What The Fox? (Completely Free!)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Alix started by rubbing circles along my shoulder blades. He had good, strong, calloused thumbs and rich warm palms. It was exactly what I needed to drive away the winter's chill. They say that these werewolves had an uncontrollable lust, and once they caught the scent of a woman, they were unable to help themselves.

I wondered if Alix were aching for a nibble at my bare skin. Were werewolves as dangerous as the stories said they were? I wondered if he could smell my scent under all these rose petals. It seemed dreadfully unfair that his senses made me vulnerable to him. Perhaps, I should ask him to strip off his clothing for me so that we could be evenly matched.

"Wash my back," I ordered him as I sat forward in the small tub. He hesitated only for a second. Then he reached for the cold, wet rag draped over the side of the tub. He dipped it into the water, once, twice.

"I'm going to die of old age before I finish this bath," I complained.

Alix chuckled, and then he smeared the soapy bar of Zao Jia over my shoulder blades. His hands were calloused, but I could forgive that because they were warm. They felt tantalizingly intimate as he rubbed his palms over my body. A man's palms were like a secret cave that held the seat of his power. From the warrior's hands came the ability to build all the palaces of civilization, to create the most exquisite calligraphy, and to wield weapons that would shed the blood of his enemies.

I wonder with whom else Alix had shared those palms within his short and bitter life. Had he once held some innocent, peasant girl's hand? Had he grabbed the reigns of the wild horses of Datong with those hands?

"Are you afraid to look at me?" I teased as Alix kept his eyes on the ground while he worked. Was that a hint of blush that appeared in his hollow cheeks? I reached out and smeared a dollop of soap on his chiseled cheekbones. He tried to pinch it away but only managed to smear more of that acrid soap on himself.

"You are a very cruel girl," Alix complained as he wiped himself clean with his sleeve.

"Look at me, I'm no girl," I purred and reached out to cup his chin in my wet hand. I didn't know if I was doing it just to torture him or if I was trying to erase the memory of Julong from my mind. I was once the poor naive girl being seduced by a duplicitous charlatan. Now, I was the one stringing some hapless virgin along.

"I b-better not," Alix muttered and lowered his gaze even further. Now he was staring at his own two feet as though he wasn't sure if he wanted to scamper out of here.

"I'm your owner. I can make you do anything I want." I released his chin and settled back into the water. The milky white liquid just barely covered my nipples as I sat back with my knees touching the opposite sides of the tub. I didn't need to make him look. His imagination was probably painting a picture in his head of what my female parts looked like under the water.

I knew what that was like. I used to imagine Julong, and I would grow old together. He used to tell me one day we'll be a pair of hunchbacks, a white-haired granny and grandpa. We'll shuffle along to the market every week to buy eggs and fresh fish. We'll have children, maybe even a son who will whine that we walk too slow. The boy might even be embarrassed to be seen with the two of us.

I smiled at the memory. When we became old, Julong said he'll mend the holes in my shoes because he had a sharper eye. I was useless at threading needles; it was just a skill I didn't have. But he used to joke that this was acceptable, as long as I was good at harvesting rice.

Yeah, a sharp eye he did — a sharp eye for fools like me!

"You are very p-pretty," Alix said as he accidentally stole a peek. Now he was blushing. Poor boy, he was an easy target, indeed. Was I so easy, back then? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to look. By my honor as a man, I swear, I will scrub it from my memory."