Healing (General's Daughter Book 5) Read online

  He brought the girl into the bathroom and slowly he undressed her, taking time to caress her soft skin. Her color seemed to improve as he did so. Rich frowned, holding her face. “That’s odd. Sam, can you swirl me?”

  “Not right now, my head hurts.”

  “Let’s get you into the bath, then if you feel up to it, I want to experiment with something.”

  “And you call ME the scientist. I’m dying here and you want to run lab tests.” Sam chuckled, settling into the hot water. She moaned with pleasure, sinking deep under the bubbles. She stayed under for a long time before popping back up.

  “You can still hold your breath for almost four minutes,” Rich commented, kneeling next to the tub.

  “No problem there. This feels so good. You know, there’s room enough for both of us.” Sam smiled seductively.

  Rich shook his head. “You heard your father. No playing doctor. Besides, I’m worse of a patient than you are. You don’t want me catching it.”

  “You’ve already been exposed. Please? Just come in and hold me.”

  “And what if your father comes by? Or Scott?”

  “We could tell them you were ensuring my safety in the tub. Please?”

  “No. I will, though, be happy to scrub your back. And other places if you like.” Rich lathered a washcloth. Sighing, she leaned back and lifted one long leg high in the air for him. He washed, then thoroughly massaged it, then went to the other leg. He repeated with her arms, shoulders and back. She flipped to her stomach, wiggling her bottom for him.

  “Don’t forget these muscles,” she ordered. Rich couldn’t resist, smacking her wet backside sharply one time. “OW!”

  “I told you we aren’t here to play. For someone who is sick, you sure have a lot of spunk.”

  “I’m feeling better. Honest.”

  Her color did look better. But why? He needed to see if his hypothesis had any credence.

  “Let’s get you dried off and into bed. No more playing.” She reluctantly obeyed, allowing Rich to pull one of his tee shirts over her head and snuggle her into his large bed. He dried her hair as he fanned it over the pillows and she fell asleep in his arms shortly afterwards. He was watching TV when the family walked in unannounced.

  “How’s she doing?” Dr. Quimby asked.

  Rich tried to straighten up, gently lifting her off his chest. “She said she was feeling better after her bath. I could tell she’s lost weight, and she was in a mood, too.”

  “She will try to con you into thinking she’s okay so you’ll let her escape her prison sentence,” Scott informed him quietly.

  Michael agreed. “That’s the truth. She’s the worse patient in the world. Good luck, buddy, she’s yours.”

  “You know that she’d already spoken with your dad before you ordered her to see him, right?”

  “I always know when she lies to me. She thinks if I boss her around then I won’t worry as much. She still doesn’t get it that I see right through her. Don’t worry, though, she’s fine. I’d know if it were anything serious,” he reassured everyone.

  “We’re going to get on the road then. Call if you need anything,” Dr. Quimby said.

  “I put some hot water on for you and brought you some tea. She likes that,” Jen added, eyeing Rich sternly.

  “Yes, dearest, I know. Thank you.” Rich smiled, kissing Jen’s forehead.

  “I could stay here and help, you know. I used to take care of my brothers all the time,” Jen stated.

  Michael chuckled, hugging her. “Your offer to sacrifice yourself for the good of the family is noted and much appreciated. However, I fear that little Sam’s attitude as a patient will scare you off for good. Nope, let Rich handle this.”

  “I’ll do fine. I’ll call if I have any questions,” Rich promised.

  “Good luck.”

  Rich walked them out, making sure he locked the door as they drove off. No more surprise inspections, thank you, he chuckled. Sam was awake when he returned to the bedroom. She was kneeling on the bed, naked, with a little smirk on her face.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Look at you. Put this back on, you little imp. No tempting me tonight.” Rich smiled, kissing her. She was still feverish.

  “But I’m better.”

  “Samantha, I can tell you have a fever. Do I need to take your temperature?” he teased.

  She thought about it. “It depends HOW you intend on doing it.” She giggled, climbing across his lap.

