Chapter 174: The longing is finally gone

It was not his first time visiting Amber's house. He had come over before when he brought along his parents as well. And yes, he had walked through the front door too before, not just climbing up to her bedroom window.

Looking around him, he felt a sense of familiarity. It has been a while since he last visited and he could smell that familiar scent in the air.

He continued to follow Amber's mother into the kitchen where she began to serve him a glass of orange juice.

"Before visiting Amber, I'd like to ask, how are you, Erick?" she asked, leaning against the kitchen island.

Erick gave her a small smile and answered politely, "I'm good. Thank you for asking."

She was holding a cup of orange juice as well and she took a sip before replying back, "Yes, you haven't been visiting us lately. Have you been busy?"

Erick frowned inwardly. Why does it seem like he was being interrogated here?

"Yes, sort-of, Mrs. Keene. I've been busy with family and all that," he replied back, still being polite.

"Hmm… family, is it?" Mrs. Keene said slowly as she sipped her drink again.

Before he could answer, he could scent a familiar scent yet sickly behind him. He whirled around with wide eyes to find Amber, with a blanket around her body, sniffing. She looked adorable with her hair all tied up on top of her head, in a messy way. Her eyes were watery and her nose was red from constant sniffles and rubbing from tissues.

Apparently, she did not know that Erick was coming over to visit so she was extremely shocked when she saw him standing in her kitchen. She wanted to scream of fright but because she was sick, she could only cough.

Erick immediately rushed to her side, rubbing her back. "What are you doing out of the bed? You should be resting," he scolded gently.

Amber stared at him with wide eyes and said with a raspy voice, "And what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I heard that you were sick," he replied, as if that answers everything. He then leaned closer to her and said softly, "And Dane was getting fidgety. He wanted to see you too."

Amber squinted her green eyes at him and answered back, "And you don't?"

"I do, very much," Erick said softly as he brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. And before she could say anything, he had carried her up in a princess carry.

Oblivious to the gasp from the two women, Erick turned around with Amber in his arms and said, "I'll be bringing her up to her room, Mrs. Keene."

Amber's mother was too shocked that she could only nod quietly as she watched her daughter being carried away.

Amber covered her red face with both of her hands. She then hissed at Erick with that throaty voice of hers, "The heck are you doing?? My mom was right there!"

Erick looked down at his beloved woman in his arms. Although she looked less than what she usually looked, it did not matter to him. She was still the most beautiful woman in his heart.

He looked confused at her embarrassed rage. "Yeah, I know. I can see your mother right there," he replied, sounding bewildered.

Amber rubbed her face in resignation.

Erick awkwardly opened the door to her room with her still in his arms. Once the door had opened, he walked in and gently placed her on her bed. He pulled her blankets up to her chin and tucked her in.

Amber narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you feel shy about being in my room, knowing my mother is outside?" she asked in disbelief.

Again, he looked baffled. He had been in her bedroom so many times. Why should he be even embarrassed about it? Granted, her parents were not aware of him being in her room. But still, why should he care?

Hence, he voiced out his concerns. "What's wrong? Should I be embarrassed?"

Amber just sighed and had no energy to talk with this young man of hers. She then sneezed. She wordlessly tried to reach for the tissues on her bedside table but Erick was much faster. He grabbed a couple of tissues and held them on her nose.

"Blow," he ordered gently.

Amber stared at him, wide-eyed. Did he seriously ask her to blow her nose in his hand? Even with the tissue??

He saw the shocked look on her face and realized that she was probably embarrassed again. He gently nudged the tissues towards her nose and ordered softly, "Come on. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Just blow."

Amber embarrassedly and reluctantly blew her nose. Her face was really red; it was unsure whether it was because she was sick or because she was really uneasy.

After she was done blowing her nose, Erick turned to throw the dirtied tissues in the dustbin and went to look for something on her bedside table. He then found what he was looking for and put the thermometer in her mouth.

He frowned when he saw her high temperature. Removing the thermometer from her mouth, he placed it back and went out of the room, leaving Amber looking confused.

Few minutes later, he returned with a couple of towels and a cup in hand. When he got closer to her, she realized that it was a cup of hot lemon and honey. He placed the cup on her hands and said, "You should drink this. It's good for your throat."

He leaned closer to her and placed his hand on her forehead. He then found that it was still hot. Frowning, he looked at her.

Amber looked back and realized how close he was. Panicked, she tried to move away from him. Erick frowned even more when he saw that she was trying to get away from him. "Why are you moving away from me?" he asked.

"I don't want you to catch what I'm having now," she said with a muffled voice as she covered her mouth with one hand and another holding her cup carefully.

Erick smiled as he pulled away. "You don't have to worry about that. We, shifters, never get sick."

"Ever?" she said dubiously as she slowly lowered her hand.

Erick nodded.

'How lucky,' she thought enviously.

As if he knew what she was thinking, he said, "If you're to be mated with me, you won't ever get sick as well."

"Mated?" Amber repeated.

Erick nodded.

"How does that work?"

Erick immediately went beet red. He quickly looked away, looking embarrassed. She could see his ears turned red as well. She found this very… endearing and adorable. "I'll… let Jeayan tell you about that," he mumbled softly.

"Aww… Are you being shy now?" Amber teased.

Erick turned to her and pretended to look angry. "I'm not!" he protested. He then gestured at the cup in her hands. "Now, go and drink!"

Amber hid her smile as she took a sip of her hot honeyed lemon drink. It felt good being pampered like this, even though she was sick. Her smile grew bigger when she saw he was still embarrassed.

He then turned to her and frowned more when he saw that she was still amused. "Go and finish that drink quickly!" he demanded. "I'm going to grab some food for you to eat."

"Yes sir!" Amber said cheekily, giving a mock-salute.

Erick suppressed a smile from his face as he walked out of the door.

Amber let out a happy sigh once he left the room. It really felt good having him around here. Makes the longing feel like it didn't exist before.