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The day went by without disturbance. When night fell, the two men made a another small camp. They hadn't seen any prey, so Bern, surprising light on his feet, took his massive bow, taller then even himself and probably heavier then either the human or elf could hold, and headed off into the woods to see if he could find anything. Roan got busy caring for the horses and the large reptilian mount.

Cylthan huddled into the back of the cage. She prayed that Draen would appear now that the human was all alone. But she hadn't heard from him and couldn't sense his presence anywhere nearby. Whatever he had planned obviously was a lot more complicated then just dogging them until he had them alone.

"No kitty-cat, eh?" Roan mocked her from the front of the cage. Cylthan sneered at him.

"You're just so tough, mocking me while I'm trussed and naked and in a cage. Such a man!"

"Ouch. Such harsh words for someone who happens to be at my mercy!" He smirked. "If I thought you wouldn't be stubborn enough to take the suffering rather then beg, I'd say you didn't want any water, but I think I'll be nice and give it to you anyways."

"Such a kind gesture for a bastard." She cautiously squirmed over to the front as he opened the cage door, leaning forward to get her lips to the waterskin he offered. She drank as he tipped it for her, all the while their eyes locked in a war of willpower. The slightest diulation of her pupils gave him barely enough time to dodge the mouthful of water she spat at him.

"You, bitch, don't know when to quit!" He snarled, reaching in for her. The cloak, which was wrapped around her legs, had hidden how close she'd brought her knees. As he leaned forward, she brought up both knees under his chin, slamming the top of his head against the roof of the cage. He slumped and fell onto his back unconscious. Having squirmed all day long, Cylthan had managed to get the ropes loose enough that she could slip her fingers out enough.

Without grace, she wormed her way out of the cage, dropping heavily onto the ground next to the Seeker. She managed to pull out his dagger and cut the ropes around her wrists and then ankles, both of which were bruised and bleeding a little. But she ignored it, instead grabbing her pack from next to the fire, pulling on some clothes hurriedly. She fastened her sword belt around her hips, turning to grab a horse and run off into the night.

"You are one serious spitfire." The deep gravelly voice of the giant made her draw her sword and turn to him. He was grinning at her.

"Want a piece of me?" She growled, holding her sword as steady as she could. She knew there was no way she could fight off the light grey-skinned giant. His skin was much too thick for a simple sword to pierce.

He laughed. "Sure I do, but I don't think you could take this," one of his lower arms grabbed his crotch, his grin mocking.

Cylthan's eyes narrowed angrily. She knew he knew that she was calculating her odds. And they were not good. They got even worse when she heard Roan groan behind her and roll to his feet, a hand on his head.

"Dammit, she hits hard." He picked up his discarded dagger, tucking it back into his belt.

"Well, maybe if you quit getting frisky with her she'd hit a lot less."

Cylthan looked between them. They seemed entirely unconcerned with her being free. She looked around, her sharp elven eyes piercing the darkness until she saw the ring of fire salt. It was thin, but glowed ever so slightly with a powerful spell. Should she attempt to leave the circle, she'd burn from the inside out. Only the two Seekers could come and go through the circle. And no wonder Draen wouldn't have attacked. But why didn't he tell her about it?

Bern chuckled, what sounded like two boulders grinding against one another. It sent a shiver through her. "I see that you've discovered the trap. Good job. You're smart for an elf. So you gonna hand me that toy before you hurt yourself?" He reached out a lower arm toward her.

Taking a deep breath, she knew she was defeated. She angrily slapped the blade into the giant's palm, the size of her head. She sneered at him and was about to turn to Roan when there was an odd gurgling sound from the trees above them.

Bern looked up with a dispared "Oh for Lukoz's sake!" when five undistiguishable shadows fell into the circle around them. The shadows quickly took forms, growing fur and fangs and claws, burning eyes and an animalistic roar.

"Shapeshifters!" Roan backed away as one of the wolfen beasts lunged at him.

"Elf!" Bern rumbled to Cylthan. She turned back to him in time to catch her sword, swinging around and cutting deeply into another of the shifters. It yelped in pain and backed away. The wound oozed the black substance that was their blood. Yet another shifter leapt at the giant Bern. He caught it with two of his arms. The beast was strong even for him. It snapped its jaws at him, snarling and roaring, but it was cut short when Bern twisted the creature, snapping it into pieces.

