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"Mmm. Scrapped it for parts a long time ago."
"Of course you did."
He glances up at me, goggles whirring, and a hint of a smile touches his mouth. "I do have some numbing cream, though. And bandages."
"Right now, that sounds like heaven," I admit. The fiery pain of them is becoming distracting, the throbbing growing more intense by the minute.
Jerrok nods and then pulls the goggles off, his gaze meeting mine. I blink at him, fascinated at the tender expression on his face. Even with a cybernetic eye and scars around the corner lid, he's handsome, I think. I no longer see his gaze as jarring, but as just…Jerrok's. And right now he's watching me with a fierce expression that's both protective and caring. "I can't put it on with you like this, though."
I glance down at my body. The parts of me peeking out from under the towel are smeared in mud and dirt. "Right." I chew on my lip, thinking. "I'm not sure I can do much about that, though. Can we worry about that later?" Right now I just want that numbing cream, and badly.
"I'll help you wash," he says staunchly. "Once you're cleaned off, I can bandage your hands for you."
"Oh. Um, okay." I'd get more nervous about the situation, but my hands hurt too much. "Are you sure?" When he nods and pulls me off the table, I try not to hiss at the wave of pain that rolls up my hands as I brush them against his front.
"I've got you," he tells me.
Jerrok carries me into the bathroom and turns the water on. He uses a knife to cut away my sodden clothing rather than pull it over my head and risk touching my hands, and when I'm naked and trembling in front of him, he puts an arm around my waist and guides me into the shower. His clothes get soaked as he takes a towel and ever so gently wipes the mud off my skin. The water is cool, and I keep my aching hands under the spray as he washes me off. It's not sexual in the slightest, and I let out a sigh of relief when we're done and he gives my skin a brisk toweling down. Then, like a child, he wraps me in the towel and carries me back out to the table.
I'm quiet as he slathers my hands in the numbing cream and then carefully wraps them with clean white plas-film bandages. When he's done, I look like I've got a pair of boxing gloves on my hands, and the ridiculousness of my situation hits me. "I guess I'm not going to be much help for a while."
"You hurt yourself," he says, a stubborn expression coming over his face. "All you need to concentrate on now is getting better."
"I feel stupid," I admit. My eyelids are getting heavy, and I fight back the urge to yawn. "I can't believe I hurt myself like this."
"You didn't know." He picks me up and gently carries me off the table and sets me down on his bed. "Is this comfortable?"
I nod, my eyes drifting closed. "Don't know why I'm so tired."
"There's a sleeping agent in the cream. Just rest." He brushes wet hair off my forehead. "I'll watch over you."
"I'm hogging your bed, aren't I?" The blankets smell like him, all spicy and warm, and I try to wiggle over a little. "You can come sleep with me. We can share like we did in the hotel room."
There's a moment of hesitation, and then I hear the rustle of wet clothing falling to the floor. Before I can open my eyes to see what Jerrok thinks, the bed creaks and sinks as he sits down on the edge. A moment later, his big body is pressed up against my side and he's so warm it's incredible. "Are you…sure?"
I nod and curl my bandaged hands against my chest, presenting him with my back. "Thank you, Jerrok. For looking after me."
"Sure."
I want to stay awake and talk to him, but the numbing cream is working far too well. I burrow into the blankets, sigh, and drift off with the warm press of his protective body against mine. Funny enough, but I'm not even bothered by the fact that I'm squeezed into bed with him instead of sharing the enormous bed we did at the hotel. I don't care that he's naked. It just feels kind of right to be here next to him. Like it's the place I'm meant to be, so he can take care of me.
The last thing I recall before dreams take me is a big hand on my waist…and I like the feel of it there.31JERROKI curl up around the sleeping female, unable to help myself. I should get out of the bed. Leave her alone. She doesn't need me pressing up against her, crowding her in the bed. She just needs to rest.
