so hard I could see the back of my head. My woman burst out laughing and didn't stop the whole time I brushed my teeth. The damn paste kept foaming and dripping all over my jaw, the brush, and even my hand. She then had the audacity of asking me to brush my tongue, which had me gagging to the point I thought I would regurgitate my evening meal.
I couldn't even be furious, because her mirth was so intoxicating. I wanted it to endlessly cascade over me, even if it was at the cost of this frustrating torture. When she had me do the dental floss part, I nearly lost my shit. But then Naima started doing it on herself to show me. For some inexplicable reason, doing such menial activity with her gave me the strangest sense of intimacy. It was… pleasant.
“Do you remember how to operate the shower?” Naima asked.
I nodded.
“Perfect.” She stepped outside for a second, and I heard the wardrobe door opening. She returned moments later. “Here are your pajamas for the night, and clean undies,” my woman said, extending the small pile to me. “You can dump your dirty clothes in that little basket in the corner,” Naima added pointing at it. “I'll be outside at the desk wrapping up the lovely little report I need to write about your progress, which was quite impressive I must say,” my mate said in a gentle tone.
“Thank you, my love,” I smugly replied to her compliment.
“I will wait until you’re done to tuck you in bed like the big boy you are,” she added tauntingly before strutting out and closing the door behind her.
I smirked, fighting the urge to catch her and spank her for her insolence. Maybe I should just walk out buck naked once I finished showering. But I discarded that thought as soon as it crossed my mind. While I didn't mind being naked, I didn't want any potential female seeing what only belonged to my Naima. And I had no doubt that at least one or more agents were observing us through that wretched camera.
I lifted the handle of the shower, and the water immediately began raining down. Swiftly stripping out of my clothes, I threw them in the wicker basket my mate had indicated then, enticed by the white plumes of vapor swirling around the shower, which reminded me of the Mist, I stepped under the water.
It no sooner came into contact with my skin than a roar of pain rose from my throat. I jumped away from the scalding water, and my wet feet slipped on the tiles covering the floor. My arms milled around in an instinctive attempt to maintain my balance, but I lost both the battle and my footing. The room spun around me as I fell and landed with a loud thud on the cold, hard surface of the floor. A lancing pain at the point of impact—my right butt cheek—quickly spread through my right leg and my back.
“Motherfucking son of a bitch!” I shouted, rolling to my left side to rub the sore spot.
It was in that less than glorious position that Naima found me, as she came bursting into the room.
“Zain! Are you—?”
Her words died in her throat seeing me sprawled on the floor. Her eyes went from my face, to my hand rubbing my butt, to the shower still raining boiling water, and then to my chest, which had reddened from the burning slap it had received. The worry plastered on her face quickly faded, and my woman bit the inside of her cheeks, visibly fighting the urge to burst out laughing. I was embarrassed, humiliated even. While my brain understood the comical aspect of the situation, I didn't take well to being the butt of a joke—no pun intended. And yet, the emotions emanating from my woman seeing me this way were soothing and delicately pleasant.
It then struck me, with a clarity I couldn't explain, that this very human mishap made me more approachable and endearing to her. Maybe I shouldn't fight so hard those weaknesses of my new vessel, and use them to my advantage to seduce my mate.
“I am starting to believe you are attempting to murder me,” I grumbled.
This time, Naima didn't stop herself from laughing.
“No, silly goose,” she said, helping me up. “I did ask if you remembered how to operate it. You had to go all macho man on me and say of course you did. See what