Saved by the Beast (Kindred Tales)

“Hurts!” she gasped, struggling in his grip, as though she wanted to get out of the pool. “Water hurts—stings!”

“Sorry, baby girl!” Bard immediately felt bad for subjecting her to the water, even though he had only been following doctor’s orders. “Maybe that’s just the medicine working,” he suggested.

Makenna shook her head rapidly, her long, black hair with its bronze streaks wet around her shoulders.

“No, no!” she exclaimed. “Hurts. Hurts worse now!”

“Gods, I’m so damn sorry!” Bard told her. “Maybe we’d better get out of the tub and I’ll call Dr. Olivia and ask her to give you something else to help.”

He boosted her out of the bathing pool so that she was sitting on the edge with only her legs dangling in the water. He was about to get out himself when she stopped him with a touch on the shoulder.

“Yeah, baby girl?” Bard looked up at her and saw there was a look of indecision on her pretty face. She was nibbling her lower lip and looking like she wanted to ask something. “Yeah?” he said again. “What is it?”

“Bard,” she said tentatively. “Bard heals Makenna? Bard healed Makenna before.” She put a hand to her high cheekbone, the one where he’d healed the bruise. “Bard heals Makenna again?” she asked hopefully.

“You mean…heal your pussy? Heal you here?” Bard’s mouth was suddenly dry as he pointed to the spot between her legs.

Eagerly, she nodded.

“Bard heals? Please?”

Bard started to shake his head.

“Baby girl, I can’t,” he growled. “It wouldn’t be right for me to lick and kiss your soft little pussy. I would be going too far. I can’t—”

He stopped when he saw that her big, dark eyes were bright with tears.

“Hurts so much,” she whispered, a look of pain passing over her lovely face. “Please! Bard just heals Makenna a little?”

Bard was suddenly swamped with guilt. How could he see her hurting and refuse to heal her? But on the other hand, how could he lick between her legs and taste her sweet pussy? It was wrong—he knew it was. Tasting a female was the step before bonding and he couldn’t bond her to him—he just couldn’t!

She was too young for him, for one thing and there was also the promise he’d made to himself not to be with another female after Rilla had passed. Everything about this was wrong.

And yet…he looked at the tears glimmering in her beautiful dark eyes—they looked as black as Mandelar obsidian after the rains. Gods, she was lovely.

“Please, Bard,” she whispered and blinked, sending a single tear down her flushed cheek. “Please heal Makenna just a little.” She held her thumb and forefinger apart, indicating the “just a little” part and Bard felt himself melting.

Surely it couldn’t hurt just to heal her soft inner folds, he told himself. Surely it wouldn’t be going too far just to ease her pain.

“All right, baby girl,” he told her. “I’ll heal you, but just a little.” And he held up his finger and thumb a tiny bit apart, just as she had.

Makenna nodded eagerly and swiped at her tears.

“Thanks you,” she told him earnestly. “Makenna thanks you, Bard.”

He couldn’t help smiling at her sincere appreciation.

“Of course, baby girl. I just want to take care of you. Here…let’s get you more comfortable.”

He thought about taking her back to the bedroom, but Tiny would be nosing around in there, wanting to know what was going on and this kind of “healing” was better done without an audience. So instead, he grabbed some of the big, fluffy towels and laid them on the tiled floor at the edge of the pool, making sure Makenna had something soft to lie on. He also placed a towel for her head and one under her behind. That way, with Bard still standing in the pool, she was at just the right height for him to lick her.

“All right, baby girl,” he said to her, trying to make his voice soothing. “Lay back and relax and let me heal you.”

“Yes, Bard,” she whispered and nodded. Then she lay back on the fluffy red towels and spread her legs for him, completely and utterly trusting.

Bard felt his heart fist in his chest at her complete, unquestioning trust in him. This little female had been hurt and abused in the worst ways, and yet she was offering herself to him without any fear or reservations at all. Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss on her inner thigh, inhaling the warm, feminine fragrance of her soft pussy as he did so. Gods, he could get drunk on her scent alone! He had to be careful here—he had to only heal her and not…do anything else, he warned himself.

Makenna moaned and twitched her hips impatiently as he kissed the other thigh and then rubbed his cheek against the top of her mound, Marking her, covering her sweet scent with his own. He knew this wasn’t part of the deal—he was just supposed to be healing her. But the possessive part of him came out and he couldn’t help himself—he wanted every other male aboard the Mother Ship to know that she was off limits.