Two shifters went after Roan. He bared his teeth in his own snarl, his silvery eye swirling. The shifters stopped, hypnotized by the magic. Cylthan focused on the shifter that had first attacked her. It leapt at her again, hardly noticing that it had impaled itself on her sword as it knocked her to the ground. She shoved her hand against the creature's throat, holding it up as it snarled, snapping at her, it's claws rending at her torso. She gritted her teeth against the pain, getting her feet under the large beast, she lifted it with all her strength, trying to push it off her when it was suddenly ripped off her by a massive hand.

"That's my toy, you overgrown mutt." Bern tossed the shifter directly over the ring of fire salt. The shifter landed on its back, leapt to its paws, but as it moved back toward them, it gave an agonized scream. The smell of burning flesh overpowered everything else before it finally fell to the ground, it's body soon turning to ash.

Cylthan lay on the ground panting in pain when another shifter's face appeared over her, snarling. It's hot drool splashed onto her forehead. It opened its mouth to snap at her when she rammed her sword up through its brain. It groaned and fell over, giving her another moment to breathe. She could feel her blood leak down her sides and soak into the leaves under her.

She could hear Bern and Roan fight off the last two shifters. From her position on the ground, she saw the flinting shadow that hung in the trees above. She caught her breath and went completely still, pretending to be dead as the vampire looked down at her. It then turned its eyes to the two Seekers before it dropped down onto Bern's back, forcing the air from him, the blow of the massive beast knocking the giant unconscious. The last surviving shifter joined its master.

"Killing my brother was your last mistake, Seeker!" The vampire rumbled as it approached Roan.

"Well shit." He sighed. "My whole week really hasn't gone the way I was hoping."

The shifter pounced him, which he dodged easily. But the vampire came at him in the same moment, catching him in its talons. He stabbed at it with his dagger, but it laughed. Roan snarled, his feet thrashing out at it. The vampire gave a surprised look, peering down at its slashed open abdomen. He was confused at the long claws the jutted out of the Seeker's boots.

When he looked up, he realized the human that he had been holding was gone. The creature that stared at him with a silver swirling eye was not something he had been expecting. Shifting magic was no longer thought possible amongst humans. He should have guessed by the eye.

A furless tail whipped at his face. He dropped the Seeker, who fell to all fours. "Bloody rat spawn!" the vampire roared. The rat looked up at him with a black beady eye. He then leapt at the vampire, going for the throat with enlarged incissors.

Just as the Seeker bit down on a raised arm, the vampire screeched, whipping around with the rat still hanging off him. The silver scimitar was lodged to the hilt between his wings. The tip was barely visible through his chest. He gaped at the stooping elf. Cylthan clutched at her bleeding torso, sneering up at him.

"I don't much care that you kill the damn Seekers, but I know you'll come after me, next. So join your brother in hell," she spat at him.

The vampire snarled before falling over. The shifter, free of his vampiric master, roared before shifting into a large birdlike thing and flying away into the night.

Unable to hold herself up, Cylthan fell to her knees. She looked up to see the beast that had once been Roan hop off the vampire's body and stand upright, his features shifting rapidly back to human.

"If one more thing goes badly...." He peered at his hands as they quickly changed back, nails replacing claws.

"What the hell...?" Cylthan gasped at him.

"Not the time." He knelt next to her, speaking a healing spell. She felt a warmth rush through her, the wounds on her stomach mending rapidly. While he could heal her wounds, he couldn't replace the blood she had lost. She felt queasy and weak, and didn't bother to argue as he helped her over to the fire.

After prodding Bern a few times, the giant leapt to his feet with a roar, looking around quickly. "Cool it. The elf bitch is a lot more helpful then I think she wants to be." Roan turned back to Cylthan. She sneered at him, but turned away, keeping her eyes on the sky in case there were anymore unexpected guests.

Then Roan gave a deep breath. The swirling motion of his silvery eye had ceased completely. All beings only had so much magic in them. And every spell took a certain amount of that magic, of that energy. He was drained. Humans didn't have much to begin with, and shifting had obviously taken more then he had. Bern looked down at the dead vampire as it slowly turned to dust. "You shifted, didn't you?"

"I thought I was alone, didn't have much of a choice. I wouldn't have if I had known she was actually going to help." Roan sat next to Cylthan by the fire, glaring at her. She gave him a wary look. It was obvious they were both too exhausted to bother to fight.

