Page 79 of Tamed By Her Touch

She was trying really hard not to think about what had happened between her and Kaelus the night before. She was just going to forget about it, she decided. And if the big Hybrid wanted to pretend like nothing had happened then fine—that was what they would do. Two could play that game. She could be as cool and logical as he could and pretend like everything was like it had been before they’d watched each other come…

She lost her train of thought as she tried to figure out the strange alien shower. There was no showerhead that she could see—she simply climbed into what looked like a large stone sink set into the floor and pressed a button. Then the stone slab above her began to rain straight down on her head.

At first, the water was too cold, and she yelped loudly and nearly jumped out of the shower. Then she heard a smooth, mechanical voice say,

“Adjusting.”

A second later, the water warmed considerably and she sighed in relief. There were no bottles of shampoo or body wash, but a moment after the water turned warm, it turned soapy too.

As loads of creamy pink foam fell down to cover her head and body, she heard the door open and Kaelus hurried into the bathroom.

“Clair? Are you well?” he asked. Then he saw her and his eyes went wide. “What in the Seven Hells?” he demanded, rushing over. He dragged her out of the shower and began swiping the foam off her face and body with his big hands.

“Hey, wait a minute—what are you doing?” Clair sputtered, trying to fight him.

“Getting this substance off you! It could be dangerous,” he growled, looking down at her anxiously.

“This substance is the Titus Four version of bubble bath!” Clair protested. Then she caught a glimpse of herself in the viewer and decided she did look kind of strange. Most of her was covered in a thick layer of pink foam, making her look less like a human woman and more like a pink Yeti.

At last, Kaelus released her.

“I heard you cry out and thought you were in danger,” he said stiffly. “Forgive me for interrupting your morning ablutions.”

“It’s fine,” Clair told him, but she couldn’t help feeling a little warmer. No matter how distant he’d tried to act last night, it was clear the big Hybrid still worried about her.

She stepped back into the shower and was glad when the rain of pink foam ended and the shower started flowing with warm water again. At least now she could get washed off.

When she was squeaky clean, she pressed the button again and the water stopped flowing. She stepped out of the shower area and saw that, while Kaelus had left the bathing chamber, he had left her a large, puffy blue towel to dry off with.

Well, that was nice, she thought. Though she wasn’t sure how her naturally curly hair was going to react to being washed with the pink alien foam. It was a good thing she had her detangling comb with her.

When she got out of the bathing chamber, Kaelus was still waiting with an anxious expression on his face. When he saw her looking washed and well, some of the tension in his broad, bare shoulders seemed to ease.

“I’m glad the, uh, alien bubble bath didn’t hurt you,” he remarked. “I suppose it’s my turn now.”

“Enjoy yourself,” Clair said breezily. “Just don’t be surprised if the water starts out cold—that’s what made me yell earlier.”

“Oh—of course.” He nodded and stepped into the bathing room.

As quickly as she could, Clair got dressed. By the time the big Hybrid came out of the bathroom, she was already wearing a new outfit that Maera had delivered for her—a lovely, swishy dress made of delicate, metallic blue fabric that fell to her ankles and hugged her curves lovingly—and detangling her hair.

She tried very hard not to look at Kaelus, who had nothing, but a towel wrapped around his narrow waist and beads of water all over his broad, bare shoulders and chest.

Just as she was wondering if she ought to look away while he got dressed, there was a knock at the door and Maera pushed in a moment later. Which honestly irritated Clair—was there no such thing as privacy here on Titus Four?

“Ah, there you are—please hurry!” their hostess said, smiling brightly. “The XXX is done and it won’t stay hot for long!”

“Oh, I’m ready and Kaelus is about to get dressed,” Clair said eagerly. “In fact, let me come with you while he dresses—maybe I can help set the table.”

“Well all right.” Maera gave her an uncertain look. “But don’t you want to dress your husband first? I mean, he clearly dressed you—should you not return the favor?”

“Oh, um…sure,” Clair nodded uncertainly.

“Go ahead.” Maera waved one hand at Kaelus, who was just standing there, still wrapped in a towel. “Get him dressed. I’ll wait.”

So…was she just going to watch, Clair wondered? It appeared that she was.

For several long seconds, nobody moved. Maera stood beside the door with her hands folded patiently in front of her, looking perfectly serene, while Kaelus stood in the middle of the bedroom wearing nothing, but a large black towel wrapped around his narrow hips.