New Blood

Kerri rolled her eyes at Reno's comment, but she was smiling.  “Good thing for me that you are hurt, then,” she said as she drew the covers over him.



“I never knew you were so heartless, Kerri.”  



“Oh, not wanting to be 'attacked' is heartless?” She was teasing, but Reno's eyes grew serious.



“I'd never attack you.  I'd never do anything you didn't want.”  He raised his uninjured arm and took her hand while she was still adjusting the bedclothes.  As always his touch sent a tremor of excitement through her body.  “You know that, right?”



Kerri was about to give him a flippant response when she looked at him.  It was the first time she hadn't seen a glint of humor in those aqua blue eyes, the first time he had looked totally sincere.  She felt a sensation like an electric shock low in her belly and gasped softly.  “Reno...” she whispered helplessly.



He saw her blue eyes darken with sudden desire, and his body naturally responded, his cock growing hard in spite of the pain he still felt from his injuries.  He pulled at her hand until she sat down on the edge of the bed, half leaning over him, her left arm braced on his other side.  “What do you want, Kerri?” he breathed.



She could neither answer nor look away from him, but she knew what she wanted at that instant.  To be laying in his arms as he kissed her into insanity, to feel his body pressed against hers, feel his hands touching her everywhere.  She couldn't say it, but Reno could see it in her eyes.  Without thinking, he  tried to raise his left arm to draw her down to him, and winced at the sudden flare of pain.  “Fuck,” he muttered.  Realizing he had hurt himself brought Kerri back to her senses, and she stood up as if the bed had suddenly caught on fire.



“You need your rest, Reno,” she said, trying and failing to control her trembling voice.  “I...I don't want you to reopen your wounds.”



Reluctantly he realized she was right.  As much as he wanted her, right now there was no way he could take her the way he wished to, with her lying beneath him moaning, even screaming in pleasure as he drove his cock into her.  The image shook him, and with something akin to astonishment, he realized that with her, he'd rather wait until the time was right, not just settle for quick gratification.  That's never happened before, he thought in amusement.  He looked at her, smiling.  “This doesn't mean you're off the hook, you know,” he said.



She started to reply, then her eyes fell on the large bulge that his thin shorts and the bedsheets did little to hide.  Something darker than mere desire, a wave of pure lust, washed over her, leaving her weak .  Reno followed the direction of her gaze and grinned quite unashamedly.  “Sorry, babe, you can't have it tonight.”  



Her face flamed, and she snatched the blanket she'd been using from the chair.  “I'm going to sleep on the couch,” she muttered, and fled.  The sound of Reno's laughter followed her.



Kerri flung herself down on Reno's futon, still feeling as if she were on fire, both from desire and embarrassment.  There was a bittersweet ache between her legs that she knew would make it difficult to get back to sleep, and it wasn't the first time he'd caused that ache.  “Damn you, Reno,” she murmured.  She sat up as she heard an impatient curse from the bedroom.  “What's wrong?” she called, afraid he'd hurt himself.



“I got shot in my good arm!” he yelled back.  “Dammit, I can't even jerk off!”



Kerri clapped a hand over her mouth, but it couldn't muffle her laughter.  She fell back onto the futon, helpless to contain her mirth.  “Heartless, fucking heartless!” she heard Reno yell, and laughed that much harder.



~=~=~=~=



Reno had given Rude a key to his apartment long ago, since he was prone to losing his own.  When there was no answer to his knock, he used it to let himself in.  Kerri was asleep on the couch, one arm thrown above her head.  There was no sound from Reno's bedroom, so Rude headed in to check on him.  The redhead was also asleep, looking much better than when Rude had left his place yesterday.  Satisfied that his partner was all right, he returned to the living room.  He went to Kerri, gently shook her shoulder to awaken her.  



She opened her eyes and blinked at him in confusion for a second, momentarily disoriented at waking up in a strange place.  “Good morning, Rude,” she said, and sat up, yawning.



“Good morning.  How was he last night?” Rude asked.



“Fine.  He woke up once and I helped him to the bathroom and gave him some more medicine.  Other than being in pain he seems fine.  No fever or anything.”  Rude saw that she was blushing for some reason, but knowing Reno, it was better not to ask why.



“Good,” Rude answered.  “The healer told you that his bandages should be changed daily, didn't he?”



“Yes, he did.  I was going to do that when he wakes up.”  Yeah, change his bandages.  The one on his thigh.  The one high up on his thigh.  That shouldn't be too nerve-wracking.  And after that, she could go out and kill a behemoth with a slingshot.  Piece of cake.



Rude nodded, taking his shades off for a moment to polish them on his coat.  Kerri felt sympathy for him when she saw the dark circles under his eyes that the glasses had hidden.  He must have been worried about Reno last night.  The two of them were as close as brothers, after all.  She laid a hand on his arm and said, “Don't worry, Rude.  He'll be fine.  I'll take care of him.”



“I know,” he answered, his eyes once again hidden behind the dark glasses.  “The healing potion should have him up and around in a few days.  That and his infernal stubbornness.” he finished.



Kerri laughed in agreement.  “You don't like seeing him hurt, do you, Rude?” she said.



He snorted.  “Not unless I did it,” he said, causing Kerri to laugh again.  “Well, I should be getting upstairs to the office, find out if there are any leads on who was responsible for an assassin going after the boss.  If you need anything at all, call one of us.”



“I will.  Thanks, Rude.”



“No problem.  Thank you,” he said, letting himself out of the apartment.  



