Dark Princess: Shadows (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance #89)

12. Brandon

12

brANDON

B randon watched with fascination as Gertrude wheeled in what looked like a cross between exercise equipment and a medieval torture device. The gleaming metal contraption had straps, hinges, and a digital control panel that made him curious and also a little apprehensive.

"What is this thing?" he asked.

Smiling fondly, Gertrude patted the frame as if it was a cherished pet. "This is called a CPM machine. It provides immobile or recuperating patients with continuous passive motion. It helps prevent muscle atrophy and maintain joint flexibility in comatose patients." She began positioning the device near the foot of the bed. "Julian ordered it after his experience with Ell-rom's rehabilitation. The prince's muscles had atrophied completely during the long stasis, and even though his body did a remarkable job of rebuilding them, he still had a hard time recovering. Hopefully, this will help Morelle get on her feet much faster. Her body has had more time to fix the damage of the stasis, so her starting point will be better than Ell-rom's, and this machine will exercise her muscles to help her further along the way while she is still comatose."

Brandon hadn't known that a device like that was available, but then immortals had no need for such things.

"Is it going to stay on her all day?" he asked.

Gertrude chuckled. "That would be too much even for a half goddess, half Kra-ell. One hour at a time, three times a day."

He watched as the nurse adjusted the straps, noting how careful she was not to pull them too tight. "Is it painful?"

"Morelle can't feel a thing, but even if she could, the movement is very gentle." Gertrude pressed a few buttons on the control panel, and the machine hummed to life, slowly bending and straightening Morelle's knees. "See? It's basically like someone is helping her do very slow, controlled, basic movements."

Brandon pulled his chair closer, fascinated by the smooth mechanical motion. "It's amazing how much thought goes into caring for someone in such a state. I guess our medical staff had no experience with that before the twins' arrival."

Gertrude leaned against the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You are right, and it's true, not just for the twins. Now that we have humans living in the village, we need to expand our treatment capabilities." She glanced at the CPM machine doing its thing. "Julian also ordered a Pilates Reformer and tasked me with learning how to use it so I can help Morelle when she wakes up. When it gets here, I will need a volunteer to practice on." She looked at him expectantly.

As someone who had spent the majority of his time in the Hollywood crowd until recently, Brandon knew what a Pilates Reformer was and that it was a favorite among older actresses and some of the actors. It couldn't be too challenging if middle-aged women and men used it to stay in shape.

"I would gladly volunteer, but I think you will get more benefit from training one of the humans."

"Yeah, you are right." Gertrude sighed. "The thing is not built with immortal males in mind."

"Morelle might be very strong," he reminded the nurse. "She is half Kra-ell."

Gertrude shrugged. "Ell-rom was as weak as an old woman when he started his rehabilitation. I'm not worried about the princess breaking the Reformer. When she gets strong enough to do that, she will no longer need it."

Brandon's gaze drifted to Morelle's peaceful face. "I'm glad that Julian thought of those things to make her recovery easier than Ell-rom's."

"We live and learn, right?" Gertrude glanced at her watch.

"You don't have to stay here and monitor the device," he told her. "I'm here."

The nurse hesitated. "I'm supposed to watch her the entire time the CPM is working, but that's three hours out of my day. It would be a great help if you can do that for me."

"No problem. I'm here anyway."

A knowing smile played on her lips. "Actually, talking to the princess while the machine is working will make the treatment more effective. Patient engagement during passive therapy helps maintain neural pathways even if they can't actively respond."

"Really?"

Brandon was knowledgeable about many things, but science wasn't among them.

"Mhmm." Gertrude made one final adjustment to the machine. "It's the body-mind connection. Stimulating the body and the mind at the same time creates an amplified result. It's like a feedback loop. At least in theory. I didn't read any studies on the subject."

Gertrude continued talking about her need for continuing education, but Brandon remained stuck on what she'd said about stimulating the body and mind at the same time. Her words evoked images that were grossly inappropriate for this setting, and Brandon felt ashamed of entertaining such thoughts.

"I don't want to bore you with my chatter." Gertrude pushed away from the bed and headed for the door. "I'll be back in an hour. Let me know if anything seems off with the machine."

"I will."

After she left, Brandon tried to banish thoughts of all the ways he would one day stimulate Morelle's body while engaging her mind, but the harder he tried, the more vivid the images became.

He was cursed with a very vivid visual imagination, which made him a great movie producer, but was giving him a most inappropriate hard-on now.