Chapter 7 #2
Gweneth gave another pained moan, and it spurred him to action. He directed her limp body from the path of the seeking tendrils. She moaned but staggered beside him. He followed a narrow path into the trees, trying to help her as much as he could. Once he could no longer see any plants, he halted.
“Gweneth, tell me where it hurts.” He stared down at her, concerned at the renewed path of blood running down her cheek.
“Head. Ankle. Chest,” she croaked after a pause.
“I’m going to check you for injuries. Just want to make sure we’re safe.”
“What were those things?”
“Plants. They tried to eat me.”
A shudder ran through her. “What happened? I remember the storm, and I think I struck my head in the ship. That’s all I remember.”
“We crashed. I couldn’t see any wreckage.”
“So we’re stuck here?”
“For the time being,” Ellard said. “We have no way of contacting the dragons.”
“I know.”
Ellard frowned at the place where his hand used to be. A burst of cold attached to his stinging stump and he felt as if he possessed an arm again. He blinked because there was nothing there. No arm. No fingers. But it felt…
“Dragons,” a voice whispered.
Ellard started and whirled around, his heart thudding against his ribs. “Who’s there?” A reply wasn’t forthcoming, so he made a wild guess. “Sheera. Leeam?”
Silence reigned, and he couldn’t decide if he was hearing things or not.
“Your uncle is worried about you,” Ellard said. “Your parents are desperate to find you. Everyone is searching for you.”
The voice didn’t reply, and he shrugged, turning his attention back to Gweneth.
Her usually vibrant features were pale, the wound leaking blood again, and her eyes had slid shut.
He stroked his thumb across one grubby but silky cheek.
At least she was alive. Her breasts rose and fell with each even breath.
Phrull, she looked so small, so defenseless.
The weight of responsibility for her safety crushed his confidence.
“I don’t know what to do,” he whispered.
A tiny smile played around her lips until she attempted to sit upright. A groan slipped free, prodding at his insecurities.
“Don’t move.”
“Not going anywhere,” she whispered.
He stared at her, and unable to resist, he brushed a kiss on her pouty lips.
She sighed, a murmur of something resembling satisfaction.
Some of the weight on his chest lifted. He repeated the caress because he’d enjoyed her sigh.
Then he squirmed a little because, in truth, the contact lessened his panic.
He tasted her sweetness, a hint of blood.
“What would you do if Jarlath injured himself?”
“I wouldn’t kiss him,” Ellard barked out.
“Good to know. I’m sure Keira would be reassured.”
Ellard snorted, but her question had pierced his panic. If it were Jarlath, he’d assess his injuries then he’d do his best to treat him. He’d stop the bleeding. “I’m going to touch you, check for injuries.”
Gweneth opened eyes that had closed and licked her bottom lip with one slow lash of her tongue. “Sounds like fun.”
Ellard snorted again, this time the sound closer to a laugh.
The woman killed him with her persistence, her charm, her love of life.
“Tell me if I hurt you.” He sucked in a breath and pictured Jarlath.
If he pretended this was his best friend, then maybe he’d manage the task. He started with her legs.
Jarlath. Jarlath. Jarlath.
Nope, not working, not with her warm flesh heating his hand. Slim, yet strong thighs, shapely calves. His gaze stopped on the hole in her trews. The skin beneath appeared blistered. “Is it still burning where the plant burnt you?”
“Yes, a bit.” She jumped.
“What?” He hadn’t been touching her.
“Something cold touched the burn. It gave me a fright.”
Ellard scanned their surroundings. Nothing. But even so, he thought they’d managed to stumble upon Niran’s missing people. He failed to understand their continued silence. “Is it helping?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you,” Ellard said with another glance around them to check for danger.
When he saw nothing except tree trunks, he turned back to Gweneth and sucked in a fortifying breath before he touched her again.
Arms next. Before he could second-guess himself, he checked her arms one at a time. She winced. “Sore?”
“A little. Bangs and bumps, I think.”
Ellard gave a curt nod and ran his hand over her torso.
His fingers skimmed her breasts, and heat blasted through him like combustible rocket fuel.
He swallowed and jerked his hands away. A quick glance showed distinct humor, and her white teeth tugged at her bottom lip as if to halt a smile or a laugh at his expense.
“Stop it,” he said sternly. “This is hard enough for me as it is.”
“Why?”
“I hate seeing you hurt.”
“And?”
Curse the woman. How did she read his mind? “And touching you unsettles me.”
