Barbarian Mine (Ice Planet Barbarians #4)(12)

“Watch,” I tell him. I grab a handful of snow and smash several berries into the snowball, then lob it upstream. It takes a few minutes, but then, one by one, the reeds move further and further downstream, until they’re out of sight. The face-eaters don’t like the fruit, and this little trick works like a charm every time.

Rukh grunts, impressed.

“Come on,” I tell him. “Let’s go clean up.”

He insists on checking the water before I get in anyhow, and I wait patiently on the shore, stripping my furs off. I’m anxious to get cleaned up. I wish I could clean my fur clothing, too, but I’m not exactly sure how one launders fur, and I don’t have anything to change into. They’ll just have to stay dirty for now.

When he gives the go-ahead, I tiptoe into the water. It’s like heaven. I sink in all the way and give a moan of pure pleasure. “This is the stuff.” I immediately grab my pouch from the shore and squeeze a few berries, scrubbing at my skin and hair.

Rukh watches me for a moment, and then steps into the water after me. He’s hesitant, and it’s clear he feels a bit out of his element. It’s also clear he doesn’t know what to do with all my naked skin, because he keeps reaching out to touch me. The only time we normally get naked together is bedtime, because it’s easier to share heat, so I understand his confusion.

“Wash,” I tell him, and show him how to crush the berries and form a bit of lather. I reach out and rub some on his arm. “It’s good for you, I promise.”

He stares down at the dirty rivulets coursing over his skin. Then, he looks at me and rubs at my skin. It’s a little grimy, but nothing like his. Realization dawns and he begins to scrub at his skin. “Wash.”

“That’s right,” I say enthusiastically, and scrub with him. I move to his back and begin to scrub it, taking extra care to get into all the nooks and crannies of the plates along his spine and arms. He shudders when I rub his skin, and I know he’s getting aroused. My own cootie is going wild in my chest, vibrating at high speed. I can hear his doing the same.

I didn’t intend for this to turn sexy, but how can it not? We’re both naked, and I’m running my hands over every inch of him. As I rub at his backside, his tail flicks in the water. It feels strange to clean another person, especially one with a tail, but I want him to be clean. I bit down on him the other day in the heat of the moment, and I try not to think about what I might have inadvertently licked off his skin. “This bath is really for me, you know,” I tell him as I run my hands down one incredibly muscular arm. “It’s because sooner or later, I’m going to give in to this resonance, and I might as well get a clean guy out of things, right?”

“Repeat,” he says in a thick voice. He doesn’t understand what I’m saying.

“It’s okay,” I tell him, soothing. I smooth my soapy hands over his big shoulders. Goodness, he’s big. I mean, sure, the guy is seven feet tall if he’s an inch, and he’s not got an ounce of fat on him, but somehow looking and touching are two different things, and I can’t get over how big and how strong my alien is.

And then I realize I just thought of him as ‘my’ alien. Hoo boy. That’s a loaded line of thought. Still, I’m not hating on the idea. “I just need a bit of time to get used to everything that comes with the package,” I murmur to myself. Then, to him, I say, “I’m going to wash your hair.”

He stiffens when I put my hands on his head.

“Bend down,” I tell him, and pat the surface of the water. It’s at waist height, so it’s not dangerous.

He turns and looks at me, his eyes narrowed with mistrust.

“I promise, it’s fine.” I pat the water again and give him an encouraging smile. “You want to make me happy, don’t you?”

He growls, though I know he can’t understand my words. And then he sinks lower into the water, until his chin is touching the surface and the rest of him is submerged.

“Thank you,” I say, keeping my voice sweet. I dig my hands into the tangled mass and begin to lather it. I massage as I do, and his breath hisses between his teeth. I can’t tell if he likes it or not, but I’m determined to give my barbarian a makeover, so he’s just going to have to suck it up to please me. I work around his horns, rubbing as I go, and his hair’s so thick that it takes an extra handful of berries to get a good lather going.

I’m so focused on cleaning his hair that I don’t notice that my breasts are practically in his face until his hands touch my hips. “Har-loh,” he murmurs, and the husky sound makes my nipples tighten, and I immediately think of our late night furtive dry-humping.

Blushing, I flatten my hand on top of his head. “Dunk.”

He goes under the water a few times, and by the time his hair is no longer sudsy, I’ve recovered a bit. I smile brightly at him as he wipes water from his eyes. “You look so much better.”

It’s true, actually. His face is no longer smeared with the dirt of years, and his skin is this deliciously smoky blue. He looks younger, and with his thick, wild hair flattened around his face, I get an image of how he’ll look with it combed and cleaned up. A weird feeling of deja-vu hits me. Is it that Rukh’s scowling face reminds me of someone? Or am I just crazy?

I shake the thought off, a moment before a handful of mashed berries land on top of my head.