Chapter 11

Katara's POV

When the need for air overrode everything, he finally broke the kiss and raggedly tried to catch his breath. I was slightly pleased that I had affected him just as much as he had me. "Take it back," he ordered once he was able to catch his breath. I noted, disappointedly, that it had not taken more than a second and yet I was still reeling from what had just transpired between us.

Still drugged from the most passionate kiss I had ever had in my life, I had trouble trying to figure out what he was saying. "Huh?" was my intelligent response.

"What you said before…"

"What did I say?"

"You mean to tell me that you don't remember?" he asked sighing heavily, and the action made me remember that I was still in his arms. I tried to pull away but he would not let me.

"I said a lot so I don't know why I should take any of it back!" I snapped at him placing my arms on his shoulders in an attempt to push him away.

"Because you didn't mean it," he replied simply staring into my eyes.

Apparently, the man had lost his mind because he was not making any sense.

"What do you mean? I meant every word I said!" I yelled defensively.

"You don't hate me," he stated as if it were a known fact to the universe.

"Have you lost your mind? What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded as I stopped my attempt to shove him away. He was making absolutely no sense. How could he say that I did not hate him? He kidnapped me for god-sake! Of course, I hated him; of course, I despised him, because that is how I was supposed to feel towards this man.

"You said that you hate me and I don't believe you," he explained as if talking to a two year old.

"You don't believe me? Why the hell should I care if you believe me or not?" I practically yelled in his face. "You kidnapped me, remember? You turned Aang against me!" Of course, that last part was not exactly true. I had more to with that than Zuko but blaming it on him made me feel a whole lot better.

"If you really hated me, as you say, then what just happened between us wouldn't have happened. There was feeling in there somewhere. Whether it was just plain lust, I do not care; I just know it was not hate. Hate is where you have a strong emotion of intense revulsion and as far as I can tell you weren't too revolted to practically maul my lips off," he said as his eyes swiftly moved to my lips.

Unconsciously, I licked my lips and was not surprised when his hold on me tightened. What he had said earlier about taking something back, this must have been what he was talking about. He went through all of that just to prove a damn point.

Here I was, weak in the knees, and close to jumping this man and he did it all to prove a damn point. Now my dislike for him had grown even greater for I knew he was right. I knew that I did not hate him. There was no way my body would have responded to his if I hated him as much as I wanted to.

No, there was something there between us that I could not describe. A need that I wished was not there.

My lips were still throbbing and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable in an area down yonder. Something like that would never have happened with Aang. He may be a skilled fighter, caring, and brave but he would never be able to give me what this devastating man had just bestowed upon me.

Something so breathtakingly passionate that I had been seeing stars, and so potently drugging that I was now addicted. Yes, I did not hate him. Yes, I disliked him in many ways. Yet I wanted more; so much more and I knew he could give it to me. The only problem was I was not too sure I could handle it if I were to get it.

"I don't hate you. But I do not like you either. Now can you please let me go?" I asked finally and was greatly surprised when he released me gently.

"Now that that's covered, let's go. It is not safe to be wandering alone in a ship of sex- starved men," he replied sternly taking my hand and began leading me down a hallway.

"I wasn't wandering. I was trying to escape, you idiot!" I shot back none too happy to realize he was leading me back to his room.

"Wouldn't have done you any good; those soldiers were placed there purposefully, just in case you tried something like that," he stated calmly despite my shout of outrage.

"You knew I was going to go that way? I bet you were just waiting to see me try and escape just for the fun of catching me!" I snapped angrily as he came to his door and admired my handy work.

"Exactly" he mumbled absentmindedly as he studied the lock that I had sliced in half so accurately that it almost looked whole despite the line running across it. "Nice job" he said before welding it back together in two seconds flat. He then took out a key and unlocked the door before dragging me inside.

When he let me go, I swayed slightly on my feet suddenly woozy. It then dawned on me that I had not eaten anything in three days.

"Hungry are we? That's to be expected I guess, from all the sleeping you did I forgot you haven't eaten" he stated thoughtfully as if discussing the weather.

"No thanks to you" I growled clenching my fists. "I mean I haven't even had a bath!" I snapped.

