You know for a story I meant to be a tale of lust and naughtiness, it's turning out to have more of a love story than I intended. Ah well. I hope you all enjoy this nearly as much as I did writing it. Happy Monday. The words in brackets [ ] are the music tracks I listened to while writing if anyone is interested.

Chapter 2: Come Clean

[I listened to Caught in a Moment & Too Lost in You by Sugababes and Beautiful Disaster (live)]

Aleeria glanced around the room. The Lycan was covered head to toe in inches of mud, his ankles in chains that were secured to the wall two feet behind him and his wrists shackled to chains suspended from the ceiling. Neither set of chains had much slack in them and Aleeria imagined that after awhile he would get quite exhausted being forced to stand like that. There was a long table behind her covered with cleaning supplies and a large copper tub warming water by the fire on the opposite side of the room.

Sabas's senses were in high gear. He caught her scent when she started down the hallway. It was the girl he'd rescued all those years ago. What was she doing coming to see him? He overheard bits of her conversation with the vampire he could also scent. Aleeria. Her name was Aleeria. It was fittingly beautiful. Aleeria would be "cleaning him up" eh? Well, perhaps this wouldn't be such a miserable, demeaning day after all. Once they were alone, her scent wove around him like perfumed smoke; intoxicating, arousing.

Aleeria moved closer to the Lycan, inspecting him speculatively. "My goodness, I can barely see your face, you're so filthy. I hardly know where to start. I refuse to call you Lycan, like as if you have no personal distinction. Even pets have names and if you're going to be serving in my Mistress's house, then your status has been upgraded to mine: a pet. What's your name?"

"Sabas." He watched her closely, curious. She was clearly nervous, but strangely not afraid. "And I'm not a pet."

His low, smooth voice continued to stir something within her. She wasn't sure why, but she suddenly wanted nothing more than to hear him continue to speak to her for hours and let the sound of his voice continue to wash over her. Still, she smiled at him and replied, "You're as much a pet as I am now and you should be grateful for it. Better a pet than a slave."

"Depends on your point of view. A pet still has no rights, no real choices, and limited respect." He argued.

"I'd rather have something than nothing and frankly from what I hear, the living situation for the Lycans is going to start changing. You have an opportunity to represent your people and help earn them more freedoms. Don't squander it just because you're bitter about the way you've been treated up until now."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that because of the valiant efforts of one Lycan many years ago, my Mistress has felt more sympathetic towards the entire race. She believes as I do that your race, soon to be mine as well, has many redeemable qualities that make them worthy of improved treatment."

"I see. Well I suppose that would be a start," Sabas replied, his tone still caustic.

Aleeria eyed him more critically. If this Lycan was not to be trusted with the safety of her house, Sabine would certainly want to know Aleeria's observations. "Tell me Sabas, do you want to serve my Mistress?"

"It's a better life than the one I'm leaving." He allowed, his face twisting into a bitter smile.

Aleeria moved a little closer. "It is. I've served Sabine almost all my life. They are not all like Viktor." She assured him.

"I wouldn't say that too loudly if I were you," he cautioned, grinning.

Aleeria grinned right back. "I trust you won't rat me out."

"I certainly won't."

"Good. Let's see what do I have to clean you with? My goodness, you'd think I was cleaning a horse with some of this, though with the amount of mud on you I could do worse than a grooming brush."

"Do you bathe people often?"

"Never, but I imagine it's not much harder than cleaning a horse and horses I know. I suppose I'll start at the top and work my way down. You and I are about to become much better acquainted, I hope you're not shy."

"Are you?"

"I guess we'll find out." She dipped a cloth into warm water and began to gently rub the mud off of his face. She uncovered his cheeks and nose. She almost giggled at the way his nose jutted out of the mud, but his eyes were so startling, an intense blue gray color that contrasted sharply with his dark hair and tanned skin. Her hand froze on his face. She brushed her hand over his face, softly, fascinated. Then she realized what she was doing and shook her head, taking the cloth to rinse out. "I'm sorry. I- you remind me of someone."

