It was the most decadent thing she’d ever seen but she couldn’t concentrate on it. Instead, all her attention was on the alpha standing behind her, his hands lightly on her waist. He hadn’t done anything, she realized in amazement. She’d challenged him, snapped at him and he’d done nothing. Not gone into a rage or pinned her down to take her clothes away from her.
She twisted to look up at him. Nor had he removed the blindfold. It was still in place.
His lips quirked again and she tried not to notice how full they were. “Are you going to get undressed, little one, or do I have to do it for you?”
She managed a soft huff that she hoped sounded disdainful and moved away from him. The air was warm and sultry, heavy with steam and the fragrance rising from the water.
Hot water. Clean. Not a hurried scrub with a damp rag or a rare soak in a shallow, public bath. “You won’t peek. Right?”
“I will not. But I will stay. You may need help getting out.” That wicked little smile touched his mouth again. “You are tiny.”
“I’m not. I’m perfectly average… for a human.”
She stripped away her clothes, the grime and stink of them even more apparent now that she was thinking about being clean. Really, truly clean. Out of habit, she folded her things and set them down carefully before frowning as she looked at the bath. It was too far for her to walk. She’d need his help.
“You put me down here on purpose so I’d need help to get to the bath.”
“Are you asking me to carry you, little one?” his expression was so smug she wanted to scream.
She looked at the distance again. She could crawl, but the idea of getting on her hands and knees with him in the room? No. Better she just let him have this win.
She squared her shoulders and looked at him. “Yes. I’d like you to carry me to the bath.”
She refused to look at him and the smug little smile on his lips as he crossed over to her, fixing her gaze on the wall opposite instead. Insufferable man! He’d set this up just so she’d have to ask for his help. In her ire at that, she conveniently forgot that he could have made her crawl... that he could have refused to wear the blindfold at all and just stripped her as he pleased.
A small sigh escaped her, somewhere between apprehension and relief when he picked her up again. Even with the medication, she could tell the pain in her leg was only being held at bay. She’d need painkillers again soon and the longer she stood, the more weight she put on it, hastened that moment.
“Hold around my shoulders,” he ordered in a low voice as he strode to the bath. She did, but only just in time. He didn’t put her down in the bath, but simply stepped into it and sat down, fully clothed.
“Rath? What are you doing?”
“Taking care of my omega. If you fell getting in, that would be my fault. This way, you’re safe and unhurt.” He reached a dripping hand up to touch the fabric around his head. “And the blindfold is still in place.”
Oh no. This was not good. Not good at all. “You’re going to be wet and miserable standing around waiting for me to ask for help getting back out again.”
“I won’t be standing. You may need my help, so I will be staying here, with you.”
A squeak escaped her at that and she struggled from his arms. The water splashed as she made it to the dubious safety of the other side of the tub.
“Okay. You can stay... over there.”
He snorted. “It is my bath, little one. I will move as I wish. However, for now, I am happy where I am.” Rath folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the edge of the tub. His shirt was soaked and clung to every part of him, hinting at a body that was pure muscle and power.
She decided to ignore him. Instead of answering, she started looking around for soap, or whatever the aliens used instead.
“To your left,” Rath said.
“You’re peeking!”
“No.” he smirked. “But I can hear you moving. You’re looking for cleanser. Yes? It’s to your left. Green container.”
She ignored the smirk. It was too cute and turned the dangerous looking alpha into something even more dangerous—charming and almost boyish.
Picking up the container, she looked at it suspiciously and then shook it. Definitely liquid in there. But she couldn’t see how to open it.
“Problem, little one?” he asked, his voice way too innocent as his eyebrow winged up.
“No.” She refused to admit she needed help with a stupid bottle.
“And yet, I don’t smell cleanser.” He slid a little lower into the water and exhaled gently. “Let me know when you’d like my help.”
“Asshole!” She threw the bottle at him with all the force she could muster. The moment it left her hand she knew she shouldn’t have done it. It was stupid and rash and he was going to kill her in a rage when it slammed into his smug face.
He caught it in a move that was both fluid and focused at the same time. “That is no way to treat your alpha. If you throw anything else, I’ll have to discipline you.”
He wasn’t angry. She’d thrown something at him and he wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about it. “You’re very confusing.” And alarmingly attractive. Had she hit her head at some point? She must have.
“So are you. Omegas should be obedient. Eager. Submissive.” He twisted the top of the bottle one way and then another, and it came off in his hand.
“Submissive? See? I’m not an omega. I don’t have a submissive bone in my body. You should just let me go.”
He smiled. “Ahh, but I am enjoying the game. The chase... the dance between us. It is like combat, of a sort.” He leaned back, his arms resting on the edge of the tub. “A combat I shall win. Now... would you like the cleanser?”
“Yes,” she bit off the single syllable. This was a trap. She knew it. He thought this was a game. This was her life, and she wasn’t ready to surrender it to him. Obey and submit? Not happening.
“And what price would you offer me this time?”
“Another kiss. Same as before.”
“No. Try again. Something with a bit more value.”
“Two kisses.” She really wanted that cleanser. The hot water was lovely, but to be clean. Truly and properly clean? She’d sell her soul... to anyone but this annoying alpha.
“Better. Not enough, but better.” He lifted the jar and rocked it from side to side. “Three kisses. Proper ones, this time. If you don’t know how, I’d be happy to teach you.”
She stayed where she was.
“Define ‘proper kisses’?” she asked, hardly daring to breathe. Not because he was in here with her, not because she was challenging him... but because he was letting her.
“Do you not know what a proper kiss is?” She saw the eyebrow raise, the slightly mocking lilt to his voice, and her temper cracked.
“I’m a fucking omega, you asshole! You think I’ve let any guy anywhere near me? Of course I don’t know what you assholes consider a proper kiss!”
He went utterly still. So still she wasn’t sure he was even breathing. It felt like forever before he spoke again. “Shar’ai. Have you never...”
He swallowed hard, his shoulders tense, his jaw tight. “Come here, Savannah.”