The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 94

Alexander

Morning found Fiona and I tangled up in each other's limbs, waking from deep slumber to her three a.m. alarm.

Ever the responsible businesswoman, she started sliding toward the edge of the bed immediately. I latched onto her arm, though, and pulled her back.

Fiona giggled. "I gotta get up," she said sleepily. Her hand traveled to my cheek and landed upon it gently. She petted the short, scruffy beard I'd grown from skipping a shave all week while traveling. "Mm-mm," I protested. "Stay here with me just a little longer. Please." I pulled her body even closer, and she didn't resist.

In fact, she slipped right into my arms and brought her face to rest against my neck. She planted a light kiss there, then ran her lips up and down my throat. Her scent washed over my senses like the comfort of a warm blanket. My hands started to run amok all over her.

I didn't want her to go to work today. I just wanted to stay in bed and breathe her in for hours. Spoil her and make her scream. Savor the delicious feeling of her soft touch.

Her hands slid up and down the length of my body. She knew she was getting me started, and she wasn't stopping.

I smiled. That meant I was, at least, going to get a little taste before she had to leave me.

There was something pleasurable and comforting about watching Fiona get ready for work in the mornings.

She was very efficient and methodical, always following the same routine. Always emerging from her dressing room looking sharp and sophisticated, halfway done with putting on a pair of earrings that she finished clasping as she crossed the room, headed for the door.

She was moving at a faster clip than usual today. Probably because I'd eaten up so much of her time, keeping her in bed past her alarm. I hoped, though, that some of the pace I was watching was a fresh spring of energy in her step.

She had looked very tired last night when I'd gotten home.

She'd been trying to hide how much she was hurting but I could see it in the pallor of her skin, the slump of her shoulders. Our days apart had taken a toll on her.

And surprising her with the Iris situation had not helped the cause.

I suppose I knew that my perfect Luna was liable to replace Iris offensive. My new charge lacked manners entirely, that was quite clear. But having seen with my own eyes the isolated place where Iris spent the last decade and the violently anti-social companion she'd been living there with, I could understand her dearth of social grace.

I knew I would need to do some explaining to help Fiona understand the situation. But I supposed I'd been hoping for a little more time to ease into it. Iris jumped right out of the gate, though, with some rather insulting behavior at the girls' first meeting, something I hadn't expected or been prepared to diffuse yet.

Fiona, stepping into a pair of patent leather heels, gave me a sweet little wink when she saw me watching her.

She slipped on a navy blue blazer and rolled the sleeves neatly to her mid-forearm, exposing the silk, black and white pinstripe lining. The dress she was wearing was very stylish, with an asymmetrical color block pattern in black, white, and periwinkle. "You look great," I told her. "Love that dress."

She grinned, turning to the framed full-length mirror in the entryway to see for herself. "Thanks. Nina and I went shopping the other night."

I couldn't let her go without one more touch. I hurried out of bed and met her where she was.

She smiled when she saw me coming, but when I started touching her neck, moving in for a kiss, she put two fingers to the center of my naked chest and pushed me, very gently, away.

"You smell like s*x," she said. When I rocked back and met her eyes, she bit her bottom lip coyly. "And I really have to go to work. Can you hold onto that thought for later?"

Fiona had a fair point. She smelled clean, fresh and beautiful. She didn't need me rubbing a mess of primal scents all over her right now.

"I can do that," I said, pacing backward.

"See you tonight. I'll text you about a time for dinner."

After showering and getting dressed, I paid a visit to Iris.

I'd set her up in a room about halfway between the far end of the West Wing where Fiona and I lived and the long corridor of bunk rooms where Kayden and the other soldiers resided. I knocked on Iris's door only once- and immediately it flew open.

"Alexander, thank goodness!" Iris cried when she saw me.

"Everything alright?"

"Oh, I'm in terrible pain today," she said. Her tone was very matter-of-fact. "Please come in. I want to close the door, the light makes it worse."

"Alright." I went inside and closed the door behind me. It was very dim in the room indeed. Iris had pulled all the curtains closed tightly over the windows.

"Thank you so much for coming to see me," she said, gesturing to chair. I obliged her invitation and took a seat.

"Of course. I wanted to check on how you're doing and see about getting you some time with one of our doctors today. Seems like we should do that sooner than later." "Huh? Why?" She looked confused.

"Your pain," I answered.

"Oh, that? It's fine." She waved dismissively. "I'm used to it by now. All I need is to stay inside today, and maybe you can keep me company? I really don't wanna be alone." Iris's responses and reactions never ceased to bewilder me.

"I'm going to call the doctor over," I said. "I'll stay with you while she checks you out, okay?"

"No, please." Her tone turned to begging. "I don't want to see the doctor just yet. It just sounds so stressful. All I want to do right now is lie down and rest."

"Alright," I said, standing. "I'll check on you in a couple hours, then, and we'll figure out a better time for the doctor to visit later."

"Wait, don't leave!"

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Iris. I thought you just said you wanted to lie down."

"You look great," I told her. "Love that dress."

"Yes, but I don't want to be alone. Please stay with me just for a little while."

"Iris... I'm concerned about you. You don't need to just suffer in pain. I'm going to call the doctor over, okay? I promise you, it will be a quick, painless visit, and I'll be here the whole time." She folder her arms across her chest and huffed out an exasperated breath.

"Fine," she said at last. "Go ahead."

"Well," the doctor said, flipping through the paperwork on the clipboard in her hands. "You have no symptoms of an active head injury."

"I know I don't," Iris snapped.

The doctor's head jerked up. She looked at her patient with stunned surprise.

"My injury was a long time ago," Iris continued. "I already told you that. But that doesn't mean my head doesn't still hurt."

The doctor, startled by Iris's defensiveness, turned to look up at me.

"Iris," I began calmly, "the doctor was not trying to disparage you. She is just reporting her replaceings from this first consultation. She's here to help you, just like I am. Will you please listen to what she has to say?"

Iris pouted, but nodded in reluctant agreement.

The doctor, now keeping a wary eye on her patient, began to speak again, now very slowly and carefully. "I would like to order a series of tests. A CT scan should tell us which areas of your brain were affected by the traumatic injury. A comprehensive blood panel will let us know, too, if there's anything else going on that may be contributing to your pain."

Iris stared ahead, her eyes fixed on the wall.

"Iris? Are you okay?" I could see that she was upset, though it was difficult to understand why.

"I don't want to do a blood test," she said. "The last time I had needles and wires in me, it was back when all this" - she pointed at her head - "started in the first place."

I turned my attention respectfully to the doctor. "Thank you so much for your time, Doctor. Can I give you a call this afternoon to discuss the tests?"

She agreed to this easily, collected her belongings and was out the door in seconds.

Iris laid back in her bed, frowning. "Please don't make do the tests."

I took a seat in the chair I'd pulled up earlier. "Iris, when I brought you here, I told you I was going to help you get better. This is the way that works. Without testing, the doctors won't know how to help you." She turned her head to look in the opposite direction. Pouting again.

"Please," I begged. "Please remember why we're doing this. For a better life for you, and for justice for my mother."

She had no reaction.

"I need you to get better. I need your help, Iris. Please."

She turned back to face me and I saw her mood had suddenly softened. "Will you at least come with me?" she asked. "Of course," I assured her. "Whatever you need."