His eyes held her. "Who?" Was it possible she remembered him too? That it was him she watched every day from the tower?

"When I was a child here, I got lost and I wandered into the yard. Somehow, rocks came loose from the work being done on the inner wall and they almost fell on me, but one of the Lycans pulled me out of the way. He saved my life and, but the slave master, Soren, whipped him raw before he realized that the Lycan had saved my Mistress's favorite. I never got to thank him. You look so much like him."

Sabas didn't know what to say. He remembered well seeing that tiny wisp of a girl and hearing the rocks come loose. He still wasn't sure how he managed to get to her in time and pull her out of the way.

Aleeria resumed cleaning off his face and then rinsed the cloth again. When she looked back at him, the firelight caught his newly revealed face and she gasped, tipping the water. It was him, the one who saved her, the one she watched from her tower day after day. Her Lycan. "You saved me. I couldn't see it at first with all the mud. I'm so sorry. You didn't say anything." She accused.

"I didn't want you to think I was trying to beguile you and there was never a need to thank me."

"Then I'll say I'm sorry that they hurt you for saving me."

"Apparently the punishment for beguiling you is far greater."

"You could hear her speaking in the hall?"

"Vampires have a tendency to constantly underestimate Lycans. It's a bad habit we encourage. So you're going to be a prize for a particularly good Lycan?" He asked as she began to meticulously wash his hair. It felt so good having her fingers massage his scalp and get all the dirt and grime out.

"Yes I am. I hope when the time comes for me to choose that the one I choose wants to be chosen. I know some of the Lycans that I will be allowed to choose from and one of them. Lucian will of course be among them. You and he are two of the leading reasons that my Mistress is working to change the living conditions for the Lycans. Still, I could never choose Lucian; I think his heart is spoken for."

"What makes you say that?"

"He is the only Lycan who does not look at me as if he might devour me whole."

Sabas nearly choked with laughter. "You're very observant. His heart is spoken for. It would not be a kindness to choose him."

"I know, but I hope I have other good options. At least I know he would be a kind mate. I won't be allowed to go much longer before making a choice. They don't want me to get much older you see and my Mistress is afraid that I'll be taken advantage of and lose some of my value as a prize." She rinsed out his hair and began washing his neck, but was hampered by his leather vest and his heavy spiked collar.

"So the idea is that the winner gets a beautiful woman, wholly untouched, all to himself?"

"That's the plan. I'm not sure it's very kind in the end. I would think the most would prefer a wife who could tend to her mate's needs and I will have absolutely no experience there. Incidentally, I'm going to need to remove your vest now."

"Are you trying to seduce me?"

Aleeria blushed from head to toe. "No, I just can't wash you properly with your clothes on and I can't clean your clothes while you're wearing them and. I wasn't making a suggestion before, just venting a concern."

"I see. Well, as far as my vest goes, you can just undo the buckles on the side and lift it over my head."

"I should have done that first I suppose, but I'll just clean your head again if it needs it. I'm sorry if you get chilled. I can always get blankets to wrap your top half until I finish the bottom half." She gulped audibly and Sabas chuckled. He could understand at least why she smelled a little afraid. It had less to do with his being a Lycan, than his being male. He found her nervousness strangely charming.

"Don't worry, Lycans don't get cold easily."

"Well, that's a relief. It could take some time to get you and your clothes clean enough to put them back on." Aleeria began to undo the buckles along the sides of Sabas' vest, her fingers trembling lightly. "I'm sorry that I have to do this, that you can't just be left to wash yourself," She elaborated. "This must be very embarrassing for you."

Sabas sighed as her fingers brushed at his sides while removing his leather vest. It was a sensation somewhere between a tickle and a caress. Her concern over his self esteem moved him. "Actually, I'm finding this rather enjoyable. In my entire life since I was ten, which was over a hundred years ago, I've never had anyone do anything for me. And until I was ten, it was my mother."

