Ellie’s lips tipped downward. “You’ll need to make her believe it.”
He hugged her to his side. “I’ll take care of her.”
After cleaning up the house to remove all traces of blood or evidence of a fight, he went into the bedroom, where Ellie had fully wrapped Jordan’s arm and shoulder with bandages. He sat next to her on the bed.
“Jordan?”
He hated waking her, but knew she needed the pills Ellie had them get for her. Ellie’s training in nursing had come in handy for Jordan.
She opened hazy eyes and frowned.
“What are you doing here?” She winced in obvious discomfort and glanced away. “I don’t know if this is going to work.”
He watched her grit her teeth. The pain had to be bad. He helped her take the pills and spoke quickly before she fell asleep.
“It’s working, Jordan. Stop looking for a problem where there is none. I’m not going anywhere. It’s you and me baby.”
She eyed him warily, but didn’t argue. Instead, she closed her eyes and shut him out.
He knew she needed him, so it was clear he had to stay there with her. Guilt that someone they’d invited to the ceremony had hurt Jordan made him want to kill. His wolf paced inside him, angry, concerned, and unwilling to let her go.
She slept for twenty hours before waking up to more pills and some light food.
“You don’t have to babysit me, you know.” She grumbled while she ate the sandwich he’d made her.
“I do so have to babysit you.” He grinned. “You’re all that matters to me, and that means until you’re healed of those cuts, I’m here to stay darling.”
“Wonderful,” she replied with more than a hint of sarcasm.
“Come on, Jordan. Can you honestly tell me you’re in the mood to get up from there and go get some food?”
She chewed slowly before shaking her head. “No. I’m not in the mood for anything other than chopping off my arm and possibly sleeping for a week.”
He chuckled. “Just chopping the arm off? Pain must not be so bad then. I’d have thought it hurt to the point you may want to kill me.”
She growled, showing her perfectly straight teeth for him. “If I killed you, who would get me the awesome drugs and yummy food?”
“That’s right. You have use for me.” He winked. The tightness in his chest loosened some. He was having a hard time holding it together. Watching her sit there in pain was tearing his heart into pieces. The animal inside hurt from being unable to help his mate. All Aric wanted was to hold Jordan in his arms, hold her tight, and reassure himself and his animal that she was fine.
“Don’t get cocky. Once I feel good, all bets are off.”
*
After a few days of taking care of Jordan, he was starting to see why she had warned him off. She was incredibly disorganized, which was hell for someone like him. He had a sharp mind and a great memory, but also liked to stay on top of things by writing them down and keeping a clear work area.
At her insistence, he’d brought her laptop and the memory cards to her bed and watched her take notes while she watched video after video of the scenting ceremony.
“You know, I’m going to have to go back there.” She bit her nail. Her focus was solely on the screen and the notes littering the bed. He’d gotten her pads of paper and had even offered to help take notes, but she said she had her own way of working. It was something he’d have to get used to since this was the woman he wanted to be with.
“Do you want me to clean this up for you?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I’m good.” A perfectly arched, dark brow lifted and she pointed a finger at him. “And don’t think I don’t hear you cleaning up all the time.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “I have to prove I’m good to keep around.”
Every day that went by, he learned something new about her. Not just the big things, like the fact she hated doing dishes to the point she’d order out just to not dirty plates or pots.
“What are you smiling at?” She asked suspiciously. “If you say my love for some of the stupid shows on TV I may hurt you.”
That was another thing, she was a fan of paranormal shows along with shows that made fun of the silly things humans did when bored.
“No, though I have to admit some of those were pretty funny.”
She grinned. “See, I told you they would be. So what were you smiling at?”
“Laundry,” he said and heard her groan.
“Why would that make you smile?”
“I just can’t believe someone as beautiful, intelligent, and fantastic as you would prefer to buy new clothes than to do laundry.” He chuckled. That had been a definite eye-opener. His mate was far from perfect, and yet she still felt absolutely perfect for him.