  Rich sighed, his hand resting on her bottom over the shirt. He patted her bottom. “We are not playing. You need to be serious. Please. I’m going to get you something to eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “I didn’t ask you. How’s your headache?”

  “Still there. Still achy.”

  “I thought so. I’ll be back.”

  He brought her some soup and toast, making her finish everything. The very act of eating exhausted her. She was pale again. Time for the experiment.

  “Sam? I’m going to massage you, okay? If you can, swirl me.”

  “But you told me I wasn’t allowed to do that anymore.”

  “I need to see something. I won’t block you.”

  “That wouldn’t be the type of swirling I’d want to do with you.”

  “Do whatever you want to, okay? Just stop if you hurt or don’t feel right. I won’t prevent you.”

  “Are you sure? Okay.” She shrugged as he nodded.

  He gently started to run his hands over her legs and under her shirt, kissing her hot body gently, soothingly, lingering on her more erotic zones. He felt himself starting to float, the drive to please her becoming stronger. He did not fight it, focusing on the sensation, the inputs, the sounds of voices in the distance. Lost in a sea of color, he dove under to search for his treasure, hidden in a cave of wondrous delight as he feasted on her body. It was surreal, the whole experience, and his entire being felt lit up with tiny sparks of energy. Everything tingled, every nerve ending buzzed with pure ecstasy. He was no longer himself, but part of a giant mesh of energy. Time stopped for him and he lost the connection with the natural world.

  Rich woke the next morning with his head resting on Sam’s chest. She was breathing steadily, her color good and her temperature normal. What happened last night? Try as he could to remember, his memory was gone. Only the sensations and sounds remained as a distant echo in his mind’s eye. He tried to sit up, but his body was spent. He could barely move to roll to his back. Opening his eyes was an effort, and he moved his mouth, but no words came out.

  Sam stirred gently, turning towards him. She looked different. More peaceful and, well, angelic. Rich mused in the silence – the only time she could be angelic, for certain, was when she slept.

  “Be nice,” she murmured.

  Rich, still unable to speak, was stunned. How did she know what he was thinking?

  “Still connected,” she murmured again. Rich felt fear wash over him, a sensation he was not familiar with.

  “Don’t be afraid, it will stop. You’re integrated. You were part of the pod last night. And now fully part of me. We’re forever inseparable. You can’t touch my mind yet, but I can touch yours. Just for a little while. It’s going away.” She sounded sad, slowly opening her eyes and gazing at him. “You can never leave me, now. We’re bonded.”

  “What happened?” he forced out a whisper.

  “I’m not sure how they do it, but they do. You made love to me last night like a wild man. It was primitive and incredible and I finally passed out with the intensity. I’ve never felt so complete in my life.”

  “I don’t remember any of it.”

  “You let yourself go and were part of a universal entity. As you made love to me, you were joined by the entire cetacean population. They partook in our bonding. It was a wedding, of sorts, to them. You honored them by allowing yourself to be free.”

  “We what? This is too much. When can I move again?”

  “In about an h
our. Are you upset? You told me to just go for it, and you said you wouldn’t block it.”

  “No, not at all. I just don’t understand it. It’s so, well, sci-fi.”

  “So is my ability to breath underwater, but that doesn’t change what it is. Now you understand why I’m so intent on studying the cetaceans. I’m also healed.”

  “Really? How?”

  “Somehow the integration stimulates the healing process. Daddy would know better than I would exactly what occurs, but I speculate that there is an increased production of antigens during the process, maybe due to the release of blood proteins. I’m not sure. What I do know is that the pod doesn’t like to have illness within it. That is why a dying member will beach itself so that the integration is lessened and won’t cause the pod harm.”

  “So a whale would let itself die before it infects its group?”

  “Yes. Or if the healing takes too much energy for the pod, it will sacrifice itself to keep them from being weak. That’s why you’re feeling so tired right now. You were sucked dry as you shared your energy with the pod and me.”

  “Do they feel like this?”

  “No. They merely get hungry. We aren’t designed for this either physically or mentally. We are privileged to be allowed to partake. I hope you realize that.”

