and it might swell."
"Wrapped a lot of dog bites?"
"Wolf." His yellow eyes jumped up to watch me. "Usually on other wolves. Our injuries do shift with us, you know."
"Yeah, like Roman's scar." I nodded to show I understood, just as he lifted away the towel.
Yep, that hurt even more now. The space around the teeth marks had already turned red, but I didn't think it would bruise. At least, I hoped it wouldn't, but I was probably wrong. While I watched, Lane gently wrapped the gauze around and around my arm until I couldn't see my skin through the gaps in the fabric. It was thick, but when he bent my elbow, it wasn't too tight. Then he used the tape to secure it all, acting like he really had done this a few times.
"I'm so sorry," he said again.
"Stop apologizing for doing what I asked you to," I said, flexing my arm again to see how bad it hurt. Kinda bad, actually. "I want to be a wolf bad enough to tolerate this. I mean, it's not really worse than giving birth, right?"
He put away the supplies we didn't use, then carried the towel to my hamper, but he didn't answer. While he did that, I moved to the middle of the bed, wishing that I'd taken off my bra before we'd done this, and the idea of lifting my arms to put on my nightgown sounded like a very bad idea. Probably not the sexiest date I'd ever had with a man, but I knew it would be worth it in the end.
When he came back, he looked even more worried. "You know your first shift is going to hurt, right?"
"Really?"
He nodded. "You should be almost delirious from the fever, so won't really notice, but it hurts. Your body will try to resist, because it doesn't know what it's doing. Most scream, Elena. I should've mentioned that before - "
"No," I said, cutting him off. "Lane, I'm doing this. I'm sick and tired of being scared of everything, and always feeling like I'm weak. I'm doing this, and it's already done. Now, I just have to deal with it."
"But what if you hate me?" he whispered.
"Won't happen," I swore. "I asked for this, Lane. You're helping me. Now... Can you come help me take off my bra? It seems my arm hurts a little."
He crawled up on the bed until he was beside me, then pressed against the shoulder on my good arm to get me to lean forward. When I did, he scooted back a little further and unfastened the clasp. Next, I felt his lips caress my back, and he eased the straps forward. I slipped my good arm free, then Lane carefully worked the strap over the wrap on my arm, only to toss it toward the floor.
Then he kissed my back again, his mouth working its way toward the back of my neck. "I don't like it when you hurt, my bunny," he whispered against my ear. "I just want to take care of you, Elena."
"You are," I promised, twisting so I could see him.
Lane just leaned in, easing me down onto the bed. "And you're still wearing panties. I shouldn't take those off."
"Yes, you should," I decided. "I mean, if you want to make me feel better, I can think of a few things that would help."
His teeth grazed the side of my neck lightly before he slid lower on the bed. I watched his shoulders flex as he moved down beside my hip, and his large, strong hands hooked in the waistband of my panties. I lifted my ass and he guided them down, his eyes dropping to the junction of my legs. One hand grabbed my thigh, pressing it to the bed. The other worked my panties off my ankles, and then he leaned in to lick right across my folds.
"Yeah, I'll make you feel very good," he promised before pushing my legs open and rolling between them.
When his mouth landed on my clit, I gasped, lifting myself to make it even easier. Lane shoved an arm under my ass to hold me there, and his tongue flicked across me. In that instant, I forgot all about the throbbing pain of my arm. All that mattered was the next pass of his tongue, his lips, and an indescribable urge to feel his thick fingers inside me.
"I told you bunnies were made to be eaten," he teased, and then I got those