Chapter 41 Why Don't You Cuddle Me?
He was supposed to be in Athana now but had suddenly appeared in Alcomara, so everyone was surprised.
Before Daisy mocked Natalie, she did not expect Luke would come. Now, although he didn't show any anger on his face, the look in his dark eyes was as cold as ice.
The more expressionless he was, the more frightened others felt.
Being stared at like this, Daisy felt dangerous. Looking at him, she remembered she was scared into tears when she took Natalie's place to go to his ward to check on him.
She couldn't help trembling all over, took two steps back, stuttered her apology, and fled out of the office in a panic with her bag.
There was a dead silence, and no one dared to breathe loudly.
No one had expected he would suddenly show up.
And even Natalie was stunned.
She kept her head down without moving a muscle, so Luke bent over to look at her and asked with a gentle expression, "Have you eaten dinner?"
Natalie didn't speak but stared blankly at her desk.
Her colleague fell into a dilemma, not knowing whether she should leave. Seeing Natalie keep silent, she took a deep breath and said carefully, "Nata should be... ill."
Hearing that, Luke frowned and reached out to take off Natalie's mask. Her lips were bloodless, and her face was pale, looking as if she were going to faint at any time.
"Let's go to see a doctor," Luke immediately said and grabbed her arm. Natalie's limbs were numb, and when she was dragged up from her chair, her legs were weak, so she staggered into his firm embrace.
Soon, she felt that a man had lifted her into his arms.
Natalie was completely confused now. The figure of the man was blurry in her eyes, and she couldn't tell whether it was a dream.
Before losing consciousness, she saw his thin lips and well-defined jaw when he strode out steadily with her in his arms.
It was not a coincidence that she had passed out at such a moment. She endured the dizziness for a long time. People were stronger when they were alone. Once they had someone to depend on, they would become weaker.
So, as soon as she had seen him, she couldn't hold on any longer.
Natalie fainted for a long time, and when she woke up, she found that the curtains were closed and that there was only a lamp glowing softly in the room.
It was Ward 901.
She was so familiar with it that she knew where it was as soon as she opened her eyes.
There was a venous indwelling needle in the back of her hand, so she guessed she had been put on a drip after she had passed out.
The door was pushed open gently, and Luke came in with a bowl of porridge. Seeing her awake, he sat by the bed and asked, "Are you feeling better?"
Natalie was sobered up, but her throat was so dry that she could not speak. She stared at him weakly for a while and responded in a hoarse voice, "Yes..."
When their eyes met, they both fell silent.
The feeling of reuniting after a long departure was complicated and wonderful. They could not take their eyes off each other, but they inconsequently felt a little unacquainted.
"You work in the hospital. Why didn't you go to see a doctor when you're sick?" Luke broke the ice. He put down the bowl and help her sit up by holding her back.
Then, he pinched her cheek lightly and teased with a smile, "Why are you wearing such thin clothes? Did you get sick on purpose to let me come back to take care of you?"
He smiled wickedly as before, making Natalie feel as if he had never left and had deliberately bitten her ear in the car yesterday.
She leaned against a pillow and said in a hoarse and low voice, "Why are you here..."
"You're angry with me, so I hurried back to coax you."
As Luke was speaking, he poured a glass of lukewarm water and put it in front of her lips. She didn't have much strength now, so she took a sip to moisten her throat without taking the glass over, but her throat hurt when she swallowed.
Natalie frowned and turned her face away to refuse to drink more.
"Eat some porridge." Luke picked up the bowl and scooped some porridge to feed her, but she shook her head with a dull expression on her face.
"You should have some food before taking the medicine."
Natalie kept silent, but after Luke finished speaking, she frowned in disgust.
No matter how he persuaded her, she refused to eat the porridge. He didn't take care of a patient before, so he found it was very hard to look after her.
Luke lowered his head and showed a helpless smile.
He sighed, rubbed her ear lobe, and suddenly asked, "Are you unhappy to see me come back?"
Hearing this, Natali raised her head and looked into his dark eyes.
How could she be unhappy? She missed him every day, but when he came back, she suspected that she was dreaming.
"I didn't expect you to come back today..." Natalie said in a soft voice, "I was uncomfortable, so I didn't reply to your message."
Her words were half-truths. It was true that she didn't expect he would make a trip to Alcomara for her, but she did not reply to his message because she was upset by the gossip.
Luke didn't expose her lie or show any dissatisfaction. He smiled knowingly, "I thought you were angry with me."
Natalie knew she was indeed angry with him back then.
Now, the temperature varied widely from day to night, and she had been put on a drip just now, so her hand was cold. As soon as she lowered her head and made a fist, Luke grabbed her hand and put it back under the blanket.
The longer she kept silent, the more obvious her jealousy became.
Luke gave up waiting for her to ask and took the initiative to explain, "No matter who my mom goes shopping with, it has nothing to do with me, understand?"
Hearing this, Natalie was stunned and realized that he suddenly came back from Athana to Alcomara because he did not want her to misunderstand him.
No matter how depressed she was in the afternoon, all the negative moods intensified by her illness instantly dissipated after she heard his explanation.
She said in a soft voice, "I see."
After being serious for a short while, Luke gave a smirk, leaned over, looked into her eyes, and said, "Don't you know the woman I like is you?"
