Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Ayla
O ne of the restaurant owners bought the beast. A different man bought the hide. Working together, Zasen and I cut it free, making more money because of the effort, or so Zasen assured me. When we finished, he steered me back to the house, counting a wad of paper money. With a sly smile, he handed over half. It was more than I had ever seen in one place.
"I'm rich!"
He laughed and nodded. "Yes. Believe it or not, that's almost enough to buy a small house of your own."
"Really?" I counted the money again. "So if I keep hunting, I probably could?"
His face fell. "Yeah, probably."
"What else can I buy?"
He shrugged. "Clothes?"
"I have plenty," I reminded him.
"Weapons?"
I thought about that. "Okay, then I could have blades like yours?"
"Or you can have some made to fit you better."
I sucked in an excited breath. "Can I get some krael? Those helped you so much with the bear."
That made him look over quickly. "Yes, but I'd suggest you get a better spike on the end, more like Kanik's. You should stab more than cut right now. Takes less strength to do damage. That also won't make a dent in your new fortune."
"Oh."
"I mean, you could buy a dog," he teased. "That'd use most of it."
His words made me look over. "A dog?"
He shrugged. "They aren't cheap, but the Dragons who have them act like they're the best things ever. "
"I don't know what to do with a dog."
He smiled at me. "So maybe ask Lansin at the cookout?"
I groaned just as we turned down our street. "Zasen, we didn't get any meat last night."
"I'll handle it," he promised. "We didn't plan for the bear, and it scared away most of the game."
"Game?" I asked, just to be sure I wasn't missing another one of their phrases.
"Animals to hunt," he clarified. "Not entertainment."
"Ah." I nodded, then angled my feet to cut across our lawn, heading to the front door of our house. "But you said I could get a house. Does that mean I should save the money instead? I wanted to put some in the house pot."
He reached up to press a hand against my good shoulder, guiding my weary body forward. "No, you shouldn't get a house. We all like having you here, and we just got your room done. But you know what you could use that money for?" He paused to open the door, letting me step in first.
"What?" I asked as I crossed over the threshold.
"Spoiling Meri. That baby is going to need clothes, and she'll need supplies for it - never mind for herself. You two can even go do things together if you want."
"She won't want to," I said, pausing in the middle of the living room to set my things on the table.
Zasen snagged my bow, then bent to unstring it. "One day, she will, and the money will keep." Then he jerked his chin up the hall. "Go have a bath, but leave the door unlocked."
I started to walk away, but his last words stopped me. "Why?"
"I'll knock first, but there are leaves and dirt in your wound. I don't want it to get infected. That's all. It's easier to wash you in the tub. Just keep a towel beside you and cover yourself if you want. Ayla, I promise I won't hurt you."
I glanced down, but nodded. "I know, Zasen." Then I pulled in a breath and lifted my eyes, surprised I wasn't blushing. "And I trust you. It's just hard. I'm used to saying no, and that makes saying yes even harder."
"And you're still allowed to say no," he reminded me.
I nodded to show I'd heard, but I needed to let him do this, so I just walked away. Still, the idea made me nervous, and yet I knew he'd never hurt me. Zasen always tried to make me stronger in some way. He might be a man, but he wasn't like any I'd met before. Even Rymar and Kanik were different. Dragons were just different, and that made these new - and intimidating - things easier to accept.
By the time I was rinsing the water from my hair, he knocked. Grabbing the towel from beside the tub, I pulled it over my chest and hips, not caring that it was getting soaked, then yelled for him to come in. From the look of him, Zasen had done little more than wash his hands, but he carried a soft cloth, a bar of brown soap, and a small pair of tweezers. His eyes flicked across my body, and he moved to sit on the side of the tub.
"Turn your back to me," he said gently.
Holding the waterlogged towel before me, I shifted around, but looked over my shoulder to see what he was doing. Zasen reached into the wash water beside me, dampened the cloth, then set to work. When I winced, he pulled his hand away for a moment, but then he returned to clean the wound thoroughly. Each time he rinsed the cloth, I saw leaves and debris left behind. He scrubbed - not at the painful area, but the skin below - washing away the blood. Then he picked out a few things still in my raw flesh with the tweezers before washing it again.
"It may scar," he warned me.
I shrugged. "I can't see it."
That made him chuckle. "Vanity is obviously not a problem for you." His eyes moved across me again. "Which is surprising."
"Why?" I turned to face him.
Zasen's lip quirked and he dared to slide his hand over my bare shoulder. "Because I can see enough to know you have nothing to hide. Now I need the tub, so, out."
I looked at him pointedly, but he only shrugged, standing up just to walk over to the counter. Reaching behind him, he grabbed a fresh towel and held it out. It was obvious he had no intention of leaving.
"I'm not standing up like this," I insisted.
"You have a towel to cover your modesty," he pointed out.
I just huffed. "Zasen!"
He shrugged again, then began unlacing his loincloth. "I don't mind joining you, but I thought you'd refuse."
"I'm naked!" I pressed the towel closer to my breasts, unsure what I should do.
"I'm well aware of that. I assure you I've seen women without their clothes before." His smile grew. "Quite a few. In case you forgot, it's perfectly normal for Dragons. Plus, I'm pretty sure I know what your body looks like, and my imagination can fill in the rest. I'm also pushing you."
"Oh," I mumbled, still not convinced this was a good idea.
Being naked with a towel over me was very different from getting out of the water and trading it for a dry one. There would be a moment in there where I had nothing over my body at all! And yet, knowing this was him pushing me made it feel safer. Almost like a dare.
