I spent the next day curled into Lex's side. He had, despite my insistence that I wasn't sick, refused to go to work, choosing instead to spend the day with me. I felt guilty for pulling him away from his company, but I was also glad he was with me. I felt like death warmed over.
Lex read to me. We finished the Old Man and the Sea, and moved on to Rudyard Kipling's The White Seal. His voice lilted over the words, soft and sweet. Every so often, he would pause, and take my temperature, or force a few sips of water into me. I had a raging fever, and I couldn't stand shaking. The doctor Lex called reassured him it was nothing more than a common cold, but that didn't stop Lex fussing over me.
I didn't mind being fussed over. It was nice to have him to myself for a while, without competing with a laptop or ringing phone. I could have done without the sickly sweet cough syrup and the actual symptoms of the cold, though.
I was still in Lex's worn out white tshirt, but instead of my cardigan, I was swathed in a black fleece. My teeth still chattered despite it, and a fierce shiver wracked my body.
"Do you want another blanket?" Lex asked. "I can get another duvet from a guest room."
I shook my head, curling in closer to him, my head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and kissed the top of my head.
"You're much cuddlier when you're sick." He mused.
"I'm always cuddly. It's a character flaw." I said into the fabric of his shirt.
"I wouldn't say a flaw." Lex laughed. "And you are not always cuddly. Not to this extent, anyways."
I huffed, and coughed as the rush of air irritated my already raw throat. My chest muscles contracted, and I winced as a sharp pain shot through them.
I knew that pain-I had felt it before. It almost always meant trouble. I tried to mask my whimper of pain with another cough, but nothing got by Lex.
"Are you in pain?" He asked immediately, sitting up. I sat up too, nearly blacking out again as my ribs spasmed.
"No." I lied through my teeth.
Lex looked at me, and raised an eyebrow, waiting. I tried to hold my breath, not wanting to display my discomfort. As soon as I let it out, though, my chest felt as though it was being hit with a cement truck. I cried out, clutching my sternum.
"Ruth." Lex said, and I looked up at him sheepishly.
"It happens sometimes, when I'm sick. It's just muscle spasms." I half-lied. The truth was that the spasms happened almost solely when my heart was under strain.
"What helps it?" Lex asked, rubbing my back over the fleece.
"My mumma used to rub a muscle relaxant over them." I said, a squeak escaping my lips as they tightened again.
Lex kissed my head again, and disappeared into the bathroom. He reappeared a moment later, holding a small glass jar. He unscrewed the metal lid, and a pungent, spicy smell filled the air.
"What is it?" I looked at the red goo inside the jar.
"Tiger Balm. The only thing that ever worked for me. It's strong." Lex explained. "Now, lay back. Tell me if I'm hurting you."
I lay back, staring at the white ceiling.
"Ruth, promise you'll tell me if I hurt you." Lex said again, insistent.
"I promise." I mumbled, and shivered as he lifted my shirt.
The balm felt like ice on my thin skin, burning as it sank in. Lex's long fingers massaged the knotted muscle. I squirmed as they found a particularly tender spot, hissing a breath.
He stopped right away, pressing the flat of his hand over the sore area.
"Alright?" He looked at me, eyes narrowed slightly. I nodded, relaxing as the balm began to work. It turned from ice cold to a strange, tingling hot sensation, the pain melting away. My cheeks began to heat up, and the shivers that had been plaguing relented as my internal temperature skyrocketed.
"I'm hot." I said. "Really hot."
Lex nodded, and helped me shed the fleece.
"Sweats and shivers. That's what the doctor said to expect."
I kicked away the blanket, my arms sticky with sweat, but it wasn't enough.
"Look away." I commanded, grabbing the hem of my shirt.
"Ruth." Lex laughed a little. "What's the point of looking away if you're staying shirtless?"
I scowled at him, and he rolled his eyes, but turned his head away.
The cool air was a relief on my flushed skin. I blew gently on my arms, enjoying the sensation of air moving across the bare skin.
