Free Summoned and Stolen (Summoned Series Romances) by Susan Hayes

strength to open his eyes, his would-be healer had moved on to his pants and was busily slicing away.
    When I’m well again, I’m going to have to explain to her that no man ever wants to wake up to find a blade that close to his favorite body part.
    “I’m still here,” he said, releasing her hand. “Help me sit up, and we’ll get this chain mail off together. And while we do, you can explain why I cannot be dressed for whatever you’re planning.”
    The silvery glow that flowed over Lily’s body was subdued, but it was still enough that Kel could trace the path of the blush that chased up Lily’s soft cheeks. After all she had been through, it amazed him that she could still be embarrassed by his poor attempts at flirtation.
    “The healing crystals that fall from my wings only work if they touch bare flesh,” she murmured as she helped him sit up. She had strength in her delicate body, more than he would have imagined.
    “Ah. And since the poison has spread throughout my body, you need to cover all of me.” He grinned a little despite the pain that filled him. The Gods had not lost their sense of humor. Shortly, he and his little temptress would finally be alone and unclothed, and he was too weak to do all the things he had thought of since the moment she’d landed in his lap. Had that only been a few hours ago? It felt far longer.
    Between the two of them, they managed to strip off both his chainmail and pants in short order. It took all his will to muffle the groan of pain that threatened to erupt as he sagged back onto the floor again when it was done.
    “You better hurry,” he said when he could find breath to speak again.
    Lily nodded and placed a hand on his chest. “Just lie still. I’ll take care of you.”
    She summoned the full power of this world and began to channel it through her. He was so close to death, she couldn’t wait any longer. Her wings unfurled to their fullest, spanning nearly the length of her body. With a simple push, she took to the air, hovering over her warrior. Their bodies were so close together she could feel the fevered heat rising off his skin.
    The glow around her grew brighter and brighter, until it filled the barren interior of their sanctuary with a silvery light. Lily let the power of the land surge into her until she was nearly drunk with it, and only then did she release it, channeling the flow through her. The crystalline powder fell from her wings in a shimmering rain. Lily moved herself carefully so that every inch of Kel’s powerful body was coated in it. Only then did she cup her hands beneath her body, capturing a tiny portion of the glittering powder.
    There was no need to stay floating above him any longer, so Lily let herself drift downward until she was seated astride his chest, her knees just barely grazing the ground on either side of him. She poured a small measure of water into her palm and stirred it with her finger until the shimmering dust dissolved.
    “Open your mouth for me,” she coaxed him. When he did as she bid, she poured the contents of her cupped hand between his lips, and then repeated the entire process over again. He had to be healed, both inside and out, and this was the only way.
    The light that came off Lily as she attempted to heal him was so bright Kel had to shut his eyes, which was not something he was happy about. It meant that he couldn’t forget his pain by watching her lovely body hovering over his. Just looking at her made the pain fade to nothing. Her wings seemed larger now, like gossamer sails. Before the light grew too bright he had been nearly mesmerized by her amethyst eyes, watching him with such concern in their jewel-like depths.
    He ached to hold her, to let her hair fall through his fingers and to sample the many pleasures of her body until they were both lost to the world. More than anything else though, Kel wanted to shield her from the cruelties of a world that had already abused her too long. He never