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“Oh, dear.” She visually inspected the mangled hand.
Jade didn’t have to view the appendage to know how disastrous the sight was. In addition to feeling it, she could see the evidence of the damage in the vampire’s eyes. And in Davian’s.
“Please,” she pleaded with him. “Compound fractures won’t heal properly unless they’re in place. Just do it.”
“Shall I clean the wound first?” Sheena asked.
“No,” Davian was quick to stop her, though he didn’t explain Jade’s need to absorb the blood to help the process along.
“If I can make this work,” Jade said, “I’ll heal before I bleed to death.”
Looking befuddled, Sheena slipped to the side. Davian took the spot she’d vacated. He stared into Jade’s eyes, though she felt as though hers rolled in the sockets. She had difficulty focusing on him.
He said, “You told me you have to be able to rise above the pain in order to repair yourself.”
The vampire gasped. “A human who can heal as we do?”
Davian nodded. “She’s gifted. But,” he added as his gaze returned to Jade, “when I do this, you might not be able to stay conscious. That’ll slow your progress.”
“She needs a pain reliever,” Sheena suggested.
“And we have none,” he hissed, his tension getting the best of him. “Since we have no need.”
“Not true.” Sheena moved away, only to reappear in a matter of seconds. She offered Jade a glass of tawny liquid. “Scotch from his Royal Highness’s private stock. Guaranteed to soothe. He’s been self-medicating of late. I’ve seen the positive effects.”
“Thanks, Sheena,” he all but growled.
Somehow, Jade managed a shaky half-smile. “Serves you right for invading my dream.”
“You liked that dream,” he reminded her.
He helped her sit up as Sheena held the glass to her lips and Jade sipped. They took their time, letting her muscle through the burn down to her stomach. After which, her gulps became deeper and when she’d polished off the alcohol, the inferno dulled. Everything dulled, including the throbbing in her hand and wrist.
“Much better,” she said on a long breath. “Nice trick.”
Sheena swept from the room and Davian tenderly reached for Jade’s hand.
“Just try to push everything into position,” she directed. “The bones should retract and begin melding together.”
“Should?” he asked with a lifted brow.
“I don’t break bones as a rule. This is still new to me.”
He groaned. “I could be torturing you for no good reason?”
Had she the strength to lift her good hand, she would have brushed the lock of obsidian hair from his forehead and tried to smooth away the worry lines above his nose.
“You’ve been torturing me since you made love to me in an erotic vision. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. Or that it was a one-time deal.”
“Jade…”
“Do it,” she insisted once more. “Please.”
He didn’t hesitate a moment longer. He clasped her hand with his large one and then used the other to shift the protruding bones. She screamed bloody murder. Davian didn’t let up, doing exactly as she’d requested.
When he was apparently satisfied with the placement, he sprang from the mattress and washed his hands in the basin Sheena had supplied, then dried them. He snatched the decanter of brandy his assistant had left behind. He refilled the glass and turned back to Jade, thrusting it toward her.
“No,” she said, her voice weak. “I had just enough to help me center on the healing.”
