The Panther's Second Chance (Book 10 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 31

Natalia flipped on the water and adjusted the temperature, then left the bathroom to grab their bags. She came back a moment later, and pulled a jar of something out, then added it to the water. A soft, mild scent filled the room and Dom breathed it in. It smelled like her, a scent he'd noticed on her skin more than once. She pulled out other items from the bag, carefully lining them up on the edge of the tub before placing a couple of items and a comb on the sink. Then she began to unbraid her hair. 

Dom sat on the edge of the tub to watch her. She wore her hair in a braid a lot, he'd noticed. Every time she was down in the gym, her hair was in a braid. Once it was loose, she carefully brushed it out, and sprayed something in it, before putting it up into a bun on her head. She looked sexy like that too. 

"Turn the water off?"

He glanced back at the tub and noticed that it was half full and flipped it off, before turning back to her. 

She was watching him now, and he saw her eyes glow before she pulled off her shirt. She dropped it, keeping her eyes on him, as she reached down and lowered her shorts, then straightened up. She pulled off her sports bra, then slid down the boy shorts she was wearing. 

Dom let his gaze trail over her. looking for any bruises he might have left behind, and was glad to see that there were none. He hadn't been able to go after her full force, and he knew that Ragnar was aware of it. The former Beta had called him out on it. 

I just can't. It would kill me to hurt her.

I understand. 

It was all Ragnar had said and he knew the man was fine with it. He'd had a much easier time beating on Kai. He stood and pulled off his own shirt. 

Natalia's sharp intake of breath made him stop and look at her. She had a frown on her face and she closed the distance between them and gently touched his abs. Dom looked in the mirror and saw the faint bruising. That was where he'd been the most sore, though the bruise was rapidly fading, but it had to have been bad if it was still visible. 

"I didn't do that, did I?" 

"No, your brother did. You hit hard, Natalia. Very hard, but your brother hits harder," Dom told her. He had a feeling she'd left bruises too, but not like Malachi had. 

"I couldn't bring myself to hit you that hard," she admitted quietly. 

"You held back?" He hadn't thought she had.

"Yeah. Some. You did too though. The difference between our match and your match against Kai was .." she stopped. "It made me cringe."

He smiled. "Did Ragnar know?"

"Probably. He's watched me fight enough."

"He called me out on it," Dom admitted, pulling his shorts off. 

She laughed. "That doesn't surprise me."

Dom stepped into the tub and settled down with a sigh. He hadn't taken a bath in a very long time, not since he'd owned his house in Oregon. The water felt wonderful. "Come here, kitten."

"Why kitten?" Natalia asked, stepping into the tub. 

"Why not. I'm a panther. And I'm sure not going to call you puppy," he muttered as she sat down between his legs. 

She laughed. "I hope not. That would be .."

"Weird?" he supplied.

"Yeah. Some people are into that though," she said, leaning back against him.

"I'm aware, and before you even think about asking, no I'm not." He wrapped his arms around her. "I haven't taken a bath since I lived in Oregon."

"Was that when.." she stopped.