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Topaz
I wake to the sight of Kyan and his long limbs half-pretzeled into the corner armchair. He looks terribly uncomfortable, and a wave of guilt washes over me.
“Hell, Ky. You should have taken the bed beside me. You’re the injured one!”
He shakes his head.
My cheeks flush with heat. I know exactly what he’s alluding to, without him having to utter a word. There’s something happening between us, and if we were both stretched out side by side on this bed...
Maybe he made the right call, after all.
When I sit up, dizziness hits me like a brick wall, and I have to wait a second for it to pass. It leaves a headache residue, and I groan and press a hand to my forehead. “How long was I out?”
“About three hours,” Kyan says. “You sure needed it.”
At some point while I was asleep, he must have been back out to the other room. My bag is on the floor next to the bed, and a plate full of cheese, crackers, nuts, and some wedges of apple and orange, sits on the bedside table beside a bottle of water, and a glass of red wine.
My stomach rumbles as I snap open the water bottle and drink, then attack the food. It feels like forever ago that I ate.
“Fancy supper,” I mumble, between bites. At last I’m sated. “Sorry. Didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
“Don’t be sorry. I couldn’t even wait for you to wake up. A shifter cannot live on one serving of donuts and coffee per day. I ate all the packaged meats in the refrigerator. Hope you don’t mind?”
I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t eat meat.”
“Ah. Well, that works, then, as I love it.”
He bends to one side, and retrieves a half-drunk glass of red wine from the floor beside his chair.
I snag my glass and raise it. “Here’s to...” Us, I almost say, but that sounds too intimate. “To a better day tomorrow,” I finish lamely, before taking a sip.
One corner of his mouth curves up. “I’ll drink to that.”
He does, before leaning forward, clasping the wine glass loosely, and resting his forearms on his knees.
When he winces, all the memories come back to me in a rush.
“You’re still hurting.” I look him over with a more critical eye. His posture is casual, loose, but he’s sitting awkwardly, slightly hunched. “You should have said.”
“I’m good.”
“No, you’re not.” I flip aside the bed covers and climb out, kneeling down in front of him. “Why didn’t you shift? During the attack, or after? Doesn’t that help the healing process?”
“It does. But...” He shrugs and stares somewhere above my head. Almost as if he doesn’t want to meet my gaze. “I didn’t want to.”
“Fair enough.” He allows me to take his glass and put it aside. “Do you mind... taking this off?” I pluck at his torn and blood-covered shirt.
“You planning to ravish me, then?”
There’s an instant ache between my legs and my nipples pebble into hardness.
“No.” I dip my head, allowing my hair to drop down and hide my expression. “I just want to...err... check your wounds.”
He reaches out one long finger and lifts my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.
Desire is rampant in his eyes, but his face is unnaturally pale and his breathing is shallower than it should be.
“My wound is healing nicely. Just need a few more hours and I’ll be as good as new.”
I frown, the rising lust within me tamped down. “Let me help the process along, a little bit.”
“You need to rest, Topaz.”
I tut and reach for my bag. “Not this again. I’m fine, now that I’ve slept.”
“Hey, you know I’m right.”
“No. I’m right.” I let out a huff of relief when my fingers close around a small jar filled with aniseed root in my bag. “Here, bite down on a piece of this. It’s charmed. It’ll help with any residual pain.”
He raises an eyebrow when I pass him a piece of the root, but he does as I say without complaining. After some more rummaging, I realize I’m running low on medicinal supplies. All those diagnostic spells, and now healing, which definitely is not my strong suit...
I come across a small jar of the facial cleanser Amethyst created, that we use in the spa treatments. She gave some to me last time I was out visiting, and I must have put it in my bag and forgotten about it. Till now.
Excellent.
While I might be average at healing, Amethyst’s skills in that area are a whole lot stronger than mine. There’s a reason our resort is the most popular spa facility this side of the bay area; everything she uses contains a little something extra.
I grin as I hold up the jar. The contents shimmer and swirl in the light cast by the lamp.
It’s not perfect, but it’ll do in a pinch. And this is one hell of a pinch.
I hurry into the bathroom and snag a couple of towels. It’s time for some improvising.
When I return, Kyan has removed his shirt. I stop dead at the sight of his hard, muscled body. There isn’t an ounce of fat anywhere on him. He looks so fit and incredibly sexy. Butterflies start up in my belly, and wander south, all the way down to that sacred space between my legs.
I squeeze my legs tight, trying to control my urges, but that only heightens the desire.
I clear my throat, focusing on the ragged gash that runs from his right collarbone all the way down across his chest and upper abdomen, tapering off below his ribs on the left.
