Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Second degree burns! She needs immediate treatment. Cold water first and then some cooling ointment and some skin-saver—you have some in your bag.
His bag, filled with instruments and tools and treatments—he’d always carried it with him everywhere when he was practicing medicine. But for the past five years, it had lived in a small compartment of his long-range shuttle—locked away along with the painful memories of his lost Zelia.
Luckily, his shuttle was parked in the mansion’s circular driveway, alongside the rented hovercoach. He only needed a moment to go retrieve it, but first he needed to get some cold water on Aleena’s burns.
“Come on, baby,” he said, lifting her in his arms again as he rose from the bed.
“Where are we going? Are…are you going to throw me out right now?” she asked in a choked voice.
Bear wanted to reassure her, but he wanted to treat her burns too.
“No, baby—of course not,” he said, trying to make his voice low and soothing. “I need to get some medicine for your hand but first we need to get it under some cold water. That will help the swelling and ease some of the pain you must be feeling.”
“It…it really does hurt,” she admitted in a small voice. “But it’s no more than I deserve after ruining such and expensive cut of meat.”
“Don’t fucking talk like that,” Bear said roughly, frowning down at her. “You’re much more important than any piece of meat! Who cares if you burned it?”
Her eyes went wide with uncertainty.
“You mean…you don’t…”
“Look, let’s get your hand fixed first,” Bear interrupted her.
He carried her into the fresher—what she had called “the bathing chamber” earlier—and sat her down on the side of the vast marble soaking tub. After experimenting for a moment, he found out how to make the cold water come out of the unfamiliar taps.
“All right, good,” he said decisively. “Now hold your hand under there until I can go get my kit.”
“Your kit?” She frowned uncertainly but Bear didn’t have time to explain.
“I’ll be right back,” he promised her and left in a hurry.
Luckily, his medical kit was still where he had left it. He’d been half afraid that he’d taken it out and put it somewhere else on the Mother Ship. But it was there and a quick look inside showed that he had everything he needed to treat her burn.
He could smell the burned roast as he came back through the house and bounded up the stairs. It wasn’t very appetizing, but he still couldn’t understand why it had caused Aleena to cry so hard. Maybe her tears were due to the pain in her hand—those were some serious burns, he thought anxiously, taking the stairs two at a time.
When he got back to the fresher, she was still sitting on the side of the tub with her hand under the cold water. Bear knelt in front of her and turned off the water. Then he motioned for her to hold out her hand.
“All right, let’s see now,” he murmured. Taking some absorbent gauze out of his bag, he first dried her hand and then began applying a cooling ointment.
Aleena sighed with relief as he spread the pale blue gel over her burns.
“Oh—that feels so much better! It was really hurting me,” she admitted in a soft voice.
“How did you do it? Reaching for the roast you had in the cooking unit?” he asked, frowning down at her. He was so much bigger than her that even kneeling, he was still taller.
Biting her lower lip, she nodded.
“I know it was foolish. I wasn’t thinking—I was just trying to save the dweezle haunch. It was so expensive!”
Bear was beginning to see that the cost of things was very important to her. Was that because she’d had a hard time financially after her father had stopped sending her mother money for living expenses? Whatever the reason, he wanted to put a stop to this kind of thinking right now.
“Now, listen to me, Aleena,” he said sternly. “I don’t care how much the damn roast cost—you are more important. I don’t want you hurting yourself like this again.” He nodded down at her burned hand, which was looking considerably better.
Now that the cooling ointment had mostly dried, he took out a spray can and began applying a layer of new-skin. It would adhere to the burned flesh and act as an artificial skin until her epidermis could heal itself. When that happened, it would fall away naturally.
“So…you’re not going to disavow me?” Aleena asked in a small voice.
Bear looked up from her hand and saw hope and fear in her eyes, which were still wet with tears. An impulse he couldn’t explain took over him and he put down the can of new-skin and cupped her face in his hands.