"Obviously he thought you were alone as well. You play dead well, elf." Bern checked the animals, which other then panicked and scared, were fine.

"I have a name, you rock." Bern just chuckled at her attempted insult. His kind were often called that since they were said to have been born from stone in the beginning of the world's creation.

Then her green eyes turned to Roan. "Now's the time."

He gave a sigh. "This," he pointed to his silver eye, now almost black, "as far as I know was an ancient trinket. How I recieved it, I have no idea. I have no memory of my youth before the Seeker Organization. I had it when Bern found me as a child and it's what gives me the power to change into a giant rat. Now that I told you, how about you tell me your story?"

Cylthan looked thoughtfully at him. Bern smirked. "This should be interesting."

With some effort, the elf stood. "Nope. Wasn't much of a story, so if you two don't mind, I'm going back to my cage to sleep."

Roan sneered, but said nothing. He didn't have the strength at the moment to stop her even if he cared to. She got back into her cage and wrapped the cloak around her, being cold from bloodloss. She could hear Bern and Roan talk quietly, but she didn't bother trying to listen.

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The rest of the night stayed quiet, and the morning was much the same. The two Seekers hadn't bothered tying Cylthan back up. She knew better. She'd never been very good with magic, not nearly as good as these two were. So she decided it was her best chance to bide her time and wait for Draen to make a move.

It reached high noon before they got to a large crossroads, the road splitting off into several different directions. They stopped just off the road.

"This is where Zoliac will be meeting us. He should be here soon enough." Roan smiled. His silver eye had begun its swirling motion again. "I really do hope your kitty gets here."

Cylthan kept her mouth shut. She hoped Draen would get there soon as well. They waited there as the sun moved across the sky slowly. Bern and Roan decided to play a game of bones, Roan obviously losing by his constant cursing.

A shadow passed overhead, drawing no one's attention. None by Cylthan's. She pressed her face to the bars of the cage and looked up with surprise. Roan and Bern were knocked flat by the concussive blast of wind from massive dark green wings. The screeching sound was deafening. Enormous claws clutched the cage that housed Cylthan.

And you thought I wouldn't come back for you! Bah, stupid reptiles. Draen peered over the wyvern's wing, his eyes glowing icy blue. He clung tightly to the beast's scales.

For its species, the wyvern was enormous, twice the size of the wagon easily, its maw making up most of its giant head. The needlelike teeth stuck out in all directions, its drool dripping constantly onto the ground, sizzling the leaves with its acidicness. Its large sickly green scales had the kind of sheen to them that made them look more like they were covered in snot rather than water. The length of its serpentine neck and spiny back were covered in spikes, drops of poison glimmering at their tips. And it's long, spindly tail ended in a massive stinger.

Flapping its giant wings with enough force to knock over not only Bern, but his mount, it screeched again, the claws digging deeply into the wood of the cage as it flapped hard to get up of the ground with its newly acquired weight.

Roan suddenly leapt to his feet, and ran at the wyvern as it got off the ground. He snarled as he lunged at the cage, his nails replaced by claws. With unnatural strength, he drew himself up, his transformation almost instant. The Wyvern sqwacked in surpise at this new weight, fluttering for a moment before gaining altitude again. The nimble, clothed rat scampered up the beast's legs and met Draen head on. The massive panther was only slightly larger than the Seeker in his other form. Large incissors bared, he hissed at the panther.

Draen, not fazed by the Seeker's change, roared, swiping out at him. He already had a precarious perch on the wyvern's back, trying not to touch the poisonous spines. The beast made it over the trees at last, shaking itself as best it could, trying to dislodge the unwelcomed guest. Much more nimble then the panther, Roan dodged every swipe from Draen. His tail firmly wrapped around a spine under its tip, the rat was able to use his front handlike paws to swipe back, catching Draen across the muzzle.

The wyvern suddenly lurched to the side. Scrabbling for purchase, Draen lost his hold and roared as he fell. At the last moment, his claws caught the wood of the cage. Now the wyvern was unable to stay airborne and it screeched as it slammed through branches. It attempted to circle back toward the crossroads where there were no trees to tangle its wings. Without front legs, and its back legs taken by the cage, it wasn't able to get ahold of anything to launch itself back into the air.

