Page 29 of Bargain with the Irish Devil

“Go away, asshole.”

“Dec, I’m not trying to open the door.” Is all I hear whispered from the other side of the door.

I’m just glad he’s not because I forgot to lock it.

Another minute goes by before he goes back downstairs. The second I’m sure he won’t hear, I get up and lock the door. Then I lay back down in bed and try to go back to sleep.

The next time I open my eyes, Declan is in my room. Sitting in the chair in the corner watching me.

“Feeling better?”

“How the hell did you get in here?—”

He sighs. “I brought you your favorite order from the Chinese place you order from often enough, around the same week of the month that I figured it was something you let yourself have around now to get through it. Aoife told me she left you a pain pill in the kitchen. Perhaps you should have those before you continue screeching at me.”

“Screeching?” I screech at him, refusing to consider him caring enough to look through my bank statements and make the connection. Because it’s creepy as fuck that he’s going through my bank statements—not sweet. Except it is kind of sweet, and I don’t want to think of him as sweet.

Another sigh.

“I want to go home.” His face turns to stone. Before he can tell me no, I stand firm. “I need to go home. There’s stuff at home that makes me feel better. She got the wrong tampons. They didn’t have the pure cotton I wanted. I want to go home.”

Air comes out of him slowly. “After you’ve eaten and taken half the pain pill.”

Rolling my eyes, I get out of bed. Except I can’t stand up straight. All I want to do is curl back up into a ball.

“Fucking hell.” He mutters. I blink, and he’s got me up in his arms.

Putting me back on the bed. A hand goes to my forehead. “You’ll stay here. I’ll be right back with the pain pill and the food.”

“I hate you.”

Eyes a stormy ocean, he nods. “I know.” The words are soft. “Don’t move.” Is a command I don’t even consider going against and allow my head to fall back onto my pillow.

He brings me the pepper steak with a side of white rice, the way I love. Then sets the pill on the bedside table. “Take a few bites of food before you take the pill.”

I want to argue, but my mouth is watering from the smell, and I don’t bother. After a few bites, I use the sparkling water to take the pill.

It’s unnerving the way Declan doesn’t say a word, simply watches me.

I’m finally feeling human and capable of dealing with Declan. “What?”

That eyebrow. “How do you have so much time off banked? Why aren’t you using it monthly? I couldn’t imagine dealing with commuting, let alone being able to focus on numbers, if this is what you have to deal with every month.”

I shrug. “It’s not a big deal. You just have to keep going. It’s what a woman has to go through. So you just do it.”

“That’s not normal. You need to see a doctor.”

“Shows what you know. I did see a doctor about it. She suggested I go on birth control to help. I was on it for about six months. It helped a little, I mean, it made a difference, but I also gained weight and got a little depressed. In the end, it wasn’t worth it for me.”

“A little depressed. Unless you were close to suicidal, you should have stayed on it. If it was for your health, that mattered more than a few pounds.”

“For your information, it was fifteen pounds. So it was a difference enough for me. And it’s not like I need it to keep from getting knocked up or anything.” The air shifts, except I don’t understand why.

Another sigh. “I just don’t like seeing you in pain. Do you still want to go home to get something?”

I’m firm. “Yes.”

“All right. I’ll be downstairs.”

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