I buried my face in my hands, my anger was rising again. I heard the door slide open. Without bothering to look, I uttered a warning. "Come near me again and I swear I will scratch that beautiful face of yours."

"H-Hinchan~ Ojii-chan is sorry," he said in a singsong voice. "Please forgive him, he was thinking with his chinchin[1] and not with his brain~"

I barked a sarcastic laughter. "Congratulations for realizing that!" I heard his footsteps coming from behind. "Did I say you can enter the bath? Get out!" I looked at him irritably.

He stopped mid-step and gave me the puppy dog eyes. "Ojii-chan is sorry, please forgive him~"

"Quit trying to be cute!" I snarled. "Get out and put some clothes on!"

"Nope," he planted his feet on the floor and shook his head a few times. "I'm not leaving until you say you forgive me."

"Humph!" I snorted. "How childis.h.!.+"

He suddenly grinned, I peered at him suspiciously. "You know, you look so much more seductive when you're angry."

My mouth twitched. "Changing tactics won't work, Kaname. Get out, I need to be alone."

"Fine," he threw his hands up in surrender. "I'll tell the maids to prepare you a warm bath for your sore... Umm... Uhh..." He struggled to find the right word.

"You don't have to finish your sentence, just go and tell the maids I need a bath and some food. I'm hungry."

He walked to the door with slumped shoulders, he looked utterly defeated. I would have been amused had he not angered me earlier. I saw him sliding the door shut but halfway through he stopped and peeked through the small opening. "M-may I join you in the bath? I swear I'll behave."

His voice was so hopeful I didn't have the heart to refuse. "What's the magic word?"

"Please."

"Okay," he gave me a toothy grin before finally disappearing to where the maids were.

~~~

After a while, the maids prepared the tub and filled it with perfumed warm water. Kaname ordered them to get out as soon as the preparations were done. He insisted that he will be the one a.s.sisting me in my bath when Ryuko-san started to oppose.

"Let me serve my wife," he told her tersely. My ears perked and my heart thumped at his last two words. "Get out."

"Y-yes, my lord," my poor head maid had no choice but to follow his command.

"May I remove your blanket, my lady?" he asked as soon as the door slid shut, he looked so tame I had to stifle my laughter.

'Hmm… I kind of like this other side of the shogun,' I nodded internally. 'So he can be scared of his wife, huh?'

I got up and tossed him the blanket before returning to the stool. He set it aside and started ladling water into and soaping my body. I looked at his face as he prepared me for the tub. He was concentrating so hard that his brows bunched together. I noticed that his hands lingered slightly longer on my b.r.e.a.s.t.s when he was lathering them. I cleared my throat to let him know that he has been found out. He took the bamboo dipper and hastily rinsed me which was wise of him.

Kaname helped me into the tub, the warm water stung a bit as I lowered myself into a sitting position. He saw me wince, he worriedly asked if I was okay. I shot him a look, he pressed his lips together and didn't say more. As soon as he made sure I was comfortable, he proceeded to was.h.i.+ng himself then joined me.

I closed my eyes when I saw him enter the tub from the corner of my eye. The water lapped on my skin as he settled in. For several minutes, the room was quiet. Maybe it was because he couldn't take it anymore but Kaname all of a sudden scooted to my side, the water was once again disturbed. I felt some of it splash on my face due to his abrupt movement.

I opened my eyes to stare at him. "What are you doing?"

"My dearest wife," his eyes held an unspoken plea to touch me. When I nodded, he wasted no time and latched onto me. "My dearest wife, please forgive your thoughtless husband. He promises to be more sensitive to your needs."

'From Hinchan to dearest wife then ojii-chan to husband? Me likey.' "You're forgiven," I said then shut my eyes again.

"Hehe," I heard him chuckle before giving me a swift kiss on the lips. "Thank you, my dear wife."

~~~

When we had our brunch, Kaname sat beside me instead of opposite me. He continued to 'serve' his wife thoroughly by deboning and flaking the fish and putting more pickled vegetables on my bowl. When he saw that we were almost out of miso soup, he signaled for Ryuko-san to bring more.

"It's okay," I interjected. "I'm almost full."

As soon as the table was cleared, I went to my room. I smiled when I heard him following me. I reached for the futon but he beat me to it, he laid it out for me and even fluffed up my pillow.

"My dear wife must still be tired from last night," he remarked as he guided me to the waiting futon.

I decided it was time to get rid of my cold façade and reward him for his sweet words and gestures. Once I was settled in the mattress, I motioned for him to join me. The look of glee was so apparent on his face, I wondered what his subordinates would say if they saw him right now…

"Anata[2]," I whispered to his ear. I grinned when I saw his disbelieving expression.

-------------------------------------------------

[1] Nihongo for p.e.n.i.s.

[2] My dearest, usually used by wives to address their husbands.