Page 80 of Phoenix's Fire

Holding the waterlogged towel before me, I shifted around, but looked overmy shoulder to see what he was doing. Zasen reached into the wash water beside me, dampened the cloth, then set to work. When I winced, he pulled his hand away for a moment, but then he returned to clean the wound thoroughly. Each time he rinsed the cloth, I saw leaves and debris left behind. He scrubbed - not at the painful area, but the skin below - washing away the blood. Then he picked out a few things still in my raw flesh with the tweezers before washing it again.

"It may scar," he warned me.

I shrugged. "I can't see it."

That made him chuckle. "Vanity is obviously not a problem for you." His eyes moved across me again. "Which is surprising."

"Why?" I turned to face him.

Zasen's lip quirked and he dared to slide his hand over my bare shoulder. "Because I can see enough to know you have nothing to hide. Now I need the tub, so, out."

I looked at him pointedly, but he only shrugged, standing up just to walk over to the counter. Reaching behind him, he grabbed a fresh towel and held it out. It was obvious he had no intention of leaving.

"I'm not standing up like this," I insisted.

"You have a towel to cover your modesty," he pointed out.

I just huffed. "Zasen!"

He shrugged again, then began unlacing his loincloth. "I don't mind joining you, but I thought you'd refuse."

"I'm naked!" I pressed the towel closer to my breasts, unsure what I should do.

"I'm well aware of that. I assure you I've seen women without their clothes before." His smile grew. "Quite a few. In case you forgot, it's perfectly normal for Dragons. Plus, I'm pretty sure I know what your body looks like, and my imagination can fill in the rest. I'm also pushing you."

"Oh," I mumbled, still not convinced this was a good idea.

Being naked with a towel over me was very different from getting out of the water and trading it for a dry one. There would be a moment in there where I had nothing over my body at all! And yet, knowing this was him pushing me made it feel safer. Almost like a dare.

"Now pull the plug and get out, Ayla." The smile on his lips vanished, and he turned completely serious for a moment. "Or," he told me, "you can say no. But to do that, you have to actuallysayit."

But I didn't want to. Just last night, I'd thought about him kissing me, and I'd wanted it. This? How was it any different? Zasen wouldn't hurt me. He wouldn't force himself on me. More than that, we werefriends. Friends trusted each other. I longed to be a strong and confident woman like Jeera or Lessa, but fumbling was the best I could do, although Zasen was giving me the chance to fix that.

So, with a defiant lift of my chin, I yanked the chain for the plug and stood. Zasen didn't move, so I decided I was going to be brave. Just once, I could do this, because I did trust him. It didn't matter if it was shameful, since everything I'd been taught was a lie. This was fine. I was in control. He wasmy friend.

Dropping the wet towel, I stepped over the edge completely naked. That made Zasen's tail thrash, but his face stayed serene as he held out a dry towel. His eyes also never dropped below mine. It was why I could trust him. This was how real men acted! Then, when I wrapped the dry towel around my body, he found another and moved beside me, blotting at the length of my hair.

"I'm pretty sure that didn't hurt," he said, draping the towel over my shoulders, careful of my wound. "Ayla, you are the strangest woman I've ever met. You run into a fight without fear, but you quake at the thought of a man seeing you? You take a wound that would leave many people in tears, but you're terrified of one that would be so much less."

He meant my virginity. "You wouldn't know," I reminded him.

He tilted his head. "True. But you talked to my sister. Ask my mother. Ask Saveah or Lessa. Ask any woman in Lorsa. You don't have to simply believe me."

"I'm trying," I said, "but it's hard to forget everything I thought was real for my whole life, Zasen."

"I know," he assured me. "And while I may not sound like it, I really am amazed at how much you've learned in such a short time. I guess I just keep waiting for you to decide this is good enough, but I think you deserve more. Now, go upstairs to your room and put on the dress with the little straps. When I'm clean, I need to put ointment on your cuts, and that one won't get in the way."

"You'll get the straps in it," I pointed out.

He ducked his head to give me a mischievous look. "You can always go without. I assure you, I won't complain."

I huffed at him and pulled the towel closer to my body before stepping out of the room, leaving him standing beside the counter. Behind me, he laughed softly, and then the water started running. When I was halfway up the flight of stairs, I heard the door click softly as it closed. I moved a little faster, aware I was wearing almost nothing and that Rymar or Kanik could wake up any moment, but my body wanted to resist the rush.

I was so tired. My muscles ached in ways they never had before, and not just from the injury on my shoulder. My arms hurt, and my legs. My back screamed when I bent to retrieve the dress. It was a small thing, not even reaching my knees, but Zasen was right, it would allow him to treat my shoulder without ruining much of the material.

Once I was dressed, I laid face-down on the bed, enjoying the softness of my mattress. Soon enough, Zasen tapped at the door, waiting until I called out before entering. Again, he was wearing little more than his underwear - black this time, which made his body look even more green. In his other hand was a palm-sized container. It looked similar to the one he'd used to put grease on me when we'd walked here.

"I'm going to sit on the bed beside you," he explained, lifting the ointment. "For your health."