Free For the Heart of Dragons by Julie Wetzel Page B

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