When Lex turned around, my head skipped a beat, out of embarrassment and a little fear. His eyes were dark and wide as he watched me push away the constricting blankets. He didn't move for a long moment, and I was worried I had upset him in some way.
"Lex?" I asked unsurely, as he stared at me. My voice seemed to shake him out of his daze. "Are you okay?"
"No." His voice was hoarse. "Not with you like that, in my bed."
I bit my lip, then thought better of it. He was clenching his hands together now, and I reached over to loosen them.
"Lex." I repeated, softer this time. "Don't be upset."
He took my hand in his, and then in a flash, he had both of them above my head, pinned to the mattress. I lay beneath him, gasping at the movement.
"I'm not upset, baby girl." He growled. "I'm worried. About you, and what you're doing to me."
My body heat soared to a temperature it had never reached before, and I arched my back as a new wave of blood reached my face. My chest touched Lex's, and he removed one hand from my wrists, shifting them so they were still pinned under his left hand. He placed his right hand on my belly, his thumb hard on my sternum. I was sure he could feel my racing pulse.
"Be a good girl, Ruth. Stay still." He said.
"Why?" I managed to gasp out.
"Because I barely have control of myself, and you squirming underneath me is the last thing I need." He said, before kissing me, hard. For the first time, he tilted my head back and deepened the kiss. His hand on my stomach pressed down as I tried to move, keeping me immobile, and then slid to my lower back, pressing my hips up against his.
After mere moments, he pulled away, and drew my hand to his mouth, yet again marking my wrist. For a second I worried he would break the skin with his teeth, like a vampire.
I knew it would be the deepest mark he had given me yet, and the skin smarted a little when he pulled away.
"All mine." He murmured against my wrist. "Only mine. I don't share."
I blinked rapidly, and sat up. Lex pulled me over his lap, and I pulled my arm from his grip, loosely knotting my hands in his hair.
"Of course I'm yours, Lex. There's no question of that." I said to him. He pressed his forehead to mine, and smiled.
"Mm. I do know that. But it's even better to hear you say it." He said, and kissed my collarbone. "Now please, my love, put on a shirt. You are very distracting this way."
I giggled, and pulled myself upright. His closer was open, and I looked through until I found a large shirt. My skin, though still fiery, cooled as the cold shirt slid over my head.
"If only I could keep you like this, always." Lex said from the bed. "Although I may not ever get any work done if I knew you were in here, looking like that."
I blushed, and covered my face.
"Still so shy." Lex came up to me, his feet soundless on the plush carpet. "Still so easily embarrassed. Still so closed off."
I frowned a little.
"I'm not closed off." I protested. "And I'm not shy!"
Lex threw his head back and laughed loudly, before placing a finger under my chin and tilting my head up.
"You're the shyest girl I know. Most girls throw themselves at me, and yet you blush when I so much as unbutton my shirt." He mocked gently. "You just showed me the most skin I have ever seen you reveal, and that would be a club outfit for Gotham girls."
I stuck out my bottom lip, and he smiled, concealing a grin.
"Even your pout is sweet." He cooed.
"I'm not closed off, though. And I might be shy, but that's only because you're the first person I've ever...done this stuff with." I blushed again, and cursed myself for doing it.
"Ruth, there is something in your past that you won't even hint at revealing. That's closed off." He bent down and kissed me before I could protest. "I love that you are so pure. It's delayed gratification, little love."
I wrinkled my nose at delayed gratification, but didn't question it. He wasn't wrong, after all.
"Now. I think you need cough syrup, and then a nap."
"No cough syrup!" I yelped. "Please!"
Lex just rolled his eyes skyward, and laughed.
"Like a child." He said, and reached for the bottle on the night stand. "Sit. I'll pour it."
I sank into the bed, watching the pink fluid pour thickly into the medicine cup. Lex held it to me, but once he saw my expression, he retracted his arm.
"I will force it down your throat, Ruth. Don't try me." He warned, and handed it to me.
I held my nose and poured it down my throat, gagging at the taste.
"Good. Now, lay down." He pulled back the covers, and I slid under. Lex grabbed the thin book from the nightstand, and settled next to me.
"Sleep, if you can. It will help."