“Never.” Nox picked up the soap.
“Will you tell me now?” Now Luca burned for the knowledge.
“What do you want to know?” Nox lathered his hands.
“Everything.”
Nox laughed and set to washing Luca.
“That will work better with a washcloth.”
Nox swept his hands down Luca’s ribs. “I don’t want anything between us.”
“Does that include clothes?”
“We can’t go around naked without upsetting people.” Nox shrugged. “But if I had my way…” The Anubis purred in Nox’s chest.
It was almost embarrassing how much Luca liked the sound.
Almost.
Nox lowered himself until he knelt in front of Luca, massaging his thighs, calves, ankles on the way down. Each touch both gentle and possessive.
One the man, the other the monster.
“Where were you born?” Luca said.
“Huh? Oh, Maine.”
“You don’t have an accent.”
“My parents moved to California before I was two. I stayed there till grade school, then Florida till I enlisted.”
“I bet you lived on the beach.”
Nox placed a kiss on Luca’s thigh. “Yeah. I even surfed.”
Luca laughed.
“What?”
“I didn’t picture you as a surfer dude.”
Nox stuck up his pinky and thumb, then waved his hand. “Right on.”
“What were your parents like?”
“I don’t remember much about them.” Nox stood and continued to chase bubbles over Luca’s skin.
“Did you lose the memories?”
“No. I only lose my memory if I stay in Phase Three too long.” He picked up the shampoo bottle. “I don’t remember much about my parents because they weren’t home a lot while I was growing up. They divorced, and I wound up with my dad. He remarried and we moved to Florida. Between his drinking and his new wife, I stayed away from home as much as I could. Hard to make memories when you work hard to avoid them.”
“Is that why you went into the military?”
“Sort of.” Nox worked a palmful of shampoo into Luca’s hair.
“I love it when you wash my hair. Feels good.”