I wanted to argue with her. But she was a doctor.
And I trusted her.
So I did not push her to return it to her face.
Getting gingerly to her knees, she pulled the straps of her dress down over her arms, then undid its fasteners. She pulled the garment, and the clothing underneath, down her body until it was all piled on the floor around her.
She was naked.
Perhaps she had forgotten how well I could see her like this. Or perhaps she was simply too tired for modesty. Whatever the reason, she did not try to hide herself at all from my gaze. Since she did not seem to care if I stared or not, I looked my fill. Her body was luscious, generously curved with large breasts and the exquisite roundness of her hips and thighs.
She was perfect.
She was also clumsy. She slipped trying to blindly get into the tub, and I caught her by the waist, slowly lowering her into the water.
“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning back against the side of the tub. “Is there a cloth or anything? I can’t see.”
There was a cloth – several, in fact – as well as towels and soap that Rivven had made. There was also some kind of cleanser and conditioning product from Shiloh, meant for hair.
I dipped a cloth into the water, then rubbed the bar of soap onto it, getting it sudsy. Then, I brought the cloth to her right shoulder, gently drawing it down the elegant line of her arm to her hand.
“Oh!” she gasped. “I didn’t even know you were there!”
“Where else would I be?”
Where else would I be but beside you?
“I can do this myself,” she said, shyness creeping into her voice, like she’d only just now remembered she was naked before me.
“You can’t, actually,” I informed her, beginning to work on her other arm. “Because I’ve got the soapy cloth. And I do not intend to give it up.”
She sighed. “Stubborn.”
“Yes,” I replied. “So save your breath and do not bother arguing.”
She quieted and allowed me to continue. I drew the soaped cloth slowly over her sensitive skin, cleansing away the ash of this night. Once her arms were clean, I moved to the other side of the tub, taking one foot, then the other, cleaning them before she got too wiggly from being tickled. I washed her ankles, her calves, massaging the tense muscles there.
I would have done her thighs. Her hips. Her breasts. But these were covered by the water, and I did not think I couldmanage it without becoming even more aroused. Shamefully, I was already hard. Just from this.
I gave the cloth to her, in case there were any spots she wanted to do herself, then filled a pitcher. I brought it to her hair, soaking the strands anew. I used Shiloh’s products, massaging them into Lualhati’s long tresses, then rinsing them clean.
Just as I was putting the pitcher down, I heard her begin to quietly weep. Perhaps it was finally hitting her now. That everything had burned.
“I am sorry, Lualhati,” I said bitterly, “that none of it was saved.”
“What?!” she sobbed. “Don’tyouapologize! This is all my fault! I lit some candles, then fell asleep, and…Oh,God, Hallum. I am so, so sorry!” She covered her face with her hands. “I’ll reimburse you,” she said from beneath her fingers.
“You will do no such thing.”
It would cost me almost nothing but my own time to rebuild. I had access to more than enough lumber here.
“I have to do something!” she cried, ripping her hands away from her teary face.
“You can stop crying, for starters,” I told her, “if those tears are only for my sake.”
She sniffed, then gulped.
“Alright,” she rasped. “What else?”