"I see," Aleeria replied, switching to the opposite side. "So you see me as being like your mother then?"

"Hardly, my mother was never so gentle before a bath and I hardly would have accused her of trying to seduce me."

"Well I suppose I'm not too hopeless a prize then."

"You are hardly hopeless." Sabas replied as Aleeria moved in close, her face inches from his while she lifted his vest over his head.

When she pulled the vest free, she flashed him a shy grin before turning to take the vest to one end of the tables. Aleeria focused her attention on the vest, needing the distraction to regain her composure. Being in such close proximity to her Lycan made her heart race. Aleeria dipped one of the horse grooming brushes into water and brushed down the vest thoroughly. When it was cleaned to her satisfaction, she rubbed the leather with saddle soap to soften it and then set it out to finish drying. She could feel him watching her the whole time, but she ignored it and let the work take her focus, slow her heart.

Then she turned to look back at Sabas now sans vest and her breath caught and her heart was racing again. Sabas tried not to let his face break into a cocky grin of male satisfaction. He knew it was an utterly unfair advantage he had being able to hear the beating of her heart or the way it sped up when she looked at him, but if she could hear his heart, she would know it quickened whenever she was near and even more so every time he heard her heart go faster because of him.

Aleeria studied Sabas. He was every bit as well-muscled and handsome without his vest as she had imagined and her duties included getting to clean every inch of it. If this was a hard day's work, she'd take it every day for the rest of her life.

Aleeria blushed, knowing she was staring and picked up a clean cloth and wash basin, refilling it with warm water from the basin by the fire. She moved closer, tempted to break the awkward eye contact, but refusing to give in to her nerves. She smiled at him. "Well, I suppose I am a bit shy. How are you doing?"

"Just fine. I never have been very shy, certainly not with a beautiful woman."

Aleeria's heart picked up and she smiled at him. "You've just been without a woman for too long." She argued, wiping away the bits of mud that had scraped against his previously cleaned skin when she removed his vest. "I assure you; around her I'm quite ordinary."

"Don't do that. Don't compare yourself to them like being human and not undead makes you less beautiful," Sabas argued.

"It's hardly just my mortality that prompts me to say that," she murmured. Aleeria put down the cloth and soaped his hair, cleaning it more thoroughly and running a comb through it. He really had wonderful long dark hair. It was thick and lush and she wanted to run her fingers through it forever and Sabas wanted to let her. When his hair was clean and free of tangles, Alleeria ran her fingers through it so it wouldn't lie so flat against his scalp, making him look like a drowned rat. Sabas moaned as her fingers massaged his scalp, she moved her fingers through his hair again and again enjoying the feel of it.

"So, will you be bathing me every day from here on?" he asked, hopefully.

"Perhaps if I do a good job of making you presentable Sabine will insist on it. I imagine her opinion of a Lycan's abilities to groom himself is not particularly high given that there is so little call for it."

"Well, then you better be sure not to miss anything." Sabas involuntarily readjusted his stance.

The motion was meant to relieve some of the tension in his legs from standing, but Aleeria's eyes were drawn down when he moved and she couldn't help but think about the bits she was most intrigued by. Still, one thing at a time, she reminded herself.

"I'd better be sure to get your hands then." Aleeria moved a nearby bench closer to Sabas and stood on it to unbuckle and remove his arm bracers and put them on the table to clean later. Then with a small brush in hand, she climbed back up and began to scrub at his hands and finger nails. She took her time cleaning his hands first, tracing the lines of his palms, feeling the strength there. Being a bit mischievous by nature and wanted to test him a little, she leaned nearly up against his hands when she cleaned his arms. Aleeria wanted to see if he'd try to touch her. She wanted him to, but she couldn't allow it unless it was part of her duty to clean him.

