He stepped closer, rummaging in the pocket of his lab coat and producing some more gauze. He tore open the packaging and wetted the gauze with the clear liquid before bending my ear forward. I winced when he cleaned the area, even though he was gentle.
“It should not be painful, human,” he asked. “You just drank some juice and the serum should be helping as well.”
“It’s more that it’s cold,” I said.
He grunted in reply and finished swiping the area clean. I stared at the black and pink stained gauze in his hand as he stepped back. “It looks better. I believe the fluid has drained out completely and the wound can be closed.”
He left and returned with a silver pen-like object in his hand. “This will hurt a little.”
I bit back my cry of pain when it felt like he was burning a line of fire into my skin. I squirmed and his hand tightened on my shoulder before he patted it almost sympathetically. “Sorry, human. I thought the juice in your system would help. Here, I will bring you another.”
He brought me a second bottle of juice and I drained it as quickly as I drained the first. He took both bottles and disposed of them and I took the opportunity to feel behind my ear when his back was turned. The skin still tingled but I couldn’t feel anything, not even a thin scar.
“Would you like to bathe now, human?” Sigan said.
“Yes,” I said eagerly.
He unhooked my IV and I watched carefully when he slid his finger under the cuff around my wrist. It turned green and opened with a small click, but I still couldn’t figure out how the hell he’d opened it.
I slid out of the bed and Sigan took my arm and led me toward a door on the far side of the room. “You may shower in there,” he said. “Give me your clothes and I will have them cleaned.”
“Um, I’m not undressing in front of you,” I said.
“I am not sexually attracted to you, human,” Sigan said. “No Draax will be.”
My face flushed bright red and a memory I’d rather not ever remember threatened to surface.
Ukana. Ukana. Ukana.
The word echoed in my brain, making me feel both nauseated and ashamed.
“You do not have to be concerned about me asking you to mate just because I see you naked. Trust me. You are much too thin.” Sigan was carrying on like he hadn’t just sliced open my oldest and most painful wound.
I swallowed down the hurt and the shame, shoved it deep where it belonged and, like I did so often, activated my sarcasm shield. “As much as I enjoy your sweet talking, I’m still not taking off my clothes in front of you, Sigan.”
“Sweet talking?” Sigan cocked one eyebrow as his tail waved in the air behind him. “What does that mean?”
Great. My sarcasm was lost on the Draax. “Look, I’ll get undressed in the bathroom and toss my clothes out to you. All right?”
“That is acceptable,” Sigan said.
He dropped my arm and I stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I leaned against the door for a second before stripping off my clothes and wrapping one of the clean towels around me. I opened the door just enough to toss my clothes out and to take the toothbrush and toothpaste that Sigan handed to me.
I turned the shower on and glanced at the door before quickly going through the cupboard under the sink.
“C’mon,” I muttered. “This is like a hospital, right? There’s gotta be a scalpel or something lying around that I can use to escape.”
The idea of using a scalpel against Sigan’s giant body was laughable, but it was the best plan I had. He wasn’t wearing a sword around his waist like the other two Draax, so maybe he was more of a lover than a fighter. Besides, even a giant Draax like Sigan would have to submit to me if I was holding a damn scalpel to his throat.
Of course, that would only work if there was something other than towels in the cupboard. I sighed and stood up, staring at myself in the mirror over the sink.
“Ugh.” My hair was dirty and stringy and the whole right side was matted to my head with the sticky black flux fluid and gallberry serum. I lifted my arm and sniffed my armpit, wrinkling my nose at the smell. I smelled worse than a hydron