I started walking again, sitting down and placing my feet in the cool water once I reached the edge of the dock. I leaned back on my elbows like I’d seen Ream do and closed my eyes, letting the sun filter into my skin and take the slight chill of the breeze out of me. The sun was the best medicine for MS, vitamin D overload. I took five times the amount a normal person would take in a vitamin per day, along with Omega 3s and B12 injections every month, plus my daily injection to try and keep any flare ups away. The pills I took on occasion were to calm my nerves when they were acting up.
I was diagnosed when I was sixteen after an episode where I lay down and lost feeling in my arms. It was pretty terrifying waking up and not being able to feel my arms. It was like they weighed a thousand pounds. It took several months and three MRIs, but they finally made a diagnosis that I had MS after confirming lesions on my brain. I had to sleep sitting in a recliner for a couple of months. Even washing my hair had been a task; keeping my hands above shoulder level caused them to go numb. Eventually the symptom faded, and I felt pretty normal again.
When I turned eighteen I was allowed to start the daily injections. It wasn’t a cure, but it was to try and keep the flare ups at bay.
The sun warmed my skin and I sighed as I relaxed. It had been a long time since I had done anything like this. After my parents died it took Matt and I years to get our lives back in order. Then when we finally felt comfortable, I was diagnosed and then the testing and uncertainty at what was going to happen to me began.
I sighed as the cloud moved away and the sun hit my face again.
The cold hand on my ankle jerked me from my stillness, and then I screamed as water rushed over my skin. My cry was quickly swallowed as my head went beneath the surface. I burst back up and heard Ream laughing.
“You dickhead.” I went to hit him, but he was too quick and dove away from me making a huge splash.
“Careful, Kat.”
“What are you going to do? Dunk me under.”
He chuckled, eyes scintillating with amusement. “Oh, baby, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
My eyes narrowed as I bobbed up and down. I wasn’t quite tall enough to stand and be above the water like Ream. “You’re not into that whipping and shit are you?” The thought was a bit exciting, but I knew my body wouldn’t deal well with any sort of physical abuse, sexually related or not.
“No,” Ream replied, coming closer to me. “A different type of abuse.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Then why did my stomach flip-flop? Nerves. Definitely nerves. “Yeah, well, I’m not into any kind of abuse.”
“Oh you’ll like it. Trust me.”
“That’s the issue, Ream. I don’t trust you.”
“You’ll learn.”
“It’s earned, not learned, asshole.”
He shrugged. “Semantics,” he said, copying my very words.
“I’m going for a swim now that you got me all wet.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth I regretted them. His eyes gleamed and his lips parted. He came toward me and I started to back paddle.
“You wet for me, Kat?”
“You know what I mean.” I kicked my legs out as I floated on my back, trying to get away as he waded through the water.
“You’re lying again. That’s okay, I’ll check for myself.”
“Don’t you dare.” I kicked my legs faster then reversed onto my stomach and started swimming.
I was completely mortified when a girlie scream escaped my mouth as he grabbed my ankle and yanked. I went under then sputtered and coughed when I came back up.
“Stay still.”
“Fuck off.”
“You going to argue with me?”
“I’m not arguing.”
“You’re arguing.” It was a statement.
“We’re having a discussion,” I corrected, and he immediately laughed which I didn’t like because, really, his laugh was so hot and I felt like sighing then swimming into his arms and begging … no, no, no, never begging.
“Stop fighting me, Kat.” He sounded really serious now. “Just relax and let me look after you for two days. Not much to ask, is it?”
Of course it was. I’d fought for so long to not have anyone look after me that to lose my grip on that control was like I was losing a part of me.
“Out of the water. I want to try something.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Okay, maybe there was one molecule swimming around wanting to know, but it was one out of trillions. I swam over to the ladder and climbed out. Ream followed and I couldn’t help but glance at his dripping wet skin as he approached.
He bent down and grabbed a towel then shook it out and laid it on the dock. “Lie down.” He nodded to the towel.
I had no idea what he had planned, but since there was no sex and no whips, it couldn’t be that bad. I lay on my back and he reached over to the side of the dock then came and knelt beside me, a thick white rope in hand. I bolted upright.
“Fuck no.” But he was quick and wrapped it around my wrist so fast that I didn’t even manage to get to my knees before he was done.
“I told you, I’m not into that,” Ream reassured. “Okay, maybe some bondage if you’re being rebellious, but that’s not what this is about. It’s just to stop you from touching me.”
“What makes you think I want to touch you?”
His brows rose. Gah … was it that obvious?
“Lie back,” he gently urged, and I did, although my panic at not being able to move my wrists apart caused my breathing to run rampant. “Baby.” He smoothed his hand over my head. “Take a deep breath. You’re freakin’ out. The last thing I want to do is get your symptoms riled up.” I was getting that Ream knew more about my MS than reading a blurb about it online. He sat back on his heels and watched me for several minutes while I got my shit together.