“Fine,” I groaned and nuzzled my face further into his chest, feeling like I could never be close enough to him. “But I still have so much to tell you.”
“I can’t wait to hear it all, but for now, sleep,” Viktor laughed. “Sleep tight and have sweet dreams. I hope for your sake that your headache isn’t too bad in the morning, but I’ll be here to look after you. Always.”
CHAPTER FIVE
The first thing I did in the morning was slap the palm of my hand over my mouth in a desperate but poor attempt to stop myself from throwing up.
“Astrid?” Viktor called out to me in a groggy voice, but I couldn’t answer him with a mouthful of bile.
Throwing off the blanket, I rushed out of bed and headed for the door. Before I could make it, Viktor curled an arm around my waist, forced me to sit on the edge of the bed and held up a bucket.
My throat burned as I emptied the contents of my stomach into the bucket, including the liquid poison I had unknowingly consumed yesterday.
“Viktor,” I groaned, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “Please leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere, my siren,” Viktor murmured from behind me, holding the bucket with one hand and my hair at the base of my neck with the other, keeping it out of the crossfire.
“I don’t want you to see me like this.” I pushed my face further into the bucket when my stomach lurched again.
I would have never accepted the drink if I knew it was spiked.
“We’re married, Astrid,” he whispered, smoothing a hand down my back–calming me. “That means we’re there for each other in good timesandbad.”
“But this is embarrassing,” I whined.
“That’s what you’ll be saying when you see me drunk,” he chuckled but was quick to quieten down when I heaved and threw up some more.
When my stomach finally felt settled, I pushed the bucket away.
“I think I’m done,” I exhaled deeply. My throat still burned, but my stomach didn’t feel like it would turn inside out anymore, so that was something.
When Viktor handed me a napkin and removed the sick bucket, I thanked him.
“You don’t have to thank me for anything, Astrid,” he whispered, kissing my cheek. “I’m just fulfilling my duties as a husband. Now, get back into bed. You need to rest.”
I allowed Viktor to push me back and cover me with the blanket, tucking me into bed like a child.
“Where are you going?” I asked, watching as he moved toward the door.
“I’m going to get rid of this and bring back something to settle your stomach,” he said, slipping out of the room.
My eyes closed briefly. I didn’t know how long had passed since I opened them again, but when I turned my head, I saw they had landed on a very concerned Viktor.
“How do you feel?”
“Not great,” I frowned and turned to snuggle into his side, craving his warmth. My husband threw his arm over my body and pulled me closer, curling his body around mine. “How long was I asleep?”
“No longer than ten minutes. You were asleep when I returned.” He reached for something behind him. “You need to sit up and get this down you, my siren.”
“What is it?” I asked, staring at the glass of clear liquid he held up for me. “Water?”
“No.” Viktor shook his head and helped me sit up. “It’s Garth’s special hangover cure. Drink it and take a nap. I guarantee it’ll make you feel as good as new when you wake up.”
Desperate to rid myself of the pounding headache that felt like it was splitting my skull in two, I gulped down the drink quickly.
Viktor laughed. “Pace yourself, my siren.”
Taking heed of his words, I sipped the rest of the concoction and let him take the glass from me when I finished it.