Free Wray by M.K. Eidem

dreaming. You did not mean to, I
know this , little one." Wray needed her to
know he didn't blame her that it was okay. He also wanted to take
that devastated look from her face. "You are very strong when you
are upset , little one." He found himself
trying to tease a smile out of her. "I will have to remember that
in the future."
    "It's not funny , Wray." Her eyes flew to his beautiful gray ones. "I was trying to
scratch stinky bastard's eyes out."
    "And you would have. But I am not him." He
told her wanting to make sure she knew he would never harm her like
that.
    "I know that." Kim said in a putout voice.
"You're nothing like stinky bastard. You're not anything like Lucan
either."
    "You truly believe that?" he asked softly, a
strange feeling starting to grow in his chest.
    "I do," she looked up at him and wanted him
to know the rest. "I trust you , Wray."
    "You trust me..." the feeling expanded. She
trusted him. Kim trusted him . Wray. Because of his
actions, not because of his title.
    "Of course, I do," she looked up into his
amazing eyes and gave him a slight smile. "Now what have you got in
that bag I can use on your face?"
     
    ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
     
    “You have cold and hot water?” Kim
didn’t try to hide her shock as she looked at Wray.
    Wray just nodded as he led her deeper into
the chamber. She'd refused to listen to him when he'd assured her
he was fine. Instead, she rose and searched the bag, haphazardly
tossing things out, including the locator beacon. When she found
nothing she felt would be useful except a sealed cloth she'd become
angry, demanding to know what idiot had packed an emergency bag
with no bandages or disinfectant.
    Wray had wondered the same thing, for while
the portable repair unit would have easily repaired his cheek there
still should have been other medical supplies in case it had been
damaged. Something was very wrong with this pack and once they
returned to the Searcher, he planned to have all of them
inspected.
    When she went to wet a rag and found it still
sealed, she growled her frustration. It had been the most arousing
sound Wray had ever heard.
    “Is it very deep?” Kim asked, pulling his
attention back to him. “Could I bath and wash away….” Kim asked as
she slowed her rapid approach to the pool and looked down at her
hands. Her pale, healed, clean hands. There was no dirt
under her nails, no blood and she knew they had been bloody before.
Taking a deep breath, she realized she didn’t smell either.
    How could she have missed something like
that?
    Slowly she turned to Wray, who suddenly
looked uncomfortable. “That repair unit of yours… it cleans a
person too?” she asked, hoping she was wrong.
    “No.” Wray told her honestly and watched her
eyes darken before she turned back to the pool.
    “So how did I get clean?” She whispered.
    “I cleansed you…” Wray answered quietly, “in
the pool.”
    “You… while I was….” She stuttered.
    “I couldn’t leave you like that , Kim. Once I discovered what your natural skin tone
was, I had to cleanse you . I didn’t want…”
he trailed off.
    “Didn’t want what?”
    “For you to wake and find yourself still
covered in Ganglian filth.”
    “So you washed it away.”
    “Yes.”
    Walking over to the pool Kim carefully stuck
in her toe, testing its temperature, then stepped in so the water
lapped around her ankles. Wray had bathed her. He removed her
shirt, carried her into this water and touched her… everywhere.
Wray touched her and she hadn’t even known it. He removed all
evidence of her attack. She looked down at the faint scars that
still crisscrossed her fingers, at least as much as he could.
    She should be upset with him, furious. He had
no right to touch her like that. Not without her permission. No one
did.
    Tipping her head back, she let her gaze
travel over the luciferins that clung to the ceiling. They were so
beautiful and yet fragile . T hey survived
in harsh conditions by using what they