Chapter 35: Isabella’s Bet

Isabella and I talked most of the morning, until Carina called us to lunch. After a rough night and the excitement of the early morning, I knew I needed a nap if I was going to stand watch early tomorrow. So, I begged a bed from Archara and headed down to their cabin. Closing the blackout curtains to make it really dark and cranking down the A/C to make it really cool, I climbed under the covers and went to sleep.

I missed dinner. Not unheard of, but certainly a rare occurrence for me. However, Carina had decided I needed rest. Besides, when I finally woke up around midnight, Isabella went to the galley and whipped me up a plate of tacos. Then sat down across the table from me to watch me eat.

“So, did you sleep well?” Isabella asked.

“These are great!” I mumbled with my mouth full. “Let me finish and we will talk, okay?”

Finally, after finishing off the third taco, I said, “I slept very well, thank you. And thanks for the tacos. They were fantastic!”

“My brothers and sisters always like it when I fixed tacos at home,” she said. “Although there, we mostly used fish instead of beef.”

“Anything exciting happen while I was out?” I asked flippantly.

“I talked with Mischa and Anna most of the afternoon, then Vivienne and Charlotte joined us. Most of the conversation was about you.”

“Oh-oh! Do I want to know?” I asked her.

“I heard all about you fucking Anna’s poor little behind ... Twice! And then they told me about you spanking them, and what they had done to earn it. And Mischa said that you healed her bottom but didn’t fuck it.”

“All the high points, I see.”

“Daniel, you don’t have to tell me. In fact, if I was in your shoes I’d run far away from me, but I’m curious ... how do you heal people?”

“Are you asking for Isabella? Or for the Foundation?”

Oh, this is definitely for me, but I still work for the Foundation, so the lines are a little blurry.”

“Then place your hand in mine and tell me what’s wrong.”

When she placed her hand in mine, I began drawing signs in the air over it with my other hand.

“Wait! What are you doing?” she asked as she pulled back her hand.

“Oh, I was placing a curse on you that if you told the Foundation, your hand would shrivel up and fall off.”

“Daniel! That’s horrible! You’d make me lose my hand...”

I was laughing too hard to talk. She smacked me on the arm and then started laughing too.

I took her hand back and raised it to my lips, bowing to kiss the center of her upturned palm. That caused her to giggle and then sigh.

“So, you going to tell me what’s wrong?” I asked.

“After all the wonderful things you’ve done for people, you’re going to think I’m silly.

I continued to hold her hand, palm up, in mine as I told her, “Why not let me be the judge of that. After all, I might need a good laugh.”

“Quit teasing me. I’m serious!”

“And I’m Daniel. So, tell me already!”

Well ... ah, when I was going through one of the training exercises, I fell and hurt my spine almost at my tailbone. The doctors thought it would eventually heal, so they never operated. However, it’s been over a year and still, whenever I lie on my back, the pressure on my tailbone causes it to hurt.”

“Does it keep you from sleeping?”

No, I pretty much sleep on my side so it won’t hurt.”

“Then just don’t lay on your back,” I told her. I had already figured it out and was almost finished healing her. But she was so embarrassed that she failed to even look at the glow on my hands.

“That’s just it ... Oh-my-god, this is so embarrassing! Every time I try to have sex, the pain on my back is excruciating!”

“Have you tried other positions?” I asked. Her healing was complete, and she still hadn’t noticed.

“I think I’ve tried them all!” she said.

“Well, I’ve got a copy of Vātsyāyana’s Kama Sutra in my bag. Let’s go to a stateroom and see if you’ve really tried them all,” I told her playfully.

That’s when she figured out I was teasing her.

“But you really don’t understand how painful it is! Or how embarrassing it is to have sex for the first time with someone without being able to see their eyes,” she groaned.

“Probably not. Why don’t you show me?” I asked.

“Quit teasing me!” she said, slapping me playfully on the shoulder. “It really is awkward and takes a lot out of the act for me.”

“If I could show you a way to make love while looking into your lover’s eyes without hurting, would you be interested?”