“Well, I’m glad you are enjoying your meal.”
Nodding, Kai continued to eat while Tana kept busy.The older woman moved around soundlessly, bringing two blankets from somewhere in the closet and spreading them over the bed.Tana then disappeared into the closet again.
Kai glanced over her shoulder and saw Tana, who, instead of carrying the dirty clothes, leaned over and delicately lay a mint-colored garment along the far end of the bed before returning to her full height again.
The woman was efficient, Kai thought as she speared a piece of meat.
“Well, I will leave you to eat in peace.Do you need anything before I go?”
She started to shake her head and slide a chunk of meat in her mouth, but Kai’s brain found a way to operate and function on something beyond the glorious food.Setting down the fork, Kai picked up a cloth napkin and wiped her lips.She was sure she had food all over her mouth.Shifting, she faced Tana.
“Yes.I hate to be a bother.”
Tana waved her words away.“It’s what I am here for.What is it?”
“Um.”Kai fingered her damp hair behind her ear.It was so thick it would take hours to dry.“I wondered if there were different bathing supplies I could use.”
“Why?You don’t like the scents?”Tana tipped her head left.
“It’s not that.The different substances in the jars smell amazing.”She rubbed along her arms, still feeling the tingling sensation.Hoping not to offend, she continued, “I think I’m allergic to whatever is in the jars.I’m irritated all over.”
“Ooh.I’m sure your body is responding to the powder mixture of coneflower, sunflower, vanilla bean, and white ginger.”Tana smiled.“Just a pinch of the yellowish-orange mixture helps to stimulate blood circulation and relax tired muscles.Most male and female Drahks enjoy a soak now and then.”
Did she say a pinch?Kai recalled it had been the jar that Ninki had poured the entire content into the bath.Kai may not have been embarrassed about her eating habits, but she could not bring her lips to part and ask what would happen if someone used a lot of the substance.It made sense to her why her body was acting a bit haywire.She could only hope that the effects wore off quickly.“Good to know.”
Note to self: never allow Ninki to help her with another bath.
“Well, get some rest.I’ll collect the dishes later, so don’t trouble yourself.”Tana turned and started toward the front door.
“Oh, thank you for bringing me something to sleep in,” Kai called after the older woman who was now halfway across the apartment.
“Oh, no, dearie.We Drahks sleep bare.It’s for when you wake.”Barely with a pause in stride, Tana continued out the door.
Kai sat shocked, dumbfounded.Nude?
She had never slept without clothing.She shook her head and exhaled.This place gave her all kinds of new experiences.Turning back to her plate, she decided it was best to put off the thought of sleeping attire for a little longer until she finished eating.
Picking up the fork, she brought the glistening, thick piece of meat to her mouth.A thick gravy coated it and dripped heavily back into the dish.Tana had piled the entire plate with the meat mixture.Kai didn’t feel like she had a name to describe what she smelled—‘gamey’ and ‘fresh’ came to mind.Hell, she only knew that word from the encyclopedia of cooking.Not entirely sure what it meant.
She took a bite of it.It was succulent and tender.But the taste was the best thing she’d ever placed in her mouth.As she ate the second half, she stared at the abundance of chunks on the platter.There was no way she could finish much more.Even though her eyes said ‘yes, yes, yes, please.’Her stomach, already stretched to capacity, was screaming, ‘no more.’She took the middle road and ate another eight pieces before laying the utensil down, having barely gotten through a quarter of the offering.She hoped to finish more when she woke.Cold food didn’t bother her one bit.
Kai stood after taking two healthy gulps of water to wash everything down.She was exhausted, and the big bed with the blankets piled on top looked inviting.Now, with her belly full, she just wanted to shut her eyes.Kai felt guilty going to sleep when a part of her thought she was a pitiful big sister for not being in the lower-level room to watch over Morlie.Make sure she was safe and getting better, especially with all the smoke.Aodh said it was a healing smoke, but she couldn’t believe it.Kai had lost friends to fires from people trying to keep warm in tiny dwellings with poor ventilation.If a fire wasn’t safe, then how could smoke be?
She glanced over at the hearth and saw that Aodh’s flame was still burning, flickering, filling the space with warmth and making the room toasty.
Aodh.
The thought of him was doing things to her body, causing the tingling she had been able to ignore during her meal to ratchet up once again.Her body was no longer tingling but starting to throb, and there was a slickness now on her thighs.
As she crossed the space to her bed, she considered doing like those in this territory, crawling into bed with nothing on.She could rub her body along the fabrics of the sheets and blankets to ease some of the sensations.When she considered sleeping in the buff, it made her cheeks feel like she stood too close to the fireplace.She looked over at the clothes on the end of the bed.She didn’t want to wrinkle them by sleeping in them.Instead, she compromised with herself and kept the robe on.
Realizing she wasn’t good to herself at her current level of exhaustion, Kai climbed into the bed.She sank deep into the mattress, unsure of what the bedding was made from to make it soft and firm.She thought about Goldilocks from Robert Southey’sThree Bears.A bed like the one Kai lay in had now had to be the experience to make someone moan the words “just right.”
It was Kai’s last thought as she drifted off to sleep.
