In-Between Work and Play (The Jocelyn Frost Series Book 1) (24 page)

Jocelyn

Aches and pains
spread through my muscles.  I wanted to move, but my limbs felt like they
weighed a million tons.  A thick fog clouded my mind and I couldn’t force my
eyes to open.  Why was my alarm going off?  Wasn’t it programmed to sound like
a rainforest?  The obnoxious beeping was so annoying, I needed to turn that
damn thing off.

Ugh!  Would that
thing shut up already?  I wished my mom would turn it off.  But she was back on
Earth and I was stuck here.  Alone.  I’m always freaking alone. 

Come on eyes,
open already! 

Taking a deep
breath, a sweet, woodsy scent tingled through my being.  Dex. 

It all came back
to me in one gut-wrenching surge.  My heart pounded so hard, it felt like it
was going to break my chest open.

“You’re okay,
Jocelyn.  You’re safe.” My arm was lifted while my hand rested in someone
else’s.  The sweet, woodsy scent grew stronger.

My heavy eyelids
finally cooperated.  Translucent, green eyes stared down at me.   A hopeful
smile crossed his lips.  I wanted to reach up and caress the stubble on his
face. 

“Hey.” Dex
kissed the back of my hand before pressing it towards his heart.

I tried to
respond, but my mouth refused to obey.

The back of his
fingertips gently caressed my cheek.  “You need to rest.  Between your neck
wound and the loss of blood, the healers want you to stay here for a few more
days.” 

The lure of
sleep pulled me down into its depths once again.  As much as I fought it, I
couldn’t resist.

Instead of
closing my eyes and waking up, as if no time passed at all, I experienced the
opposite effect. 

Most of my
dreams were normally as clear as trying to watch a television at the bottom of
a swimming pool.  Some details stuck, but most of the time, they were vague and
muted.

This dream was
different.  I found myself standing in the middle of a field. Shadowy shapes
dotted the landscape.  They were too dark and blurry to make out. 

A chill crawled
up my back.  I rubbed my arms, trying to generate some warmth, but it didn’t
help.  The familiar, coppery scent I learned to associate with blood was mixing
with thick smoke and sulfur as it filled the air around me.   My eyes watered
and a wave of nausea churned my stomach.

Dark clouds
highlighted by florescent flashes of light filled the sky. Thunder exploded all
around me.  It hit my ears as a torrent of freezing rain sprinted across the
open valley. In the distance, broken glass towers trembled.  There was nowhere
to run for cover.  A storm was coming, and I was caught in the middle of it.

My eyes
fluttered open and a cold sweat bathed my skin. I was back in the infirmary. 
My pupils adjusted quickly to the dim light coming from the screens that
monitored my vitals.

Moving became a
bit easier than before, but I was still feeling weak and definitely stiff. 
Sandpaper replaced my tongue.  I searched the sides of the bed for several
minutes until I finally found the control panel. 

Surprisingly,
after I flicked on the lights, I found I wasn’t alone.  In the corner, Dex was
slouched over, fast asleep, on one of the accent chairs. 

My heart
instantly melted.  This man cared about me, and maybe even loved me.  We may
not have known each other long, but a bond was formed between us that I longed
to have for as far back as I could remember.  My powers be damned!  Even if
they influenced him, I intended to make sure we found a way to make us work.

It took a few
minutes, but I managed to tentatively sit on the edge of the bed.  After
removing several medical things from my person, I planted my feet on the
floor.  My head spun as soon as I tried to stand, and my ass plopped back down
on the bed until the world leveled out.

I went to roll
my ring between my thumb and finger, and almost stopped myself.  Carmine’s
master took it.  A sense of loss washed over me.  Placing my fingertips where
it normally hung, surprisingly I found it there.  Somehow, in all of the chaos,
he must have either dropped it, or deliberately left it behind to be used later
in their spell.

Focusing on Dex,
I attempted to stand again.  A smaller wave hit my head, but I could wade
through that one.  Bracing the wall, I slowly made my way toward his chair.  
Every few steps, I had to stop just to catch my breath.  My heart pounded
wildly, and my knees shook, but it was worth it.

I slid onto his
lap.  Resting my head on his chest, I felt his heart speeding up as he awoke.

His arm wrapped
around me. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“Cuddling…” I
swallowed, trying to clear my voice.  “Cuddling with you.”

His fingers
stroked my cheek as our eyes locked. “You need your rest.”

“So do you.” My
eyes closed as our mouths magnetically joined.  So what if my lips were dry as
a desert?  They weren’t for long.  Clinging to him, I felt the bone-aching
weakness melt away. Once our kiss came to an end, our foreheads stayed pressed
together.

“AHEM!” The main
overhead light turned on.  “What do you think you’re doing?”

Speechless, I
clung to Dex. 

“Exactly!  Shame
on the both of you!”  The healer, a stout, three-and-a-half foot gnome,
scurried into the room. 

Before I could
protest, Dex lifted me in the air and carried me back to the bed.  “I feel
fine, really.”

The gnome gave
me a pointed look. “I’m an empath, dearie. I know exactly what you are
feeling.”

“The healer is right,
Joce.”  Dex stuffed his hands into his slacks, casting his eyes to the floor.

She pointed a
wrinkled finger at him. “I know what you’re trying to do, young man. You’re not
fooling me.  The second I leave, you will go back to smooching.”  Turning that
gnarled, pointing finger toward the chair, she said, “Sit while I decide if I
need to have you removed from the infirmary.” Turning her attention away from
him, her eyes scanned me from head to toe.  “Lay back while I check your
injuries.”

