Chapter 10

They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence, cherishing each other's presence. Soon they reached the Cypher's small home. Opening the door for her, he let her step in first, looking at her a little chagrined. "It's not the palace you're use to, but I hope you'll feel comfortable here anyways."

Turning around to face him, she slid her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"It's perfect, Richard. I don't need a palace. Wherever you are, that's where my home is."

Returning the embrace, he enjoyed being close to her for as long as possible, before moving into the small bathroom and getting her bath ready.

Some time later, the water had a comfortable temperature and he called to Kahlan.

"The water's ready, if you are."

A moment later, she was in the doorway, her nightclothes clutched to her chest. He admired her for a moment, before snapping out of it and offering her a towel.

"If you need anything else, let me know." Before leaving, Richard lit a few candles around the room, making it easier for her to see as well as creating a comfortable atmosphere.

"I will, thank you." She smiled and watched as he closed the door behind him.

As quickly as possible, she unlaced her clothes; soon she sunk into the water, letting a happy sigh escape her lips. It had been a while since she'd had a warm bath. Grabbing the soap off the shelf at her side, she lathered her skin, not really paying attention to the moans that escaped her lips at the clean feeling that the soap left behind on her skin.

A quick knock at the door was all the warning she got, before Richard's head peeked through the crack in the now half open door.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Trying to cover herself, as best she could, she blushed slightly. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry. It's just been too long since I've really felt clean."

He nodded, relieved that she was okay and was about to close the door again, when she called out to him.

"Would you mind scrubbing my back? My shoulders ache from riding so long and I can't really reach all that well..." She looked at him pleadingly, not sure if he would deny her request.

She was still talking, when he already was in the process of making his way over to her, not needing much persuasion. Trying to keep his eyes fixed on her face, he took the soap from her fingers and motioned for her to lean forward.

Following his silent plea, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her knees. Resting her cheek on her knees so she could face him while he assisted her.

Hesitating a moment, Richard then pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto a chair in the corner, not wanting to get it wet and soapy.

Swallowing hard at the sight of his toned upper body, Kahlan decided it would be better to close her eyes, before she got any bad ideas. Feeling his hand gently lift her hair, setting it over her shoulder. The soap began moving on her back, sliding softly over her skin, closing her eyes was not any better for her mental health.

What where you thinking? She chided herself and bit her lip to keep another moan from escaping. No need to embarrass herself any further. His arm slipping into the water, the soap slid along her lower back, making her shudder. She could hear Richard's breathing become more ragged, but tried to ignore it. She debated whether to call a halt to this, before it went any further, but couldn't bring herself to. It just felt too good. She wanted to be selfish just once. She felt the soap slide out of his grasp.

"Slippery stuff," he whispered, his voice low and full of desire. "I think I'll just use my hand. I can't hold onto this stuff under the water." He pulled his hand out of the tub and reached to capture the escaped soap. Gathering a good amount of lather on his palm his pressed it onto her back again. Working the soap over her skin. Richard applied enough pressure to get her clean, but not enough to be considered a massage.

His caresses lulled her into a state of contentment. The feel of his hand directly on her back was comforting to her, for the first time in months she felt really happy. Water was sluicing down her back as he brought it up to rinse off the soap. After a few minutes of this she was sure he was just splashing water on her for an excuse to keep touching her. Only his rasping voice pulling her out of her haze.

"Let me wash your hair?" He needed a way to make this encounter continue. He was in love with her hair. Watching it, smelling it, touching it, he'd fantasized about washing it. Playing with it was something that he thought about often.

His mouth was right next to her ear, she could feel his breath as he spoke. Not trusting her voice, she just nodded. She reached up to place her hair down her back again. Moving her head back to be helpful, she forgot that she was trying to cover her body.

Richard cupped some water into his hands, then poured it carefully over her head, minding her eyes. Repeating the motion several times, he finally got the mass of hair wet enough to be able to lather it with the soap.

