The Bounty

Five

The moon illuminated Alex’s exposed skin giving it a sort of glow. I watched his chest rise and fall in a fast tempo.
After he collapsed I had to drag him- for a second time today- to my apartment. When he was safely tucked in my bed I had to clear away all the things that had any relation to my job. I couldn’t risk him finding out about it.
It’s been a few hours and there was no change. His fever just kept building up.
I pressed my fingers to his forehead again. Still scalding hot. The ice bag I put on his head was already melted into a bag of room temperature water.
I refilled the bag and noticed that I was nearly out of ice. I would have to get more.
Alex was wearing a t shirt under his coat which I left on when I took off his coat and shoes before I put him in the bed. I set the ice aside and lifted his torso in an awkward sitting position. I held him with one hand and used the other one to pull his shirt up. It was almost impossible but in the end I managed to get his shirt off and threw it on the ground. His back and chest was soaking wet with sweat. Taking a wet towel from the nightstand I wiped his skin.
On the left side of his chest was a tattoo. It was symbol that I have never seen before with an x and a sword through it. On his arm was a military tattoo.
As I stared at the tattoo on his chest, I heard a soft murmur. It sounded like a name. I leaned closer with my ear almost against his mouth.
“Isobel.” It was a name. But who was Isobel? I felt a strangely jealous of the unknown girl.
“Alex?” I whispered but there was no reply.
Disappointed, I sat back in the chair and stared out the window as small soft snow flakes fell. It was so peaceful.
I reached for Alex’s hand and twined his long delicate fingers with mine. He must be a musician or a very skilled craftsman.
The quiet of the early morning and Alex’s rapid breathing lulled me to sleep and I felt my eyelids getting heavy.
***
I was awoken by Alex’s screams. He was kicking and punching in all directions. He called the name again and this time it was a loud scream filled with pain.
I made a mental note to ask him about Isobel when he wakes up.
I pressed my palms to his shoulders to hold him to the bed as I called his name. He still didn’t wake up. As I held him down I had to doge before he kicked or hit me which was easier said than done. My unearthly strength was useless with him. It appeared that he was just as strong- if not stronger- as I was.
I dodged his leg only a second to late and his knee made contact with my hip. His kick had me stumbling a few step backwards.
That’s enough, I decided and climbed on top of him with my knees on either sides of his legs. He stopped kicking and I used my hands to pin his arms in place. “Alex, wake up!” I screamed.
It seemed to be working but he hasn’t woken up yet.
I moved my face closer to his ear. “Alex,” I said softly. “Please wake up.”
I was just about to repeat my words when I caught his eyes out of the corner of my own. They were vivid blue and his thick black lashes were wet, making them look longer.
His face was still flushed so I knew that he still had a fever. “Lydia?” His voice was hoarse.
I realised that I was literally sitting on top of him and blushed. I jumped of and took the glass of water from the bedside table. The water was still ice cold and I pressed it to his mouth after I helped him up. He took a few small sips and fell backwards again.
“What happened?” His voice sounded better but it was still hoarse.
“We were on the roof and you collapsed. You have a really bad fever and it won’t break.”
I reached out and pressed my fingers to his forehead again. Suddenly his hand covered mine. I felt my heart skip a beat.
“That feels nice.” He whispered and a ghost of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
I moved closer and flattened my hand against his forehead under his hand. I cupped his cheek with my other and stared into his sapphire eyes.
After a few moments of silence his eyelids seemed to close again. In seconds he was asleep.
I checked my phone to see what the time was. It was still early but a lot of shops would be open by now so I gathered my coat and boots and some money. After a quick, worried glance to see if Alex is okay I left the apartment.
I have to be back before he wakes up or have another fit.
There was a small grocery store a few blocks away where I bought most of my groceries.
I wasn’t really interested in shopping so I quickly got what I needed and paid for it at the till. There was a clothing store near it so I decided to buy an extra pair of jeans and a new t shirt for Alex. I didn’t know his size so I had to guess and hope it would fit.
I hurried back home after the shopping.
When I opened the door to my apartment everything was quiet. The place still looked like a mess from the night Lucifer was killed so after checking on Alex and putting away the groceries I started cleaning up.
I still haven’t completely cleaned Lucifer’s blood out of the carped and as I did so the image of my mutilated cat came back to me. I had to compose myself before I started to cry.
I just finished cleaning the kitchen when I heard a scream from Alex. It was the same as the previous screaming fit, except this time he wasn’t kicking so much.
I put my hand softly against his cheek. “Alex, its fine. You are okay. Wake up.” He calmed down but he still wasn’t awake.
This time I decided to leave him to sleep after he calmed down, so I cleaned up the rest of the apartment.
When the place looked liveable again I refilled the ice which has already turned into hot water and left Alex to rest again. I had time for some coffee so I made some and drank it slowly while I read a Charles Dickens novel.
I only stopped reading because it got d ark and Alex didn’t even make a sound until now. I set the novel aside and checked on him.
Glassy blue eyes stared at the ceiling. He was finally awake.
When he noticed me I smiled and stepped closer to him. “I’m glad you’re finally awake.”
“Lydia? Where am I? What happened?” So he didn’t remember the few moment he was awake after his first fit?
“We were on the roof and you collapsed. You have a fever. You are in my apartment.” I took the glass of water from the bedside table and this time I didn’t have to hold him up, he pulled himself into a sitting position and took the glass from me. I still held on to it and helped him to drink.
After I put the glass back down I pressed my fingers to his forehead again. The fever seemed to be breaking! It was still very warm but not scalding hot like it was for the past twenty four hours.
