Vampire's Prey

Chapter 15: Bath

The steaming pool is built to fit ten people, but it's just the two of us. I gulp. It's not right for an unmarried man and woman to bathe together. But In his mind, he owns me. He could do whatever he wants without repercussions.

I kneel by the corner of the pool and splash some water over my arms and face.

"If you don't bathe properly, you'll spend another night in jail," he says, "I can't sleep near such a smell."

I rise to my feet and turn to the doorway. "I think I'll find another bath. This one's full of crap."

A hand on my dress pulls me off balance, and I go tumbling backwards with a scream. The water engulfs me whole, soaking through my soiled clothes in an instant.

I shoot to the surface and wipe my eyes clear. Rahlan is back in his corner.

"You're an asshole," I grumble.

"You behave like a child," he says.

"I do not!"

The corner of his lips curl up into a smirk. I fold my arms. Whatever.

"Disrobe," he orders.

"Get lost," I spit.

"Stop being difficult."

"Sorry, you're right," I say with a sarcastic tone, "I'm just being difficult not wanting to be nude in a bath with a man who would happily have me prostituted."

His mouth opens, but no words come out. He knows what he did was wrong. Even with his twisted form of justice, where kicking me while I'm down and locking me in a pillory is a fitting response for trying to get away, I'd done nothing to provoke him to sell me to a brothel. I followed his every command that day, and he threw me to the wolves.

"I made a mistake," he says, "You need not fear such a thing happening again."

I turn to face the wall. Venting my anger is the only easy way to talk about it.

His words do make me feel a little more secure. I pull the soaking dress over my head and place it on the ledge.

My hands rest on my muddy underwear. I peek back around my shoulder at Rahlan. My glance catches his attention, and I quickly look away. Granted the murky water hides my body, the thought of being naked in a bath with him still makes me nervous.

Taking a deep breath to relax, I pull off my muddy bra and underwear and drop them on the old dress. Done.

With my back to him, I scoop handfuls of warm water over my hair, cleaning it out.

"You're just going to pretend I'm not here?" he says.

"I'm nothing if not determined."

Scooping more water, I'm a little surprised that he didn't swim over and twist me around to face him.

"Is the water to your tastes?" he asks.

I haven't had a warm bath since I was a child – back when I could fit in the cooking pot. "How do they heat such a large pool?"

He points to a rectangular slit in the wall beside him.

I glide through the warm water to get a better look. It's a channel, guiding a thin stream into the bath.

"'Tis from a hot spring," he says.

I scan the pool until I spot the outlet. It's another channel in line with the water level. They must've carved crevices throughout this whole building, which couldn't have been cheap. This is a luxury only for their lords.