Page 3 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

I woke up surrounded by blood.

The destruction of my precious property was, at first, overshadowed by the crippling cramps that had me curled into a ball. However, the pain I was pretty used to—although as the memory faded in between cycles, sometimes the reminder still took my breath away.

But the ruin of the thousand-thread-count baby pink sheets, which Titus had special ordered for me, made me wince.

“I hate being a girl,” I moaned into my pillow, thanking my lucky stars that I’d remembered to stock up on my womanly supplies in preparation for this inevitability.

Why would Mu decide on this form? There was nothing fun about this at all.

“Bianca,” Damen said as a knock echoed through the room.

The usual morning wake-up call caused a ripple of panic through me. I sat up, hugging the blanket, and stared at the closed door in terror.

“Are you awake?” he asked. “We’ll have to get going soon.”

“Yes!” I yelped, pulling the blankets to my chin. “It’s fine, don’t come in!”

There was a short pause before he said, “I wasn’t going to come in.” I could practically feel his scrutiny. “But why?”

What a liar—he came in every morning, all flamboyant and cheerful. There’d be no reason why today he’d chosen differently.

“No reason,” I replied, my voice too shaky. My answer wasn’t even convincing to me. “Just stay out.”

I could visualize the doubt passing over his freshly scrubbed, chiseled face. He’d frown ever so deeply, his eyes would glitter in suspicion, and he’d not be able to contain that nosy part of him that wanted to go:

“What’s ‘fine’?” he asked. “What’s going on?”

The doorknob turned, and my heart leaped into my throat.

“Don’t!” I jumped from the bed to stop him, but my feet were twisted in the sheets, and I tumbled to the floor, blankets and all.

I rolled over, trying to get up, but I only managed to trap myself further in a blanket burrito.

“What was that sound?”

I watched from my upside-down position as Damen, without so much as an official welcome, pushed open my bedroom door and strolled into the room like he owned the place.

Which he technically did, but that wasn’t the point.

The point was I was currently vulnerable and frumpy. And, of course, he’d look impeccable in his fancy suit and freshly groomed hair while I was a blood-covered, smothered mess on the floor.

“Bianca, you…" He surveyed the room once before finally focusing on me. His features softened, and his eyebrows rose curiously.

“What in the world are you doing, baby girl?” he asked, crouching in front of me. “If you wanted me to buy you a sleeping bag, you could have just asked. Are you planning another slumber party?”

“I don’t want a sleeping bag!” I snapped. It was probably an overreaction, but I couldn’t tell if he was joking—that too-bright smile, on top of everything else, made me irritable. “I’m stuck.”

Damen’s mirth faded, and he frowned at me, taking in my expression. Then, to my utmost horror, he slowly moved his attention to my bed, where the evidence I had momentarily forgotten lay.

Don’t look! I wanted to scream, but of course, my voice remained frozen in humiliation.

His brows drew together, and his frown deepened. I hoped that this was the part where he’d run away.

But he didn’t.

“Wait here,” he told me—as if I could go anywhere—then he got to his feet, brushed off his knees, and slipped from the room without another word.

I wanted to scream after him. Had he not noticed that I was trapped? But there was no use being annoyed with him. My energy was better spent twisting around on the floor, squirming for freedom.

I’d managed to roll onto my stomach by the time he returned, and I craned my face up, pressing my chin into the thick carpet as I watched him. He was carrying fresh sheets, two folded towels, and a few more things I couldn’t quite see from my current position.

He put the items into a pile on the floor and dropped to his knees beside me.

“Here,” he said, shoving a piece of chocolate into my mouth before I could even protest. Then, as I chewed the sweet in stunned silence, he helped me sit upright on my folded knees and untwisted the sheet holding me prisoner.

We stood, and he grabbed one of the large, fluffy towels and held it between us.

“Take off your clothes,” he commanded.

“But—” I looked toward the door of the in-suite bathroom. There was no reason why I couldn’t just go in there.

However, Damen didn’t appear to notice. “Throw your pajamas on the floor. I’ll take them to the laundry room.”

Damen was throwing me off, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. I’d woken up quite grouchy, but now I was only curious. No one had ever bothered trying to help me before during this lovely time, and despite it making no sense, I found myself obeying him without thinking.

I pulled my pajamas over my head and dropped them into a pile.

