Page 71 of Healing Conviction
Nora nodded thoughtfully before speaking. “I think my favorite is the flying ball thing.”
“The flying mace?”
“Yeah, it gives meHome Alonevibes.”
“Good to know. The other ones didn’t do it for you then?” At her shaking head, he scoffed. “Really? Not even the spring-loaded Tannerite one?”
“That one was alright, I guess. I just feel like boys always fall back on explosions for action sequences. It’s a little gauche at this point. And the deadfall freaked me out a little bit. I could fit under that big ol’ rock. I don’t know how you lifted it up.” She mimed a brain explosion.
“Leverage, strong trees, and wire. If you know the right angles, it’s not so hard to do.”
“Well,I’mcertainly not gonna go play ‘hide the Nora’ underneath it anytime soon.”
“No, you certainly will not. I won’t let you.” He turned her head to face him and gave her a pointed look to make sure she knew he meant more. “You’re not allowed to hide from me, either.”
She bit her lip before turning out of his grip to face the fire. After a moment, she cleared her throat and resumed her lighthearted tone. “The, uh, the other booby traps you did, I’ve seen in cartoons and on TV. So, I unfortunately can’t give you points for ingenuity there. And you have to admit that the sinkhole turned death hole got a little played out after the third one. I mean, come on, now, you couldn’t be more creative?”
He chuckled and pulled her closer to his side. “I’m sorry mylifesavingmeasures weren’t up to your artistic standards. They were the easiest ones to take advantage of. I’ll have to do better next time we go camping on recon.”
“Next time, huh? You know, I might not actually hate that idea. This has been pretty fun when you haven’t been a surly Shirley. I could even live here if you add a running toilet, queen-size mattress, good lighting, delivery service, roof, some walls, Wi-Fi, and places to go.” He snorted but stilled when she licked her finger and swiped at his cheek. “Oh, and a shower. You are absolutely filthy, Malfoy.”
“Me? What about you?” He brushed away some ash on her cheek. “You’re a little dirty yourself, Pix.”
“But I thought you liked me dirty.” She gave him a wink while her words perked up the only part of him that hadn’t had a full workout that day. “A warm bathwouldbe nice. I shiver at the thought of dipping just a toe in that river.”
The vision of his naked body warming hers in the water made his heart rate speed up. He knew that, with her small frame, she’d be miserable even with his heat, though. But maybe they wouldn’t have to getinthe water…
“You know what? I have an idea of how we can have the best of both.” He retracted his arm from under her head.
The large stainless steel bottle they used for collecting water was at the end of the log, and he sat up to reach for it. Thankfully, it was mostly full since they hadn’t needed to use any for their dinner. The river’s source was a mountain spring a few miles northwest, so the water in the canteen was indeed frigid.
“What’re you up to, Malfoy?” Nora asked, her lilting voice full of curiosity as he grabbed a set of tongs from a bag nearby.
“You wanted a hot bath, right? Grab a washcloth, will you?” Using a stick, he poked at the fire, making a bed of hot embers. He hooked the tongs to their water bottle and positioned the bottle upright near the coals to heat the water inside.
He looked back to see Nora on her knees over the bag. “Can’t find the washcloth? It should be in one of the front pockets.”
“It was. Along with this.” She pulled out the small black case, and a chill shot down his spine as she unzipped it. “Drake, what are these for?”
Inside were the four syringes he’d packed for their mission, one for each week, depending on how long they’d be gone. They were the medication he’d been using to accelerate his recovery, and the drugs he hadn’t wanted Nora to know anything about.
“I can explain.”
Her lips tightened into a grim line before sighing. “Oh goody. The three words every woman is dying to hear.”
“It’s for my recovery. It’s medication that we had to take in MF7 every time we got hurt. It accelerates recovery. We all got emergency kits that were regularly stocked, and before we got out, we stole them. It accelerates healing to a certain degree, and it’s the only reason why I’ve been recovering as well as I have been.”
Her scowl dropped to hurt. “Theonlyreason?”
Fuck.
Before he could stop himself, he was in front of her, holding her wrists lightly and making sure she was looking in his eyes as he spoke. “Stop that, Pix. I know what you’re thinking. I wouldn’t be here without you, too. The medicine is mostly there to jump-start big injuries. I’d probably still be pissing in a bag if it weren’t for it.”
She zipped the case up, moving her wrists from his grip, and loaded the case back into the bag. When it was inside, she retrieved the washcloths and crawled around him to sit on the blanket again. As he returned to her side, his hands itched to reach her, but he kept them to himself, waiting until he couldn’t take her silence anymore.
“Talk to me, Nora.”
She sighed, her thick burst of breath reaching him. “I thought I helped, that’s all.”