Massaging her scalp, he relished the opportunity of being able to do this for her. He had secretly been dreaming about this for a while, her hair had always fascinated him. Just the feeling of her soft strands between his fingers was like heaven.

"I love your hair." He spoke what he was thinking out loud. He saw that his compliment pleased her by the smile that spread across her face. "It's longer then the last time I saw you."

Kahlan was pleased that he would notice something like that. She opened her eyes to look at him. "Yes it is, about an inch or so." Having his hands tangled in her locks was better then any pleasure she'd experienced, however there was one she hadn't that might top this. The long hair was heavy and when she was stressed it would cause her scalp to ache. His fingers working around the roots, massaging the soap into it was spectacular. All her worries and anxiety were being washed away. Flowing into the tub with the dirt and grim from the road. Moans were escaping her throat unchecked now, but she was beyond caring.

Richard worked her hair for as long as he could, but he saw her skin was beginning to wrinkle, so he put a slight pressure on her forehead to get her to tip her head back to help him rinse it. Again he took his time, working small sections to make sure all the soap was removed. Looking down at her he saw her eyes were closed, his eyes wandered further along, noticing her breasts, the hard tips peaking out of the water. His attempts to keep his hands working on the rinse were unsuccessful, he heard her whisper his name.

Opening her eyes as his hands had stopped moving, she saw his focus was no longer on her head. "Richard!" Trying to cover herself she flung her hands up, however then her brace in the water was removed, her whole head disappeared into the bath. She started struggling to get back up and sputtering the water out of her mouth, which had gone under open with surprise. Hands gripped her shoulders, pulling her up for air again.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." he swiped the hair covering her face back in it's place behind her head after he helped get her settled again. "They were just there, and I... I haven't had the pleasure of looking at you for so long."

"You like what you see, Cypher?" Kahlan let out a delighted giggle at his nod and smile.

"Well you're clean now, lets get you out and ready for bed." He stepped back and held up the towel, allowing her to stand up, step out of the basin and into his waiting arms. He folded the towel around her, rubbing it up and down on her, patting her dry. He reached over for the second towel and wrapped it around her hair. He massaged the moisture out of the strands, working down to her scalp again.

She tried to dry her body off without moving her towel much, it wasn't that easy. Luckily Richard seemed to notice her distress and he took the towel he used on her hair and moved down to dry her legs. Watching him kneeling before her half naked, rubbing on her legs was arousing her.

When he was content that she was dry, he went and retrieved her white nightgown. Slinking it up into a line, he motioned for her to drop the towel and raise her arms for it.

"I'm sure I can dress myself, Richard." She gave him a head tilt, questioning his intentions.

"Oh I have no doubt, but let me do this for you?" His smile pleaded at her. "You've had a long hard journey. Let me take care of you?"

She pondered it for a moment, then dropped the towel and put her arms up. She was a little surprised and disappointed when he slipped it on her immediately. She wouldn't have minded him sneaking another peak of her form. He must have decided to be good. She was far too tired for him to try to convince her to do anything as it was. When they made love, she wanted it to be perfect. If she confessed him, she wanted to remember everything about it when he wasn't a slave to her. He'd told her that they were safe, that he'd figured it out, but she wasn't convinced. He was so sure about it all; it made her want to believe that it might work. She'd rather have all her wits when they finally tried the theory though.

Slipping her gown over her head had been easy, settling it properly on her body had been torture. The white silky material was instantly warmed by her skin. Positioning the triangle pieces over her breasts, where her nipples still indicated her arousal, then moving to help it flow over her hips. Richard could feel himself hardening, again. It had calmed after the dunking, but now it was making his needs known again.

"I'm going to go stir the fire in our room." He grinned at her at the mention of them sharing a room, "If you want to gather your things and finish up for the night, it's right through that door." He pointed at one of the two doors in the room.

She hadn't been in there yet, but she did need to finish getting ready for bed. So she agreed and then watched him head into their room.