Adira's Mate (14 page)

“
Thank you. I will keep all of
that in mind. I will also talk to him. He would be the best person to tell me
what it is that he needs, as long as he doesn’t try to be stubborn about
it, that
is.” She had finished her broth and set it on the
table. “I need to make sure that the home is ready for him, the windows all set
to maximum opaqueness so that the light doesn’t filter in from the sun.” She
was thinking of anything that she could prepare in advance and realized that in
reality there wasn’t much she could do until he was finally home with her where
he belonged. She had learned about the settings of the windows from touching a
panel on the wall as she stood before it and asking Bracken about the panel.

“
We’ll get all the supplies you
could possibly require, and I’ll remain close in the event you need something
else. No need to bother one of the porters with an odd request. Although
everyone will have heard of what he’s done, hard not to, given his position,
it’s best to keep the rumors down so no one gets the idea he’s easy prey to be
picked off.”

“
Agreed.
I need for them to see him as
the incredible and strong man that he is. I need for them to understand that he
is a force upon himself.” He was all of that and more.
Fintan
was the sort of man that legends spawned from. He was
her own
personal hero.

“
Precisely,” he said with a firm
nod. Finishing his own meal, Bracken got to his feet to clean up. “Stay
sitting. I’ll get the cards and teach you the first game. It’s one
Fintan
likes to play on occasion. He’ll be very annoyed
with me if I teach you how to play, and to beat him.”

That had her smiling. After her
husband had healed he was definitely going to be taking Bracken back to the
training rooms. She shook her head and simply waited.

Chapter Thirteen

Time held no meaning when you
couldn’t see the rising and setting of the sun. Days blurred, hours stretched,
and every second seemed interminably long.

Fintan
carefully eased his aching body
into a different position. Slowly he stretched out the tight muscles of his
back as much as he could. He knew better than to push; he didn’t want the scabs
that had finally formed to crack and bleed. He already was running a fever, no
way was he going to risk any further infection beyond what he was sure he
already had.

Adjusting, again he began to
stretch his legs, then his arms. The cell didn’t afford a lot of space for
movement. But he was learning to make do with what little he had. It wasn’t
like he didn’t have the time for such things.
That was pretty
much all he had.

Initially he’d tried to keep
track of the time passing but had quickly given up. The occasional disruption
of the guards moving through, randomly handing out food and water, was
distracting in the otherwise silent area.

The sound of his door opening had
him flinching, the noise loud to his ears. Nothing was put in, though, except a
hand being held out. Unsure of what to make of that,
Fintan
waited, knowing better than to move. The guards would like nothing more than to
take another crack at breaking him.

“
General Daykin, your six days are
up. Exit the cell so we may transport you to the medical center for treatment.”

Six days were gone. Six days he
could never get back. Six days he willingly would pay repeatedly to ensure
Adira’s
safety. Licking his cracked, dry lips,
Fintan
eased to the door slowly. Once outside the cell he
squinted into the dim light that was blinding to his light-deprived eyes.

A guard moved to each side,
hooking his arms over their shoulders, and they began the slow painful walk out
of the pits. “Your wife has been notified of your release. She will meet you
there,” one of the guards said.

Fintan
could only give a small nod. His
tongue was too dry to speak. The pain radiating through his body at a steadily
worsening pace made it too hard to think. Thankfully, just as they reached the
stairs,
Fintan
passed out from the pain. He really
hadn’t been up to attempting to climb those.

****

Adira
waited with her hands fisted for
several long moments. It wasn’t until she was allowed into
Fintan’s
room in the hospital that she finally let go of the far too tight control she
had on herself. She rushed to the side of the bed that Fin was sleeping on and
placed her hand in his. “Fin.” She whispered his name softly against his ear,
her tears falling on his cheeks. “I’m here, husband. I will never leave you
again and you won’t ever leave me either.”
Adira
made
that vow to him and herself alike. “I’m here and now you are going to heal.”
She wouldn’t leave without him. She would remain there at his side until the
universe stopped expanding. His lashes fluttered against her cheek. Pulling
back she saw him open his pain-filled, unfocused eyes.

