Taming a Healer: 3 (Galactic Lust) (11 page)

He ran his hand up her spine, more than liking the feel of
her skin and bones beneath his touch. She’d always been so special to him.
Unique, mysterious, all knowing. He’d admired her from the moment he’d laid
eyes upon her. So rare, trusting, totally beautiful!

“You’re mine,” he whispered. Once the utterance slipped
free, he immediately corrected himself. For however long he lived, nothing
would totally be his alone. He shared more than a common bond with Nolan. He
would forever share his life. “You’re ours now.”

Her slim body pitched forward and back, up and down, almost
as if she were uncertain which direction would make her come. He helped by
holding her hips and allowing himself to fuck her freely, without restraint.
The occasional stroke of Nolan’s tongue nearly undid him. Nolan bathed Sadie’s
slit fervently, rimming the opening where Gabriel’s cock slid in and out.

Without warning, Gabriel pushed into her pussy and bellowed
as a massive, searing climax rippled through his balls and cock. Sadie and
Nolan moaned and groaned as they twisted together in a heated tangle of arms
and legs.

As if their bodies were running on the same current, they
came together in a sizzling, unending fury of sucking, bucking and plunging
into each other. Sadie’s vaginal walls clung to his cock as it vibrated and
clenched, milking cum from his overheated, exhausted body.

He sat back on his heels and watched as cum and feminine
desire slid from her pussy. Nolan rolled from beneath her and helped her lie
down. Her skin was flushed and damp with perspiration. Her mussed hair and
reddened pussy lips couldn’t have been sexier. She was a well-used, well-sated
woman. His cock didn’t care. He remained hard, ready, wanting and needing more
as if tomorrow might come too soon and they’d lose their perfect place in time.

Nolan straddled her, facing away from her before lifting her
legs and spreading them wide. “She still needs you, friend. Just you this
time.”

Gabriel took the spot between her legs as Nolan stood,
taking several steps back. Sadie reached for him, holding her arms wide.
Gabriel stretched out over the willing woman he’d lusted after for years. In
the cradle of her arms and thighs, he slowly pushed into her wet, hot pussy.
Her legs circled his hips, allowing for a deeper more purposeful penetration.
She should be sore by now and shying away from further intimacies. Instead, she
opened herself while biting her bottom lip in anticipation of the pleasure to
come.

“You’re beautiful, sweet Sadonia. You’re more than my
imagination could’ve ever conjured. You’re perfection.”

“As are you, Gabriel. And Nolan.” She licked her lips and
slowly smiled. “Perfect.”

After the recent bout of pleasure seeking, Gabriel paced
himself and savored this newest intimacy. He studied his lovely healer, finding
the ideal movements to build on her desire. Each touch and stroke caused her to
move beneath him. So vibrant and full of life. How had she survived in this
cave for months?

He vaguely noticed Nolan retrieve his clothes before
slipping beyond the light of the fire. He would’ve been welcome to stay but
having Sadie all to himself appealed to Gabriel greatly. It’d be the first time
he’d been left alone with a woman.

The kisses grew more intense and the blood in his veins
practically boiled. Old feelings rose from the base of his spine, causing sweat
to gather in his hairline and brow. Animalistic sensations crept through him.
Things had been so different with Sadie up until now.

Sadie. Alone. Aroused. Mine!

He bit her lip, couldn’t help himself. When he tasted blood,
his pulse raced until a steady drone filled his ears. Without Nolan, Gabriel
felt himself losing control.

Sadie almost cried out when Gabriel pierced her lip. He
muffled her scream with his lips and tongue. In the span of only a few seconds,
something had come over him. She could sense and feel the tension in his body.
His weight descended, pinning her down as he thrust into her faster and faster.

She tore her mouth free and tried to remain calm. “Gabriel.
You’re hurting me.”

The growl that came from his throat caused her to shiver.
“Mine.”

His greater weight squished the air from lungs. When she
tried pushing him away, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the ground.
She opened her eyelids to find a predator where her hunter had been. The light
from the fire made his eyes glow in an unnatural silvery sheen.

“No, Gabriel!” What possessed him? He’d been so different
when Nolan was near.

Gabriel suddenly pushed himself up on outstretched arms. His
chest heaved with the exertion of drawing air into his lungs. She scooted from
beneath him, stood and turned to run.

Nolan grasped her arms, bringing her to his chest where he
held and comforted her. “Shh, it’s all right now.”

“It’s not. He…he…”

“I know,” he said, stroking her head and back. “It’s why we
stay together. I was wrong to leave you. I thought it would be okay. I’m sorry,
shae-shondah
. Forgive me, please. Forgive him.”

Gabriel remained on his hands and knees, pain-laced groans
escaped on every breath. It had hurt him to let her go. From the sounds he
made, it’d mortally wounded him.

