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Chapter 8 Bath Time with Bea

-BEA-

Bea lifted the comforter to move Dax’s legs to a more comfortable position when the foul smell that had been lingering in the room, blasted her in the face.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or reality but the area felt hotter and tasted sticky. The different blends of musk created a smell she’d never experienced before.

Abruptly, she ripped the sheet and comforter away from his legs and threw it over the footboard. The action wafted the smell throughout the rest of the room.

She covered her face with her long sleeve and rushed over to the drapes, hastily pushing the heavy material away from the windows. She didn’t care to tie them back just yet as her focus was on the latch to the patio door.

Her thin fingers worked the clunky metal until it was unlatched from the hook that was holding it, and she shoved the balcony doors open. Fresh air racked her face and body as the rancid air from behind her slithered past her back. The experience caused her to shiver.

Hurriedly she went to the two other large windows around the room and after shoving aside the dark drapes, she opened the room up to the brisk air from outside.

“Goddess.” She said as she went back to Dax. Now with more light, she could see that he had pressure sores up and down his legs. Normally with pure werewolf blood running through his veins, sores such as these would heal themselves, but it looks like the constant damage was catching up with him.

The wounds weren’t healing as fast anymore, and she could see signs of previous sores that were still discolored. “Oh, my Goddess! Master… What have they done to you?!”

She’d seen these before when Rebecca sent her out to do her “Civil Duties” which included caring for the sick. Dax should be turned and bathed regularly. She made a mental note to write up a schedule for his care.

When a shiver ran up his body, causing him to tremble and shake, Bea cursed and reclosed the patio doors and both windows, before covering Dax up. She had a job to do.

After she fed the Prince, she covered him with another blanket to warm him and took off to get the things she needed for the room. She was exhausted but she’d been able to find everything she wanted.

Leaning over and putting her hands on her knees, she stretched out her back. Only stopping once she heard the satisfying crack of her spine.

She knew what she had to do but she wasn’t sure how to start. She tried talking herself up as she walked back over to Dax’s bed side, holding the bucket of warm water, and rags. “You can do this. He’s your husband. Everything he has is yours, including his body… and so… this can’t be wrong in any way.”

She pulled the blanket back down while trying not to look at his face. She could feel the heat as it spread across her cheeks, and she knew that her face would be strawberry red if she were to look in the mirror.

Hovering over him she began the process of changing his linens and sanitary items. As she worked the urge to talk with Dax became too much. “You know, when I was still just a young girl, I never had to change sheets. Life outside was so very different than it is in your world. I ran crazy with the chickens unless Papa was home. If he was, well… then I had to behave.”

She smiled and looked briefly at Dax before moving to clean a riskier spot. Taking great care, she cleaned around his thighs and buttocks. He had a particularly angry sore on his right butt cheek.

“I wonder if you were as rambunctious as they say. Did you really swim your horse across the Benevee?” She looked up at him then, noticing the lines on his face had lessened but he made no action to show that he was present. “That’s the town reservoir, isn’t it? Why do that type of stuff? Even at the cottage… when the fire broke out… Instead of running, you just sat and drank from your glass.”

She stopped talking at that moment. She wasn’t sure what all she could say without getting in trouble but the more she spoke with him, the easier it was to do so.

Dax’s skin had gone months without a proper scrub or wash and his skin had started crusting. The fungus was worse on the underside of his knees, and she had to be gentle as she washed away the top layers.

The night of the fire was still on her mind. She squeezed the bunched wet cloth in her hand. Once again, she couldn’t stop herself from speaking. “I know what happened that night. I know who started the fire. I tried telling Visca about it once I was assigned to his home but… only his Wolf believed me. You would have died that night.” She paused briefly before saying, “And so would of the Alpha.” The smell of the smoke and the sound of the chaos built up in her senses and so she quit talking.

From there, she scrubbed until his skin began to turn red. Once it did, she moved on to a new section to start the process over again. When she finally got to his face she grew shy. Lightly she scrubbed away the dirt and skin, noticing absently that Dax closed his eyes when she washed near them. His long dark lashes closed, causing dark crescents to sit prettily on his cheeks. His full lips weren’t moving but they were no longer tight from discomfort.

“You really are handsome.” Immediately her face grew hot, and her eyes grew big. “I mean.” She stopped talking and looked around the room. The feeling of doing something wrong was ever present inside her. She leaned down a little further and whispered. “I never thought I’d be a wife. I know I shouldn’t be but I’m happy. You may not be able to experience life anymore but you sure are making my experience worth living.”

She thought of her big room and personal tub. She remembered the yumminess of the food they’d shared. And now, looking down at his bright blue eyes and handsome features, she couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled forth.

“Besides, I choose to believe you LIKE me taking care of you. You just wait, this is only the first day.” She looked out at the sun that was now across the sky and moving towards mid-afternoon.

“Can I make it to the market and back before dark? I need to buy a salve for your sores.” She looked up and down Dax’s body.

The only matter left unattended were his nails. His toenails had grown long and pointed, slanting down into a deep curl. His fingernails weren’t much better. She filed away the tips, scrubbed the fungus that had started growing between his toes and then she oiled the nail beds before moving to his hands.

It was here that had her pausing. As she was finishing up and oiling his hands she noticed the tendons and muscles in his hands were moving when she massaged the oil into them. On their own. They were moving like Dax was trying to move his fingers.

She watched them for another two minutes when she finally gasped and said, “You’re still in there, aren’t you?!”

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