Red Heir - Lisa Henry Page 0,32
as this one, where he got to squat in a tub and remove four days’ worth of swamp mud. He might have even moaned a little, and he didn’t miss Grub’s startled expression as he did so, before Grub scurried to the window and pretended to be very interested in the absolutely nothing that was happening outside. Loth smiled to himself. It hadn’t escaped his notice that although Grub had turned his back when Loth stripped, he’d been sneaking glances at him once he was safely in the tub—had been stealing glances for days, now Loth thought about it.
Loth turned his attention back to getting clean. There had even been fresh water and a paste of sage and salt to clean his teeth with. He ran his tongue over them and revelled in the freshness before setting to work on the rest of himself. He scrubbed every inch of skin he could reach thoroughly and was attempting to get to his shoulders, grumbling under his breath, when Grub inched closer.
“I could—I can reach your back, if you want?” he offered shyly.
Loth raised his eyebrows. “You do mine and I’ll do yours?”
“Something like that.” Grub nodded, cheeks pink, whether from the heat of the tub or from embarrassment, Loth didn’t know.
“Deal.” He fished in the water for the washcloth and threw it at Grub, who caught it deftly and then stared at it like he had no idea what to do next. He probably didn’t. Loth leaned forward in the tub and beckoned Grub over. “Don’t be shy. Best get started before the water gets cold.”
Grub looked suddenly unsure, but then he straightened his shoulders, gave a terse nod, and walked across the room. He positioned himself behind the tub, and then there was a warm, soapy cloth dragging over Loth’s shoulders, followed by the whisper of fingertips against his skin, cool and delicate. Loth shivered at the contact. Had he called the bath glorious before? He took it back. This was the most glorious bath ever. A sigh escaped him, and Grub’s hands stilled for just a moment, but when Loth rolled his shoulders the hands started moving again, the movements becoming stronger, surer.
Grub worked his way down Loth’s back, and while his touch wasn’t quite sensual, it wasn’t entirely platonic either. Loth didn’t comment on the way Grub’s fingers pressed in when they curled around his ribs, or how they hovered just over the swell of his arse, lingering a beat too long, but he didn’t pull away from those inquisitive hands either.
Once Loth’s back was thoroughly scrubbed, Grub hauled a fresh bucket of water over, and, using a scoop, he tipped the water over Loth’s head before working the sliver of soap they had through his wet locks, attempting to work up a lather. He wasn’t very successful, and when he rinsed Loth’s hair, he peered at it dubiously.
“It's... almost clean?”
Loth shrugged. In his book, ‘almost clean’ was acceptable, and still a lot better than ‘thick with bog mud.’ He stood up with no warning, just to hear Grub squawk at the sight of his naked backside, and he wasn’t disappointed. He stepped out of the tub, and Grub thrust a towel awkwardly at him while staring at a particularly interesting spot on the floor.
“Your turn!” Loth said brightly and refused to turn his back at all.
Grub stared at him expectantly, but Loth ignored him and continued to dry himself. It didn’t take long before Grub decided hot water was worth more than his modesty. He let out a sigh. He stripped without ceremony and then slid into the tub quickly, although not before Loth was able to observe that even a week of regular meals and fresh air had taken him from practically skeletal to merely far too thin. It was a hell of an improvement.
The noise that left Grub as he sprawled in the steaming water was positively filthy. Of course, so was Grub, so Loth did his best to ignore the sound. He tucked his towel around his waist, knelt behind the tub, and started scrubbing him down. But this was no gentle pass of the cloth over skin. Loth scrubbed. Grub let out a hiss between his teeth, and Loth muttered an apology, but he didn’t stop. He started with the back of Grub’s neck, tackling the ingrained dirt that he’d been staring at for days now, and he made a small sound of triumph when under the dirt he found clean skin with