I frowned at him, then looked back at Stephen. "He's not seriously suggesting I open a vein for him, is he?"
"Richard could do it," Stephen said.
"Richard couldn't feed one of the leopards," Lorraine said, "only us."
"Raina could have f**ked him back to health," Kevin said.
That earned him a long stare from me. "What are you talking about?"
"Raina could share energy without sharing blood," he said. His face registered both distaste and lust, as if he'd enjoyed some of Raina's shows in spite of himself. "She'd run her hands over you, then her body. It always ended with her f**king you. The more hurt you started out, the better she liked it, but you'd be healed when she was finished."
I turned to Stephen, because I didn't believe it. He nodded. "I've seen her do it."
"You're not suggesting that she..." Lorraine let the awful thought go unsaid, but I was with her.
"I am not opening a vein, and I am most certainly not going to have sex with him."
"You don't want me." Nathaniel's voice was tear-filled, heartbroken.
"It's nothing personal," I said. "I'm just not into casual sex." This entire conversation was too weird even for me.
"Then Nathaniel has to stay here at least another twenty-four hours," Kevin said. He rolled the cigarette between his fingers while he talked.
Stephen nodded. "That's what the doctor said. We asked when he told me I could go home today."
"Don't leave me, Stephen." Nathaniel reached out across the space between them, as if he could touch him.
"I won't leave you alone, Nathaniel, not without someone to take care of you."
Teddy spoke. "Just because it ended in sex for Raina doesn't mean it has to end that way."
We all looked at him. "What do you mean?" Kevin asked.
"Everything ended in sex for Raina. But it was the touching that healed. I think my injuries were healed before we got down to basics." Just listening to him talk like that with a sixty-inch chest of pure muscle made my brain hurt. It was like finding out your golden retriever talked. You just didn't expect to get brains in such a bulky package.
Kevin shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is she healed me. I don't remember when I was better. I just remember her."
"Is there anyone in this room that didn't sleep with Raina?" I asked.
The only person who raised their hand was Lorraine, and knowing Raina, that had been debatable. "Sweet Jesus."
"I think Anita could heal him without sex, just bare skin," Teddy said.
I started to say no, then remembered sharing energy with Jean-Claude. Bare skin had been important there, too. Maybe it was the same. "Did Raina seem to feel tired after healing you?"
All the men shook their heads. The consensus was it seemed to energize her, not weaken her. Of course, that was Raina and she had been an unusual puppy even for a werewolf.
I didn't want to leave Nathaniel here, not even with werewolves to guard him. I didn't trust Padgett. There was also no guarantee that the zealots, whoever they were, wouldn't try for another hit. Either we all went or we all stayed. I had more crime scenes to visit. I couldn't sit here all bloody day.
"Okay, let's try it, but I don't have the faintest idea how to begin."
Nathaniel settled back into the pillows with something like a smile of expectation on his face. Like a child who's about to get the ice cream he was promised. Trouble was, I was the ice cream.
37
Kevin put a chair under the door handle and we were as secure as we were likely to get. I'd told Smith, who was now manning the door, that I needed to get a feel for things, and I'd be done when I was done. I was being treated like a detective, so the uniforms would stay out. The only worry was Padgett. He'd only stay out until his ego recovered. I half expected him to try and barge in on us. The only thing that might save us from him was the fact that he'd want to break the door in because he'd be sensing what we were doing, and he wouldn't want to admit that.
I stood by the bed. Nathaniel looked up at me with a look that was so trusting, it made me nervous. I turned away and found everyone else looking at me, too. "Okay, guys, now what? I've never even seen this done."