Chapter 357
I nod silently without looking up at her.
“Cole, take the water.”
I finally look up from the floor and reach out to take the bottle from her.
“Now, you have two options. I can open it in front of you and drink enough of it that your tremors won’t cause it to spill or I can open it and set it on the dresser until you’re ready to drink from it.”
For some reason these options create a major conflict within me increasing my steadily growing
panic. All I can manage is to hand it back to her, shaking my head as I drop it in submission again.
“Cole, what are you most comfortable with?”
Her voice is patient and kind but all I can do is whine, like the immature pup my father constantly
tells me I am. I hear her place the bottle down with a sigh. Her feet come into my field of view
briefly before she comes down onto her knees. She leans her arms across my knees, forcing me to sit
up off them and look at her face. She slowly moves her hand towards my head, speaking to me
calmly as she does.
“Why is it hard for you to answer my question?”
My eyes are darting around fast enough to make me dizzy and cause a migraine to form but I can’t stop myself, not when my mind is in complete chaos.
“There’s no correct answer.” I whisper. “If I have you drink it first then it comes across as checking to see if something is in it. If you set it down in front of me it comes across as verifying you’re not adding to it. You’re my mate. I’m supposed to trust you. I want you. Goddess do I want you but I
don’t know how to do this. You deserve so much more.”
She stands silently as I finish. As much as I want her to stay I know she’s going to leave. I’m caught completely off guard when I feel her step between my legs and pull me into her. I’m stiff with uncertainty as she holds me gently. I want to wrap my arms around her, touch her soft skin but I hold back. I know she’s been mistreated too and I don’t want to trigger her memories, cause her the
same pain I suffer every day and night.
“I never meant to cause you conflict.” I hear her whisper. “This is about your comfort. You te…e what would make you comfortable taking medication from me. Neither answer is a show of
mistrust.”
I close my eyes, trying hard to relax with the unfamiliar feelings I get from her touch.
“Am I hurting you?” She whispers as I twitch from her touch.
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Chapter 357
“No”
“Talk to me Cole, I know you’re uncomfortable with what I’m doing.”
“It’s unfamiliar.” 1 manage to explain not wanting her to stop.
“Are you ready to try and take some medicine? I noticed you already pulled the Effexor out. What else do you need?”
“Ativan, some Zofran for my stomach.”
I whine quietly as she steps away and finds the Ativan among the pile of pill bottles on the dresser. I watch her closely as she opens it, takes one out and steps back over to me. I will myself to open my mouth, desperately trying to prove I trust her as she places it into my mouth. It takes everything I have not to spit it out despite seeing everything that she’s doing.
I watch silently as she goes through my medication and pulls the different pills out before placing them in my shaking hands. She opens the bottle of water and takes a long drink before handing it straight to me. Something about her drinking from the bottle settles my anxiety of drinking from it when I wasn’t the one to open it.
I pop the handful of pills in my mouth before finishing the water but my calmness is only a temporary reprieve as my mind continues into its downward spiral.
Chapter Comments
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.

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