“
Adira
,” he croaked out. His tongue
flicked over his lips before he gave her a faint smile.
“Why
the tears, little wife?”

“
I’m just so happy to see you.”
Adira
pressed a kiss to his lips, careful of the pressure
she applied. “Never again,
Fin
.” She smoothed his hair
back gently and smiled. “I’ve missed you so very much, husband. No more,
though. I am now
Craegin
and you are fully free.
Medical wants to keep you overnight and I have to agree with them. Tomorrow I
will take you home and ensure that you are cared for. So just rest? Bracken has
guards outside of the room to make sure that we are safe. Just sleep, please?”

“
Stay,” he whispered. He was
fighting to keep his eyes open. “Promise me you will stay close,
Adira
. Need you
close.
” Turning
his hand under hers, he gave her hand a squeeze. Only once she’d returned the
squeeze did his lids fall over his eyes. “I love you, wife.”

“
There is nowhere else that I will
be. I will remain here with you. I promise,” she assured him. She smiled a
watery smile at his proclamation and said, “I love you too, husband.
Always.
Now, do you want a drink of water? I have some nice
ice cold water here for you.”

“
Please,” he said,
then
parted his lips to wait. When she gave him the straw he
drew a couple small sips before releasing it. “Thank you,
Adira
.”
He gave her hand another light squeeze and let out a breath.

“
Anything
for you.”
She
brushed his hair once more with her hand and smiled. “I’ve missed you.
So very much.
I’ve missed your hands on my hair. I’ve missed
your arms around me.” She knew that he had undergone hell for her, but she
missed him all the same.

“
Dreamed of you,” he whispered.
His lips curled up a little. “Helped me to sleep a little each time I managed
it.
Hated not having you there.
Missed
not touching your hair each night before I went to sleep.”

“
I missed having you touching my
hair as well. It soothes me as much as you I think.” She took a deep breath and
kissed his cheek again. She shifted slightly so that she could
lay
on his bed with him, at his side. “There, so much
better. I’m not hurting you, am I?”

“
Never,” he said quickly.
Fintan
moved his arm so he could wrap it around her
shoulders. He released another deep breath and turned his head so his lips
brushed her forehead. “Better, so much better with you here.”

Adira
pressed another kiss to the side
of his neck. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him. “Bracken took care of me.
The poor man will likely sleep for the next week because I wouldn’t let him
rest too much.” She found herself yawning again. “I couldn’t rest, not with you
away from me.”

“
I will take him to task for that
later. He should have made sure you rested properly. You were not too hard on
him, were you?” he asked. He sounded exhausted but she knew he was unwilling to
rest now that she was there with him.

“
Not too hard. I think he might
have slept a few hours this last six days,” she said with a smile. “You should
rest, Fin. You need to rest and heal for me. I know you heal fairly quickly,
but for now you need to rest so that you can heal.”

“
Okay,” he whispered.
“As long as you promise to sleep as well.
If you haven’t
been resting as you should have been, then you require it.”
Fintan
moved slightly, just enough so that he could slip his hand into her hair. On a
breath he whispered, “Perfect.”

“
Perfect,” she agreed and closed
her eyes. “Good rest, husband,” she whispered and allowed herself to fall
asleep in the arms of the man she loved.

****

The next day was a bit of a
chore.
Mainly the process of getting
Fintan
home.
He wasn’t in the best of moods—understandably, of course—given his
condition. And she knew he was trying his best not to be short with her,
Bracken, or the others who assisted. He even apologized a few times, shocking
most of them silly. Thankfully they managed to get him home and into bed
without him following through on any of his threats of bodily harm to the men.
But it was a very close thing, to say the least.

By the time they got him to bed
he was sweating, shivering, and generally looking a lot worse than he had been
in the medical base. On the other hand, he did appear more relaxed. The
familiar surroundings probably helped a great deal with that. And the fact she
wasn’t ever far from his side.
Adira
felt a little
better once they were
back
home. She settled at
Fintan’s
side on the bed and held his hand. “Are you sure
that this was a good idea?” She put the back of her fingers to his cheek and
felt the heat of the fever that he was running. “You should have stayed in
medical.” Although, she had to be honest, she was happier having him home with
her.

