“Enjoy the freezing cold,” I mumbled and closed my eyes.
* * *
“No,” I whimpered pathetically, clinging to the thin film of sleep for all I was worth. “Leave me alone, please.”
“You don’t have to move an inch, sweetheart.” Reese’s warm voice came from behind me, and he slipped a hand into the boxers I’d borrowed from him. “You’re burning up. Can I take your temperature?”
I didn’t care. “Do what you want. Let me sleep. Hurts to talk.”
“Leave everything to me, then,” he murmured.
My headache had faded somewhat, but now I hurt everywhere else. My skin felt raw and supersensitive, I was so cold, and each movement caused tremors of pain to radiate through me.
Heat washed over my front, and I vaguely noticed a body shifting closer. It had to be River. I exhaled shakily and burrowed into his embrace, so far past giving any fucks about who they were, or that I’d barely exchanged any words with him. He was warm; that was enough.
I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth as Reese slowly slid the thermometer up my ass. At the same time, he kissed my shoulder and told me he wanted to ask some questions, but I didn’t have to talk. One tap on River’s chest meant yes, two taps for no. I could use my finger.
“Any nausea?” he asked first.
I tapped my index finger twice on River’s chest, and I felt him shake his head.
I genuinely didn’t care about the thermometer Reese had opted for, but even when I was sick as a dog, it was impossible not to register what it did to my mental state. It wasn’t as humiliating as I’d expected it to be, but it stripped me of my adulthood in a bizarre way. I felt small and pitiful, and it wasn’t necessarily bad. As long as they didn’t leave me to fend for myself.
“Upset stomach or stabbing pains?” he wondered next.
I hesitated, then tapped once. “Not as much as before,” I croaked in a whisper. “I don’t need to go to the bathroom.”
“I understand. You’re being such a good boy.”
I shivered and pressed my face against River’s chest. God. Why were my eyes welling up? And why had he called me a good boy? Fuck all of that. I was a grown man, dammit. I was not a good boy. I sniffled and cleared my throat.
Reese withdrew the thermometer and righted my underwear. “103. You’re staying in bed all day tomorrow and letting us take care of you.”
“Ugh,” I whimpered.
“Get some sleep, pup.” River’s voice was as warm as his brother’s, but it held a lower note and reverberated through me.
“Okay.” I sniffled again and waited until Reese’s body heat covered my back. “Don’t leave.”
“We won’t.” Reese kissed the top of my head. “You should take another painkiller, though. Riv, can you reach them behind you?”
“Yup.” River’s warmth disappeared from me, and I started shivering instantly.
For the next minute, which felt like an hour, they forced me to drink several gulps of water and take a Tylenol. Sadists, man… But then they became nicer, and they cuddled me tightly between them.
I just hoped my temperature didn’t get any higher, because Reese promised to monitor it closely and haul out cooling pads if the fever required any assistance to dissipate.
* * *
The fever sweats began around noon the following day.
I emerged from the thick duvet with a labored breath and pushed the fabric fortress off of me.
Reese was probably still out. I’d woken up around ten when he said he was going to the store with someone named Luke. I assumed it was Lucas West. He was one of Kit’s Daddy Doms.
River was…somewhere. He’d been reading a book in the single bed before when I’d gotten up to go to the bathroom.
I squinted out the triangular window, cursing the sun that poured in. My mouth was drier than a desert, and I didn’t know what I wanted more—a shower, a drink of water, or a dip in the pool. I could hear people outside, laughing and splashing around in the water. An early Saturday in a kinkster’s paradise… Jesus Christ, how had I ended up here? With the freaking Tenley twins, no less.
Exhausted and just plain uncomfortable, I dragged my ass out of bed and walked closer to the window. Damn, way too bright. My eyes welled up, and I squinted harder. Half a dozen people were in or around the pool. Kit was easy to spot, coincidentally just as his other Daddy Dom, Colt, threw him into the water.
There was another couple all over each other, making out—wait. Was that River? River was making out with someone! Fucking hell. I mean, not that I cared, but what the fuck. I scowled at the two, then blinked and blinked again. And then I spun around when I heard footsteps on the stairs.
It was…River. No neck tattoo. That meant River.
“You’re here,” I croaked. A discomfort disappeared from my chest.
“And you’re awake.” He cocked his head at me. “How you feelin’?”
“Tired. Hot. Gross. Thirsty.”
He smiled a little. “Reese and Lucas should be back with food soon. You need to eat.” He nodded at the bathroom. “Maybe a shower will make you feel better.”
Yeah. I twisted my body to peer out the window again. It hadn’t been River at all. Or Reese, for that matter.
A shower did sound nice. “Um, can I borrow some more clothes?” I asked hesitantly.
“Sure.” He gestured at the dresser across from the bed. “Choose whatever you want.”
“Thank you.” I swallowed against the dryness in my throat and opened a couple drawers. A tee and another pair of boxer shorts were easy enough to find.
“It’s cooler downstairs if you wanna join me after you’ve showered,” River mentioned. “I just put on a movie.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.” I felt awkward, and I wasn’t sure I was the only one who felt that
