by K. L Hart
“I have spoken to Ms. Ellie and convinced her to stay at the home the other girls need her, we are taking you to our place to look after you, you need to be watched all the time for the next few days.” Rick says and I nod.
“Wait, Mr. Knightingale, you have the same name as the town?”
“We all do, we are from the founding families.”
“But... you know what explain later, just get me out of here, I hate hospitals.” I murmur. I fall back asleep before the nurse comes in to take the tube out of arm and Rick wakes me up gently.
“We can go now Railey. Do you want to get changed first?” I nod and he helps me off the bed, I have never felt so weak in my life. Rick helps me put some sweats on and pulls a hoodie over the gown, I try to walk but I stumble, he slides his arm under my knees and sweeps me up, my hands go behind his neck and I fall asleep again. I barely wake up when he gets in the car with me still on him and when we get to, I'm assuming their house, I just can't keep my eyes open at all.
The next time I wake up I'm laid in a bed and I'm curled into Ricks side who is sat up watching a quiet tv across the room.
“Hey, you feeling ok?” I nod my head and slowly sit up; I still feel weak and my body just isn't responding the way it should. “Here.” He hands me a bottle of water, “Doc said small sips,” I do as he says and take small sips but I soon feel tired again, I hand Rick the bottle and lay back down, he runs his hands through my hair which is surprisingly feels nice and I decide to work out how I'm even comfortable being vulnerable and in the same bed as this guy when I can stay awake long enough to do so.
I wake up again in the middle of the night, I feel Ricks hard body curled around mine and I have to pee so I wiggle out of his hold. I stand on shaky legs but I manage to stay upright and walk to the open door, Rick must have left the light on so I knew where to go. I smile at that thought and then shake it off when I realize what I'm doing. I go into the bathroom and shut the door, I pee and wash my hands before returning to bed. I lay down on my side but a big arm curls around my waist pulling me back into his hard chest, he has joggers on but no top so I can feel every single muscle through my tank. Who got me changed? You know what, I don’t even care right now, it's obvious he is taking care of me and right now I believe he's not going to hurt me so I relax a little more. I realize just before I fall back to sleep, I am not only comfortable in his arms but I kind of like it.
“She needs to wake up and have some milk, the doctor said so.” Olivers voice drifts over to me, waking me up.
“She is exhausted and needs to sleep!” Rick growls at him and I feel it under my head, I open my eyes to see that I am literally laying almost completely on top of him. I lift my head and slowly remove myself from him and he helps me sit up.
“It's fine Oliver, if the doctor said so then you have to wake me up.” I glare at Rick who looks pissed. Oliver brings me the milk and I take small sips, it's very watery and I scrunch my nose.
“It's skimmed, we have to start with this and build after we can get you to whole milk and you start feeling better, we move on to broth then soup and then small amounts of food” Oliver explains,
“So, I'm being weaned like a baby?” Oliver nods. It takes me a while but I finish the milk taking small sips only and then Oliver leaves again.
“Theres some fresh clothes over on the chair for you, if you want to get changed or have a shower or anything you can.” Rick says,
“Thanks, I'm going to attempt a shower.” I say, getting out of bed, I feel a lot stronger today but still not able to walk far. I grab the clothes and head into the bathroom, I decide not to lock the door just in case I have another fit or I fall, I will probably need help. I have the quickest shower ever and I see the packaged toothbrush on the counter so I brush my teeth too, my hair is dripping wet and I don’t have the energy to dry it so I manage to wrap it in a towel, get dressed and get back to the bed.
“Feel any better?” Rick asks,
“A bit, I'm just really tired again, that took more effort than it should.”
“Railey, you haven't eaten in what? Six days? You were passed out for four, of course you feel tired, your body is resetting and without food.” I yawn and get comfy against the headboard.
“It's been six days? Thanks for taking care of me, you didn’t have too.”
“Your one of us now, an honorary Knight, and we take care of each other.”
“But why, I'm nothing special, why have you decided me of all people should be in your group.”
