He nods, taking me at my word, and then he pulls up a seat next to the stretcher and gets to work. He explains where he’s putting his hands and why he’s touching me each time he moves and he gets my consent, the ultimate professional, and some of the tension leaves the space as my body slowly knits itself back together with his gift’s guidance.
When he shifts again to press a palm over one side of my neck to check for brain injuries and any damage the drugs might have done to me, he drawls to my Bonded, “I don’t know what you’re fussing over her for. She’s taking this better than anyone I’ve ever healed. Ease up a little, Shore. She still needs to breathe.”
“I saw your face when you showed up to Draven’s the day Benson set a building on fire for you, don’t pretend like you’re above Bonded behavior,” he snaps back.
After another few minutes of work, the Healer pulls his palm away from me and shifts in his seat, glancing over his shoulder at the audience of Healers and TacTeam still crowded around our perimeter before he shrugs out of his jacket.
“Gabe, give me a hand. I’ll cover her and shut my eyes, so don’t break my arm, but she needs skin-on-skin to finish the healing. Get her shirt off. Gryphon, you strip down too. Just to your waist.”
The Dark One steps forward as well, taking his own jacket off and moving the Healer aside to take his place. Then the three of my Bonds all move me and fuss until I’m half naked and straddling my Bonded’s thighs, our naked chests pressed together, with a jacket thrown over my back and my Bonded’s strength flowing easily into me, thanks to our connection. I can feel my body breathing him in, taking everything I need from his vitality while he takes the same from me, a sharing of our resources, until I have everything I could ever need from him.
I finally take a deep, fulfilling breath.
“Holy shit, is it supposed to look like that?” the Shifter mutters, and the Healer side-eyes him with a small shrug. I let my eyes flutter shut as I soak in the power, the girl’s body slowly shutting down after the use of power. It always does, not used to channeling so much because she never lets me out.
The Healer’s murmured words drift into my head slowly. “It’s not usually so dramatic but yes, they’re sharing power. It looks more… bright because she’s so strong.”
I drift off into unconsciousness, my hold on the girl still strong because I don’t want her waking up while the healing is still underway, and I lose track of time. I only become aware of things happening around me when my Bonded speaks again, the sound loud in my ear that’s pressed against his chest.
“Take your shirt off. She’s scenting again and needs more. We need to get Bassinger to be ready for us back at the house as well. She’s going to need us all.”
The stretcher moves as someone else sits down, and then I’m moved over into the Shifter’s arms, pressed firmly against his bare chest next. He smells warm, goosebumps exploding along his skin as I bury my nose into the crook of his neck.
I squeeze my eyes shut tighter, knowing that when they open again, it will no longer be me in charge and the girl will be back to deal with the consequences of my actions to save us.
But we’re alive, mostly unscathed, and she won’t remember the brunt of it. That has to be enough.
Chapter Nine
Oli
I wake up surrounded by delicious Bond scents, my nose buried in warm skin and with arms tight around me. I’m naked from the waist up, and so is North where we’re pressed tightly together, though there’s something thrown over my shoulders to cover me up, and my legs are wrapped around his waist.
When I sigh, totally content with how I’ve found myself because my brain isn’t processing at all the ‘what the fuck’ of this moment, his arms tighten around me and he turns his head into mine a little more to murmur into my ear, “Ten more minutes, Bond. Then I’ll get you to a bed.”
Goosebumps explode over my skin and I shiver, my nipples tightening until they’re pebbled where they’re pressed into his chest, and his hand drops back down to grip my thigh, pulling me in closer to his body. My bond purrs in my chest, humming with pleasure at having him desperate to keep me close, because there’s no other way to describe the grip of his hand.
There’s voices around us, some I don’t recognize, but I let my face stay buried in his neck as I ignore it all. I’m sure if there were danger, he would have shared that information with me already, and I doubt he’d have me half naked if there were.