Page 116 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

Before he knew what was going on, the doc poured a lightbrown solution over his wounds. It didn’t burn as much as the salt had, but itwas an odd combination of sting and ice. He almost shot up at the shock, butshe put both hands on his shoulders and held him down.

When it continued burning, he tilted his head back andwaited out the storm.

“Thank you,” she said, so softly he almost didn’t hear herover the blood thundering through his veins.

He filled his lungs, trying to slow his pulse, then openedhis eyes. The doc was back at work, threading a surgical needle. “I know youdidn’t find that at the Chug-N-Jug.”

“No. I always carry a medical kit.”

“In case you have to randomly sew someone up on the street?”

She stopped and gave him her full attention. It was apowerful ploy to weaken him even further. It worked on a thousand levels. “Haveyou met your friends?” she asked, her tone implying that he would never beaccepted into Mensa.

She had a good point.

“Drink.”

She lifted a small plastic cup to his mouth, but he eyed itwarily and asked, “Potassium cyanide?”

“Liquid Lortab.”

“So close.” He took the cup and drained the sweet liquidthen eased back onto the pillow.

“Just a couple of stitches, then we’ll be done.”

He gave her a thumbs-up, amazed at how fast the painkillerwas working.

She smoothed something warm over his ribs, and he hardlyfelt a thing. Except her hands. He hadn’t forgotten those hands. Or what theystirred in him. She’d saved his life today. Due to his colorful past, he hadserious concerns about going to a legit hospital, but she’d been there for him.It was no wonder she didn’t trust him. He could hardly blame her. Still, hefelt he deserved an explanation.

“I’m not going to lie,” she said.

He grinned. “That’ll be refreshing.”

“You could have internal bleeding.”

He lifted a shoulder, amazed that it didn’t hurt. “Betterthan external. It’s so hard to get blood out of clothes in this economy.”

“I’ll call for backup.”

“You do that. This stuff is incredible, Doc. You should’vegiven it to me an hour ago.”

“Please tell Elwyn I’m sorry.”

He tried to look at her, but his lidssuddenly weighed more than his... Harley. “Sure thing,” he said. Or tried to.He had no clue how coherent his words were as his tongue had taken a sick day.

“And I’m sorry for this, too.”

He started to forgive her for whatever wrongdoing she’dimagined herself doing, but he felt her lips on his, cool and hot at the sametime. Soft and firm. Sweet and bitter—or maybe that was the medicine. Eitherway, he tried to kiss back, but the warmth of oblivion lured him to the deepend of the universe, and he drowned in the scent of her there.

He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but she leanedforward and whispered in his ear. “I wish I were your human.”

Chapter Six

You are about to exceed the

limits of my medication.

—T-shirt