“It's not a group, we are family and because you are just like us, and you fit, none of us fit anywhere else.” I try to figure out his words but I'm too tired so I start to fall asleep, sitting up, hair dripping wet in a towel. Rick picks me up gently and sits me in-between his legs, he undoes the towel and starts to softly dry my hair, I fall asleep while he does it.
It takes a few days but I'm finally on whole milk and I feel energized enough that I take a shower, dry my own hair and sit in bed and watch tv, Rick has only left my side to shower and eat and Tyler, Oliver and Harv have been checking in on me daily. Ricks in the shower so I put on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air as it always makes me laugh. Rick walks back in the room a while later his grey sweats on, shirtless, I basically drool, fuck me this guy is next level hot. He notices me staring and he smirks, I jolt my eyes back towards the tv.
“Railey, were you checking me out?” He teases but I do not look away from the tv again,
“Nope.”
“Yes, you were.” I shake my head, Rick climbs on the bed and over me so his face is a mere inch away from mine and I feel this spark of energy in my belly that flows through my veins making me feel very hot and very turned on, hormones, it has to be hormones they must all be messed up from being sick. Our gazes lock and we stare into each other's eyes for a long time before he breaks it to glance at my lips, I bite my bottom lip out of instinct, Rick runs his thumb over my lip stopping me from biting it before slowly bringing his lips down to mine. The kiss is slow and lazy, I kiss him back and soon his tongue begs for entrance, I allow it and his tongue meets mine, he deepens the kiss, making sure not to hurt me in my weakened state but soon the kiss becomes frenzied and we break apart panting. He tucks my hair behind my ear and his finger trails down my cheek, he smiles warmly before getting on his own side of the bed and watching tv with me. I can't concentrate on the show though, what was that kiss? And why did I like it? Better yet why do I want to do it again? I can't find an answer to those questions and they play on my mind for hours, in-between that and glancing at the guy who is frying my head, I miss at least four episodes.
Chapter Eleven
It's been just over a week since the kiss with Rick and I keep trying to figure out why I'm disappointed it hasn’t happened again, but I'm feeling so much better, I have started to eat soup and little bits of food, mainly yoghurts and Tyler thought it was funny to bring me baby food, but the apple puree is nice so I have had a few of them. We are all sat in their front room watching Iron man 2, I yawn and four sets of eyes look worried as they all land on me.
“Are you ok? Do you want to go to bed?” Rick asks,
“I'm fine, actually I feel better than I have in years, I'm just a bit tired, not sick tired but normal tired!” They all visibly relax and I can't explain how good it feels to not only have one person but four worry about my wellbeing, yes, it's annoying but I haven't had anyone care if I lived or died in nine years, I admit it's hard for me to accept they have no ulterior motive here but I think they have proven they haven’t I have been the most vulnerable I have been since hitting puberty and they genuinely took care of me and made me better.
“Good.” Tyler says,
“We were thinking, maybe we can take you away tomorrow, we have a beach house about an hour's drive from here, if you feel up to it?” Harv asks, I smile.
“Yeah, why not.” I reply,
“You sure it won't be too much?” Rick asks and I shake my head,
&nbs
p; “I'm good, stop worrying.” He nods but I see him glancing over to me every few minutes. I fall asleep by the end of the film and I wake slightly when Rick picks me up and carries me to his bed, I have spent so much time with him I recognize the feel of his arms and his smell, leather, grapefruit and cinnamon that’s what he smells like and its strangely addictive. He gently puts me in the bed and soon joins me after he takes his top off, he pulls the comforter over us and runs his hands through my hair as I lay on his chest. This is our new normal and Ive stopped second guessing it, if I move away from him in the night, he pulls me right back and if I'm honest I've never been more comfortable or felt so safe. I have no idea what I'm feeling about Rick but I know it's not good.
“You know I have to go back to the home soon?” I whisper into his chest and I feel the rumble as he chuckles.