Sabas saw a small smile quirk on her lips and had a feeling he knew what she was up to. The warm, tempting swell of her breasts was nearly touching his hands while Aleeria ran the cloth over his arms. Her hands ran over his skin, caressing it, checking her progress at cleaning him. It was sweet torture feeling her run her hands up and down the length of his arms, tracing the muscles, subtly pressing and testing them, exploring every inch of them. Sabas flexed his fingers as if stretching them, as if unaware how perilously close she was to them. His fingers brushed gently over her left breast, getting a feel for the curve, the softness, his fingertips straying to lightly circle the nipple in a motion that could almost have been an accident. Then he straightened them out again as if it had all been incidental.

Aleeria grabbed the upper part of the chain his arm was suspended to in order to steady herself. Electric currents of pleasure blossomed from her chest and swirled down to the edges of her limbs before pooling in her groin. She locked her eyes with his. She'd wanted this, but she'd never imagined it could be so intense. Was it always like this, or was it only so intense because it was her Lycan touching her at last?

Sabas quirked an eye brow at her. "Sorry, my fingers needed a stretch."

Aleeria raised her own eye brows. "Ah, well. Your hands must be getting quite stiff."

"They're not all that's getting stiff."

"Oh?"

He waited, letting her mind wonder a moment until she took his meaning, her eyes resting on his groin. "My legs are getting a bit stiff too," he finished.

"I see," Aleeria grinned blushing again. "Well if you need to stretch out your limbs again, please do, I don't mind."

"Thank you. You're very kind." Sabas grinned, his eyes full of mischievous intent.

"Not at all. The least I can do for the Lycan who saved my life is make sure that you're comfortable as you can be." She flashed him another cheeky smile before climbing down. She worked on finishing his arm by rubbing down his shoulder.

"Do you flirt this way with all the men you bathe?" He asked when she was occupied with rubbing his shoulder clean with enough force to massage the muscles that were feeling the strain.

Aleeria giggled a little. "To be quite honest you're the first. I'm not sure what's bewitched my tongue or my manner. I'm not normally so bold."

Sabas looked at her more closely. "The first one you've flirted with or the first one that you've bathed?"

Aleeria focused her eyes on his muscles, not wanting to lose her tongue by getting lost in his blue gray eyes again. "Both actually. Besides clearly being necessary, I believe she my Mistress, Sabine, felt this cleaning you up would be an educational experience for me before she has me choose a mate and sire."

"Educational?"

"I've never spent this much time alone with a male before, much less one in any state of undress." Aleeria explained.

"Really?" His tone becoming more incredulous.

"Yes. I've never even kissed one before," She replied shyly

"At your age? You must be near twenty now."

"Twenty-four actually. Well after my near fatal accident in the yard, Sabine has kept an exceptionally close watch on me. Add to that, she won't let any males around me alone."

"Unless they're chained up apparently," he replied, amused. He couldn't say this news upset him, it was just unexpected.

"Well, you're my first prisoner."

"Well, I am honored to be your first prisoner. I'd be honored to be your first anything else too incidentally." He flashed her another bold grin.

She flashed him a brief laughing smile, before her eyes dropped to the floor. "It's actually a little embarrassing really. Like I said, I'm not sure that this was the best laid plan of hers. My poor future husband who hasn't had a woman in who knows how many years will get me with no idea how to satisfy him." Aleeria caught herself, suddenly aware of what she'd just said aloud and a bit embarrassed by it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking about this. It's not proper or appropriate."

Sabas forgot for just a moment that he was chained and tried to move to silence her with his lips, but instead he just rattled the chains, his lips just a bare inch from hers, unable to move further. Frustrated, he growled and moved back, the chains going slightly slack again. "Sorry. I shouldn't have tried to do that. Your Mistress would have me for a fur rug. But you don't have to worry about being appropriate with me."

"Why? You're no less worthy of respect than I or my Mistress," Aleeria argued fiercely.

Sabas chuckled. "I mean I don't mind you talking to me about this, but I appreciate your respect though I hardly feel I've earned it."