“In a good way or a bad way?”
“Undecided.”
“Oh.”
“Nothing wrong with your thought processes. You’re teasing me.”
“And your point is?”
“What is the word Camryn uses? Ah, yes. Smart arse. You are being a smart arse at my expense.”
She flashed a grin, and it warmed him through. His feline issued a purr of pleasure, and blood poured into his cock, taking him from confused to ready for action in half an eye blink.
“I think you’re right. You’re going to have a few bruises. Let me try and clean up your wound. I need something to bandage it, stop it from bleeding again.”
“Use the bottom of my tunic. It’s cleaner than yours.” She wrinkled her cute nose. “What is that yellow stuff?” She leaned closer then reared back. “Stinks.”
“I woke up and found myself halfway inside a tube plant. I was the dinner menu.” Ellard stared at her tunic. “I’ve no idea how I’m going to rip a strip off your tunic. It’s not easy with one hand.”
“What happened to your Stores?”
“The plant swallowed it.”
“Oh. I’m not sure I have the strength to rip a strip free either,” Gweneth said.
“Not yet. I feel as if the entire Indy crew have pummeled me during a training session. Oh, wait. Stars, I’m an idiot.
I have a knife in my boot. The right one.
There is a small knife concealed in the heel.
We all had our boots modified after Jannike’s abduction. ”
“I don’t suppose you have a communicator stuffed somewhere.”
“Nope. Mine was in my messenger bag.”
“Your what?”
“It’s a type of bag. I can’t believe I’ve lost it. You didn’t see any of the ship debris?”
“Nothing,” Ellard said. “I have no idea how long I was out.” He studied the heel of her boot. “How do I open it?”
“The stud at the back. Push on it and hold it down until you hear a click.”
Ellard followed her instructions, and secs later, he managed to cut an uneven strip of fabric off the bottom of her tunic. “You are a very unusual woman.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yes,” he said firmly. Gweneth and her female friends were different from Virosian women. “Can you turn onto your left side for me? Wait, I’ll help you.” He rolled her over, holding her in place until she breathed through the pain. “Okay?”
“Yes. I’ll have to get over it. It’s getting late. We’ll need to find shelter for the blacklight. We have no idea what might be wandering around.”
“I’ll check your injuries first.” He smoothed the tangle of locks off her cheeks to reveal a small cut. His breath hissed out.
“What?”
“It’s just a small cut. I thought it might be worse.”
“Head injuries always bleed a lot. Jannike bled all over the bridge because she didn’t have her safety harness on and slammed into the wall.”
“Ouch,” Ellard said. “That’s why you should—”
“Always wear a safety harness,” Gweneth finished for him. “That’s what Ry says.”
“How did you meet Ry and the others?”
She hesitated, uncharacteristic for her, since she usually sprayed her words everywhere without much apparent forethought.
“You don’t have to tell me.” He eased her up a fraction and attempted to wind the makeshift bandage around her head.
“I can hold the end.” Her small fingers covered his, and the muscles of his arm tensed.
He inhaled sharply, fighting the surge of lust that grabbed him by the nuts.
Such an innocent touch, but now that she’d kissed him, allowed him to kiss her, his mind kept diverting to thoughts of closer contact.
Sex. “I… All right.” He withdrew his fingers, his feline snarling through his mind in protest. “Let me put the bandage in the right place.” He did and gently pressed her fingers in position.
“Hold that there, and I’ll wind the bandage into place. ”
Between the pair of them, they positioned the bandage, and with her help, he fashioned a knot to hold it in position. With the bandage secured, Ellard turned his mind to the next step.
The endless expanse of forest offered little in the way of shelter, but there was no way they could venture into a glade, not with those tube plants.
They required a steady stream of whitelight, or else they would’ve followed them.
Unless something else in these forests kept the plants confined to the clearing.
The heavy weight of responsibility had him scanning the trees, casting out his feline senses to detect trouble.
This easy and quick jaunt to Narenda had turned into an adventure. A flash of humor struck him at a recollection of him telling Jarlath he enjoyed routine. Jarlath’s change of behavior had rattled him, yet he had to admit—despite the danger and the radical life changes—he did enjoy adventure.
“How is the head? Do you think you can walk, or do you want me to carry you?”
“It would be better if I could move. I need to try. I’m slowing our progress. Besides, we don’t know what creatures wander the forest during the blacklight. We need to find a place to hole up for safety.”
“Kiss her.”