Interlude in the Water

Any friends of Eddings het out there? This is set during The Demon Lord of Karanda. Garion and company have arrived in 'Zakath's palace and Polgara has noticed the bath in the rooms assigned to her and Durnik.


"Oh, my," I sighed. "Civilization - at last!"

The steaming water in the marble bathtub sunk into the floor looked very, very inviting indeed. I always enjoy a nice, hot bath, but such a luxurious bath was a comfort I hadn't enjoyed in an all too long time.

"Just try not to get waterlogged, Pol."

Trust thd Mad Man to make clever comments about bathing. Just now I wasn't really disposed to respond in kind, though.

"Of course not, father," I muttered, positively itching to dash through the doorway and jump into the tub. Father had to persist in arguing his point, though, and nothing less than opening the first two or three buttons of my dress sufficed to get him and the rest out of our quarters. When the door finally closed behind them, I rather think I might have ripped the dirty dress off me had it not been for my husband, whose hands appeared from behind me and replaced mine in undoing the rest of the buttons.

"Easy there, Pol-mine," he chuckled, his breath tickling my neck, "you'll get your bath without tearing your clothes." More tired than I really cared to admit, I gratefully leaned against Durnik's steady frame. Those coarse hands of his had become quite adept with feminine clothing and he divested me of my travel-sodden garments in very le tie time. Then he picked me up, carried me through the doorway and carefully lowered me into the tub.

'Tub' wasn't really an approppriate word for the huge bath. I took advantage of its size and stretched out, floating in the soothingly warm water, eyes closed. I knew that we didn't have indefinite amounts of time at our disposal and that I should give myself a thorough scrub and get up, but the warm water had a lulling effect and I felt too weary to move.

The water rippled and little waves lapped over my breasts and belly. After the waves came big hands, calloused but gentle, lathering me with delicately scented soap. It was pure pleasure. Meticulous as always, my husband soaped me from neck to toe, over breast, hip and leg, scrubbing dirt away and massaging aching muscles until I was thoroughly cleaned and, to bank ank since I intend to ensure this document will not fall into the hands of children, very aroused. Durnik's hands, adept at anything he ever set out to do with them, had once again worked wonders.

Even after years of marriage, I don't think Durnik fully realizes how the merest touch, odeeddeed even the thought of his capable hands upon me can spark my desire for him. His hands were what first drew my attention to him years ago on Faldor's farm, and those hands can still literally grab my attention any time.

Well, I have no qualms with showing my self-effacing husband just how much I appreciate him, and I deemed another demonstration was now in order. Eyes still closed, I reached out, took his hand and set it between my legs.