“Where is your mother?”
“Eating with Ever and Quinn. That gives us time.”
“To do what?” There was every possibility that Grace would lead him into greater trouble.
“To set up something my mom loves.”
“Which is?”
“She loves taking long baths in scented water.”
Toren wrinkled his nose. “A bath?”
“Yes. Don’t you have a bath every now and then?”
“No, cyborgs do not enjoy sitting in tubs of water.”
Grace giggled. “Well, mom does.” The girl’s smile fell. “But it’s been a long time since she’s had the chance.”
Yes, Toren figured that the Edull did not provide baths of scented water in their cells. Determination filled him. “Then we will make this the best bath she’s ever had.”
Grace’s smile returned and she tugged on his hand again. She moved closer and threw her arms around him, clinging like a monka pet the wealthy people of the District favored. He patted her back. It felt strange but nice.
“Come on.” She swiveled away and picked up her pace. “Our first stop is Medical.”
“Medical?”
“You’ll see.”
When they stepped into Medical, the chief healer, Avarn, met them. The older man wore long robes of blue, his long, white hair pulled back from his face and his green eyes laser-focused. “Are you injured?”
Grace shook her head. “No, we need some nice-smelling oil to put in bath water.”
The healer’s shaggy eyebrows shot up. “You need what?”
Toren nodded. “Something nice to put in bath water.”
“For my mom,” Grace said. “On Earth, oils are scented with flowers and herbs. It’s relaxing.”
Avarn looked at Toren, then a strange smile crossed his face. “Hmm, let me see what we’ve got.”
The healer rummaged around in a small cabinet, glass containers clinking together. Toren guessed that the healer was not used to this request.
He scanned Medical, his gaze falling on the regen tanks at the back of the room. Avarn was used to healing injured gladiators or damaged cyborgs. And performing surgery to add enhancements and prosthetics to injured people the House of Rone rescued.
“Here.” Avarn held up an ornate bottle and lifted the lid.
A scent hit Toren, pungent, but pretty.
“Ooh, it’s perfect,” Grace said.
Avarn handed her the bottle. “It makes bubbles as well. I hope she likes it.” The healer winked at Toren.
Grace grabbed his hand and towed him out of Medical. Soon, he found himself in Simone’s room. The place smelled of her.
“We don’t have much time.” Grace moved around the room, lighting some candles.
“There are perfectly good lights,” he said.
“No, this is prettier. It adds to the atmosphere.”
He frowned. “But the tub is in the bathroom.”
“It would be much nicer if it was out here by the window.” Grace’s eyelashes fluttered.
Toren studied her. “Your eyes are twitching.”
She pulled a face. “Can you please bring the tub out here? She can look at the night sky, then. Ever said Magnus does it for her sometimes.”
Toren sighed. He was well aware that the stone tubs in the bathroom weighed a lot. Grace’s eyelashes fluttered again, and he wondered if she needed to have Avarn check them for her. Then she waved him toward the bathroom.
The bathroom also smelled of Simone. He saw a silky shirt resting on a stool and he fingered it.
“How’s it coming?” Grace called out.
“Fine.” He set about unscrewing the tub from the drain. Then he hefted it up and carried it into the living area. With his cyborg strength, it wasn’t too heavy. He set it down by the window.
Grace clapped her hands. “Perfect.”
Toren plugged the bottom of the tub. It took several trips for him to fill the tub with hot water using a large bowl. Grace tipped the scented liquid in.
The diluted scent was quite lovely.
“Here, I got this earlier.” The girl set a plate down beside the tub. It was loaded with small delicacies from the kitchen.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Calla says it’s called rocha. It tastes almost like the chocolate we have on Earth.”
Suddenly, he heard voices outside in the hall. He easily picked up Simone’s smooth tone.
“She’s coming.” Grace’s voice filled with excitement. “I’m outta here.” She hurried to the door leading to her bedroom.
His heart knocked against his chest. “What? Grace, where are you—?”
The girl winked and closed the door behind her, just as the front door opened.
“Good night,” Simone called out.
The other women waved and called out their goodbyes.
Simone gripped the door handle and sighed. Without the company, her agitated thoughts rushed back in.
She felt guilty about blowing up at Toren earlier. He cared about Grace, and he was showing it in his own way. She’d overreacted.
As she entered her room, a beautiful, lush scent hit her. She froze.
Candlelight flickered, and Toren stood stiffly next to the stone bathtub, which was now sitting by the windows.
She blinked. “Toren?”
He cleared his throat. “I wanted to apologize for today. Grace said you liked long, scented baths.”
Simone wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. The scent from the tub was beautiful, and her gaze fell to a plate of rocha resting beside the tub. She’d developed a small obsession with the dessert over the last few weeks.
“You did this?” It had been so long since she’d soaked in a bubble bath.
He nodded. “Grace helped.”
“Thank you. It wasn’t necessary.” She spread her hands. “I overreacted this morning. You should have asked me to take Grace shooting.” Simone pulled in a deep breath. “But I jumped all over you because I was feeling guilty. I didn’t protect her. I couldn’t keep her safe—”
Toren closed the distance between them, resting his large hands on her shoulders. “You kept her alive. You gave her hope, and now you’re both free.”
Her throat tightened and she nodded.
“Get in your bath, Simone.”
She tilted her head, her eyes going wide. “You’re staying?”
“Grace told me to pour you a drink and to get you what you need while you’re relaxing.”
“That’s not—” Simone realized that Toren didn’t see anything strange about that. He was a cyborg, and he didn’t feel any attraction to her, and intimacy was something he didn’t understand.
That made her feel…not great. She bit her lip. Silly. She knew she wasn’t a woman to inspire passion in a man. Michael had taken great delight in telling her that.
“Turn around,” she said.
Toren frowned, but obeyed.
She tied her hair up in a messy knot on top of her head. Then she quickly stripped off her clothes and slid into the warm water. The bubbles tickled across her skin.
“Okay.”
He turned and stilled. “Is it…enjoyable?”