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  “Good. Then you’re almost back to normal.” Grav looked considerably relieved—then almost angry. “Don’t scare me like that, Leah. And next time, don’t touch a fuckin’ thing unless I tell you its safe,” he added in a low growl.

  “You did tell me it was safe to go with Magda,” I pointed out, struggling to sit up. “In fact—”

  But my words were cut off as a fresh wave of dizziness took me. I gasped and fell back on the bed, my un-hurt hand going reflexively to rub my chest.

  “What? What is it?” Grav demanded, looking worried all over again.

  I didn’t want to tell him. Especially when just having his warm tongue caressing my hand and fingers was enough to bring all those strange, hot feelings rushing back. I could just imagine what it would be like to feel his mouth on my breasts.

  If you don’t tell him, you’ll die, whispered an implacable little voice in the back of my head. Tell him, Leah—tell him now—before it’s too late.

  It was true and I knew it. I opened my mouth to say something, only my lips and tongue didn’t want to work.

  “Leah? Leah, what is it?” Grav looked half angry, half worried as he leaned over me, his alien eyes scanning over my body to see what was wrong.

  I couldn’t talk anymore—I don’t know why, maybe it had to do with the neurotoxin paralyzing my vocal chords. But I did still have some use of my limbs. Clumsily, I reached to my chest and fumbled with the green cloak, trying to get it unfastened from around my throat.

  Grav seemed to understand because he ripped the cloak open and his eyes widened.

  “Goddess of Mercy,” he said hoarsely. “Leah, no.”

  I tried to answer or reach for him, but nothing seemed to want to work now. I merely looked at him, pleading with my eyes.

  Help me—please, Grav, help me!

  But I didn’t know if he could or not. Didn’t know if I wasn’t already too far gone to be saved.

  Grav

  When I opened her cloak, I saw a sight that made my heart clench with fear. I’d thought the red scratch marks on her hand looked bad—but they were nothing to what the kit’s claws had done to her chest.

  It was easy to see through the gauzy white, mostly-see through blouse she wore—the creamy slopes of her breasts were covered in the little red scratches. And every scratch had deadly pink lines radiating out from it.

  This was bad—so fuckin’ bad. Not only were the poisonous scratches extensive, they were also way too close to her heart. In fact, I was afraid at any minute her heart might stop.

  But no, I couldn’t lose her like that—I wouldn’t. I might not have given her my oath, but she was still mine to protect, mine to care for and watch over and heal. I had to save her, damn it! I had to.

  I must have looked like a male in a pleasure vid, but I didn’t care. I ripped her silky shirt open, leaned down, and began licking the full globes of her breasts as hard and long as I could.

  Leah

  The warm, wet, ticklish sensation brought me back again. But this time it wasn’t in my hand—this time it was all over my bare breasts.

  I felt my nipples harden in reaction as a hot tongue glided over my slopes, circled one tender areola, and then found its way to the other.

  The fire inside me raged—the pent-up sexual frustration that must have been building for years. I moaned and bucked upward, arching my back to offer him more.

  Grav seemed to take my motion as an act of pain or outrage. He paused his licking for a moment to look up at me.

  “Hey now, it’s all right, darlin’,” he growled hoarsely. “Not tryin’ to take advantage—just want to heal you.”

  He’s just healing you—that’s all he’s doing, I lectured myself. So settle down, Leah and let him. But though my mind wanted to behave, my body wouldn’t listen. The heat between my thighs was building and building but I needed something else—something more. How could I get it?

  “Grav,” I heard myself saying—hooray my voice worked again—“Grav, please. I need…I hurt…”

  “Tell me where you hurt, darlin’. Tell me and I’ll fix it,” he promised softly.

  “Here,” I whispered and pointed to my right nipple.

  Deep down, I knew it wasn’t right. But I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted that feeling so badly—the hot, breathless feeling of pleasure that spiraled ever upward, threatening to break me completely if I ever reached the peak.

  And yet, I wanted to reach it so badly I didn’t care.

  “You sure, darlin’? I don’t see any scratches there.” Grav looked at me skeptically.

  “They’re there,” I lied recklessly. “And they hurt—hurt so bad, Grav. Please…please heal me.”

  Taking a chance, I reached up to caress his horns—those black, curling rams’ horns that seemed to pulse and grow in my grasp when I touched them.

  Grav let out a low, hoarse growl and leaned down to drag the flat of his tongue over my tender peak.

  I moaned and surged up to meet him. His mouth felt so good on me—so hot and wet and perfect. And yet still I wanted more.

  “Grav,” I gasped as he licked and swirled his tongue around my sensitive peak. “Grav, please, I…I think the poison is really…really deep.”

  He stopped for a moment and looked up at me, panting.

  “What are you saying, darlin’?” he demanded hoarsely. “What do you want me to do?”

  “It’s not what I want,” I lied recklessly. “It’s what I need.”

  Well, maybe it wasn’t a lie at that.

  “What?” he growled again.

  “You know what.” I stroked his horns again, tracing their spirals in a lazy caress I could tell was affecting him. “I need you to suck them—suck my nipples. To…to suck the poison out.”

  He frowned and shifted. He was half on top of me at that point and I could feel the hard length of his shaft pressing against my thigh. For a moment I wondered what it would be like to have that long, hot length inside me. To spread my legs for him and let him fill me…

  Stop it—just stop it now! That’s not right and you know it, whispered the panicky little voice inside my brain.

  I completely ignored it.

  “Please, Grav,” I begged him shamelessly. “Please…suck my nipples. I want you to—I need you to.”

  “Gods, darlin’, I shouldn’t,” he groaned and then leaned down to do it anyway.

  I cried out as a pleasure so fierce it was almost pain flooded me. It burned through me like wildfire when he finally sucked one ripe bud between his lips and then drew it deep, as though he was trying to get as much of my breast in his mouth as he could.

  My hands tightened on his horns and I found I was guiding him, tugging him in the direction I needed him most. From one breast to the other, he switched at my urging, sucking both nipples hard and deep until they were cherry-red and swollen with his passion and mine.

  I moaned and cried, writhing on the bed beneath him, wanting him so badly I couldn’t breathe. The feelings of passion were overwhelming—the sexual pleasure I had thought would always be denied me was flooding me, making it hard to think, hard to breathe. All I wanted was for the pleasure to go on forever—all I wanted was for it to never end.

  I began to feel like I was on the edge of something—something unexplainable and huge. A mountain I was trying to climb and when I finally reached the summit I would jump from the highest peak and break my body to pieces in the pleasure I found there.

  I wanted so damn badly to jump.

  And I was close…so close as Grav wrapped his big hands around my waist and pulled me to him, sucking my nipples hard and deep into his hot mouth, lashing my sensitive peaks with his tongue until I moaned and cried and pressed my thighs together over my throbbing sex thinking,

  Soon! It’s going to happen soon…I can feel it! So close…so close…

  And that was when he stopped.

  “Wh—what?” I looked up at him, uncompre