Free Shadowed by Demons, Book 3 of the Death Wizard Chronicles by Jim Melvin

intensity of the moment. The wizard reluctantly answered. A woman entered bearing a heavy basin of steaming water. She was dressed similarly to Rakkhati, wearing a long waistcoat over knee breeches and stockings. A scarlet scarf was tied around her neck, matching the color of her hair, which was cut just below her ears.
    “Bonny is my name,” she said in the common tongue. “I am here to bring you niceties, courtesy of the inn. I hope you are all right after the terrible thing that happened.”
    She sat the basin down, raced out of the room, and came back with towels and a cake of gray soap. Then she disappeared before returning again with an armful of clothing.
    “You need some new outfits,” Bonny said, with a wild look in her dark eyes. “These will make you look real pretty.”
    She took her time leaving, staring at Torg with a mischievous smile. Finally Laylah scowled at her.
    “All right, all right, I understand.” Bonny rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
    Laylah turned to Torg. “Don’t get any ideas.”
    His response caused the large muscles of her thighs to quiver. “For as long as I live, you are the only one for me.”
    Without taking her eyes from Torg’s face, Laylah backed toward the door and slid down the latch. She leaned Obhasa against the wall and then slowly undid the shawl that covered her upper torso, exposing her breasts. The wizard’s eyes widened, and the hair on his head began to dance. Blue and green motes appeared in the air, sparkling around his ears and eyes.
    “Laylah  . . . ” he murmured.
    She dropped the second shawl from around her waist and stood naked before him. The sparkles intensified, drifting about the room.
    She sauntered over to the basin and held up the soap. “Will you bathe me, my love?”
    At first Torg continued to stare, unable to move. But then he walked over and picked up Obhasa. Rather than wash her with soap and water, he used his ivory staff to bathe her with fire, as he had done in the cave. But that first time, she had been too ill to appreciate it. Now she arched her back and moaned. The silky energy was warm and sensual, causing her skin to tingle. And it cleansed her better than the purest water and finest soap.
    “Torgon,” she murmured, her eyes closed. “Torgon  . . . Torgon  . . . ”
    He sighed deeply. “If I were able to choose from all the women who have ever been or ever will be, you would still be the one. I have never seen anyone—or anything—so beautiful. Every part of me desires you. Every shred of me loves you.”
    Laylah slowly opened her eyes. “May I bathe you ?”
    “Do you know how?”
    Laylah giggled. “I meant in the traditional fashion.”
    “Ohhhhh.”
    Laylah unbelted his tunic and lifted it over his head. Upon seeing his chest, she gasped the way Torg had when he first saw her breasts. The wizard’s body was muscled like none she had ever seen. In some ways it was almost inhuman, with as many bulges and ripples as the torso of a dracool. Though more than a thousand years old, his dark skin bore no blemishes or scars, which was even more amazing considering the horrors he had endured while trapped in the pit on Mount Asubha.
    Laylah was tall for a woman, but Torg’s nipples were even with her eyes. She touched the taut muscles of his chest with her fingertips, then reached for his breeches and began to slide them off his hips.
    “Careful  . . . ” he said.
    “I’m being very careful.”
    The breeches dropped to the floor. Torg’s exposed member responded, almost embarrassingly. Laylah gasped again.
    “ Torgon  . . . ” she said.
    Then she reached for it with her hand.
    The wizard took a step back. “There are things about me you still don’t know,” he said nervously. “With all this running and hiding, we’ve never had the chance to talk about personal matters. Long ago, I accidentally killed a woman  . . . an innocent Tugarian woman. When I have sex, I lose control of