The Dragon's Kiss

Chapter 229 TEN: The Emperor’s Bath Time Pt 3

?

"What are you waiting for?"

Calix threw his clothes to the floor as he asked the question.

The muscles in his backside tightened as he lifted one leg and then the other into the large wooden tub.

"Ah," he sighed happily as he leaned back against the tub edge, the steamy water coming up to his chest.

He looked back at Kel, who was still frozen near the corner of the washroom.

"You seem shy for a woman who has spied on me bathing more than once," he smirked. "Besides, it's not as if we've never seen each other naked before."

"Uh.. I-" Kel stammered, her eyes glued to the line of water lapping at the Emperor's chest. 

Earlier, when she mentioned a bath, Calix had immediately called for water to be heated in a large tub for the both of them to share. Despite her reluctance and many protests, she still ended up following him here.

But now, for some reason, she was too nervous to even undress.

"Should I help you take your clothes off?" Calix raised an eyebrow, leaning forward with his arms folded.

"No!" Kel squeaked, hurriedly beginning to pull her clothes off.

The Emperor gave her a satisfied smile and sat back again, closing his eyes. 

Kel folded her clothes neatly in a pile near the Emperor's discarded garments before slowly sinking into the warm water across from him.

Calix cracked a single eye open.

"What are you doing all the way over there?" 

He stretched his arms out wide.

"Come here," he murmured.

Kel gulped and nodded.

The water splashed over the edge of the tub as she moved to him.

"Turn around," Calix instructed.

Hesitantly, Kel obeyed, her cheeks turning red as their skin brushed against each other under the water.

Just as she was settling herself in front of the man, she felt his arm move behind her. Immediately, she flinched, scrunching her eyes shut.

A chuckle rumbled in Calix's throat as he reached past her, grabbing the fresh bar of soap and washcloth that had been set out for them to use.

Kel cleared her throat and hugged her knees into her chest, suddenly feeling embarrassed for her overreaction.

"That's a good girl," the Emperor purred, pressing the cloth into her skin.

With slow, purposeful strokes, he began washing her back.

It was strange. She'd always hated when the maids washed her. They scrubbed too hard and tugged too much. Baths at the palace had always left her feeling soggy and sore, and altogether sick of people touching her.

But the way Calix wiped her felt completely different. His motions were gentle and methodical. Her muscles began to release their tension under his soothing hands.

"Mmm," Kel sank a little farther into the water, enjoying the attention on her back.

Though she wasn't sleepy, her eyelids became heavy. She closed them, allowing the sensation on her skin of the water and the washcloth to become stronger.

Calix guided the cloth all over her back--around her shoulder blades, down her spine, and up to her neck. Gradually, he worked his way to the outer edges of her back. After a while, she felt the washcloth nudging between where her arm hung at her side, the Emperor's fingertips barely grazing the side of her breast.

Her stomach jumped at the touch, and she found herself moving her arm away from her body to make room for Calix's hand to pass fully through to her chest.

She gasped as the washcloth swirled around her breasts, and Calix chuckled again.

"Don't get too excited yet," he teased. "I plan on washing every bit of your skin."

True to his word, Calix washed all of Kel's body. From the tips of her toes to her neck and ears, he never stopped the smooth swirling motions.

When he had finished, Kel felt melted, in more ways than one.

Though he had washed everywhere, heat from his touch lingered between her legs and on the tips of her breasts. She swallowed, rubbing her thighs together in discomfort as the Emperor replaced the soap and washcloth on the side of the tub.

"Do you want me to wash you now?" she whispered, feeling a little embarrassed.

Calix smirked at her bashfulness. Instead of answering, he reached down and grabbed her backside, spreading her legs across his lap.

"Sure," he finally replied, his nose buried in her neck. "But you can't use your hands."

Again, water spilled over the edges of the tub as Kel took her turn washing the Emperor, using her lips and tongue, while he busied himself extinguishing the fire between her legs.

****

The remainder of the trip to Pandreia's famous port was mostly uneventful. Whispers of the Pandreian rebels grew louder, and Kel and Calix continued to train with their swords every night. Her powers never did return, but with everything else occupying her mind--from the politics of a newly united continent to the White Mountains in the North--she didn't have time to worry about it.

The days and nights all began to blend together, Kel's internal clock ever ticking toward the winter solstice. 

One sunny afternoon, Kel found herself lounging on the carriage seat as it rattled down a cobblestone road, as she often did lately.

She was pondering once again the situation with the rebels: how Taegus was involved, whether they should be prepared for an ambush before reaching the city-

"Look," Calix pointed out the window the Kel's left, disrupting her thoughts.

"Eh?" Kel sat up and yawned before taking a look at what he was so eager to show her.

Her breath caught in her chest as her eyes landed on the scene outside the carriage.

Buildings colored the same light shade as the sand surrounding them dotted the side of the road, interspersed with palm trees and other desert plants. Far beyond the tops of the structures, an endless blue-gray void sparkled in the afternoon sun.

At long last, they had arrived at Halseva.