“Okay.” I was naked, but he’d still held the towel in the air between us.

Strangely enough, I wasn’t nervous at all.

This was ironic because there were plenty of moments in the past when I felt that he’d be the most likely to sneak a peek.

But there was something in his mannerisms that honestly made me think that being a pervert was the last thing on his mind.

He didn’t say anything as he wrapped the towel around me without looking away from my face, then, as he stopped in front of me once more, grabbed my wrist, turned my palm up between us, and dropped two white pills into my hand.

“What’s this?” I’d never seen these before.

“Pain medicine,” he stated as he held a bottle of orange juice. “Don’t worry, it’s your prescription. Trinity signed off on a script when we got back.”

The strange feeling of contentment faded, and I looked at him suspiciously. “Why would she do that?”

“Because we asked her to. We don’t want you hurting, and you refuse to ask for help,” he replied.

I frowned at him. Damen didn’t seem to understand how close he was to that fine line between acceptable behavior and being overbearing.

“Don’t worry, we didn’t tell her anything.” He waved his hand dismissively. “She trusts Julian’s judgment.”

“His judgment?” I asked, and my pulse began to calm. “What does that have to do with—”

“Julian is still listed as your medical provider,” Damen replied with a shrug. “And he can prescribe you medicine, just as long as his mother or another doctor signs off on it.”

The short flare of anger faded, leaving an empty, hollow feeling in its wake.

I truly and honestly did not understand why they cared so much. Normal men would ignore that this was even a thing, but my guys had even gone out of their way to make sure that I wouldn’t be hurting.

Was it that important to them?

“There.” Damen cupped my hand and lifted the medicine closer to my face. “You’re in pain, right?”

“A little…” I muttered, glancing away.

“Then go ahead, baby girl,” he said. “You’ll feel better, and you can spend all day in the library. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you when it’s time for another. So you can relax.”

My skin felt warm, and the pain seemed less intense. I couldn’t fathom why I’d need him to remind me of anything. Cell phones these days were equipped with the ability to set reminders, so it wasn’t necessary. But at the same time, I rather liked the idea.

It meant he was thinking of me and would have to think of me all day long.

Why did my breath catch at the thought?

This wasn’t like me at all. Damen had to focus on his work. He had all manner of practical matters to attend to.

Still, as his sincere, gray eyes burned into mine, my skin warmed and I found myself nodding in agreement. Because, if I were being honest, I liked it when Damen had to think of me and no one else. Ever.

Ideally, he could wipe the memories of all other women from his mind entirely, but that would never happen.

I felt unwell enough to indulge in this fantasy at least once. It was nice to pretend.

I put the pills in my mouth, and I even went so far as to allow Damen to hold the straw to my lips. And, although I couldn’t imagine why, he had the strangest look of victory on his face at this.

Men.

“More,” he demanded after I’d swallowed the pills. “I want half of this bottle gone.”

How bossy, but I was thirsty. And if he was going to sit here and wait on me hand and foot, it was all good. So, even though I felt like an idiot, I obeyed. Besides, my hands were full, holding up my towel. Obviously, this was the most logical solution.

However, the way he watched me was becoming increasingly disturbing.

“Good girl.” He put the bottle on my vanity before picking up the clean sheets. “Now go take a bath while I clean things up out here.”

Okay, this was entirely unnecessary. After all, while menstruation was a natural bodily function, it was still rather gross; plus, it was more than a bit embarrassing to think that Damen was going to clean up after me. “You don’t need to—”

He stepped forward, pressing his finger to my mouth. “Will you please just let me take care of you for once?”

Just once? Was he insane?

Didn’t he realize how much he’d taken care of me already?

Despite that, I didn’t protest as he pressed his hands against my lower back and gently nudged me toward the bathroom door.

“Are you sure you can stay?” I asked as I ducked under Damen’s arm and stepped into the campus coffee shop.

It was still early, but a good number of students were already present. I was lucky my favorite spot remained unclaimed.

“Dr. Stephens might have work for you this morning,” I reminded him. “You should go right there.”

“Work can wait,” he said.

I frowned. Could it really? Dr. Stephens was a no-nonsense sort. But as Damen followed me into the room and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, I couldn’t help but not be concerned about it either.

“Let me help you get settled in,” Damen said. “I’ll get you a coffee before I go. He’ll understand.”