Page 65 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
At least, not until he knew what had happened.
“Kassein?”
He immediately turned his eyes to her. Alezya looked hesitant, so he tried to wait and let her speak. She glanced around, clearly trying to think. Was she trying to remember a word she’d learned from him?
“Water,” she finally spurted out in his language.
“You want water?” he asked, grabbing the pitcher.
But she glanced at it and shook her head, looking around again. She pointed at the fire, the pitcher, and then to herself. Kassein was slightly confused, trying to put the pieces together. Then, she glanced around again, but she visibly couldn’t find what she wanted. The charade was growing frustrating for both of them. But she got his attention again and rubbed her skin. That’s when Kassein understood.
“A bath? You want to bathe?” he asked.
Of course, there was no way for either of them to be sure, but he realized what she’d been looking for. He put the pitcher back down and stood up, going to find the little basket with the soaps. He pulled one out and brought it to her.
Much to his relief, Alezya’s eyes lit up, and she nodded. She wanted to bathe, which wasn’t surprising, given her state. She’d been found covered in sleet and blood, carried around in a dragon’s dirty claws, and spent most of the night sweating a lot. Kassein gave her a nod, leaving the soap with her, and walked out to order a bath to be brought to his tent.
“Bath,” Alezya repeated to herself as he returned, trying to memorize the word.
Kassein smiled, not saying anything, and he took the bowl again, helping her finish breakfast while waiting for the bath to be brought. This time, he didn’t personally carry it into the tent;three men from Dajan’s unit did it. They came, put the basin full of hot water down, and left just as quickly, trying hard not to stare or let their eyes linger.
Coincidentally, another man brought over the new outfit for Alezya, as Tievin had mentioned. Another coat had most likely been taken from the Grand Intendant’s collection; he was the only one wearing such thick and fancy coats in the whole camp, while most soldiers had to make do with capes over their armor and thick layers underneath.
As she was impatient to get herself cleaned, Kassein helped Alezya up, but it got him more worried. She could barely stand on her own, and her arms were still weak and most likely painful. Once she stood next to the large basin, he hesitated. Could he leave her to bathe on her own?
“Kassein?”
She gave him that look, that she was clearly waiting for him to leave to undress, like before. He hesitated, but he had a feeling he shouldn’t go away, not when she was in this state.
After a couple of seconds, he sighed and took off his armor, leaving it next to the bed, and went to sit facing the door. He wasn’t leaving, but he clearly wasn’t intending on peeking. He sat with his legs crossed, hands on his knees, waiting. For a couple of seconds, he didn’t hear her move, and he guessed she was surprised he didn’t leave. But he couldn’t. She may not like him being there while she was bathing, but in her state, he didn’t feel safe to let her bathe alone, and there was no one else he could trust with this. It took a little longer, but finally, she let out a faint sigh and began undressing.
Kassein had underestimated his own reactions. He’d seen her naked before, so he didn’t think he’d get tense when he was not seeing her naked body, but he’d been wrong. He could hear the sounds of fabric coming off her body and falling to the floor; it was strangely more enticing than anticipated. He could hearher breathing, the light sounds she made, and exactly when she entered the water. Knowing that she was naked, right behind him, made him feel strange, tense, and bothered.
He silently got mad at himself and the poor control of his own emotions. It became harder not to turn around when he heard her hiss faintly. She had a few open cuts that would sting upon meeting the hot water. Still, he anchored himself to the ground and waited. After a few more seconds, he heard her sigh. The hot water had to be a relief for her sore body. Now that he knew she was seated in the basin, it became easier for him to breathe, although his heartbeat wouldn’t stay steady.
Perhaps because of the hot water, the room felt hotter and steamier. He forced himself to stare at the entrance and focus his thoughts elsewhere too.
“Ah!”
He turned around at Alezya’s shout, worried. He caught her with her arm hanging mid-air, seemingly having dropped the soap. Her fingers were having difficulty holding on to it, or so he guessed.
Their eyes met, and although her body was still submerged in the water with the basin covering it from Kassein’s eyes, she blushed helplessly and covered her chest. Kassein sighed. He had to do something about this, or else this would take hours, and for his own sanity, he probably shouldn’t endure that.
He stood up, despite Alezya giving him that defying stare again. It made him smile. She had that expression of a defiant, cornered feline again. He didn’t linger though and walked around the place to find some of the clean bandages meant for her injuries. To her surprise, he used it to cover his eyes, and just two layers were enough for him not to see anything anymore.
He put down the bandages, and using his spatial memory of the tent, walked up to the bath. His knees hit it first, and he got down, finding the soap quickly. Then, he took a deep breath, andput his hand in the water, almost immediately touching Alezya’s skin. Both stopped moving.
He wished he could see her expression at this moment. He heard her breathing a bit louder, but she didn’t move. Slowly, he began moving the soap along her skin. He couldn’t see her injuries, so he deliberately moved slowly. Was he the only one with that strange clenching down in his stomach?
It was nerve-wracking and made him ridiculously tense when he wished he was cool-headed and composed. She moved, and he resumed washing her, guessing he was on her back. He could hear her move a bit in the water, while he made mechanical movements, having to guess which part he was touching. Although he couldn’t see it, his fingers brushing against her skin, making him guess the curves he’d only caught a glimpse of before, was akin to torture. He had a hard time thinking straight, mentally forcing himself to stay calm and keep stroking her skin with the wet soap. Alezya being so silent made it impossible to guess her emotions.
He heard her breathing, her motions in the water, and felt her move just an inch or less away from his hands. Everything she did kept him on his toes, and he was nervous to hear or feel more. The prospect of her being naked, just there where he could touch her, was a lot more complicated and hard to endure than he’d anticipated. He was no child; he was a man with the reactions of a man, and Alezya was easily stirring up those emotions in him, making him feel like a clueless, awkward fool.
“K-Kassein...”
He realized they were done. He dropped the soap in the water, stood up, and retreated away from her. He ripped the bandages off his eyes one second before walking out of the tent.
The cold air hit him like he’d burst a bubble and stepped back into reality. He glanced around, his eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness and ignoring the surprised looks of the menwho’d been guarding the tent. His heartbeat was still going miles a minute, despite forcing himself to slow his breathing and calm down. He stood there, ignoring the confused stares on him, glancing around the camp like a hawk looking for prey to attack. None of the nearby men dared to utter a word, and quietly stayed focused on their tasks. It had been a night of heavy snow, and a cold, frosty blizzard had begun, so they were busy, most shoveling the paths from one camp area to another. He glanced up, but there was still no sign of his dragon amongst the clouds, and if he did return, he’d be hard to spot in the now gray sky.
