AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Told me what?”
“He doesn’t feel much pain. He was born that way. His nerves don’t work the same way. He doesn’t register pain the same way you and I do. Some pain he feels, but other pain doesn’t register. It makes him a very dangerous opponent.”
“I knew there was something to his inability to feel pain! I could use some of that right about now,” she said, chewing on her lip.
“I’m sorry, love. One more time, then I put a new bandage on you so you can put your clothes back on.” I tried not to look at her chewing on her lip. I couldn’t figure out why that was so sexy to me, but I had trouble controlling myself every time she did it.
When I had finished putting the bandage on her, she leaned down placing both her hands on either side of my face. “Thank you,” she said, pressing her lips to mine.
“We should’ve done this sooner. We should make sure to do it more often. Or else I’m going to call a doctor,” I said before she could argue.
“If it keeps the doctor away, I’ll happily endure the torture.”
I shook my head. I’d never met anyone other than Ivan that had such an aversion to doctors. If it meant I could help her, then I’d gladly keep the doctor away for now. Whatever made her better.
Chapter Forty
Sephie
The next two days were mostly quiet. The guys were coming and going periodically, meeting various people, gathering information. Adrik never once left me. If he needed to go somewhere, I went with him. It might seem excessive, but I was glad for it. I was still struggling with the thought of never seeing him again. Having him around right now was helping me keep those thoughts at bay.
He was still threatening to call a doctor for the wound on my hip. It was somewhat of a dull, constant pain now, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He had plenty to worry about already and I wanted to skip the doctor. I was almost finished with the antibiotics, so I was hoping it would start to feel better soon.
We were all in Armando’s gym in the morning when Ivan asked me about my hip. I was still limping occasionally, despite my best efforts to hide it. He noticed and asked me about it. Before I could even answer, Adrik said, “It’s not healing like it should be, but she’s refusing to let me call the doctor. I might do it anyway and deal with the consequences later.”
I squinted my eyes at him. “It’s fine. I don’t need a doctor.”
“It’s not fine, princess. You’re limping still when you should be getting better. Let me see it,” Ivan asked. “I might be able to help. I have extensive experience with healing wounds without doctors,” he added when I looked at him skeptically.
“Okay, you’re going to have to expand on that later,” I said. I looked to Adrik to make sure he was okay with me basically giving Ivan a view down my pants. He nodded. I pulled Ivan away from everyone, not really wanting to show everyone the somewhat gaping hole in my hip, even though I could feel their curious eyes on us.
I slid my pants low enough that I could peel back the bandage, so he could see most of the wound. It was red and there was starting to be some heat to it as well, which usually means infection. I had to admit I was starting to worry a little bit. Ivan bent down to get a closer look at it. He clicked his tongue. “It hurts you all the time, doesn’t it?”
I nodded, exhaling. “But please don’t tell Adrik. He has enough to worry about right now and he’s already stressed enough as it is without worrying that my hip is gonna fall off soon.”
Ivan chuckled. “Your hip won’t fall off, princess.”
“You don’t know. It might,” I said, raising an eyebrow at him.
“What have you been putting on it?”
“Adrik insists on cleaning it every day. I think he’s starting to enjoy torturing me if I’m being honest. But that’s it. Then we just put a fresh bandage on it. It’s like a dull ache now all the time. I cut back on the superprofen, but I want to start taking more of that again because it’s starting to hurt more.”
Ivan thought for a moment. I glanced toward Adrik to see that he was watching us, a look of concern on his face. I looked back to Ivan, hoping he would figure something out, so I wouldn’t have to give in and let Adrik call a doctor. I could see the light bulb moment as he came up with a solution. He glanced down at me, the corners of his mouth turning up in a discreet smile. “Come with me,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the door.
“Do you have something that will keep Adrik from calling a doctor? Please tell me you have something,” I asked, following behind him.
“Potentially. It’s an ancient remedy, but it’s worked for me before.”
I followed him in silence as he led me to the kitchen. I looked at him, puzzled that we were in the kitchen. He smirked at me. “Just wait, princess. It’ll make sense in a moment.” He checked the counters, then stepped into the pantry, looking for whatever he was looking for. He walked out, carrying a glass jar.
“Is it snack time?” I asked, somewhat confused.
He was holding a jar of honey. He handed it to me as he walked to me. “No, this is for your wound. Honey is a very good antiseptic and it has healing properties as well. People have been using it to heal wounds for centuries.” He lifted his shirt, showing me a particularly nasty scar across his rib cage. “It healed this,” he said as he dragged his finger over the scar.
“That looks like it was painful.” I looked up at him, my curiosity piqued. “How do you know so much about this stuff? And about drugs in general? I remember hearing you quiz the doctor when we were up north.”
He sighed, folding his arms across his sizeable chest. He leaned back against the counter. I could tell he was lost in a memory and by the looks of his face, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant one. I put my hand on his shoulder, which made him look at me. I could see the pain in his eyes, clear as day. “Ivan, you don’t have to tell me. It’s okay. I can see that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.”
