I looked down at myself and groaned. For starters, I should probably look more presentable.
I still had on my simple work dress from the morning covered in flour smudges, sleeves pushed up to my elbows and still freckled with specks of dried dough. My hair had been pulled back in a practical braid that was now half-undone, wisps escaping everywhere. I hadn't even bothered to brush it properly before the lottery.
I pulled a strand to my nose and sniffed, then immediately regretted it. When had I last washed my hair? Two days ago? I definitely wouldn't be able to seduce anyone looking, or smelling, like this.
Slumping lower in the chair, I told myself it was a stupid plan anyway. The Raas wasn't going to fall for some clumsy attempt at seduction from a woman who didn't have a clue what she was doing. Then I thought about my sisters and my friends, and I squared my shoulders.
I could do this. I was tough. I'd survived losing my parents. I'd kept my sisters fed and safe. I'd built a resistance network right under the Empire's nose. Okay, maybe they’d found out about it, but not before I’d sabotaged Imperial ships and stolen their supplies and lived to tell about it.
My legs were only slightly unsteady from the wine, as I stood and marched toward the bathroom before I could lose my nerve.
When I was facing the imposing bathing pool, I faltered at the two sides and the two colors of water. What kind of bathing system had different colored waters? There wasn’t any chance it would dye my skin, was there?
I glanced back at the suite's main door, anxiety fluttering in my stomach. What if the Raas came back now? What if he walked in while I was naked?
“Stop it, Jasmine.” I tried not to think that if my seduction worked, I would end up naked anyway.
Gathering all my courage and only swaying slightly, I began pulling pins from my hair. The braid fell apart completely, dark strands tumbling around my shoulders in a tangled mess. I shook it out, wincing at how knotted it had become.
Then I started undressing. I kicked off my shoes then pulled the dress over my head and tossed it aside. I shed my bra and panties as quickly as I could before I could second guess myself.
I'd never been particularly self-conscious about my body. I was relatively strong from years of lifting flour sacks and kneading dough, but that had done nothing to eliminate the natural swell of my hips and softness of my belly. I instinctively crossed an arm across my full breasts, even though there was no one to see them.
Moving swiftly to the edge of the sunken pool, I sat down on the bumpy stone rim and carefully lowered one foot into the crimson water. It was warmer than any water I’d ever bathed in, but it wasn’t scalding, and it was far from unpleasant.
I slid in completely, gasping as the water enveloped me. The sensation was overwhelming after years of quick, efficient baths in barely enough water to cover my stomach. This was deep enough to submerge completely and hot enough to make my muscles immediately uncoil.
I lowered myself until my nose hovered about the bubbling surface, breathing in the scent. It wasn't cloying and floral like the bathing oils occasionally sold in the colony. This was spicy and rich and masculine in a way I recognized immediately. It smelled like the Raas.
That realization made my stomach do flips. I was sitting in his bathing water, surrounded by his scent, in his quarters, planning to seduce him. “Gods, Jas, you are so fucked.”
Or maybe I was night-season mad, even though I was no longer on a planet that shrouded itself in darkness for months. I dunked myself fully under the water, holding my breath as thewarmth enveloped my head. When I surfaced, I had to wipe water from my eyes, blinking away the perfumed droplets.
A glass bottle sat tucked into a crevice in the stone edge of the pool, within easy reach. I grabbed it, pulled out the stopper, and sniffed cautiously. It was definitely shampoo or soap with the same spicy scent as the water.
I poured some into my palm, the dark purple oily liquid slippery against my skin. I rubbed it between my hands, then worked it over my body, the oil creating a slick coating on my skin that felt luxurious and completely foreign. On Lexxona, soap was harsh and practical, designed to remove dirt efficiently rather than feel good.
This felt good.
I tried not to enjoy it too much as I lathered my hair, working the oil through the tangles with my fingers until my scalp tingled and my hair felt cleaner than it had in years. I dunked under again to rinse, staying under as long as my breath would hold, letting the water wash away the oil and the flour dust and the exhaustion of the longest day of my life.
When I surfaced this time, I released a long breath and glanced at the divider separating the crimson water from the green. Curiosity overcame the urge to get out and get dry before the Raas returned. I reached over, putting my hand into the green water.
I’d expected it to be cold, but it was hotter. It also tingled, sending a sensation of pleasure humming over my skin.
I hesitated, then carefully stepped over the divider, lowering myself into the other side of the pool.
The heat made me suck in a breath, but my muscles, already relaxed from the red water, seemed to go slack. The tension I'd been carrying in my shoulders since forever began to melt away.
I sank lower, until the water reached my chin, and closed my eyes. This was dangerous. Not the heat, although that was intense, but the comfort. The tingling sensation had washed away all thoughts of plans and strategy. It made me want to just float here forever, even though I knew all too well that I couldn’t.
Not when the Vandar I needed to seduce, the one I needed to charm enough that he would do my bidding, was known to the universe as The Scourge. I was thoroughly out of my depth in more ways than one.
Chapter 16
Wrexxon
The warbird's suspended bridges echoed with the rhythmic thumping of my boots as I strode through the heart of the vessel, still carrying my battle axe, still wearing armor stained with blood and sweat, little of it mine.
