The Healing Chpt 25 preview
I know I promised everyone to get it up this weekend, but one thing I did not account for was the fact that I should not dump chapters at a beta at the last minute and expect it to be proofread in a few days...I mean, I was scared of the whole love scene sounding like IKEA erotica that I got a beta to go over to make sure it sounded...y'know, erotic...and I think 6k words may be a bit too much to digest in 4 days. (NO, NOT ALL 6K WORDS ARE SEX)
My beta's been sent back the first half of the chapter, and the rest should come back to me this Friday. Meanwhile because I feel bad leaving you all hanging for so long here's the first 400 words or so:
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‘Stay,’ the Avatar said. Her fingers tightened around his hand; a possessive act. ‘Don’t go. Stay with me tonight.’
Noatak was at a loss. He thought he knew what she hinted at but he could not be certain, and out of fear of shattering her fragile trust again he dared not make a move. For several seconds he gazed around the room uncertainly, at the smooth stone walls and the enormous table of gifts, at anything but the Avatar. Then his eyes strayed and he was transfixed, in the way her eyes gazed back at him and reflected the dancing flames of the two candles nearby. Reason left him.
‘I will,’ he promised, turning over his hand to give her fingers a strong squeeze.
She nodded and sank back into the pillow.
Even then, indecision froze him. He could not stand here forever – at least not the whole night – but neither could he slink into her bed. Finally he compromised; not standing nor sleeping, instead drawing up a chair to sit next to her. At this, her mouth twitched with laughter.
‘Something funny?’ he said, painfully aware of the silence in the room.
Noatak crossed his arms and said nothing.
The candles burned lower.
‘Are you going to sit like that the whole night?’ she asked. ‘Well, have fun.’
‘It was your idea to begin with, Avatar.’
She smiled shyly and shifted over to the right, patting the empty space on the bed. ‘Here,’ she beckoned.
Wonder filled him. She wanted it. She wanted and needed him as no one had ever had before. And this feeling of need for him, of all people, sent rippling anticipation throughout his entire body. He reached for her and she did not move. When the tips of his fingers stroked past her cheekbones, she slipped a little further down the bed and turned her face, nuzzling the inside of his wrist. The brush of her lips, firm, supple, sparked his pulse in electrifying waves. He stood and kicked back the chair, not even flinching as it skidded across the floor. Her eyes burned into his back as he turned around, sat on the bed and bent down to remove his shoes with ceremonial slowness.
She lifted aside the sheets for him as he stood up barefooted. The plain, baggy hospital gown she wore hid her curves but her open invite still took his breath away. He climbed in and stretched out beside her cautiously, tensed for rebuff but there came none. The space was still warm with her scent; he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting her presence invade her mind.
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