Page 37 of Echoes in the Storm
Cammie
Duke knocks on the door as I settle in bed with my back against the headboard. “You decent?”
“Yeah. Come in.”
He opens the door cautiously, his gaze averted anyway. “I brought you something that might help with the eyes.” He circles the index finger on his free hand at my face.
I watch with keen interest as he sets a coffee mug wrapped in a tea towel down on the nightstand. Four spoon handles protrude from the ice-chilled water that fills the mug.
“What do I do with it?”
He grins, tipping his head slightly. “You’ve never done this before?”
“Would I ask if I had?”
He huffs out his nose, picking out two ice-cold teaspoons. “Lean your head back and shut your eyes.”
I do as I’m told, grumbling, “This sounds like the start of a bad prank.”
Arctic metal encases my eyelids. “Fuck me, Duke! You could have warned me.” My hands shoot up in front of me, colliding with one very warm, very hard body.
“Trust me, it works to reduce the puffiness. My mum used to do it all the time when we were kids.”
“All the time?” I can barely stand doing it once. “Did she enjoy it that much?” I joke.
“No,” he states in such a tone that I can imagine his blank face as he does. “Dad enjoyed making her cry that often, though.”
Damn …Didn’t see that coming. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
“It’s fine.” His weight shifts onto the edge of the bed. “Take these off me, yeah?”
I reach up, a little more cautious this time, and fumble around until I have the handles in my grasp. Duke’s hands slide out from under mine, yet his weight stays on my bed.Interesting.
“When they warm up, swap them for the other ones, and then repeat until the water isn’t cold enough to cool them down anymore.”
“And this will get rid of my red eyes?”
“Mm-hmm. Stops the swelling so you don’t wake up tomorrow looking like you’re allergic to bees.”
“Gee, thanks,” I deadpan.
He sits silently for a while, so quiet that I edge one of my legs across until it bumps into what I assume is his butt.
“I’m still here,” he murmurs.
Three little words, and he seals the hole in my heart. I barely know this guy from Adam, and yet he’s managed to make more progress towards helping me get closure than my family has in the past three years.
The spoons warm, and I peel them off to change them over, blinking as the light hits my adjusted retinas. Duke reaches out and takes the spoons from me, exchanging them for the cold ones.
“You can hit the hay, if you like,” I say. “I’ll be okay now.”
He seems as though he’s about to take the subtle hint, yet instead he places his hands over mine and gently guides the spoons to my eyes. “Ten more minutes to be sure can’t hurt.”
Why the hell couldn’t Jared have been this awesome? Maybe there’s truth to the saying that anything worth having is also worth waiting for? Because I feel as though I’ve waited a lifetime for a man like Duke.
“You know, I was thinking while I got changed that we could rearrange the living room,” I say.
“Why?” His weight shifts a little farther onto the mattress, his leg pressed against mine.