Page 6 of Grounded By Love
Working in the garden relaxed her jumpy nerves. She loved to coax the plants to grow with her careful touch. It was the same care she gave to all her patients, even if the villagers wouldn’t have anything to do with her unless they were sick or hurt.
Claira was about to tend to the carrots, when she heard a crash come from her cottage. Bolting upright, she wiped her hands on her apron and ran to check up on the rock giant. She was afraid of what she might end up finding. Had Robert come back to her cottage, when she wasn’t looking?
As she entered the cottage, she found the rock giant on the floor. The giant must have rolled over in his sleep and right off the side of the bed.
Claira had let up on the tea, but she doubted it was low enough for him to be able to move. The dose she was giving him was still quite strong. Clearly, the rock giant was going to need a little more tea to keep him on the bed and immobile.
His breathing signaled he was semi-awake, so she went to her chair to wait. She wouldn’t be able to help him back onto the bed, until he dosed off. She didn’t want to be near him when he could lash out at her.
Once he drifted off, Claira approached and pulled him back onto the bed.
A few more days passed, and Claira made a couple trips into the village to take care of some of the injured men. She found herself feeling self-conscious and wondered if anyone suspected her of harboring a rock giant.
She needed to get the rock giant treated and out of her cottage quickly, before she started acting insane.
But the villagers treated her the same way they had before, with indifference. She eventually was able to get into her routine without feeling like everyone knew her secret. Maybe she was feeling a bit guilty for assisting the “enemy”, but she couldn’t resist.
When she came back to her cottage, Claira decided it was time for her to change the rock giant's bandage and give him yet another sponge bath. She was slightly excited about the prospect of seeing his naked skin again.
She put a hand to her head. What was she doing? She was daydreaming about an injured man! Once he was healed and out of her cottage, then she could think about his body.
As she entered the cottage, she looked towards the rock giant. He was still in her bed. Thank the heavens. Claira didn’t want to lug him back onto her bed again. He weighed so much, and she wasn’t strong.
She adjusted the healing bag she had over her shoulder, closed the door, and then went to place it on top of her chest of herbs. Time to take care of her rock giant.
Grabbing a pail of warm water and a couple towels she bent down on her knees next to the bed. She inhaled his scent. It was so masculine and tantalizing to her. Was she really lonely enough she would turn to an injured rock giant?
Flipping the blanket off his chest and down to his waist she admired the rock hard planes of his chest and abs.
What was she doing? Fantasizing about a hurt rock giant? She was clearly getting desperate to find someone to love her.
Robert loved her, but he just wasn’t the right man. She could feel it in her bones.
Shaking her head, she got down to business. Taking a wet cloth, she washed his face, down his neck, over his chest, and abdomen.
Claira prayed he’d live. She would love to see him walking out of the cottage on his own two feet. It would be quite the scene to behold. She smiled down at him, as she hummed while she worked.
After she finished with his lower half, she made sure not to expose his private parts. He would be the one to wash down there, when he recovered enough to do so. She didn’t feel comfortable with her feelings. It felt awkward to wash him down there, when she was fantasizing about him.
Claira heated up some broth for him. Gently, she lifted his head and spoon-fed him the warm broth.
Kaeldar had grown used to the tender care of the human female. It still bewildered him why she was taking such great care with him. Perhaps she was a simple minded female who didn’t realize he was a rock giant.
He was able to tell she was drugging him though. With the attention she had been giving him, he should have been well enough to move around. Yet, he found his limbs frozen in place, no matter how hard he strived.
She’d let up on the drug for a while, but when he’d thrown himself off the bed, she re-drugged him. So in a way, it was his own fault that he wasn’t able to move.
When she gave him a sponge bath, he loved the warm trail of water she left on his skin. He’d been in the forest soaked to the bone thinking he would die of hypothermia. Now he had a beautiful human female washing his naked body. He’d seen a few glimpses of her through his drugged state, and he liked what he’d seen.
If she hadn't drugged him, he knew he would’ve had the hardest cock in the lands. Her sponge dipped close to the apex of his thighs, as she kept washing. She was such a tease.
He watched her with a half lidded gaze, as she poured something into a bowl. His stomach growled at him, but he was unable to tell her of his hunger. His mouth wouldn’t move, and he found it beyond frustrating.
Kaeldar wasn’t used to being immobile. Vulnerable didn’t even begin to describe how he felt. He was a warrior. He was trained to always have the upper hand, and now he didn’t.
Then she made her way over to sit by him. Her arm snaked under his head and lifted him up. The trickle of warm soup entered his eager mouth. The taste was delightful. He would take anything she gave him, no matter what it was. Everything that went into his mouth would make him stronger.
While she spoon-fed him, Kaeldar wondered again why she was taking care of him. Did she live alone or in a village? Was she healing him so her fellow humans could just interrogate him?