“Stop shaking, please.” Nolan gathered her closer until his
breath touched her ear. “I accept responsibility for this. It’s my fault.”

“You,” she said, her voice shaking slightly, “had nothing to
do with his behavior. He bit me!”

He touched her chin and tilted her head up to view the
damage. The small mark probably didn’t even bleed anymore and she suddenly felt
terrible for mentioning it. “Never mind,” she said, lowering her gaze. “It’s
insignificant.”

“Sadie.” Gabriel’s voice rumbled, filled with hostility.

She turned toward him and initially flinched, witnessing his
deep breathing and corded muscles. Upon closer inspection, she saw regret and
confusion in his shining silver eyes.

He pushed himself from the blanket and stalked close to the
fire before turning and walking to the pool of water. In that instant, she
realized certain aspects of a hunter would forever remain the same. The
deep-seated hostility was a trait she could never fix. It couldn’t be
attributed to anything physical and therefore couldn’t be healed by her touch.

Even if she found a way to cure the cause of their premature
death, for as long as they lived, they would still require each other. “What
does it matter if we die within this cave?”

“Sadie?” Nolan asked. Nolan raked his fingers through her
hair as he cuddled her tight. “
Shae-shondah?”

If the monsters outside didn’t kill them and if the
Governance didn’t kill them, would they still be effective as hunters after
this? They seemed better able to express sentiments. Would their newfound
emotions hinder them in their duty? So many questions and no immediate answers.

A strange noise drew her attention. Before she could blink,
the silhouette of a
malicitor
rushed the fire.

“Run!” Nolan yelled, shoving her toward the back of the
cave. “Run!”

Sadie sat on the cold sand with the frightened pup in her
arms. She was bewildered and unable to completely comprehend what’d taken
place. Nolan and Gabriel fought creatures with knives and swords, hacking them
to pieces as blood spattered the walls. The stench of wounded and dying
monsters overwhelmed the air, nearly choking her.

Slowly, she stood, the pit of her stomach filling with
something fierce, hot, uncontrollable.

I won’t die this way. Neither will they.

Many more of the creatures rushed into the quickly cooling
cavern. The bodies of
malicitors
who’d entered before them, piled onto
the fire. Dearest Ayasha, they committed suicide to extinguish the heat so
those following would be able to get at her, Gabriel and Nolan.

Nolan was besieged and fell, the monsters covering him,
tearing at his flesh. A dozen more leapt upon Gabriel, biting him ferociously.
Instinct caused her to run to the pool. An internal force directed her actions.
She heard her grandmother’s voice.
Bring it forth, child. Do it now! Release
the fire!

She placed the pup on the ground, raised her hands, begging
Ayasha for guidance before slamming them into the water. In seconds, the body
of liquid boiled, spitting droplets of water and steam into the air.

Hotter! Hotter! More!

Lightning flowed through her body, discharging from her hands
into the pool. A rush of liquid heat exploded from the water, the wave rippling
through the interior of the cave. Screams of agony and death filled the area as
the scalding steam cut through the creatures.

Protect my hunters. Heal them. Destroy only the
creatures!

Seconds later, she pulled her burning hands from the pool to
find them red and blistered. The smell of boiled flesh filled her nose,
sickening her to the point of retching. She dropped to her knees, exhausted,
suddenly cold and nearly unconscious.

Warmth surrounded her and she focused on first Gabriel and
then Nolan. So much blood all over them! Despite the throbbing in her hands,
she grabbed their arms and cried out, conjuring the last shred of available
power. Their wounds healed with her touch. She could see it in her mind’s eye.
Her badly injured hunters were mended at record speed.

Make them well. Heal them.

“Sadie, stop!” Gabriel’s strong voice penetrated the fog in
her brain.

With only superficial wounds remaining on her manly duo, she
released her breath, forced her stomach to unclench and watched as the cave
swirled around her, casting her into total darkness.

“Sadie!” Gabriel yelled, shaking the unconscious woman in
his arms.

She didn’t even twitch as he held her tightly, willing her to
wake up. The staggering heat within the cave forced perspiration from his
pores. He glanced up to find Nolan hovering, covered in sweat and blood. He’d
seen Nolan die! He’d seen the wide arcs of blood from where they’d severed the
arteries in his neck. How could he be standing there?

Nolan glanced over his shoulder. Gabriel looked too. The
mound of bodies heaped in the opening of the cave astonished them. They hadn’t
accomplished that amount of carnage. Not by themselves.

Gabriel kissed her forehead and listened closely by her
lips. Air moved easily in and out of her mouth. She appeared to be sleeping.
She hadn’t been hurt? “Did you see what happened?”