“Do you want to?” He asks and I really don’t know if I do. I ignore the question not knowing how to answer that, just before I drift to sleep, I'm sure I hear him say “I want you to stay.”
“Come on Rick, if she needs more baby food, I’ll fucking pick some up!” Tyler shouts from the SUV we are all waiting in while Rick rummages through a bag to make sure I have my apple puree. He finally gives up and gets in the car shoving the bag on the floor.
“I can't find it; we are going to have to stop at a store on the way!” Rick says sound exasperated.
“Can I choose my own baby food; I wonder if they have blueberry flavor.” I say actually looking forward to having options.
“Sure thing, let's just get on the road.” Rick hand me his phone and its open on the music app, I scroll through and find a playlist I like and press play, Truth hurts by Lizzo blasts through the car speakers and I start singing along. Tyler and Rick give me amused looks, Oliver actually stops tapping to look slightly shocked and Harv chuckles.
“What?”
“Are you like happy, right now?” Tyler teases and I realize I think I am, that’s new. I shrug and carry-on singing, Harv joins in next to me and I swear to god, this feeling of uncaring fun is why we protect Emma, we all should be able to do this shit without having to be drowned with sadness, or scared, we shouldn’t have to lose our childhood.
An hour later and we are walking into the supermarket. I stock up on milk and different baby foods, I decide some ice cream can't hurt either and pick up some Ben and Jerry’s, it's basically milk anyway. After the boys find some snacks, we all get back in the car for the ten-minute drive to their beach house, it's so nice, it literally sits on the beach front and must have at least six bedrooms. I go to grab my bag from the trunk but it’s snatched from me by Tyler,
“No carrying anything, Rick will have a tantrum.” I chuckle but it's probably true. I follow the guys in and they all scatter to put their stuff in their rooms, I just stand in the hallway until, Rick comes back and leads me by the hand up the stairs and into his room.
“Do I not get my own room?”
“Do you want your own room.” He asks, I get embarrassed, ugh, fucking hormones. I shake my head slightly and look at my sneakers. Rick drops the bags to the floor and steps in close to me, he lifts my face so I look up at his with his finger under my chin. “I don’t want you to sleep anywhere but with me.” His eyes turn dark and stormy and then he leans in and brushes his lips against mine, I deepen the kiss when I wrap my arms around his neck. I end up practically climbing the guy and he lifts me easily; my legs go around his waist on instinct. We break apart when Tyler bangs on the door, Rick smiles as he pushes hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear.
“We’ll be down in a sec.” Rick shouts back to him, he kisses me again but this time its sweet and gentle, he puts me down and we unpack our stuff in relative silence. We join the others in the kitchen and Rick sits me on his lap, Oliver hands everyone their coffees and gives me an apologetic look when I get water. I put the water on the counter and steal Rick’s coffee and I glare at him when he goes to object. I have a few sips before I hand it back,
“Introduce things a little at a time, that was a little.” I state.
“You tell them.” Tyler teases.
“Do you feel up for going to the fun fair?” Rick asks and I nod. “If you get tired you promise you’ll tell me?” I nod again with a sweet smile and my fingers draw a cross over my heart.
I look around in excitement at everything going on. I pull Rick by his hand to the game stalls where you can win big bears like in the movies, I pick up the air rifle and I fail badly, Rick laughs and he has a go and hits every single little person. He lets me pick the prize and I choose the normal old-fashioned golden-brown teddy bear; he is fairly big but I manage to carry him with little effort. I make Rick fit his massive body in a bumper car and he looks furious when I bump him on purpose, I laugh because he looks like a giant stuffed in the little car.
“What now?” He asks after I help him out of the car,
“Shall we walk around and see what we can go on?” I suggest and he nods, he intertwines his fingers in mine and we stroll around the fun fair with my bear, going on rides and playing more games.
“You want a ride on the Ferris wheel?” he asks as we approach it,
“Will you fit?” I tease,
“Ha ha, come on.” We get in our carriage and we take in the twinkling lights of the town at night, which is beautiful from up here. I lean my head on Ricks shoulder and he wraps his arm around me.