As it reached the road, its slitted, piercing eyes caught the glint of the arrowhead that buried itself into its chest. With an eeire scream, the wyvern struggled to stay up. As it fluttered, a loud voice rose above the racket. "Dal'ishjjim sorakt!"

A magical force struck the wyvern from below. It screamed again before dragging the cage, sending both the panther and the cage rolling over the ground. The wood of the cage split open, throwing Cylthan out with enough force to knock the air out of her body. She looked up in time to see the wyvern struggle in the air awhile longer before it slammed into the ground with a groan. It flapped its torn wings, trying to use a leg to pull out the arrow. It only succeeded in breaking the arrow, its thrashing pushing it deeper into its chest.

Finally, the beast fell, its great bellowing breathes filling the sudden silence. "NO!" Cylthan screamed, leaping to her feet and racing to the wyvern. She knelt by its head, stroking it under the large, yellow eye. It looked at her, its maw moving, its voice coming out in a rasp only she could hear. "I tried, my queen."

Tears in her eyes, Cylthan didn't see anything around her. She bowed her head, sobbing, laying her forehead against the wyvern's cheek as its breathing gurgled and then stopped.

Roan rose up from behind the wyvern body, his clothing torn to shreds, but he himself unharmed. He looked around to see where Draen had gone. The panther had struck a tree and lay unconscious some distance from the broken and mangled cage.

"That has to be the most amazing attempted escape I've ever seen in all my long years!" An old man hubbled over, leaning heavily on his staff. He was dressed in the grey robes of a wizard of the Seeker Organization.

"Could you have gotten here any later?" Bern sneered.

"What, and miss all the fun? My, what a shame. That's the finest specimen of the species I've ever seen. You couldn't have aimed at its wing or something?" Zoliac hubbled over to the dead wyvern.

With a strength borne of grief, Cylthan broke a spike off her friend, lunging herself at the old wizard. It was the last thing she remembered of the day.

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Voices floated by in the sweet darkness. But they grew sharper as Cylthan was dragged out of unconsciousness.

"C'mon, princess. Nap time's over."

Her eyes snapped open. She spat at Roan. With a surprised sound, the Seeker backed away, wiping at his face. "That was rather stupid of you," he growled.

A enraged roar echoed through the dungeon, the sound of an immense struggle against strong chains. Cylthan could tell that Draen was awake as well, and not happy. She herself was chained down to a torture bed, her arms and legs stretched to just the point of uncomfortable.

"So, going to torture us til you get nothing of interest and kill us? Just cut to the end." She squirmed, glaring at Roan haughtily.

"Oh no." Roan suddenly made her aware of her nakedness by caressing her side with a finger lightly. "The Council can sense your power. Somehow, you changed into this form and got stuck. They have no intentions of killing you. Not yet. First they have to figure out how to drain the power out of you, harness it, and use it to destroy that big bloated lizard that is your mother."

"SHE'S NOT MY MOTHER!" Cylthan screamed in rage she could no longer hold back. She'd lived so long listening to how everyone thought she was the Dragon Queen's daughter. She strained angrily against her bonds. Roan stepped back, his eyes watching her lovely form squirm and wiggle hopelessly. The chains were spelled, not even Bern would have been able to break them.

Cyl! Say nothing! Stop it, save your strength.

Grinding her teeth, Cylthan gave another enraged scream. "No! She stole me! She reached into the Dark Plains and stole me! I escaped her so she couldn't do exactly what you foolish beings are trying to do!"

"And what do you think would happen if we did do it?" Roan raised a brow.

Cyl...

She glared up at the Seeker. "You pull this magic out of me and it'll engulf the world. I wasn't meant to be here. My kind are too powerful for this realm. If I had been raised by my own kind, I would have learned how to use it properly, but because I wasn't, I buried it, took this form and trapped myself into it. There, you happy, you spawn of a sewer rat!"

"Interesting...." the voice was not Roan's. The dungeon suddenly seemed to melt around her. Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself in a large, circular room. She sat up from the cot she had been laying on, looking around at the semi-circle of mages. The Council of 12, the most powerful magic users of the Seekers. There was a leviathan like Bern, humans, an elf, and other species.

"Harsh words for the man who saved your life." A dark dwarf, a Czandorian, skin and beard as black as night, stood, not much taller than the table at which the Council sat. "If Roan hadn't said something, you never would have woken up, my dear."

"What?" She gasped, looking around.

