He turned my chin to suture the final gash. His eyelashes lowered, and the stone set of his face crumbled away. “I won’t let them hurt you again.”
My heart drummed a furious tempo. “I think you just exposed a feeling, Dr. Nealy.”
His iron bound expression returned. “I’m serious. We need to leave.” His tone matched his glare. “I thought I had more time to get you out safely, but after Aiman took you down there…he’s impatient. Time’s up.”
I reached for the sponge and gestured him closer. When he dipped his head, I rinsed the blood from his nose, his chiseled cheekbones, his full lips. He was so stunning, my heart ached. “I don’t hold it against you for not being there today.”
His eyes leapt to mine. A flux of emotions bounced between us.
“Seeing how you were busy helping the savage free Roark.”
He looked away, but his shoulders moved closer.
“And you still found the time to rescue me.” I lowered the sponge. “Do you forgive me for taking my anger out on you?”
The downcast tilt of his eyes lifted. “There’s nothing to forgive.” His chest was bent over the tub, arching closer, closer, as if his body was starving for touch. His eyes fluttered closed.
I found myself wishing he would fall in and be forced to remove the shirt that hid his sculpted body. My heart hammered in my ears as I closed the gap.
“Ow.” He jerked back.
“What? What happened?”
He held up the needle and rotated his forearm where he’d pricked himself.
I laughed despite the bite of the stitches around my mouth. “Back to this Yang thing. You know I have those nightmares. When I sleep next to a man, I don’t have them. Could Yang have something to do with it?”
“Skin-to-skin contact? Yes, of course.” His voice jumped. “You’re absorbing Yang, strengthening your subconscious against threats.”
“It sounds…” I scratched my head. “Kind of fantastical.”
He released the plug from the drain. “It’s the most fundamental concept in Asian medicine, and very important that you understand. Think of Yin as the body and Yang as the spirit. If the spirit returns to the air, the body is restored to the earth. Without the spirit, you’ll die.” He cupped his hand with water and let it trickle over my leg as I stood. “It could be our way out. We have to test it.” He wrapped a towel around me and dropped his voice. “But only while I fuel your Yang.”
“How will we do that exactly?”
The Valley Spirit never dies
It is called the Mysterious Female
The entrance to the Mysterious Female
Is called the root of Heaven and Earth
Endless flow
Of inexhaustible energy
Tao Te Ching
Dark and drippy clouds floated above the rafters and spat a mist into the ceiling-less chamber.
I wiped my brow. “The Drone’s going to feel me doing this.”
Michio raised the hem of my shift to my nape and drew my back to his bare chest. “Try to relax.”
“Trying. I should be exhausted since I didn’t sleep last night.”
“You know how to prevent those nightmares.” His gentle tone stroked private places inside me.
“We’ll talk about it later.” When his lap wasn’t cupping my nude backside.
“I’m going put my arms around you now.”
I pulled my lips between my teeth and nodded. Two tentative hands eased under my gown. Forearms on my abdomen shifted us deeper into the couch. Drops of rain trickled off the waterproof cushions.
“Just take your time.” His voice brushed that sensitive spot below my ear. “When you’re ready, call the guard into the room.”
The couch faced the chamber door, which was closed but not latched. I sucked in a needed breath and focused on the ever-present hum on the other side. My command poured forth like words from my mouth. Come.
A pulse, unlike my heartbeat, rattled in my chest. The door held still.
I dug deeper. Yin or Yang, whatever it was, I amassed my fuel. I imagined it in a tangible form, like a vapor writhing around me. It crept up my spine and stretched over my ribs. But it was weak, as if a heavy exhale would wisp it away.
I reached under my gown and ran my arms along his until our limbs intertwined. Then I tried again. Come.
A bright light accompanied a warm wash of my senses. My skin heated where it made contact with his as I siphoned his vitality and replenished mine. The energy propelled from my backbone and out through my chest, taking my breath with it.
The door crashed open and the aphid guard filled the frame. Glassy eyes pointed at me.
I coiled my mind around the connection, solidifying it. Closer.
A flow ignited between us and the tiny setae on its green arms bristled, catching my transmission. Jaw-snot sprayed the floor. Segmented feet scuffled. One step. Two.
Its body jerked. Rain drops sizzled on its skin.
Oh shit. “The rain. Water will kill it.”