Page 29 of Warrior
If Jutuk, Tarook, or any of my Vaktaire brethren learned what I'd done, they'd be stunned. They'd accuse me of going weak, possibly send me to the healer for evaluation. But Daisy….
Daisy would be proud of me—and that’s all that mattered.
Chapter 8
Daisy
Exhaustion lay upon me like one of those weighted blankets Gavin had been so fond of. I stood and stretched, not moving more than a step away from Ewok's bedside. The ratty chair was less than comfortable, but at least it got me off the floor. I'd have sat on a pile of sharp rocks to stay by Ewok.
The few minutes I left his side to get the other children a quick breakfast before they headed to the mines was pure torture. Each second I spent away loomed fraught with terror that someone would deliver the news Ewok passed when I wasn't there to comfort him.
Like Gavin.
My husband died alone, trapped in a car while the emergency responders tried to reach him. The guilt of not being by his side haunted me almost as much than the grief of losing him.
So, I sat by Ewok’s side and waited for Daicon to return.
Daicon.
I couldn't think of his name without feeling the pressure of his lips against mine, the stroke of his firm tongue inside my mouth, or the way fire licked along my veins as I kissed him.
I kissed him.
What on Earth has gotten into me?
I’d never had the impulse to kiss a man like that, with head-spinning need threatening to consume me. Not even with Gavin.
Yet at that moment, nothing else seemed right. It was standing there and knowing Daicon was going into danger for Ewok… for me.Kissing him felt not only desired but necessary on some level, like I wouldn't have been able to let him leave otherwise.
It was a great kiss.
If I was honest with myself, I wanted to kiss him again… I wanted to… I just wanted him.
I loved my husband… I really did. But I'd never felt a desire this deep and needy before in my life. I felt soaked with gasoline and Daicon was the match. Even with him gone, the flame remained like a glowing coal buried deep beneath the ash, just waiting for something to fan it to flame.
Surely it was simply exhaustion, worry and fear taking its toll. Just a confluence of intense emotions rearing up to make me act crazy.
Nope, that wasn’t it.
It was Daicon. There was a wildness to him, a danger he wore like an aura, but he was also loyal and sweet, and kind. I don't think I could have survived this mine if he hadn't shown up. Even if I hit him on the head with the shovel as introduction.
When Daicon returned, after Ewok healed, I would have to face whatever these feelings were… an idea both scary and exciting.
"Are you well, kida?"
George's voice gave me a start. I glanced to the other side of the bed where he stood, a large silver basin in his hands.
"I'm fine," I managed to smile. "Just stretching my back."
He nodded, setting the basin on the small bedside table. Thank God for George. He might be a child himself, but there was no doubt in my mind that Ewok would already be gone if not for George's tireless tending.
I settled back in the chair as he lifted a length of soaked cloth and began wrapping Ewok's torso and arms. I felt the little Kerzak shiver even though sitting a few inches away.
“George, why are you wrapping these cold towels around Ewok? He's shivering?
“The Kerzak practice thermoregulation.” When my eyes widened, George explained. "They are able to regulate their own body temperature. Keeping him cold initiates a process known asvasoconstriction, which thickens and reduces blood flow to help retain heat. Ewok is bleeding internally, so slowing blood flow is desired until the warrior returns with the medi-unit.”
Well, I felt dumb. “The unit that Daicon is retrieving... are you sure it will heal Ewok?"
