He grinned at the note of disgruntlement in her voice.
“And don’t get out on your own, call one of us.”
“I can do it.”
“Vivi, call one of us. You can’t get out alone with your foot as it is.” Caleb made sure his voice was calm but firm. He wouldn’t be disobeyed in this.
“Fine,” she snapped.
“She’s cranky, she needs food and sleep,” Wolfe commented.
“I am not cranky!” she yelled.
“See, cranky,” Wolfe said. But he whispered this time. He was learning.
“I’m going to go take a quick shower,” Caleb told him. “Good luck.”
21
Cranky.
She’d give him cranky.
She’d go all cranky on his ass.
You’re an idiot.
She glanced down at the dirty bathwater with a grimace. She’d gotten Aleki to grab a razor before he’d helped her into the bath. It was easier, somehow, to be naked around him. Maybe because they’d had a relationship in the past.
Or maybe because he wasn’t as intense as Wolfe. Or so perfect like Caleb. She knew he wasn’t actually perfect, but he was always so confident and put-together. And she felt anything but.
Aleki had taken her on a quick tour as the enormous bathtub was filling. There were four bedrooms all with attached bathrooms and a huge open-plan kitchen, dining, and living area. She’d imagined something far simpler and smaller but this was a proper house.
She reached for the plug, hoping they wouldn’t hear the water going down the drain. She’d need to somehow wipe down the bathtub. As the water drained down, she tried to figure out the best way of getting out.
It would help if her limbs didn’t feel like limp noodles. Rolling over onto her hands and knees, she braced her hands on the side of the tub then tried to get her good foot under her.
This was pathetic.
Finally, she managed to get her foot underneath her and was just pushing up when her foot slipped. She slammed into the bath, her knee cracking against the porcelain. She let out a cry of pain.
The door slammed open. “What is it? What happened? What are you doing?”
As she breathed through the pain, trying hard not to let the tears in her eyes slip free, Wolfe grabbed her around the waist, lifting her.
“Where are you hurt?” he asked urgently.
“It’s just my right knee. Knocked it when I slipped getting out of the bath.”
He set her down on the cool, marble countertop then crouched to look at her right knee.
“It’s red,” he said in an accusing voice. “You hurt yourself.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“You tried to get out of the bath on your own.”
Okay, that was kind of a good point. But she wasn’t conceding.