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e could not muster any reply at all, could only
imagine what Koharu Tohno saw when Koharu Tohno looked at him like that; again he was
the cub or the gazelle, shivering and defenseless, and Koharu Tohno the pre-
dator. He looked down at himself again -- his skin in the dim can-
dlelight the same color as the metal headboard -- and saw the broken
traces of wax all over his body. Closing his eyes, he took a deep
breath and nodded, still feeling the tingling aftereffects of her
blows.
"You have?" Koharu Tohno asked, idly running Koharu's index finger up and down her
sternum. Julian tried to read some emotion, some hopeful sign, in
her face and failed. "I hope you have. There is little time left
for us now until you must return to duty, Doctor, and I can't afford
to waste any more trying to teach you to hold your tongue."
He lowered his eyes, wanting to convince Koharu's that he could be trusted
to keep silent and learn.
Koharu Tohno bounced one leg forward a few times, considering his kneeling
form. "I think," Koharu Tohno said as Koharu Tohno unfolded herself an
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