“I look obscene,” Elli objected. And she really did. The white, silky fronds of fabric were so thin and fine they didn’t do much at all to cover her breasts and sex. In fact, it seemed that every time she looked down, the pink tips of her nipples were showing through!
“Well, at least you won’t be the only female dressed that way,” Roke pointed out. “And hopefully I won’t be the only male in a fucking loincloth,” he added, looking down at his own suit in distaste. Elli thought it made him look amazing and showed off his long, muscular legs and firm ass to perfection—not that she would tell him that—he might get the wrong idea.
“I suppose we should get going,” she said with a sigh, reaching for the plush robe the seamstress had left for her. “We don’t want to be late and offend everyone.”
“Wait a minute.” Roke caught her arm before she could push it through the furry sleeve. It was the arm that had been burned with Demon’s flame and Elli winced as he examined it.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“There’s something I want to try.” He looked up at her. “I told you my mother was Kindred but I didn’t tell you what kind of Kindred.”
“Oh?” Elli frowned at him, wondering where he was going with this.
“She was Blood Kindred,” Roke said.
“Really?” Elli asked, surprised. “But you look almost Beast Kindred—I would have sworn you were when I first met you, except for your eyes.”
He nodded. “In appearance, I take after my Sire. I didn’t take after my mother enough to get proper fangs like a true Blood Kindred, but I do have tiny ones—just here.” He bared his teeth and pointed to where a human male would have his canine teeth.
“All right,” Elli said blankly. “But why are you telling me all this?”
“Because…” Roke sighed. “Because I wonder if I might be able to heal you, the way a Blood Kindred would heal the…the female he cares for.”
“Can you produce Essence?” Elli asked, interested. Essence was the pale blue liquid secreted by a Blood Kindred’s fangs which could heal their mate. It was also used in bonding, but she already knew that Roke wasn’t interested in that.
“I never have before,” he admitted. “But I think…maybe…Look, I’d just like to try it—all right?” He frowned at the burn on her arm. “I don’t like the idea of you being marked for life and having a scar!”
“I’m a priestess, not a beauty queen,” Elli reminded him. “It doesn’t matter if I have scars—the Goddess doesn’t mind.”
“Well, I mind.” Roke looked at her intently. “Will you let me at least try to heal you, little priestess?”
Elli felt her breath catch in her throat at the serious look in his blue and green eyes.
“All right,” she whispered. “I…I guess it couldn’t hurt to try.”
“Thank you.”
Leaning over her hand, Roke stared at the backs of her fingers and began to lick.
At first Elli felt nothing but the gentle warmth of his tongue, but then a cool tingling began. The feeling spread as Roke continued to lap gently along her arm, moving up the back of her hand and along the angry burn that ran the length of her forearm.
When he finally pulled back to survey her arm, Elli gasped.
“Oh! It worked!”
Indeed, the angry red burn had turned from red to pink and, as they watched, the pink turned to her normal pale, creamy skin tones and Elli knew the burn was healed completely.
“You did it!” she said, looking up at the big warrior. “You really did it! You healed me.”
“I thought I’d be able to,” he murmured and cupped her cheek in his hand to tilt her chin up to his.
“You…you were right. But what made you think you could in the first place?” Elli tried to speak normally but her voice came out sounding breathless in her own ears.
Roke searched her eyes with his own.
“Maybe because I’ve been getting entirely too close to you, little priestess. And I can’t seem to stop myself from wanting to get closer still…”
“Roke, don’t,” she whispered, but she didn’t pull away when he kissed her. In fact, she pressed her body to his, enjoying the way the fronds of her bathing costume parted to allow her bare breasts to rub against his hard torso…
They might have done much more than kiss except for someone suddenly banged on the door to their bedchamber, which Elli gasp and jump away.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, reaching for her bathrobe and pulling it on quickly to cover herself. “Who can that be?”
“Don’t know,” Roke growled as he pulled on his own robe. “But they’d better have a damn good reason for interrupting!”
It turned out to be a servant sent by the Duchess to find out what was taking them so long.