Chapter 35

It was so warm in the small bedroom on the plane that Rayne woke up soaked in sweat and not sure where she was at first. Sitting up, she wiped a hand across her brow and sighed. All of her felt out of sync, and it was scaring her. At first, she thought it was a nightmare that woke her up, but now she realized it was something else completely. She really didn’t feel well, everything ached, her stomach was churning and her temples were pounding all at the same time. Even with the few hangovers she’d had in her life, they had never come close to the way she felt now.

Moving slowly out of the cabin, she squinted against the light and looked for Devin. A movement beside her startled her, making her jump.

“Hey. It’s just me.” Devin came up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Something is wrong.”

When she turned to face him, the soft look on his face faded and he frowned. Brushing the hair back from her face, he sighed. “Come on, let’s sit down.” He wrapped an arm around her and she wanted to cry with relief. Just his touch made the pain lessen and become bearable.

“I don’t know what’s happening.”

Guiding her to the small couch, he sat down and pulled her into his lap. “I do. I can’t make it go away, but I can help for now.”

“For now?”

He brushed a soft kiss along her jaw. “It’s going to happen no matter what anyone does. Just sit back and rest.”

Resting wasn’t going to be too difficult, she felt completely drained and didn’t want to move. Every muscle hurt. She was now feeling muscles in her body that no yoga had ever made her aware of. “How much longer? I want to be outside.”

His hand moved in a lazy pattern across her back and shoulders. “Normally, I’d be more than happy to open a window to help with that, but I’m pretty sure that’s frowned upon while flying.”

She opened her eyes to see him grin, but even then the worry didn’t fade from his eyes. Not wanting to seem like a baby, she closed them again. He had grown up with what she was going through, she was taking the crash course and was worried she was failing. Calmness radiated off him, it helped a little, just not enough to slow her heart rate down. Devin’s lips brushed over her neck as he spoke in a soft soothing tone. She was so out of it she couldn’t even focus enough to understand what he was saying. Her skin was feeling like it was one size too small for her body and all she really wanted to do was whine and wish it away. Swallowing, she tried to keep her voice sounding normal. “Is it like this every time?” Keeping her eyes closed, she tried again to focus on the beating of his heart—which she could hear like a stethoscope was placed over it.

“No. It’s just the first time. After a few shifts you will look forward to it—and appreciate it more than you could ever imagine.” He stroked a hand lightly down her arm.

She knew he meant it to be soothing, but it just made her skin itch. Not wanting to offend him, she shifted in his hold to stop the contact. “I can’t even imagine the first time.” She swallowed a moan of discomfort. “I’m scared, Devin,” she whispered.

“I’ve got you, Rayne. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

His words did make her feel better, to know she wasn’t going to be alone. She was still scared and nothing was going to take away that feeling.

“Just close your eyes and try to relax until we land.”

Her stomach churning made her decide not to reply. It felt like something was trying to come out through her skin, she didn’t want to look and see if it was just a feeling or actually happening, so she closed her eyes again and focused on breathing as evenly as she could manage.