Page 15 of Healer (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #4)

I dreamed of surgery. Of all the times when the skill in my fingers kept death at bay. Of the small bodies I’d helped to wholeness. I dreamed of Irsay, reliving the surgery in my mind, skipping to the future to find the child cured and healthy, laughing as she played with Hakkar.

I dreamed of Hakkar.

I dreamed of kissing him again, feeling the touch of his hands as they roamed over my body.

The feel of his naked flesh against mine as our bodies writhed together in passion.

The way his firm lips would feel kissing over my flesh…

my nipples… my clit. How he would feel inside me, full and hard, taking me to blissful oblivion with a steady stroke.

“Agnes.”

The voice abruptly pulled me out of my lustful dreams, leaving me discombobulated as I sat up.

“What is it? Irsay?” I muttered, pushing the hair from my face. My whole body throbbed, and I felt a moistness between my thighs that I’m sure he noticed with his super smeller.

Ugh.

Hakkar sat on the bed beside me, and I felt my face flush as his nostrils flared.

“She is well. Talamus and I moved her into bed. She awoke and Vienda fed her some broth. There is pain, but Talamus says there is a tea that will help.” Hakkar assured me, keeping his eyes on my face.

Well, at least he was a gentleman. I could feel my nipples hardening against the flimsy cloth of my tattered dress as my body struggled back to normal.

“Good.” Confident Irsay suffered no complications, I let myself relax and focused my attentions on calming my raging libido. Damn, that had been a good dream.

“I need you to come with me, though,” Hakkar said, rising to his feet.

I glanced toward the cave opening, noticing the darkness beyond. The chill in the air insinuated the hour was late, but I didn’t hesitate. I’d follow Hakkar anywhere… at any time.

“Okay.”

Hakkar grinned as I placed my hand in his. He pressed a finger to his lips to signal silence as we slipped from the cave and away from the clearing.

“Where are we going?” I asked in a whisper as we followed along a small trail beside the rock face.

“We need to wash.” In the darkness, I noticed Hakkar’s eyes sweep over me. “I am bloody from battle and you.…” He hesitated, his voice growing softer. “From the child.”

I glanced down at myself, noticing the streaks of black blood covering my arms. While I’d rinsed my hands after surgery, dried blood still rimmed my cuticles.

My hospital gown dress existed in a combination of tatters, dirt, and dried blood.

Hakkar still managed to look gorgeous, despite the streaks of blood and gore covering his tan pelt.

As much as I knew I needed a bath, the idea of dipping into the icy river made me shiver.

“Talamus told me of a hot spring nearby,” Hakkar murmured, his palm running over my arms, battling the goosebumps.

I couldn’t help the sigh that broke from my lips.

I hadn’t felt hot water since before my abduction.

Other than sponge baths with freezing water, I hadn’t bathed either.

Excitement quickened my steps and lessened my awareness.

My toe caught on a raised root and sent me spiraling headfirst into the darkness.

Hakkar caught me, swinging me up in his arms like a bride about to cross the threshold.

“Thanks,” I murmured, laying my head against his chest. It felt wonderful to be carried by him like this.

It was late, chilly and I’d already proven myself clumsy…

why not enjoy the moment? If only the dream I had of him was real.

Just the idea of it made my entire body tingle.

The idea of it lingered in the back of my mind, like a beacon of pleasure to come.

But it was only a dream… dammit.

“I can’t stop thinking of what you did for Irsay,” Hakkar said quietly as he traveled surefooted along the path. “To be able to heal with your hands like that…. You are truly amazing.”

The compliment slipped over my body like warm honey. Yet I did not save Irsay alone.

“I don’t think I could have done it if you hadn’t been there,” I admitted past the lump in my throat.

“I did nothing,” Hakkar insisted.

“That’s not true,” I argued, lifting my head to meet the golden stare. “You fixed my hands, getting rid of the stiffness and pain. Without that, I would have never been able to help Irsay. Plus, your faith in me it meant… a lot.”

It meant more than a lot, although I couldn’t find the words to express it properly.

I’d had many people believe in me during my career…

my family, teachers, and mentors, parents whose child’s life lay in my hand.

Yet, despite the weight of their belief in me, none seemed to matter so much as Hakkar’s.

It felt rather startling to realize how much his faith in me mattered.

We took a curve in the trail, stumbling upon the hot springs—like a hidden sapphire amid the craggy rocks.