"Everyone deserves at least a basic level of respect just for existing." Aleeria replied. "And you have mine for saving my life. I can't think of a better reason to respect someone. Anyway, thanks. I don't have a lot of people to talk to. No one really. I'm kept very isolated for my safety. My Mistress is very fond of me and she is just very concerned that something might happen to me. Honestly, now that I think about it, I think she might have brought you in to our house guard to protect me since she already knows you did it before with no ulterior motive."

"If that's what she wants me to do, at least you'll have someone to talk to." Sabas offered.

Aleeria smiled. "That's true. Now, where was I? Ah yes, I do believe your arm is sufficiently clean." She ran her hand down its length touching what of it she could reach and brushing herself against his bare chest in the process, eliciting another soft groan from Sabas. She glanced at his face. His pupils were darker than they'd been, more predatory suddenly. "I imagine that being touched by a woman and discussing matters of sex and kissing after such a long period of forced abstinence is rather cruel. I'm sorry. I don't mean to torture you." Aleeria apologized, chastened.

"But I am your prisoner, remember," Sabas argued, smiling at her, eager for this game to continue. "Your first. Torture is an essential part of having a prisoner. So by all means, make me suffer. I'd rather suffer under your lovely hands then suffer alone."

Aleeria held his eyes a moment and then took her hair out of its top knot, letting it fall around her shoulders. "If you're sure."

"Certain." He replied, his voice rough with want.

Aleeria nodded. "Your left arm's clean. Time to do the right one." She moved the bench so she could reach Saba's left arm. He was watching her carefully, noting the plotting, mischievous look back in her eyes. Aleeria let her hair stay down, and she let it fall as a curtain between his hand, her body, and the door and went on to cleaning his arm. This time, she kept her eyes locked on his and while she worked on his hand, she stroked it lightly, experimentally. She wanted to let him touch her again. Aleeria finished cleaning his hand and then, making sure her hair hid them, moved her face millimeters from his hand as she continued to clean his forearm. Again, testing him, wanting to see what he'd do, what he wanted to do.

Sabas could almost see the cogs turning in her head. The anticipatory looks she gave him, like she was befriending a wild animal that had been caged for far too long; not so long as to drive out the wild, but long enough to have forgotten how to socialize, to have forgotten the soft touch of affection or comfort. He was her wild animal and Aleeria wanted to believe he wasn't dangerous, but she wanted to be careful too. Sabas wanted to deserve her faith in him. He'd been a decent sort once, hadn't he? When Aleeria moved her face so close to his hand, he reached out to touch her without thought. He cupped her cheek, rubbing his rough thumb over her soft cheek. His eyes sought out hers again, silently asking permission. He could have sworn he saw her nod before he ran his thumb over her lips.

Aleeria closed her eyes, savoring the gentle contact, kissing his finger tips as he brought them one by one over her lips. Then suddenly emboldened, she shifted her position, running her body past his hand until it rested over her breast once more, her hands continuing to clean his arm as if nothing unusual was happening. She scrubbed at his skin with a slight tugging motion that seemed to draw him closer to her.

Sabas felt his heart leap as he suddenly found himself with her breast pressed fully against his hand only separated from his touch by a few thin layers of soft linen. He looked at her again for just a moment making sure Aleeria had intended to put herself in his hand. She quirked a half smile at him. Sabas could feel her heart beat under his hand, racing faster. His fingers cupped around her breast, enjoying feeling the weight of it in his hand, his thumb, tracing the edge and circling around her nipple. Sabas could feel it harden further under his touch and then he smelled something sweet and musky and steadily growing stronger, teasing his nose. It was her. Sweet gods, he could smell her. He could smell how much she wanted him, how much his touch was arousing her. Never in his life had he been so grateful for his transformation into a Lycan as he was at that moment and they were just getting started.

***Don't worry much more to come. I have many plans for Sabas. Please Review. It will encourage me to update faster.***