Page 32 of Salvation
“Trust, Nicholaus,” she reminded him.
Right. In other words, keep your lecherous thoughts to yourself, Mr. Bock.He licked his lips. “Okay, now what?”
Sakura placed his hand over his heart and covered it with her own. “We are going into you, but this time you will follow me.” The bronzed warmth of the healing light appeared in her eyes. Her Gift signature of fragrant cherry blossoms seeped into his senses the same way it would if she were conducting a probe. He allowed his Gift to flow, drifting in her wake as he followed her into his own body.
He had done this countless times with Dante as part of his training to become a healer. But never with Sakura. A twinge of guilt plucked at his heart. He’d let both Dante and Sakura down with his little fit just now, but he’d been so pissed, and so scared. The helplessness he’d felt when Storo collapsed screaming in the street…there wasn’t much in his experience he could compare it to, except maybe the day of the invasion.
Sakura took him deep within himself—deeper than he had ever gone with Dante—until he sensed…warmth? With his mind’s eye, he could see the radiant light it produced.
“Kokoro heiwa no moto,” Saku said aloud. “YourSource of Peace. That is what I call it, anyhow. This is where your power to heal originates, Nick. Try moving into it and letting it surround you.”
This was the source of his power to heal? He moved toward it, a moth to a lamp. Then he was in it, surrounded by it, cradled by an immense sense of peace. Total and absolute. It buffeted him gently, going through him, touching his soul. Healing the loss of normalcy, making him whole for the first time since his Gift was loosed within him. This was right. This was what he was meant to be, meant to do. The fight drained from him, leaving him weightless and one with himself for the first time since that fateful day in the alpine meadow of Camp One.
His power to heal had not changed him; it had strengthened him. Like a gift, given to him in faith that he would do his part to close the wounds opened when the Anferthians attacked his home-world. A gift he could use on himself as well. For the first time in over seven years he was at peace. If only he had known sooner.
Something wet and warm escaped from the corner of one eye and rolled down his temple. He opened his eyes. Sakura’s gaze held his, and he smiled up at her. “Lends a whole new meaning to ‘physician, heal thyself’, doesn’t it?”
She huffed a soft, humorous sound and nodded.
“Dante taught you this?”
“No. I discovered it myself,” she replied. “I do not think Matirans can do this. Dante may not even know.”
“But, we have Matiran in our ancestral backgrounds. How would we know but not a Matiran?”
“We are much more Terrian.” Sakura shrugged. “I am not sure how that gives us access, but it would not hurt to ask him sometime.”
“Definitely. I wonder if Alex knows.”
“Maybe. If she discovered it the way I did. She would have told you about it if she had, though, yes?”
It was always possible that his sister had figured it out after he’d left for New L.A. Maybe he should have made a point of visiting her before he’d shipped out to Matir. Nick gazed up at Sakura. Damn, she was beautiful. Not at all the kid he’d convinced himself she was, but a woman. Kind, courageous, and more than a little stubborn.
He reached up and tucked a loose lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “Thank you for saving me from myself.” His fingers slid into her hair and he drew her toward him, lifting his head to meet her halfway. Soft, full, and feminine lips touched his. He gave those lips gentle, closed-mouth kisses, starting from the center and working his way to each corner. When she finally responded, it was with an awkwardness that told him she had not been kissed very often, if at all. The pleasure that came with this conclusion was a very Terrian male reaction. It warred with the learned values he had picked up from the Matiran men in his life.
This was a huge step in their relationship, one he would need to carefully nurture if it was going to go anywhere. Having something deep and meaningful with Sakura held loads of appeal. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off by moving too fast. Especially if another man had hurt her. He pulled back and gazed into dark eyes glazed with desire.
“You are welcome,” she whispered, blinking those fantastic dark eyes.
Okay, maybe he could take it a little further. Sitting up, he took her hands in his, and reclined himself at the other end of the sofa, pulling her along with him. Lying full on top of him, there was a palpable tension in her body. But, she didn’t resist when he drew her head down, guiding her lips back to his.
This time she opened her mouth to him in a cautiously curious manner. He ran his tongue along hers, then explored the warmth of her mouth before he drew her back in, encouraging her to take the initiative. She was so soft and sweet. A very primitive desire to hold her and protect her from anything that might hurt her surged in his chest. She was part of him, in him. And there was no antidote for how she made him feel.
His heart pounded in his ears as he wrapped his arms around her, keeping himself grounded in case he floated off the sofa. A soft moan from her set his heart to pounding louder. God almighty, if he could just lay here kissing her for eternity….
“Nicholaus! Sakura!” K’rona’s voice cut through the amorous haze. The pounding wasn’t his heart after all.
Sakura’s warm mouth abruptly disappeared, ending the kiss. Nick blinked multiple times in rapid succession to clear the fog of pleasure that had settled in his mind. What the hell was going on? Sakura struggled, pulling away from him wild-eyed.
“Oh, no. Oh, no!” She rolled off him straightening clothing and smoothing her hair. “Do I look okay?” Fear, and a trace of guilt laced her words.
Her complexion glowed and her soft lips appeared pinker and slightly fuller than normal. Nick looked straight into her eyes. “You look beautiful.”
“Nick!” She hissed.
Well, she did. And he wasn’t bothering to hide his grin. She had every right to know how happy she’d made him.
K’rona’s fist thundered against the door. “Are you well, Nicholaus?”
