“Why?”
“I hate seeing you hurt.”
“And?”
Curse the woman.How did she read his mind?“And touching you unsettles me.”
“In a good way or a bad way?”
“Undecided.”
“Oh.”
“Nothing wrong with your thought processes.You’re teasing me.”
“And your point is?”
“What is the word Camryn uses?Ah, yes.Smart arse.You are being a smart arse at my expense.”
She flashed a grin, and it warmed him through.His feline issued a purr of pleasure, and blood poured into his cock, taking him from confused to ready for action in half an eye blink.
“I think you’re right.You’re going to have a few bruises.Let me try and clean up your wound.I need something to bandage it, stop it from bleeding again.”
“Use the bottom of my tunic.It’s cleaner than yours.”She wrinkled her cute nose.“What is that yellow stuff?”She leaned closer then reared back.“Stinks.”
“I woke up and found myself halfway inside a tube plant.Iwasthe dinner menu.”Ellard stared at her tunic.“I’ve no idea how I’m going to rip a strip off your tunic.It’s not easy with one hand.”
“What happened to your Stores?”
“The plant swallowed it.”
“Oh.I’m not sure I have the strength to rip a strip free either,” Gweneth said.“Not yet.I feel as if the entireIndycrew have pummeled me during a training session.Oh, wait.Stars, I’m an idiot.I have a knife in my boot.The right one.There is a small knife concealed in the heel.We all had our boots modified after Jannike’s abduction.”
“I don’t suppose you have a communicator stuffed somewhere.”
“Nope.Mine was in my messenger bag.”
“Your what?”
“It’s a type of bag.I can’t believe I’ve lost it.You didn’t see any of the ship debris?”
“Nothing,” Ellard said.“I have no idea how long I was out.”He studied the heel of her boot.“How do I open it?”
“The stud at the back.Push on it and hold it down until you hear a click.”
Ellard followed her instructions, and secs later, he managed to cut an uneven strip of fabric off the bottom of her tunic.“You are a very unusual woman.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yes,” he said firmly.Gweneth and her female friends were different from Virosian women.“Can you turn onto your left side for me?Wait, I’ll help you.”He rolled her over, holding her in place until she breathed through the pain.“Okay?”
“Yes.I’ll have to get over it.It’s getting late.We’ll need to find shelter for the blacklight.We have no idea what might be wandering around.”
“I’ll check your injuries first.”He smoothed the tangle of locks off her cheeks to reveal a small cut.His breath hissed out.
“What?”
“It’s just a small cut.I thought it might be worse.”
