Just the cool air. Not the fact that she’s staring intently at his bare chest.
“Right here?” Her fingers hover near his skin as she eyes the inch-long scar marring the flesh over his ribs. She’s not even touching him, but heat buzzes through his chest near her hand.
“Y-yes.”
“Did it hurt?”
“Something awful. Not the stitches. I hardly felt those. The doctor numbs it first so you can’t feel it.”
“Fascinating. May I?” She glances at his face, and he nods. He can barely breathe. He can barely remember how to breathe.
Then her warm fingers slide across his flesh, and he bites back a gasp.
“I can see the little marks where the thread pulled your wound closed.”
He clears his throat. “C-can you?”
Then both her hands are on his chest, and he stops breathing entirely as his eyes slide shut.
Breathing is overrated, anyway.
What is she even doing? Comparing both sides? In any case, he has no intention of asking her to stop. She can keep running her hands over him for as long as she wants.
“I believe I’m ready,” she whispers, and his eyes flash open.
“R-ready?”
She nods. “If you think it’s safe. I trust you.”
“Safe?”
She nods again, and his eyes dart to the bed. “W-what are we talking about?”
Her brows knit as she looks up at him. “The stitching, of course.”
The stitching. Of course.
Stars above.
“Are you all right?” she asks. “You seem to be struggling to breathe.”
“Just a little.”
As she stares up at him, her eyes grow wide, and her hands turn to fire against his skin before she pulls them back.
Before he can say or do anything, a knock accompanies the door opening, and Rominy looks at his pile of clothes on the bed in horror.
“Ah. Forgive me for interrupting,” Dr. Fulton says. “Though we should see to that wound before I clear you for other activities.”
Well, that’s mortifying. Quickly dropping his shirt back into place, Rominy glances at Elowyn, who fights to hold back a smile.
At least she’s not standing there half-dressed the way he is.
And he can breathe again, though it might have been preferable if he’d passed out from a lack of air. That would have been less embarrassing.
“You appear to be in a better state, Your Highness,” the doctor says to Elowyn as Rominy pulls his braces back over his shoulders. He’s about to reach for his necktie and waistcoat when Elowyn fumbles for his hand.
Apparently, he’ll be doing this in his shirtsleeves.
