I woke up to the sound of the birds chirping in Evan’s back garden, and I stayed lying there in bed for several more minutes, breathing deeply to allow the sick feeling I felt wash over me.

Everything was so peaceful and calm out in the country and hiding out on the edge of Grayson meant that we were even further away from civilization.

I stretched out my arm and rolled over, expecting to see Lewis in the bed beside me, but it was empty.

I forced myself up and instantly reached for the bucket beside my bed. Fuck. There was nothing worse than being ill and being in hiding.

I didn’t know how much more of it I could physically take. We’d spent the last few weeks at Evan’s house, laying low and waiting for the drama of Lewis leaving with me and the fire to be yesterday’s news. It was supposed to be simple, and for the most part it was, but the near constant sickness and discomfort had me teetering on the edge more and more.

Part of me just wanted to go back home to New York and see my doctor or get some proper medication.

I laid myself back down on the bed just as Lewis pushed the door open. He carried a tray in his hands with some food items on it and set it down on the table before he crawled along beside me.

“Still ill?” he asked, spooning me and curling my body into his.

I nodded, not wanting to open my mouth for fear I’d throw up again.

He kissed the back of my neck.

“Maybe you need to eat something? I brought you up a bit of lunch…”

“Lunch?”

I pushed myself up and turned to him slightly.

He nodded.

“That’s right, you’ve slept through the morning. I was going to wake you, but Evan told me…”

“Evan…” His name came out of my mouth bitterly before I could stop it.

Lewis sighed.

“I know, okay? I know you want to get out of here, I know that. Don’t you think I do too?”

I turned away from him and looked out the window.

“Max?”

I shook my head.

“It’s been nearly a month, Lewis! A month! Remind me again why we’re still here? Do you honestly believe those guys will still be waiting for us after all this time?”

He lowered his voice.

“Evan’s been going into town as he’s heard stuff. He knows where people are waiting and patrolling. It’s not safe yet. Not for you.”

“How do you know?”

“How? I’m the mayor’s son, Max. Remember that? I’ll bet they spun some crappy story to the locals that I’ve been kidnapped by you or something. Right now, though, our best bet is to wait it out and make sure things die down. I can’t lose you. Not when I’m so close to having you to myself.”

“But…”

He pulled my face towards his and kissed me, stopping me mid-sentence.

“It’s going to be okay, I promise. Maybe another week or so, and I’ll probably be certain.”

“What about Evan? Are you certain you can trust him?”

He nodded.

“I know him. He won’t give us up. All you need to do is keep eating so this sickness you’ve been having goes away before we travel.”

He reached over and brought the tray towards me—a bowl of diced fruit and some meat sandwiches.

“Eat,” he instructed, setting it down. “Build your strength up.”

The smell of it made me want to throw up, and I shook my head.

“I can’t.”

“Try,” he said standing up. “You’ve got to have something.”

I watched him walk towards the door before stopping to look back at me.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you, Max…” He opened his mouth to say something else but closed it again, and without another word, he was gone.

That night, despite being crazily fed up with hiding away in the attic rooms of Evan’s house, Lewis and I had sex.

It wasn’t the earth shattering sex that we’d had back at my motel, but I found myself emotionally attached to him as he pressed me facedown into the bed sheets, my swollen stomach making me ease up slightly.

I felt his hands all over my body, running up the side of my waist, then down again to grab my ass.

He bent his head to the edge of my shoulder and nipped it playfully.

“I’m never going to tire of making love to you like this,” he whispered against my skin.

I felt his cock press into the small of my back before he flipped me over.

I watched his eyes roam over my naked body, and I writhed with pleasure at the delight it gave him.

He reached down to take my member in his hand, and I groaned, pushing my head back further into the bed.

The moonlight from the window cast him in shadow, and I bucked my hips eager for more.

The lustful glint in his eyes told me that he didn’t need to be told twice.

I pushed myself up, taking his cock into my mouth before pulling back immediately. I gagged hard, and the sick feeling that rushed over me made me wretch.

Instantly, he was down by my level, the concern on his face evident.

“Sickness again?” he asked.

I nodded and reached over to the table for a sip of water. Damnit! I felt the embarrassment creep over me as I put the glass back down. It didn’t matter what I ate or what I did, I couldn’t shake the illness that had developed since we’d been staying at Evan’s. I’d convinced myself that I wasn’t used to the water in Grayson anymore, but deep down, I feared it was far more serious. Had Lewis’ friends and family poisoned me?

I turned to look at him, disappointed that our moment was over. He didn’t speak and instead laid himself behind me and curled me into him.

I felt the beating of his heart against my back, and his lips pressed against my shoulder. Never before had I ever felt so content other than when I was with him.

I felt myself drifting off before he finally spoke, his voice low and fluid against the silence in the room.

“No matter what happens, Max, I promise you we’ll get to the bottom of this. I swear I’ll make you right again.”