shower, but someone said there was a line. So I sat down and then I was sleeping.”
“You fought impressively last night.” His hand wandered down my face to stroke my cheekbone.
I closed my eyes and sighed again. “Thanks.”
“Then you worked for hours putting out fires and burying bodies. You even helped build the temporary tent.”
“Someone had to.”
“Not you, Tristan. You don't have to do those things anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because you're the Valorian. The Goddess has chosen you. Blessed you. You're special, Captain Vangrarre.”
“What did you call me?.”
“You're of my line now and that means you bear my name.”
“Oh. You can call me Tryst,” I murmured.
“Can I?” his voice dropped into a sensual tone as his fingertip trailed over my eyebrow. “Thank you.”
“Sure.”
“I like it. Tryst. Like a secret rendezvous.”
“Mm-hmm. The ladies like it too.”
The Leopard Lord chuckled wickedly. “Is that so?”
“All done, Leopard Lord,” a man said.
“Thank you. That's all,” the warlord said crisply.
The sound of footsteps passed by and faded.
Once they were gone, his voice softened again. “The bath is ready for you.”
“Too tired.”
“Come now, Tryst.” He helped me up. “I've got you.”
I swayed and blinked my eyes open. I felt drunk, I was so tired. My head lolled back and I looked him over. “You're so pretty.”
I stared at his full lips. They twitched.
“Thank you. How about a hot bath? You can just sit there and close your eyes.”
“Okay.” I leaned against him as he helped me into a bathing room.
The floor was covered in wooden slats, except for where a huge tub sat, right in the center of the room. A shelf stood at the far wall, holding folded linens, bottles, and stacks of soap. A stool waited to one side of the tub, and the Leopard Lord angled me onto it. I slouched there while he unbuckled my belt. Our uniforms were simplified versions of fae clothing—tunics and buttoned pants as opposed to the buttoned shirts and drawstring pants that human civilians wore. Huh, it was like the opposite with the buttons; I hadn't thought of that before.
There went my shirt. I frowned down at the Leopard Lord as he helped me out of my boots, wrinkling his nose as he cast them away. Then he had me on my feet and was unbuttoning my pants. I brushed his hands away and did it myself, stepping out of both my pants and my underwear. Then I managed to climb/fall into the tub.
I groaned as the water rose around me. “Fuck, yes.” I slid underwater for a few seconds, then came up and laid back, letting my torso float. “This is fucking magical.”
“Yes, it is,” the Leopard Lord murmured.
I would have been worried about his wording and his tone, but the heat was relaxing me even as the water revived me. So, I just crawled to the rim and propped my head on it. My eyes closed immediately, but they popped open when I felt a pair of hands run down my chest from behind. The Leopard Lord was leaning over me, rubbing at my pecs.
“Sit up,” he said.
I sat up obediently, his hands drawing up my chest as I did. I glanced over my shoulder to watch him soap up a cloth, then set the soap down on the stool. He started washing me, stroking the cloth over my shoulders in long, strong movements and then down my back. He leaned around to scrub my chest, and I swayed, my eyes closing again. The cloth came up my neck and over my face.
“Keep your eyes shut,” the Leopard Lord warned me as he scrubbed the dirt off my skin. “Okay, rinse it off.”
I slid underwater and rubbed the soap from my face, then drifted back to the surface and just sort of bobbed there.
The warlord chuckled softly, and I heard him move to my right. I felt too good to care. I let my arms float out to grab the rim of the tub to either side of me and help keep my nose out of the water. I didn't care about the rest. In fact, I liked the hollow sound in my ears. I felt cocooned in warmth. Then a hand grabbed my calf and lifted my lower leg out of the water.
I made a soft sound of pleasure as the Leopard Lord rubbed the cloth over my foot, then massaged it with his bare hands. His strong fingers worked at my tired sole, then upward, over my calf. He set my leg back in the