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repletion, every cell in her body had yearned toward him until it was all she could do to lie back down and not throw herself into his arms. She had a purpose, though, to guide her. She could draw him with sex, but holding him would require something more, something deeper than carnal weakness. All she had to do was withhold that something and wait for him to realize he wanted it. Then she would have him, even if it destroyed them both.
    For a moment, he looked like he might say more, but then he clamped his lips shut and scowled into his jaffha .
    Viera turned back to the stove, clutching her purpose like an anchor.
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    â€œI’m going to take Mai and the children back to the house this afternoon,” she told Inella. “See if there’s anything to be salvaged.”
    Inella forced a smile, a spoonful of sweetened porridge raised to her mouth. “I doubt there will be much. We’d already pawned nearly everything we had that was of any value. I’m sure thieves and looters will have taken the rest.”
    â€œStill…”
    Inella frowned. “Vin has a toy rabbit he sleeps with. A dirty, ragged thing my mother made out of scraps of cloth. I can’t imagine anyone else wanting it.”
    Viera smiled. “I’ll look for it.” She paused, choosing her next words with care. “While we’re gone, Aru is going to finish your healing.”
    Inella swallowed hard and set her spoon back in the bowl. Her eyes searched Viera’s face. “Will it hurt?”
    â€œNot at all,” Viera said softly, taking the bowl from Inella’s nerveless grasp and setting it aside as heat flooded into her cheeks. “Quite the opposite.”
    â€œWhat will he do?”
    Viera placed her hand on the sheet covering Inella’s belly, just above her mons. “He will place his hand here, and draw the energy from your womb into himself. With his other hand, he will guide that energy to mend your body. After, you will sleep for a long time. When you wake, you will be as fit and strong as before. Aside from a few scars, it will be as if you were never injured.”
    â€œWhat will it feel like?”
    Viera felt her cheeks grow even warmer. “Sublime. Delightful. It is the most sensual feeling I have ever experienced.” Not counting last night.
    Inella’s face paled. “Will he…?”
    â€œHe will not touch you other than necessary. But if you feel like touching yourself, you should do so. With every culmination of your body’s energy, more power will flow to his purpose.”
    â€œCulmination? I don’t… I have never…”
    â€œNever what? Never touched yourself?” At Inella’s sick look, understanding dawned on Viera. Never had an orgasm? It could not be. “But you were married.”
    Inella drew herself up. “Ned was always a respectful husband. He never did anything to hurt or embarrass me.”
    Or pleasure you, was Viera’s unspoken reply. She wondered what it must be like, to lie back and submit in a marriage bed that held no joy. The fact of Inella’s prostitution now seemed an appallingly profound act of self-sacrifice.
    â€œDon’t worry, my dear,” Viera said, squeezing her hand. “Your body will know what to do. And when it is done, you will understand why men willingly pay to slake their desires.”
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    Aru lay beneath his blankets and vowed to stay there, even if sleep did not come to him all night. In a darkness as pale as daylight to him, he listened to the soft, muffled sounds of her preparations for bed, the splash of water as she washed her face and hands, the rustling of fabric as she slid from her clothes and into her night-things. His manhood pulsed, hard and demanding, straining toward the door of her bedchamber, drawn to her as if by a lodestone.
    He would not go to her. He would not. He was strong enough to promise himself that much.
    He told himself again that she