Are you sure that’s all you want to be to her? whispered a sarcastic little voice in his head. Sure you’re not thinking of bonding her to you, old man?
Of course not! Bard argued to himself uneasily. I know that would be wrong—I would never try to tie such a young life to mine. And besides, I promised never to be with another after Rilla died. But I can at least keep Makenna safe and protect her while she heals.
Dr. Olivia’s next words seemed to echo his thoughts.
“I’m afraid it might take her some time to heal from this,” she told Bard. “This horrible thing is rough all over and I can’t imagine the other spreaders they put in her were any better. She’s pretty raw inside from being forced to wear them for so long.” She shook her head. “She’ll need emotional healing too. What was done to her was probably horribly traumatic.”
“How can I help?” Bard asked at once.
“Just be patient and kind with her,” Dr. Olivia counseled. “I’ll give you a packet of healing and cleansing solution to put in your bathing pool. Let her splash around in that for a while every night and soak as long as she wants to.” She shrugged. “Ultimately, it’s just going to take time.”
“Thanks.” Bard nodded. “I’ll take care of her.”
Dr. Olivia gave him a considering look.
“I’m sure that you will. You seem…very invested in her welfare.”
“It’s not like that,” Bard said quickly. He could feel his face getting hot again. “I mean, I would never have a romantic interest in her. She’s way too young for an old male like me, for one thing, and anyway, I sort of promised myself I wouldn’t be with any other females after my wife, Rilla, died twenty years ago.”
“Twenty years is a long time,” Dr. Olivia said, smiling. “But I know you’ll be good to her.” She smiled at Makenna. “You’re going to be fine and get all better,” she told the girl. “Everything will be okay.”
Makenna looked at her with wide eyes and then gave her a tentative smile.
“O-kay?” she asked and Dr. Olivia beamed at her.
“Okay,” she affirmed and patted Makenna’s knee before looking up at Bard. “I’ll have that packet of healing and cleansing powder sent to your suite. You can take her home now—she needs to rest for the remainder of the day.”
“Got it. Thank you, Dr. Olivia.” Bard nodded. He was glad all over again that the human doctor was here aboard the Mother Ship and he knew a lot of the other married warriors felt the same. It was good to have a female doctor to see the female patients on board.
Dr. Olivia left and Yipper was about to follow her, but then he turned back and looked up at Bard.
“I almost forgot—yes, I did! Yes, I did!” he exclaimed. “Here, this is for you.”
He held out the vial of bright blue liquid that Bard had noticed in his small, furry hand earlier.
“Uh, what’s this?” he asked, frowning at it as he held it up to the light. “Something for Makenna to take later?”
“No, no!” Yipper shook his head, his long ears flopping. “It’s for you, Commander Bard. Just for you! Just for you!”
“You want me to take it? But why?” Bard looked at the Tolleg surgeon in confusion.
“It’s the special healing serum we developed—the one based on a Blood Kindred’s essence. Yes it is! Yes it is!” Yipper told him excitedly. “Once you take it, you can help to heal your female yourself. Yes you can! Yes you can!”
“Oh, uh…” Bard frowned uncertainly. “But I thought that this stuff only worked when you, uh, licked your female where she’s hurt. And Makenna is hurt in a pretty intimate area.”
“She has bruises on her cheek and on her arms. Yes, she does. Yes, she does,” Yipper pointed out gravely. “I am sorry to say it, but it looks like someone has been hitting her and yanking her around.” The look in his big, hound dog eyes got so sad that for a moment, Bard thought the little guy might actually start weeping.
“Oh, right!” he said at once, embarrassed at the turn his mind had taken. The mental image that had popped up in his head—that of him kneeling between Makenna’s thighs and healing her soft little pussy with long, slow licks as she ran her small fingers though his hair and moaned his name—was completely unacceptable.
Quickly, he drank the bright blue liquid—which turned out to taste sweet and slightly spicy—and then gave the glass vial it had come in back to Yipper.
“Thank you,” he said, nodding gratefully at the little Tolleg. “I really appreciate it.”
“You’re very welcome. Yes, you are! Yes, you are,” Yipper said, nodding. “Now try it out.”
“Uh, try it out?” Bard asked doubtfully.
“The bruise on her cheek. You should be able to heal it now. Yes you should! Yes you should!” Yipper gestured excitedly to the dark bruise on Makenna’s cheekbone that he had noticed earlier.