Free LeClerc 01 - Autumn Ecstasy by Pamela K Forrest Page B

dabbed it over the smooth side of his face, shrinking away from the thought of touching the other side even through the damp cloth.
    As she talked softly, his restlessness ceased. She wondered if his reaction was to the cooling touch of the cloth against his heated skin, or if it was the sound of her voice that soothed him.
    The rags warmed quickly, and Linsey soon set a rhythm of placing one on his forehead, sponging his face and then starting over. She carefully avoided acknowledging the existence of the left side of his face.
    Her back began to ache from the bent position she was forced to maintain. Using the now warm water as an excuse, she stood, stretched and crossed the room.
    The fire had burned down, and as she stooped to add several more logs, she felt a smug sense of pride in herself. She had managed to keep the fire going and had thought of a way to help relieve some of Bear’s suffering. She was even willing to go without sleep if it became necessary. Tomorrow, if he was not better, she would have to see about fixing something for them to eat. For her evening meal she had eaten the last of the food he had prepared that morning. Even though she did not know how to cook, Linsey didn’t let herself worry about it. For now, anyway, she felt that she could handle any situation.
    Carrying a bowl of fresh water back to the bed, Linsey placed her hand against his smooth cheek, hoping for a noticeable drop in his temperature. She tried to swallow her disappointment when his skin felt as hot as ever.
    With a sigh, Bear turned his face into the inviting coolness of her hand, trapping it between his cheek and the bed. Already his thick black hair had lost some of its glossy luster, as if the fever was draining the vitality from it. Linsey stared at his hair rather than the distorted skin now clearly in view. Hesitantly, her gaze dropped, and for the first time she really looked at his scars.
    They began at his hairline above his ear, one scar joined at his cheek by a second and then a third near his jaw. They were evenly spaced, parallel scars barely missing the edge of his eye and the corner of his mouth. The surrounding skin was almost mockingly smooth.
    It is only skin and bone; it can not harm you. As she studied his face, his words seemed to whisper through the room. Only skin and hone … can not harm.
    “And an overactive imagination,” Linsey muttered to herself with disgust. The scars were not nearly as terrifying as her overwrought mind had made them.
    Linsey felt pity for his pain and suffering, but it didn’t begin to compare with the shame she felt at herself. She had been so noble, helping him when he was sick. Yet she had ignored a part of him that suffered all the more because of its damage. The scars were probably extremely sensitive to the heat of the fever. It was quite simply a face, and she had treated it as if it were something contagious.
    “Forgive me, I’m so sorry,” she whispered to the unconscious man. “I’ve been so selfish.”
    Sitting on the edge of the bed, she lifted her free hand and hesitantly traced the outline of his firm lips, delighted that the scars did not touch their perfection. The heat radiated against her skin, and her guilt soared. How could she have ignored this side of his face? He had shown nothing but kindness and thoughtfulness to her, even going out this morning to get the dress when he already showed signs of being sick.
    “Konah?” Bear whispered through dry, cracked lips. “Konah M’tuk o hee?” He turned his cheek into the coolness of her hand.
    “Bear?” Linsey called gently. “I don’t understand you. Please, speak English.”
    “Snow?”
    Her brow furled in puzzlement. “The blizzard has stopped, but there’s several feet of snow on the ground.”
    “My Snow,” he sighed, trying to wet his lips with his tongue. “Water, Snow —” A heaving cough racked painfully through his body.
    Still confused by his reference to snow, Linsey stood,