She cleared her throat and looked straight ahead, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Yes. With you.”
“I’m sorry the idea displeases you,” Rarev growled. He couldn’t deny he found the Mature Elite devastatingly attractive. What was more, he knew she found him attractive too. And he wasn’t being arrogant—her scent told on her and he had smelled the feminine desire emanating from her when he was near. But clearly she didn’t want to acknowledge that.
She’d have to acknowledge it if we spent any amount of time together, he thought. She’s a Mature Elite right on the cusp of her Second Mating Season—her scent makes that abundantly clear. If we had more time, her body would begin reacting to my own Bonding Scent—let’s see her deny how she feels then!
But of course, that wasn’t going to happen. He was going to take her back down to Earth and put her down somewhere safe, away from the angry crowds. After that, he doubted he’d see her again other than meeting her at a few World Council meetings here and there.
“The idea that the Press will link us together displeases me because it lessens my credibility with my constituents,” she protested, breaking into his thoughts. “Look, can you tell me where you’re taking me? I have a Cabinet meeting in an hour and leaving the Earth wasn’t exactly on my agenda today.”
“I’ll take you back exactly where you need to be,” Rarev promised her. “But first I need to tend to your wounds.”
“Wounds?” She looked down at herself, searching the simple blue sheath dress she was wearing as though looking for blood. “I’m not wounded anywhere.”
“Yes you are. Here.”
Rarev put on the auto pilot and leaned over to take her by the wrist. He held up her arm, indicating the long burn on the underside of her forearm. Her skin was like silk but the angry red mark where she had pressed against the hot kettle marred it like a drop of blood in a pitcher of cream.
“Oh—I remember now, I accidentally pressed against the kettle when the brick came through my window. I barely even noticed in all the commotion.”
“I noticed,” Rarev growled.
He was still holding her wrist and he could feel her pulse racing at his touch. Her feminine scent was getting stronger, too, making his shaft throb in his trousers. Oh yes, she could deny the attraction between them, but her scent—the scent of a Mature Elite entering her Second Mating Season—told on her every time.
“Let me heal you, Emilia,” he murmured, using her first name though she had not given him permission to do so. “I swore to protect you and keep you safe—I can’t send you back to your planet injured this way.”
“Oh, well…” She nibbled her lush lower lip uncertainly and Rarev wondered if she had any idea how erotic the small gesture looked. “It’s just a little burn—I can get it tended when I get back to Earth,” she protested weakly.
“Please,” he said softly, letting his voice drop to a purr as he looked her in the eyes, capturing her gaze with his own. “I must keep my vow. It is a matter of Monstrum Kindred honor that I do.”
“Well…all right.” She gestured helplessly with her free hand. “I suppose it…it can’t hurt.”
“Thank you,” Rarev told her. And, unbuckling his harness, he knelt in the space between the seats and took her burned arm between his hands. “Just hold still,” he purred. “This won’t take long.”
7
Em watched, mesmerized, as the big Monstrum knelt beside her. She supposed it was easier for him to reach her that way, but it was still an old-fashioned, courtly gesture that made her heart drum in her chest for some reason.
Don’t be foolish! she told herself. It’s not like he’s kneeling to propose or anything like that. He just has to be able to reach you and he’s so much taller, this is the best way—that’s all.
His touch on her wounded arm was light and the brush of his short, dense fur was like warm velvet against her chilled skin. Also, his warm, spicy, wild scent was very strong. It seemed to fill the small cabin of the ship and caress her senses, almost the way his velvety hands were caressing her arm.
Em tried to put the erotic thoughts out of her head. She wondered instead, how he proposed to heal her. Did he have a tube of some kind of medicinal ointment or salve in the breast pocket of his uniform shirt?
Before she could ask, Rarev brought her wounded arm to his mouth and kissed it gently.
It didn’t feel like a kiss from a humanoid mouth because it wasn’t. But it didn’t feel like a kiss from an animal mouth either, Em thought. It was deliberate and thoughtful and warm—his mouth was larger than a human’s so the kiss was able to encompass the entire place she’d been burned, all at one time.