They sat in silence as water was rising slowly soaking their dirty clothes and tired limbs both lost in their own thoughts.

Renna had liked having something meaningful to do. Arion, though her captor, was not too bad either. He could be fun, if he wanted to. She was not yet entirely adjusted to the idea that he was also the dragon. The magnificent beast who had snacked on her pig was also the man in the tub with him now… the idea felt… intriguing. She wanted to test it out…

“Do you remember eating my pig a week before midsummer?” She asked.

He snorted. “Yes. And I did see you watching too.”

“Weren’t you scared?” He wondered.

Renna thought about it. “I have never felt scared of the dragon really…” she admitted.

“I would like to see it again…” she said thoughtfully, longing making a small appearance in her voice. In some way, the beast was more familiar to her than this man in front of her. She felt closer to it having watched it over the years than Arion, who was… well… a man she did not know that well.

Arion watched her in the dim candle light and felt something unpleasant and new. He felt envy for the beast who lived in him and was watching the scene as well through his eyes. The beast’s contentment with her implicit trust in it only made it worse. He coveted her trust. He desired to be touched by her the same way as dragon was… without getting a kick in the privates. He was not sure if he deserved that trust, but neither did the beast. Spring was still going to happen… And there might be less regrets if he left things the way they were… Looking at her through half closed eyelids, he was forced to admit… There was no escaping regrets any more. There might be quite a lot of them over things he could have done and missed the chance, if he fought this pull…

The door cracked open and a tray with two glasses of wine slid in. Arion pulled himself out of the water to fetch them.

Renna could not help but stare at his form that the dripping wet pants contoured. She admittedly had seen him naked before, but it was a bit different feeling now in candle light and knowing him a bit better. Something in her was getting awakened by this man and it was both thrilling and scary. And she was not really sure if she should help it along or fight it.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Arion sank back in the tub and handed her both glasses. “Hold mine for a moment, please.” And started struggling out of his pants under water.

Renna got nervous. He stopped for a moment, looked at her pointedly and asked “Remember what I promised?”. She nodded. “Then don’t worry, okay. I just won’t get clean if I stay in these mud filled pants. And neither will you in that dress.”

He pulled the pants out of the water and threw them into the overflow drain.

Then he took both glasses away from Renna and told her it’s her turn. Renna wasn’t sure about this… Sure, it was dark, but still… On the other hand - why not test him… how good was his promise. And it was not like the dress was going to do anything for her, if he wanted to try something.

“Alright, close your eyes. No peeking. I will need to stand up.” She announced.

She waited for him to close his eyes and stood up on the seat step to remove the dress. The water level was just below her waist and hauling the water logged garment over her head took a while. Arion could not resist sneaking a peek. He regretted it instantly. He had no intention of breaking his promise but damn, was it choking him hard. His nether regions were painfully uncomfortable. Tonight in his bed he would need to do something about it by himself. He was almost relieved when he heard her sink in the water again.

“You can open your eyes now.” she said.

He passed over the wine glass and took a sip.

She did the same thoughtfully.

Renna could not shake a slight disappointment. She hadn’t even caught him peeking. Guess he wasn’t interested in her then and that promise had been easy to give. She should have been relieved. But she wasn’t. And she couldn’t really understand it herself. She definitely did not desire to be ravaged by this man here and now. So why the disappointment… Maybe she just wanted an excuse to kick him again? She found this to be an adequate explanation and relaxed.

They sat and sipped wine quietly, but in a moment the door opened and a crackly fiery voice told them that there were towels waiting outside the door and that it was time for dinner.

Arion laughed. “Now it’s your turn to close your eyes and not peek. I'm getting out and sprinting for the door.”

He hardly gave her a moment to react before he stood up and walked away. And of course she peeked.

The state of his body told her things he had not. A whole silent conversation. He definitely did peek.

And something in her growled with satisfaction.