Smokescreen: A Collection of Vignettes

Chapter 12

Sakura sighed at how sweet and adorable her husband was being. She was sitting at the edge of the tub, her legs over his shoulders, as she washed his hair. His head was resting on her stomach as she worked on him. She had never seen him so relaxed since Bi-Han's betrayal and building the Shirai Ryu. In fact, he had dozed off and was starting to snore a little. She ran a slender hand down his clean-shaven face. His eyes briefly fluttered open. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Tomas," she whispered. "I need to rinse your hair."

He sleepily sat up as she poured water over him, scrubbing his scalp once more. He sighed contentedly, idly playing with his wife's hair. The smoke-user couldn't remember the last time he had time for himself. Gods, he didn't remember the last time he had spent time with his Cherry Blossom. The man reached up to touch her beautiful face. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve such a lovely and kind-hearted wife. She was always so thoughtful, too. The Elder Gods had been too kind to him. He knew that he would have to do better as her spouse.

Sakura held her husband's hand to her face. She had always missed him when he went on missions. She knew of his duties to the Shirai Ryu and to his Grandmaster, the honorable Kuai Liang. She respected his hard work and dedication, even though it left little time for their marriage. He wasn't neglectful by nature, but she could tell that he felt guilty about it. She gently kissed his palm. She'd have to remind him that she had understood what she had gotten herself into when she married him.

Sakura carefully stood up and carefully slipped out of her dress. Frankly, she had been waiting to do this for quite some time, but the time was never quite right...until now. She had to fight her giddiness down. Gray eyes, wide awake and alert, were fully fixed on her hourglass figure. The young woman gave a flirtatious wink and giggled. This would be her husband's night as she had always planned it to be. Success!

Tomas had always thought his wife as beautiful. Maybe it was the steam in the bathroom, but, tonight, she looked ethereal. She was beyond comparison. A goddess. If this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Not yet.

"Relax, sweetheart," Sakura purred. "Let me take care of you."

The more primal side of him began to stir, his gray eyes darkening. He would definitely enjoy this.