Vivian sucked in her breath looking at his back frame. Her breathing already beginning to get shallower by the mere sight of his naked back. His skin was as pale as hers, and even though she hadn't traced his skin on his back the texture was no doubt as smooth as the robe that lay on the ground.

The broad back made way to his lean waist and his lower back firm that made her blush for ogling at him.

Leonard didn't wait to see her reaction and stepped into the bathtub, spilling some amount of water around on the ground when he went to sit in it comfortably. Vivian, on the other hand, did nothing but stand in the spot she was in, her nerves all over the place which spiralled one after the other at the thought of a completely naked Leonard in the tub waiting for her to wash him.

Not making eye contact with him, she went towards the stand slab where the soap and the scrub laid, she came to the tub with her eyes glued to the soap in her hand. Her face that had turned red didn't dare to look at him as she pulled the stool to sit next to him.

"W-where do I start from?" her innocent question quirked one side of his lips upwards which wasn't visible to her.

Was she supposed to wash his hair first? Or was it the neck she should start with?

Leonard raised his immersed hand from the water as water droplets. .h.i.t the surface with small sounds. Of course, it was the hand, thought Vivian to herself as she took his hand in hers.

Starting from his fingers she rubbed the soap moving up to his wrist to see him lean back with his eyes closed. Picking up all the courage she moved the bar of soap up his arm before dropping the soap and running his skin with her fingertips. Going to the other side she picked his other hand which was resting on the edge of the tub.

All the while, Leonard had his eyes closed which she was thankful as she wasn't sure she could keep up with her maid duties of was.h.i.+ng him if he ever opened his eyes to look at her. But what Vivian didn't know was that Leonard was much more attuned to her movements and her beating heart with his eyes closed.

She gulped wondering what to do after she was done with his arms before he raised his left foot. Her hands shakily went to hold on to his leg while also holding on to her dear life and sanity. Pa.s.sing a look towards his face, the man looked no less than a beautiful piece of art.

With gentle movements, she put pressure on the sole of his feet, ma.s.saging it with both her hands. Hearing him hum in the middle of the ma.s.sage made her feel satisfied to know she was doing it right. Was.h.i.+ng his legs until his knee Vivian asked,

"Would you want me to wash your hair, master?"

"Yes," he hummed with his eyes closed before he opened to reveal his dark red eyes.

Now that enough foam that she had created while was.h.i.+ng his hands and legs had been pushed into the watered tub, she could finally look at him without blus.h.i.+ng every few seconds as it hid his lower body. Pouring water on his head, she poured the white liquid on to her hand from the bottle, she lathered it with both her hands before applying it on his wet hair.

She peeked to his side to see his eyes closed back again as she ma.s.saged the liquid into his hair, moving her fingers in a circular motion. Once she was done with it, she poured water again from the bucket, removing all the soap from his hair such that his wet hair stuck to his forehead, the sides of his temple and his cheeks. One part of his hair was stuck right in front of his eye and Vivian couldn't resist herself from moving it away from his face.

At the same time, Leonard decided to open his eyes to catch Vivian's gaze. She gulped when his eyes looked straight at her. The way he looked at her right now did something to her body. Like tiny little fireworks going ablaze on her skin. She didn't realize the way she had been balancing herself with one leg on the side of the tub with her hand on the other side to support herself so that she could remove that piece of blonde hair that was hindering his handsome.

When her soapy hand lost the grip on the tub, she looked no less than a startled cat that was thrown into the water. Her leg followed her hand into the water to join Leonard in the tub. More water splashed into the ground as she fell into the tub on top of her master who had caught her from falling into a more awkward mess.

The bottom of her dress was drenched, the fabric of her skirt floating above the water she was in as her hands were held in Leonard's hand. The small fall had given her a fright turning her eyes wide and her lips parted for air that had been knocked out of her.

Vivian being slow, it took her time to notice the compromising position she was in with her master.

She was quick to apologize, "Forgive me, master Leonard!" She went to stand up but the man hadn't released her hands from his. Or rather he didn't want to.

His expression was calm and serene, used to his Bambi's clumsiness, it was something he had expected when he had asked his housekeeper to send her in place of the other maid. Finally, she had come to see him as a man and not just a childhood friend or a master. Leonard wasn't the kind of man to let an opportunity slip through his fingers, not when it was so close.

Vivian tried freeing herself from his grip by pulling her hand but he had other motives as he pulled her hands so that she fell right into his arms.

"M-master Leonard?" her sweet voice was filled with nervousness, "I think I need to get out of the tub."

"Is that so?" Leonard moved his head closer to her as he asked looking at her, "I think you're fine like this," she felt him pull her closer.

Before she could utter another word, in such a small s.p.a.ce of room they shared, Leonard managed to get up and push her in the tub, reversing their position entirely so that she laid in the tub while he hovered over her body.

"Vivian," leaning towards her he whispered her name as if intoxicated by her.

"Leo-"

She felt Leonard cover her lips with his, stopping her from even uttering his name.