Page 29 of Sebastian

Damien carded his fingers through his hair and sighed. “I’ll be downstairs in the office getting started with this. From now on, the only thing you’re doing is recovering. Newt, make sure he stays here and actually rests.”

Newt saluted like a soldier accepting marching orders. “Yes, sir!”

I sighed. With the two of them working together, I’d never get away with anything ever again.

After giving me one last pointed look, Damien headed for the office.

The door to the apartment closed behind him, leaving Newt and I alone. I leaned my head back against the couch, letting the exhaustion of the last few days pull my eyelids closed. Beside me, I felt Newt get up, but I didn’t bother to look at what he was doing. Everything confidential concerning our cases was kept in the office downstairs, so he couldn’t get into any trouble.

A few minutes later, Newt tapped me on the shoulder and held out a mug in front of my face. Just from the aroma, I could tell it was filled with my favorite tea. I took the mug, wrapping my fingers around its warmth.

“Thanks. How’d you know Oolong was my favorite?”

Newt rocked back on his heels with his hands clasped behind his back. “There were only two kinds of tea in your kitchen. I noticed Damien drinking Earl Gray in the hospital cafeteria, so I figured the Oolong had to be yours.”

There wasn’t enough sugar, but I drank the tea eagerly. Everything at the hospital tasted the same. I asked for coffee once and the drink I got was somehow burnt and under-brewed at the same time.

Once I had my tea, Newt headed for the door. At first, I thought he was leaving, but instead he just hung his high-vis jacket on the coat rack.

“You don’t have to stick around,” I said when I realized he had no intention of leaving any time soon. “I’ll be fine.”

Newt sat beside me again, looking at something on his phone. “I’m not going anywhere. You can barely walk right now. There’s nothing wrong with needing help when you’re injured. I don’t mind... oh.”

I set aside my empty mug, placing it on the floor since there was no table in the small space. “Oh?”

In an odd show of annoyance, Newt glared at the mug as if it had insulted his family lineage. “Oolong has caffeine.”

“All right. And...”

“Caffeine hinders bone growth. You shouldn’t have that.”

“I’m sure one time won’t hurt.” I ran my hand through my hair and scowled at the oily texture. “Besides, I’m going to need the energy to take a shower.”

Newt jumped up so quickly, one would think the couch had burned him. “No, you can’t do that. You can’t get your cast wet.”

“Well, I’m not staying like this.” I gestured at my disheveled state. “I feel gross.”

For a moment, Newt looked like he was going to argue but then a thoughtful look came over his face.

“Let me take a look at your bathroom.”

He disappeared, and I could hear him moving around in the other room muttering to himself. Then, a few moments later, he returned with a grin and a trash bag.

“All right. Here’s what we’ll do. Luckily, you have a bathtub. You can take a bath, so long as we prop your leg up out of the water and wrap the cast in this bag.”

It wasn’t ideal, but I would take what I could get so long as I was clean by the end of it.

Moving me from the couch to the bathroom turned out to be a trial worthy of Hercules. When I furnished the apartment, I’d been more concerned with getting everything I needed in one apartment, and less concerned with walking space. Mobility had never been an issue.

By the time I was sitting on the closed toilet lid next to the tub, I was already out of breath.

Newt made sure to lean my crutches against the wall within grabbing distance. “I’ll get the water ready. You get undressed.”

My breath immediately returned when Newt bent over the tub to inspect the faucet handles, and I was treated to a great view of his ass. I lingered for a moment, enjoying the sight, but turned my attention to the task of undressing before I could get too excited.

I was really liking this bossy side of him.

Removing my shirt and shoes was no problem, but my pants proved a bit more difficult. I needed to stand to get them off, but in order to stand, I needed to hold onto my crutch. The only option would be to balance solely on my good leg without the crutch so my hands would be free, but that seemed like a recipe for disaster.

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