Playing Their Parts

“If that’s true, why hasn’t he said he wants to bond me to him?” Cassie objected.

“Again, he probably thinks you don’t want him to bond you, for some reason,” Liv said.

“He’s probably afraid of losing you if he asks you to be his mate and you say no,” Kat pointed out.

“And now he thinks he’s hurt you,” Liv said frowning. “Which means his guilt will be through the roof and he’ll feel like he doesn’t deserve you.”

“You’re going to have to find a way around that, doll and I’m afraid it won’t be easy,” Kat said.

Liv nodded. “Kindred take their honor very seriously.”

Kat frowned, then her blue eyes widened in excitement as she turned to Cassie.

“I know! You could ask him to heal you. Blood Kindred can do that—they can heal their mates or the women they want to become their mates!”

“Heal me how?” Cassie said uncertainly. She thought Stone might have said something about this but she wasn’t sure.

“With his essence—the blue liquid that comes from his fangs. The same stuff he injected you with to heal the burning pain you were having,” Liv told her.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Cassie tried to move again and winced. “Ow! The places I’m hurting…”

“Are probably exactly the places he’d want to lick you to spread his essence,” Kat finished for her, grinning. “Just ask him, doll. And see where it goes from there.”

Cassie still wasn’t sure about the idea of asking her partner to “heal” her at all.

“I’ll think about it,” she said firmly. “But that’s all for now.”

“Of course.” Liv smiled at her. “Would you like to soak in a nice hot bath and drink a glass of wine and think it over? It might help you get your head on straight if you could just relax and process some of the craziness you’ve been through.”

Cassie smiled back.

“I’ve never heard of a doctor who proscribed a hot bath and a glass of wine as a treatment.”

“Best treatment there is for almost anything,” Liv said, grinning. “So—what do you say?”

“I say yes,” Cassie said gratefully. “Um…” She looked around the Med Center room she was in. It was much nicer than a hospital room down on Earth, but it still looked kind of medical. “Do you have a bathtub around here?”

“We can get you into one of the guest suites—there will be a nice deep bathing pool in there,” Liv told her.

“What? You’re already discharging me?” Cassie asked, surprised.

“I don’t see why not.” Liv shrugged. “Your blood work showed a lot of chemicals, but all of them have been neutralized. And you’re kind of bruised and sore but you don’t have any injuries that time—or a Blood Kindred—can’t heal.” She winked.

“I still don’t think she ought to be by herself,” Kat objected.

“She won’t be,” Liv said. “I’m going to release her into the care of her partner. Which means they’ll have to spend time together and sort everything out.”

“But—” Cassie started to protest but Liv fixed her with a stern look.

“Doctor’s orders,” she declared. “I prescribe a hot bath, a glass of wine, and a night to work things out with your partner. If you have any problems, you can call me in the morning.”

“I doubt that.” Kat winked at her. “Have fun, doll. We’ll be rooting for the two of you.”

Then they both left the room, leaving Cassie to wonder exactly how awkward following her new doctor’s orders was going to be.

Fifty-Nine

“I, um, hope you don’t mind staying here with me,” Cassie said lamely as Stone helped her get settled on the large, overstuffed couch in front of the fireplace. She liked the cozy, romantic atmosphere of the guest suite they had been assigned, but it made her miserable to see how unhappy Stone looked.

Her partner’s mouth was set in a grim line and he hadn’t said two words to her since he had come to pick her up from the Med Center and bring her here. He had been completely silent, only nodding when Liv gave her discharge orders that Cassie was to have a warm bath and some wine to calm her nerves and that she wasn’t to be left alone for any reason.

“She still has some chemical residue in her bloodstream, so I’ll want you to keep a close eye on your partner, Commander Stonev,” she’d said sternly. “Please stay by her and give me a call if any problems arise.”

Stone had nodded his agreement and then picked Cassie up and carried her silently and stoically to the guest suite, which was close to the Med Center. And now, here they were and what was she going to do if her partner never spoke to her again Cassie wondered? He was just standing there, staring into the flickering blue and gold flames of the fireplace, as though lost in some private remorse.