Natalie was slow with everything now, so she thought for a while before asking in a faint voice, "Really?"
"Really! Otherwise, I would not have chased you for such a long time."
This was the first time he had clearly stated that he liked her. Although his confession was simple and casual, Natalie was moved.
Luke lifted the bowl in his hand and raised his eyebrows, saying, "If you don't have it now, it will get cold. Would you please have some?"
No one had ever coaxed her so patiently when she was sick, and no young girl could resist a man who doted on herself like this.
Natalie looked at him aggrievedly as if she had changed from a little hedgehog into a spoiled cat.
"It hurts..."
"Your throat?" Luke asked.
Natalie had a stuffy nose, so she sniffed hard and nodded uneasily.
Her voice was so hoarse that it sounded as if she were crying, making her look more pitiful.
But this delicate appearance melted Luke's heart and made him want to give her all his tenderness.
He stroked her hot face and said as if coaxing a child, "What about you have half of it? And then you can go to sleep."
After her eyelashes flickered lightly, she pressed her face against his palm and asked, "Will you be here when I wake up?"
Luke fell silent.
He left Athana on impulse when he couldn't reach her. Because of the case of Bretton Pharmaceutical, different forces in the company were fighting fiercely now. To win this battle, he could not stay here for long.
He'd better hurry back right away.
But she was so docile now like a well-behaved kitten. She was tentatively trying to make him stay and was afraid she could not see him when she woke up, making it very hard for him to leave.
After a moment of silence, Luke showed a carefree smile and said, "Yes, I will."
He approached her and said in a gentle and flirtatious voice, "Can you share the bed with me?"
Natalie was sure he was making a joke with her, but she didn't glare at him as before but just said slowly, "I am contagious."
"I am not so weak." He didn't care.
Natalie lowered her head for a while, took the porridge over from his hand silently, ate half of it despite a sore throat, and returned the bowl to him.
Luke was trying to figure out a way to coax her into having the porridge, so when she suddenly ate, he was a little startled and then smiled, "Nata, you are a good girl."
Natalie didn't reply but spread her palm toward him.
The smile on his lips became bigger, and then he touched the glass. After confirming the water was still warm, he handed it to her.
Natalie was exhausted, so she felt sleepy and couldn't sit up anymore after eating. When she lay down, she didn't close her eyes. As soon as Luke stood up, she gently hooked one of his fingers with her finger, asking, "Where are you going?"
She was sick, so her voice was low and soft like the moon's reflection in a pond that would shatter at the slightest touch.
Luke paused his steps and looked back at her.
Her pretty eyes were half-closed and watery, and she was staring at him hazily.
Luke was enchanted by her eyes. After a while, he found that she only occupied half of the bed, and the other half was empty.
Therefore, he asked thoughtfully, "I can sleep there?"
Natalie also benefited from the cold because her dizziness overwhelmed her shyness. Therefore, she anomalously nodded her head in response after hearing his question and then murmured, "Aren't you going to accompany me?"
She rarely clung to Luke, so he was stunned for a while, and then he rubbed her finger gently and lower his voice gradually, saying, "Are you sure you want me to sleep here?"
Natalie nodded without hesitation.
Luke looked at her for a moment, giving her a chance to go back on her words, but she did not cop out after a long time. She blinked her eyes and frowned as if questioning him why he had not gotten in bed yet.
Since she invited him like this, he would not recline her kindness. He was not a gentleman anyway.
Luke smiled, unbuttoned his shirt without hesitation, and lay down beside her.
The light was dim because only a small night lamp was on.
He patted her head soothingly and said goodnight, and the room became so quiet that they could hear each other's breathing.
Natalie did not become very bold because of her sickness. When she felt Luke's hot body temperature through the blanket and smelled the nice scent on his body again, she got restless.
They were separated for too long, so her mind was occupied by her affection for him now. When she left home to work this morning, she didn't expect she would see him today.
How to describe her emotions now?
She was excited, but she was also worried because maybe when she woke up, she would not be able to see him again until several months later.
Natalie lifted a corner of the blanket and put it over Luke.
Instantly, he opened his eyes.
They were resting their heads on two different pillows and lying on their sides face to face, staring at each other in the dim orange light.
"Why don't you sleep? Are you uncomfortable?"
Luke didn't ask why she had covered him with the blanket, but his deep eyes were staring at her as if his gaze could envelop her up.
Natalie didn't answer because she was too dizzy and sleepy. She had stopped thinking, and instinct was governing her body now.
She was in a daze, so she moved closer and closer to him and finally pressed her face against his chest. Through the thin shirt, she could hear his powerful heartbeats.
Luke froze slightly and called her name softly.
Somehow, Natalie's eyes got moist. She had taken the initiative to approach him, but he hadn't cuddled her yet as if he had not missed her at all.
Natalie felt a little aggrieved, so she wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her face in his chest, and said sullenly, "Why don't you cuddle me..."
After a five-second silence, Luke let out a hoarse laugh.
He had wanted to retrain himself and just sleep beside her, but she had taken the initiative to flirt with him?
Luke raised his arms and pulled her closer. Natalie was wearing a short blouse, so his hands could easily reach under her clothes and press on her smooth lower back.
He lowered his head and kissed her red ear, saying, "How dare you seduce me like this? Aren't you afraid I will do bad things to you?"