“You getting tired?”
“I'm good.”
“Railey, you seem different lately, what's changed?”
“I don’t know, I think you guys make me feel safe, like safe enough to enjoy myself and not worry about all the dangers in the world.” I say truthfully.
“Was you not safe before?” I shake my head,
“No one has cared if I was safe since I was eight, having to protect yourself all the time on your own, kind of drains your soul.”
“I’ll always keep you safe, if you want me too.” I nod and he kisses my head.
We head back to the beach house not long after the Ferris room and head straight to the room, Rick goes in the shower and I just get changed into some Pajamas shorts and a tank and put a movie on. Rick appears in just a towel and I can't keep my gaze of his hard body. I decide to throw away all my inhibitions and I get off the bed and go over to him, I tip toe and pull his head to mine with my hand behind his head, his lips crash to mine in a hot, heavy and passionate kiss, he runs his hands down my sides and grabs the hem of my tanks and pulling it over my head, our kiss resumes and he picks me up and takes me to the bed laying me down. He kisses down my jaw and neck and it feels so good I hold back a moan, everywhere he touches feels like my skin is on fire and it's like nothing I have ever felt before. His thumb and fore finger play with my nipple and this time I do moan, he replaces them with his mouth a moment later and swaps between breasts. His fingers trace my skin as he drags it further and further down my body, he slips his hand under my shorts and I arch my back slightly when his finger circles my clit. He expertly plays with me alternating pushing fingers into me and playing with my clit until I'm moaning into his mouth as my orgasm hits. He breaks the kiss and stares at me for a second,
“I didn’t bring any condoms” he whispers,
“I'm covered and I'm clean.” I reply and he nods,
“Me too. Are you sure about this?” He asks, I bite my lip and nod and he doesn’t ask again, his lips find mine again briefly before he sits back and pulls my shorts off, he then takes his towel and throws it on the floor, and I swear to fucking god that thing is going to rip me in half. He is already hard and its curved up towards his stomach. He moves in-between my legs and bends over me, his arms taking all his weight and he kisses my neck, sending that fiery sensation up and down my skin. He positions himself while kissing me and I bend my legs to give him more room, he slowly pushes inside me and I gasp at the feel of him, it's that sweet line of pain and pleasure, but he takes his time so I can adjust and he doesn’t hurt me. My hands r
un through his hair and down his back as we kiss and I finally feel him sheath himself fully inside me, hitting that spot that most guys miss. He starts to move and I match his movements each and every time, moans escape from me unashamedly and my back arches, he never takes his lips of me, whether it's my chest, collarbone, lips or neck he is on me, caressing my body. I feel my orgasm building and my movements become harder as I race toward my release, he moans at the same time I do and my back arches when I fall over the edge and scream his name. My walls pulse around him as I come down and he finds his release with a grunt, he rests his head in my neck and we both stay there catching our breath for a minute. I had no idea sex could be like that, that I could like it so much. Rick slowly pulls out of me and kisses me sweetly again before climbing off the bed and heading to the bathroom, he comes back a moment later with a wash cloth and smiles as he wipes our juices from me. He throws it back in the bathroom and joins me on the bed, he wraps me in his arms pulling me onto his chest and kisses my head. The movie is still playing in the background but I just fall asleep and I have a feeling he did too.
Chapter Twelve
“I have to go out this morning, but Tylers going to hang with you if you're ok with that?”
“Yeah, that’s cool.” I say sipping on his coffee, I hand it back to him and Oliver pops his head in the Kitchen followed by Tyler who comes to sit next to me.
“Time to go.” Oliver says, Rick leans down and kisses me quickly before he turns and leaves with the other guys.
“What was that?” Tyler asks and I spin to face him,
“Erm...” I don’t really know how to respond.
“No fucking way! You're like a couple and shit?”
“No, well I don’t know, I don’t think so anyway.” I ramble,