She hissed when the cool liquid hit her hip. I tried to be gentle, but most of the blood had already dried and each swipe of the gauze pulled on sensitive skin no matter how light my touch. With every pass, the dressing changed color to a deeper red, and my bond winced.
Her little pants betrayed her level of pain, even if I hadn’t noticed her white-knuckled grip on the marble.
“Easy,” I whispered, dropping another soaked cotton square into the sink. “I’m done for now. Catch your breath.”
She was going to need it. The wound wasn’t as bad as I feared, not an actual puncture. But the knife definitely sliced deeper than a simple pressure bandage could solve. Eryn needed stitches, and I fully expected a battle once I told her.
I waited until her breathing evened out, and her complexion regained some color before reaching for that little pack in the basket. Maybe if I moved quick enough…
“No!” she shouted and would have vaulted off the counter if I hadn’t stood. “I know you like control, but absolutely not. Not this time. You arenotstitching me closed in yourbathroom.”
I leaned in, forcing her against the mirror. A few thick shadows crossed over her thighs just in case. They hovered, ready to restrain if asked.
“The wound is too deep, princess. It’s only a couple tiny stitches, and then I’ll be done.”
“How many?” she demanded and tried to wiggle out from under me.
“It really doesn’t—”
“How many stitches, Kaiden?”
I set my palms on either side of her hips. She stopped fighting as I mentally evaluated the task before me. Lying wasn’t an option, that wasn’t who I was, but fuck she wouldn’t like this.
“Six,” I conceded. “Possibly eight.”
Off she went, fighting with renewed strength and no care for her bleeding hip.
“Eryn,” I tried to reason with her, but words were hard when I was so focused on keeping her still. She kicked out, narrowly missing my balls with the point of her shoe. Feisty. Sexy as fuck. But also overreacting just a tad, I thought.
“The hospital can do it,” she growled, pissed that she hadn’t made any progress to escape.
I shook my head and tightened my shadows. Her bleeding restarted, and it was now heavy enough to scent, filling the small space with a hint of copper.
“It’s too risky.” I added another band of shadows to her shoulders, lest she try to twist and it opened her wound even more. “I wouldn’t be allowed back with you, and I’d have no way to protect you from djinn trying to illusion their way inside. Not to mention, we can’t afford the questions.”
With my restraints in place, and my hips between her legs, she wasn’t going anywhere. I grabbed the small needle and thread and called for my cousin.
“Ezra!”
Eryn paled at the sight of the curved needle, barely longer than the length of my finger to the first knuckle. I lined upeverything I would need beside the sink, just out of reach of her clenched fists.
“Yo, what’s up?” Ez popped into the room, took one look at our position, and grinned. “Didn’t think you were one to want an audience, cuz.”
I glared at his sad attempt at a joke.
“Numb her, please. And then get the fuck out.”
Used to my attitude, he prowled forward the few steps and reached a single finger toward Eryn. She stiffened under her bonds but didn’t make a sound as Ezra pressed that finger to the side of her wound. I felt a shadow of her relief in my own side and knew she was plenty numb to get to work.
“I’ll call if we need another round,” I told him and dismissed him with a wave.
My cousin left without a backward glance or new taunting comment. Perhaps he sensed the tension and decided not to poke at it. Unlike him, but there were more pressing matters to tend to. I slowly knelt once more, keeping my movements obvious.
“Will you cooperate?” I asked her. “Or do we have to do this the hard way?”
The knee to my temple took me by surprise. Satisfaction dripped down the bond like a steady faucet, and I sighed.
“Not exactly smart to knock the head of the guy who’s about to put a needle through your skin,” I tsked and added some shadows over her knees. “I understand your fear, princess, but violence isn’t the answer here.”
