Page 20 of The Dragon's Pet
A smile passed over his face. “That I can believe, pet. Come, you need your bath.”
The bath was not far away down the winding halls of ‘simple’ carvings that Vyktor did not seem at all impressed by, and that made Aria feel as though she were in the chambers of some great ancient civilization. The world outside the mountain was starting to feel much less real somehow, more ephemeral. Had there ever been places that were lit with incandescent electric light, garishly blaring through day and night? Had there ever been a world where creatures like herself thronged pavements?
Aria shook her head to clear it. She had only been with the dragons for a day, and already she was losing touch with the reality she had known. It was the total isolation from everything that was doing it, and the captivating way Vyktor had of drawing her attention so completely that it seemed there was nothing outside of him.
“These are our communal baths,” Vyktor said, leading her into a cavernous space where several dragon men were lazing in a body of water that looked much like an interior lake, and that was the size of a swimming pool. The humidity in the room told her thatthe water was being warmed, though how that was happening she was not sure.
They nodded to Vyktor, though Aria did not see what else they might have done as she was too busy closely observing the ground. What felt natural with Vyktor, being on a leash, was soon shameful when the eyes of others fell upon her.
“And here is our private bath.”
He led her to a door in the wall marked boldly with the letter ‘V.’
“You used human script,” Aria noted in surprise.
“I did,” he smiled. “I rather like it.”
“Are you going to get it tattooed on you somewhere?” Aria asked the question with a little smirk. Vyktor’s interest in humanity was quite charming. She had to be careful that she didn’t end up telling him too much and giving something important away.
“Tattooed?”
“It’s when people get ink injected into their skin, so they can walk around with symbols or pictures or words on them.”
“Intriguing.” Vyktor nodded. “No, I admit, I had not intended on marking myself permanently with the V.”
He opened the door, revealing a relatively small chamber that featured a bath-like hollow carved into the floor. It was about twice as large as any bath Aria had ever seen before and it was filled with gently steaming water that flowed from a niche in the wall at one end and drained at the other in a steady flow. She could see claw marks in the walls, indicating that he—or his craftsmen—must have taken their dragon form to create the space.
“Wow,” she breathed. “This is perfect.”
“I am glad it is satisfactory to you, pet,” he said, no small amount of amusement in his voice. “I have also found some lotions of a cleaning nature among the supplies we have managed to forage during our time here. I hope one of them will be suitable for you.”
Aria slid into the warm water, finding it a perfect temperature. Hot enough to make her muscles relax, not so hot she felt as though she was being poached. She leaned back and let herself float in the water, closing her eyes for a moment to simply relax in a moment of comfort.
There was a soft splash as Vyktor slid in next to her, the tub comfortably accommodating both of them side by side with some room to spare.
She reached for the soaps… then burst out laughing.
“What is it, pet?”
Aria giggled, holding up a golden bottle. “This is dishwashing liquid. We use it to clean up after meals.”
“Well, you are bite-sized,” Vyktor replied with surprising alacrity.
She pushed the bottle back onto the ledge and looked at him, shaking her head. “You’ve spoken English for a few weeks and you’re already using puns?”
“Dragons enjoy wordplay,” he said. “We enjoy most play.”
“Yes,” Aria said. “That was what we noticed first when you invaded—how fun you all are.”
Her words dripped with sarcasm, causing Vyktor’s brows to rise. “I hear being punished on wet skin is worse than dry. Shall we test that theory, pet?”
“Oh, yeah,” Aria grinned, her natural mischief coming to the fore. “You’re just so much fun!”
She splashed a little water at him. A few droplets caught him across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. For the first time since knowing him, he looked a little comical and Aria liked it. The fear and embarrassment that had been present for so much of their association was gone. She might have been wearing his collar, and he might have had her leash in his hand, but she suddenly felt a little more equal.
“Naughty pet,” he drawled, wiping his face. He rested his arms along the back of the bath and watched her as she pushed off from the side and glided naked through the water, her progress only arrested by coming to the end of her leash. Vyktor let the links of the chain slide through his fingers and drop to the floor of the tub, which was almost five foot deep. The chain was long enough that it dragged along the bottom of the tub, feeling a little like a very gentle anchor.
“Am I still under effective control?” Aria smirked at him as she swam lazily to the other side of the tub, putting her a good ten feet away from him.
