Page 14

CHAPTER 14

T o be fair, Zeth was exceedingly quiet.

If he wanted to, he could move in absolute silence.

His muscular augmetics gave him precision control over every movement, and he had spent countless hours perfecting the toe-heel step required for stealth.

Many a man had died by his blade without even knowing he was there.

Now, he was using about eighty percent of his sneaking skill.

It was more than sufficient to mask his presence from a woman lost in the throes of sexual self-gratification.

Zeth shut the bathroom door behind him and prowled toward the tub, timing his steps to match the soft, rhythmic whimpers emanating from within the heaps and piles of suds.

Oh yes, the woman was having a grand old time.

Zeth was eager to watch.

And perhaps even join in.

As he reached the edge of the tub, the woman’s head came into view, first her close-cropped hair, then her sexy little face, both tough and delicate at the same time.

Her eyes were closed, her brow knitted with concentration, and her full lips were parted ever so slightly, trembling as she gasped with pleasure and need.

The sight turned Zeth’s cock to steel inside his pants.

A drop of precum leaked from his tip and slithered down his leg.

God, she was beautiful.

He couldn’t wait to feel her precious little cunt wrapped around his cock while he pumped her full of cum.

He was going to make a baby inside this woman, and he was going to enjoy doing it.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so excited about something that didn’t involve ending someone’s life.

Carefully, quietly, he sat down on the edge of the marble tub and watched the woman as she continued her self-care session.

Her features contorted and relaxed, contorted and relaxed.

She bit her lip and moaned softly, completely oblivious to Zeth’s presence.

He needed to see her.

All of her. He needed to see what she was doing beneath the surface.

With one hand, he gently swept aside the suds covering her body, taking care not to splash or otherwise disturb the water in the process.

Her breasts came into view, firm and round beneath the surface.

Her nipples were pink and swollen with arousal.

She was clutching one of her breasts in her hand, massaging it deeply.

Zeth pushed more bubbles aside.

He could see her belly now, soft and twitching with tiny spasms as she began to approach her climax.

A bit more pushing, and he could see between her legs.

The little nest of brown pubic hair where her fingers were playing, rubbing her clitoris in rough, frantic strokes.

Her legs opened wider, and her hips started to buck, giving him a few glimpses of pink.

Zeth’s cock throbbed in his pants.

Precum leaked out of him again, and this time it was more than just a drop.

He growled with lust.

The woman’s eyelids fluttered open at the sound.

Her eyes locked with his.

Her pupils widened.

Zeth smiled.

“Hi.”

The woman squeaked and tried to cover herself, but she only succeeded in slipping on the bottom of the tub, and her head went below the surface with a startled “ glub! ” Zeth chuckled and shook his head, then he reached into the water and pulled the woman back up into a seated position.

She sputtered and tried to wipe the water from her eyes.

“Stop it,” Zeth said gently.

“You’re going to get soap in your eyes. Here, let me help you…”

Zeth had left his tactical vest in the bedroom.

He had taken off his boots and socks as well.

The only items of clothing he had on now were a snug-fitting olive green T-shirt, a matching pair of canvas pants, and a belt.

He took the T-shirt off over his head and used it to dab the water from the woman’s pretty face.

“You could have gotten a towel,” she said.

“I could have,” Zeth agreed, “but then I would’ve had to take my eyes off you.”

The woman tried to give him a look of annoyance, but her eyes got caught on his shirtless torso, and her annoyance gave way to admiration.

It was an expression Zeth had seen many times before.

He wasn’t a vain man, but he was fully aware of the effect his physique had on the opposite sex.

The woman bit her lip as she let her gaze slide down his abdomen, then back up to his chest and shoulders.

Then she realized what she was doing and quickly looked away.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“I was watching you pleasure yourself,” Zeth said, enjoying the sudden rush of color that filled the woman’s cheeks.

“But I don’t think you quite finished, did you? Maybe I can help with that.”

“I don’t need your help,” the woman said.

Zeth smirked. “We can all use a little help sometimes…”

He dipped his hand into the water and caressed the woman’s front.

“Hey!” she gasped. “What’re you— oh! ”

Zeth felt her body tense briefly as his fingers slipped between her legs.

Then she melted as his fingertip met her clit and started to stroke it in slow, tight circles.

He had touched a thousand women this way, starting with the maidservants in his stepfather’s court on Almalex.

He knew what he was doing.

“Stop that,” the woman whispered.

At the same time, she opened her legs wider and raised her hips, giving him better access to her sensitive nub.

She whined softly and clutched her breast the same way she had done a moment before when she’d thought she was alone.

“Do you like that?” Zeth purred.

“Does that feel good?”

“No,” the woman answered.

“I hate it.”

Her hips contradicted her.

They rocked and rolled, matching Zeth’s rhythm, grinding her clitoris even more deeply against his fingers as he stroked her.

“Oh my God,” the woman breathed.

“Oh my God, oh my God…”

“That’s it,” Zeth said softly.

“Show me how you come.”

She showed him.

Her body quaked as the orgasm ran its course.

Her eyes rolled back white in her head, and her lips circled in a silent scream.

It was the most beautiful thing Zeth had ever seen.

When it was over, the woman drew a steadying breath, then she glared up at him hotly.

“You’re a bastard,” she said.

Zeth shrugged and shook the bathwater from his hand.

“That’s true,” he said.

“Technically, it’s true for every member of the Mercenaries Guild. Now, be a good girl and stand up for me. There’s something we need to do.”

“What?”

“Do as I say, woman, or else I’ll make you come again.”

The woman gave him one of her trademark scowls, but she obeyed and stood up in the middle of the tub.

Fragrant, soapy water dripped down her naked body, making her skin shine.

She covered her breasts with one arm, and her sex with the other hand.

“Do not hide yourself from me,” Zeth chided her playfully.

“Until this mission is over, your body is mine, and I will look upon it whenever I wish. Now, put your hands down by your sides.”

“Make me.”

Zeth drew the long dagger that he kept sheathed on his belt.

“Okay!” the woman blurted, dropping her hands.

“Fine. You can look.”

Zeth chuckled.

“You misunderstand me, woman. The dagger is not a threat. I have no intention of cutting you. Well… not your flesh, anyway.”

The woman looked confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to shave you,” Zeth said.

“I prefer my women hairless. The sensations are so much more intense when everything down there is slippery and smooth.”

The woman stared at him in disbelief.

“You mean you’re gonna shave my…”

“That’s right,” Zeth said, nodding.

“I’m going to shave your cunt.”

There was a silver tray resting on one corner of the tub, its surface filled with various luxuries.

Bath salts, bubble bombs, bars of expensive hand-milled soap, and bottles filled with shampoos and conditioners.

There was also a canister of shaving foam.

Zeth held his dagger between his teeth and squirted some of the foam into his hands.

Then he carefully smeared it between the woman’s legs, working the rich lather deep into her pubic hair.

She flinched slightly as he touched her.

“It tickles,” she complained.

Once her pussy was coated with cream, Zeth washed his hands in the tub and dried them on the sides of his pants.

Then he took the knife from between his teeth.

“I need you to stand nice and still for this,” he said.

“I don’t want to cut you.”

“I don’t want you to cut me either.”

“So stand still…”