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“Hey, where are you taking me?” she asks, concerned. “My apartment is that way.”
“You need medication, and a bandage at least on that foot. I’ve got my climbing med bag up in my room.”
She shifts uncomfortably in my arms. “I’m sure it’ll be okay if I stay off it,” she says.
“What? You can’t turn down my medical expertise,” I tell her. “Besides, my room is closer, and you’re getting a bit heavy.”
“Hey,” she says, slapping my chest. “I can hop home, you know.”
I laugh and, ignoring the stares, I carry her up to my room where I have my state-of-the-art med kit.
Once I have her seated on the bed, I tap the comm pad for room service and order hot drinks and food. I can see she’s in shock and needs sustenance. At least she has some color in her cheeks now that she’s warmed up.
Room service is thankfully swift, and I place the steaming mug in her trembling fingers.
“What is it?” she asks. “It smells amazing.”
“It’s a special mountain drink, made with a secret recipe. There are warming and fortifying herbs in there, along with a rather large shot of Gardauvian liquor.”
Taking a sip, her eyes go wide. “That is amazing,” she exclaims. “I can feel it heating me up all the way through.”
“It’s called Barigodente, which literally means fire belly.”
“Well, it’s very aptly named,” she says with a smile.
“You have to try it with the sweet treats,” I tell her, passing her the plate.
She nibbles on the edge of one of the spicy confections. “Oh, yes,” she says, moaning with pleasure at the perfect taste combination in her mouth.
I long to hear her moan like that beneath me. The stray thought ignites my inner turmoil once more. I promised myself I would never fall in love. That I would never allow another person that much control over my life. But here is Mira, sitting on my bed and being utterly alluring without even trying. Now that she is here, in my life, I’m torn between feeling the only sensible thing is to let her go and feeling that I don’t know if I can.
“Let’s have a look at that ankle of yours,” I say, kneeling down on the floor before her. The position makes me feel humble. It is not a feeling I am used to.
She smiles down at me and somehow makes me feel at ease. Covering my confusion I work at untying the laces of her boot. My fingers don’t seem to want to work properly, just like my brain right now. What has she done to me?
Finally, I manage to remove the offending boot, gently slipping it off her foot so as not to cause her pain.
The foot is swollen, and there is nasty bruising around her ankle, but as I gently flex the foot, I can tell it’s not broken.
“I think you’ll be lucky,” I tell her, cradling her injured foot. “I have a nanobyte sleeve that will repair everything in a couple of hours. It wouldn’t work if there were any broken bones.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” she says with a cheeky smile.
The urge to run my hand up her leg is overpowering. A destructive voice in my head wants to lay her backward on the bed and discover every crevice of her wonderful body. I find my breath is coming deep into my chest.
Instead, I move to the bathroom to collect the special nanobyte bandage that will heal her ankle soon. Even as I do, I wonder how I am going to control myself. My mind is screaming at me to get away, to run now, while I still can. But my body simply won’t respond.
It’s a biological reaction, that’s all. It’s what happens in the presence of your fated mate. That’s all the more reason to stay away from her after this.
Even as I think the warning in my head, I’m not sure that it isn’t too late.
10
MIRA
Renxel’s fingers are gentle as he prods for breaks in my ankle. “I think it’s just sprained," he says, getting to his feet and disappearing into the bathroom for a moment. He returns with a special bandage he assures me will fix my ankle in a matter of hours.
“You just keep that on hand?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
