A Kiss Of Shadows   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

Ijumped.

He rolled his eyes up to me without moving his face back from my arm. "Did I hurt you, Princess?"

I shook my head, not sure I trusted my voice.

He bent back to the wound. He licked the length of the wound twice, very slowly, then his tongue slid inside the wound. The pain was sharp, immediate, and it brought a gasp to my throat.

He didn't pull away this time, but pressed his mouth closer to my skin. His eyes closed, as his tongue probed the wound, bringing small sharp pain sensations like tiny electric shocks. With every small pain things low in my body tightened and released. It was as if the nerves he touched were attached to other things that had nothing to do with my arm.

He began to lick the wound in long slow movements. His eyes were still closed, and I was near enough to see the black lashes, black on black against his cheeks. There was almost no pain now, just the sensation of his tongue sliding over me. The feel of his mouth against me sped my heart, made my breath catch in my throat. His earrings caught the light, reflecting it in silver glitter as if the curve of his ears had been set in silver. Warmth began to gather at the wound. It felt very like being healed by touch now. That growing warmth, the energy vibrating against my skin, inside my skin, was almost identical.

Doyle drew back from my arm, eyes half-closed, mouth slack. He looked like he was waking from a dream, or as if he'd been interrupted in more intimate things. He released my arm, slowly, almost reluctantly.

His voice came slow, hoarse. "It has been long since I have done this. I'd forgotten how it feels to heal."

I bent my arm back so I could see the wound, and there was no wound. I touched the skin with fingertips. The skin was smooth, untouched, still damp from Doyle's tongue, still warm to the touch as if some of that magic clung to the skin. "It's perfect; there's not even a scar."

"You sound surprised."

"Pleased, more like."

He gave a small bow, still sitting on the edge of the bed. "So happy to have been of service to my princess."

"I forgot the extra pillows." I stood, and started to move toward the closet. He grabbed my wrist.

"You are bleeding."

I glanced down at my arm, and it was still healed.

"Your leg, Princess."

I looked down and found blood trickling down my right leg. "Damn."

"Lie down on the bed and let me look at the wound." He still held my wrist and tried to pull me down on the bed.

I resisted, and he released me.