“Take her where?” When Ray didn’t answer, he turned to him. The man’s face was bright red and he wasn’t looking at him. “Ray, take her where?”
“Sexually. He said…Christ, the things I do for you. You’ve never let her have you, not since the first time.” He asked him what he meant. “Are you using condoms? Have you bitten her yet? She bitten you?”
“You know that we haven’t. I didn’t want her to be mated to me or whatever it is. Now…well, now it’s too late.” He turned back to Kari. “Just go away please. There has been no change in her and they don’t expect her to live.”
“You’re going to let her die.” Steele turned and stood up. “You’ll fight me for her, but you won’t do the one thing she needs from you. Her cat is dying. That’s what this is. Not the infection, not her being underweight. Her cat is starved for you. Until you let her have you, all of you, she’s going to continue to starve her, her cat will, until they’re both dead.”
“And how the hell do I have sex with her now? Just jump up on the bed and fuck her until she’s better?” Steele wiped at the tears that had been flowing for days. “I can’t help her if there is no way for me to.”
“There are other ways than just intercourse.” Steele felt his own face flush with that. “Yeah, I can see you know what I mean. That’s what she needs. Sex from you. And if you don’t do it soon, all is lost. The cat will take her with her.”
Steele looked at Kari, his Kari, and wondered if this would work. He’d been nothing but a selfish bastard to her, and now he was going to have to have unprotected sex with her, after having oral sex with her to make her live. It was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard.
“How do you propose that I do this? And I don’t mean details. I can work that part out. But she’s unconscious, in case you didn’t notice.” When Ray didn’t answer him, he was almost afraid to look again. When he did, Ray was watching Kari.
“She needs this from you. Then when she’s awake—and she will wake the moment you take her into you—she will need for you to empty yourself inside of her.” Ray flushed brightly again. “I swear to Christ, if you tell anyone that I had this conversation with you, I’ll never forgive you.”
“I won’t.” Steele sat down again and tried to think. Oral sex with a woman who was dying. Christ, if anyone found out, he’d be dead.
Ray left him a little after noon. When the nurse came in to give Kari a sponge bath, he started to leave. Then he asked if it was possible for him to do it.
“Give her a bath?” He nodded. “I suppose so. I’ve never had a person ask me for that before.” She told him she’d be back, and he had an idea she was going to run it by her boss. He could almost see the headlines now. Billionaire rapes woman in hospital. But when she returned, she had a large sponge and a few towels.
It took her an hour to set it all up. She showed him how warm the water was to be and what to do with the linens when he was finished. His heart was pounding when she turned to him again.
“You’re a wonderful husband for doing this for her. If she were awake, she’d tell you that too.” After she left him, he walked over to the door and locked it. He’d asked her if that would be all right and she nodded at him sadly. As much as he hated to do this, he was getting really excited to have his Kari back.
The first thing he did was take off his shirt. He had no idea why he needed to do that, but it seemed surreal enough with what he was about to do. Then he took off the sheets and blankets. As she lay there, he started having second thoughts. Then thirds and fourths. But he had to try.
The gown gave him more problems than he’d thought it would. He tried to pull it over her head and realized that it was tied on her. Then when he’d gotten it off of her, he was startled by how…nude she was. And so thin.
“I’m going to talk to you while I do this.” He dipped the sponge in the water. “It will feel more like you’re here, and I’m not some pervert having sex with you while you’re out.”
She didn’t move when he rubbed the wet sponge over her hand. Then he moved it up her arm to her neck and wiped there. She tilted her head slightly, and he had an overwhelming urge to bite her.
Burying his face between her chin and shoulder, he licked the warming flesh. She tasted delicious and he found that he wanted more. Nipping gently at her, he lifted his head when he heard a sound. He thought that she’d moaned.
“It would be so much easier if you were awake.” He felt stupid for saying that and told her he was sorry. “What I should have said was that I should have bitten you earlier. Drank from you.”