When he returns with the towels, she's already immersed in the hot water and is covered by a thick layer of bubbles, shielding her from his gaze though she's kept her knickers on, just in case, seeing as they were soaking anyway. Her breasts are bare though as her bra is ruined, so she'd been very relieved to discover the bubble-bath when she'd began filling the tub. He is her boss, after all and they're on operation together, so she doesn't want to be giving Harry the wrong signals because, apart from anything else, she wants him to think her competent and capable in the field too, not just behind a desk.
Her eyes are closed, but they open immediately and she gives him a warm smile, despite the tension and apprehension she's feeling, as she moves a little to the side to make room for him in the tub. "It feels like a pool," she murmurs. "I've never seen such a big tub before."
"I have one at home," he replies, clearly without thinking, and she smiles as she sees his cheeks and ears turn a little red when he realises what he's said.
"Oh really?" she asks with interest, her eyebrows shooting up as her eyes light up with mischief.
"Yes." He clears his throat and turns to hang the towels on the rack and she suspects he's using it as an excuse to hide his embarrassment. He doesn't appear to realise that far from hiding, his move is much more revealing than he intends. His wet boxer briefs are clinging to his skin, leaving very little to the imagination and she has to swallow to moisten her throat that has suddenly gone dry. Quickly she lifts her gaze to his face to see if he's noticed, but luckily he's looking elsewhere. Some of her embarrassment must show on her face, however, because, when he turns to look at her again, he smiles and murmurs, "Penny for them."
She blushes more deeply and closes her eyes as she turns her head to look up towards the ceiling, submerging her head into the water until only her face remains above the surface. "Oh, Harry," she says after a beat, "my thoughts are worth so much more than just a penny," and even though her head is submerged in the bath, she can hear him laugh at her retort.
A few moments pass during which she expects him to enter the bathtub, but when he doesn't, curiosity gets the better of her and she opens her eyes to peer round at him. He's standing with his back towards her and she hears the tell-tale trickle of urine against the porcelain as she carefully lifts her head out of the water, trying not to make a sound. Feeling mortified at having observed him in such a private moment, she slowly lies back down, closing her eyes in embarrassment and hoping that he hasn't realised she was watching though she can't help dwelling on the brief glimpse she's just had of his bare back and his buttocks, which look deliciously firm, outlined by his wet underwear.
She hears the loo flush and feels the water ripple as he gets into the tub beside her. The temptation to open her eyes is great, but the thought of him seeing her ogling his body and the embarrassment this would cause them both is enough to make her keep them resolutely closed. She hears him groan in pleasure and she smiles before the water his body has displaced threatens to drown her and she has to abruptly lift her head. She opens her eyes and finds him lying in the tub beside her, his shoulders resting against the opposite end of the bathtub, his eyes closed and a smile of contentment on his lips.
The water isn't very hot, which is probably a good thing, but she remembers how good it felt when she'd first got in, as hot as the hottest bath she'd ever had before. Her toes and fingers in particular had begun to tingle delightfully and it had seemed like the first time in ages that she'd been able to feel anything at all with them.
She watches him as he leans back in the tub, his face relaxing into a soft smile as the warmth seeps through his skin. The tub really is huge and there is plenty of room for them to lie side by side in it without touching, something she rather regrets right now. She's already beginning to feel cold again, her body having absorbed the available heat from the rapidly cooling water. As she watches him, she wonders what he would have said had she shared her thoughts earlier, had she pointed out that, when he'd turned to hang up the towels, his wet underwear had outlined his package just perfectly and she'd been amazed by the size of him. She'd just been wondering how much bigger he gets when erect, when he'd asked her what she'd been thinking.
His eyes open, and to cover her embarrassment at being caught thinking of him like that again, she quickly asks, "But don't you worry about the environmental impact of using so much water every time you have a bath, Harry?"
He looks puzzled for a moment, but then he smiles and replies mischievously, "You don't seem to be too worried about the environment right now, Ruth."
"Yes, well, I'd rather not die today if I can help it. Anyway, I'm sure that we're not really using that much more water than a single tub with both of us in here," she replies thoughtfully, and then realising what she's said, she looks quickly away, trying to push aside the images that invade her mind of Harry with another woman in his bathtub at home.
There's a moment of silence before he admits quietly, "The truth is that I rarely get a chance to use it, but when I do, I figure that, since I don't use it above a dozen times a year, the environment will be just fine despite my wasteful indulgence."
She clears her throat in relief and concedes, "You're probably right. In fact, I'm sure I use more water than you because, despite my smaller tub, I have a bath at least once a week. I just love water. I used to swim regularly at school and university. In fact I was on the school swimming team."
"Really?" he asks with interest. "I didn't think you liked sport."
"There's sport and then there's sport, Harry," she smiles, "and swimming is definitely my kind of sport. I held the school record for the 200m breaststroke for almost a year when I was twelve."
"Impressive," he replies. "No wonder you did so well yesterday."
She grimaces and murmurs, "It's just as well that we didn't have to run or ski really."
He chuckles softly at the joke, but then his face turns serious again and he looks away.
"What?" she asks, puzzled by his sudden change in mood.