“
Not secure enough. I feel better
with us here where we are safest. Besides, those beds are much too small for
one person let alone for two.” She had to agree with that, given she’d nearly
fallen off at some point during the night. And the nurses in medical had been
very displeased to find her in bed with him when they’d done their many rounds.

“
I know.” He had constantly been
waking to ensure that they were safe, his hands tightening on her time and time
again. “I think that the one nurse will also need counseling after you told her
that if she came in one more time you were going to kill her.” He had been a
little angry at being woken every half hour, not that she could blame him. “But
we’re home now, and we have the doors locked and barred. No one will bother us
until you are feeling up to getting out of here.” She had everything she might
need to make sure that he got better faster.

“
She deserved it. I don’t
understand how they expect anyone to recover when they keep waking them from
the rest they insist they need to have. If they wanted patients to heal they should
leave them be. Especially anyone that is military trained. The smallest noise
or movement wakes me up if I’m not expecting it. It’s a wonder I was able to
rest at all in that place.”

“
You did though, once they left us
alone. I think that you rested because I was there. Once your hand was in my
hair you were happy.” She had been as well. Those six days and five nights
without him touching her hair, petting her and soothing her, had been hell.
“Bracken did take me to get a new wardrobe. His sisters helped out as well.”

“
I figured he would,” he said
softly. He reached out to touch the skirt she was wearing. “This is new, one of
your purchases, I’m guessing. It’s very lovely and suits you,
Adira
. I can’t wait to see what else you got, especially if
you had Bracken’s sisters assisting you during your shopping venture.”

“
Yes. I did, however, have to tell
them several times that some of the items they wanted me to purchase weren’t
things you would appreciate me wearing outside of our home. Bracken had to come
to my aid a few times.” She laughed and added, “You should thank the poor man.
If not for him, I’m sure that all of the dresses would have been like my
wedding dress.”
With open or sheer backs and only scraps of
material against her breasts and pubic region.

Fintan
frowned slightly while still
running his fingers over the skirt. “I don’t mean to stifle you,
Adira
. If you’re comfortable wearing such things you should
have a few pieces in your wardrobe. I know I can be rigid about certain things,
and others I will not bend on, but your clothing is an expression of
who
you are and should reflect that inner self.”

“
No, heavens no,” she said
suddenly. “I don’t feel comfortable in the clothing that your people see as
perfectly acceptable for women. I prefer for the only person to see my backside
and all the other parts of me naked is you.” She knew that she didn’t fit into
the mold of the perfect
Craegin
woman, but she was
simply who she was.

Fin smiled. “I would have found a
way to survive your desire to wear such outfits if you’d wanted to, but I’m
very grateful you don’t want to. I’ll be a much happier male for you not going
out like that. And I’m sure all the other males will be happier since I won’t
be upset at them.
As much.”

“
Another
reason why the two of us will get along so well together.
I don’t care for everyone seeing
my bits, and you don’t like it either.” She leaned in and brushed her lips to
his again. “We fit. That’s what matters,” she assured him. “Oh, I did meet your
lieutenant colonel as well. Your first officer, whatever he’s called.” She had
been told several times what the actual ranking was, but honestly she had been
so worried about
Fintan
that the instruction went in
one ear and out the other, so to speak. “He had dinner with Bracken and I night
before last. He wants you to contact him when you are ready for company.”

“
I’m sure he will come by with a
number of the crew to make sure I’m actually alive. Despite all Bracken’s
assurances, they will want to see me with their own eyes. Mostly to assure
themselves they won’t
be having
to break in a new
commanding officer any time soon. I’ll have to send him a message and let him
know it will be a number of days before I’ll want any company. Besides my
little wife, that is.”

Adira
grinned, then pulled back and
looked up. “Okay, time for your medication, and please don’t give me an issue
with taking it? After your medication, we will get you cleaned up once more,
okay?” Once he was cleaned she would bandage his wounds that needed to be
redone so that he could continue to heal properly.