Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
"A re you done ogling me, human?" he drawls, amused.
I slowly lift my gaze to his face.
"You got hit. The blood. That's your blood." I point to the black liquid on the grass.
He grabs my hands, stopping me from inspecting his skin further.
"I'm fine," he replies curtly.
"But... How... How can you be fine..." I stammer, belatedly realizing I'm likely still in a state of shock. Yet if his saliva can heal, is it any wonder that he can heal himself, too?
"We need to go." Cer's voice resounds from behind me. "We already have an audience."
Tens of other contestants have gathered around the garden, all watching the spectacle with curiosity. Whispers travel through the air, and though I can't quite make out what they're saying, I imagine they're all in awe of Ze.
Good.
Maybe this will deter them from coming after us again.
"Let them stare." Ze shrugs.
"Are you all right, Luce? You're bleeding," Thea says as she touches my arm.
I look down at myself, noting the crusted blood around my knees and down my tibia. With everything going on, the pain was the least of my concerns. But now that I'm reminded of it, it suddenly flares up, causing me to wince in discomfort. My lip, too, is tender and stiff, more blood likely dried around my chin.
"I'm good." I force a smile—or what should look like one considering my lips hurt too much to move.
Without warning, I find myself being lifted up. I release a yelp of surprise, instinctively scrambling to get away.
"Stop moving, human," Ze growls low in my ear. "We're going back," he declares, already moving toward our accommodation. Cer and Thea share a look, but they don't say anything, simply following suit.
The crowd of onlookers parts to allow us to move, all the while staring at Ze with a mix of awe and fear. Their eyes follow him around as they wonder who or what he is. As we leave the crowd behind, it dawns on me that staff members were around as well, all watching but not intervening. I guess this really is a matter of survival of the fittest. If the game doesn't kill you...the other contestants will.
Ze kicks the door of our suite open, heading straight for Thea's and my room. He steps inside the room and stops, turning his head sharply to Thea and Cer, who are right behind him.
"Out," he commands.
They blink in surprise, but they don't contest Ze's edict. He shuts the door in their faces before he stalks over to my bed and places me down.
"Uhm... What are you doing?" I ask, my brows creasing as I regard his grave expression.
"You're hurt," he states, his gaze lingering on my lips. Clearing his throat, he looks around the room, nodding to himself as he grabs Thea's sheet and rips it in half.
"That's Thea's sheet. You can't just..." I hiss, my eyes wide.
He pins me with his icy eyes, his glare shutting me up immediately.
I mumble a few profanities under my breath that he decides to ignore—although I'm sure he can hear them well enough.
He rips the sheet into four strips of cloth. At first, I think he's just going to help me dress the wounds. But he surprises me when he goes back to the door and wrenches it open. He comes face to face with Thea, who's holding a jug of water in her arms. He grabs it from her hands, then closes the door in her face— again .
"You said you'd be nicer. That's being the opposite of nice," I point out.
He doesn't answer, his face expressionless as he wets the cloth.
"Did you hear me? You're being rude."
"I am nice to you ," he replies, exasperated.
"Well, it's not enough. You can't be nice just to one person."
"Yes. I can." He shrugs, going back to ignoring me as he drops to his knees in front of me. He gently grabs my ankle, his fingers brushing against my tender skin. His touch is both light and firm, the tips of his fingers pressing against the softness of my calf. The sudden movement startles me.
"What are you doing?" I ask with a frown, trying to wrench my leg from his grasp.
"You're dirty," he comments in a matter-of-fact tone. He tightens his grip on my leg as he removes one shoe.
"I'm what..." I blink.
"I need to clean your legs," he speaks as he removes my other shoe too, discarding it to the side. Grabbing the cloth, he starts wiping the caked mud and blood off my legs. His movements are brisk and efficient, his attention wholly focused on the task. I guess this is nice of him, but it still doesn't excuse his treatment of Thea and Cer.
When he finishes my lower leg, he pushes my dress up my thighs, the gesture taking me by surprise.
"W-wait a moment," I burst out as I push against his shoulders. He stops, raising a brow in question. "You should ask for permission first," I mumble as my cheeks heat up. I grab the hem of my dress and fold it nicely across my lap so I'm decent.
He frowns at me, confused.
"Remember how you were offended by the nudity in that TV show? This is the same, but in my world, people are offended when others see them naked without permission."
"But those humans were naked in the TV show," he says, even more perplexed.
"Well, yes. But that is entertainment and they agreed to be naked on screen."
"I do not understand this entertainment of yours."
"You said that in your world it's forbidden for people to engage in intercourse without being married, no?"
