CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ETHAN

Lena was missing again at dinner, but since I didn’t want to invite more questions from Alex about why I was so concerned about her—which, to be clear, I wasn’t; I was just curious—I decided to wait until we got back to the cabin to ask Ava.

"What's going on with JR?" I kept my voice low, careful not to let Alex overhear, though I wouldn’t put it past him to have supersonic hearing.

Ava chewed on her lower lip, clearly hesitating.

"Ava." I gave her a firm look. "If she's going to drop dead on me in the middle of the night, I need to know so I can adjust my sleep schedule accordingly."

"You're hilarious," she muttered, glancing at the bathroom door. "Alright, I’ll tell you, but only because you're a doctor. And because it got worse this afternoon, but she’s too stubborn to ask for help."

The seed of worry I’d started with bloomed into a full-blown panic. "What got worse?" I pressed, my voice tightening.

Ava hesitated again before replying, "Lena has really... painful periods. It’s beyond just cramps. The pain usually subsides after a day or so, but during that day..."

"It’s unbearable," I finished, feeling a knot form in my chest. "Endometriosis?"

Ava shook her head. "I don’t think so, but I can’t speak for Lena. She hates talking about it."

"Got it."

There was a certain societal stigma around periods, and many people—men and women alike—found the topic uncomfortable.

After years of med school and residency, I had no qualms about discussing bodily functions, but I’d always respect someone’s choice not to talk about it if they weren’t comfortable.

Ava gave me a pointed look. "Lay off the insults tonight, okay? She's not in the mood."

"I’m not a monster, kiddo," I said, ruffling her hair, which earned me a scowl. "Relax."

After Ava went to bed, I lingered outside my room for a moment before knocking lightly on the door, just in case Lena was changing or something. No answer.

I waited a beat longer, then slowly opened the door with a soft creak. The lamp was on, and I immediately saw Lena curled up in a fetal position on the bed, clutching a pillow to her stomach. I couldn’t see her face, but I noticed her body stiffen when I entered.

Still awake.

"Hey," I said softly. "How’re you feeling?"

"Fine. Just a stomachache," she mumbled, not quite convincing me.

I moved closer, standing at her bedside, and my chest tightened when I saw the shallow rise and fall of her breaths and how tightly she gripped the pillow, her knuckles turning white.

"Did you take any ibuprofen? I’ve got some," I offered, always prepared with a mini first aid kit full of painkillers and other essentials.

"Yep." Lena peered up at me with a scrunched brow. "Ava told you, didn't she?"

"Yeah." There was no point in lying.

She groaned. "I should've told her not to say anything."

"Pretty sure I would've noticed something was wrong when I saw you curled up like a deformed shrimp."

It didn't count as an insult if I was trying to make her feel better. It gave her the perfect opportunity to snark back, and arguing with me always perked her up.

My smile faded when she didn't respond.

Okay, maybe the deformed shrimp comment wasn't as helpful as I thought.

Should I try to help her, or should I leave her alone? There wasn't a foolproof method for alleviating severe cramps, and she'd already taken ibuprofen, but there were other remedies that might help.

The question was whether or not she wanted my help.

I made up my mind when Lena winced and clutched her pillow closer to her abdomen, her face screwed with pain.

Fuck it. I was helping her whether she liked it or not. It wasn't like I could sleep next to her knowing she was in agony. I wasn't that much of an asshole.

I stepped into the bathroom and quickly scanned the amenities arranged neatly on the marble counter. When we dropped off our luggage earlier, I could've sworn I spotted—aha! I grabbed the tiny bottle of lavender oil and headed back to Lena's side.

"I might be able to help with those cramps," I said, holding the bottle up. "Turn over."

"Why?"

"Trust me." I raised a hand to stop her when she opened her mouth to protest. "Yes, I know. You don't trust me. But I’m a trained medical professional, and I promise I don’t have any ulterior motives. So, unless you want to spend the night tossing and turning…"

"Trained medical professional, yet your bedside manner could use some work." Despite the sarcasm, she reluctantly shifted onto her back.

"I've never had any complaints," I replied with a grin as I sat beside her on the bed and moved the pillow aside. I nodded toward the hem of her shirt. "May I?"

Lena looked at me warily, but after a moment, she gave a short nod of approval.

