Cursed: Brides of the Kindred 13 (43 page)

“No, so I could spare you pain.” He leaned down to look at her. “Do you think I
wanted
to use this stuff to heal you?” He held the tube of pale pink ointment in front of her face. “A Blood Kindred does not need such things. By rights I should have used my essence.”

“What…by biting me again?” Charlie felt a shiver go through her at the memory of the multiple orgasms his essence had caused in her the night before. She couldn’t let him do that again—she
couldn’t
.

“Or by licking you,” he murmured, his eyes glinting in the dim golden glow that suffused the living area. “I could have healed you more completely and painlessly as any ointment—but I did not wish for you to wake and find me doing so. I knew you would misconstrue my intentions.”

“Well you thought right,” Charlie snapped, trying not to think of him licking between her thighs where the burning was worst. “But this isn’t much better. Why didn’t you just wait until I woke up and let me use the ointment on myself?”

“Read the directions,” Stavros said patiently. “Like everything else in this place, the ointment only works if applied by your mate’s hand.”

“That’s what they
say
anyway,” Charlie muttered. “Here, let me see it.” She took the ointment and stared at it until the alien letters made sense to her brain. Thank goodness for translation bacteria!

Ointment of Sifra,
read the small letters.
Effective only if applied by the beloved’s hand. Warning: if…

There was more in smaller print under that but Charlie didn’t have the time or the patience to read it.

“Lover’s hand my ass,” she muttered.

“That is, in fact, exactly where I have been applying it,” Stavros remarked mildly.

“Very funny.” Her inner thighs were burning where the whip had licked her and so were some other…unmentionable areas. The pain was only getting worse the longer she lay there. Time to do something about it.

Despite the pain, Charlie somehow managed to lever herself out of the big Kindred’s lap. Stavros simply sat here while she did, obviously knowing she wouldn’t accept his assistance.

“I do not think you want to try using it yourself,” was all he said as she struggled to get off the couch.

“Thanks but I think I can manage,” Charlie said flatly. Eventually she was upright—a position which made her bit her lip with agony as her thighs rubbing together made the burns worse—much worse. Somehow, though, she managed to get herself to the bathroom with the ointment in hand.

As soon as she was inside with the door shut and locked, she pulled up her robes, got a handful of the pink ointment, and began rubbing it gingerly over her inner thighs and the other affected areas. As the cool tingling began to spread, she moaned in relief and sank down to sit on the edge of the large circular bathtub.

Her relief lasted exactly thirty seconds and then the pain came back—twice as bad as before.

“What the hell…?” At first Charlie thought she must be imagining it. But no, the burning was definitely back and growing worse by the second. It grew and grew until it felt like someone was holding a hot curling iron between her legs.

“Ow! Oh my God, that’s
horrible!”
she gasped. She stripped off her robe and stepped into the bathtub, splashing cold water over her burning inner thighs. Soon the pink ointment was all washed away—but it didn’t help.

Charlie blotted the affected area carefully with a towel while she clenched her jaw to keep from cursing with pain. What the hell was wrong? Had she used the ointment incorrectly? Well,
obviously
she had—she’d put it on herself instead of letting Stavros do it. But she didn’t remember reading anything about it making the pain
worse
if you tried to do it yourself. Then again, she hadn’t really read past the first sentence on the back of the tube.

Grabbing it again, she tried to concentrate on the instructions, reading through eyes that were tearing with pain.

Ointment of Sifra
.
Effective only if applied by the beloved’s hand. Warning: if applied any other way, burning will result. Only reapplication by the beloved will ease this symptom. In extreme cases…

But Charlie couldn’t read anymore. Wrapping herself in a towel, she flung open the bathroom door to find Stavros standing there silently.

“Did you know about this…this side effect?” She thrust the bottle at him.

“I did. I tried to warn you. You wouldn’t listen.”

“You just said I shouldn’t use it myself—not that it would make me feel like someone lit a fire between my legs if I did!” Charlie accused him.

He frowned. “Is
that
where you are hurting? I thought the whip fell only on your bottom and the tops of your thighs.”

“I…” Charlie felt her face flood with heat. “It didn’t just…”

“Never mind. Come to the bed—you can tell me where to apply the ointment there.”

Though it grated on her nerves, Charlie had no choice. She hobbled to the bed and collapsed onto it face first, feeling like an idiot and a freak.

“Good.” Stavros came and sat beside her. He took the ointment and squeezed some into his hand. “Now tell me where it hurts.”

“I…” Charlie bit her lip. God, this was
so
embarrassing. She’s just told him last night she wanted nothing to do with him, that she never wanted his hands on her again. And now, not even twenty-four hours later, she had to beg him to rub her most intimate areas with the pink ointment to make this awful burning stop.

“Does it hurt here?” Stavros’s big hand moved under the towel and between her legs, spreading the pink ointment carefully over the skin of her inner thighs.

“Yes.” Charlie sighed with relief as the burning began to ease and yet…though she felt the cool, tingling sensation it didn’t completely take the pain away as it had before. Or rather, the pain changed in some way to something no less intense just…different.

Well, it probably still feels weird because there are other areas that are hurting,
she told herself. Areas she was going to have to tell Stavros about if she wanted relief. But God, she
so
didn’t want to tell him!
Maybe I can just tough it out…maybe it’ll go away on its own eventually…

“Charlotte?” He was watching her closely and frowning. “Are you well now?”

“Just fine,” she lied through gritted teeth. “Just…fine.”