  “I’m starting to. So, question: when we engage in our playtime, does it cause the pod pain?”

  “No. I don’t link into them. Plus, they do have some scruples. They aren’t peeping pods.” Sam laughed, sitting up slowly. She ached all over, in a good way.

  “Ha ha. Help me up, please. My neck is sore,” Rich said, moving slowly.

  Sam giggled. “I would think so. You couldn’t get enough of me. I came at least fifteen times last night and you about eight or nine.”

  “No way!”

  “Yes way. Too bad you don’t remember it. At least I do. Every delicious minute.”

  “We should probably clean up in here in case the family decides to stop by again.”

  “We have time. They’ll call anytime now to make sure I’m awake.”

  “They didn’t call first last night.”

  “Because they were worried. I'm sure that Michael reassured them. See?” She grinned as the phone rang. “Hello? Hi Daddy. Yes, I’m feeling better. No, honest. Yes, sir… Oh, okay. Here, Rich.”

  “Hello?”

  “How’s my girl this morning?”

  “She seems to be doing a bit better. She ate last night. She just woke up, slept like the dead.”

  “Good, you keep her resting today. If she’s still doing all right, she can come into work tomorrow for a short time. We’ll come by after work and check on you two. Do you need anything?”

  “No sir, I’ve got everything here.”

  “Except one of my rulers.” He heard Scott say in the background.

  Rich laughed, rubbing his neck. “Please tell Scott I haven’t had a need for his ruler. She’s been very cooperative.”

  “She must be sick,” Michael piped in.

  “Is the whole family on speaker?” Rich asked, switching the phone to speaker so Sam could hear.

  “The whole brood is in my office bugging me. Tell Sammi we love her, okay?”

  “I love you guys too. I’ll be okay, just need to rest a bit.”

  “We need to find out your secret to get her to cooperate, Rich. This is a first,” Dr. Quimby said.

  “Daddy, it really isn't very complicated. If you had just provided a gorgeous, sexy green-eyed engineer to babysit me, I would have stayed in bed years ago.”

  “You had a gorgeous, sexy, blue-eyed engineer to babysit you, and still didn’t listen,” Michael commented.

  “Yeah, but you’re my brother. I had to give you a hard time. It’s in my job description. Plus, this particular engineer gives me much better incentives to stay in bed.”

  “Um... okay... There is time for this later. Sam, rest up. Rich, call me if you need anything. I’m ten minutes away.”

  “Yes sir, thanks. Bye, all.” Rich chuckled, slowly pulling Sam into his arms. “What you didn’t say was exactly why having that engineer would keep you in bed. They didn’t catch that.”

  Sam kissed his forehead, slowly standing. Rich blinked, looking at her, and then blushed.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “You are covered with hickeys and bite marks. Oops. Sorry, I like to chew.”

  “You’re not the only one who likes to bite, darling.” Sam grinned, turning to go into the bathroom. He looked down at his body. He was as marked up as she was.

  Dr. Quimby came by at three that afternoon and found Sam on the couch watching TV, stuffing popcorn into her mouth. Rich watched as her father drilled her with questions, amused how she just ignored him and watched cartoons.

  “I’ll say this much, she certainly acts her age when she’s sick,” Rich said crossing his arms and watching her try to dodge her father’s assessment.

  “I can’t see. You’re in my way,” Sam whined, trying to watch the program as he peered into her eyes.

  “Just stay still for a moment. My god, child, do I need to sit on you?”

  “Samantha, cool it. Let him do his job,” Rich ordered. Sighing, she put down the popcorn and crossed her eyes.

  Dr. Quimby shook his head. “She has her ‘tude back. No aching?”

  “No.”

  “No fever, chills, tummy ache?”

  “No.” She sounded bored. Rich cleared his throat. She rolled her eyes, adding a “Sir.”

  “Everything looks good. Well done, my boy. She’s yours for now on; we can’t stand this brat when she’s out of sorts.” Dr. Quimby smiled, kissing his daughter’s cheek before standing.

