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My research had stemmed from the feelings T had invoked in me once upon a time, but I wasn’t particularly keen for the Tornu sexual experience. It was said to be painful and quite traumatic for most, which was why it was so rare for Tornus to breed outside of their race. Since I had spent my entire life feeling pain, I wanted sex to be pleasurable, not painful, yet I was still curious.

I tried not to think about that too much, however. Nothing was going to happen between me and T, but somethinghadhappened between me and Cadmus. Not much, but certainly a lot more than I had allowed before with anyone else besides Bromm.

Well, and Demari, but I didn’t count the forceful copulation. That hadn’t been fun in any capacity.

‘It’s a great ass, yes?’ my patient whispered to me, bobbing their eyebrows up and down. ‘You familiar with it?’

I couldn’t stop the blush from burning my cheeks if I’d tried. ‘Um… not really, no.’

He winked at me. ‘But you’ve gotten close, hmm? Lucky lass.’

I choked on an uneasy laugh, the sound loud and unattractive and drew the attention of the surrounding soldiers. Including Cadmus.

‘You choking, Arty? Need me to perform the Heimlich?’ he teased, wiggling his eyebrows comically.

I rolled my eyes. ‘Whatever, Cadmus. Focus on your patient.’

‘But how can I focus when I can feel your eyes burning holes in my ass?’ he asked, but it wasn’t exactly mocking. There was no teasing note in his voice. He sounded completely serious.

My cheeks burned even hotter, the heat travelling to the tips of my ears and spreading down my chest. I didn’t want to know how red I had become, so I simply ignored it.

‘What were you doing back here, anyway?’ he asked, his attention split between me and his patient.

I didn’t want to respond in front of so many strangers, especially my current patient who was watching the interaction like we were his own personal soap opera. I placated myself by reminding myself that we didn’t need to have the coming conversation here.

‘I was free. Figured I could pull you for that chat,’ I admitted.

‘And then you got sucked into nurse duty,’ he surmised.

I hummed in response.

‘Did your call get cut short or something?’ he asked, glancing at me through his periphery.

‘It didn’t happen.’

‘Ah. Didn’t want to talk to the in-laws while you were floating?’ There was that teasing quality I’d been waiting for. Shockingly, I had missed it.

I blinked, averting my gaze as my face practically blazed in my discomfort. ‘Pretty much.’

‘Well, you can go now if you want. I think I’ve got things from here,’ he gestured to the few patients still left behind. With the three of us working together, we’d managed to see to most of the wounded in record time.

‘They can wait,’ I said, willing my blush to go down. I wasn’t successful, especially when his head snapped up, purple eyes wide and more innocent and vulnerable than I could ever remember them being.

‘That eager to spend some time with me, Arty?’ he winked, covering up the slip of his mask so fast that I almost believed I’d imagined it.

‘I figured it’s best to just get it over with.’

He made a pained sound at the back of his throat. ‘Ouch. Is it that horrific to spend time with me?’

I frowned. ‘What? No. I never said that.’

‘Oh, stars, this is painful to watch,’ my patient muttered to the man next to him.

‘I’m quite enjoying the show,’ the other man responded, eyes bouncing between me and Cadmus like we were the best entertainment he’d had in a while.

‘You two, hush,’ I snapped half-heartedly and turned to Cadmus. ‘I’ll help you finish up here, and then we can go talk.’

His answering smile was bright, but I didn’t miss the shakiness that he tried to hide. Everyone else seemed to, though, his acting skills more than respectable. I only caught it because I was looking.