Page 15 of Seduction

“Selena.”

The low rumble in his voice made her pussy clench.

Keeping my distance is going to be much harder than I thought it would.

“Good morning, Haldor.”

She used her cheery first-day-of-class lecture tone. “I brought your breakfast. There’s a liquid protein drink, plus a serving of fruit and another whole nutritionally balanced meal. I hope you’ll find it adequate.”

He walked toward her, and she shoved the tray at him. “I’ll have James find you a temporary uniform to wear. After you’ve eaten I’ll run a full body scan. The design department will have one custom fitted to your exact measurements by this afternoon.”

He took the tray and set it on a table near the bed, his eyes never leaving her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she chirped in the too-bright voice.

“Now, Selena. We may be from different worlds, but you’re still a female. I’ve been around enough females in my life to know that when I ask what’s wrong and they say ‘nothing,’ it’s definitely something.”

He took a step closer, so she had to look up to meet his eyes. His voice lowered to the sexy rumble that made her melt. “I know I pleasured you well last night. I could tell by your cries.” He gave her a naughty grin. “And by the scratches you left on my back.”

His brow furrowed. “Did I not do enough?”

“No!”

He took another step and she backed away, putting the table between them.

“I mean, yes, you did, but you shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have let you.” Selena knew she was babbling but the words kept coming. “It was wrong of me. I’m your doctor. You’re my patient. No matter what you say or do, it’s my responsibility to remain in control. And it’s my duty as a citizen to uphold the laws of the Federation.”

She lowered her head. “What I…what I did to you while you slept was wrong. And what I agreed to do afterward, to make amends, well, that was wrong too. I’m deeply sorry for everything that went on last night. It can never happen again. I humbly beg your forgiveness.”

His face darkened. “So you bow to the will of the fools who decreed that pleasure such as you felt last night is wrong? Have you also decided to go to your superiors and confess your crimes?”

She’d been awake most of the night thinking about that. Weighing the consequences. Selena shook her head. “I can’t. Not now. I’m not the only one who would be punished. They’d investigate, scan my mind, and find out everything that went on between us. Not only would they banish me, they’d send you back through the portal. Immediately. The bones and organs I transplanted haven’t fully melded with your body yet. They’d never stand the stress the portal’s energy warp would put on you.” She looked up at him, eyes bleak. “It could kill you.”

He stared at her in horror. “Are you telling me the things you did to save my life have trapped me on your cursed world?” he shouted. “Forever?”

“No, not forever.” She hurried to explain. “For another two moons. Maybe less. Your body is incredibly strong. And daily sessions of physical therapy will hasten your recovery. As soon as I’m confident that you’re completely healed, you can go back to Gadolinium. Until then, I must maintain a proper doctor-patient relationship with you.”

Haldor pondered her response. “Two moons living on your world? That I can do – if I must. But what is ‘daily physical therapy’?”

“Walking. Climbing stairs. Rebuilding your muscles using weights. We’ll start out slowly. Allow your cloned organs to fully mature, gradually adapt to the burden a healthy active body places on them.”

“This I understand. Training for battle after an injury. I have done it before.”

Selena smiled. “Based on the scars we found all over your body, I imagine you have.”

He gestured to the ragged edges of the near-fatal stab wound low on his side. “My skin is as smooth as a babe’s now, save for this. What did you do?”

“Yes, you’re nearly perfect, inside and out. Isn’t it wonderful? Besides replacing the damaged organs with new ones, we replicated the left humerus and clavicle you broke years ago, probably when you were just a boy. They’d healed improperly.” She glanced at his arm. “My guess is that you suffered pain every time you lifted your sword – pain that only would have increased as the years passed.”

He shrugged dismissively.

She went on. “My technician James was able to erase all your scars completely – except the one you sustained in your last battle. I told him not to eradicate that one yet. I made the incisions for your last few surgeries there, so we wouldn’t have additional trauma to your epidermal and subcutaneous tissues to repair. Now that those transplants have been completed, we’ll take care of that scar over the next few days. It’s a deep one, so it will take several treatments.”

“No.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t feel a thing. We’ll put you back into sleep mode for an hour or so each time.”

“I said no!” He turned away, shoulders slumped. “Get out. Go. Just go. I’ve had enough of you for now, woman. You teased me while I slumbered and then let me have a taste of you. Now you’ve taken away your favors.”

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