“Even possessions need names,” William replied. “A table by any other name would, well, it would be confusing.”
Her face screwed up in irritation. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
“Listen,” William said. “Obviously, you're not a normal wildling. You were obviously educated by someone, at least in the ways of language. So, you have a name. I presume you'd prefer I call you by your name?”
“I'd prefer you took a long walk off a short pier,” she bit back.
“What's a pier?”
Her expression told him that she didn't know either. A great many of her expressions were archaic; she must have been raised by very old-fashioned parents. Most wildlings lacked her linguistic abilities. They could talk, but they did so simply and without regard for the nuances of language. They certainly didn't make puns or statements simply because they sounded good.
His new pet was quite an enigma, a woman caught between worlds, too wild to be a citizen, too civilized to be truly wild. A fascinating, beautiful creature who seemed to loathe him with every bone in her body.
“I will call you... Gertrude. Or Hortense. How do you feel about Philomena?”
Her eyes narrowed further with every passing suggested moniker until finally she broke. “My name is Sarah.”
“Sarah, that's a good name. An old name.”
“No older than William,” she replied. She was right. He had been named after his great to the power of a half dozen grandfather, a man who had made a name for himself by hunting man-eating tigers in India or Pakistan back in the days before they became great hulking irradiated hell beasts.
“Let's get you into the bath,” he said, activating the bath and watching as it almost instantly filled with warm, clean water which flowed from many dozens of little portals around the rim of the tub. “Best to take clothes off for this.”
He braced himself for the coming argument, for which he would not have blamed her. Being naked with a strange man was a vulnerable position for any woman, let alone a freshly caught wildling.
“You want my clothes off? You want to see me without my clothes?” She tugged at her tunic, pulling it up over her head. Her breasts were instantly exposed, full and round with pink nipples. Her beauty was quite stunning and for a moment his breath caught in his throat. The toned lines of her torso lead down to the sweet spot between her thighs where soft green curls grew. William felt his cock harden in response. He was glad he was still in the hardened camouflage armor which protected every part of his body, including the crotch region. The underside of his cock was thrusting against the codpiece with a vigor which was almost uncomfortable.
“Very nice,” he said, playing down his arousal. “Now, would you like to get in?”
“I would not,” she said, mimicking his intonation. Oh, she was a little smart ass. She stood there quite boldly without a care for her nudity, hands on her hips as she looked up at him defiantly.
“Get in, or I'll put you in.”
A little shrug was her only response. She was not going to do as she was told, not for anything, but her naked frame was so distracting he didn't much mind. If she wanted to be difficult, he could deal with that. Wrapping his arms around her naughty naked body, he picked her up and tried to put her in the bath. She clung to him so tightly he would have had to have gone in himself fully clothed.
“It's just warm water, nothing to be afraid of.” He tried coaxing her off, but she clung to his body armor with the strength of a monkey in a tree. Many years of climbing had strengthened her fingers to a point where they could easily sustain her body weight as long as she had a good hold. She further strengthened her resistance by wrapping her legs around his waist.
“Well, aren't you affectionate,” he teased.
She responded by snapping at his nose, just barely missing the flesh. The act earned her a warning pat.
“Now, you settle down, my girl,” he said. “This isn't going to hurt you one bit.”
“I don't care. I'm not going in.”
Glaring up at her captor, Sarah knew that she did not have anything to fear from a shallow tub of warm water. It was the principle of the thing. She had to retain control over something, and her carefully crafted coating of the world outside the city was the one thing she wanted to keep. Once that was washed away, there would be nothing left.
William slapped her bare bottom, getting her attention. “You're going in one way or another,” he said, his words accompanying a tingling that was not entirely unpleasant. His little pats and love taps did not cause any pain, but they did cause strange feelings, both emotional and physical, to course through her body and mind.