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that was all he could ever be.
* * *
On the far side of the clearing, just within the
edge of the trees, a wide stream meandered through
the undergrowth, and here Tamrin knelt, washing his
hands with single-minded absorption as though he
were utterly alone.
Rylis shifted in impatience and a certain irritation.
If the stupid Eth was going to haul him here
unwillingly, the least he could do was acknowledge
his damned presence!
Tamrin twisted on his knees to look back at Rylis,
and the commander found himself flushing, praying
the Eth had not somehow read his thoughts.
Tamrin s eyebrows rose at sight of the flush, but
his gesture to the water seemed to hold no comment
on Rylis s reasons.
When Rylis only stared at him blankly, Tamrin
mimed washing motions, and Rylis realized what was
meant. He glanced at the stream in some trepidation,
shivering at the mere thought of dipping any part of
him into the clear, probably cold water. His city-bred
senses wanted nothing more than hot water and a
good shower.
But to be able to wash away the remnants of the
incident by the barrier& The need to cleanse away
what had happened, physically if not mentally,
overrode his fastidiousness.
He stripped off the tunic, ready to glare at
Tamrin, only to find the Eth with his back turned, a
discreet chivalry that left Rylis confused and rather
pleased. Tamrin did not leave him alone, defenseless,
but offered his protection while he bathed.
Rylis did not examine too closely the reason he
felt he could trust Tamrin not to turn around once
Rylis was nude.
After removing the rolled-up pants, Rylis stepped
into the stream, hissing a little at its chill, though it
was less frigid than his imagination had supplied. He
waded further in until it came up to his upper thighs,
and, after gathering courage, he sank down into the
water with a grimace that turned into a faint gasp as
his heated groin made contact with the stream.
OK, maybe it was colder than he thought.
He held himself against the gentle current,
squatted on his heels, letting the water swirl around
his form. After a few minutes of acclimation, the chill
receded somewhat, and he found the wherewithal to
begin to use his hands to scrub himself clean. Once he
began, he could not stop, and his motions became
ever more desperate as he fought to dispel any
remnant of his taking. How long this might have gone
on, he did not know, but a sharp, humming sound
jerked him out of his self-imposed torture. He looked
up dazedly, realizing the sound came from Tamrin,
who still stood patiently facing away, arms folded
over his chest. The sound seemed to reach something
in Rylis, calming him, enabling him to think rationally
again and cease his useless motions.
He was as clean as it was possible to be. The rest
was in his mind, and his body did not deserve the
treatment it was receiving.
The clarity of these thoughts, perhaps sent
somehow by Tamrin himself, made Rylis take a deep
breath and bring himself back under control.
He rose from the waters with a cautious glance at
Tamrin, wondering how he was going to dry himself.
Again, as if reading minds, the Eth gestured with
one hand to the left, and Rylis saw a wooden chest
nestled against the base of a massive tree. Upon
reaching it and lifting the well-fitted lid, Rylis found
what looked like towels, though they were woven of
courser threads than he was used to, and a uniform
wheaten color with no other dyeing evident. To his
surprise, they were soft, and quickly dried him.
Unsure what else to do, he wrapped the generously
sized towel around his waist and turned to face
Tamrin.
The Eth slowly turned to face him, and there was
a faint gleam of interest in his eyes, swiftly
suppressed, when he viewed Rylis s bare torso.
Rylis shivered, but it was not entirely a negative
emotion that swept him when those eyes touched
him.
Indeed, he felt suddenly warmer.
Tamrin s gaze went to Rylis s face, meeting his
unsure expression with a softening of his own
features. A moment later, though, his eyes narrowed,
and a look of utter regret made his lips turn down.
He took an uncertain step forward, his eyes
flicking from Rylis s injured hand down to his wrists.
Rylis looked down, confused, only then seeing
the large bruises that ringed his wrists from where the
vines had held him down during his struggles on the
forest floor.
He sucked in a sharp breath, remembering.
Tamrin hummed again, holding one hand out,
keeping his small distance and allowing Rylis to
decide how to handle this situation.
Drawing a deep, shaky breath, Rylis responded,
offering his injured hand, not understanding what he
was doing, but reacting merely on instinct that told
him to do so.
Tamrin relaxed the faintest degree, a hint of relief
in those golden eyes as he ever so gently took Rylis s
injured hand in his and then laid his other hand over
first the bandaged area and then the bruising. A calm
focus seemed to come over the Eth, and he hummed
again, in a different, higher tone as his warm fingers
settled as gently as a butterfly upon the bruises.
Rylis watched in wonder as a blue light seemed to
encase his wrist and hand. There was a prickling of
energy, but softer, more benevolent than the forest
energy had been, and a soothing warmth began to
encase his whole body, radiating from that touch.
Aches he had not even realized he possessed began to
loosen, the energy slowly moving downward to take
away the deep throbbing of his nether regions. As if
in response, his body almost leaned towards Tamrin,
wanting more, wanting to be able to touch in return,
to hold that glorious body against his own.
Rylis blinked as the touch slowly withdrew, and
he returned to stark reality with a sense of aloneness
that seemed to encompass him utterly.
Tamrin was watching him with concern, and
Rylis pushed back his isolation with sheer force of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]