Chapter 10
Downstairs, Jenny found Bishop plating scrambled eggs onto plates already laden with jellied toast. Two mugs of coffee steamed on the table as well and her belly growled with the need for nutrition.
“Have a seat.” He motioned toward a chair and then took the pan he held to the sink.
“Bishop, we can’t eat.”
Turning from the sink, he frowned but made his way to the table where he pulled out his own chair before sitting. “I’m starving, Jen. RedKnife said once a couple…” His cheeks flushed a little, and he looked down at his plate. “He said we’d be able to eat and sleep once we…consummated. I know it wasn’t what it should have been, but…”
Jenny lowered into her seat and eyed her plate. “It takes more than that. We…”
Clear agitation flashed across his features before he slammed both hands palm side down on the table, rattling the dishes and startling Jenny. She fell silent and watched as Bishop look down angrily at his plate of food. She half expected him to chuck it against the wall.
“I’m starving, Jen,” he exclaimed in frustration. “And I don’t mean for just food.” The look he shot her spoke volumes. “We don’t have any of your designer drugs here which means we’re both running low on energy. And, I haven’t slept for the past two nights.” He looked back down at his plate and muttered quietly. “We both know what I’m capable of when I go off the deep end.” Then more loudly, “So I’m eating this damn food. Now, you don’t have to eat yours, but I’m eating mine. And I’m keeping it down!”
The last part was said almost as if he was trying to convince himself and Jenny could only watch sadly as he shoveled bite after bite into his mouth and chewed furiously. Shoving back from the table, she paced to the sink and pulled the garbage can from beneath before crossing back and setting it quietly on the floor beside Bishop. She knew what was coming. She’d experimented herself on ways of keeping actual food down. She’d never succeeded.
Reclaiming her chair, she watched Bishop and waited, knowing exactly what he was experiencing. Right now, his mouth would be feeling like the Sahara Desert. Each time she’d put any food in her mouth, it was like all her saliva instantly dried up. Watching him, she almost giggled at how hard he was chewing, determined to get the bite of food down.
After agonizingly long minutes, he finally swallowed and shoved another few forkfuls of food into his mouth before starting the process all over.
“You should spit that bite out now because the first one can only sit in your stomach for about one minute before it…”
Too late.
Bishop twisted to the side and snatched up the garbage before he started puking up his food. Jenny shoved to her feet. The Doctor part of her wanted to go to him to ensure he was alright, but another part of her, the woman who’d deceived him, kept her feet firmly planted in place. She’d never heard of any other Walkers being afflicted for six months, and she already knew—firsthand—how volatile Bishop could be.
Food all puked up, Bishop spit a few times into the garbage and then slammed it onto the ground, making Jenny jump again. She didn’t like this feeling of always being on a razor’s edge with him. Right now, her first instinct was to apologize, but she didn’t. Those two little words always seemed to trigger something in him. So, she swallowed them down and waited.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Bishop growled from where his head hung over the garbage can.
Jenny tried to sound non-committal. “Like what?”
“Like you’re afraid I’m gonna launch myself out of this chair and attack you. It ain’t happening, woman. You’re safe with me. I know I haven’t proven that, but if you give me a chance, I will.”
Shit! It was disconcerting how easily he read her especially considering how long she’d worked to perfect hiding her emotions. “Sorry.” The word slid from her lips, and she winced, hunching her shoulders and pinching her eyes shut to peek at Bishop through one thin slit. Great! Now she was sorry that she was sorry.
Bishop sighed and shoved up from the table taking the trash liner with him as he made for the door. “We’ve got an early morning and apparently we ain’t eating, so why don’t you go on up and relax.”
He must have realized now that there’d be no sleeping for either one of them either.
Jenny pushed away from the table and was half standing when Bishop stopped in the doorway.
“What happened to you?”
Confused, Jenny shook her head.
“When I found you on the road in the downpour. You passed out. Is that normal?”
Jenny stood to her full height going into Doctor mode. “I’m not sure. I’ve only ever gotten my hands on Lilly and Cindy, and my tests have been limited because they were both collared, bound, and claimed within a relatively short amount of time.” One slim shoulder lifted almost to her ear before it dropped. “You and I are different. It’s been six months. We’re a case of first impression.” She stopped talking when his eyes went hard.
“Your unwitting guinea pigs,” he growled.
He turned to take the trash out, but Jenny stopped him. “Bishop!”
When he turned to look at her, she pled her case. “I’m the Chief of Surgery at StoneCrow. I’m responsible for the care of everyone there.”
“Everyone but me?”
“You too, but…”
Bishop’s head dropped back on his shoulders as he stared up at the ceiling. “I’m starving, exhausted, horny, and extremely fucking frustrated. I ain’t dragging shit outta you, Jen. Just finish it.”
“You’re a Sentry. You go on rescue and retrieval missions, right?”
Lowering his head, he looked at her and nodded. “Right.”
“What happens if you bring in a woman? A woman who’s been afflicted. What happens when you can only successfully extract her and not her Walker mate? What if you all can’t get him out at all? What if he’s dead?”
His eyes narrowed on her.
“I’d have to treat her. She’d be my case of first impression, and she’d have to endure this,” Jenny waved her hand down her body and then motioned toward him. “She’d have to go through this hell that we’ve been going through on top of losing her mate. Yes, I was wrong about how I went about this study.” She took a few steps toward him, lifting her hands and folding them together in front of her chest. “But you have to see the need for it. Can you?” she asked pleadingly. “Please tell me you can see the need for it.”
Bishop dragged in a deep breath, letting his chest expand until the muscles of his chest pressed against the material of his shirt. “Yeah, Jen. I get it. You were willing to hurt yourself to help others.”
She smiled, but it faded quickly when he tagged on, “And you were willing to hurt me too.”
Bishop stalked out the door, and Jenny stood gutted. She hated the feeling, and she didn’t know how to fix it. Her intent had never been to hurt Bishop. Part of her had always hoped that as her mate, he’d understand her professional need to act as she had. But, she’d been wrong. He didn’t understand it. He didn’t get her at all. Turning, she left her food on the table and made her way back up to the room.