"Oh, yes…that as well. Do you mind if I watch?" he asked smirking deviously "You know some pleasures just can't be quenched?"

"I can't stand you…you…you evil, conniving, bastard!" I shrieked throwing up my arms. The sudden actions made the wooziness come back and I sank to the ground in a heap.

"So do you want this evil bastard to go get you something to eat or not? I may even consent to allow you to bathe, alone, if you promise not use any of your water-bending," he said smiling as he made his way back to the door.

"As if I would promise to something so ridiculous," I stated hotly folding my arms.

"I could always tie you up and bathe you myself" he replied looking me squarely in the eyes. I knew he was not joking and the very thought sent shivers through out my body.

"Fine. You win," I conceded dropping my head in defeat.

"I always do" he replied before exiting and I heard the lock click as he departed.

With no more water, there was no chance of trying to repeat my earlier escape attempt. Besides, I had no strength left anyway.

I used nothing but pure will power to move my feet to the bed where I sat exhaustedly. My life just sucked too much for this to be fair.

I must have lain on my back staring absentmindedly for a while because I heard the click of the lock and the door opened. I did not look over because I knew who it was anyway.

However, the delicious smell that wafted up to my nose sent me skyrocketing up. Sitting on a table across from me was a tray of the most delectable looking food I had ever seen. On the other hand, maybe it was the fact that I was close to starvation that I found it so appealing and mouthwatering.

Roasted duck, potatoes, corn, green beans, rolls, and peas sitting on a silver platter steaming hot awaited me. Zuko was pulling out a chair indicating that I sit in it and I obliged without a second thought.

I was hoping that he would leave me to stuff my face to my heart's content but I was not so fortunate. He took a seat directly opposite of me and proceeded to watch me.

At this, point and time I could not care less as long as he remained quiet but I could shake the uneasiness I felt at having him stare openly at me.

Telling myself to get over it I hastily began to eat trying to rid myself of the pain in my stomach. I must have been half-way through when I happened to look up and noticed that he was still staring directly at me.

He had not said a word the entire time but his eyes had never left my face. It was making me extremely uncomfortable.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" I asked irritated as I gulped down another roll.

"No" he replied blankly.

"No soldiers to be ordering around? No prostitutes to be added to your list of conquests?" I asked sarcastically hoping he might have something to do besides watch me like a hawk.

"Not that I know of," he replied calmly.

"No bed slave to demean?" I asked casually.

This actually caused him to smile, as he lowered his eyes and when he spoke, his voice was slightly husky. "I was with her last night" he replied looking me directly in the eyes.

An emotion I did not want to deal with reared its ugly head and I was filled with an unabated jealousy. So, he had left me to go be with another woman?

"Is that so?" I asked coldly as I gritted my teeth. I was insane if I was actually jealous of some unknown woman but I was. It made me feel as if what happened last night meant absolutely nothing to him. "You must have had a nice time."

"Oh, I did but my satisfaction came from pleasuring her" he stated deviously, his eyes twinkling as he sat back in his chair.

I could not believe him! No longer hungry I pushed the slightly empty plate away from me as I glared at him. He had done the same thing to her that he had done to me. I felt so misused that I was beginning to feel sick.

"I guess you had a full night then. No wonder you weren't here when I woke up!" I hollered standing up. The nerve of this guy making me feel so inadequate. As if I was not good enough that he had to go to some whore.

What was I thinking? I should not care where he spends his time or whom he spends it with. However, I would be damned that I did though.

"Jealous are you?" he asked amused as he continued to sit calmly watching me.

"Jealous! Why should I be jealous that you spent your time with some poor girl who's forced to do your bidding and sedate your lust?" I demanded as I glared at him angrily.

"I didn't force her to do anything. I may have initiated it but she wanted me to finish. There is no doubt about that," he stated and I noticed that his smirk was gone. He must have been serious.

"Well I don't want to hear about your whores!" I bellowed at him so angry with him and myself.

"Last time I checked, you had started this little conversation" he replied evenly standing up as well. "And I didn't know you thought so lowly of yourself"

"What are you talking about?" I demanded taken back as my fists unclenched.

"I was talking about you, Katara."