Nolan crouched down and stroked her arm. “As they took me
down, I turned to have a last look at her.” His fingertips lightly touched her
temple.

“And?”

Nolan gazed at him, clearly contemplating what to say. Since
when did he find the need to rehearse his thoughts before speaking them?

“She stood.” He licked his dry lips, searching Gabriel’s
eyes, trying to form words. “I don’t know what I saw.”

“The hell you don’t. Tell me. Tell me what happened to her!”

“She,” he said, using his arm he wiped the sweat away from
his face, “raised her hands. They glowed. White. The air around her changed as
if she stood in the midst of a fire.”

Gabriel stole several breaths, trying to drag in enough of
the super-heated air surrounding them. “Go on.”

“She plunged her hands into the water and it exploded.”

Gabriel stared. He scanned Nolan for injuries wondering if
he hadn’t taken a particularly hard blow to the skull. Perhaps Nolan knew how
the story would sound and that’s why he’d been hesitant to tell it.

“I closed my eyes, the heat was burning them. I knew I’d
been wounded. Mortally wounded. I’d felt each gash and cut. I’d felt my bones
break. The pain hadn’t registered yet. That’s when a strong wind picked up,
scorching everything in its path. I could feel the creatures lifted from me and
could hear the inferno rush past. Yet it didn’t touch me. Only the monsters.”

Gabriel finally lowered his gaze. He too heard the ferocious
wind as it burned the flesh from the animals surrounding him.

“It was as if she’d placed her hands upon me. It wasn’t
possible because she stood by the pool. But it felt the same as when she’d
healed me. The next thing I knew, I stumbled toward her.”

It’d happened the same for Gabriel. “You don’t remember her
touching you?”

“Not really. You?”

“No. But the wounds I’d received are gone. And,” he said,
gesturing toward the charred remains of creatures by the fire, “So are they.”

Nolan’s palm moved over her forehead. “She appears fine. I
mean, well, other than being unconscious. How was any of that possible?”

“Something happened. Look at her hands.”

Nolan grimaced, viewing the blisters. “Sweet,
shae-shondah
,
what have you done to yourself?”

“Watch closely.” They both stared as the red, swollen skin
slowly returned to normal. “She’s healing herself.”

“She fixed us in seconds. Do you think she’s healing so
slowly because she’s unconscious?”

“Probably. And weak. She’s dead weight, not even the
slightest movement of muscle.”

“You don’t think she’s used all of her power to heal us and
kill the beasts, do you? I mean leaving herself unable to see to her own
needs.”

“No.” He refused to believe the sores on her hands would
need to mend in a conventional way. She wouldn’t be that stupid. Of course she
retained the strength to heal herself. She merely needed to be awake.

And when she woke, he wanted her to be clean, free from the
dirt and the fine soot currently covering her. “Take a cloth and wet it. Make
sure not to touch the water. Let it cool and we’ll bathe her.”

“You’re right. After all she’s done, she should at least
wake clean.”

“Once we’ve wiped the dirt from her, we’ll take her into the
antechamber. It should be cooler there. We’ll let her rest.”

“With the water in the pool still boiling, it will take a
long while before we need to worry about enough heat to keep the creatures
out.”

“Agreed.” He readjusted her in his arms, refusing to lay her
down for the cleansing.

“Once we’ve seen to her, I’ll stoke the fire and finish
disposing of the bodies. Maybe the stench of their friends burning will deter
the others from making another mad rush.”

“We’ll need to fix something to eat. The pot of stew melted.
Is there any meat left?”

Nolan frowned. “No. I’ll have to pick through vegetables to
find some that haven’t rotted. There wasn’t much to begin with.”

“Sadie will eat first.”

“I’ll also scoop out water to cool in the back portion of
the cave. Her lips are dry. Let’s not let her dehydrate.”

“And find the pup. Hopefully it’s hiding. I believe she’s
attached to the little fur ball.”

“I’ll look.”

Gabriel drew her to his mouth and gently licked her lips,
moistening them. Once again, he checked to hear that she drew and expelled air.
Nothing had changed. He couldn’t discern an iota of muscle contraction in her
body. “This isn’t natural.”

He turned when Nolan placed a hand on his shoulder. “Neither
is what happened a few moments ago. She’ll be fine. I know it. I feel it in my
gut.”

Indecision tightened his chest. He needed to listen to his
partner. Nolan offered hope. If Sadie didn’t wake… If he could never gaze into
her luminous turquoise eyes again, he’d rather be dead.

* * * * *

Sadie woke from the deep sleep disoriented and parched. The
moment she sat up, a ladle filled with cool water touched her lips. “Drink,
sweet healer,” Gabriel said.