He didn’t lie back down yet so I offered him the clothes I bought. “I bought you some clothes that I thought might fit you. Do you want to take a shower?”
He nodded and I helped him out of bed. You can just leave your clothes in the bathroom then I wash it later. He nodded again and closed the door behind him.
I started to take the sheets off the bed as I listened to the shower running. I threw the old sheets in the corner with his shirt and pulled new sheets over the bed.
Just as I was about to leave the room I heard the door opening. Alex was dressed in the new clothes. The jeans fit perfectly but the shirt was a little tight and I could see the muscles and the lines of his tattoos through the white fabric.
“Did you get any sleep?” He asked with a frown.
“Yeah, a little but mostly I’ve been too worried to sleep.” I admitted sheepishly.
“Well,” He said and sat down on the bed. “You should get some sleep now.
That was a good idea. “Okay. But I’m going to take a shower first.”
After I stepped out of the shower I got dressed in a light green long sleeved shirt and black jeans which complemented my legs.
When I opened the door Alex was already lying on the bed. He smiled when he saw me. Not a ghost smile, but a real one.
I lied down awkwardly next to him, making sure we didn’t accidentally touch. This was the first time I lied next to a guy in a bed. “How is you fever?”
He turned on his side to face me. “I am fine. Don’t worry about me. Just get some sleep, okay?”
I nodded and closed my eyes. Before I fell asleep I felt his fingertips brush the hair out of my face.
***
Bright sunlight shone through the blinds in my room. I felt refreshed when I opened my eyes.
Next to me, Alex was also fast asleep and there was a peaceful look on his face. I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.
Moving as quietly as I could, I left the room.
The apartment was too quiet without Lucifer here to wake me up. I felt a lump in my throat as I walked past the blood stained part of the carpet. You couldn’t even see much of the blood anymore but the image was imprinted in my mind.
Shaking my head a few times to clear it I walked faster to the kitchen. There was a small coffee maker in the corner of the kitchen so I started the coffee while I gathered things for breakfast.
“Now this is an amazing sight to wake up to in the mornings.” I jumped at Alex’s husky voice.
“I didn’t know you were awake. How are you feeling?” I looked down at my bear feet which were starting to turn purple from the cold. I knew my hair looked rumpled and messy. I felt self-conscious as I stepped closer to Alex.
There was a crooked smile on his lips when I touched his forehead to feel his temperature. It was still warm but the fever was definitely getting better.
Before I could pull my hand away his warm hand came up to cover mine. So he did remember that night?
“So are we even now?” He asked softly.
Puzzled, I nodded. He saved my life. I helped him recover from a really bad fever.
“Good so it is fair when I do this,” He leaned closer to me and brushed his warm lips lightly against mine. My heart rate sped up.
I was too shocked to kiss him back and when he pulled away I just stared at him.
Just then my phone started ringing which made me jump.
I answered quickly. It was Shaw.
I moved away so that Alex could not hear the conversation. “I have a new mission for you. Come to my office first thing tomorrow morning and we’ll discuss it.”
“Okay I’ll be there. Bye.” I hung up and walked back to the kitchen.
Alex was in front of the stove cooking something. It was pancakes by the smell of it. “I didn’t know you could cook.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” He flashed me a grin and went on with the pancakes.
“It appears so.” I muttered and took a seat at the breakfast bar.
“Okay how about this? You tell me something about you and I’ll tell you something about me?” He said and I admired the way his muscles moved under the tight shirt.
“Okay. I used to have a cat called… Lucifer.” It hurt to say his name out loud and I had to control my voice so no emotion would show.
“I was born in London and we moved around so much that I’ve seen most of England.” He flipped a pancake and caught it with the pan which made me laugh. My mom used to do that when she made pancakes.
“My favourite colour is red.” I said and reminded myself to stay away from difficult things.
“My favourite colour is green. But not any green; the colour of fresh summer grass.”
“I was an honour student in high school.”
“I was a lacrosse player in high school.”
Before I could say anything else he announced that breakfast was ready and on queue my stomach growled loudly. I felt my face heating up. He definitively heard that!
“It’s a good thing I made pancakes. It’s quick and easy.” He said jokingly and put a plate of pancakes before me. He took the stool next to me and started devouring his own pancakes.
I took a small bite. It was really good and before long my plate was empty.
“My compliments to the chef.” I said and took our plates to the sink where I rinsed it. “There’s coffee too.”
He took a cup out of the cupboard and offered me some coffee which I declined so he just poured himself some. In my opinion there was more milk and sugar in his cup than coffee but that’s his decision.
I was just about to leave the kitchen when his words froze my body. “So about the kiss?” His voice was low and kind of sexy.
My heart rate sped up. I tried to act innocent and asked “What kiss?” In my defence there wasn’t really a kiss. Both were almost kisses.
He stepped closer and before I could do anything his mouth was on mine. His kiss was soft and warm and I could feel butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. He moved so his lips brushed the side of my mouth when he said “This kiss.”
My legs felt wobbly and I grabbed hold of his shoulders to hold myself up. He took that as an invitation and pressed his lips to mine again. This time I kissed him back as good as I knew how.
I felt his arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me closer. I felt his feverish skin through our clothing which warmed me up. With his arms around me and his lips on mine I felt like I could die any moment and I would have no complaint.
My hands moved on their own and I tangled my fingers with his shoulder length fair hair. He pressed his lips harder against mine and in that instant I felt strength gather in my muscles. My eyes burned and my mouth tasted like blood.
No! The monster. This can’t be happening.