Page 50 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Mind

Dalhu had no idea how northern people kissed and if it involved rubbing noses.

"What's not going to work?"

"You are not going to trick me into pledging myself to you right here, in our bedroom. If you want to hear my pledge, you will have to stand by my side at the altar and let my mother join us."

"Worth it." He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.

Dagor

During the mad rush up to the meeting point, dust had been flying everywhere as Jin navigated the rough dirt roads, but after Bridget had patched Frankie and Luis up, she drove the rest of the way at a much slower pace.

When they reached the dock, two Guardians waited for them at the gangway with a gurney for Frankie, but since there was no room to maneuver in the truck, Dagor lifted her in his arms while Negal held up the IV bag to keep the transfusion going.

As he laid her down on the gurney, one of the Guardians started pushing it, but Dagor stopped him. "Thank you, but I'll take her."

"No, you won't." Bridget gave him a stern look. "Go to your cabin, wash the dirt off, and then come to the clinic."

"I'm not leaving her side."

"She's not in critical condition, but she is human, and I don't want any bacteria that might be clinging to your clothing or body to infect her. Scrub yourself clean, and then come to see her."

Dagor was shirtless because he had used his shirt to stem the blood flow, but the doctor was right about him being covered in dirt and blood.

He looked at Frankie, who was just as dirty as he was. The doctor had cut off her T-shirt, so the only thing covering her was Negal's shirt, leaving him bare chested as well, and his shirt was just as dirty as everything else they had on.

"What about Frankie? She's dirty too."

"The nurse is waiting for her, and she will clean her up."

He didn't know that they had a nurse on board, but he wasn't going to stand there asking questions and delay Frankie's arrival at the clinic.

"I'll be there in five minutes," he told the doctor and started sprinting for the elevator to the upper floors.

From his previous visit to the clinic, Dagor knew that the doctor would take Frankie in the service elevator to the lower deck where it was located. Otherwise, he would have taken the stairs to the top deck even though it would have taken him longer.

When he burst through the door, he was glad that Aru and Gabi weren't in the cabin and thanked the Fates for the small mercy.

He didn't have time to explain.

After a rushed but thorough shower, he threw on clean clothes and ran out of the place.

People jumped out of his way as he sprinted toward the elevator with his god-like speed, and as he stepped in, no one followed him inside.

Thankfully there was no one in the elevator, and as he pressed the button for the clinic level, he prayed that no one called it on the way.

Of course, the Fates couldn't be that merciful, and when the elevator stopped on the second deck, he lifted his hand to stop the people who wanted to come in and pressed the button to close the doors.

He should have taken the stairs.

Running ten floors down would have taken longer than the elevator ride, but not if the damn thing stopped on the way. Besides, it would have saved him the aggravation of having to deal with people when his nerves were frayed, and his patience was stretched to its limit.

When he burst through the clinic door, he was greeted by a female who appeared to be the nurse, even though she wasn't wearing the right apparel.

"Hi, Dagor." She smiled at him. "I'm Hildegard, and I was just about to wash Frankie. You can wait here if you wish."

"Can I be there while you do it? We are a couple, and I know she wouldn't mind me seeing her nude."

Hildegard hesitated momentarily, but the frazzled look in his eyes must have touched her heart because she nodded. "Bridget will have my head for this, but I'm sympathetic to what bonded mates go through when their partners are hurting."