Page 19 of Tamed By Her Touch

“Get…get what off?” Clair asked. Why was he acting like this?

Before she could ask any more, the big Hybrid spun her around and started stripping off her lab coat. It came off quickly, but he didn’t stop there. Before Clair knew it, he was pulling her dress right over her head!

“Hey!” she cried, trying to twist away from him, but Kaelus wasn’t having it. He lifted her with ease and carried her, kicking and protesting, to the safety shower in the corner of the lab. There he shoved her—wearing only her bra and panties—under the silver nozzle and held her there while he twisted the knobs.

A rush of freezing water sprayed out, drenching Clair immediately—it got Kaelus all wet too, since he was still holding her in place.

“Hey!” she screamed—had he gone crazy? She was freezing—her skin was covered in goose bumps and still he wouldn’t let her go.

“Be still, Clair!” His voice was a low, panicked growl as he held her under the water. “I saw what happened—you spilled the Triforezine solvent all over yourself! We have to get it off.”

“You d-did get it off when you stripped me n-nearly n-naked!” she protested. Her teeth were beginning to chatter as the ice-cold water continued its assault.

“I can’t be sure until I examine you.”

Abruptly, he turned off the water and knelt in front of her.

He was so tall that even kneeling, their faces were nearly level. Clair wrapped her arms around herself and watched in shock as he looked her over.

“Are you crazy?” she demanded. “I’m fine—get away from me!”

“No.” He glared at her, but there was real concern in his eyes. “You’re not fine until I say you’re fine. Now move your arms and let me look at you!”

The way he was looking at her was so intense, Clair was afraid to say no. She held still, trembling, as he scanned her body, his golden eyes moving up and down her side from her right breast down to her right thigh. She was incredibly embarrassed to be soaking wet in front of him—especially since the water had made her pink bra and panties practically see through and her nipples—which were tight from the cold—were poking against the wet fabric.

“I’m t-telling you, I’m fine!” she protested. “I barely got any on me and you ripped my lab coat off before anything could happen.”

“Do you know what you spilled on yourself?” he demanded, looking up to meet her eyes again. “Triforezine is a molecular solvent. It eats through fabric in less than five seconds and soaks into flesh immediately.”

“Well, you can see it hasn’t eaten through any of my skin,” she said impatiently. “Please—let me dry off and get dressed!”

“Not yet,” he growled. “You didn’t let me finish. It soaks into flesh and then, after ten minutes or so, begins to cause necrosis. And Clair, you got it all down your side!”

“Necrosis?” Clair was so horrified she barely noticed that he’d used her first name instead of calling her “Doctor Donovan” as he usually did.

“Yes—so I’m sorry, but I need to smell you to be sure your skin didn’t absorb any of it.”

“You need to what?” she gasped.

But instead of answering, the big Kindred bent his head and pressed his face to her thigh.

“Hey!” Clair exclaimed. But his big hands clamped around her hips, and she couldn’t get away. All she could do was stand there, trembling as he pressed his face to her flesh and slowly moved up her body, inhaling as he did.

His hands and face felt incredibly warm against her cold skin, and she still couldn’t quite believe he was holding her in place as he made his way up her body.

“Doctor Kaelus, please!” she protested as he made his way over the curve of her waist and up to the side of her breast. She put her hands on his broad shoulders, trying to push him away but it was like pushing against a brick wall. Basically, she was stuck until he satisfied himself that she hadn’t gotten any of the dangerous solvent on her skin.

At last, Kaelus pulled back and she saw a look of relief spread over his face.

“Thank all the Gods that ever were,” he muttered, and his deep voice was hoarse with emotion.

“So I’m okay?” Clair asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yes—I don’t detect any of the scent on you.” He released her hips at last and straightened to his full height to loom over her.

“Was that really necessary?” Clair demanded.

She felt naked and embarrassed—she hadn’t taken her clothes off in front of a man in almost a year—not since she’d found out that James was cheating on her and had stopped sleeping with him. Also, she hadn’t exactly been watching her weight since the divorce. She knew lots of women who went out and got what they called a “revenge body”—getting uber-fit after a divorce or break up. But Clair hadn’t done any of that. She’d spent more time with Ben and Jerry’s than she’d spent at the gym and right now she felt like her self-neglect was on full display.