"You should get in with me," Sunny mumbled, eyes heavy-lidded, cheek resting on the tub as I leaned over and washed her with a soft sponge.

"There'd be no room for the water, petal," I said, lips twitching as she hummed in answer. She'd fallen asleep on the altar, clung weakly to me as I carried her up the stairs, and refused to wake for any lunch until her stomach had made the demand a few hours later. "Lean back."

Sunny rolled in the water, my hands guiding her back to rest her head on the ledge. I'd already washed her hair and combed in conditioner to soften and detangle her strands. She'd been quiet since she'd woken from her nap, thoughtful as I'd fed her leftovers of our breakfast from my own fingers. She'd also been entirely loose in my arms. She'd given up control of her body in the basement and had forgotten to take it back again. No squirms, no objections to my feeding her, carrying her, bathing her.

The satisfaction was thick and heady in my veins. There was no pretense to Sunny. What self-consciousness she possessed at her desires was gone now. Even acceptance was forgotten. She was simply existing as mine. Mine to fuck. Mine to care for.

"Would you like to bathe me, petal?"

Sunny's eyes had fallen shut as I stroked the sponge down her shoulders, over her breasts and into the water. They fluttered open again with effort now, but the light in her gaze was bright as she turned her head to find me.

"Yes, please." Her hands lifted from the water, bracing against the ledge of the tub, and I hurried to push them back in.

"Not now. But if you behave for me tonight, and if you impress me tomorrow—"

"What will we do tonight? And tomorrow?" Sunny asked, eyes growing wider, struggling to sit up in the slippery water.

Her lips were slightly chapped, eyes a little red from so much interrupted sleep. I reached over her head to the top shelf by the tub and pulled down a few jars. Mud mask. Lip scrub. Deep moisturizer.

"Tonight you will rest, petal," I said, wondering if I could keep the promise. Probably not if I was in the bed with her.

A restful fucking. She is here for fucking after all, the back of my head reasoned.

Sunny's head tipped back, offering herself up for the mask with a soft smile. "And tomorrow?" she repeated.

Tomorrow, I had vivid plans for the little human. Plans she'd requested. Plans I would relish bringing to life, embellished with my own desires.

Dangerous, I reminded myself, smearing mud over pink cheeks and a smooth forehead, down the slope of an elegant and fragile throat. "I think you'll like being surprised," I said, watching her lashes bat softly with every swipe of my fingers on her skin.