Page 53 of Under His Skin

The bathtub was ginormous, which gave Alex hope they’d share a bath later. Baths were still his favorite thing to do with Tracht, and Tracht probably knew that too.

The entire bathroom was luxurious, really, with slick tile and a separate shower, two sinks, and even a separate vanity. Alex couldn’t imagine needing this much space, but he’d come to learn that rich people were weird.

“Strip,” Tracht ordered from the main room. “And get the tub filled.”

“Wait, already?” Alex looked out the door at Tracht in surprise. They didn’t normally start with the bath part, not unless Tracht was really exhausted.

Given all that had happened, maybe that really was the case. Alex quickly undressed, tossing the ugly suit into the corner, and hit the tap. On one of the sides stood a row of clearly labeled bottles; Alex poured some of the bubble soap in there and watched it foam up. There was a temperature dial too, which Alex set for Tracht’s preferred 43° Celsius.

“Can we get one of these on the ship?” Alex asked. “So the water never goes cold.”

“Don’t tempt me.” Tracht walked in, still mostly dressed in trousers and a shirt. Alex was miffed to notice that he’d removed his shoes already.

Whatever, they’d only been dress shoes, not Tracht’s usual boots.

“If I had a bath like that, I’d never get out.” Tracht tested the water, then lowered the temperature by a few degrees.

That was strange, but Alex wasn’t going to complain. He didn’t like the water to be as hot as Tracht did, anyway.

Alex went over to Tracht and put his hands on Tracht’s shirt, intending to help him undress, but Tracht grabbed his hands and pushed them aside. Before Alex could protest, though, Tracht pulled him into a kiss, deep and rough. After a full day out, Tracht’s jaw had the smallest layer of stubble on it, scratching against Alex’s cheek.

Alex groaned and gave into the kiss, tempted to pull his hands away and wrap them around Tracht, but figuring that if Tracht wanted Alex’s hands roaming he probably wouldn’t still be holding onto them. All Alex could do was wind his own tongue around Tracht’s, trying hard to make use of the piercing in any way. He barely even shuddered when Tracht moved on to biting on his lip.

And then Tracht pulled away. “All right, enough of that. Into the tub with you.”

Alex frowned at the sudden change of topic. He realized then that the tub was full, the bottom of it obscured by all the soap suds.

“What about you? You’re still dressed,” Alex said. He reached out again, and once again Tracht pushed his fingers away.

“I have something else in mind.” Tracht gave him a grin which set Alex on edge. It wasn’t the type of smile that boded well.

But… it was a bath. Alex couldn’t figure out how Tracht could possibly ruin a bath. So he stepped into the warm water, sighing at the blissful heat. That was actually really nice. And there was so much room, especially without Tracht. All of him could sink under the water and stretch comfortably.

“Normally I’d have you wash me, but today, since you were so wonderful on the stand, I thought I could return the favor.” Tracht pulled the bathing supplies closer to himself. He ended up sitting on the step leading up to the tub, with Alex’s head right against the edge.

“Wait, you’re gonna bathe me?” Alex watched, dumbfounded, as Tracht lifted up a small cup with water.

“I am. Sit forward a bit. We don’t want to spill the water. You especially don’t want to get me wet,” Tracht said.

That sounded like the catch. But as long as Alex cooperated and didn’t splash around, he’d be fine. Alex nodded and sat forward a bit, sighing happily as Tracht poured the water over his head.

Tracht did this a couple of times, until Alex’s hair was completely soaked, then Tracht actually pumped shampoo into his own hands and started massaging Alex’s scalp.

Alex couldn’t fucking believe it. This was better than when the hair stylists did it. Something about the fact that it was Tracht, being nice, his hands masterfully digging into Alex’s hair and not once pulling or scratching.

He couldn’t stop himself from groaning, and his uncaged dick plumped up fast. Alex wanted to reach down and at least cup himself, but he didn’t dare do anything that could piss Tracht off.

“All right. It says to let it sit for a few minutes. While it does that, why don’t you give me your hand?” Tracht dunked his own hands into the water to get the shampoo off them.

Alex eagerly raised up his hand.

“Good boy,” Tracht whispered. “What a very, very good boy you are.”

Fuck. Heat surged through Alex, and he could feel his cock jump. Tracht didn’t praise him a lot, not like this, and hearing those words always got to him. He couldn’t explain it. It was fucking stupid. He should hate being treated like a dog.

Thankfully Tracht didn’t say anything about Alex’s embarrassment. He took a washcloth, poured soap onto it, then grasped Alex’s hand. His thumb dug into Alex’s palm, but not uncomfortably. More like a massage.

Actually, that was exactly what it was. Tracht ran the washcloth over Alex’s skin, between each finger, lingering on the tips, and pressed down with just the right pressure. Alex groaned loudly and closed his eyes, trying to focus on those sensations.

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