Page 12 of Echos and Empires (After #3)

SIX

“No,” Emma barely bit out the groan as a fresh wave of nausea swirled through her, blurring her vision.

Despite sitting firmly on the edge of her bed, the room seemed to tilt around her and she squeezed her eyes shut, breathing shallowly through her nose.

These bouts of sickness were becoming more frequent, and in her mind, a little more intense.

Food poisoning wouldn’t last over a week or be so intermittent as to come and go, but she’d taken to eating so many new things she’d likely messed up her gut health the same way she had when she’d first started living underground almost four years ago.

A part of her knew she should tell someone she wasn’t feeling great, but she didn’t want to worry anyone. Bash had kept quiet, or she had to believe he had since no one had pounced on her to check in every few minutes.

People got sick, especially with the terrible air quality back on the mainland, but she couldn’t remember having a stomach bug since everything died. It was bizarre, but she’d take herself to the clinic when she felt she had no choice.

Footsteps approached, and she looked up to see Chris just as he entered the room, his brow furrowed with concern.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked softly, coming to stand in front of her.

His warm hand settled on her shoulder, steadying her.

“I’ve noticed you’re spending a lot of time in the room and your color is a bit off.

No offense.” The last bit was rushed as if he remembering it wasn’t smart to offend the woman he loved.

Emma forced a smile, not wanting to worry him. She would tell someone if it wasn’t better by next week.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just a little queasy is all. It’ll pass. Gut health and all that. I tried a new fruit last week. I guess it recalibrated everything and my body doesn’t agree with the choice.”

She shifted on the bed, attempting to sit up straighter, but another wave of nausea forced her to pause and take a deep breath.

Chris’s frown deepened as he knelt, getting eye level with her, his gaze probing hers.

“This has been going on for a while now, Emma. I’m worried about you.

” His set his fingers on her shoulders and his thumbs began to rub soothing circles.

“Maybe you should go check it at the clinic, just to be safe. Make us all feel better.”

“You all feel better?”

He nodded. “It’s kinda hard not to miss you’re not doing great when you’re in here and you’ve essentially slept alone for a bit.”

Emma looked away, warring with herself internally.

Emma’s heart clenched at the concern etched on Chris’s face.

She knew he was right, knew that she couldn’t afford to be reckless, not now.

But the other part recoiled at the thought of admitting something was wrong, of needing help, of disrupting their precarious sense of normalcy here.

After everything they’d been through, she just wanted things to be okay for once.

She’d already been through so much—survived so many horrors— that being sick seemed like the least of her problems.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” she insisted, reaching up to squeeze Chris’s hand. “If it doesn’t go away in a day or two, I promise I’ll get checked out, okay? I’ll even make sure it’s a day Alex works so he can be in the room.”

“I’m not that overprotective.” he chuckled, but didn’t stand up.

“Oh, aren’t you?”

He grinned. “Can you blame me? I failed to protect you from a kidnapping, a sexual assault, and a fucking explosion. My track record when I’m not close by isn’t so great.”

“Then I guess you have something to work on,” she winked as playfully as she could. She met his eyes, willing him to understand and not push the matter further.

Chris searched her face for a long moment before reluctantly nodding. “Alright,” he relented. “But you better not forget that promise. I’m holding you to it.”

“I won’t forget.” Emma smiled wanly and leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. “Thank you for worrying about me.”

She had always been the type to push through, to rely on her own strength and resilience to overcome any obstacle. The thought of surrendering control, of placing her fate in the hands of doctors and tests, made her stomach churn with unease.

What if they find something serious?

The mere idea sent a dizzying dread through her. She longed for the simplicity of the past, when a minor illness could be treated with rest and home remedies. But deep down, she knew that things were different now. The world had changed, and so had she.

This clearly wasn’t contagious, which is why she was more worried than she wanted to admit, and choosing to believe it was just something she ate, even this many days later. The alternative could be untreatable no matter how advanced the island community was.

A wave of queasiness rolled through her, and Emma knew her eyes rolled into her head for a moment as she blew out quick breaths to tamper the issue.

