"Ugh, fine." She rolled onto her side, reminding herself that she was trying to let herself surrender to him. Closing her eyes, she took a few cleansing breaths. "Good girl," he said softly, which made her heart skip a beat. She waited nervously as he snapped on gloves and lubricated the thermometer. When she finally felt him spread her cheeks, she got goosebumps again. "It's okay," he reassured her. She jumped when the cool tip of the thermometer touched her. "Relax," he said as he gently eased it in. "I'm trying," she said. "You're doing fine." He allowed her cheeks to close around the thermometer, and placed his now free hand on her hip, gently rubbing it with his thumb. She sighed softly. His hand felt nice there. She noticed his other hand seemed to be rotating the thermometer back and forth, which she wasn't sure was necessary. It felt strange, but not entirely unpleasant. Finally removing the thermometer, but with his hand still on her hip, he told her, "Stay here. I'm going to do a quick rectal exam." "What? Why?!" "Because I said so, Carrie." His tone tried to imply irritation, but she could tell it wasn't real. She remembered that he said he enjoyed her defiant streak. Maybe she was even playing into that a little bit. She whined. Speaking more gently, he said, "I always do a rectal exam after taking a temperature. It just gives me a chance to make sure everything is okay in there. Okay?" She nodded. "Okay." He lubricated his finger, then spread her open again. "All right, hon, here we go." He gently pressed his fingertip against her until the muscles relaxed, allowing it to enter. She breathed deeply and heavily. "Deep breaths," he said. "You're okay." She felt his finger rotating and curling in every direction. It wasn't a terrible sensation, if she could get past the embarrassment of having a finger in her behind. "Okay, Carrie, all done," he told her. "It might feel a little funny coming out." She remembered this sensation from the last time -- feeling like she was going to the bathroom against her will. "All right," he said, removing and discarding his gloves. "You can turn onto your back." He picked up a nearby sheet and draped it over her. "Before we go any further, we need to get you hydrated and get your temperature down." She wondered how much further there was to go. "Stay here," he said. "I'll be right back." He returned after a couple of minutes with a large glass of ice water, two ibuprofen, and a bottle of aloe vera gel. He set the items down on her bedside table, then helped her sit up. He handed her the water and the ibuprofen. "Take these and drink as much as you can," he told her. It wasn't hard to drink down the entire glass of water -- she was extremely thirsty. Opening the bottle of aloe, he said, "Okay, let the sheet down so I can put some of this on you." She thought about arguing that she could put the gel on herself, but she restrained herself. She rather liked the idea of him applying it, anyway. She let the sheet fall to her waist, and watched him as he squeezed the gel onto his fingers, then began to rub it onto her chest and shoulders. She sighed softly. For the first time, she truly didn't care about her lack of clothing. The aloe felt so good on her sunburn, and his hands felt so good on her body. Devin smiled as he continued to massage the gel into her skin. He knew she was finally starting to enjoy herself. "Lean forward," he said. She complied, and he continued to rub the cooling gel over her neck and back. "Feel better?" She smiled and nodded. "Good." Putting the cap back on the bottle, he said, "Lie back down for me. I'm going to go wash my hands and I'll be right back." She did as he told her, keeping the sheet at her waist but not bothering to pull it back over her torso.