here.”
His eyes were silver and serious, the light moved under his skin, and she watched stars move and collide. She really wanted to follow some of the light with her fingertips, but she curled her hands into her lap instead.
She swallowed. “I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you. It seems that Mr. Blue has already done enough.”
He cocked his head. “You will not ask me for assistance?”
She shrugged. “I am used to it. It is fine. It is how I schedule my time.”
He blinked. “You don’t want a life pain-free?”
She chuckled. “I don’t know what I would do with it.”
“Perhaps, think of something else to do with your time spent managing pain?”
“Like what?”
He smiled, and his elegant features were charming. “Like me.”
Her face and specific parts of her body went hot. “Oh.”
She met his gaze. “I wouldn’t consider that a full-time occupation.”
He snorted in surprise. “I don’t know whether to be amused or insulted.”
When he moved, she could see the muscles of his abdomen bunch and relax. She slowly looked up, and he was watching her stare at him. He reached over and pulled her into his lap. “I believe I will opt for amused.”
He tugged at her neckline and eased her dress off her shoulder. “If you are numbed to pain, this might not be as difficult as it would otherwise be, but it isn’t going to be pleasant.”
“Here?”
“You wish to wait? I thought proof of concept would help you along.” He flexed his fingers, and the tabs that connected her sleeve came away, one by one.
“What if someone comes?” she slapped her left hand to her chest to keep the dress from exposing her breast.
“There is not a course scheduled for another thirty minutes.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “We have privacy.”
She looked at his dark head, and she swallowed. “What does this entail?”
He left a trail of kisses down her arm, the exposed and twisted skin. “A little blood calling to blood.”
She blinked at the feel of his lips against the basically numbed skin. She watched, and he slowly traced his tongue along the lines of the scars. When he had traced all the ones in that bundle, he lifted his hand and drew his thumb across his palm. Blood ran down onto her arm, and it faithfully followed the wet trace left by his tongue.
She watched the blood run along her skin until it covered everywhere that he had licked. He lifted his hand to his mouth and licked the wound. While she watched, the slice closed.
When he kissed her, she widened her eyes because she could taste far more than copper along his tongue. She wanted to ask him what was going on, but he threaded a hand through her hair, and he held her to the kiss while the taste slowly dissipated. His tongue moved along hers, swirled, and plunged, and she shifted her thighs together as there was a reaction.
He lifted his head and closed his eyes. “Take a deep breath.”
She didn’t know what was going on, but there was a wrenching pain in her arm while he held her tight. She looked down, and there was light coming from the scar tissue. Her arm throbbed, and the muscles twisted as alignments were shaped and formed once again.
She was covered in sweat, panting, and ten minutes had passed before the pain subsided. She was gasping for air, and she didn’t want to look at her arm.
He pressed a kiss to her temple and licked the sweat. “You can look at it. Your arm is still there.”
She looked over, and her arm was, indeed, still there. Her sleeve was down, the metallic white of her skin was glowing, and there were only slight marks left from the original scars. The muscle looked the same as her other side. “How did you do that?”
“My father’s skill. Blood healing. The blast damage will have to be addressed over a few days. Doing it in one would be dangerous for you.”
She blinked. “You will only be here a few more days.”
He smiled. “Then, I suppose we will have to make alternative arrangements.”
She flexed her hand and raised her arm. “It feels like it does in the scenarios. Thank you.” She looked at him and beamed.
He cuddled her and smiled. “I have never found this technique to be particularly useful before now. It is too slow for use in battle.”
She flexed her hand again. “I am sorry it isn’t more useful, but I can only say that