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When I stepped into the washroom, I realized my hand was shaking when I turned the taps. The water would be cold this time of night.
“Did you want me to heat the stones in the hearth or—”
I sucked in a sharp breath when I turned, when I heard the gentle whoosh of his pants hit the floor.
“I’ll do it,” he told me, standing before me fully naked, and I held my breath, hoping my face wouldn’t burn right up. He maneuvered around me, all endless, muscled flesh. I was used to his bare chest, but I wasn’t prepared for his bare backside, rounded but dimpled with sharp muscles at the sides. His thighs…strong and smooth.
His cock…
I swallowed, glad his attention was on the bathing tub. He skimmed his hand over the surface. Just like the washing basin outside, he heated the water quickly, steam rising with his swift magic. His soft cock swung forward with the movement, the head of it darker than the shaft.
Even soft, veins curled up the sides.
Even soft…he was shockingly large.
My nails bit into the palms of my hands. I cleared my throat, turning quickly to get a fresh bandage from my cabinet in the front room, rummaging around, clinking bottles noisily, buying time as I got my heart under control.
Just a body,I thought. As a healer, especially when I’d lived in Rolara, before I’d hidden myself away in the Black Veil, I’d seen plenty of naked bodies. Males, females—it didn’t matter. They were just bodies to me. Bodies that needed tending, that needed healing, that needed care.
Lorik needs care,I reminded myself.
He had a beautiful body, but I reminded myself of my healer’s oath and blew out a quiet breath, gathering my supplies just when I heard him sink down into the tub.
Good.
“Let me get the bandage off,” I told him, eyeing him as he leaned back in the bathing tub, his wings tucked uncomfortably inside. It was laughably small for someone his size, but at least it covered his distracting cock.
Kneeling at the side of the tub, I set my supplies next to me and unwrapped the bloodied cloth. Water trickled when he cupped some in his palms, splashing his chest to loosen and soften the Sever blood. I handed him a clean washcloth, and he began to scrub, his brow furrowed in concentration, his lips pursed in an almost pouting expression that I thought was oddly adorable.
He didn’t like to be dirty, I realized.
“You tore through a few of the sutures. I’ll need to redo them,” I told him quietly.
He didn’t say anything. In fact, he was entirely too quiet.
Lorik scrubbed at his body until not a speck of blood remained. He uncapped the bathing tub and watched the dirtied water swirl down before he turned on the taps again. He didn’t even hiss when the icy water met his flesh. He didn’t even shiver, keeping still as fresh water from my well rose around him.
As for me, I kept my eyes firmly on his shoulder, cutting out the threads of the sutures before threading my curved needle.
“I’ll start stitching now,” I said softly, warning him. He nodded. Though the water was fresh, no steam rose. He didn’t heat the water, and I wondered why.
Lorik gave no indication that he even felt the needle piercing into him. I made quick work of it, and only when he had a fresh bandage on his clean skin did I start to feel more at ease.
Rocking back on my heels, I looked at him.
Lorik turned his head to regard me though he looked like a spoiled prince reclining in the tub.
“Why don’t you heat the water?”
“Will you join me if I do?”
A flood of heat burned in my belly. “Don’t be silly.”
“I’m being infinitely serious,” he replied, straight-faced, no hint of amusement on his features.
I tucked a strand of loose, wavy hair behind my ear, wetting my suddenly dry lips. My hands needed to be washed, but I couldn’t move. Not when he was looking at me the way he was.
Lorik took pity on me. He smiled. Whatever mask he’d had in place before vanished…or perhaps his grinning, handsome face was more of a mask than I realized.
