Leila woke before her husband. A wide grin was on her lips as she stretched. Last night was the best night of her life. Her husband moaned in his sleep, she pecked him soundly on his lips and got out of bed.
When she finished preparing for work, Kelvin was still in bed. She tried to shake him awake, his eyes fluttered open for the briefest moments and he went back to sleep. Flattening the back of her hand against his forehead, she hissed at his temperature. He was running a fever.
Rushing into the bathroom, she got a bowl of cold water and a napkin. She sat by his side, panting heavily as she pulled his head to her lap. Her husband weighed a ton. Kelvin's eyes opened, he looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. She pecked him and he palmed her face to kiss her briefly. Even his hands were warm, she had to get him to the clinic.
"Hey," she said. "I think you might be running a fever."
"I think so too." His eyes closed and he held her hands at arm's length from his face. "You should go to work. Give Amara a call, she will know what to do."
Kelvin's dismissal stung. She was his wife, she should be the one to help, not an assistant. She wanted to be with her man.
"Why don't you tell me what to do?"
"Leila."
"Please." Soaking the napkin into the bowl, she wrung it and placed it on his forehead. Kelvin winced. She readjusted the napkin and he gave her a thumbs up. "Is this any better? I think I should call your sister."
"My sister?" Kelvin moved away from her. Propping his back against the headboard, he retrieved the wet napkin and massaged his forehead. "How do you know my sister?" Before she could answer, he smiled. "I see you and Madonna have been talking behind my back."
"It's not my fault you didn't introduce us."
Kelvin laughed. She squeezed the napkin and placed it on his forehead. What she was doing was nothing but it made her feel accomplished. Usually, he was the one to care for her. Taking out her phone, she sent Madonna a text and dialled her number. Her sister-in-law picked on the second ring, they spoke for a short time and Madonna promised to send Kelvin's doctor over.
His temperature had fallen by the time she was done with her call. She removed her jacket and squinted at her husband who was shamelessly ogling her chest. Kelvin winked and she scowled. At least the fever didn't affect his sense of humour.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked.
"For?"
"For not telling you about Madonna." She shook her head. They didn't have time to talk about his sister, mostly because of how she reacted. "Annie." When her brows furrowed, he laughed. "Annie is the name of my last sister. She's in Europe with my parents."
Leila felt like she should add something about her parents. The urge was stronger under his curious gaze but she only shrugged. This was an avenue to know more about her husband but it would require her giving out as much information about her family. It was too early for that.
"Nice. I have never been to Europe." She helped Kelvin out of the bed and switched topics. "Your sister asked me to prepare you ginger soup."
"I don't like ginger soup," he said with a pout.
A smile tugged on her lips. It might be his sickness that was making him this way but she liked this cute version of him. "What do you like?"
"You. I like you, Leila."
Leila blushed. She liked him too. Slowly, they made their way to the kitchen. She babied Kelvin, following him around like the almighty CEO couldn't handle himself. The soup was ready in a few minutes, she brought it to the table where Kelvin was crouching and smiled at him.
"Just a little, okay?" she begged. He pouted. If he insisted he didn't want it, she might skip it. "Your sister said it will help."
"When is the doctor coming?" he replied instead.
The doctor should have arrived. On cue, the doorbell rang and she ran to get it. A tall man with his hair greying at the temple was at the entrance. He smiled.
"Mrs McKenna? I am Doctor Kale." She stepped aside for him to enter the house. Kelvin was not in the kitchen, she found him on the bed with the covers pulled over his head. She stood by the side while the doctor carried out his job. "Tell me. How do you feel, Mr McKenna?"
Kelvin explained himself to the doctor, they conversed in low tunes like they didn't want her to hear them. She excused herself to check the kitchen, where her phone was ringing and her spine stiffened when she saw the caller. Sarah.
9: am. Fear kept Leila glued to that spot. She forgot to inform Sarah about missing work today. Leila was entitled to a few more days of casual leave but she couldn't take a day off without prior notice to her boss or the head of HR.
