand to nab the injection.

“Pull down your cords for me,” he ordered gently.

She did as she was told and without delay, she felt the jab.

Then she felt the burn.

Her arm flew out and her fingers curled around the basin while she sucked in breath, closed her eyes and fought the pain.

When it burned out, she found herself wrapped tight in his arms, tucked in his body with his face buried in her neck.

His warm embrace unsettled her.

Because it felt good.

She’d always battled the pain alone. It only lasted a minute or two but it still hurt.

She’d never had anyone, not anyone, help her battle the pain. Not since her Momma and Papa, who held her close after giving her the injection. Gregor was not a “holding close” type of guy.

It also surprised her.

Callum was a pretty domineering man though he’d also shown moments of tenderness.

But nothing like this.

Her fingers curled around his forearms, “Callum.”

“It hurts.” It was a statement.

“Yes.”

“It looked bad.”

“It’s excruciating.”
 

His arms tightened further.

“Callum, it’s okay. I’m used to it.”

“There’s no other way?”

She shook her head.

His face shoved deeper into her neck before he whispered, “Baby doll.”

Before she could say anything else, he’d done up her cords and belt then she was cradled in his arms and they were out of the bathroom, Callum striding to the living room.

He laid her on the couch and didn’t hesitate in joining her, stretching out and pinning her between his big body and the back of the couch.

She looked at him and announced, “I’d like some tea.”

“I’ll get you some in a minute. Tell me about your thing.”

“What thing?”

“Your blood thing.”

She pulled in breath.

He was being way too nice. And way too concerned. And way too sweet.

And it was messing with her head.

Then she thought it best to give him what he wanted. It’d be over sooner that way.

“I don’t know much about it, no one does. It’s that rare. I’ve lived with it my whole life. There’s one treatment, the injection. I know that because I’ve talked to my doctor about alternatives but there are none.”

“Are they researching it?” Callum asked.

“No, like I said, it’s rare. I’m lucky there’s even a treatment.”

His voice was soft when he said, “Honey, what I saw in there, that isn’t luck.”

There it was.

Too nice. Too concerned.

Way
too sweet.

She tried to be nonchalant about it. “Trust me, Callum, if I don’t take the treatment, it’s that times about ten thousand,” she informed him. “I tried it once, went off the meds for two days, I thought I was boiling alive.”

“Jesus,” he muttered on a wince.

She stared.

He was feeling this.

Deeply.

Which made Sonia feel something deeply too.

Something insane.

A strong pull toward him to soothe and comfort.

Before she could stop herself, she pressed closer and assured, “Callum, it’s okay. I’m used to it.” She gave him a teasing grin. “I think it was probably good I had my teenage rebellion against the injection. I learned, quickly, it’s better than the alternative.”

His eyes bored into hers and he replied, “I’m not finding this amusing.”

Yes, he was feeling this.

And yes, it was deeply.

She didn’t know what to do with that. It made her forget he was a madman and think he might be her dream man.

Her handsome wolf.

Which had to be why she couldn’t fight that odd pull.

And this had to be why her grin faded, she pressed even closer and her voice went soft when she said, “That’s because it’s not amusing. But it’s two minutes of pain every day. At least there’s something that helps, even if it’s an awful something. It could be far worse.”

His arms around her got tight and one hand drifted up her back into her hair to tuck her face in his neck.

Then he said, “I’m giving you the injection every night.”

Sonia’s body jolted and her head jerked back. “What?”

He tipped his chin down to look at her. “You heard me.”

“Okay then, why?”

“You shouldn’t do that alone.”

“I’ve been doing it alone for twenty-six years,” she pointed out.

“Yes, and that stops now.”

“Why?” she cried.