Dakran walked inside the room closely followed by little Dak who jumped on the bed and took his place in Maya's lap. Greeted by the warming smell of bath salts wafting in the air, hushed his disquietude for the briefest moment. He was still reeling from what he had come home to. The chaos in his life never ceased and followed him wherever he went. His short-lived happiness had slipped through his finger very much like dry sand. And now he had to find a way how to repair the damage that Haren had done in his turmoil.
Maya sat on the bed speaking to Sala.
Sala patted Maya's hand and stood up as he walked to the table, and placed the two bottles on it as Sala and Maya whispered to each other. Sala stood up from the bed and turned to him.
" Is there anything else, milord?" Sala asked with her head down. She looked past the point of being tired, and she seemed to need rest, a lot of it.
" No, that's it for now Sala. Thank you. You can turn it in for now. I'm sure that you are in desperate need of some rest, too." Dakran leaned against the table glancing over to Maya who curled her arms around little Dak, stroking his head.
Sala nodded " Very well, milord!" she bowed, turned on her heels, and took her to leave, closing the door behind her.
Dakran picked up the two bottles off the table " These are for you one is for the pain, and the other one is for the bruises, to heal faster." Dakran handed her the two bottles and Maya took them with a keen eye and swilled them down without a second thought.
She had lived through far worse pain than that but still found it uncomfortable. Haren's heavy hand left quite a mark on her. Dakran stretched his hand and she placed the empty vials in his hand, attempting to smile but loured and looked down at volsa cub in her lap.
" You should give it a few moments before attempting to smile." Dakran wryly smiled and walked to the table, placing the bottles on it with a heavy sigh.
" Thank you" Maya softly said raising her head to look at him. The likeness between Haren and him was quite disturbing. Two sides to a coin. Dakran distinguished himself through his caring and attentive nature while Haren through his debauchery.
" No need. I will take my bath now. Care to join me?" Dakran made his way to the bed with measured steps and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. A tender gesture meant to reassure her. Sala was right, Dakran was different in more ways than one and she shouldn't judge him based on what Haren had done.
Maya's gaze lowered back to the cub in her lap and took a deep breath trying to find her words as the silence stretched between them for what seemed an eternity.
" You don't have to, little red but if you do, you should go first. You don't want to bathe in horse water," Dakran said in a calm voice and Maya nodded.
" Promise not to peek." Maya raised her eyes, peering at him from behind her lashes while Dakran reluctantly nodded " Promise " he half-conceded as Maya placed Little Dak on the bed and stood up before him. At that point, he would agree to anything that would wash away the memory that his brother had imprinted on her.
" You can always get me a change of clothes. " Maya walked to the bath and began undressing. Dakran followed and stopped behind her as Maya pulled on the string of her dress. The need to hold her in his arms was overwhelming, even if she would reject him, he had to at least try. He'd been waiting to hold her since he had left for the supply run and the staleness between them drove him mad. Praying to the gods, he took a leap of faith and closed the distance between them or what seemed more like a gaping abyss to him.
Dakran bunched up her luscious fiery red hair, moving it to the side, and leaned closer to her ear " I can't wait for the day that you'll let me take your clothes off" Dakran gruff voice rumbled in his chest, his hot breath brushed her skin awakening the fire that only burned for him and Maya closed her eyes when Dakran kissed her shoulder and smiled against her skin, making her shudder. His words evoked many things but also the ugly memory of Haren's touch and roughness. And once again she found herself being dragged to those awful moments. She closed her eyes to focus on the tender lips on her skin, and let herself be carried away by his loving touch.
Maya's breath hitched when his lips continued trailing kisses from her shoulder onto her heck and Maya tilted her head giving him better access as Dakran pulled her flush to him, folding her into his arms, humming against her skin. Pressed against his sturdy chest and into his protective arms the uneasiness that had crept into her heart and settled there for so many days had slowly thawed and flowed out of her body and mind. As he nuzzled her neck, intertwining his fingers with hers, lost in the moment Dakran relished in that tiny sweet bit of closeness.
" You already drive me mad and I haven't even seen you naked yet." Dakran huffed making her giggle " Good things come to those who wait" Maya retorted resting her head on his chest, and letting a wistful sigh escape her lips.