"Me? You just said you spent the night with some bed slave, or did you forget?"

"I didn't forget. I was talking about you"

"I'm not a bed slave!" I said hotly.

"Last time I checked, I was holding you captive and you've been sleeping in my bed. You do the math" he chuckled as he saw the blood rush to my face.

I was so angry and embarrassed that it did not make any sense. How could I have fallen for that one? I walked right into it. Here I was, hating some unknown woman only to realize that the woman was me.

"Do you understand now?" he asked me as he watched my anger slowly disappear.

"Whatever" I muttered. I had just made a complete fool of myself and now all I wanted was a bath.

He must have read my mind because he said, "So do you want to get cleaned up now or was there some other question you wanted to ask?"

"Bath" was all I said. I was too tired to do anything else.

"Then come here," he ordered holding out his hand.

I glared at him before walking towards him. I expected him to grab my hand but instead he pulled out a scarf from inside his pocket. I was slightly confused but he answered my unasked question by motioning for me to come closer. He then proceeded to tie the scarf around my eyes.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked dryly as I stared into nothingness.

"Yes" he replied simply, "Can't have you knowing where you're going."

"Right, I forgot" I remarked sarcastically.

My answer was a sharp tug on my hand and I was guided out the room and down a series of hallways. There were many sharp turns and even though I had my thinly soled shoes on, I could tell that the flooring was still the same.

We went down a flight of stairs and we went up a flight of stairs. I knew this was done purposefully to keep me from memorizing anything because I knew there was no way Zuko would pick a room the farthest from a bathroom.

We finally came to a halt and I was surprised that I had not heard a single voice on our long journey here. Certainly, there must be more people on this ship but before I could voice my speculations, I was pushed into a slightly steamy room and I heard the distinct clicking of the door locking behind me.

I was about to reach up and remove the scarf but warm, rough hands removed it for me. What awaited my eyes was a beautiful bathroom with ruby red walls, porcelain sink; oversized tub that looked like it could fit six people, and mirrors on the left and the right walls.

The steam was coming from the gloriously steamy bath water but before I could relieve my tense muscles, I realized that there was an obstacle in my way.

Zuko was still in the room.

"I thought you were going to let me bathe alone if I cooperated?" I asked without turning around. Just the heat emanating off him from his proximity was making sweat.

"I was, but kind of like the idea of tying you up", he stated huskily his voice mere millimeters from my ears. "It opens up so many pleasurable opportunities" and with that he licked the back of my neck.

I instinctively arched my back, and in doing so, my eyes landed on the ceiling where I could see myself staring hazily back me. Dear God there was a mirror over the tub.

I knew what he wanted and what was even more obvious, what I wanted. Without turning around, I stepped towards the tub. Yes, here was my element, my source of power, and if I had the strength, I might have tried to attack him. Seeing, as I had none I had no choice but to do what came natural.

I stripped and stepped into the gloriously hot water with a sigh of happiness. From the rustling, I could hear behind me, I knew that Zuko was stripping as well. I willed myself not to turn and look and I would have succeeded if not for those damn mirrors.

One glimpse of Zuko's devastatingly sexy, naked flesh and I was instantly turned on. There was no denying that he was a fine specimen of male vitality and sexuality.

I listened slightly apprehensive as he stepped inside the bath. I felt the little waves that rippled through the water as he made his way to me. I could feel his hands grabbing mine pulling them behind my back and the same scarf that had been tied around my eyes was tied securely around my hands.

I should have resisted. I should have put up a fight. Nevertheless, I did not. Some part of me was curious as to what he wanted to do to me. Besides, there was no denying the fact that I probably would not be able to water-bend until I got my strength back so I had no choice but to be submissive.

When he slowly turned me around so I was facing him, my breath hitched into my throat as I gazed into his darkened amber eyes. There was lust there definitely but there was something underlining it but I could not make it out.

"You don't know how I've fantasized of having you like this again," he said slowly as hand trailed from the side of face down to waist in an excruciatingly slow caress. "Would you mind if I demonstrated a view of them?" he practically purred into my ear before nipping at my neck.

I was so entranced that I could not work up a response.

He smiled sexily before responding huskily "I'll take that as a yes"

He had never been more right.