Page 55 of Heart of the Cursed
She groaned in pleasure as she lowered herself into the water. The heat eased her aching muscles, and she instantly relaxed.
Selene could definitely get used to this kind of treatment. She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the water work its magic.
The mix of hot water and the sweet scent of lavender and waterlilies made her drowsy. Normally, it would take her ages to fall asleep at night, but it would be so easy to drift off to sleep in the bathtub. Surrounded by the heat and wonderful scents, it was heaven.
Unfortunately, her peace was cut short when Arun called through to tell her that dinner was ready.
“Ugh, just five more minutes,” she called back.
She heard Arun laughing in the other room. “I take it you’re enjoying the bath?”
“Mmm, yes,” she murmured.
“You can always get back in after dinner,” he told her.
“Yeah, but the water will be cold,” she grumbled.
“Has it started to go cold?”
“No,” she frowned. “But I haven’t been in here long.”
She had only been in there five minutes, if that. So, it wouldn’t have started to go cold just yet.
“You’ve been in there for an hour,” he told her.
Selene opened her eyes and bolted upright, making the water slosh all around her. She swirled her hands in the water, trying to judge if it had started to cool down, but it hadn’t. When she pulled her hands out, she noticed they had gone wrinkly from being submerged for so long.
“Okay, I’ll be out in just a minute,” she shouted.
She was about to kick herself for not thinking ahead, and having something nearby to dry herself with, when she noticed a small table next to the bath. Sat on top was a neatly folded towel, a sponge, and two little bottles. One had a label saying hair, the other said body.
She lifted the one saying hair and removed the lid. She gingerly held the bottle under her nose and took a sniff.
“Lavender and waterlily,” she sighed.
How did he know they were her favourite scents?
Being so far north had its downfalls. It was too cold for them to grow, so she hadn’t been able to pick her favourite flowers in a long time. To be surrounded by their scent now was just heavenly. The only thing that could have made it even more perfect was if she was back in her own bunker.
She placed the first bottle back on the table and picked up the second one. She was happy to find out it had the same scents, lavender and waterlily. She quickly washed using both of them and then climbed out of the bathtub. She sighed as the soft, fluffy towel wrapped around her body.
Selene looked down at her dirty, discarded clothes. She knew she should put them back on, but she didn’t want to. Not after her bath and being wrapped in the soft, white towel.
Wrinkling her nose at them, she decided they could wait until after dinner. After all, the towel nearly covered her from head to foot. The fabric was too thick to see through, so it wasn’t as if Arun would see anything.
Unless you want him to.
Mind made up, Selene left her clothes where they were and walked out of the room. The delicious smell of rabbit stew had her mouth-watering in seconds.
“Mmm, that smells nice,” she said, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.
“I hope you’re…” Arun trailed off.
Selene opened her eyes to see him staring at her. She looked down at the towel, paranoid he could see through it after all.
“Something wrong?” she asked, trying to sound confident.
“No, nothing’s wrong,” he said in a deep, husky voice. He cleared his throat before adding, “Is everything okay with your clothes?”