"Where are you?" Sarah asked as soon as she picked.
Leila emptied the soup in the bowl into the sink and turned on the tap. She rinsed the plate, then answered, "At home."
"By this time?"
The disappointment in her superior's tone didn't escape her. "I'm sorry, Ma." The echoing silence on the other end made her add, "My husband is sick."
Sarah sighed. "Next time, give me a heads up if you won't be coming to work."
The call ended and Leila released her breath. She towel dried the plate and went back into the room when she was certain she no longer looked frazzled. Kelvin already had other things to worry about.
"Kev?" The lights in the room were off and the curtains were closed, she switched on the bedside lamp. "Where's the doctor?"
Kelvin rolled on his side and curled his hand under his head. "He already left." Oh. Giving her husband a onceover, she relaxed at the realisation he didn't look as pale as he did earlier. "I've been confined to bed rest."
To Leila, her husband needed the rest more than anything. With his hectic schedule, he barely rested. She didn't mention that. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed and touched his forehead. His temperature was okay.
"Do you feel better?"
His gaze flickered to her face. "At least I'm not dead."
The words evoked strong, dark memories for her and she shuddered. Her eyes narrowed.
"Don't say that again," she snapped. They eyed each other in silence and her annoyance slowly ebbed. If people knew how much the death of a loved one affected those left behind, they wouldn't joke about it. Besides, she didn't want to be a young widow. The awkwardness stretched, Leila didn't want to be around him at this moment. "I... I think I'll go to work now."
"No. Stay." A second later, his hand wrapped around her wrist. "Please." His pleas didn't ease the knots in her joints. "That was a bad joke, it won't happen again. Please stay with me." The words rolled off his lip, swallowing, she nodded. Kelvin patted the spot beside him and she crawled into bed with him. She was too stiff. Her husband chuckled. "Relax, Leila. I don't bite."
If his bites would make her feel the same way she did last night, she wouldn't mind. His hand lowered to her waist, he pulled her flush against him. Leila flattened her hand on his chest, right above his thumping heart.
"Are we allowed to do this?" she asked.
"Do what?"
Her breath came out shallow as his teeth grazed her fingertips. She shouldn't be thinking about last night but she was. "To touch each other."
"Why not?" he bit back.
Too sassy. She preferred healthy Kelvin.
"Because you are sick. You should be resting, Kev."
"I am resting, Leila," he replied with the attitude of a child forced to do what he didn't like. She swallowed her comeback. He was sick so she would let this pass. "Tell me something about you, Mrs McKenna." She froze. This would not end well but Kelvin didn't seem to think so. "Have you ever been in a relationship before this one?"
"Yeah." Without giving him a chance to ask further questions, she asked, "What about you? Ever dated?"
"No."
His answer took her by surprise. "Why not?"
"Work. Work. Work." She giggled. Raising her leg, he placed it below his butt. Leila gulped. "Don't," Kelvin warned when she tried to retract her leg. In this position, he had access to her body. He rubbed the insides of her thighs and her breath lodged in her throat when his fingers teased her panties. She sucked in a breath, looking down to avoid his naughty gaze. "It's hard to manage work and relationships."
"But you seem to be doing fine with us," she said without thinking. A pin-drop silence fell over the room, she grimaced when he pulled away from her. He laced their hands above her head, lips dangerously closer to hers. "What I mean is that, you're not doing so bad for a..."
Kelvin laughed and disengaged from her without kissing her. "It's okay." He didn't try to return to their former position and Leila found herself troubled by it. She hid a smile when he cupped her butt and gave it a firm squeeze. "Thank you."
Leila wasn't sure why she said, "Thank you too."
Basking in the silence, Freya's request floated into her mind. It was now or never. "Kev?" Her husband's hand slid inside her top, he palmed one breast and she lost her train of thoughts. "Can...can I ask you something?"
"Your request is my command," he answered.
So, she told him about Freya and her husband.