Page 13 of Omega’s Oath

Chapter 5

Rose leaned forward as Aide adjusted her pillow for the fourth time and glared at him. She’d been home a day and as the doctor had suspected, she did have mild pre-eclampsia and was now on bed rest until the baby was born. They’d also told her she was having contractions, but they were so mild they weren’t doing a lot, which was why she wasn’t feeling them. “Is this really necessary, Aide?”

Aide had been like a shadow; the second she moved he was there making sure she was okay. It was sweet, but she needed him to relax and give her some space, she wasn’t used to the constant fuss and it made her feel weak.

Aide stepped back looking chastened and she felt bad. He’d turned his life upside down to help her and she was being ungrateful. He scratched his head, messing up the already unruly waves. Most would say he needed a haircut, but she loved the slightly longer look on him and it gave him the appearance of the nerd he was under his grumpy, façade. Although nerds didn’t have muscles like him when she was at school.

“I just want to make sure you’re taken care of, Rose.”

Rose held out her hand to him which he took, twining their fingers. She pulled slightly until he was sitting on the edge of her bed. He was so handsome sometimes it hurt to be around him and know he couldn’t be hers, but she couldn’t lose his friendship. He meant the world to her and she knew to have him in her life she had to bury her romantic feelings for him.

“How about I call for takeout and we watch a movie?”

She was tired and hadn’t slept much in the hospital. She’d been bombarded with texts from her friends and even Harlan had sent a text to see if she needed anything when he heard she was in the hospital. She’d turned them all down because Aide had sorted it all.

“That sounds perfect.”

Rose thought he’d say something more, but he stood and walked away. Rose had been on bed rest for approximately twenty-four hours and was already getting antsy. This was going to be a long month. Dropping her hand to her bump, she stroked her belly where her son grew and knew it would be worth any amount of boredom to keep him safe.

“What do you fancy to eat?” she called through the open door of her bedroom, knowing the sound would carry.

“Don’t care, but nothing too salty.”

Rose pulled a face. He was trying to help her out, but she was really craving Chinese food, which she knew could have a lot of salt in it, at least the places she frequented did. Sushi was out, so that left Thai food instead, which was a little better.

“Thai okay?”

She looked up as he walked in with a selection of drinks and healthy snacks as well as some chocolate raisins. “Thai is fine.”

Rose dialed and placed the order while Aide set up the bigger TV from downstairs for her. Fee had already sent her every single book from her backlist before she went away, just in case she needed some light reading.

Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang and Aide went to answer it. He was gone so long she began to think it wasn’t the food. She heard a thud, the bell rang again, and she started to worry something was wrong.

“Aide!”

When she got no answer, she became more worried and swung her legs over the side of the bed and tip-toed to the top of the stairs. Rose gasped when she saw Aide on the floor and moved swiftly down the stairs with no thought other than to get to him. Kneeling, she saw he was coming to and clutching his head.

“What happened?”

“What are you doing out of bed, Rose?” He was glaring at her while rubbing the back of his head.

“I heard a thud and thought you’d hurt yourself, dumbass, and it looks like I was right. What happened?”

“Dumbass?” Aide quirked an eyebrow and she hated how sexy he looked doing it, so she snapped.

“I don’t know why I bother.” She went to move away but he caught her arm and stopped her. The feel of his fingers on her skin was like tiny pinpricks of electricity and reminded her of the last time he’d touched her in anything other than a strictly friendly manner.

“Stop.” He climbed to his feet, still holding her wrist and she waited, her heart hammering in her chest. Aide moved and she closed her eyes thinking he might kiss her, his body so close she could feel his heat. He always looked good but in gray sweats and a white tee, he looked completely delicious.

“There’s something on the floor that made me slip. I don’t want you going down too.”

Rose opened her eyes, disappointment flooding her to realize he was just getting close to look over her shoulder, not so he could kiss her. When would she learn to stop wanting things she couldn’t have? Her family had always told her she was a spoiled princess for wanting more. Maybe they’d been right, and she was that person who always wanted more than she had.

Hiding her stupid need, she looked at the floor where Aide had landed and saw it was covered in what looked like cooking oil or at least a clear oil. “How the hell did that get there?”

She looked up at him and he looked murderous before he seemed to close down and clear the look on his face. “Not sure. Maybe I spilled it when I was bringing the shopping in earlier.”

Rose looked at his face, watching for signs he was hurt in his deep brown eyes. He looked a little stunned but she couldn’t see anything that was worrying.