Page 67 of Knotted By the Triad

My eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

“Taking care of you.”

His hands went to the towel around his waist. Daemin pulled it free and tossed it onto the bathroom floor. I made a valiant effort to keep my eyes on his face, but I failed miserably. My dragon perked up with entirely too much enthusiasm.

Daemin reached behind him and closed the glass door, shutting us inside the shower together. I moved to the rear of the shower stall as Daemin reached for the controls. Water sprayed from above, and he positioned his body between me and the stream while he adjusted the temperature, keeping the cold water from touching me.

With his back turned, I took a moment to admire him. His shoulders were broad and strong, leading into a large, muscular back that narrowed at his waist. My gaze traveled lower and settled on his tight ass. I smiled. The man looked just as good from behind as he did from the front.

Once the water was warm enough, Daemin turned around. The first thing he did was order me to face away from him. And then he shampooed and conditioned my hair for me, his fingers untangling my wild curls gently.

I closed my eyes as he massaged my scalp. Somehow, being close to him, being cared for by him, eased some of the pain in my muscles. Or maybe it was the hot water of the shower.

It’s our mate, my dragon moaned in contentment. Our mate is the only medicine we need.

At this point, I was willing to agree with her. Once he was done washing and rinsing my hair, he turned me to face him again. My eyes never left him as he grabbed a towel and poured body wash onto it, working it into a thick lather.

The scent of bourbon and vanilla filled the bathroom as he stepped closer and carefully began bathing me. I glanced around the shower while he rubbed the towel gently over my arms, careful not to press too hard against my remaining bruises.

Dragon-scale-looking tiles covered the walls of the shower stall, and I found myself thankful for this particular modern convenience CiCi had placed in the book.

“Did you design this bathroom yourself?” I asked.

“No. This home was built by a company that travels to other realms and brings back designs they've seen in other places.”

I nodded as he moved the towel from my arm to my neck. He washed me slowly, his touch careful as the warm towel passed over my skin and traveled across my collarbone. I swallowed when his hand moved lower, and the towel rubbed over my breast. A low purr filled the shower.

“Your dragon purrs beautifully,” he whispered.

Only then did I realize the sound was coming from me. When the roughness of the towel grazed my nipple, I shivered, my sweet scent spiking. My gaze met Daemin's, and I found his eyes already on me.

“You shiver beautifully,” he told me.

I chuckled. “Is everything I do beautiful?”

“It is. You are the definition of beautiful.”

His gaze dropped as he trailed the towel over my stomach. I was thankful for all the time I'd spent in Kenadi's gym. Her intense workouts had me looking right. Daemin trailed the towel over my abs before moving lower.

He slowly squatted in front of me and began cleaning my thighs and legs, bringing him directly eye level with my pussy. And damn it, that little traitor decided the shower didn't have us wet enough. It needed to add its slick to the mix.

My pussy fluttered beneath his gaze, growing wetter as he stared at me. I knew he could smell the sweet scent of my arousal because his nostrils flared slightly before he licked his lips. My heart raced, stomach tightening.

Daemin rubbed the towel over my leg, but his eyes remained on my center as he lifted one of my feet and carefully cleaned it. He lowered it and moved to the other, washing that foot just as thoroughly.

All the while, I stood there trying to pretend I wasn’t ready to climb him like a tree. When he finished, he didn't immediately move. Daemin stared up at me, lust blazing in his dark gaze.

My pussy throbbed, growing slicker for this man as I stared down at him. There was no hiding what his attention was doing to me, especially when he could smell every bit of my arousal. Daemin slowly stood.

“Turn around,” he ordered, voice deep.

I nearly slipped down in my haste to obey.

Get it together, Zuri.

He tossed the used towel into the corner of the shower, then grabbed another and lathered it to clean my back. He was just as thorough as he’d been with my front. I found myself arching when he reached my lower back. When he dipped lower, he actually cupped my ass with the towel.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, making more slick leak down my legs.