Emma took a deep breath, steeling herself. She lifted her head and met Chris’s concerned gaze with a determined one.

“Emma,” Chris nearly snarled. “That is not okay.”

“You know what? I’m more than fine, and I’m happy to show you just how much.”

Chris’s brow furrowed, confusion etched across his face. “What do you mean, Emma?”

She stood up from the bed, her movements fluid and purposeful. “I mean, I’m not just going to tell you I’m okay. I’m going to prove it to you.” Emma stepped closer to Chris, her hands coming to rest on his chest as she looked up at him through her lashes.

Chris’s heart raced beneath her touch, his worry for her clearly battling with the desire she ignited within him. “Em, I’m serious. I’m really worried about you.” His hands came up to grasp her wrists gently, his thumbs brushing over her pulse points.

“And I’m serious about showing you that I’m alright,” Emma countered, her voice low. She pressed her body against his, letting the heat of her skin press through the thin fabric of his undershirt. “Unless you don’t want me to?”

Chris swallowed hard, his resolve wavering in the face of her determination. “It’s not that I don’t want you to, it’s just...” He trailed off, his eyes searching hers.

Emma lifted a hand to cup his cheek and let her thumb trace the line of his jaw, moving slowly upward to the scar that she once found terrifying. “Chris, I love that you worry about me. But right now, I need you to trust me. Trust that I know my own body, and that if I say I’m okay, I mean it.”

He leaned into her touch, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment. When he opened them again, he could see they’d darkened with desire just by looking into her eyes. “Okay,” he said finally, his voice rough with emotion. “Show me, then. Prove to me that you’re really alright.”

Her lips twisted upward into a wicked smirk. “Gladly,” she purred, her hands already moving to the hem of his shirt. “Just remember, you asked for it.”

A guttural groan slipped past his lips as Emma’s deft fingers made quick work of his belt, the metal clinking softly in the charged silence between them.

Before he could reach out and tug at her clothing, she had his pants open and her hand past them to his skin, her touch quickly presing against his growing erection.

“Emma,” he gasped, his hips jerking involuntarily as she wrapped her fingers around his rapidly hardening length.

“Shh,” she hushed him, her lips brushing the shell of his ear as she began to stroke him with slow, deliberate movements.

“I told you, I’m going to show you just how fine I am.

And from the feel of things,” she gave him a gentle squeeze, eliciting a low groan from deep in his chest, “you’re still on board with the idea. ”

Chris’s mind reeled, torn between the overwhelming sensation of Emma’s touch and the lingering worry that had taken root in his gut. Her joking and riling him up was one thing, her actually doing something about it could make her feel a lot worse.

He knew he should put a stop to this, insist that she see a doctor before they went any further after witnessing her discomfort a moment ago. But as she continued to work him with her skillful hands, his resolve crumbled like sand beneath the relentless tide of his desire.

“Is this proof enough for you?” Emma whispered, her breath hot against his ear. “Or do you need more convincing?”

Chris’s answer came in the form of a growl as he grabbed her by the hips, spinning them both and walking her backward until her legs pressed against the mattress. “Oh, I definitely need more convincing,” he rumbled, his voice low and rough with want. “A lot more.”

With that, he gave her a gentle push, sending her tumbling back onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and sheets. He followed a second later, crawling up the length of her body until he was hovering over her, his eyes dark and intense as they met hers.

“You want to show me how fine you are?” he asked, his hand sliding down to the waistband of her pants. “Then let me see all of you. Every last inch.”

Chris tugged at Emma’s sweatpants and underwear, swiftly pulling them down and tossing them aside.

His hands skimmed over her smooth, bare legs as he settled between them, deliberately blowing a warm breath over her inner thigh.

It had been too long since he’d had her all to himself without the others vying for her attention.

Now, he was determined to savor every moment, to make his mark on her body and soul.

As his mouth found her center, Emma’s gasp was music to his ears. Her fingers threaded through his short hair, already aggressively tugging him closer to her body.