“Turn,” he ordered gruffly.
My breath hitched and I hesitantly did as he said, wondering if he would initiate something, my belly fluttering in anticipation.
His eyes met mine as I straddled his thighs in the bath, the water sloshing around.
A brief look down revealed his hardened cock, the engorged head bobbing out of the water, against his abdomen. I saw the glimmer of the golden tattoos around it, one at the base, one just below the head.
“Wash me,” he murmured, handing the cloth he’d been using on me, still lathered with soap.
I took it, biting my lip, and pushed the damp ends of my hair over my shoulder.
Arokan’s eyes dragged down to my jutting nipples, his eyelids going heavy. As I leaned forward and ran the washcloth over his shoulders, he ducked his head and caught one nipple in his mouth. I sucked in a surprised breath, my hand pausing as pleasure tingled down my spine, as he laved his hot tongue over it, flicking the hardened bud back-and-forth.
I steadied myself on his broad shoulders, my sex spasming and clenching as arousal arrowed down my body.
After a moment’s hesitation, I resumed washing him, scrubbing his skin perhaps a little more roughly, especially when he switched nipples.
And he continued on like that. I bit my lip to keep from moaning as he teased me, as he suckled me to madness, all while I continued to wash him, trying to act like what he was doing wasn’t making me lose my goddamn mind.
So, I washed wherever I could reach—his back, his arms, his chest, his abdomen—until I couldn’t avoid his cock any longer.
He grunted when I ran the cloth over his length, but I only made a few, short passes, before I moved onto his thighs.
Arokan made another sound but then he pulled back from my nipples and leaned against the back of the tub. His cock was still jutting from the water, impossible not to see, but his expression was hardened, his mouth set in a straight line, his jaw clenched.
Again, frustration rose as I washed his thighs. He’d stopped after teasing me again. Just like last night. My nipples felt tender, sensitive. My sex ached as much as my muscles did from the training session.
He watched me carefully—I could feel those eyes on me—before he reached over to the food tray and popped a chunk of braised meat into his mouth.
Disbelief ran through me, though I hid it well. He’d stopped and now he was eating. Was he truly not going to initiate anything that night?
I blew out a shaky breath and tried to distract myself with the task on hand. I finished quickly and by the time I was done, my mind felt a little less foggy. Once I was done washing him, once I draped the washing cloth over the lip of the bathing tub, he offered a piece of braised meat to me.
Without hesitation, I took it. Already, I was used to the taste, the energy that the fresh food gave me. I’d been with Arokan, with the horde, for less than two weeks, but already, I could feel my body changing. I was gaining much-needed weight. My hips were softening, my rib bones weren’t as prominent as they were before. I didn’t feel completed depleted of energy any longer. I could actually feel something that resembledstrengthbuilding in me.
I couldn’t even remember the taste of the Uranian Federation rations. That made me feel guilty, as it probably always would. Though I knew that Arokan had freshbverimeat delivered to my village, it would only be a matter of time before it ran out.
Arokan reached out, the water trickling from his elbow, and he pressed his thumb between the line that had formed between my brows from my thoughts.
“What worries you?” he murmured, his voice deep and quiet and calm, as if a moment before, he hadn’t been kissing my nipples.
I hesitated in telling him, which he noticed. But after a moment, I said, “I was just thinking about my village.”
He exhaled a sharp breath, his hand falling away. He turned his head and plucked more food from the tray, feeding some to me and then eating some himself.
“Do I treat you well?” he asked after an awkward silence.
The question made me blink in surprise. “Yes, Arokan,” I said softly and it was true. “You do.”
He’d never mistreated me. He’d treated me better and with more respect than I could have ever imagined. It had taken me off guard at first, especially considering I’d grown up hearing how merciless and ruthless the Dakkari were.
But I was learning that not all stories and rumors were true. Sometimes, the truth was quite the opposite.
“But you will always remain loyal to your village,” he said next, as if it were obvious. “Not to the horde. Not to me.”
Warning bells went off in my head at his tone. He sounded…disappointed.
“That’s not fair, Arokan,” I whispered.
