Page 27 of To Quench Her Thirst

Addie always woke up screaming and crying after these terrible, dark dreams and she couldn’t go to sleep again unless one of her parents came in to soothe her. They eventually bought her a nightlight, even though her mother said she was too old to need one.

Her father had been extremely angry with her mother for taking her to the hospital in the first place—Addie suspected later that it had figured in their divorce, though of course there were other issues as well.

At any rate, the spider bite just brought all of that back—all the bad dreams and the horrible sight of Mr. Dumphry dying in the hospital. And the thought that his fate might happen to her was too awful to imagine!

"I'd rather be dead! I mean it—I'll shoot myself before I let the poison eat me up!" she cried.

“What are you talking about? You’re not going to shoot yourself!” Drago rose to sit beside her on the bed.

“Yes, I will!” Addie said vehemently. “I’m not going to go like old Mr. Dumphry—I’m not!”

“The man who got bitten by an arachnid and died from it?” he asked.

Addie nodded.

“He…his leg turned black and swelled up and his face…his face was almost purple! He lookedawful. And then I had dreams about him…about him chasing m-me for years…”

She was starting to cry again—not that she had ever really stopped. The memory was old but still sostrong.

“Hey, now baby—don’t cry. I won’t let that happen to you, I swear I won’t.” Drago gathered her into his arms and held her close to his broad, bare chest. He rubbed her back soothingly, his big, warm hands caressing her shaking shoulders.

Addie breathed him in—breathed in his warm, spicy scent, and eventually her sobs tapered off.

“How can you stop it, though?” she asked, looking up at him with wet eyes. “You…you said there were already some streaks radiating out from the…from the bite?”

“There are,” he said. “But I think I can heal you.”

“What? But how? You’re not a doctor—are you?” she asked uncertainly.

He shook his head.

“No, but my kind of Drake Kindred is able to heal his Fated Mate.”

“Fated Mate?” Addie frowned. “But…I’m not your?—”

“My Fated Mate? Yes, you are.” He sounded absolutely certain. “Unfortunately, I can’t ever Claim you—because of my Drake. It’s too fucking big and destructive. But one thing itcando is help me produce an anti-venom tailored especially by my body to heal yours.”

Addie looked at him in astonishment. She was shocked to hear that Drago considered her his “Fated Mate” but even more surprised to hear that he might be able to heal her.

“You can really do that?” she asked tentatively.

“Yes, and I’d better do it soon,” he said grimly. “We don’t want the poison spreading any further.”

“Buthoware you going to do it?” Addie asked. “Are you going to make the anti-venom and inject me with it or what?”

He shook his head.

“No, I’ll just lick you. The anti-venom will be absorbed into your skin. It should neutralize the venom and stop the spread.” He frowned. “But Iwillhave to lick you very thoroughly to be sure I get it all. Is that all right with you?”

Addie thought about it…but not very long. Anything was better than dying like old Mr. Dumphry—even the embarrassment of letting her Protector lick her in a very sensitive and private area.

“Okay,” she said, nodding. “If you’re sure it will help.”

“It should—I promise I’ll let you know what I see but it should neutralize the spider’s poison pretty quickly,” Drago promised. He stroked her hair out of her eyes and cupped her cheek. “Can you lay back and let me heal you, baby? Can you do that for me?”

“All right.” Addie nodded again. “As long as you don’t mind. I mean, it doesn’t sound very nice for you—having to lick me there. You know?”

He frowned.

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