Wray (9 page)

"Of course, I do," she looked up into his
amazing eyes and gave him a slight smile. "Now what have you got in
that bag I can use on your face?"

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

“You have cold
and
hot water?” Kim
didn’t try to hide her shock as she looked at Wray.

Wray just nodded as he led her deeper into
the chamber. She'd refused to listen to him when he'd assured her
he was fine. Instead, she rose and searched the bag, haphazardly
tossing things out, including the locator beacon. When she found
nothing she felt would be useful except a sealed cloth she'd become
angry, demanding to know what idiot had packed an emergency bag
with no bandages or disinfectant.

Wray had wondered the same thing, for while
the portable repair unit would have easily repaired his cheek there
still should have been other medical supplies in case it had been
damaged. Something was very wrong with this pack and once they
returned to the Searcher, he planned to have all of them
inspected.

When she went to wet a rag and found it still
sealed, she growled her frustration. It had been the most arousing
sound Wray had ever heard.

“Is it very deep?” Kim asked, pulling his
attention back to him. “Could I bath and wash away….” Kim asked as
she slowed her rapid approach to the pool and looked down at her
hands. Her pale, healed,
clean
hands. There was no dirt
under her nails, no blood and she knew they had been bloody before.
Taking a deep breath, she realized she didn’t smell either.

How could she have missed something like
that?

Slowly she turned to Wray, who suddenly
looked uncomfortable. “That repair unit of yours… it cleans a
person too?” she asked, hoping she was wrong.

“No.” Wray told her honestly and watched her
eyes darken before she turned back to the pool.

“So how did I get clean?” She whispered.

“I cleansed you…” Wray answered quietly, “in
the pool.”

“You… while I was….” She stuttered.

“I couldn’t leave you like that
,
Kim. Once I discovered what your natural skin tone
was, I had to cleanse you
.
I didn’t want…”
he trailed off.

“Didn’t want what?”

“For you to wake and find yourself still
covered in Ganglian filth.”

“So you washed it away.”

“Yes.”

Walking over to the pool Kim carefully stuck
in her toe, testing its temperature, then stepped in so the water
lapped around her ankles. Wray had bathed her. He removed her
shirt, carried her into this water and touched her… everywhere.
Wray touched her and she hadn’t even known it. He removed all
evidence of her attack. She looked down at the faint scars that
still crisscrossed her fingers, at least as much as he could.

She should be upset with him, furious. He had
no right to touch her like that. Not without her permission. No one
did.

Tipping her head back, she let her gaze
travel over the luciferins that clung to the ceiling. They were so
beautiful and yet fragile
. T
hey survived
in harsh conditions by using what they were given and driving away
the darkness. They really were amazing. At her thought, they seemed
to sparkle brighter for a moment.

Could she be like them? Could she survive
what had happened to her and not let it defeat her? Could she take
what she was given and thrive on it? She made herself really think
about what Wray had done and compare it to what would have happened
to her on Earth.

If she had been found unconscious, she would
have been quickly treated and rushed to the hospital for a more
in-depth treatment. Just as Wray had done and if she had remained
unconscious for days, a nurse would have bathed her. It wouldn’t
have upset her, it would have been considered normal.

But nothing about this was ‘normal.' This was
Wray. Someone she was coming to care a great deal about and she
realized it wasn’t so much that he’d bathed her that bothered her,
it was that he hadn’t told her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, looking
over her shoulder at him.

“How was I supposed to tell you I’d touched
you without your permission?” Wray asked hoarsely, knowing that
whatever trust they had begun to build was gone.

“If I’d been awake, I wouldn’t have let you
touch me.” While Wray didn’t move, he looked as if she’d struck
him. “I wouldn’t have let anyone touch me.” She continued, turning
to face him. “But it was something that needed to be done.”

Wray’s eyes widened at her words. “Kim….”

“I’m not finished.” She interrupted him and
watched his mouth snap shut, but he nodded. “What upsets me the
most is that you didn’t
tell
me. What else haven’t you told
me
,
Wray? I’m completely at your mercy
here, just as I was with the Ganglians. No, you are not the same.”
Kim said quickly seeing his eyes flash. “But that doesn’t change
the fact that you are only telling me what
you
want me to
know and that’s not right.”

“No
,
it is not and I
am sorry
,
Kim.” Wray took a deep breath
and did something he has never done before. He tried to explain his
actions to a female. “When I discovered your natural color was not
the gray that covered you
,
I had to remove
it. The thought of anything Ganglian remaining on you… it was
unacceptable to me. I knew it was wrong of me to do so without your
permission, but I wanted nothing to remind you of your abuse when
you woke. I did not realize how strong you were.”

“I’m not strong
,
Wray.” She denied.

“You are
,
Kim, you
have survived something very few females do, not even Tornian ones.
I do not know where your Earth is, but I know it has to be more
than two days away from where we found you.”

“So?”

“No female has ever recovered from more than
two days in Ganglian hands. It is why they are banned from nearly
every known universe.”

“I don’t know how long they had me,” Kim
said, leaning down to wet the cloth still in her hand. “it seemed
like a lifetime.”

“I am sorry
,
Kim.”

“It’s not your fault
,
Wray,” not wanting to talk about it any longer she
turned and pointed to a rock next to the pool, “
S
it, I need to clean those scratches.”

“You are no longer upset with me?” Wray
asked, moving to where she pointed.

“I… no. It needed to be done and you did it.”
She found she could look him in the eye when he sat. “It takes
someone very strong to do that
,
Wray. To
do what needs to be done even knowing it will upset someone else.
So thank you, for taking care of me.” She gave him a slight smile.
“Now let me take care of you.” She said, reaching up to clean the
worst of the scratches.