Steam rose from deep blue water, foggy tendrils waving to us in invitation.

It felt like stepping into a scene from a romantasy novel, with lush greenery surrounding the natural pool and the sound of trickling water providing a soothing soundtrack.

The full pink moons hung low in the sky, casting a soft glow over the small clearing.

A sprinkle of stars danced playfully around them, creating a romantic atmosphere that seemed to envelop everything in its warm embrace.

The gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze added to the serene ambiance, making it feel as if time had stopped for just this moment.

“This is nice,” I muttered, my throat going dry.

Hakkar sat me on my feet, his golden eyes travelling slowly over my body.

“You should get undressed.”

“What?” I started. He’d seen me naked in my dreams, not in reality. A small, saucy part of me considered giving him a strip tease, although I don’t know what effect it would have with my nasty dress and tattered shoes.

“You do not want to get into the water wearing that.” Hakkar’s brows raised as he stated the obvious.

“True,” I agreed. “But turn around first.”

Hakkar’s brows shot even higher, indicating he thought my request the most ridiculous thing ever, though he did as I bade.

Stripping meant tearing the remaining tatters of fabric from my body.

The moonlight glowed over my naked skin as I waded into water with the temperature of a warm bath.

The pond was deep enough, allowing me to submerge up to my shoulders.

Granted, my twenty-something body was nothing to be ashamed of…

but modesty was an affliction of age. Plus, having ALS proved rather denting to one’s body confidence.

Speaking of naked.

I glanced at the shoreline, trying to make the action seem innocent and not an attempt to catch Hakkar disrobing. He still wore the loincloth—dammit—seemingly unhurried to enter the pond as he dropped a large satchel on the ground.

“What’s that?” I hadn’t noticed him carrying it in the dark.

“Vienda gave us soap and drying cloths.” Hakkar glanced at where the remains of my dress lay in a wad on the grass. “Plus, I brought the clothes and shoes she loaned you.”

“Thanks,” I told him, my cheeks suddenly flaming as I watched his hands drop to the ties on his loincloth.

I tried not to look.

Seriously, I tried.

I turned my back, offering him the same privacy he gave me. Was it my fault I could see him out of the corner of my eye when the loincloth hit the ground?

Have mercy!

Even flaccid, his cock was long and thick with ridges across the top that looked to be in the perfect position to….

Have mercy!

I ducked my head under the water, trying to cool the burning in my cheeks.

When I emerged, Hakkar waded in my direction. While the water covered my body almost completely, the waterline hit him right below his eight-pack abs, hovering where his muscles made the natural “v” that pointed to delights lingering below the murky surface.

Damn! He was freaking gorgeous.

I licked my lips, seriously worried I might drool.

He held something out to me that looked like a pale, round rock. “Would you like the soap? Vienda claims it is soft on the skin.”

“Yes, please,” I said, trying not to sound as awkward as I felt. Thank God my lower half was below water. Hopefully, it quelled the scent of my raging libido. A scent I knew increased when I realized I stood only a few feet from him and that we were both naked.

I took the soap and concentrated on cleaning the dried blood from around my cuticles, trying my best not to pay attention as Hakkar scrubbed himself with handfuls of sand—the blood and gore sloughing from his pelt.

The soap smelled like mint and rosemary, lathered thickly, and made quick work of ridding my skin of dried blood. I wished for shampoo, but when on an alien planet, one must make do. I dipped under the surface again, watching the bubbles float away like happy fishes, and raised the soap to my hair.

Hakkar caught my hand midway, his fingers sliding around my wrist in something that felt more like a caress than a simple touch.

“Allow me.”

“Oh!” It was the only word my brain could think to mutter.

Hakkar moved to stand behind me, his large hands lathering the soap between his palms. As he gently massaged my scalp and worked the suds through my hair, I couldn’t help but relax into the sensation.

The warm water cascaded down my back, and the fragrant scent of the soap enveloped me.

I closed my eyes and savored every stroke of Hakkar’s skilled fingers, feeling completely pampered.

Bathed in the glow of moonlight, we stood mere inches apart.

While the darkened water might have allowed a modicum of modesty, nothing stood between us but the gentle lap of the waves.

The air felt charged, my arousal so palpable it affected me like strong liquor.

It took a concerted effort to keep my body from trembling at his touch, every nerve ending on edge, and screaming for more.