I gently lifted her shirt, exposing her stomach, and uncapped the lavender oil. I warmed a few drops between my palms. It was originally made for baths, but it would work just fine for a massage in a pinch.

I began by rubbing gentle circles over her abdomen, gradually shifting to more targeted kneading. Though I wasn’t a licensed massage therapist, I’d picked up a few techniques over the years.

At first, her muscles tensed beneath my touch, but as time passed, they began to relax.

"That’s it," I murmured softly. "Deep breaths. How do you feel?"

"Better." Her eyes fluttered closed. "You're good at this." The praise was reluctant but genuine.

"I'm good at everything," I said with a smile, enjoying her scoff.

We slipped into a comfortable silence as I continued massaging her. Her skin was soft and warm under my hands, and her breathing gradually settled into a steady rhythm.

I couldn’t help but glance at her face. Her eyes were still closed, so I allowed myself to linger on the dark lashes resting against her cheeks, the gentle curve of her bottom lip, and the silky spread of her copper hair on the pillow.

The tension had left her face, and my chest felt a little lighter.

It was the first time I’d seen Lena so vulnerable, and it was strangely unsettling. I was so used to the fire and sarcasm that I hadn’t thought much about what lay beyond that tough exterior.

How do you know I haven’t already?

I grew up in a family that wasn’t big on skiing. We never had the money for it, even if we had wanted to.

Lena had painful periods—more than the usual cramps.

I’d known Lena for years, yet I realized I knew so little about her. Her family, her past, the things she kept hidden. What else was she concealing under that fiery attitude? Something told me it wasn’t all as simple as it seemed. Something darker lurked beneath the surface.

I shifted my attention back to the task at hand and tried to reign in my wandering thoughts. "Feel better?" The words came out strangely husky.

"Mmhmm." Lena's drowsy affirmation elicited another smile.

My gaze drifted upward again, and heat curled low in my stomach when I saw her staring at me with a lazy, slumberous expression.

Her lips parted slightly as our eyes locked. Held. Burned.

Electricity charged the previously tranquil air and danced over my skin, which suddenly stretched too tight over my bones and thundering heartbeat.

Lena's breathing turned erratic again. Not only could I hear her rapid inhales and exhales, I could feel them beneath my hands, and they matched the uneven rhythm of my own breaths.

She licked her lips, and God himself wouldn't have been able to stop the X-rated images flooding my brain. Those full, pouty lips wrapped around the head of my cock, that

delicate pink tongue licking up and down my length while she stared up at me with her big hazel eyes... My hands stilled and curled into loose fists. There was no use pretending I was still giving her a massage. The only thing I could focus on was the erection straining against my

zipper and hiding said erection from Lena.

It was so fucked up. She was in pain, and here I was, hard as a rock. Proof that the body and mind were incompatible more often than not.

But Lena didn't quite look like she was in pain anymore. Instead, she was looking at me like...

Don't go there.

"You should be good for now." I cleared my throat of its rasp before speaking again. "I'll bring out a warm compress so you can use it through the night."

I stood and walked into the bathroom before she could respond, angling my body so she couldn't see the severely ill-timed tent in my pants. By the time I came back out with the towel compress, Lena was already fast asleep.

Relief and disappointment coursed through me in equal measure.

I placed the folded towel gently on her stomach and moved her hands on top of it to prevent it from sliding off.

I pulled the comforter up, turned off the lamp, and stepped into the bathroom once again, where I turned the water on full blast and let it pound the tension out of my muscles.

I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to make sense of

the events of the past fourteen hours.

That morning, Lena and I had traded insults like normal, but over the course of the day, I'd willingly taught her how to ski, worried over her well-being, and given her a fucking aromatherapy massage. Not to mention, I was still harder than a steel pipe.

What the hell is happening to me?

Instead of giving in to the urge to take care of my situation downstairs, I finished my shower and changed into sweatpants.

I couldn't jerk off to Lena, not when she was sleeping in the other room and I didn't even like her. Then again, lust and like weren't always a package deal.

I climbed into bed, making sure to stay as far away from her as I could, and tried to fall asleep, but my damn brain wouldn't shut off.

Lena. Alex. Michael's letters. Lena. My fucking erection that won't fucking go away. Lena.

My cock pulsed harder, and a low groan rose in my throat.

This was going to be a long night.