Ruthless King

“I don’t think sugar is good for you when you’re ill.”

Who cared about what was good for her? She just wanted the feel of ice cream going down her throat, soothing the burn.

“Don’t make that face at me.”

“What face?”

“That face. The one that you think will get you whatever you want. It won’t.”

Hmm. She wasn’t so sure about that. She thought he was relenting.

He sighed. “Fine. I’ll get Gerald to pick up some ice cream.”

Jilly didn’t know who Gerald was, but to her, he was a god. She pushed at her covers. She had to pee.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “You need to stay in bed.”

“Need to get up,” she whispered.

“No. The doctor said you have to rest for at least forty-eight hours.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t get out of bed.”

“Actually, I think it’s exactly what that means.”

“Right. So how do you expect me to pee, then?” she asked.

“Oh. You need the bathroom?” he said stiffly.

“Yes, I need the bathroom. So, will you please let me get up? It’s getting rather urgent.” She pressed her thighs together.

To her shock, rather than giving her an uncomfortable look and moving away immediately, he stood and picked her up in his arms.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Carrying you to the bathroom.”

“I have the flu. I’m not an invalid. There’s nothing wrong with my legs.”

“You just fell over!”

“You scared me,” she stated right before she started coughing. By the time she stopped, tears were drifting down her cheeks and she could barely breathe.

Regent placed her on the counter and rubbed her back. “Breathe. Nice and slow.”

She shook her head. Breathing wasn’t important. Not when she was so close to wetting her pants.

“Toilet. Quick. Toilet.”

He lifted her down and placed her on the toilet. She groaned when she realized she was wearing pajama bottoms and he was still in the room.

“Leave!” She pointed at the door.

For a moment, he didn’t look like he was going.

“I’ll go. This time.”

If she wasn’t in such a bad way, she might have been alarmed by that. But all she wanted was him out.