Sitting on the end of the rather uncomfortable bed in the room Nicolai booked for them, Kaeda is feeling so relieved that they’ll be taking a carriage from here into the next town. It’ll be faster than walking, but it will still be several more days before they reach the harbor they’ll set sail from. She’s also pretty happy about this small town establishment having plumbing, even though it’s just one communal bathroom. Not everywhere has running water, and they could both really use a bath before they hit the road again. 

     “I’m gonna go out to secure our carriage for brightening and get us some supplies. Is there anything in particular you need?” Nicolai asks her. 

     She thinks about it for a moment. “Well, a change of clothes would be nice. This dress isn’t in the best shape, and having only one pair of underwear is not ideal. I’d be happy to throw away this corset and replace it with a soft binder, it’s broken from the fight in Felway anyway, and a binder will be better if I wind up having to fight again. Oh, and a comb!” she exclaims, gesturing to her wildly tangled hair. “I could pay you back when I can find work again”

     “I don’t care about that, Kae. I’ll see what I can find.”

     “Thank you.” she smiles gratefully at him as he heads for the door. Just as he’s about to go out, she remembers her lost daggers, the beautiful engraved ones that Draik had given her. Her chest tightens at the realization that she’ll probably never see them again. She would need weapons though, in case they had to fight their way out of a situation, and daggers were what she knew best. “Wait, Nico. I lost my blades back in Felway. They weren’t with me when you got there. If you could see about getting me some new ones, I would really appreciate it.”

     “If we can’t get them here, we’ll get them along the way, but I will check with the blacksmith.” he says, and gives her a little wave as he goes out and closes the door behind him.

     She stays there on the edge of the bed for a while, thinking about the days ahead, before she decides to go see about having a bath. 

     Luckily, the Inn is small and not very busy, so the bathroom is unoccupied. There are bottles of soap and oils on a shelf by the tub, which is surprisingly big, and a stack of clean towels on a table. She locks the door, turns the tap on, then pours some soap into the stream to create a floral scented bubble bath. To her delight, the water runs hot enough to make the small room steamy. 

     A groan of pleasure escapes her as she lowers her body into the hot, soapy water. This is heaven after being on the road for so long. She closes her eyes and soaks for a while, before she grabs the bottle of soap to scrub herself head to toe. Dunking under the surface, she rinses all the suds from her long hair. 

     When she’s done, she notices how gross the water has gotten, and decides to drain the tub and fill it up again. In the fresh water, she rinses her hair once more, then uses her fingers to comb a lovely lavender scented oil through the length. Gods, it feels fantastic to be clean instead of smelling of sweat and gritty with dirt. 

     She wraps her hair and body in two separate towels, and peek out the door to see if anyone is out there. The hallway is empty, so she dashes back to their room, flinging the door open to find Nicolai sitting on the end of the bed in the same spot she had settled on before her bath.

     He startles at her rushed entrance, but then notices the towel wrapped around her body, and his eyes fill with heat. He looks her over for a moment before pointing to the stack of folded clothes beside him with a copper comb atop it, “I got you a couple shirts, a pair of pants, and some underthings. We’ll have to look for weapons in the next town, the blacksmith here isn’t very good anyway.” He looks her over once more, before tearing his eyes away. “I’m gonna go get cleaned up too.”

     After he’s left the room, she hangs her wet towels from the coat hook on the back of the door, and gets dressed in a loose white shirt with white underwear. She combs her hair out and leaves it loose to dry, then climbs into bed. Moments later, she’s asleep.

     She stirs as she feels the bed shift, and then Nicolai’s fingers brush across her cheek. It’s dark in the room now, he must have pulled the curtains shut when he came back into the room, and she can only make out the shape of him sitting next to her. 

     He runs his calloused fingers gently over the point of her ear, down along her jaw, then over her bottom lip, sending heat racing through her. 

     She reaches up and laces her fingers into his wet hair, pulling his mouth to her own. He responds with a hungry kiss as he lays his body close to hers, and drags a hand from her shoulder down to her hip, where it slips under her shirt and slides back up to her breast. 

     She moans softly against his lips as he circles her hard nipple with his thumb, and he growls in response.

     Running her hands down his back, over the rippling of his muscles, she marvels at how hard his body feels under his soft skin. She remembers gazing at him from the river, wanting to feel his abs, and now she does. She feels something else too, his hard length brushes against her hand, and she realizes he climbed into bed naked after his bath. 

     She wraps her fingers around him and he groans, breaking away from the kiss to pull her shirt up and lower his head to her chest. He closes his mouth over her nipple, moving his tongue wickedly across it, sucking gently, while she caresses him. 

     He groans again, and the vibration sends little shockwaves through her heated system.

    She doesn’t want any more teasing. She wants him inside her. It’s been so long, and she needs him now.

     “Nicolai, please.” is all she says, and his mouth travels across her skin, dropping soft kisses all the way back to her mouth as one of his hands moves to her inner thigh. He slides his fingers to the sensitive apex of her legs, and runs them over the cotton covering her.

     She pushes her hips up, begging for more, and he pulls away to slide her underwear down and off. 

     She lays sprawled on the bed before him, naked except the shirt pushed up to expose her breasts, both of them panting with desire.

     “Gods, Kae. You are so beautiful.” he says, moving his body over hers until she feels his breath on her neck. “I love you.” Then, he’s inside her and the world melts away.