She started to spread her toes, but quickly stopped with a wince.
Jak’ri gently peeled away the bandage. The gash that split the arch of her foot and some of her heel had closed and appeared to be healing well. “It’s improving.”
“Good.”
“But it still hurts?” It looked quite painful to him.
“Yes,” she admitted with a sheepish smile.
He sprayed her foot again and gently patted it dry with a sterile medicloth. Once he’d cleaned it to his satisfaction, he spritzed it with the pain-deadening imaashu.
Ava sighed, her features smoothing with relief. “That stuff is awesome.”
Guilt pierced him. “I’m sorry I didn’t apply it before we left the escape pod.”
“I’m not,” she replied, no condemnation in her tone. “If you had, I wouldn’t have limped, and it probably would’ve gotten a lot worse by the time we found this place.”
Jak’ri rested a hand on her slender ankle, his fingers stroking her soft skin. “You experienced enough pain at the hands of the Gathendiens, Ava. I don’t want to subject you to more.”
But she merely smiled. “You aren’t. You’re sparing me pain by keeping me from doing more damage that would make it take longer to heal.”
Nodding, he reached into the medic bag.
He’s such a nice guy.
Jak’ri paused. Had Ava sent that thought intentionally?
After retrieving the rest of the necessary supplies, he applied a fresh bandage to her wound and again coated her foot with kesaadi to hold it in place.
Honorable and kind.
No. She was inadvertently broadcasting again, he realized as he drew her other foot onto his lap. The kesaadi had performed well, keeping the rocks and sticks they’d stepped on from cutting or damaging her smooth skin.
Capable of kicking Gathendien ass, her mental meanderings continued. And climbing gargantuan trees to provide us with this bed.
He sprayed her foot with the retsa and wiped it with a cloth.
This surprisingly comfortable bed.
From the corner of his eye, he saw her gaze sweep over his form with leisurely admiration.
His pulse picked up.
Which I can’t wait to use because he is freaking hot. And passionate. I’ve never in my life met a man who could turn me on with just a look. And those muscles…
Though heat coursed through him, he forced himself to concentrate on coating her foot with the kesaadi once more.
Damn, I want him.
His ministrations complete, he met her gaze. Heart thudding in his chest, he slid one hand up her shin, curled his fingers around her calf, and drew it back down again in a caress he wanted to take sooooo much higher.
Her breath caught. Then her smile slipped as she sat up straighter. “Wait. You didn’t hear what I was just thinking, did you?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it.”
He smiled, amusement creeping in and taking the edge off the rising desire that demanded he push her back onto the leafy mattress and strip her bare. “I could describe you the same way.” Honorable, he thought to her as he slid his hand up her lovely leg again. Kind. This time he continued past her knee. Capable of kicking Gathendien ass. He spread his fingers on her soft thigh, then drew his hand back down again. Hot. Passionate. And capable of arousing me with just a look.
An amber glow entered her brown eyes as her lips parted.
His gaze dropped to those lips. The arousal he’d just mentioned intensified as he remembered how it had felt when her tongue stroked his.
Ava’s stomach growled, loud enough to drown out his thoughts.
Jak’ri laughed. “Not the response I was hoping for.”
She smiled and grimaced at the same time. “Sorry. I think I burn more calories now, and we haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
Regret filled him as he shook his head. “That was my failure. Apologies. I should’ve insisted we eat something earlier.” Tamping down his desire, he returned the remaining supplies to the medic bag.
But Ava waved his apology away. “Honestly, I didn’t even notice we missed lunch. I was too distracted.” She motioned to the darkening passage that led from the cave. “This is the first time I’ve set foot on an alien planet. And even though it bears a general similarity to Earth, there are enough differences to make me want to walk around like this all the time.” Widening her eyes, she dropped her jaw until her mouth formed a large O and gaped at the walls around them in exaggerated amazement.
Jak’ri laughed.
“I’m serious,” she insisted with a grin. “I saw a butterfly today that was the size of a duck!”
Still smiling, he dragged the other pack closer and dug through it for the nutrient cubes and canteens. “I don’t know what a butterfly is. Or a duck. My translator only tells me that one is an insect that often bears colorful wings and the other is some sort of waterfowl.”
Removing her feet from his lap, Ava shifted to sit cross-legged facing him and provided him with a more in-depth definition, along with a few telepathic images.
Jak’ri nodded periodically. “We have similar things on Purvel.” He placed two canteens and two nutrient packets between them. “Though our insects tend to be fairly small.”
She nodded. “When I saw that butterfly, I admit I was a little worried we’d encounter insects on the ground that were equally big. I’m not usually afraid of bugs, but if I encountered a spider the size of that butterfly, I think I would freak out.”
He laughed. “As would I.”
They tore open the packages and each ate a nutrient cube.
Ava grimaced. “It would be nice if freedom made these things taste a little better.”
Jak’ri agreed. “I may try some of those berries tomorrow. These nutrient cubes will only last us so long. We need to find alternate sources of nourishment before they run out.” He forced down another swallow. “And including fresh fruit in our diet will provide us with more energy, something I think would benefit you now that you’re burning more calories. I saw some fruit that looked promising while I was cutting leaves near the canopy. Tomorrow I’ll climb up and cut some so we can see what our curious companions think of it.”
“Isn’t eating fruit found on an alien planet dangerous?”
He shrugged. “It carries some risk. But I’ll be careful when I test it and would worry more about the berries if I hadn’t seen the leapers, as you call them, consume large amounts with no ill effects. Wild animals tend to learn quickly to distinguish fruits and nuts that are safe to eat from those that are poisonous and can sicken them.”
“Or maybe they just have a high tolerance for toxins.”
“Possibly. But one thing space exploration and our dealings with member nations of the Aldebarian Alliance has taught us is that planets with nearly identical atmospheres usually sustain life created from the same six essential elemental ingredients that are found in all organisms on Purvel. They may bear some differences in appearance—” he held up one hand and splayed his fingers, displaying the webbing between them “—but their likenesses—the way their bodies function and even their behavior—can be astonishing. Purvel has many mammals similar to the leapers and tree-dwelling primates from Earth that you’ve described that seem to share the same behavior. And those on Purvel—like so many in alliance occupied space—are affected by the same poisons that harm us.”