Free Home to Harmony by Dawn Atkins

can’t read their minds, I know that for sure.”
    He should have done more, intervened somehow. Irrational as it was, the idea hounded him. “It was much harder on Elizabeth. She didn’t want to believe he’d been using drugs at all, let alone heroin.” His throat tightened. Enough of this. “Let me get the cream.”
    He went to the cabinet over the sink, where he kept the salve, and handed her the jar, tilting his head toward the door, suggesting they leave. She studied him, absorbing what he’d told her, no doubt, looking concerned.
    “Here. Let’s give it a try.” He took the jar, opened it and held it out to her.
    It took her a few seconds to notice. She scooped some onto a finger and sniffed it. “It smells good. Green. Herbal.”
    All he smelled was Christine’s spring scent.
    She rubbed a little on the bites on her forearm. “Oooh, that’s better,” she said, breathing out in relief.
    She scooped more and applied it to her other arm, moaning the whole time. After that she braced one bare foot on his chair to rub it into her long, long leg. To avoid the hypnotic sight of all that stroking of attractive body parts, he pretended to study the items on his desk.
    Eventually she finished with her legs. “Oh, this really helps!” She bobbed on the balls of her feet. “Would you get my neck and back?” She handed him the jar, spun around and lifted her hair off her shoulders.
    He groaned inwardly.
    “Marcus?”
    “Yes, uh, certainly.” He lifted a blob of salve and rubbed over the red areas on the back of her slender neck, her skin supple and soft.
    She gave a little moan, something like how she might sound making love. “That’s so niiice ,” she said.
    “Glad to hear it,” he said and cleared his throat.
    She dropped her hair, sending a wave of sweet smell his way, then lifted the back of her top, revealing a black bra.
    He sighed and scooped out more salve and began to gingerly apply it to the crop of bumps on her upper back.
    “Hang on,” she said, fingering the clasp. “Underneath are more.” She flicked the thing apart, exposing three more bites and her entire back to his gaze. “That’s easier, right?”
    “Mmm-hmm.” And so much harder. He used his entire palm to smooth the balm over her back, using circular motions, the muscles sliding beneath his fingers. She relaxed into the pressure, making appreciative sounds, hums and moans and breathy sighs. He found himself rubbing longer than strictly necessary, picturing her naked with him, imagining the sounds she might make then….
    “Thanks,” she said breathlessly, stepping away from his hand, which felt as warm as if he’d been clutching a hot coffee.
    He had to clear his throat again to speak. “Very welcome.”
    She pulled the two sides of her bra together, but struggled with the hooks, so he took over, aware that this was the kind of intimate favor that lovers did for each other.
    He did miss holding a woman close.
    He pulled her top down and gave her a chaste pat. Physical needs merely complicated things. He was far better off keeping his distance. He never wanted to hurt anyone again. The medical directive fit him perfectly: Above all, do no harm.
    She turned toward him, her eyes shining, her pupils dilated, her color up. “That felt great,” she breathed. “I can’t believe how much better I feel.” She swayed closer, so near he could kiss her with the slightest dip of his mouth.
    “I’ve been testing various, um, ratios of aloe to unguent,” he said slowly, caught by her closeness, how lovely she was, how the pigment in her irises seemed to swirl with the same energy he felt pulsing in his veins.
    “You nailed it,” she said softly. “The formula’s perfect.”
    He broke her gaze to screw the jar lid on and hold it out. “You can keep this.”
    “But what about your bites?”
    “I don’t seem to be as irresistible,” he said.
    “That depends on who you ask,” she murmured, then seemed to catch herself and