"For his youth, he has a strange wisdom. In any case, now we need to figure out what exactly to do with you. We can't very well let you go and let the Dragon Queen find you. After examining the wyvern, we discovered the spell of Binding that Maelicxatrasia has on all the dragon kin of this world was broken. Even in death this spell holds them in thrall, not even allowing their souls to have peace. You somehow broke it. This makes you valuable to us alive." Then the dwarf flashed his white teeth in a big smile, stopping Cylthan's retort. "However, all of it can wait. You must be famished and your panther is far more powerful when he's mad. You have free rein to the castle, but should you try to escape, it won't be a pleasant time for you." The threat was not at all subtle.

Slowly, Cylthan rose to her feet. She looked at each Council member with wariness. The dwarf, obviously the leader among them, put out his hand to gesture toward massive double doors that reached up to the high ceiling. They opened slowly, showing her a way out. Outside the door, she could see two leviathans holding Draen by some massive, spelled chains. The chains themselves glowed the icy blue of his eyes as he attempted to counter the spell. Normal chains he could break without effort.

As soon as he saw Cylthan, he lunged forward, the leviathans releasing him. He bound at her, the chains rattling along the ground. He slid slightly to a stop in front of her, groaning a little as he tucked his head into her hands. They didn't hurt you, did they? We have to get out of here before they do something to you!

"We won't harm either of you. There is no need to fear, sir panther. For now, Darg and Levn will show you to a room we have ready for you. We will bring you food, and you can both bathe. We know how much the panthers of Thirbor like to be clean." The dwarf nodded to them both, indicating that they were to follow the two leviathans that had been holding Draen back. With a flick of his wrist, the dwarf opened the metal collar around Draen's throat. It clattered to the marble floor. "You are our guests. We will do what we can to make you comfortable."

Turning, not wholly believing him, Cylthan and Draen followed the obvious brothers down the many halls and corridors. They saw many of the people who called this place their home. Finally, the two leviathans stopped in front of a door at the end of a short corridor. The older one opened the door and stepped back to let them enter. It was a single room, with a cot to one side, a tall dresser next to it, and a small table at the foot of the cot with a chair. A mirror hung on the wall opposite the slit of a window that was on the side with the bed.

Good enough, I guess. Not luxurious, but better than what we're used to for sure. Draen entered slowly, peering around to make sure there were no traps. He sniffed the air, looking down at the foot of the bed. A massive round pillow full of down had been placed there, more then big enough for him to curl up on. Oh, look! What a wonderful touch! I feel at home already. He immediately curled up on the pillow, purring happily. Giggling, Cylthan entered after him.

"One of the servants will be by to bring you food and show you the bathing faucilities." The levianthan closed the door, leaving them alone at last. Cylthan went over and sat on the bed. It was very comfortable compared to the hard ground she was so used to. "Careful, let's not get spoiled."

Oh fuck that, anything for the comfy beds of home! This so reminds of there. Draen extended his claws happily, retracting them and extending them yet again, looking for all the world like an immense kitten. 10 years. So long. His voice was quiet, longing. Cylthan felt the same pang of homesickness. The panther's jungle was the closest thing she had to a home. She hadn't been there long, but she had loved it the same as they had. The only reason she had chosen the elven form was because elves had a similar life cycle as dragons, long lived and elegant. The panthers themselves only lived an average of 70 years. She, however, would live for hundreds.

A knock at the door interupted their thoughts. "Enter." The door opened and an older human woman came in. She placed a large platter onto the table and then placed a large bowl on the ground in front of Draen. The panther fairly lunged at it, gobbling down the food hungrily. "Slow down before you choke." Cylthan got up to look at her selection of food. "Um, thank you. Don't think I'll be able to eat it all."

The woman shrugged. "More for us. When you're ready, just come to the end of the hall. I'll show you to the bathing room." She left without another word, closing the door behind her.

Cylthan ate the food with the same famished gratitude Draen did. He finished his meal and curled up into a tight ball, purring himself to sleep. Cylthan smiled, but once she was done, she felt terribly grimy so she peeked her head out the door, cautiously making sure no one was waiting to attack her. She made her way to the end of the smaller corridor to where it opened into the large hall. The castle was many levels tall, and in the middle was open air. She leaned over the railing, looking down at the other levels with a little uneasiness.