The flesh has knitted nicely, and it is no longer bleeding at all, but the wound is red and raw.
He needs to rest. Not... I swallow hard. Not anything else.
I drop down in front of him, and one of his hands closes around my wrist. “Wait. I...” He takes a deep breath and a small frown appears as his brows draw together. “Thank you.”
I get the impression he’s not used to receiving help from anyone. I’m quite sure he has never had a witch fussing over him. I grin up at him, trying to let him know that it’s okay for everyone to accept support when they need it. “No problem.”
The sudden vulnerability in his expression is my undoing. Something catches inside my chest, and before I can stop myself, I reach up and smooth back some of the wayward hair that has dropped down into his eyes.
He turns his head and presses a kiss to my palm.
I hitch a breath and hold it, before pulling back my hand.
“Let’s see what we can do with this,” I say, but my voice comes out all husky and low, not sounding like my usual light tone at all.
He grunts as I explore the wound. Heat under my fingertips confirms there is still a lot going on beneath the surface.
“You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long,” I murmur.
He throws a crooked grin in my direction. “You needed it.”
I don’t know what to say to that, because he’s right. My powers aren’t yet fully restored, but I feel a whole lot better than I did when we staggered through the cabin door earlier.
I open the jar of cleanser and begin to treat his injury. After a moment, I reach into my bag and snag some powdered arrowroot which I add to the ointment. I focus on getting the concoction just the right consistency before I continue to apply it to his chest in gentle circular movements.
His eyes remain fixed on me as I work.
“You mentioned yesterday that you’re not too good at healing. I beg to differ, Topaz. You have very restful... hands.”
“Um... thanks.” This situation is suddenly far more intimate than I planned. My face heats, but I don’t stop what I’m doing. His muscles beneath my fingertips are firm and undulating and his skin is warm and silken. Soft and hard, all in one delicious package.
My breathing becomes uneven.
Concentrate on the task.
“What would I do without you, little witch?” He leans into my touch, and at last the tincture on his skin begins to glow a little brighter. It’s working.
“Only the goddess knows. At the rate you’re going, I’m surprised you’ve survived this long without me.”
He releases a bark of laughter that quickly turns into a hiss. The tincture glows brighter as the magic draws damaged tissue together, burning out anything that isn’t as it should be.
“What did you do?”
I glance at him as I put the ingredients back into my bag. “Boosted the restorative magic in Amethyst’s facial cleanser with a little extra embellishment of my own. She uses it to give her clients rejuvenated skin. I figured a little spelled powder might help to actually repair yours. And the organs beneath.”
He stares at me with something like awe. “That makes sense,” he says eventually. “And I feel much better already, so whatever you did, worked very well.”
I look away, embarrassed.
“Hey.” His fingers brush the edge of my jaw. When I look up, he slides both of his hands into my hair, cupping my head and forcing my gaze to meet his. “I have to say, you’re nothing like what I was expecting when Burley sent me to find you.”
He chuckles in a soft, low way that makes me ache in all my womanly places.
His hands slide down over my shoulders and reach my waist. He grips hard, encouraging me closer. Emboldened, I let him draw me in, fitting neatly in the space between his open thighs. I revel in his proximity, his heat.
“I know the feeling,” I murmur.
Now that’s an understatement.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a man in a sexual way. The past couple of days have been more than crazy, but for some reason, with Ky, it is as if I cannot help myself. When it comes to this shifter, my body doesn’t want to accept the word no.
His fingers tighten as if reflexively, and I kneel up until my mound grinds against his hardening flesh. It is all I can do not to let out a heartfelt moan.
He grips me under the arms, lifting me up until I straddle his lap. I settle against him, rocking my hips and enjoying the pressure against my clit.
“You’re still recovering,” I whisper, and he laughs, shaking us both.
“Not anymore. Thanks to you.” Then his face turns serious. “You’re beautiful, Topaz. I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
His hands cradle my hips, encouraging my gentle rocking. His eyes burn with intensity. The low tenor of his voice vibrates through my body, sending shivers down my spine.
“When you walk into a room, I have trouble concentrating on anything else.” He raises one hand and traces up over my ribs to tease at my already hard nipples. First the right, then the left.
This time, I can’t hold the moan inside.
The sound is followed by a low growl from Kyan. He bends his head and brushes his lips teasingly against the pulse point in my neck.
“Ever since I laid eyes on you, I feel like I’m barely holding it together.”
The desire that washes through my veins is so potent every part of me starts to shake. “I know what you mean. And I think you should stop trying to hold it together, Ky.” I arch against him, unable to stop my actions and reactions when it comes to this man. “Do whatever you want with me, before you drive me insane.”