"Mated," he corrects.
"Mated. Same thing." I smile. "How is nudity perceived then?"
He stares at me unblinking.
"Only your mate can see you fully nude," he answers.
"Well, there you go." I chuckle. "Since we are not mated, from now on, ask me before you do something like this, okay?" I say with a smile. Sometimes it's like explaining things to a child.
His nostrils flare, his mouth set in a grim line as his eyes shoot daggers at me. He doesn't acknowledge my words as he returns his attention to his task. Silence descends as he finishes tending to my right leg. He switches to a new cloth for the left one, cleaning all the dirt off my skin until the previously white scrap of sheet is now a combination of brown and red. Every time he brings the wet cloth to the injured area, I wince, a stinging pain erupting from the site of the wound. He stops each time, raising his gaze to check in with me. I give him a small nod to continue, doing my best to withstand the pain.
When he's done, my legs are clean save for the wounds that are still glistening red, fresh droplets of blood threatening to trickle down my tibia. I expect him to focus his attention on the knee injuries, but he surprises me once more when he takes the third cloth to wipe my left arm, cleaning my palm and the back of my hand. He does the same with the other and soon we're out of cloth.
Oh, God, he's going to tear up another sheet to bandage my knees.
I'm about to ask him to take it from my bed this time, not Thea's, but I don't get to utter a single word as my mouth drops open in shock.
Ze leans forward and places his mouth on my right knee. He flicks his tongue across the open wound, lathering it in his saliva. He trails his lips all over my knee, cleaning the last drops of blood with his mouth.
"Ze..." I trail off, unsure of what to say.
He takes his time, making sure he licks every part of my injured knee. The effect is immediate as the pain subsides. I can feel the skin knot around, mending together. He does the same to the other knee, wrapping his lips around my flesh and trailing his tongue all over the bloodied injury. When my knees are as good as new, he takes my hand, then licks the small scrapes and scratches I got when I fell. As the last wound starts healing, he gives it one last lick before he gets to his feet.
It's only when he tilts my chin up and he leans forward that I realize what he means to do. My eyes widen and I scramble back, pushing him away at the same time.
"Thank you. I think I'm fine." I give him a tight smile.
He frowns.
"But you're still hurt."
"This." I touch my split lip. "It's nothing." I wave my hand. I'm not sure what the stance is on kissing in his world, but in mine it means something. And regardless of whether this is just for healing purposes, a kiss is a kiss.
And I'm married.
He straightens his back, crossing his arms over his chest and regarding me with overt skepticism.
"But it hurts." He narrows his eyes at me.
"It's a manageable pain. I'm sure it will heal in a few days."
"You may get an infection. You don't know how your human body will interact with this world," he points out.
I blink rapidly. He's right. I don't know what germs are in this world and how they will react with my human DNA. A simple cold could prove deadly here for all I know.
I nibble at my lip as I debate on what I should do. I'm not going to let him kiss me, that's for sure. But maybe...
"Here," I say as I extend my hand, pointing the inside of my finger at him. "You can spit on my finger and I'll rub it on my lip."
He stares at my finger for a moment before his gaze meets mine.
"Why are you being so difficult, human?" He sighs in annoyance.
"Because in my world, kissing is reserved for mates only," I explain in his terms.
"Kissing?" he repeats, his brows knit together.
"You know, touching lips. Only mates do that. So you'll have to either do it on my finger or let me die of an infection because you're not going anywhere near my lips," I say with a huff.
He glares at me.
I glare back.
"Is that so..." he grumbles in a gruff voice. Taking my hand, he brings my finger to his mouth. But instead of spitting on it as I expect, he wraps his lips around the tip of my finger, all the while staring me in the eyes.
I swallow.
He lazily strokes his tongue against my finger before he sucks it into his mouth. The black of his irises shifts ever so slightly, a hint of color swirling in that darkness. A shiver goes down my back, my rib cage suddenly constricting my breathing.
"That's enough," I croak, pulling my hand from him.
He lets my finger fall from his mouth, his eyes still on me as I bring it to my lip, massaging his healing saliva into my flesh. In a matter of seconds, the wound heals.
"Thank you," I nod awkwardly.
He's still staring at me, his scrutiny making my skin erupt in goosebumps.
I fidget around, arranging my dress and pulling it down my legs, hoping he'd get a clue and leave before this becomes more awkward than it already is.
"Tell me I am nice," he suddenly demands, startling me.
"What?"
"Say it," he prompts me.
"You're... nice ?"
He waits a moment as he stares at me. Then he nods and turns on his heel, leaving the room.
What the hell was that?