Taming Two Warriors (Kindred Tales)

“Melinda,” he asked. “Would you allow me to try and heal you?”

Twenty-One

“Heal me? How?” she looked at him fearfully. But Liosh thought he also saw the tiniest spark of hope in her eyes. “Do the Kindred have medicine for this kind of thing?” she asked.

“For the aftermath of sexual trauma, no,” Liosh said. “Though we do have something called bonding fruit which enables a female to open herself for a shaft much larger than she normally could take. The Twin Kindred use it for bonding—it would be impossible for them otherwise. But that isn’t what I’m proposing—not yet, anyway.”

“What, then?” There was definite hope in Melinda’s big blue eyes now. “How would you—could you—heal me, Liosh?”

Liosh took a deep breath, trying to think how to express his thoughts to her.

“Remember how I told you that the essence my fangs make is able to heal the wounds of my mate?”

“But I’m not your mate,” Melinda protested. Her face went pale. “And I don’t know how I feel about you biting me in such a sensitive place.”

“I wouldn’t have to bite you to spread my essence,” Liosh told her. “I could do that just by licking and kissing you.”

Her cheeks got rosy.

“You want to lick and kiss my, uh…”

“Your pussy. Yes.” Liosh nodded.

“Well…” She seemed to be considering it. “But it’s not like what’s wrong with me is a cut or a scrape. My body healed from the trauma of the rape a long time ago. At least, outwardly. Jodi says she thinks my vaginismus is psychological.” She sighed. “She’s the one who suggested the dilators, you know? I think what happened to me is one reason she decided she wanted to be a sex therapist.”

“I agree with your sister that a lot of your problem is probably due to mental and emotional trauma,” Liosh said. “But I think the body has muscle memory too. You said that when this happened to you, when this male…took you…” He couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘rape’—it made him sick just to think it. “When he took you,” he went on, “It was your first sexual experience? Correct?”

Melinda nodded.

“I was a virgin up until then,” she whispered. “I went home that night feeling like a whore—because he told me I was. Because he told me I wanted it.” Angry tears filled her eyes. “Nobody wants to be treated like that! Nobody wants to be raped!”

“Of course not, Talli.” Liosh felt like his heart was breaking open for her, like her hurt and pain were seeping into him and they were almost too much to bear—yet he wanted to help her bear them. “Melinda,” he whispered hoarsely. “Can I hold you?”

At first she seemed uncertain but when he held open his arms, she flowed to him quickly. Liosh pulled her into his lap and cradled her against him, stroking her long blonde hair as she sobbed and feeling her anguish as though it was his own. In a way, it was his. For she was the female the Goddess had set aside for him—of this he was absolutely certain. Melinda might think of herself as broken or damaged but to him she was perfect and beautiful and the only female in the universe for him.

Oh Goddess, he prayed silently as he held her close. Please help me to heal her—help me heal the female you sent me to love. And if I cannot, let us be together anyway. Let our love be strong even without a bonding to cement it. For I never, ever want to give Melinda up or let her go.

For a moment, he thought he felt a healing warmth surround him and a strong, female voice seemed to whisper in his heart,

“Be patient, Warrior, and your love shall be rewarded.”

Then the warmth faded and the voice died away but Liosh was certain he was on the right track.

“Melinda,” he murmured when she finished crying and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of the green and gold sweatshirt with the USF logo she was wearing.

“Yes?” She looked up at him, her eyes red and uncertain.

“I would still like to try and heal you,” Liosh told her firmly. “As I said before, I think the body has muscle memory. Maybe if the muscles that were traumatized were bathed with my essence, it might help them to relax.”

“Do you really think so?” Melinda asked, and that spark of hope was back in her eyes.

“It might not happen all at once,” Liosh cautioned her. “It might take many, many sessions of gentle licking and bathing your sweet pussy with my essence to help you begin to relax.”

“Many sessions?” Melinda looked at him doubtfully. “And…you wouldn’t mind that? Because not many guys I know would be all right with going down on a girl time after time with no pay-off guaranteed.”