"You get used to it real quick." She jumped, looking back at the older female servant. The woman motioned for her to follow as she led Cylthan a shortway to a larger door. She pushed it open to show a huge room with wooden painted screens surrounding a large circular pool. There were random benches placed around the pool. On the benches were fresh towels and robes. The woman nodded to the water. "Whenever you are done, just head back to your room. Tomorrow, someone will be assigned to show you around. It's a big place, easy to get lost." After Cylthan had thanked her, the old woman left.

Removing her clothing, Cylthan slipped into the warm water with a pleased sigh. She was so used to bathing in cold rivers and streams, it was so lovely to have a warm bath. Feeling a little playful, she ducked under the water, swimming over to the other side with easy, practiced strokes. When she resurfaced, she turned, her breath catching in her throat. Roan grinned at her. "I see you're settling in well."

"What are you doing here?" She made sure her eyes didn't wander as he leaned back in the water, his elbows on the edge of the pool, his strong chest bare and toned, the rest of him really not that hidden under the clear water.

"Thought I'd check in on you." He kept smirking at her, seeing her eyes continously flicking back up to his.

"You killed my friend," she hissed, remembering the anger and grief.

"Not me. I hadn't expected Bern to do that. He's not usually the 'go for the kill' kind when it isn't a direct threat. All I did was try to get the beast unbalanc...."

Cylthan growled, coming at him, murder in her eyes. "He wasn't a beast! He was my friend, he trusted me for reasons you can't fathom! You helped in his death! If you'd just let us go...." Her throat had constricted too much for her to keep talking. With an angry cry, she tried to strike him.

His reflexes were faster at that moment. He caught her wrist, suddenly drawing her against his body, his arms encircling her. She sobbed into his shoulder, remembering the last words of the wyvern. After she had inadvertantly released him from the Binding spell, he had pledged his loyalty to her. Until that moment, he had been a stupid beast of burden for the massive red dragon, without thought of his own. She had felt that his chosen loyalty to her was a precious gift. The human couldn't know how important it had been to her.

She felt his lips against her forehead. She looked up at him in surprise. He kissed her lips, his touch far more tender then the first time she had felt them in the woods. Without noticing what she did, she returned the kiss, her hands laying flat against his chest, feeling his muscles ripple under her fingers. The strength in his arms holding her tight felt comforting. She felt his body react to the intimate moment. His hands cupped her shoulders for a moment before running down her arms and taking hold of her hands gently, bringing them to his lips, kissing the fingertips of each hand.

She looked away from him, her own body reacting to the gesture. He slowly pressed her back against the wall of the pool so she had nowhere to go. He let a hand run down her side and along her thigh. She knew better, but she ignored all her instincts to fight him. Her leg raised to his touch, wrapping around his hip as the fingers of his other hand intertwined with hers. He kissed her slender throat, nipping at her as she felt him enter. She sucked in a breath, feeling him stretch her, fill her.

The soft moans that came from her urged him on, stroking in and out of her with sharp, powerful thrusts. He moved with precision, causing her skin to flush again with the pleasure. He grunted in his effort, groaning when he felt her walls constrict around him, a shudder running through her. Her free hand slid up his strong arm that held her leg around him. She brushed along his neck before drawing him down to her, kissing him, her moans lost against his lips.

Neither knew how long they'd gone when she at last felt his body tense, felt the warmth of his seed inside her. His arms encircled her again. They stood that way for long moments, letting their breathing go back to normal. Her sharp ears could hear his heartbeat slow. She looked up at him. "What did you tell them that made them spare me?"

"I heard what the wyvern said when he died. Ever since that giant skink placed her binding spell on the dragon kin, wyverns haven't been able to speak. That alone would have saved you, but I also told them you weren't like any of the other dragons. Mercy is not a dragon quality. Even your panther friend has more cold-blooded killer in him. Besides, who else would I torment?"

She sneered at his attempted humor, trying not to show it amused her. "So now what?"

He raised a brow. "You could give me a show like that time in the woods?"

She rolled her eyes even as a little smile tugged her lips. "You liked that, did you?"

"Only about as much as you did."

She gave a half-choked laugh. "Well I don't feel any cleaner then when I got in here, so if you don't mind...."

Roan grabbed a bag of soap sand from one of the bowls around the pool, a mischeivious glint in his eyes she hadn't seen before. "Oh, but I do mind."