Page 23 of Secondhand Garagyre

“Therest of the stonesIcharged overnight, and as you can see, the gods blessed the amulet so thatImay protect you during the daylight hours as well as the nighttime.ThestonesI’veselected, in theory, should be able to heal your body, and mind, from what you suffered a week ago.Iam not a mage, butI’veseen it done many times.Wouldyou give me permission to try?” my words ending on a hopeful request.

Shepauses, before answering. “Ifit doesn’t work, will it hurt?”

“Absolutelynot.”Vehemenceclear in my reply. “Youwould feel no pain at all, these stone can only do good when the wielder is selfless.”

Hesitantly, she nods. “Okay,Ihave nothing to lose, so let’s give it a try.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

PAISLEY

Ican’t sayI’mnot apprehensive about this whole healing me with rocks thing.

But…

ItrustLaithog.

Itdoesn’t make any senseI’veknown him less than a day, butIcan’t deny the fact thatIdo.Trusthim, that is.

Keepingthat in mind,Idon’t flinch when the stones lying on the table float into the air, an eerie glow emanating from them.Iwatch as they hover around me and start to circle my body.Laithogcloses his eyes, face pinched with concentration while his hands make graceful motions in the space between our bodies.Hislips move as if he’s speaking but it’s definitely notEnglishbecauseIcan’t read his lips at all.

Suddenly,Ifeel a tingling begin where the worse of the bruising is.Thismainly being my black eye, split lip and bruised ribs.Thetingling turns in to a sensation of coolness, that grows into icy prickles.It’son the edge of uncomfortable and maintains that level of sensation for several moments, just whenIdon’tthinkIcan take much more of this, the frosty sensations slowly dissipate into nothing.

Iwatch as the stones lose their glow and slowly float back into the boxLaithogremoved them from.Therealization thatIcan open both of my eyes all the way gradually dawning on me.Laithog’seyes open, traveling across my face and down to my neck.Asmile of, what looks like relief,Ithink, (I’mstill learning to read his facial expressions) appears on his face.Healso looks…tired.Iwould have to address that shortly.

“Good, it worked.Getup and move around.Seeif you have any lingering side effects.Thebruising on your face and neck is gone as well as the split in your lip,” he observes in an overly pleased manner.

Apparently,Iam not moving fast enough to suit him because he plucks me from the couch effortlessly and sets me on my feet on the far side of the coffee table.Hesure does know how to make a girl feel dainty and petite.

Tomy astonishment,Ifeel perfectly fine.Ibend, twist and stretch this and that, testing out my body to make sureIdon’t have any lingering ailments.Nothinghurts at all.

Afterthe misery of this past week, being pain free is bliss.Withoutconscious thought,Ishoot around the coffee table and launch myself intoLaithog’sarms, one of my knees landing on either side of his hips while my ass is cradled by his thick thighs.

Rainingkisses all over his inhuman faceIchant. “Thankyou,Thankyou,Thankyou!”

Chuckling, he remains perfectly still as if he’s soaking up every ounce of affection,I’msmothering him with.

Pullingback,Ilook into his eyes and smile, delighted when my lip doesn’t protest the motion. “Ihaven’t been to my shop in a week and sinceIdon’t look likeIwent through a meat tenderizer anymore,Ican go to town without having to deal with pretend pity or knowing glances.But, first.Whydo you look so tired?”

Ican feel my eyes get squinty with irritation when he glances down and to the right.Goodto know that’s his tell when he’s about to utter some bullshit.

“Itis naught.Iam fine,Paisley,” he answers placatingly.

“Bullshit,”Ibite out.

“You’retired.Yousaid you set wards inside my home and around the property boundary.Youalso said that blood is the only thing that can fuel your magick while regular food satisfies your tangible body.Youdrained yourself putting the wards up, didn’t you?”Ihypothesize while staring at him.

Heheavily sighs before shooting me a rueful look, while rolling his eyes upward. “Godssave me from intelligent and observant females.”

“Youmight as well just tell me,Ipretty much have you pinned and at my mercy,”Ifaux haughtily inform him.Leaningforward until my breast are pressed against the wide expanse of his hard chest.

“Yes, fair lady,Isee that you have me at a disadvantage.Youhave the high ground.Itwould be in my best interest to acquiesce to your demands,” he playfully responds while his hands slide down from my hips to cup the ampleness of my curvaceous rear.Theslight prickIfeel in various places tells me his claws have come out a bit.

Enjoyingour game,Iget a bit bolder and grind myself down on him.I’mrewarded with a low groan as his hips twitch beneath me.Tiltingmy head,Iwhisper in his ear. “Admitdefeat warrior, andIwill grant you a boon.”

“Whatboon does milady speak of?” he growls his retort.

Sittingup straight,Ismirk at him and taunt. “That’sfor me to know and you to wonder about.”

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