Butthough he licked her arm several more times, the scars didn’t fade.

Atlast, Trin drew back.

“Iknow the scars are ugly,” she said quietly. “But…well, at least it doesn’t hurtanymore. That’s wonderful.”

Thrace shookhis head. “I just wish I could do more.”

“Youcan,” Trin said softly. “You can heal the rest of me…if you don’t mind.”

“Ofcourse, I don’t mind. But…” He hesitated, frowning again.

“Butwhat?” Trin asked softly.

“Well,those marks…they’re all over your body.” He gestured at the white shift dress whichcovered everything but her arms and her feet. “I mean, if I remember right,they’re everywhere. Are you going tobe all right with me licking you every place you need to be healed?”

Trinbit her lip.

It’s wrong…letting a male do that to you,it’s wrong and you know it. The ugly, judgmental voice—a voice thatsounded very like the high priestess’s—was whispering in her ear, making ithard to think, hard to be brave. But then she remembered the light in Nadiah’strue green eyes when the Goddess spoke through her and lifted the blood curse.Take a deep breath, Trin gathered her courage.

“Iwant you to do it,” she said firmly. “I want to be healed.”

“Allright.” Thracerose from the couch and held out a hand to her. “Let’s heal you, then.”

Bitingher lip, Trin put her hand in his and let him lead her into the sleepingchamber.

* * * * *

Thracecouldn’t believe she was going to allow him to do this—that she was willinglygoing to let him lick every inch of her sweet body. After what she’d learnedabout how his old Master had treated him on Yonnie Six, he’d been afraid shewould never want him to touch or taste her again.

Don’t get too excited, he toldhimself sternly. After all, it’s not likeshe’s here asking to renew our bond. She just doesn’t want to live the rest ofher life in fucking agony—that’s all. After this is over, you’ll part for goodand you know it. Didn’t she say you were nothing to each other? So don’t readanything into it and don’t try to make it last. Just do what has to be done andlet her go.

Let her go forever.

Butdespite the warnings he tried to give himself, he couldn’t help the wave oflove and devotion that washed over him when she lifted the white dress over herhead and let it fall to the floor. She was so beautiful, so perfect even withthe angry, red welts marking her skin. He wanted nothing more than to lavishher with kisses, to worship her body with his tongue, to heal her and make herwhole…at least on the outside, which seemed to be all he could manage.

“Where…wheredo you want me?” Trin asked softly, lifting her chin. Thrace recognized the tremor in hervoice and the steel in her eyes—she was trying to be brave. Trying to let himdo this without losing her nerve.

“Sittingon the edge of the sleeping platform to start with,” he said gently. “We’ll goslow…as slow as you want.”

“Allright.” She settled on the sleeping platform, making a soft noise of pain asthe dark blue coverlet rubbed against the welts on her backside. Thrace made amental note to attend to them soon but he wanted to start someplace saferfirst—someplace that wouldn’t make her feel threatened or uncomfortable.

Kneelingbefore her, he took her other arm, the one he hadn’t treated yet, and lookedinto her eyes.

“MayI?”

“Please,”Trin breathed. “Yes, please do.”

Keepinghis eyes locked with hers, Thracelicked her second arm as he had the first, dragging the flat of his tongue upand over her skin, erasing the red welts that marked her.

Asbefore she stiffened and gasped but when he raised his eyebrows at her—a silentquestion—she shook her head.

“Itdoesn’t hurt. It just…tingles.”

Thrace noddedas he finished with her arm. Gods, her skin tasted sweet—salty and fresh andcompletely delicious. Completely Trin. He knew that even if he was destinednever to see her again, her taste and the soft little gasps that came from herthroat as he healed her would stay in his memory forever.

Atlast he leaned back and looked at her.

“Legsnext?”

Trintwisted her fingers together in her lap nervously.

“…allright.”

Hecould hear the hesitation in her voice. No doubt all the horrible rhetoricwhich had been pounded into her head while she was a prisoner at the temple wasstill there, poisoning her thoughts and emotions. But she was trying her bestto overcome it—trying to let him help her without feeling guilty or wrong.

“Howabout everything but your inner thighs?” he asked and saw the relief flitacross her face.

“Yes.”She smiled gratefully. “Yes that would be…that would be good.”

Thrace noddedand encircled one delicate ankle with his fingers. Gods, whoever had done thisto her had been really thorough. Thered welts ran in unbroken parallel lines from the graceful curve of her archall the way up her thighs. Probably thatbitch of a high priestess! He felt a rush of rage and wished for a momentthat he could hurt the evil female the same way she’d hurt Trin—that he couldmake her pay for the wrong she’d inflicted. But there was no time for angernow—it wouldn’t help Trin for him to get worked up. All he could do was try tohelp her.

Takinga deep breath, Thracepushed the useless anger aside and tried to concentrate on Trin. He lifted herlower leg to his mouth and began to lick…began to heal the female he loved sodesperately as best he could.

Tringasped and then sighed as he made his way slowly and methodically up her leg.He could feel her trembling beneath his tongue as he sealed the welts, turningthem into nothing but scars.

Thrace onlywished he could do more. She was beautiful to him—always beautiful—but thescars marred her soft brown skin, making a permanent reminder of what she hadendured on her home planet. He wished he could erase them for that reason if noother—he didn’t want her to look down at herself and remember what had beendone to her every time she saw her arms or legs…

Andspeaking of her legs, he was finished with them now. All but the area aroundher inner thighs which he had carefully avoided. He sat back and looked up ather, considering what to do next.

Trinlooked back at him and the red scratches on her face, four parallel lines oneach cheek, caught his eye.

“Mylady,” he murmured, falling into the old way of speech by force of habit. Herose slowly, so as not to startle her, and sat beside her on the bed. Verygently, he brushed just the tips of his fingers over her wounded flesh. “Yourface…”

“Oh…”Trin put a hand to her hurt cheek and nodded. “Yes, she…she scratched meeverywhere. She said she wanted…wanted to leave permanent scars—so everyonewould know what I had done.”

“Baby…”Thracefelt a lump in his throat he couldn’t seem to swallow. “I’m so sorry,” hewhispered. “This is my fault—all of it.”

“No,it’s not.” Trin looked up at him. “It’s mine—I went to the temple willingly, ofmy own volition. I thought I had to…thought I had to be punished.”

Thrace wantedto ask what she thought about it now but he didn’t dare. He was afraid shewould say that she still felt the same way, that anything they did together waswrong and sinful—worthy of punishment and death.

Insteadof speaking any more, he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. Then hekissed her as gently as he could, stroking the parallel lines on her face tenderly—tracingthem one by one with the tip of his tongue, trying to erase her hurt, to easeher pain and let her know how very much he still loved her.

* * * * *

“Oh,Thrace…”His name fell from Trin’s lips like a prayer as he kissed her. It amazed her,as always, that such a huge, muscular male could be so gentle…so tender. Hehandled her as though she was precious and valuable—someone cherished beyondwhat words could express or describe.

Beforehe had started this, she had warned herself that she shouldn’t get too carriedaway when he started healing her. After all, it was clear that he wanted toleave and she didn’t have the right to try and stop him. Not after the wayshe’d treated him. But she couldn’t help melting inside when he touched herlike this…when he kissed her so tenderly.