“Wash?” Byrd asked as he stopped struggling.
“Yes,” Noah answered. “A bath, as in washing.” Recalling a time he’d been forced into a bath by a broken showerhead, he showed Byrd a different type of bath than he knew.
“Wash?” Byrd asked out loud.
“Yes,” Kara said carefully. “To wash.”
“Ask her for a shower,” Noah prompted.
Byrd paused before voicing the request. “Shower?”
Kara gave him a confused look. “If you would rather have a shower, we could do that.”
Relief flooded Byrd as he relaxed. He nodded his head.
“Then a shower it is,” Kara said as she turned and led the way out of the room.
“Showers are good,” Noah said, soothing the ruffled dragon as he followed Kara out of the bedroom.
Kara glanced back over her shoulder as Byrd followed her out of the bedroom. Why doesn’t he like baths? She pondered this as she headed down the hall and into her bedroom. She had always enjoyed a nice, hot bath. Her dragon shivered, driving a smile to her face. Okay, she enjoyed a long, hot bath—her dragon tolerated it. Most dragons preferred moving water to still. It would make sense that Byrd wouldn’t like a bath.
Opening the door, she let Byrd into her bathroom. Using the hall bath would have been preferable, but she hadn’t had time to get it set up yet. Besides, her shower had a wand that would make washing Byrd a lot easier. “Come on, sweetheart.” She held the door to the bathroom for him.
Byrd looked around the room before heading in. He took up most of the area between the tub and the counter.
Kara let out a sigh. When she’d chosen this place, she had been excited by how much space was in the master bathroom. Okay, so it wasn’t one of those huge places with a Jacuzzi tub and a walk-in shower, but it had plenty of room with a mirror covering the entire wall and enough counter space for all of her things. Now that she had a dragon in that area, it seemed tiny. Letting go of that slightly depressing thought, she wiggled past Byrd to the tub. Pulling the shower wand lose from the wall, she dropped it into the tub and sat on the edge to adjust the water. “So, how hot do you like your showers?”
Byrd shifted around in the small space to face her. “Hot?”
Kara just smiled. “How about we start at warm, and you can tell me if it’s too cold?” When Byrd nodded, Kara played with the knobs until it was cooler than she would have picked, but still warm. “Okay.”
Byrd sniffed at the spray. Reaching a foot into the tub, he batted at the water.
Smiling, Kara reached over and patted him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you go on and get in there? I’ll get some soap.”
Batting at the spray again, Byrd hopped into the tub. With the water now hitting him in the chest, he snapped at it, trying to bite the stream.
Giggling, Kara reached up and pulled her loofah and bodywash down. “Now, be still.” Grabbing the sprayer, she pointed the water at the little dragon.
After one more attempt to catch the water, Byrd dropped his head and let Kara soak him down.
Once he was damp, Kara dropped the wand back into the tub and squirted an ample amount of soap on the loofah. A moment of squeezing gave her a rich lather.
Byrd arched his neck in pleasure as she slid the loofah over him, working the soap across his scales.
Sliding her fingers up his neck, Kara stopped when she hit something hard. The bite of magic tingled against her skin. Surprised by the unusual item, she slid her finger along the leather band wrapped around Byrd’s neck. “I completely forgot about this.” Dropping her loofah, she grabbed the collar and tried to turn it so she could reach the buckle hidden under Byrd’s boney crest. “Let me get this off you so we don’t ruin it.”
“No!” Byrd screeched, startling Kara into releasing the band. Jumping out of her hands, he crammed himself into the far corner of the tub as she jerked back. “Mine!”
Surprised, Kara raised her hands up between them, unsure how to respond to the dragon’s adamant reaction. “Okay,” she said meekly. “You can keep it on.”
Slowly, Byrd relaxed back down into the tub.
Kara picked up the loofah and reached for him again.
Byrd flinched away.
“It’s okay, Byrd. I’m not going to touch it,” she reassured him while she rubbed the soap down his side. As she worked, she stole glances at the leather band around his neck. The black leather blended into his hide so well that it was hard to see if you weren’t looking for it. Curiosity ate at her. Why is he wearing a collar? Why doesn’t he want it off? She recalled the tingle of magic she’d felt as her hand brushed it. What does it do? More questions swirled in her head as she washed him, but his reaction to her touching it kept her from asking.
A musical note broke into Kara’s musing. It took her a moment to realize her new doorbell had just been rung. “The pizza!” she yelled as she remembered the food they were waiting for. Jumping up from the tub, she raced out of the room. How could she have forgotten about food? “I’m coming!” she yelled as the doorbell rang again. Grabbing the door, she yanked it open before the guy could leave. “Sorry!” she huffed as she leaned on the door.
“It’s cool,” the pizza guy said as he pulled open his bag to get her food. “That’s $34.85.”
Shaking her head, she cleared the fluff from her brain. “Hang on while I get my purse.” Backing away from the door, Kara tripped over something large. She shrieked as she fell over the unknown object. It took her a moment to realize the large, wet thing was Byrd.
He sniffed at her for a moment before turning his attention to the guy at the door.
Cursing to herself, Kara pushed up from the floor and went to get cash from her purse. She hadn’t considered the possibility of Byrd following her out of the bathroom. Glancing back at him, she rolled her eyes. Not only was he dripping with suds, he’d backed the pizza guy out onto the porch. “Byrd!” she called as she went to save the poor man.
Byrd glanced at her but turned his head back to the man standing on the very edge of the porch.
Reaching out, she grabbed him by the collar around his neck and pulled him back before the delivery guy bolted. “Enough,” she said, pushing him behind her.
Byrd circled around her and looked up at the guy from her other side.
She smiled warmly at the man. “Sorry about that.” She held out the money for him to take. “He’s just excited about the food.”
The man chuckled as he took the cash and pulled the pizzas out. “I completely understand. Do you need change?”
Kara shook her head as she took the food. “No, keep it.”
“Thanks, ma’am,” he tipped his cap. “I hope you and your boyfriend enjoy it.” Before Kara could correct the man’s assumption, he was gone.
Kara let out a deep sigh and looked back at the small dragon. He was still soaking wet, but at least he was dripping soap on her porch and not on her living room carpet. Squatting down, she rested the stack of pizzas on her knee and reached out to scratch Byrd’s head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Byrd ignored her touch and shoved his nose into the boxes, sniffing.
Letting out a laugh, Kara grabbed the boxes and stood up. “Come on,” she said leading the way into the house. “Let’s finish getting you cleaned up so we can eat.”