Kayden

My eyes fluttered open to a dimly lit room. I yawned, rubbing my eyes until my surroundings became clearer.

I had expected to still be in pain from the extreme heat that Leo had said would affect me, but instead, that didn’t happen.

There was no pain, and my body felt fine, as if I had not gone into heat a moment ago.

How long was a moment ago? I thought, rubbing a hand over my face, trying so hard to figure out how long it had been since I blacked out. The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was Rhys’s hands massaging the cramps.

Where was he? Was he somewhere else? I was disappointed that he wasn’t by my side when I woke up.

I stretched my hands as I rose from the soft king-sized bed and looked around, expecting to see him in the corner of the room. His scent was everywhere, but not him.

"Rhys," I called out, then immediately cleared my throat, which was parched from dryness. I wanted to drink something, anything to make it feel better, but I didn’t even know where I could get anything.

The only thing in the room was the bed.

Yes, Rhys had mentioned going to an island. We were on a boat. I must have been in incredible pain when we arrived, but I still remembered some of his words clearly.

Some of my words, too. The crazy things I had said to Rhys during my heat.

I let out a groan and rubbed my forehead. I had practically begged Rhys to fuck me out of desperation to ease the intense pain from the heat. I was embarrassed, even though I knew I shouldn’t be.

We were still inside the yacht because every now and then I could hear the rhythmic groan of the hull.

I was lost in my own thoughts and the sound of the roaring waves when the heavy mahogany door leading to the room creaked open.

My eyes widened as I sat up, knowing that he was here. His pine scent spiked the instant the door opened, and I didn’t know if I should hide under the heavy blanket from embarrassment after what happened during my heat or just pretend I was still sleeping.

I chose the latter. I hurriedly lay back on the bed and shut my eyes, pretending I was still asleep.

"Kayden," Rhys called as his footsteps sounded near me, then I felt his warm hand against my face. "I know you are awake. I could smell you the instant I walked in here, so don’t pretend you are still sleeping."

I sighed loudly and fluttered my eyes open, meeting his beautiful blue eyes.

"Rhys..." I called, forgetting the embarrassment I had felt when I woke up, and hugged him. "Rhys. You are here."

Rhys chuckled lightly and placed his hand on my back, rubbing it gently. "How do you feel now?" he asked.

I pulled away just enough to see his face and stretched my arms. "I feel..." I yawned loudly again. "Better. I don’t know, but I had expected that the heat would take a long time to end and I would still be in pain, but surprisingly I am fine. Unless I have been sleeping for days?"

Rhys shook his head. "I spent the night with you in an ice bath while releasing my soothing pheromones. Since your body is already used to it, the pain lessened for a moment, I believe. And when I asked Leo about it, he just told me that it was the first wave and the second wave could be much more painful."

My eyes squeezed shut at the thought that I was going to experience worse pain than this. I didn’t want that. Not at all.

"I hope it’s not as painful as the first one," I muttered as I hugged Rhys again, then immediately pulled away, raising my fingers to touch his face.

There were bags under his eyes, as if he had not had proper sleep. I remembered blacking out after the ice bath, but aside from that, I couldn’t remember anything else.

"You look like you haven’t slept for hours."

Rhys rolled his eyes dramatically and then stood up from my side.

"Uhm... what is happening?" I asked him.

He said nothing and then started running around the room. "Rhys... Rhys... please touch me, fuck me. I need your touch. Rhys, please."

I raised a corner of my lip in disgust, knowing he was mocking me. When I thought he was done, he continued.

Rhys jumped onto the bed beside me and crossed his legs over mine, pulling me tighter into his arms. "I just need you to fuck me! Is that too much to ask for? Rhys! You said that you loved me but you are ignoring me and now I can’t breathe anymore," he rubbed his face and then started crying.

I lifted a corner of my lips and frowned. What the hell, I thought. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that I was like that all night long while thinking I had blacked out.

Rhys got up again, placed his hands up, and was about to do another mimicry of how I had acted the night before, but I stopped him.

"Alright. That is enough. It’s so cringe to watch you acting like me."

He laughed and sat beside me on the bed, then pinched my cheeks.

"I don’t find it cringe. Even though you kept me up all night long, it was still better than seeing you in pain because eventually you fell asleep."

"How long was I out?"

"I lost count after the fourteenth hour."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Oh goodness. Fourteen hours? I have been sleeping for that long?"

He nodded.

"What about the news? Is anything bad trending about us? Is the CEO mad about us leaving and not visiting him? I couldn’t bid Soren, Miller, even my mothers goodbye. I..."

Rhys grabbed my hands before I could finish and rubbed them gently. "Stop worrying about all of that and instead focus on getting better, which is why I have something prepared for you once you have woken up."

At the mention of that, the door opened and a man and a woman walked in with their heads lowered. They were pushing a small silver rolling cart, the wheels clicking softly against the marble tile.

I inhaled the smell of something rich, warm, and savory and felt my mouth water.

"Mr. Calder," the woman said calmly. "The chef has prepared clear bone broth and a light ginger infused soup as you requested."

"Thank you, Elena," Rhys said to the woman.

They set the tray down on a small marble stand beside the bed, and on it sat a deep porcelain bowl filled with golden translucent broth. Steam rose from it in lazy curls, carrying the scent of slow simmered chicken, fresh herbs, and sharp ginger.

Beside it was a glass of chilled water. I rushed immediately to take it and drank as if I had been thirsty for years.

Whatever sounds or noise I had made last night was contributing to my dry throat, and I wanted more water.

The man raised another bottle of water from the tray and poured me more, which I quickly drank.

"It seems you woke up feeling thirsty," Rhys pointed out.

I nodded.

"Thank you, Elena," Rhys said to the woman. "You both may leave us."

Both of them bowed before walking out of the room. As soon as they were out, I turned toward the soup. I picked up the spoon beside it and was about to take a bite when my hands started shaking.

"What the hell?"

"Side effects from the heat," Rhys said as his hand gently took the spoon from mine. "Don’t worry, softie. Your boyfriend is here. I will feed you."

Heat rose in my cheeks and my face turned red immediately. I shyly lowered my head, then raised it again as Rhys brought the spoon filled with soup to my mouth.

I smiled sheepishly and leaned in, opening my mouth and letting the spoon in.

That went on for a few minutes until I was sweating lightly. The soup brought a warmth inside, making all the numbing pain disappear, or maybe it was just my imagination.

After Rhys made sure I finished eating all the soup, he handed me a glass of water and I drank it. As he set the cup down, he reached out and wiped the side of my mouth.

"How are you feeling now? Better?"

I nodded.

"Good," he muttered, and just as I was about to say something, he shook his head, cutting me off.

"I know you have a lot of questions, Kayden, but your health comes first. Now that you have eaten the soup, I believe you should take your bath next. Then I will answer any question you are desperate to know."

"Fine by me."