“Come on, what is it?” he pushed, grinning from ear to ear.
I rolled my eyes. “His name isNuvri.In Draconic Tongue it meanswarmth beneath ice.It’s a long story, but basically, my best friend gave him to me for comfort.”
His expression softened. “That’s really cute.”
I snatched Nuvri from him. “Cute, yeah. Just don’t spread it around.”
“Ah, got it. The ice dragon princess can’t be seen as a softie.”
As I put Nuvri back in his place in the center of the pillows, I slapped Zayn’s shoulder. “Shut it.”
He laughed and rolled off the bed, then bounced back to his feet.
“Stay,” I told him, closing the distance between us. “Sit down right there on the foot of the bed. Let’s see to this healing.”
He sat down without a word of protest.
I wasn’t sure if it was his curiosity getting the best of him as to what this process entailed, or the fact that I was now right up in his space—I could hear his pulse picking up.
I settled down beside him and gestured for him to hold his right arm out.
As he shifted, I cradled it.
“This is going to be intense, okay? You really need to brace yourself for that.”
“Like, more pain to ease existing pain? That sort of thing?”
“Nope. Definitely not pain.”
His eyes widened. “Huh.”
“Yeah. So, if you want me to stop at any time, just make it known, and I will. Right away.”
“What about you?”
“Whataboutme?”
“Well, areyouready for that? It’s gonna impact you too, right?”
“I’m not the one being healed.”
“I meant my reactions to it. You’ve already demonstrated how attuned you are to other beings, so if this is that intense, you’re gonna feel stuff too in that way.”
“I… I’ll be fine.”
“If you’re sure, because you’re barely more than a virgin where sexuality is concerned, right?”
“Can we not get into that?”
“You saying that is kind of like not wanting to talk about hard limits before engaging in some BDSM shit.”
“Are you serious? This isn’t anything like that.”
“Perhaps to a near-virgin it is. Intensity-wise anyway.”
“I’ll be fine, Zayn. I know what I’m getting into. You didn’t, that’s why I explained it—or tried to before you went off on a BDSM and near-virgin commentary.”
“Fine,icicle,”he said, as he flopped onto his back on the bed, still holding his arm out to me.
