I took a moment to appreciate the spectacular vista of Dain's back and ass. He had armor-like scales running down his back; I'd seen the spikes before, of course, but seeing the scales was a totally different experience. His spine split into the two tails at his pelvis, and while the tails hid some of that ass, they didn't hide enough. Pale skin, such a contrast to the black of his scales, and the fur of his legs barely soft down on the tops of his thighs. I swallowed and made myself look up at his shoulder and neck instead of letting myself think about the salacious things I might like to do with the region between his knees and waist.

"Well?" he asked pointedly, not turning back to look at me. He held one hand under the water, waiting for it to get warm. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I want to clear the air, now that we're both in more sane frames of mind," I said, trying to keep my voice even and calm.

He laughed, the sound dark and dangerous. "What makes you think I'm sane?" Dain replied, his voice in a caressing purr.

If he'd meant to scare me, he really missed the mark. That was the sort of voice that made me want him to throw me up against a wall and do terrible things to me. I crossed my legs and swallowed, attempting to push back that attraction. Neither of us needed to have to deal with wayward biology right now. We needed to talk.

"People think you're on the verge of snapping all the time, but it's not at all true. You have reasons for why you act the way you do, and they're usually good ones," I said honestly.

He went still in the way snakes can, not one hair shifting.

I leaned back in my chair, hooking one arm over the back in a casual pose that I hoped would translate into calm for my body. "You don't always exercise it, but you have incredible control when you want to. I got caught by the soulmate bond to the point where I couldn't think of anything else but you. I know you got caught equally hard, and you were still able to stop and get us out of the situation. That type of awareness and ability to override your emotions is really impressive. You don't even approach insane."

Dain let out a shuddering breath, his tails relaxing down until the long fur draped across the ground. He did something to the bath, then got in, lying down in the steaming water and turning to face me, draping his arms over the marble side of the tub. With one wing-arm, he reached over and adjusted the water temperature, his wolf eyes skimming over me.