Kerri got up to go check on Reno for herself, and found him the same way Rude had, still deeply asleep and looking, in Kerri's opinion, far too innocent.  But he did look better than he had yesterday, which was a relief.  Obviously the healing potion was working.  It didn't always unless it was taken right after receiving an injury.  The longer the wait, the longer it took to work, if it worked at all.  Reno had been lucky.  



Satisfied that he was all right, she went to his kitchen to see if she could find something to eat.  She rolled her eyes at the state of the room, though not surprised.  The sink was half full of dirty dishes, there were a few stains on the table and stove, and the garbage was full of empty beer cans and fast food wrappers.  All in all, though, it wasn't as bad as she'd expected from a bachelor.  A quick check of his fridge and cabinets revealed mostly snack foods and sweets, nothing suitable to eat for breakfast.  “It figures,” she said to herself. At least she did find coffee, and the coffeemaker, thankfully, was clean.  She made a pot, thinking he might want some when he awoke, and took her cup into the living room.  She'd finished half the cup when she heard Reno call out from the bedroom.



“Kerri?  You still here?”



She put down her cup on the coffee table and got up.  “Yes, I'm coming, Reno,” she called back.



“I wish, yo” she heard him say wickedly.



*****

The healing potion was indeed working.  Reno didn't have as hard a time getting to the bathroom this morning, though he still needed Kerri's help.  Afterwards he insisted on her helping him into the living room.  Kerri tried to persuade him otherwise, but after he declared he would only stay in bed if she got in with him, she decided to help him to the futon.  After he was settled and she'd given him his medicine, she left him for a little while to go to her apartment and pick up some clean clothes, toiletries, and most importantly, something to fix for breakfast.  



Reno was watching t.v., or at least flipping through the channels when she returned.  She laid her clothes and shampoo down on the chair in his living room before heading for the kitchen.  “I hope you like bacon and eggs, Reno,” she said.



“You're going to cook for me, too?  You're a much better babysitter than Rude,” he answered.



Kerri laughed.  “Don't flatter yourself.  I'm cooking for myself, not just you.  I'm starving.”



“You just can't let me have my moment of self-importance, can you, babe?”



“Your ego is quite big enough, Reno,” she told him, beginning to clean his kitchen before starting on breakfast.



=~=~=~=~=~



Reno's attention was entirely focused on the sound of the shower running.  He could imagine Kerri in there, the hot water streaming down her body, lathering the soap over herself, soaping her breasts, perhaps caressing the nipples with one hand while the other reached lower.  Stop it, she's doing no such thing! he said to himself, but once the image had popped into his head, he couldn't get rid of it.   He heard the water stop, and grabbed the blanket she'd left on the futon and pulled it over his lap.  She didn't need to know that just the thought of her naked was enough to get him hard.  



He whistled appreciatively when she came out.  Her hair was wet and tousled, making her look quite sexy, and she was wearing denim shorts and a simple blue blouse with a slightly scooped neckline.  “Nice legs, babe,” he commented, amused at how easily he could make her blush.  “Think there's any way I could get a shower?”



She sat down next to him and thought for a few moments.  “I don't think you can stay on your feet long enough for a shower.  Would you settle for a bath?”



“Would you wash my back?” he asked her, grinning, and pretended to cringe when she made as if to punch him in his injured shoulder.



“I'll run some water for you and help you in there.  After that you're on your own.” she told him.  “Just let me take your bandages off.”



“Take off anything you want,” he said.    



She rolled her eyes at him and went to his bedroom, returning with the bag containing the medicine and bandages.  She knelt on the floor beside his right leg and looked up at him.  “Can you scoot forward a little?”



If she knew what images were going through his mind right now, she'd likely throw him through a wall.  True, she wasn't between his legs, but she was still on her knees in front of him.  Close enough for his kinky mind to go into overdrive.  Idly he wondered if a constant erection could cause permanent damage.  But he did as she asked without comment, making sure to keep the blanket over his lap.  He almost groaned when he felt her hands on his leg, unwrapping the bandage gently.  Erotic thoughts were temporarily driven from his mind, however, when he felt a sudden sharp pain as she pulled the bandage off.  



“I'm sorry, Reno.  You must have started this one bleeding again last night when you got up.  It was stuck to the wound.”  She looked at him apologetically.  



When she stood and bent over to remove the bandage from his shoulder, Reno's arousal returned full force.  The loose neckline of her blouse gaped enough to reveal the tops of her firm breasts, the lace edging of her bra.  Reno couldn't have looked away if his life depended on it.  Kerri, intent on her task, was oblivious to the direction of his gaze.  Reno was severely disappointed when she finished with his shoulder.  Picking up the old bandages, she took them to the trash and went to run his bathwater.  Reno was left trying to make his hard on go down by picturing Rude naked.



He accomplished this before Kerri returned to help him into the bathroom.  He still had to put his arm over her for support, but he was able to place more weight on his injured leg.  At this rate he would be fine in a few more days.  He had to admit, though, that he would miss Kerri being here fussing over him.  Having her in his home was nice.  Surprised, he realized it was something he could get used to.  Especially if she ever agreed to share his bed.   



Before she left him, she said, “If you need me, just yell.  But if it's one of your jokes, I'll drown you.  Just to let you know.”



“Yes, boss,” he replied meekly.  Knowing she was still watching, he faced the tub and hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his shorts to push them down.  Kerri whirled and retreated toward the living room, but not quite quickly enough.  She sank down onto the futon, grateful that he couldn't see her blush.  God, but he had a nice ass!