"Now pull the plug and get out, Ayla." The smile on his lips vanished, and he turned completely serious for a moment. "Or," he told me, "you can say no. But to do that, you have to actually say it."
But I didn't want to. Just last night, I'd thought about him kissing me, and I'd wanted it. This? How was it any different? Zasen wouldn't hurt me. He wouldn't force himself on me. More than that, we were friends . Friends trusted each other. I longed to be a strong and confident woman like Jeera or Lessa, but fumbling was the best I could do, although Zasen was giving me the chance to fix that.
So, with a defiant lift of my chin, I yanked the chain for the plug and stood. Zasen didn't move, so I decided I was going to be brave. Just once, I could do this, because I did trust him. It didn't matter if it was shameful, since everything I'd been taught was a lie. This was fine. I was in control. He was my friend.
Dropping the wet towel, I stepped over the edge completely naked. That made Zasen's tail thrash, but his face stayed serene as he held out a dry towel. His eyes also never dropped below mine. It was why I could trust him. This was how real men acted! Then, when I wrapped the dry towel around my body, he found another and moved beside me, blotting at the length of my hair.
"I'm pretty sure that didn't hurt," he said, draping the towel over my shoulders, careful of my wound. "Ayla, you are the strangest woman I've ever met. You run into a fight without fear, but you quake at the thought of a man seeing you? You take a wound that would leave many people in tears, but you're terrified of one that would be so much less."
He meant my virginity. "You wouldn't know," I reminded him.
He tilted his head. "True. But you talked to my sister. Ask my mother. Ask Saveah or Lessa. Ask any woman in Lorsa. You don't have to simply believe me."
"I'm trying," I said, "but it's hard to forget everything I thought was real for my whole life, Zasen."
"I know," he assured me. "And while I may not sound like it, I really am amazed at how much you've learned in such a short time. I guess I just keep waiting for you to decide this is good enough, but I think you deserve more. Now, go upstairs to your room and put on the dress with the little straps. When I'm clean, I need to put ointment on your cuts, and that one won't get in the way."
"You'll get the straps in it," I pointed out.
He ducked his head to give me a mischievous look. "You can always go without. I assure you, I won't complain."
I huffed at him and pulled the towel closer to my body before stepping out of the room, leaving him standing beside the counter. Behind me, he laughed softly, and then the water started running. When I was halfway up the flight of stairs, I heard the door click softly as it closed. I moved a little faster, aware I was wearing almost nothing and that Rymar or Kanik could wake up any moment, but my body wanted to resist the rush.
I was so tired. My muscles ached in ways they never had before, and not just from the injury on my shoulder. My arms hurt, and my legs. My back screamed when I bent to retrieve the dress. It was a small thing, not even reaching my knees, but Zasen was right, it would allow him to treat my shoulder without ruining much of the material.
Once I was dressed, I laid face-down on the bed, enjoying the softness of my mattress. Soon enough, Zasen tapped at the door, waiting until I called out before entering. Again, he was wearing little more than his underwear - black this time, which made his body look even more green. In his other hand was a palm-sized container. It looked similar to the one he'd used to put grease on me when we'd walked here.
"I'm going to sit on the bed beside you," he explained, lifting the ointment. "For your health."
Careful not to let my dress ride up, I shifted over a bit to make room for him. My body was still above the covers, but I turned my head to watch. He opened the jar, set the lid on the table beside the bed, then eased himself down next to my hip. His eyes moved between my shoulder and my face, then he reached over and guided the thin strap down my arm.
"I can only see your shoulder," he said gently.
I pressed my lips together but nodded. Then he began applying the cream. The first touch stung, making me wince. Zasen made soothing noises but didn't stop, slathering plenty into the wound. When he finished, he simply lay back, resting his head on the pillow beside me.
"My turn." He gestured to his ribs.
I made to sit up, but he stopped me, encouraging me to simply slide closer while lying beside him. I giggled, feeling awkward, but tried. The dress shifted slightly higher, but he never looked. Zasen simply held the jar up for me to use, and shoved his other arm beneath my pillow.
"You don't want to mess up the dress," he pointed out. "Putting the strap back up would. You don't want to smear that stuff on the blankets. Just reach over and disinfect my injury for me?"
"This feels like it's something naughty."
He smiled. "I promise it's not. I also think you've been even closer to me than this and lived to berate me for it. Besides, it feels better when you put it on."
So I did. With a thick dollop on my finger, I leaned over his chest and coated his injury. He hissed at the first touch, just as I had, but didn't flinch. I hadn't seen my own, but his wound looked impressive. Not as bad as what I'd seen on hunters in the compound, and it didn't quite need stitches, but the bear had left its mark. The red lines contrasted with his natural ones, and his skin was hot under my hand.
"Will it scar?"
"Probably," he admitted, reaching back to set the jar on the table closest to him. "I'm okay with that. Not many people see a bear up close and live through it. They hunt men now."
"But we killed it."
He chuckled and turned back towards me, letting his eyes close as he answered. "Only because we worked together and didn't panic. You're good under pressure. I think you're a very good hunter."
"I barely know what I'm doing," I said around a yawn.
He pulled his eyes open, looking like he was fighting hard to do so. "Ayla, people don't stand face-to-face with a bear like that and see the next day. When we walked into it, I was terrified it would kill you. When it went after you instead of me? I thought you were already dead."
"But I'm not. We're okay," I assured him.
He let out a soft, weary hum, and let his eyes close again. "Yeah, we are." And his breath slowed.
For a moment, I thought about nudging him, but it felt like too much work. The bed was so soft. I was so comfortable like this, and it had been a very long night. Somewhere in there, my eyes closed too.