That was the reason Ray had followed the woman home, but the way her hands dressed his wound was so familiar. She can’t be a commoner. Maybe she is a doctor by profession? he presumed.
His doubt and fascination twined in a dance of confusion through his thoughts.
Ahel’s hands slowly stopped working at the man’s question. She managed to cover her hesitation by pretending she was finished disinfecting the area. She quickly flexed her fingers and picked up the first-aid kit to continue ministering to him. The motion followed naturally enough that she was able to hide her irritation without a problem. “I am an orphan. My parents are dead. Any kind of work is enough for a child trying to survive alone. I’ve worked at a hospital before,” she said in a calm voice, spinning an excuse that sounded very believable.
In truth, what made Ahel so good at treating injuries was because she used to tend to the wounds of assassins. It had been then that the assassins’ guild had turned into a makeshift hospital
No good will come from telling the truth, Ahel thought and hoped that the man would be fooled by her lie.
As she pulled open the first-aid kit and started applying ointment to his wound, she glanced down at him. He was slowly nodding his head, obviously convinced by her excuse.
“I see,” he said.
Thank goodness. Ahel silently sighed in relief.
Once she had finished putting the ointment on the wound, she wrapped the area with a bandage to protect it. “All done,” she said as she reorganized the first-aid kit and then stood up.
Ray remained seated in front of her with his back to her. Even though his torso was a patchwork of bandages, his well-defined muscles kept drawing her attention. He had the most gorgeous physique she had ever seen, even better than a professionally trained assassin.
Ahel looked away as a blush crept into her cheeks, but she couldn’t help but think that each muscle looked like it had been purposely chiselled by the most skilled sculptor. I wonder if I have any clothes that will fit a body like his.
She was just about to go and search through the garments in her closet, when she felt a soft tug on her wrist. She looked down at the man. He was still sitting with his back to her, but he had turned his head and was looking up at her with calm green eyes.
When she tilted her head in question, he said, “I would like to stay here for a few days.”
“In my house?” Ahel had only brought him here to dress his wound, she had never thought he would want to stay with her.
She pursed her lips as she fell into deep thought. It would only be a few days, the man had said so himself, and he was injured. Surely it couldn’t hurt. She was certain he wouldn’t steal anything, and if he did, all Ahel would have to do was use what she had learned at Pelander’s Assassination Guild.
I only have one room. He can just sleep on the sofa. She studied him as she thought this. From his incredible physical size, it was obvious that he would be uncomfortable on the small sofa. With him here, I won’t be able to go out at night and help the guild. She didn’t know enough about him to want to comfortably leave him alone in her house at night. And she had no way of finding out anything more about him to make a more educated judgement.
With her mind made up, she lowered her head to speak to him, “Fine. But only because you’re injured. How long do you think you’ll stay?”
“Hard to say. Could be a few days, could be one night. But regardless… Thank you,” the man said with a smile and held out his hand to her.
Ahel tilted her head in confusion as she stared down at his large, proffered hand. She didn’t know what he wanted her to do.
The man’s smile deepened. “I know it’s only going to be a few days, but I think we should at least introduce ourselves. My name is Ray.”
It was the first time Ahel had seen him smile. It turned his expressionless, predatory guise into a warm, gentle look.
For a moment, all Ahel could do was stare at Ray’s beautiful face. Then slowly, she reached out and shook his hand. Compared to her small, delicate hand, his was large and rough with callouses. “I am Ahelissa. You can call me Ahel for short.”
“I promise I will not disturb you during my stay, Ahel. Before I leave, I will give you compensation to show my gratitude for letting me stay here at such short notice.”
“Sounds fine to me.” Because Ray had offered to pay her back, Ahel could now begin to guess at his identity. Is he an aristocrat?
It wasn’t just his offer of compensation that made her think that; it was also the fine quality of his clothes, and the way he spoke. It was as if he was speaking to one of his subordinates. With her rather accurate conclusion drawn, Ahel took a step back to get the first-aid kit. But her leg suddenly cramped, and she tumbled over with a shriek. Her legs must have been tired from climbing the hill with a man who was so much taller than she was.
Ahel closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow to her head when she hit the floor, but it never came. Instead, she felt a great force hug her around the waist and hold her steady. Instead of hitting the ground, a rather embarrassing situation ensued.
Now that she was no longer in danger of falling and bashing her head, Ahel managed to gather her wits enough to realise she was leaning against something rock solid. It wasn’t a wall; she very quickly figured that out. If it were a wall, it would have been cold, and rough against her back; this was warm.