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Whispers In The Dark

Master Felix had woken Tess from her momentary nap when he'd come back into the room, lifted her into his arms, and carried her into the bathroom. He'd made her brush her teeth, while he'd finished preparing their bath. It had been nice to see all of the brand new personal hygiene products someone had provided for her because she'd completely forgotten that Louis had confiscated all of the ones she'd brought with her.

Now, she was enveloped in a sea of hot water, fragrant bubbles, and the delicious, naked flesh of her Master. The only light obscuring their nighttime view of the South Pacific was the handful of candles flickering around the tub. She reveled in the feel of him rinsing the soap from her hair, before gently ringing it out. Then, he pulled her back into his chest, where her head rolled to the side in the curve of his shoulder.

"Maître?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask how you got that scar on your ribs?" she asked hesitantly.

"Would you believe me if I told you I was a pirate?" he asked.

"Not really," she chuckled because she'd heard the teasing humor in his tone.

"Very well, my intuitive pet, I'm not," he laughed softly. "But when I was about eleven, my brother, Marcel, and I thought to fight like pirates with the two cutlasses we found in a spare room. Not realizing their sharpness had been well-maintained over the centuries."

"Ooh," she winced up at him.

"Yes, precisely," he agreed, smiling. "It was an unfortunate lesson for both of us. I happened to nick Marcel's hand by accident, which caused his swing to falter to my ribcage, and the next thing we knew, we were not only getting treated to our first taste of iodine but a stern scolding from our nanny on the importance of priceless family heirlooms."

"Let me guess, the scolding hurt worse?" she teased.

"Have you never used iodine?" he balked, causing her to laugh harder.

"Your parents must have been grateful it was only a flesh wound," she commented and immediately felt him stiffen.

"They were away," he replied hollowly, forcing himself to relax.

Tessa swallowed, guilt rising to clog in her throat. Why had she said that? She knew how much she hated talking about her own family, so why had that even come out of her mouth? Because she was curious about him, that's why. Fascinated about what his life had been like growing up in Metz, and what kind of kid he'd been. Though it sounded like a typical boy to her. His mention of priceless family heirlooms and having an actual nanny had enticed her mind away from her normal cautiousness when it came to the subject of parents. Obviously, he'd come from money. Had he still set out to become a self-made man, or was he attached to some family obligation?

"Another blessing being born a girl, no doubt," he pointed out, his tone back to the jovial one from before. "No scars from pirating brothers."

Grateful that he wasn't holding her slip-up against her, Tessa snuggled deeper into his chest and raised her left foot out of the water, propping it on her knee so that he could see the pink scar running down the curve of her instep.

"No, just rusted nails sticking out of an old tree fort ladder he dared me to climb when I was about eight," she replied. "I don't know what iodine feels like, Master, but I can tell you that a Tetanus shot is not on my top-ten list of favorites."

His chuckle rumbled through her, deep and yummy, bringing a brighter smile to her face. She was so relaxed and tired, she felt like she could stay right there and sleep for the night. Luckily, she wasn't the boss since her fingertips had already started turning into prunes when the real boss declared it was time to get out. Once again, he insisted on drying her off, though she could have saved him time by doing it herself. Afterward, he dried himself off and then covered up all of his glorious nakedness in a soft terrycloth robe, before retrieving her collar from the counter. Lifting her damp hair, she held it while he dried her neck thoroughly then locked the leather and silk into place.