“Here, hold on. I got you,” I tell her as I move back out to the dry shore and take her boots off. As I try to roll up her pant leg, I find they’re too tight.
“What is this strange material?”
“They’re jeans.”
“They don’t seem very practical.”
“They’re actually pretty sturdy and warm. But yeah, skinny jeans don’t really roll up. I’ll have to get the bottom of them wet.”
I shake my head at her. “No, you can’t walk around with wet pant legs, you’ll have to take them off.”
“Excuse me, did you just tell me to take my pants off?” she asks. Looking into her eyes, I can’t decide if she’s amused, aroused or scandalized, but as I look down at her hands, I see my error.
“No, never mind, you can’t take them off.”
“I can’t?” She frowns, like she’s confused. I can’t blame her, my head is all over the place right now, thinking of her with no pants on. I’m sure I could actually do this without getting her feet in the water, but I have to admit I was very keen on seeing what her legs look like under the strange black fabric.
I shake my head. “No, you can’t use your hands, I’ll have to take your pants off for you.”
“I—You—What?”
“Stand up, Sugar.”
I see her swallow the lump in her throat before she stands on the dry ground, staring at me with wide eyes.
It takes me a few seconds but finally I figure out how to undothe top of her pants and I pull them down, being careful not to take her undergarment with them.
As I kneel on the ground and she steps out, I glance up and suck in a quick breath.
“What are those?”
“What?” she asks with a mix of embarrassment and confusion.
“Your undergarment, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Wait—Indy… are you… are you not married?”
I reel my head back in shock. “Married? No, of course not. What would give you that idea? You think I would touch another woman if I was married?”
“You do remember the part where I told you I’m not from this world, right? I’m still not exactly sure how everything works here. In my world, there are a range of ways men behave. Some of them would cheat on their wives and sleep with other women.”
“What?” I say in surprise. Why would a man do such a thing?
She nods as she continues. “But some men are extremely faithful, women too. Some women cheat on their husbands, but some women are faithful to those they love. Like me, I… I could never cheat on Ry or Brax, I couldn’t do that to them.” I see a look of panic take over her face as she tries to step back, but with the rock right behind her, she starts to fall, and I quickly grab her hips to steady her. “Indy…” she says, looking at me with alarm in her eyes.
“I know, Sugar, it’s okay. Let’s just get you cleaned up, all right?” I can see she was uncomfortable being with me when she had two other mates, but I wasn’t exactly sure why. Most women had at least three mates. And when I saymostwomen, I mean I’ve never heard of anybody having less than three. And they were almost always brothers. The rest of us were… not even worth considering in the eyes of most women. But Penny… she sees us, doesn’t she? She doesn’t seem to recognize the status of having siblings or she just doesn’t care. I wonder how different things are in her world, but I don’t think now is the right time to ask. I want her to feel comfortable around me first.
Right now, I need to focus on getting her cleaned up and getting her back to her mates so she can be protected. Protected and happy.
I step back into the stream and she sits back on the rock and turns to drop her feet in the water. “Give me your hand, Sugar.” She lifts one of her hands and I move closer, standing between her parted knees so she doesn’t have to lean forward. It takes everything I have in me not to look at her pussy and the small bit of fabric covering it.
I shake my head to try and get the image from my mind. I move her hand to the water and the blood trails away. I see lots of small rocks embedded in her palm, not to mention the skin is practically shredded. Multiple cuts run the entire length of her palm, and run some down her fingers as well. I stare at one for a moment to assess if it’s actively bleeding, but I’m relieved to see only a small amount of blood coming from them. Luckily, she hasn’t cut too deep or hit any major veins. I check both of them and clean them as best as I can, trying to pick out pieces of rock, but I realize that this is going to take a lot more care than I’m able to provide at the side of the stream.
My eyes meet her as I speak. “I’m sorry, Sugar, but I can’t get these completely cleaned out here. We’re going to have to get some help in the village.”
“Like a doctor… or healer?”
I help her spin back around to the shore as I reply, “Yes, we need someone trained with medical knowledge to help you out. I’m not sure if there’s anybody like that in Havenridge, but if not, I’ll take you to the next village, and the next, until we find somebody who can help you.”
