Chapter Three: Joanna-Deaf Joe
Pulling into the driveway of my parents' house I plopped my head back against the head rest and sighed tiredly. Layla was curled up in her car seat; snug as a bug as she clung tight to her stuffed wolf and slept soundly. Going from cold to warm only served in my favor as it made her even drowsier. I had a lot on my mind and found myself staring out the window to the snow that was falling quick and forming a thin white blanket on the ground. Awe be damned if Eleanor wasn't right. I checked the weather charts for the state of California and sure enough, everywhere but Beacon Hills was in the seventies with the sun shining. How dare she corrupt my thoughts? Now I couldn't help but wonder what in the hell was going on. Which only served to take away from the beauty I found in the Christmas season every year. Damn her.
"Damn who?" Derek's voice boomed in the car beside; causing me to jump and squeal as I turned to face my mate with a hand over my heart.
"DON'T DO THAT!" I yelled; waiting for some sort of satisfied smirk on his end from scaring the begesious out of me, but none came. "What?" I asked next and tried to remember what he said to scare me in the first place.
"I said, 'Damn Who'?" He demanded; giving me a stern look that said he wasn't in the mood for games. Boy, Dad was right. He is grumpy. I thought and Derek narrowed his eyes at me.
"Well you are." I defended and sunk back into my seat; closing my eyes as I debated on the best way to tell him.
"Let's start with the reason you smell like another wolf." He suggested and gave me one of those looks where he corked a brow and dared me to lie to him. And at any other time I might be up for the challenge, but that didn't seem like a good idea today.
Sighing, I gave him my most pitiful look before explaining, "I might have met with Eleanor."
"Damn it, June!" He erupted.
"Nothing happened. We just talked about what was going on. I was trying to get as much info as possible that might help us." I defended. "Derek, her husband's sick and he's not doing…"
"That's not our problem, June."
I stared at him amazed; the amount of coldness in that sentence was unbelievable. "She was trying to help us." I snarled. "And when she asked to talk to me in a public place, somehow I didn't find that was a problem. She knows what we're going through and she wanted to give me some advice so that maybe you wouldn't go as far downhill as her husband has. So for you to sit there and make remarks is just wrong. You're being a dick." I watched as he pierced his lips together before turning away from me and sighing.
"I'm not trying to be a dick, June. But I don't care about her husband or her pack. I care about you and our pack." He offered; turning to look at me with tired eyes, his hand seeking mine.
I felt the weight of his worry that he felt as he held my hand and I realized I couldn't be mad at him. In his own way he was right. "I should have told you where I was going and I'm sorry. I just wanted to help you guys and any information I could get I thought would be helpful."
"I know. But agreeing to a meeting with an alpha that is older and stronger than you was taking too much risk. Not to mention you had Layla with you. What if she had tried something?" He questioned and I frowned. I would never put Layla in harm's way. But he was right. It was foolish. "Let's go in." He offered; managing a small smile before climbing out of the car.
Sitting in the living room I flipped through the pages of another wedding magazine I had picked up at the store today; dreams of wedding chimes ringing through my head quickly replaced by the sound of coughs. Scott had went back to bed, choosing to curl up beneath the covers and forget the world while Stiles and Derek lay in the living room with me; watching an episode of Grimm when the foul smell of sickness permeated my nose. Crinkling it against the stench I glanced back and forth between Stiles and Derek who it didn't seem to bother. "I can't smell, June." Derek's voice rasp; quickly going hoarse from coughing so much.
"Neither can I." Stiles mumbled and blew his nose.
"Well I can and you two need a shower while I sanitize the house." I poked Derek in the chest gently; smiling innocently when he just glared up at me. "Seriously."
"I don't think I can stand that long." Stiles whined.
"Then soak in the bath."
"You're standing. I call the bath." Derek demanded; rising from the couch and giving me an impatient look.
"What?" I questioned.
"I feel like shit. Now get your healthy ass up and get in the bath with me."
"I was going to…"
"You're not now." He argued.
"You're hard headed. Anyone ever tell you that?" I shot back as I drug my ass off of the couch and he smirked.
"I'm sick."
"And horny." Stiles muttered as he shuffled past and Derek lightly punched him. "Owe Dude!"
Sitting in the tub I listened to Stiles crawling into the bed downstairs with Scott after taking a shower; settling in for the night while I assisted Derek in soothing his aches away. Dipping the wash cloth into the hot water I smoothed it over Derek's chest, trying to warm up his lungs, while he leaned against me for back support; his hands tracing absently up my legs had me aching for his touch in another place. Water splashed as Derek's chuckle vibrated through the bathroom. "I'm sick and you're horny." He teased. Now there's a combination. I mused; sighing as I accepted my fate to stick it out without sex until Derek was better. "We don't have to go celibate." Derek countered.
"You can't even hold your head up without wanting to collapse." I pointed out and he scoffed. "Much less keep from coughing up a lung. How sexy is that going to be with you inside of me when suddenly you go into a hacking fit?"
"You can ride me and I'll turn my head." He offered.
"And you're already dizzy. How is the sudden blood rush from your head to your penis going to help?"
"Damn it, June. I'm responsible for your pleasure weather I'm sick or dying."
"And I'm responsible for your recovery." I shot back.
"You don't get it. I'm the man and I'm supposed to be taking care of you. Not the other way around."
"Are you seriously throwing up gender rolls right now because I'm pretty sure that went out with the 70's." I teased; sighing when he didn't seem any less amused. "Derek, you've taken care of me and you still are. Just because you're sick doesn't mean you don't take care of me. We're mates; we take care of each other. Besides, I kind of like the reversal. It's nice being the one to take care of you for a change."
He sighed; going into a coughing fit before finally settling back down into the water as I straddled his lap and waited for him to get done, placing a quick peck to his cheek. "Dizzy or not, I'm hard." He growled and guided my hips towards his erection. "And did I mention that sex actually helps us draw strength?" He drawled.
"You're lying just so you can get your way." I answered unbelievingly.
"Maybe. But lets put it to the test anyway." He offered and before I could refuse he settled my hips right over his erection; thrusting upwards in one swift motion. I threw my head back in absolute bliss at the feeling of being filled by him; just having him inside of me enough of a rush to make me scream. Gripping his shoulders Derek leaned back against the tub for support and gently rolled his hips, sliding against my g-spot, as he slid a hand down between our bodies to play with my clit. My hips ground against his and together we found a rhythm that didn't involve much work on his end but we could still enjoy the pleasures of sex without the symptoms of sickness to stop us. With each roll my body grew hotter as the waves slowly begun to rise; leaning down to Derek's ear I nibbled on his lobe and felt him shutter beneath me, his knot taking form as we finally reached that wonderful peak and collapsed in the tub.
"Feel any better?" I questioned between gasps; laying my ear against his chest and listened to the rhythm of his heart.
"A bit." He offered and chuckled; nudging the water spigot with his toe for some more hot water. With his knot keeping our bodies bound we were able to arrange ourselves into a comfortable position. Enough so that I caught a low snore tingling against the top of my head. Maybe he was right about sex helping?
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