She grasped the metal with both hands and gulped the liquid
until she choked. By the time she’d regained her breath, the ladle appeared
before her, refilled. She drank and drank until her stomach distended and
throat felt sufficiently moistened.

“How long have I slept this time?”

“Hours.”

A shiver raced down her spine and Gabriel placed a blanket
around her shoulders. A small wet tongue lapped at her cheek. The pup wormed
his way beneath the barrier and curled up against her arm. “The creatures?”

“Dead. Even those that hadn’t made it to the interior died.
Nolan’s still cleaning up the remains.”

“Are we safe?” Her lips quivered from the chilly air.

He sat behind her, pulled her close and surrounded her with
the warmth of his arms. “Rest against me. We’re safe for the time being.”

She recalled the recent attack and tried to make sense of
everything that’d happened. Things had not only changed within her hunters,
they’d changed within her as well. She’d never experienced such power. The
strange part of the incident was, she knew she could do it again if provoked.
The newly awakened abilities lay inside her, waiting for her command. The
gnawing at her stomach and the fierce pounding of her heart told her she would
never go back to who she used to be.

“There’s a tremor in you that isn’t going away, even with
the blanket. Are you okay?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes, fine, thank you.”

“Can I get you something to eat? We’ve boiled some
vegetables. The stew didn’t survive your counterattack.”

“What about the wolfen pup?”

“He’s eaten twice.”

She smiled, knowing she’d obliterated a great number of the
monsters that’d raided the cave. She’d saved Gabriel and Nolan. She’d not only
healed them, she’d defended them against the attack. She smiled as feelings of
control and pride filled her.

“You have the most beautiful smile.”

“And you have a very warm, comfortable chest. I could spend
the rest of my life like this, nestled against you in the safety of your arms.”

“I too wish we could spend years like this. It’s simply not
possible.”

The pup obviously didn’t like their conversation because he
wormed beneath the covers before slipping free to wander close to the fire. She
stroked his arm, loving the tickle from his fine, dark-blond hairs. “You don’t
seem sick anymore. Perhaps you won’t die after all.”

“While it’s true, I’ve never felt better, there’s a great
deal in store for both Nolan and I once help arrives.”

He sounded so sure of his and Nolan’s fate. She could hear
it in his voice. “They’ll see you’re no longer ill and be happy you’ll live for
more years.”

“I’m afraid life as a servant to the Governance isn’t quite
so simple.” He stroked her head affectionately before settling his hand on her
abdomen. “The illness will return.”

She placed her hand over his. “It may not.”

He stilled. “You’re an eternal optimist.”

“You need to be too.”

He cuddled her and kissed the top of her head. “I wish I
could. I, however, deal in probabilities.”

She turned in his arms, immediately afraid because of the
tone of his voice. “Don’t sound like that.”

“Like what?”

“Resigned to something. Defeated. You should be relieved.
Overjoyed. Certainly you’ll have more time now.”

“That doesn’t change what will happen. I firmly believe
soldiers will find us. I know you’ll be saved. As for Nolan and I…”

“You’ll be saved as well.” She held his face in her hands.
“I won’t let anything happen to either of you. We’ll make them understand
you’re different now. If the illness comes back, I’ll ward it off. Dear Ayasha,
they’ll be thrilled to have you both back, sane and healthy for a time.”

“We deserted.”

“You weren’t thinking clearly. That’s all different now.”

“In the eyes of the Governance, nothing’s changed. We deserted.”

She drew her hands away as her eyes filled with tears.
“We’ll make them understand. Somehow, they’ll forgive you. They have to.”

“All that matters is seeing you safely aboard a ship, away
from here. That’s all I’d hoped for at the onset of this mission. I’ll see it
through. Whatever fate awaits Nolan and me, we’ll accept. Despite the illness,
we knew what we were doing when we came for you.”

She no longer wanted to dwell on things that might happen.
They’d all been through enough. In fact, she couldn’t dwell another minute on
thoughts of death. She refused.

She straddled his outstretched legs, placed her hands on his
shoulders and kissed him. She’d surprised him momentarily because he didn’t
return the kiss. After a few seconds, he wrapped her in his arms and nibbled
her lips, tasting every centimeter.

She sensed a presence and glanced behind Gabriel. Nolan
filled the entrance to the antechamber. The tiny morsel of uncertainty about
being alone with Gabriel died. Nolan would keep her safe.

After burning the last of the bodies and cleaning himself,
Nolan checked on Gabriel and
shae-shondah
. A wide smile felt natural on
his lips when he saw them together. He visually examined her hands, which
appeared completely normal without even a red spot.

He sighed, loving the sight of them. He and Gabriel
should’ve returned years before. Each time he’d brought the subject up, Gabriel
had ignored him. Gabriel believed in his heart the healer would never forgive
him.