“A little sore,” she admitted, letting him guide her back to the bed.
“Tired?”
“Not really,” she said. She joked, “I think meeting with the customs agent burned away whatever sedative was left. I was a little nervous.”
“It didn’t show,” he assured her, smoothing his palm over her cheek before he turned to the satchel. “There was a shop still open. I got you something to numb your shoulder and this for the pain.”
He held up a vial of blue liquid, which he passed off to her.
“Only take half,” Dravka said, watching as she uncapped it. “The male said humans only need that amount. You can take the rest in the morning.”
Valerie nodded and tipped the vial back. It didn’t taste like anything, though once she swallowed, there was an acrid bitterness at the back of her tongue.
Dravka took the vial from her, setting it down on the table, and then took out the numbing injection from the satchel.
“Take off your shirt,” he murmured, making her eyes dart up to his.
Despite her pain, she felt her nipples pebble underneath his tunic. Something flickered in his eyes, his nostrils flaring a bit.
“Mellkia,” he said, a slight warning in his voice, which, strangely, made her want to smile.
Valerie dropped her gaze though it suddenly felt much warmer in the small room. It had just occurred to her that…they were alone. On Nimida. In a cozy little run-down inn.
Her fingers went to the hem and she tugged off the tunic, draping it over her lap to conceal some of her nudity. For Dravka’s sake. Especially since she could actuallyfeelsome of the tension in the room.
Turning, she bared her back to him, the only person she’d ever willingly and easily do that to. Because she trusted him. He’d already seen her scars—hell, he’d tended to those wounds himself.
He’d been there for her. For a long, long time.
There was a prick from the numbing injection and as Dravka pressed down on the cap, a hissing sound released the liquid into her.
Immediately, Valerie sighed in relief, both the pain medication and the injection working quickly. Until she could barely feel anything. Next, she heard rustling and felt Dravka press a soft bandage to her shoulder, adhering it neatly to the skin she’d carefully cleaned.
“Thank you,” she whispered to him, feeling something pull at her chest at his gentleness. The moment they were in the room after the innkeeper had shown them to it, he’d gone off in search of supplies for her. Always looking out for her, taking care of her.
Valerie felt his fingers trail up the back of her neck, stroking the column, and her breath hitched, her head tilting slightly. He touched her hair, still damp from when she’d washed it, and that single, almost innocent touch made her feel dizzy.
Dravka’s swallow echoed in the room. Then a soft curse escaped him and he said, “I’ll go bathe. Eat while I do,mellkia.Pax?”
Before she could say another word, he left her, quickly striding to the washroom door and sliding it shut—firmly—behind him. She heard the shower tube start, heard his clothes dropping to the floor.
Valerie licked her lips, exhaling a long breath, still sitting naked on the edge of the bed.
Now that her pain was at bay, now that she couldn’t feel the throbbing bone in her shoulder, it was easier to think.To want.
She smoothed a hand through her damp hair.
Did he want…did he want her that night?
Because she sure as hell wanted him. Now that they were off Everton, the realization that they’d actually done it—that they’d actuallyescapedand Valerie had gone with them—was staggering. She didn’t know what to do with herself.
But she was in a little room with Dravka. He’d called her his mate to the customs agent and that was what Valerie wanted to be to him. She’d never felt anything morerightthan Dravka calling her that.
Then again, he’d also just escaped Everton, a place where he’d been exploited by human women for almost ten years. Not only that, but the journey to Nimida couldn’t have been easy for him. There had been a strain in his eyes when she’d woken. From having to cut into her?
Valerie sat there for so long, debating, that she heard the shower turn off. In fact, she was still sitting on the bed, still naked, when he emerged from the washroom. His brow furrowed, his eyes flickering to the table, to the platter still full of food she didn’t recognize. He was naked too when he stepped out, though that wasn’t anything new. She’d seen him naked more times than she could count over the years.
“You should eat something,mellkia,” he murmured, closing the washroom door behind him, the light automatically shutting off on the inside. It darkened the bedroom slightly but there was enough light streaming in through the window—a red-hued light—to illuminate him clearly enough. “Are you not hungry?”
