Kyna sat nervously on the couch as Cain rummaged through his bathroom for medical supplies. When she had fallen she had cut her arm pretty deeply on the jagged rocks along the edges of the stream.
“Don’t want it to get infected,” Cain had said, disappearing behind the door.
When he returned, he was surprised to find Kyna digging through the magazines he had beside the end table. She devoured them quietly, her amber-colored eyes wide.
“See anything you like?” he asked, his lips twitching in a bemused smile.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” Kyna exclaimed. He laughed at the horrified expression on her face as she slapped the magazine she was looking at closed. It was a travel issue, and she shoved it under the table.
“It’s all right, that’s why they’re there,” he said, smiling gently at her.
Kyna stared at him in a daze. Why did she always lose track of her thoughts when he looked at her?
“What’s wrong?” Cain asked.
“I…nothing,” she said, sitting up rigidly and trying to smile at him as if they were sharing the most typical experience in the world.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Cain said with a chuckle, kneeling in front of her. Kyna noticed that he had changed his shirt, stripping off the outer layer and replacing it with a tight tank top that revealed his impressively muscular arms.
“You’re going to feel this for a second,” he said apologetically, unscrewing the cap off a large clear bottle of rubbing alcohol.
“Okay,” she said, not fully understanding what he meant.
He sat the bottle down on the coffee table and held her arm gingerly in his hand, carefully lifting the sleeve of her otherworldly dress to reveal the area where it was bleeding.
“It’s pretty heavy bleeding,” he said, more to himself than to her. “Does it hurt?”
She gazed into his soulful, sea-colored eyes. He seemed sad, probably about several things, judging by the depth in them. She sighed. Did he feel guilty for not believing her?
“It’s not that bad,” she said, mustering all of her strength to help reassure him.
“Oh, that’s good. What about your head?”
She couldn’t lie about her head. She had probably gotten a concussion from falling so hard onto the ground, and she had to battle a strong surge of nausea every time she moved too quickly.
“I don’t know. I feel sick whenever I stand up too fast or move. Sometimes just sitting here.”
“So it’s kind of like being drunk?” he asked with a laugh.
“I guess so,” she said, smiling with him. She had only been tipsy once on ceremonial wine, but she knew several of the men enjoyed their ale and suffered from hangovers that made the strong, capable shifters act like surly children.
“All right, that’s not too good,” he said. “I’ll take care of you.”
Kyna’s heart thudded when she heard the words, and she watched his lithe, handsome body cross the room. “I’ve got something you should take for the swelling, all right?”
When Cain was out of the room, she felt a confusing loneliness. Kyna had spent most of her life in isolation because that was the way she was best able to keep in touch with her powers as an oracle. But she had never truly felt the absence of somebody else before. What was going on?
“Here, take this,” Cain said when he returned, handing her a little round pill. Kyna stared at it skeptically. “What, haven’t you ever taken a pill before?”
“Do you chew it? This doesn’t look like food.”
“It’s not. It’s medicine.”
“Not my kind of medicine.”
Cain smiled wryly. “I’m sure it’s not,” he said with a short laugh. “But this will help you feel better faster.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. Just swallow it with the water. Like this.”
Cain demonstrated with an invisible pill before handing her the water. Kyna sighed, keeping her eye on him as she took the pill.
“Good,” he said. “Now let me finish bandaging that up. Helping your head feel better is way more important than your arm.”
She gasped when Cain’s strong fingers wrapped around her again, sending a soft jolt of pleasure through her body. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before and she pulled her arm away reflexively.
“Hey, cut it out,” Cain said with a deep frown. “I need to do this. I’m sorry if it hurt.”
Cain gripped the arm assertively and Kyna closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in her chest. He dabbed the wound gently with a cool cloth.
“Brace yourself,” he said, his low voice close to her ear. “This is going to hurt.”
Kyna hissed as he poured the rubbing alcohol over the cut and the stinging traveled up her arm.
“Here,” Cain said, pushing his broad hand into hers. “Squeeze it if you want.”
Kyna opened an eye to look at him, gauging whether or not he was serious. Cain’s eyes settled upon her, no humor in them, and she squeezed as he wrapped the bandage snugly around her wound. It was oddly sensual, despite the pain. When Cain was finally finished dressing the wound, he looked up at her with a small grin.
“There,” Cain said, his beautiful eyes locked on her. “All done.”
Kyna opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say with his face so near to hers. She wanted to speak, but her heart was hammering in her ears and there were no words for what she really wanted.
Cain lingered there for a moment. He also seemed conflicted about something, but he stood up and grinned down at her. “Lucky for you I found you on a weekend, so you’ll get to sleep in before I take you home.”
“Yeah,” Kyna whispered. She didn’t believe in luck, but she didn’t want to tell him that. “Lucky.”
Cain set to work bringing out sheets and blankets for her, making a comfortable bed on the couch. His condo had a beautiful view overlooking the city’s skyline, and he lay the pillow on the end of the couch so she could gaze at it as she fell asleep.
“Good night,” Cain said, dimming the lights and heading into his bathroom again.
Kyna heard the rush of running water as he showered, and stared at the night sky out the window. The lights of the city reminded her of Kaldernon, and she felt a sudden pang of sadness and panic. She was a failure. There was no way she would ever be able to convince Cain that she was telling the truth. He seemed set in his ways, and nobody would ever change that about him.
In a way, Cain’s firm grasp of who he was and what he believed was sexy. Conviction had always been highly revered by the Lonis. But on the other hand, inflexibility could make Kyna feel more frustrated than she knew what to do with.
Eventually the sounds from the bathroom ceased and Cain settled down for the night in his bedroom. Kyna sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe things would change for the better in the morning.