there.
She tried not to stare as he scooped more water up and washed his face with it, as he ran his hands over his raven hair to tousle the thick, short strands. He made it impossible to tear her gaze away when he swept water over his shoulders and chest, washed his arms, ridding his body of black dust.
Good gods.
She swallowed, her mouth turning dry, as he stood and ran his hand over his hair again, water droplets chasing over his powerful torso, clinging to his muscles in places.
His silver gaze slowly slid to her, widening slightly, and she swore in a split-second before she dropped her gaze to the water, a hint of colour touched his cheeks.
Calindria stared at her reflection, trembling slightly as she listened to Thanatos moving away from her, as she tried to shake the thrill that had chased through her upon seeing him wash himself, and the heat that had followed when she had drunk her fill of his body.
As the distance between them grew again, her reflection came into focus, and she frowned at it. She had been right earlier. She was older than she had thought, and it made sense now. If she had been trapped in this realm for six centuries, then she was close to eight hundred years old now, her youthful years left behind her long ago.
She looked herself over, her eyebrows dipping low as she saw all the ingrained dirt on her legs and her stomach, and her arms. An urge to wash herself suddenly surged through her, and she had the terrible feeling it was because of her company. She didn’t want to look like some sort of wild creature in front of Thanatos.
She stepped into the water.
“What are you doing?” Thanatos boomed.
She tensed and jerked to face him. Blinked. “Washing myself.”
He was quick to turn his back on her, went so still she was sure he could pass for a statue. She kept an eye on him as she removed her makeshift bandage. The cut was healing as she had thought. She washed it and then the cloth, thought about bandaging her hand again and then decided against it. The wound was no longer bleeding and it would heal faster with air getting to it.
She used the rag to wash her arms and chest, and her face, and then scooped water over herself. It ran down her legs and splashed into the pool, and Thanatos’s shoulders tensed whenever the sound of it filled the cavern.
Part of her felt sure he would peek, knew the guards who had been her only company for centuries would have if she had bathed in front of them.
Only he didn’t.
And for some reason, that had her softening towards him.
But she couldn’t let him see how touched she was by the fact he had not only repeatedly shown concern for her welfare, but was being honourable too, giving her privacy at a time she knew she should feel vulnerable. Only she didn’t, not with him.
If he saw that she was softening towards him, then he would try to convince her to let him fly with her, and she couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let him touch her.
Because she really didn’t want to hurt him.
She finished washing herself, stepped out of the water and waited for it to settle before she checked her reflection again. She was cleaner now, but her blonde hair was still matted and filthy. It irritated her as she tried to untangle some of the knots in it, hung heavily against her back and stuck to her damp skin.
She looked at Thanatos.
Or more specifically, his sword.
“Lend me your weapon.” She turned to face him.
He twisted at the waist to look at her. “Lend you my what now?”
“Your sword.” She pointed at it where it hung from his hip.
He glared at her, a flicker of blue emerging in his silver irises, and his hand went to the grip of his weapon in a very protective gesture, as if the thought of letting her near it disturbed him or set him on edge for some reason. “Why do you need my sword?”
“I do not intend to kill you, if that is what you are thinking.” She grabbed the matted length of her hair and lifted it. “I intend to kill this.”
“You want to cut your hair with my sword.” He frowned harder, and she sighed and rolled her eyes, because he was making a big deal about nothing.
“It will not blunt