Page 67 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
Shaw watched her depart. Her words surprised him. He returned through the open doors and made his way to the bathing room. He heard the splash of water and smiled as he slowly opened the door to peek inside.
Nia reclined in a smaller tub with her head back and her long length of hair draped over the side as a servant rinsed it. He silently made his way inside. As he drew close, the servant looked up. Shaw put his finger to his lips to silence her. She smiled and nodded. He then motioned with his hand for her to leave. After taking her place on the small stool, Shaw took over rinsing the soap from Nia’s hair.
She sighed. He glanced in the tub to see the water coming to her nipples. She had one leg bent and her arms along the edges of the bath. He had never washed anyone’s hair but his, and yet he was eager to sink his hands into the brunette strands.
He lifted the small cup from the bucket beside him and poured it over her hair. With his other hand, he followed the water down into a second bucket where her hair hung. Shaw repeated the process until the last of the suds was gone. Then he set aside the cup and wrung out her hair.
“That felt good. Thank you,” she murmured.
He grinned but said nothing.
Nia sat up and gathered her hair in her hands. She wrung it out even more as she got to her feet. Shaw watched how the water sluiced from her body. He was tempted to carry her to the large tub they had spent the first day in together. She turned then and spotted him.
Her eyes widened, but a smile pulled at her lips. “How long have you been here?”
“Long enough to rinse your hair.”
“You should’ve told me.”
Shaw handed her the towel. “You looked to be enjoying yourself. I didna want to disturb that.”
“It was nice.”
She started to step out of the tub. He jumped to his feet and took her hand to ensure she didn’t slip. Then he walked to the open windows so she could finish drying herself.
“It’s a beautiful night,” she said.
He nodded. “That, it is.”
“Would you like to go out?”
Shaw considered it for a moment before turning to her. “If you want.”
“I had something else in mind.”
“Is that so?” he asked with a grin.
She laughed and set aside the towel to put on a robe. “All I need you to do is go to the back and get comfortable.”
He held her gaze and nodded. “I can do that.”
She winked and walked out of the room.
Shaw made his way to the back of the estate. When he’d come to Zora, he’d expected to be in battle. In a way, he was. But this wasn’t the type of fighting he had anticipated. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle the present battle lining up before him. He just preferred the other kind. There, you knew your enemies. On this battlefield littered with landmines, everyone was an enemy.
Maybe he did know who his enemies were then.
“Merrill?”he called through their mental link.
“I’m here.”
“Anything new?”
“I learned the rotation of the guards at the main gate. I also learned more about the priests and their soldiers.”
“Anything useful?”
Merrill was silent for a moment. “If we need to save another child, aye.”
“Stay vigilant.”
“You, too.”
“Always, brother.” Shaw severed the link and turned when he heard approaching footsteps.
Nia appeared with her servants in tow. One spread out a large blanket on the ground while others set up food and drink. Shaw let his gaze move over the dark blue kaftan type of garment Nia wore. The soft, flowy material had large, loose sleeves while being gathered at the waist with a plunging neckline. The trim, cuffs, and hem were embroidered with silver climbing roses. Her wet hair had been pulled into a loose plait that fell over one shoulder. She smiled as she walked barefoot onto the blanket and slowly lowered to her knees before leaning to the side. She raised a brow and waited.
Shaw made his way to her. He paused beside the blanket and removed his boots before sitting beside her. “You look dazzling.”
