Page 12 of The VaDorok's Unexpected Mate
Kull glanced back at her over his shoulder, and his expression briefly warmed, his eyes brightening with his amusement. “It is impressive, is it not? I believe I have the best bathing chamber in the tribe. I carved most of this myself, though Torok assisted me with some of the work along the base for the plumbing system to transport the water from here and distribute it further from the caverns with the rest of the waste from the den.”
She nodded thoughtfully, recalling the simple foot-push lever on the VaDorok version of a toilet that Kull had introduced her to. There was no toilet in this room, however. The entire room appeared to be built strictly for bathing and had an almost luxurious feel to it with the way the stone appeared to be smoothed and buffed to a warm gleam.
“So, when you said that you acquired a bath—” she began but Kull turned and opened a panel on the wall next to where he stood, revealing what appeared to be some sort of water heating system.
“The bath,” he said, gesturing to it.
Angling his body to provide her with a better view, he placed his finger on a button and pressed it. Water spurted from numerous holes along the inside of the tub that she hadn’t noticed at first.
“Check the water to see if the temperature is comfortable for you,” he instructed. “I can adjust it before programming it in for you.”
Katie nodded and crouched at the edge of the basin. Leaning down, she skimmed her fingers through the water pouring from the side. “A little warmer,” she instructed and smiled as it gradually began to warm. “There, that is the perfect temperature.”
Kull grunted in acknowledgment, and she looked over at him as he pressed another button to the lower right of it. He glanced back at her and tapped his claw on it. “Push this when you push the fill button, and it will give you the programmed water setting. To the right of the fill button is the stop fill, and to the left is to drain the tub.”
She nodded. That wasn’t going to be difficult to remember as the fill button was bright red. She wondered what all the other buttons did, but she could experiment with them later since it seemed that Kull was eager to leave since he was already heading for the door.
“There are bottles for cleansing beside the tub. I will leave you to your bath,” he said, without looking back at her as he ducked back through the curtained doorway.
She stared at the fur for a long moment, half-expecting him to return because he had forgotten something. But he did not. Instead, she heard him calling out to Ren that he was leaving to hunt. It seemed that she wasn’t going to get any kind of goodbye. Katie shrugged. It was just as well. It wasn’t like they were a real couple, and Ren would probably have assumed that he saidfarewell to her before leaving her to her bath. There were more important things at hand... like the tub filling with hot water.
Inching her way to the bottles and jars that Kull had mentioned, she began to sniff their contents and poured a small amount of one into the water. She smiled as a slightly floral, herby scent filled the steamy air. After several minutes passed, and once the tub was full enough, she turned off the water and began to quickly shuck off her clothes. She moaned aloud as she sank into the fragrant hot water.
She knew exactly what she was going to do while Kull was out hunting. She was going to see just how much of the day she could spend pruning. After so long without a proper bath, she wasn’t in any hurry to leave it.
Chapter 10
Kull shook the snow from his fur as he entered the den, the warmth of the fire in the hearth rapidly drying his fur. Ren sat in his accustomed spot on the fur in front of the fire, fashioning beads with his small metal file. He glanced up at Kull sourly as he entered but refocused on his work, his mouth tightening with displeasure when he remained standing expectantly at his side.
Kull sighed. This again. The younger male had worn the same look the previous day when he had returned, but he had thought nothing of it since it had been the first day that Katie had truly inhabited the den.
“How is Katie?” he prodded. “Is she settling in comfortably enough?”
Ren shrugged as he continued to methodically work. “If by ‘settling in’ you mean has she been trying to stew herself in the bathing chamber on a daily basis... then yes.”
Kull frowned. “That does not sound healthy. She has no protective fur or thick enough skin to sustain being constantly wet. Did she appear okay after she emerged today? Did she appear disturbed by something?”
Perhaps it was a reaction to something that the Agraak had done to her. His fingers curled inward, his hands fisting with his anger that those males had harmed her so terribly that she was obsessively cleansing herself to such a degree.
Another shrug. “That is something that would be her problem, not mine. It may just be a human thing, for all I know, to inconveniently take over the bathing chamber, regardless of whom it may inconvenience. I would not have cared to look closely enough to notice either way. Or to ask her about it.”
Kull frowned. “You can muster the attention to notice she is doing something that annoys you or inconveniences you, but not enough compassion to ascertain whether or not she is well?”
“I did not ask for her to be here,” Ren muttered. “Why should I care? It is enough that I am here tending to the welfare of a female that I did not invite. It is bad enough that I have to watch her cling to you when you are home.”
“You did not,” Kull agreed. “I appreciate what you are doing, but I am not asking you to entertain her or go out of your way to do anything for her. Just make sure that she is well. As for clinging—” he shook his head in disbelief. Katie only touched him when it was entirely accidental. It was to the point that the ulukskinon was aching with the need for it. “You cannot describe her as clinging.”
Ren’s lips twisted in a disgusted look that the male wore all too frequently over the last couple of days. “Maybe not physically, but she is too demanding and needy. Why do you even want a pleasure-mate, anyway? Females always expect too much,” he grumbled.
“It seems that you are not just speaking of Katie,” Kull observed.
“It does not matter. Your female is weak, and the females of the tribe are demanding. Even Mother Zalla will not let you have your peace, but at least we could escape it here. Before, our den was perfect. It would be better if she left and never came back.”
It seemed that things were as he had feared. It was natural for males to be territorial, but Ren’s hostility toward Katie just proved that he had reared the male to be too accustomed to their simple life far outside the tribe. It went beyond territory and straight into resistance to change and her presence as a female within the den.
“You do not get to decide that,” Kull growled. “My issues with Mother, aside, you do not get to bring judgement onevery female who breathes on Dorok just because their presence is inconvenient for you. I have had complaints about your aggressive and surly attitude during gatherings. In my opinion, being here with Katie is good for you. If it teaches you some respect for females, then I will consider being a worthwhile lesson for you.”
“Unlikely,” Ren grumbled.
