Page 12 of Becoming Super

And we were back to Human.

“Water?” I managed to get out and he nodded, grabbing a cup beside the bed. My arms felt like they weighed a million pounds and I couldn’t lift them.

Thankfully, Axel lifted my head and brought the sweet goodness to my lips. It tasted better than any wine or drink that I had ever tasted.

“Thank you,” I managed and turned my head away.

His concerned face came back into view, “You need to rest, Human. The elders are working on healing you, but they need time.”

Axel went to stand, and I whimpered in pain. Immediately he was back at my side.

“Stay,” the word wasn’t more than a whisper, but I knew he heard me.

Regardless of the pain, I forced myself to try and reach for him.

He blew out a slow breath, “Okay.”

The moment he sat beside me and placed his hand on mine I felt better. But I knew that if he would just hold me I would find rest.

“More, please.”

Axel looked ready to pull his hair out. I was in too much pain to register that I was begging the man to lie beside me. I didn’t give a fuck about our little personality battle at the moment. All I knew was that he had what I needed.

Gently, Axel picked me up and laid himself down beside me, cradling my head against his chest. The same frisson of awareness that always sparked through the connection we had was there. But this time I also felt warmth and peace.

My eyelids began to droop, but I was terrified he would leave me there. Somehow, I worried that if he did I wouldn’t be waking up again.

“Stay,” I rasped, “Please, Axel, stay.”

He didn’t say anything for a long while, and as I slipped away I thought I heard him murmur my name once again.

I wasn’t sure how long I slept in his arms but when I awakened again I felt immeasurably better.

“Are you going to live, Human?”

His voice was rumbly, and I could tell he had been sleeping. It was oddly endearing.

“I couldn’t leave you, big guy. Who would you throw around during practice?”

He muttered something about the intelligence of humans, but I didn’t care. His arms were still wrapped around me and our legs were tangled together.

“What happened?” I asked, tucking my face into his neck.

He shuddered. “You tried to leave through the force field. You are lucky to be alive.”

“Forcefield, shit, Axel, that should be marked!”

His chin rested on my head and I could feel his hand gently stroking my back.

“Something like, DO NOT EXIT, HIGH POWER?”

I made a face that I was grateful he couldn’t see.

“I thought that was like the doors at the mall that say an alarm will sound; but it never does.”

“Human,” he seemed to be considering his words, “We don’t place signs about for no reason. It is safe to say that whatever we label will do precisely what it says.”

I thought about that and enjoyed the feeling of his hand on my back and our legs tangled together. The blanket was wedged between us somewhat, so I didn’t know if Vlad the Impaler had woken up or not. But the longer he rubbed my back the warmer I felt in my lady bits.

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