Wray remained absolutely still while Kim
cared for him. She stood unafraid between his legs, her face a mask
of concentration, as she meticulously cleaned each scratch. The
wounds themselves were insignificant to Wray's way of thinking, but
her respon
se
to them was not. Never had a
female cared for him, not like this. Never had one concerned
herself with his well-being and health, not Adana, not even his own
mother.

Kim's gentle touch made him feel wanted...
needed... even valued... something a male never was. The strange
feeling that had started to grow now filled every fiber of his
being and he realized that this female was
his
. She
completed him in a way he did not understand. Could this be the
gift the Goddess once promised? If it was, how did he get Kim to
feel the same way?

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

"There, all done." Kim said, leaning back to
inspect his cheek, making sure she hadn't missed anything. She
still couldn't believe she'd done that to him. She had to figure
out a way to deal with what happened to her. She wasn't going to be
like Lucan's daughters. She
was
going to get over this. She
wouldn't
let it control the rest of her life.

"Thank you." Wray responded gruffly placing a
hand on her hip when she would have moved away from him. “Kim?”

"Yes?" She frowned at the hesitancy in Wray’s
voice. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong.” He quickly reassured her.
“I am just experiencing a great many new and unusual feelings and
am unsure on how to express them."

"Oh." Kim frowned slightly. Expressing her
feelings had never been a problem for her. If she was mad, you knew
it. Upset, watch out. Her mother used to tell her she needed to
learn some restraint or someday she would say something she
couldn't take back and she had been right. She could never take
back her last words to Jen. "Well, as long as you’re alright."

"You don’t wish to know my feelings?" Maybe
she was more like a Tornian female than he thought, for some reason
that
upset Wray.

"I didn't say that." She denied.

"So you
do
want to know what I am
feeling." He asked.

"Only if you want to tell me."

"I need you to understand, Kim, in my world,
a male would die to protect a female, but he does not have
feelings
for her and even if he did he would not express
them."

"Why not?"

"Because a male learns from an early age that
no female will ever come to care for him, not even his own mother.
She only cares about what a male can give her.”

“
Give
her?”

“Yes, to attract a female a male must not
only be fit and worthy, but he must also provide her with the
things she desires. Jewels, precious metals and rare fabrics.
Without them, she will never allow him Join with her.”

“She Joins with a male because of what he
gives
her?”

“Yes and he must be able to continue to
provide for her until she chooses her next male.”

“What do you mean her 'next' male?”

“Once she has presented the male with fit
offspring she then takes all he has given her and chooses
another.”

“She leaves him and her child?” Kim couldn't
hide her shock.

“Of course, it is the only reason she Joins
with a male.” Wray saw Kim’s mouth drop open and realized he had
shocked her. “Is it not this way on Earth?”

"No. A male and female 'Join' because they
love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives
together.”

“Love…” Wray recognized that ancient word,
but wasn't sure he knew what it meant. Was that what he was
feeling? “Is that even possible?” Wray said not realizing he’d
spoken aloud.

“Yes
,
it’s a
feeling…” Kim looked at him and tried to figure out how to explain
love to him. “I don’t know if I can explain it.”

"Please
,
Kim,
try."

"I... well between a man and woman on
Earth... male and female," she corrected, "it's when they feel
something for each other that they don't feel for anyone else.
Something special and strong." Kim thought of her parent's marriage
and tried to describe it. "My mom and dad, they were married,
Joined, for over twenty-five years, but they actual
ly
meet four years earlier, at a school dance. Mom
always said dad was her hero because he saved her from Jerry
Thomas."

"Your manno saved your mother from an
attack?"

"It wasn't an attack, it was squished toes,"
at his confused look she went on, "Jerry Thomas was a terrible
dancer and kept stepping on mom's toes. Dad cut in 'saving'
her."

"I do not understand... what is 'dance'?"

Kim just looked at him, then took a step back
and held out her hands. “Let me show you.”

Wray looked at Kim not sure what she wanted
from him, but he knew he would give it to her and if she needed to
show him this ‘dance’ then he would let her. Trusting her, he put
his hands in hers and stood.

When Wray placed his hands in hers, Kim
immediately pulled him close. “You put your hands here.” she said,
moving them to her waist, “and mine go here.” She put hers on his
shoulders, “and then we move our feet.” She carefully shuffled her
feet and leaned from side to side, showing him how to move. It
wasn’t how her parents danced, but slow dancing was still dancing.
"Jerry Thomas would do this." she told him and stepped on his
toes.

"And this offended your mother?" Wray asked,
frowning, it seemed insignificant to him.

"Now you step on mine." She told him
gently.

"I would never do that." Wray was shocked
that she would even suggest it, "It would harm you," and suddenly
he understood what she was saying. "This Jerry Thomas harmed your
mother this way and your manno stopped him."

"Yes."

"And this caused your mother to have... love
for your manno."

"Well, it's where it started and as they got
to know each other it grew until they decided they wanted to...
Join and spend the rest of their lives together."

"She never chose another male after she
presented you?" Wray found that hard to believe.

"Of course not. She wanted to stay with dad,
the male she'd chosen and with her children... offspring."

"Children..." he softly questioned, "your
mother presented more than just you to your manno?"

"Yes, I have an older sister, Jennifer."

"And still she stayed with your manno..."
Wray couldn’t believe it… to have
two
female offspring…

"Yes, she loved him. Why do you think having
us would change that?"

"We have so few females," he started.

"You've told me that
,
Wray." She interrupted him impatiently; at his
frown, she gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, go on."

"So when a female presents a female offspring
she becomes even more desirable to other males. They will offer her
a great deal to entice her to leave her current male in the hopes
that she will present
them
with a female."