She shoved him off, and he gave way, landing on his side with a groan. Heedless of her nakedness, she was on her knees over him in an instant. “How badly are you hurt?”
“I’ll live. But you won’t — not unless we get you in the water.”
She glanced around the bone-dry cave. “Water?”
“We need to move fast.” He struggled to his feet and looked down at Eli’s body. “Get his pack. Over there.” He pointed to a spot near the mouth of the cave. Eli had dropped his cloak and a pack twice the size of the one she carried at the cave’s entrance before creeping to where she slept.
Lexi reached for her skirt.
“Leave it. There’s no time. You won’t care if you’re covered up once you’re dead. Wait — hand me your breast cloth.”
She gave it to him then ran over and grabbed Eli’s pack. It was too heavy for her to shoulder, so she dragged it back, averting her eyes when she went past the dead body.
With the knife, Ayron sliced the long cloth into smaller strips and wrapped them tightly around the worst of his wounds to staunch the bleeding. Then he rummaged in his own pack and pulled out two torches and a smaller packet. From the smell, she guessed it held more of the noxious leaves the Tryb used to treat sun poisoning.
“Get the salisis and the herbs out of Eli’s pack, and let’s go.”
She stopped in front of Eli’s remains, rooted to the spot.
“We’ll come back when we can for the rest — and to bury him,” he added.
Ayron grabbed the flickering torch on the wall and took off into the darkness. Lexi snatched the bundle of herbs from Eli’s pack and jogged after him, struggling to keep up. She was amazed that he could even walk in his condition. She’d gotten basic medical training as part of her prep for the mission. But even a novice could see that besides the superficial wounds, he’d been cut deeply in places. With every step, he lost more blood. She knew he wouldn’t be able to keep up the grueling pace much longer.
They passed a number of side passages. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, bypassing some and turning left or right down others.
Lexi was hopelessly lost. Without him, she’d never survive long enough to find her way back to the entrance. She’d die here. Alone. In the dark. Forcing back a wave of panic, she picked up her pace and closed the gap between them.
She heard it long before she felt the change in the air. Water. Rushing water. The closer they got to the sound, the heavier the air became. By the time they rounded a curve and came in sight of the grotto, Lexi’s skin burned so badly she could barely put one foot in front of the other.
With his last burst of strength, Ayron pulled her with him into waist-deep water at the edge of the pool. He yanked off his own garment, tore open his packets of leaves, and dumped them into the water. Then he dipped both hands into the gooey mess and slathered it all over both their bodies. First hers, then his own.
The relief was instantaneous. Lexi hadn’t realized how much protection her cylerian had provided when she arrived on the planet. After only a few seconds of exposure, the tender skin on her breasts had blistered in places. Ayron’s body tolerated it much better, probably because his ancestors had had centuries to adapt.
His hands were gentle as he patted the goop onto the worst spots. The pain subsided enough that when he spread it over her nipples, a delicious little shiver shot through her core all the way to her belly. He took hold of her shoulders, turned her around, and coated her back all the way to her waist, fingers gliding sensuously over her skin.
Lost in waves of erotic sensation, Lexi hardly realized what he was doing when he led her into the shallows. His hand between her legs snapped her back into focus.
She tried to push him away.
“Stop it. I have to get some of this up inside you, let it work its way through your body. If you keep fighting me, I swear I’ll drag you to that rock, turn you over my knee, and spank you good and hard. Then I’ll take my finger and work some of this up your ass. I guarantee you’ll like that a whole lot less.”
Even wounded, he was so much bigger and stronger. It would be pointless to resist. She bowed her head, blinking away tears of embarrassment. Scooping up a handful of the green slime, he spread it over the soft folds around her vagina, then worked one of his long fingers up inside her. Coated with the slippery substance, it slid in easily. He took his time, massaging the healing substance into her vaginal walls.
Lexi gasped as waves of heat and cold poured through her body. He took his finger out, ran his hand farther back, and rubbed the goop around her anal opening. Before she could protest, he squeezed his finger inside.
Lexi whipped her head up and glared at him. Then her eyes widened as the remedy took effect. Hot flashes ran up her anal passage, alternating with bursts of intense cold.
His finger slid deeper. She gasped, automatically tightening around it. The waves grew stronger. Blanketed with the wet leaves, her clitoris throbbed in time with the sensations. Her pussy clenched as the waves rocked her to her core.
As her mind tried to process what was happening, her body took over. The unaccustomed physical stimulation she’d been subjected to ever since she’d arrived on Iridia had thrown her carefully regulated hormones out of balance. Long-dormant, raw desire raged through her, fed by the erotic sensations rocking her body.
His hands were everywhere. His hot stiff cock pressed against her skin. His finger probed a place where she’d never been touched before, flooding her mind with wicked thoughts. Desperate to have him quench the fire, bury that thick cock deep inside her, she reacted instinctively, the way women had reacted for thousands of years.
Lexi threw herself against him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
* * *
Ayron rocked back on his heels. The finger buried in her ass slid out partway. The woman in his arms moaned and rocked her hips against his hand to draw it back in.
