Chapter Seven
***
Clara woke slowly likethe sun ascending the sky at dawn. She felt soft, comfortable, and the cloud she lay upon hugged and supported her in all the right places.
I'm on a cloud.She giggled to herself and blinked. She looked around and her eyes landed on Dr. Canis—no— Reid who sat beside her.
Her lips pressed up into a soft smile. “Are you on a cloud too?” She barely heard her own voice. His eyes flashed, black and dark. Not dawn, she mused to herself. Somehow, his eyes reminded her of something that she couldn't quite remember exactly, and despite the intense heat of his gaze, she couldn't look away.
“No, Clara, I'm not on a cloud.” He leaned closer to her but she felt too good to move back.
“That's too bad, my cloud feels great.” She laughed softly, feeling wonderful.
“Is that so?”
“I would never lie!” To prove it, she shook her hips, showing off the voluminous thing that covered every part of her. His eyes dipped down. She giggled and swayed them again. His Adam's apple bobbed over his throat and Clara had an urge to wrap her lips around it. “I wonder if it tastes like apples too?”
“What?” Reid’s eyes shot back to hers.
“I said that out loud,” she stated more for herself, then smiled. “Apples are food of the gods.” Clara stretched as she said it, loving the feel of air on her skin.
“So are berries.”
“Hmm. Yes. I agree.”
His hand moved over her and pressed down on her torso right below her breasts to stop her from moving. It was like a burn, a brand, over the center of her body.
“Stop moving. You're still recovering. How do you feel?”
She reached up and gripped his wrist with both of her hands. His hand pressed further into her and it warmed her from the inside out.
“I feel good.” Clara licked her lips and squeezed his wrist tighter. “You make me feel warm.” He started to pull his hand away but she stopped him. “Don't go... I like it.”
Reid relaxed by degrees. She could almost count each different expression he made as he went from heated strain to soft kindness. It moved her.
Clara closed her eyes hard and forced the pleasure-inducing haziness away. She let go of his wrist with remorse as hints of memory came back.
Surgery. I had surgery. Asshole doctor.Her hands dropped to her sides and she bit back her embarrassment.Cyborg breeding facility...
Fixed.Her eyes shot open, and she tried to lean up to look down at herself.
“Don't. There's time for that later.” Reid stopped her this time with a hand on her shoulder.
She settled back down.
“Am I fixed?”
“Your surgery was successful. Fixed though? I don’t know.”
Asshole.But a sigh of relief escaped her and as she settled back into the cloud—medical bed, happy. She closed her eyes to bask by herself because this moment was hers and hers alone.Reid won’t ruin it. Won’t let him.
Yep. Those memories were really coming back now.
Clara suddenly felt his hands on her pelvis. Her eyes shot open to find Reid looking down at her belly. She was practically naked and this time awake for it. It made it difficult for her to stomach the situation, especially given that the procedure was over and an attractive, intimidating man stood over her. His fingers slipped across her skin, the sensation amazing under the haze of the painkillers.
