Sinful [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Instead of waking up to the cold embrace of death, I woke up to the warm soothing scent of chicken broth. It was a comforting scent, combined with something that smelled like chamomile tea, and the warm softness of my blankets tucked around me snugly.

I didn't want to wake up. This feeling was so nice... But then it became confusing. The scent of soup and tea were far too near to be made down in the kitchen. If anything, it felt like it was right in front of me and that split second of alarm charged through me, my eyes flickering open.

Sure enough, sitting just a foot in front of me was a silver tray with a bowl of steaming chicken broth and a tea cup filled with chamomile tea. A tall glass of water joined it and a couple slices of buttered toast. I stared at him, frozen in horror. What was that doing here? How did it get here?

Someone had moved all the shoes out of my way and the clothes that had hung over my head were pushed aside, leaving me open and exposed. Even worse, the light was on and the strength of it on my sensitive eyes burned to the point where my eyes were welling up. I quickly wedged myself back under the blankets and held my breath, hearing heavy foot falls moving for the closet. Each thump from a thick booted foot sent chills rocketing up my spine and I grabbed the dagger I kept hidden beneath my pillow, clenching the handle so tight in my fist that it hurt. I stopped breathing as the footsteps stopped just outside my closet entrance. My heart was beating violently against my chest, painfully, and my blood rushed like a hot lava flow in my veins. Panic and fear roared in my ears and it took everything I had not to leap out and take off running.

"Raven, are you awake?" It was Dev's voice. I let my breath out, my grip very slowly releasing the dagger, trembling as I withdrew my hand back to my chest. I didn't dare pull the blanket away from my head for fear of Dev seeing me so trembling and on the verge of a panic attack. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think of something else, but Dev's boots thumping their way toward me was distraction enough. I heard him kneeling down beside me on the floor, fiddling with something on the tray, then a quiet thump that indicated he'd seated himself beside me.

Humiliation welled up inside me so fiercely that I couldn't speak.

What was he doing here? Why did he just barge into my room like this? Didn't he respect my privacy?

"I got you some soup from the kitchen," Dev said quietly, making me flinch at the nearness of his voice, "And some tea." I didn't answer. I didn't trust myself to speak. I also didn't pull the blankets back. I was still far too embarrassed at being caught sleeping in my closet surrounded by clothes and shoes to even think about looking at Dev. And he seemed to pick up on it.

"You know, I have a hundred questions pertaining to why you'd choose to sleep on the hard floor compared to your luxurious custom-made bed... But I'm not going to ask. I just want you to feel better, Rave. Come on out and just eat something. Lucifer said you were really sick. I'm worried about you." He murmured. I chewed at my bottom lip, debating whether to just come out and face the music, or continue hiding until he left, but I'd already hurt his feelings enough as it is. I reluctantly, pushed the blankets back, propping myself up on my elbow. I avoided Dev's eyes as I reached a trembling hand out to the bowl, pulling it closer so I wouldn't have to sit up.

I still felt stuffy and achy, sick to my stomach, but with nothing there to vomit, I settled on just eating slowly. I drew the spoon to my lips, blew gently across the steamy liquid before sipping it. It was warm and soothing to my throat and to my stomach. I felt my nausea fade almost instantly. I ate a little more, trying to ignore the way Dev just stared at me intensely. It was making me nervous.

"Stop looking at me." I said at last.

"Sorry," Dev said honestly, "I'm just trying to wrap my head around the fact that you're an angel." My throat constricted and I choked on my soup, making Dev curse and take the bowl from me. He bumped his hand against my back before I managed to swallow again and slump down in my make-shift bed, cringing.