from his father’s planet, so please be very careful with it.”
Reaching for the bag, she almost dropped it, surprised by the heavy weight, and supported it from the bottom. “Will it hurt me?”
Rachel chuckled and rose. “No, it’s meant to heal. And you both could use some of that right now.”
Before Sera responded, her neighbor left. As if the woman had left her in charge of healing Adam. She had no idea how to use the object, let alone anything about alien internal anatomy. She didn’t even know what the object looked like.
Curiosity won out, and like a child at Christmas, she peeked inside. Red light flooded her vision and she snapped her lids shut, closed the bag and hoped the flash hadn’t caused permanent damage.
Opening her eyes again, she blinked to regain focus. Good, I can still see. But how’s this supposed to heal Adam? If it did have healing powers, wouldn’t it draw the attention of the entire hospital? And how is he going to explain the miraculous mending of his bones? Witchcraft?
Grabbing a sweater off the stair banister, she shrugged into it. He and his family had survived for this long without their secret being discovered, but trusted very few with the knowledge. They likely wouldn’t blow it now. And he’d trusted her enough, too. She owed him an apology, her thanks, and a chance to explain.
***
Adam cursed the straps holding his legs immobile. Stupid-ass contraption won’t let me move. He longed to get out of the bed and use the bathroom instead of pissing into a catheter all the time. He had broken legs, not a fractured spine. Surely, he could get on his feet by now.
And with the stench of body odor, he dreaded anyone coming to visit. Sponge baths only cleaned off so much. Not even after a weekend of camping and drinking did he and his buddies smell so disgusting.
Adam peeked at the wall clock. Already eleven. His mother, the one person who saved his sanity in the hospital, didn’t arrive any later than ten-thirty. Had something happened to her?
Reaching for his cell phone, he dialed his parents, when someone knocked on the door.
“Hello? Adam?”
Desire stirred low in his groin at the familiar voice, and he set the phone down. Too much time had passed since he’d last regarded the woman he loved. Had he really heard Sera, or simply imagined her in desperation?
He lifted his head from the pillow, trying to peek past the curtain to the doorway. “Sera, is that you?”
She peered into the room, a wary smile on her face, her shifting eyes giving away her apprehension. Yet, he sensed a glimmer of something else. Hope? He held onto his own optimism, wishing one day she looked beyond his alien ancestry and let him be a part of her life.
“Hi, Adam.” She walked into the room, keeping her distance, as if a wide dome surrounded his bed. “How are you feeling?”
A loaded question. He refused to tell her of his anxiousness to leave, and all the pain he’d suffered after saving her from Derek. He already felt enough of her guilt. “I’m doing better now that you’re here. I’ve missed you.”
Tears rimmed her eyes.
Shit. He’d purposely tried not to make her cry, yet failed.
“I’m so sorry, Adam. Sorry for treating you the way I did, and sorry that because of me, you ended up in here.”
“Hey, none of this is your fault. I knew the risks before I acted. Aware of the outcome, I’d do it all again. In a heartbeat. If that asshole hadn’t—”
“No. I was the one who kicked you out, avoided you for a whole week, all over something silly.”
“It’s hardly silly.” Hence, why he’d waited for so long to tell her, and had doubts even then.
Sera shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. What I meant to say is that it doesn’t matter. I can learn to deal with it, if you can ever forgive me.”
Fuck! He wanted to get out of the bed and hold her in his arms. “I already have. I could never stay mad at you, my soul mate, the woman I am madly in
Reaching for the bag, she almost dropped it, surprised by the heavy weight, and supported it from the bottom. “Will it hurt me?”
Rachel chuckled and rose. “No, it’s meant to heal. And you both could use some of that right now.”
Before Sera responded, her neighbor left. As if the woman had left her in charge of healing Adam. She had no idea how to use the object, let alone anything about alien internal anatomy. She didn’t even know what the object looked like.
Curiosity won out, and like a child at Christmas, she peeked inside. Red light flooded her vision and she snapped her lids shut, closed the bag and hoped the flash hadn’t caused permanent damage.
Opening her eyes again, she blinked to regain focus. Good, I can still see. But how’s this supposed to heal Adam? If it did have healing powers, wouldn’t it draw the attention of the entire hospital? And how is he going to explain the miraculous mending of his bones? Witchcraft?
Grabbing a sweater off the stair banister, she shrugged into it. He and his family had survived for this long without their secret being discovered, but trusted very few with the knowledge. They likely wouldn’t blow it now. And he’d trusted her enough, too. She owed him an apology, her thanks, and a chance to explain.
***
Adam cursed the straps holding his legs immobile. Stupid-ass contraption won’t let me move. He longed to get out of the bed and use the bathroom instead of pissing into a catheter all the time. He had broken legs, not a fractured spine. Surely, he could get on his feet by now.
And with the stench of body odor, he dreaded anyone coming to visit. Sponge baths only cleaned off so much. Not even after a weekend of camping and drinking did he and his buddies smell so disgusting.
Adam peeked at the wall clock. Already eleven. His mother, the one person who saved his sanity in the hospital, didn’t arrive any later than ten-thirty. Had something happened to her?
Reaching for his cell phone, he dialed his parents, when someone knocked on the door.
“Hello? Adam?”
Desire stirred low in his groin at the familiar voice, and he set the phone down. Too much time had passed since he’d last regarded the woman he loved. Had he really heard Sera, or simply imagined her in desperation?
He lifted his head from the pillow, trying to peek past the curtain to the doorway. “Sera, is that you?”
She peered into the room, a wary smile on her face, her shifting eyes giving away her apprehension. Yet, he sensed a glimmer of something else. Hope? He held onto his own optimism, wishing one day she looked beyond his alien ancestry and let him be a part of her life.
“Hi, Adam.” She walked into the room, keeping her distance, as if a wide dome surrounded his bed. “How are you feeling?”
A loaded question. He refused to tell her of his anxiousness to leave, and all the pain he’d suffered after saving her from Derek. He already felt enough of her guilt. “I’m doing better now that you’re here. I’ve missed you.”
Tears rimmed her eyes.
Shit. He’d purposely tried not to make her cry, yet failed.
“I’m so sorry, Adam. Sorry for treating you the way I did, and sorry that because of me, you ended up in here.”
“Hey, none of this is your fault. I knew the risks before I acted. Aware of the outcome, I’d do it all again. In a heartbeat. If that asshole hadn’t—”
“No. I was the one who kicked you out, avoided you for a whole week, all over something silly.”
“It’s hardly silly.” Hence, why he’d waited for so long to tell her, and had doubts even then.
Sera shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. What I meant to say is that it doesn’t matter. I can learn to deal with it, if you can ever forgive me.”
Fuck! He wanted to get out of the bed and hold her in his arms. “I already have. I could never stay mad at you, my soul mate, the woman I am madly in
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