"Nothing," he shakes his head, but when she continues to just look at him, waiting for an answer, he sighs and murmurs, "It was so close, Ruth. I almost failed to protect you, and I-"
"Don't," she objects quickly, not really wanting to think or talk about it. "Let's not dwell on it. We're both here now. We're alive and relatively unscathed. It could have been so much worse." He nods, but he still looks grim, so she adds, "You did your best, Harry. Your plan was a good one. We couldn't have known he'd tie you to the chair as well." She looks away in embarrassment as she remembers all that he saw, but she determinedly ploughs on with what she wants to say, wanting to reassure him. "And anyway, perhaps it worked out better that way. You wouldn't have waited until the last moment otherwise, and he couldn't fight you with his..." she swallows, "trousers round his ankles. He would have made more noise and attracted the others if you'd been able to attack him sooner." He sighs then and turns to smile at her, and as she looks at him again, she's pleased that her words have helped make him feel better; she's so grateful to him for rescuing her. He holds her gaze for long moments, his eyes warm and full of admiration and pride, making her blush and her heart race.
She shivers slightly and watches his smile turn into a frown. She's cold now, but she doesn't really want to leave the bathtub, not just for fear of him seeing her practically naked - which he's already done, she remembers with a blush – but also because she loves the intimacy of sharing a bath with him and she knows that she's unlikely to ever get such an opportunity again. Not unless something changes drastically between them, and though she suspects that he does desire her in that way, she doesn't imagine that either of them will be brave enough to risk starting something when the odds of it working out long term are so low; they value each other and their jobs too much for that. "This is meant to be warming you up, Ruth," she hears him say a little sternly. "If you're cold, you need to get out."
"I know," she nods, pushing herself a little further up so her shoulders are now out of the water, but as he turns his head away from her to give her some privacy while she gets out, she suddenly remembers that he'd banged his head pretty badly on the rocks and no one has looked at the wound yet. "Turn around, Harry," she says. "I want to look at the cut on the back of your head."
"It's fine, Ruth," he objects.
"Don't be daft," she admonishes. "Someone needs to look at it, and since you can't do it yourself, you'll either have to let me do it, or go and explain to Fred why you won't let your wife take care of you."
He sighs and sits up before slowly turning his back towards her, his legs brushing deliciously against hers in the process. "Sorry," he murmurs, not really sounding sorry at all.
In response, she bends one knee up, and bringing her foot round his back, she extends her leg out on the other side as she sits up behind him, the inside of her thighs lightly brushing against either side of his bottom. He's still wearing his underwear, she discovers with a little disappointment as she listens to his breathing change slightly and is surprised at herself when she's tempted to press herself against him further to see what kind of a response she might elicit. Then she really shocks herself by thinking that, if she's lucky, she might even get to find out how big he really does get!
She swallows as she determinedly pushes aside those thoughts and says, "You haven't even rinsed your hair yet, Harry. I can't see anything until you do that."
She hears him clear his throat, and when he speaks, his voice sounds rather deeper than usual, making her heart beat even faster. "I didn't think you'd appreciate having the bath water turn pink, Ruth, nor did I think it wise to expose you to my blood."
"Oh!" she says in surprise as the implications of that statement sink in.
But then he seems to realise how his words might be interpreted and he hastily adds, "Not that there's any cause for alarm, Ruth. I've had all the tests done and they're all clear. I just thought-"
"Thank you, Harry," she interrupts his rambling, feeling touched and wanting to put him at ease. "It was very thoughtful of you. How about I get out so you can rinse properly and then I have a look?"
"Sounds good," he nods and turns his head towards the wall as she puts one hand on his shoulder, the other on the rim of the tub for balance and raises herself to her feet. His skin is soft and warm and she hates to let go of him, but eventually she cannot reasonably delay any longer so she gets out, turning to grab hold of a towel and dry herself quickly, feeling suddenly really cold. She hears him splashing in the bathtub, but she resolutely keeps her back towards him as she dries herself, surreptitiously pulling off her wet knickers, and then wraps the towel round her body and another round her hair.
When she turns round, he's just opening his eyes and sitting up. She smiles and kneels down to examine his head as he turns his back towards her. The cut looks quite nasty and she suspects that it went through to the bone, but as Harry isn't acting loopy and is behaving quite normally, his scull is probably intact and there's nothing to worry about. A little blood is seeping from the wound again.
"Well, Doctor," he murmurs, "will I live?"
"I'm afraid so," she smiles. "It looks quite deep, Harry. I think it needs stitches."
"Under the circumstances, I think I'll pass," he replies. "Besides, if it leaves a scar, it's hardly going to be my first."
"True," she concedes with a smile as he turns in the tub to face her again, her eyes unconsciously tracing over the visible scars on his shoulders and chest. "You do have quite a collection. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you have a rather cavalier attitude when it comes to the treatment of wounds."
He chuckles softly at her teasing remark and replies, "At least this one won't be visible for a good few years yet. Not until I lose all my hair at any rate."
She laughs, delighting in their playful teasing. Their gazes hold for several moments, their eyes sparkling in joy until the intensity becomes too much for her and she drops her gaze to the bath tub. She frowns when she sees the drops of blood on the porcelain and reaches forward to wipe it away with her hand. "You're bleeding again. I'll go ask Fred for some bandages." Then she rinses her hand in the bath and gets up to leave.