Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
SOS. Spider attack. Help me!
It was only after Ed pressed Send that he realised he could have called the front desk and got them to send someone up to sort out the mess and deal with the spider while they were at it.
But Alec replied immediately. Are you serious?
Deadly. It’s trying to kill me. Please come.
He hoped Alec would see the funny side.
When he heard the knock on the door, Ed hobbled to open it.
“What the hell’s going on in here?” Alec looked Ed up and down. Ed had forgotten he was only wearing boxers and a shirt that was open at the front until Alec’s gaze raked over him. Alec was still fully dressed, with his shoes now back on.
“There’s a spider.” Ed gestured towards the bathroom with the bloody tissue he was still clutching in his hand. “I tried to catch it, but I broke a glass, and then I cut my foot.”
“You’re a disaster.”
Ed didn’t try to deny it. Instead he limped pitifully back to his bed and sat on the edge with his foot pulled up into his lap. “At least it’s not a pale carpet.”
Alec knelt down. His hands were gentle as he probed the bloody sole of Ed’s foot and located the cut on his heel. “It’s not too bad. Feet bleed a lot, especially if you’re running around. Lie down and elevate it. Keep pressure on it too. I’ve got a first aid kit in my case. I’ll go and get it. I assume you don’t have one?”
Ed shook his head. “I’m not that organised.”
He followed Alec’s instructions, lying down and propping his foot up on his opposite knee. He clamped the wad of tissues Alec had left him with over the cut, and cursed the universe, all spiders, and his own clumsiness.
When Alec came back, he examined Ed’s cut again. “It’s just about stopped bleeding, but I think we need to give it a bit longer to clot before I dress it. You stay there. I’m going to check out the damage in the bathroom.”
“Be careful,” Ed said. “That spider is evil.”
“I think I can handle it.” Alec went into the bathroom. “Bloody hell.” His voice echoed through to the bedroom. “What a mess. Where was the spider?”
“In the sink,” Ed called. Then he added, “Please don’t kill it.”
“Seriously?” Alec sounded incredulous.
“I don’t like killing them,” Ed admitted in a small voice.
“Okay,” Alec said, then, “wow. That is big.” There was silence for a moment, and then Alec muttered, “Come on, you bugger.” His voice rose a little. “No. Don’t you dare go up my sleeve—Gotcha!”
Alec emerged triumphant, his hands clasped in front of him. “I’ve got it.”
Ed shuddered. “Where are you going to put it?”
“Oh, yes. Good point. Can you open the window?”
Ed got up and tiptoed across the room, trying not to put his heel down on the carpet. He slid up the sash window, and then stood aside and watched, half-admiring, half-horrified, as Alec reached out onto the sill and opened his hands so that the spider could scuttle away. As soon as Alec’s hands were back inside, Ed slammed the window shut.
“Thank you.” He grinned at Alec. “My knight in shining armour.”
“Go and lie back down before you start bleeding again.”
Alec called the front desk and asked them to send someone to clean up the glass. Then he sat on Ed’s bed and started rifling through his first aid kit. First he cleaned the cut carefully with antiseptic wipes that stung like a bitch. Ed bit his lip to stop himself from hissing, but he couldn’t help flinching when Alec dabbed at it for a second time.
“Sorry,” Alec glanced up at him, one hand holding Ed’s foot firmly so that he couldn’t jerk it away. “But you don’t want to get an infection and have your foot drop off.”
Ed snorted. “Did you ever consider an alternative career in medicine? Because your bedside manner is really quite special.”
Alec laughed as he went back to cleaning the cut, and the sound made warmth spread in Ed’s belly. He wanted to hear that more.
There was a knock at the door. Alec got up to let in the poor sod whose job it was to clean up after Ed.
“I’m so sorry,” Ed heard him say. “My friend had a little run-in with a spider.”
Ed cringed, glad he couldn’t see around the corner in the L-shaped room to the bathroom door.
Alec returned and sat down again, pulling Ed’s foot into his lap as the sound of a vacuum cleaner started up in the bathroom. “Let’s get a plaster on you, so you can walk around your room without leaving a trail of gore behind you.”
It crossed Ed’s mind that he could easily be doing this himself. But Alec seemed to be enjoying playing doctor, and Ed wasn’t complaining. Alec took his time selecting a dressing, and as he smoothed it onto Ed’s foot, Ed flinched again.