  She scowled. “You worry too much.”

  “With good reason. Go get dressed and we’ll take you home.”

  “I don’t wanna go home. I wanna stay here.”

  “Then you’ll stay here by yourself, because I plan on going to the house with them and staying the weekend, too,” Rich announced.

  She made a face. “You could stay here. It’s quieter.”

  “I don’t wanna,” he mimicked her.

  Dr. Quimby laughed, clapping Rich on the shoulder. “Yep, back to her old self. Go get whatever you need. Sam, get dressed now, or you’ll leave wearing just that tee shirt.”

  She shrugged, then blew steam as Rich pointed to the bedroom. Stomping her foot, she obeyed.

  “You have your work cut out for you, son. At least she listens to you.”

  “That’s only because she knows I won’t take sympathy on her newly acquired wellness. She knows you won’t push her for a few days yet.”

  “You’re good. And you’re right. There’s my sweet girl with such a pleasant smile.” Dr. Quimby grabbed her jaw gently, looking at her scowl. He kissed her lips. “I love you.”

  Grunting, she stomped out to where he had parked Scott’s Hummer. It was still drizzling and gray as they swung by the base to pick up the remainder of the family.

  Michael hugged his sister. “Feeling better, kiddo?”

  “I’m fine. I need to talk to you later. Science stuff. Nothing anyone else IN THIS VEHICLE would care about.”

  “Oh, you’re grumpy. Rich? What did you do?”

  “Me? Nothing, except force her to stay in bed as ordered by her doctor.”

  “That explains it. I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, little sister. You’re really a pain in the ass when you’re sick.”

  “Daddy, Michael’s swearing,” Sam snitched.

  Scott turned around. “If you’re feeling well enough to pester your brother, then you’re feeling well enough to get paddled. Don’t push it, brat.”

  “Yes, sir.” Sam slunk in her seat. Dr. Quimby looked in the rear view mirror, his eyes crinkled with a smile. He was glad she was back to normal.

  Scott called in for Chinese as they neared the house because no one would volunteer to take his place cooking. Michael kept elbowing his sister, t
rying to get a rise out of her. She pinched him back. By the time they were at the house, the two were in a slapping match.

  “Will you please behave yourselves? Michael, you act like you’re ten. Cut it out.”

  “She started,” he argued, slapping her hand from his arm.

  “Jennifer, please take your boyfriend to his room and have a long talk with him about behavior. Richard, you do the same,” Scott ordered.

  Rich’s eyes twinkled. “If I had a boyfriend, it certainly wouldn’t be Mike. He’s not my type.”

  “Ha ha. You know what I mean, so don’t be a smart ass.”

  “What other type of ass could I be? Hmm, a pain in the— OW!” Rich yelped as Scott swatted him upside the head.

  “There’s more where that came from. You, stop laughing. What has gotten into you two?” Scott frowned as Sam and Rich started giggling uncontrollably.

  Dr. Quimby shook his head, plopping in his spot. “One night taking care of her and the boy went insane. We knew she’d do it one day.” He eyed them, now on the floor laughing hysterically. It was contagious, because Jen started to giggle and was joined by Michael. Pretty soon, Scott was involved. Dr. Quimby, ever in control, shook his head, ignoring them as he opened his paper.

  They were still at it when dinner arrived. Sighing, Dr. Quimby took care of business and brought the delivery into the kitchen. “Okay, that’s enough. Dinner is here.”

  “I’m not hungry, Daddy,” Sam panted, lying on her brother’s stomach.

  “You’re eating. No arguments. All of you, get up and wash your hands. Scott, what’s gotten into you?”

  “I have no idea. I couldn’t control it when it hit.” Scott wiped his eyes, getting off the floor and pulling Rich to his feet. He again slapped him upside the head.

  “OW! What was that for?”

  “To remind you not to be a smart ass. Get them up and come into the dining room,” Scott ordered, regaining his composure.

  “That hurt. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard and so long,” Jen complained, holding her stomach. “I almost peed myself.”