Page 24 of Tempting Jupiter
Seneca moved to stand at his side. “We’ll take care of it.”
“I will,” Jupiter added his promise. He reached for the overhead unit mounted above the bed then pulled it down to an easier reaching distance.
“The hypo-injector,” she demanded with her hand outstretched.
Sen kept the hypo. “Just tell me where.”
Her face showed strain. “Oh, yeah, okay. You can put it near my left shoulder blade. As close to the wound as you can make it.” She angled her body giving him better access to her back.
“Just press it to the spot and pull the trigger?” Sen gently pulled down the torn neckline of her shirt.
She sucked in a breath as the material clung to the wound. “That’s right. Don’t worry. It’s hard to mess up.” She gritted her teeth and waited.
Sen pulled the trigger and she nodded. “Well done.” She reached for Jupiter’s hand and squeezed. “See the blue and green stripped nozzle up there?” She pointed to the overhead equipment rack.
He reached for it.
“Spray a little of that on the bandage. Then I need you to hold my arm still when your friend pulls off the steri-cloth.”
He did as she asked. The strain in her features urged him to move quickly. He reached for her injured arm. “Where is it safe to hold on?”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m only feeling the burn right now.”
She didn’t let go of her death grip on his right hand so he braced her arm with his left.
Sen set aside the hypo and gently lifted the cloth.
Fee panted in pain.
He pulled a little more and they could both see that the tissue below was a blistered and raw gash of muscle. What was left of her shirt had melted into the wound.
“Fuck,” Jupiter muttered. “Fuck those bastards all to hell.”
“Amen,” she panted.
Sen pulled a little more. She gasped and would have jerked away hard had Jupiter not been holding her steady.
She spoke through gritted teeth, tears welling in her eyes. “Just get it over with.” She braced. “Make sure all of the cloth is out of there, okay?”
Jupiter pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll take care of you.”
Seneca didn’t give her a chance to respond. He pulled the cloth the rest of the way off in one continuous pull. Not so fast as to add to the rips already gouged into her flesh, but fast enough to cause considerable pain until it was done. Feeona went limp momentarily then clenched her good hand against him.
“Let go, Fee. I’m here.” Jupiter cradled her closer to his body as Sen pushed her hair out of the way and sprayed on the debriding enzyme.
She groaned and her body sagged as she blessedly passed out. Jupiter sighed in relief. At least she wouldn’t be feeling pain. He repositioned her on the med-bed and reached for the silver nozzle. He looked up to Seneca. “See if you can find some grabbers, a suture threader, or maybe that spray-on artificial skin the medics use.”
Sen nodded. A moment later, he handed Jupiter a pair of grabbers and laid out the other items along the edge of the bed.
In silence, they worked to fix her. She would heal well and there would be no scars. Of that, he would make sure. When he was satisfied with his task, he sprayed a graft-bandage over the injuries. It formed a white crust, like an armored skin.
Sen carried away the used instruments, dropping them into a compartment with a bio-hazard symbol. “She’s an unusual human.”
Jupiter understood the unspoken thoughts behind the words. He’d never aided a human in his life. He hated them, but this small womanwasdifferent. He knew Sen was warning him to be cautious. Just because the woman had aided him didn’t prove she could be trusted. Humans were manipulative creatures. Sen had more reason than most to hate them, but he’d never been vocal about it. Maybe because his own people had not always treated him well either.
Jupiter frowned. “Call me a fool if you wish, but I trust her.”
Sen returned with a fresh set of instruments. He met Jupiter’s gaze steadily. “I don’t judge you or question your actions.”
