Warmth, for the first time in what seemed like forever, was settling upon him with a tight embrace. Soft, delicate strokes, damp with warm water, slid across his skin with a gentleness that shocked him. He lay there, silently. Talon held in the shivers that ran through him, staring up at the intently working woman through narrowed eyes. Soft light surrounded him, and something covered his hips and legs. The scrape of the material was a surprise to him, the unaccustomed warmth spreading through him as she continued her gentle stroking. Talon almost shoved her away, almost took her hand off. The slow rage boiling in his chest was subdued, though, as he saw her eyes fill with an unfamiliar emotion. They looked wet, as if she were about to cry. She stared at his chest and wounds as if his pain were hers. Talon’s hands constricted subtly at the foreign emotion. Her eyes followed the trail of the droplets absently, her free hand moving to his leg. The gentle pressure of her fingers as she stroked his thigh in a comforting motion almost undid him.