Embarrassed, I
did as I was told.  The gnome placed her hands over my feet.  I thought that
was strange since my throat was slit open, not my feet.

Her eyes closed
while she slowly made her way up my body, muttering the entire time.  First,
she cursed the human doctors that fixed a slightly torn ACL injury I got in
middle school.  I thought that injury was corrected when I got drafted, but
obviously, some traces were still present. 

Pausing over my
abdomen, she muttered something about being too fertile for my own good.  When
her hands reached my throat, she nodded with a smirk, and commented that I was
lucky a healer got to me so fast.  Instead of stopping there, she continued up
my face to my eyes, and then my scalp and ears.

“What’s the
verdict?” Dex asked from his chair.

“Hush you!”  She
swatted at him as if he were a bug.  “Get out.  I need to talk to her alone.”

Anxiety clenched
my heart as I watched Dex stand. 

“Do you want me
to leave, Joce?”

Shaking my head,
I said. “No, he can stay.”

Raising an
arched eyebrow, the gnome shrugged. “Suit yourself, dearie.  Your throat has
healed nicely.  There should be no traces of a scar or tissue damage.”  Her
lips pursed.   I sensed that she wanted to say something else, but chose not
to.

Relief filled my
chest anyway. “How much longer do I need to stay here?”

“Just as long as
long as it takes me to fill out the paperwork.” She gave both of us a piercing
look.  “If I sense any more lustful emotions coming from this room, I will have
him instantly removed from the premises.”  Her attention turned back toward me.
“You came very close to bleeding out. When you were admitted, you were
practically sailing to Helheim.  Unfortunately, there were no available siblings
registered in the BCW records that we could call in for an emergency
transfusion.”

My brows knitted
together. “What about my quarterly blood donation?”

“I do not know
all of the details, but it was apparently purchased last Friday.”

“Purchased?  I
thought they gave it out to the vampires for free.”

“Not always.”
Dex piped in. “Most vampires don’t care about where or from whom their meals
come.  However, there are a few individuals who prefer a particular species,
blood type, or person.  Those vampires are willing to pay extra to appease
their appetites.”

A chill crept up
my spine.  Why would a vampire want to drink my blood?  “Do you think that
Carmine intended to use my blood for his ritual?”

“I… I don’t
know.”

The gnome
cleared her throat. “As much as I’d love to hear you two speculating about who
acquired her donations, I do not have all night to chat.”  She waited for us to
object, but when we didn’t, she continued. “There are currently no children of
the healing Watchers working here at this time.  Hence, we had to make do by
spelling your blood cells to reproduce faster than normal.  The new cells are
weak and not strong enough to reproduce on their own.  As your normal cells go
through mitosis, the weakly spelled cells will be absorbed back into your body.

“Now, as the
healer on call, I highly recommend that you avoid all strenuous activities for
at least three months.” She gave Dex a sharp look. “That includes
intercourse.”  Her soft brown eyes turned back toward me.  “Your body cannot
handle carrying a child, never mind, two to five, like your species is known to
produce at one time.”

 “We’ll be
good,” Dex promised.

The gnome gave
us one last look before leaving.

Dex settled on
the bed next to me. Placing a hand on my thigh, he gave me a sly smile.  I
rolled my eyes before peeling his hand off my leg.  “You’re too much.”

“Says the woman
seeking contraceptive spells.” His grin stayed on his face. 

I didn’t want to
ruin the moment, but there were some things that still nudged the back of my
mind.  “So, tell me Dex, what happened after I passed out?”

“You mean after
you almost died?”

I sighed. “Yes,
after I almost took a one way trip to Helheim.”

“Not Helheim;
it’s too bleak for you.  You would have gone to the Fields of Aaru.” 

“I’m not going
to comment.  I don’t want to get on Hel’s bad side, if you know what I mean.” 
I returned his grin.  Spending my afterlife with a bunch of dead Egyptians in
their version of paradise sounded nice.  Way better than spending eternity in
the rolling hills of fog and mist of Helheim.

He shrugged.
“That’s beside the point, right?  Anyway, it went down pretty much the way you
would expect.  The fire was extinguished.  Luckily, I had the foresight to
spell the house against fires.  Only the drapes and a few pieces of furniture
were burnt.  You were rushed to the infirmary, and the rest of our friends
followed.”

“For the love of
Odin, I forgot about the others.  Are Finley, Hamish, and Gwen okay?”  Guilt
tainted my recovery, reminding me to stop being so selfish.

“Finley is
fine.  He stayed overnight.  Hamish,” he paused, “was a bit more mentally
traumatized by what he witnessed.  Those two fuckers were in our house for two
days.  He told me they performed all sorts of strange sacrifices.”

Chewing on my
lip, I asked, “What about Gwen?”

“She’s about the
same as Hamish. I don’t think you should be her therapist anymore, since you
were connected to what happened to her.”

I rubbed the
bridge of my nose. “I think I’ll let her decide that.  I know she was looking
out for me, and that’s how she got caught up in what they were doing.”

“I think you’d
be better off just being her friend.  Think about it, okay?”

Resting my head
on his shoulder, I barely let the silence last for a few moments before another
question popped into my mind.  “What happened to Carmine and his master?”

“The master got
away.  Dot told me that he ran out the back door. As for Carmine, he’s dead. 
Apparently, he was never actually a light elf.”