moved me into the spray. “Rinse your hair.”
“I can wash my own hair.” I pushed him away.
“Obviously, you can't or you wouldn't have been stupid enough to use soap. You will use proper shampoo from now on. I want your hair silky, not stringy.”
“Oh, so it's about you?” I stepped out of the spray so he could get under it.
“Of course.”
Kar angled his head back to wet his hair again, then held his palm out. I rolled my eyes and poured shampoo into his hand.
“Do you think you can finish bathing without my assistance? I'd like to dry off now.”
Kardri stepped out of the water to shampoo his hair. “Just wait for me; I'll only be a few minutes.”
“I can wait for you outside.”
“I want you in here.”
“Oh my God, you're like a toddler.” I heaved a long, suffering sigh.
Kardri chuckled. “I simply want my lover beside me, naked and wet for as long as possible. What's wrong with that?”
“We're in a public bathhouse,” I hissed. “Cut it out.”
“You need to get over whatever your issues are.” Kardri finished rinsing, then shut off the water. “They're getting annoying.”
“It's been like a week,” I grumbled. “Give me a fucking break.”
“Yes, you're right,” he went abruptly serious, his hands sliding around my face. “I'm sorry. I'll try to be more patient.”
“Thank you.” I straightened my shoulders and stepped out of the stall.
His hand reached out, fingers flicking in a gimme motion.
“A fucking toddler,” I grumbled and handed him his towel.
“Thank you.” Kardri dried off as he stepped out.
The other guys in the bathhouse glanced at us surreptitiously, but when Kar moved the towel to his hair, they stopped being so subtle and just plain gawked. Yeah, the man was hung and had half a woody. He was also incredibly handsome. It was difficult to decide what to focus on—his wet ebony muscles or that mammoth member. Kar shook his hair out, completely oblivious to the stares he was getting, or perhaps used to them. I stepped in front of him, blocking the view. Normally, I wouldn't give a fuck about a naked man standing in front of other naked men, but this was my naked man, and a lot of those soldiers gawking at him were gay. They weren't just gawking, they were lusting. That made a huge difference.
“Get dressed,” I hissed as I pulled on my pants. At least now my hard-on was gone.
Kardri scowled at me, then lifted his head and glanced around the bathhouse. Suddenly, everyone was busy drying off and dressing. He smirked as he dropped his gaze back to mine. Grimacing and rolling my eyes, I yanked on my shirt. I was focused on my belt buckle when Kar pressed against my back and hunched over me.
“Are you getting possessive, Tryst? Don't want anyone else to see my body?”
“Don't be a dick,” I huffed and jerked away from him.
Kardri chuckled, then sat down on the bench to pull on his boots.
“How did you know which stall I was in?” I asked abruptly.
Kardri stared at me in surprise. “I scented you.”
“Scented me?” I scowled.
“Don't you know my scent?”
I thought about it. I could smell him, of course, but could I recognize his scent? Pick it out of a busy bathhouse? A spicy musk tickled my memories. When I breathed in deeply, I caught a whiff of it and something in my brain perked up like a hound pointing toward prey. There, right there he is, and he's ours.
I cleared my throat when I caught Kardri watching me knowingly. “I didn't think about it before, but, yeah. Is that a Leopard Fae thing?”
“Most shapeshifters can differentiate between scents.” Kardri shrugged. “All of your senses will get stronger once your beast aligns with you.”
“Aligns with me?”
“Once you shapeshift, an alignment between your two forms will begin,” he explained. “When the process is complete, you will be like two sides of the same coin. Injuries that happen to you in one body will show up in the other, but you will also get leopard senses in your Sidhe form.”
“Sounds like a fair exchange to me. I'll be able to think and speak in my leopard form too, right?”
“Your intellect and speech cross over on the first shift. It may take a few minutes for your brain to adjust, but it shouldn't be a problem. It's the animal gifts that take longer to transfer.”
We gathered our things and headed out of the bathhouse, men inclining their heads respectfully as we passed. I