He frowned. “I wish you would not lie to me. You know I can feel your pain and if what I am feeling is correct, the whip hit you much higher than I originally thought.”

Charlie clenched her fists—well at least her hands were healed—and bit her lip until it almost bled. Damn it, she didn’t want to tell him, didn’t want to ask for his help…

“Charlie…” His use of her nickname made her look up. He had a look in his eyes that was half sorrow, half compassion. “Why are you so stubborn?” he asked softly. “Why is it so hard for you to ask for what you need?”

“You know why.” The burning was getting worse and she pressed her legs together tightly, as if she could put out the invisible flames that seemed to be eating at her. It only made the situation worse and she couldn’t suppress a yelp as she parted her legs quickly.

“All right.” Stavros sighed. “You don’t have to say it if it makes you uncomfortable. I think I can tell where your pain is.”

“Oh you can, can you?” Charlie asked in a choked voice. God, she was
dying
here.

He nodded. “If you’ll give me permission, I will spread the ointment where it needs to go. Only that and nothing more, I promise.”

Though it killed her to do it, Charlie really had no choice. With a brief jerk of her head, she nodded her agreement. Then she buried her face in her arms and opened her thighs a bit more. There was nothing else she could do.

She felt the blunt tips of his fingers a moment later, spreading the soothing ointment gently over the outer lips of her pussy. The cool tingling nearly took her breath away. As the awful pain at last began to fade, she felt herself beginning to relax. Stavros was being careful to only spread the ointment to areas he thought might be in pain so he didn’t touch inside her—a fact that gave her mingled feelings or relief and regret.

At last he pulled his hand out from under her towel.

“Better?”

“Yes. It’s…” Charlie frowned and bit the inside of her cheek. It was true that the worst of the pain was gone. But now a new sensation was growing between her legs. A new kind of heat—a sexual ache that seemed to start at the sensitive bundle of nerves at her center and throb through her entire pussy.

“Charlotte?” Stavros was looking at her anxiously. “What is it? I don’t feel your pain anymore but you still seem to be in distress.”

“It’s…it’s…” She rolled over on her back, taking care to keep her towel on. “Let me see that ointment again.”

Wordlessly, he handed it to her. Charlotte took her time studying it, though the heat continued to grow between her legs.

“Oh my God,” she muttered, staring at it in disbelief. “Come on, you’ve got to be
kidding
me.”

“What is it?” Stavros took the tube from her and studied the fine print at the very bottom. Then he read it out loud. “
Ointment of Sifra
.
Effective only if applied by the beloved’s hand. Warning: if applied any other way, burning will result. Only reapplication by the beloved will ease this symptom. In extreme cases pain impulses may not be eradicated but will instead be transmuted to sexual need. If extreme urgency occurs, manual stimulation to orgasm by the beloved will ease the need. Do not attempt self stimulation as this will only lead to increased burning and pain.”

“Crap,” Charlie muttered, shifting on the bed. “Crap, crap,
crap.”

Stavros raised an eyebrow at her.

“I take it you’re feeling the ‘extreme urgency’ mentioned on the back of the tube?”

“You know I am,” she snapped. “You can feel it, can’t you?”

“Actually, I cannot. I
have
felt your pleasure several times but only when we were in contact with each other in…” He cleared his throat. “In intimate situations. Last night, for instance. And the night before. But right now I am not touching you and I feel nothing—neither pain nor pleasure.”

“Well, it’s not really a pain. More like an itch that needs to be scratched.”
Horny as a buck in rutting season. What an idiot I am!
She couldn’t even look at him.

“Are you…greatly bothered? Do you want me to…” He cleared his throat. “Follow the directions on the back of the tube?”

“No, absolutely not,” Charlie declared, although she could barely sit still. She was getting sensitive between her legs, so sensitive she could barely stand it. She crossed and uncrossed them and squeezed her thighs together. Her clit was beginning to feel swollen and hot as though the lightest little breeze would make her come. And yet, no matter how she rubbed and squeezed her thighs together, she couldn’t quite make it to the edge.
Probably just as well. The damn tube says if I make
myself
come I’ll make things worse. As if things could even
get
worse.

“Charlotte, please…” Stavros laid a hand on her arm, nearly making her jump out of her skin. “Please,” he murmured, catching her eyes with his. “Let me help you.”

“Why would you want to?” Charlie demanded, looking away with an effort. “After the things I said last night—”

“You were frightened,” he said softly. “And with good reason. I acted inexcusably and you cannot forgive me—I understand that. But if you could at least find it in you to
trust
me again, it would be my pleasure to help you.”

“Help me?” Charlie gave a bitter laugh. “Don’t you mean ‘manually stimulate’ me?” God, she couldn’t believe this!

“If necessary,” he murmured. “Listen, according to the instructions, one orgasm should ease your symptoms at once. And this does not have to be…intimate if you don’t want it to be.”

“It doesn’t have to be
intimate?”
Charlie gave a dry, barking laugh. “How in the hell can it help but be
intimate?”

“Lay on your stomach, as you did before,” he instructed firmly. “Look away from me if you wish. Or close your eyes…imagine someone else if it helps.”

“I…” Charlie bit her lip with indecision. Was she really going to let him do this? The throbbing in her clit and the way her pussy felt so hot and swollen she could barely lay still gave her the answer she was seeking—the only answer possible. She had no choice.

“Charlotte?” He raised an eyebrow at her, waiting.