I lingered in the dining hall, talking to the other gladiators until the cook kicked us out… which was becoming a regular occurrence. Adtovar alone walked me to my quarters, wishing me goodnight with his usual teasing smile.
As evenings went on this arid planet, it was a pleasant night. A few wispy clouds hung in the sky, turned into tufts of cotton candy by the dark pink moon. Still, it was clear enough that Charick could see clearly despite the darkness. He wouldn’t have gotten lost.
Where was he?
Why did his absence bother me so much?
I pushed the door open to my room, freezing at the sight of a large metal tub, scents reminiscent of eucalyptus and lavender wafting from the rising steam.
My breath escaped in a pleasured gasp, and I slapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a sound I was quite sure might have bordered on a squeal of excitement.
A bathtub.
Rusty metal and looking like it had seen better days, but an honest-to-God bathtub filled with water hot enough that fragrant steam rose from the surface.
I stood there gaping, too excited and stunned to move. Charick emerged from the bathroom carrying a thick towel. Hecaught my expression and grinned, dropping the towel onto the chair he’d pulled next to the tub before striding toward me.
“What? What is this?”
“I believe you humans call it a bathtub.” He smiled as he pulled over the chair, indicating that I should sit.
“Where did it come from?” I sat, my eyes following Charick as he knelt before me.
“I found it the other day when I was scouting potential escape routes.” His fingers went to the buckles on my boots, removing them with slow, gentle movements. “Cristox helped me carry it to the room. You said last night you were sore from training, and I noticed you limping today. The hot water should help ease your muscles.”
I remembered seeing Cristox coming into the dining hall later than usual. But not Charick.
“You skipped dinner to set this up for me?” I bit back a sigh as he pulled the boots from my feet, strong fingertips kneading the muscles of my calves.
“You are my mate. I would do anything to ease your discomfort.” He murmured, golden eyes intent on the task of rubbing my feet and legs.
Well, shit… that was sweet. Really sweet. My husband was a sweet guy, too, and he treated me well, but this was on a whole other level. Mark had never rubbed my feet. Not once.
“Thank you,” I murmured, my voice holding an odd tremble.
Charick’s lips turned upward faintly, as though he didn’t want to smile but couldn’t help it. He jerked his chin at a small leather pouch lying on the tabletop.
“Zahavi gave me some herbs to help you relax and a salve to help with muscle soreness.”
He got me meds, too. Sweet. Sweet, sweet, sweet.
Charick finished tending to my feet, rolling off the strange cylindrical things that stood in for socks on this alien world. He gathered my boots and socks in his hands and stood, letting his eyes linger on me for a long moment before nodding toward the tub.
“I will wait outside until you finish your bath.”
“Wait.” The word was out of my mouth before I could ponder what saying it might mean.
Charick remained still, his golden eyes deepening to ochre. His gaze grew in intensity as he focused on my face.
I didn’t want him to leave. Granted, I wasn’t so far gone that I wanted him to crawl in the tub with me. Although the thought of how seven feet of rippling muscle might look like naked made me swoony. No, I wasn’t ready for anything like that yet—but I didn’t want him to leave either. Maybe Adtovar was right. My abduction was a second chance.
I licked my lips before issuing a tentative smile. “Stay. We can talk.”
Charick’s body gave a heave of relaxation, as though he’d been holding himself tense.
“It would be my honor.”
I grinned like a giddy teenager at his response.
