herbsandwitchery-deactivated201:
“This is unnecessary,” muttered Leo. “I can bathe myself.”
Leo sat, tense, uncomfortable and stripped naked, in a small copper tub in the bedroom. A hand towel covered his manly parts while a waterproof bandage covered his stitches. Claire used the tub for healing and ceremonial baths but decided it would make bathing Leo easier.
“You can barely stand unassisted,” she snipped back. “I wouldn’t trust you to bathe alone for all the lost books of Alexandria. Besides, we have to be careful not to get the stitches too wet.”
Hot water came up to his hip and a ewer of water sat on the floor by the tub. The sweet-sharp scents of lemon balm and fennel rose from the waters.
Taking some water in a cup, she wet his hair, working gently until it was thoroughly wet. Then she poured shampoo into her palm and massaged it into his scalp. Silence filled the room, broken by the soft sounds of water and washing. She used the cup to rinse his hair.
The scent of him, beneath the warlock-smell and the herbs, was musky. It carried hints of leather and spice. Warm and very different from the cologne and aftershave she smelled on most men, it evoked memories of horses and the handsome guard that seduced her when she was a teen. Once she concentrated on the musk, it was hard to smell anything else, and a bit of warmth curled in her gut.
She soaped up a wash cloth and began to wash his shoulders, moving around his neck and chest. His muscles rippled under fingers. The scent of herbs suddenly strengthened and Claire realized many healing herbs were also used in love spells.
Leo’s hand came up to stop hers. Their faces were close. She’d leaned over the tub without realizing. For a breathless moment, neither of them moved.
“I think I shall try to wash the rest,” he said, his voice low.
“Certainly. I’ll come back to help you rinse and dry.”
She gave him the cloth and fled the room, escaping to her roof top garden. Leaning against her rose arbor, she gulped in warm air that was clean of musk and lemon balm.
