Captivate
an excerpt

Once he’d gotten two green bottles from his bags, he lead her back into the bathroom.
After draining the tub, Hyrumas peeled off his socks and rolled up the cuffs of his pants.
“All right,” he murmured, as he stepped into the tub and sat on the opposite end of it, “Just kneel down and bend your head over the tub, I’ll get it done in no time.” He reached up and grabbed the detachable shower nozzle after she bent down, turning on the warm water.
As he began to wet her hair, he sighed, letting the drenched locks slide through his fingers. It gave him an almost exhilarated feeling. He’d never washed a woman’s hair before, and frankly he didn’t know why he’d offered.
He paused in his rinsing, then, and squirted a good portion of shampoo into each of his three open hands, then slowly began lathering up her hair, taking all the time he possibly could as he massaged it into her scalp, making sure to get it through the rest of her hair as well.
As he rinsed the shampoo from her hair, he smiled. Just as he’d thought, a vibrant shine was already coming through. And he hadn’t even lathered it a second time or put conditioner in yet.
The process of washing Fyrn’s hair was an experience he was never likely to forget. The way it shone and glowed under his touch, and the feeling of the silky, wet locks between his fingers. These sensations were precious, and he would treasure them for years to come.

When at last he finished, he laid a towel over Fyrn’s back, then she flipped her hair over and the wet, dripping tresses landed with a thwack across the towel.
Hyrumas smiled as he folded the towel over her hair and began rubbing vigorously to dry it. When this was done, he took the towel off and sighed, satisfied. “There you have it. Your hair is as clean as it ever was.”
She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. “Thank you,” she murmured.
As far as he knew, this was the first smile he’d gotten from her. Now that he had an opportunity, he ran with it.
“So…” he murmured, “Your hair’s all tangled up. Would you like me to brush it?”
Fyrn nodded. “If you don’t mind. I’m assuming that ‘brushing’ my hair will make it feel even better, so…”
Hyrumas nodded. “Oh yes, it will, I promise you.”
Fyrn nodded and followed him out of the bathroom. As he dug through his bag, Fyrn picked up the sheet and comforter and began making the bed. Her expert little tucks caught Hyrumas’ eye, and it puzzled him. How could she know so little about the normal world, and yet make a bed so easily?
A little while later, as they both sat on the bed (her on the edge and he cross legged behind her), Hyrumas began to brush her hair. After a moment of doing so, he murmured, “So, Fyrn, you ever bee a Mevrim before?”
The girl stiffened a little, and he could hear the frown in her voice. “What makes you ask such a question of me?”
“Well, the way you made the bed,” he muttered, shrugging, “You looked very professional, like you’d been doing it all your life.”
Fyrn sighed. “Well, I do know how to make a bed. But I don’t feel like talking about why.”
“Aw, come on,” Hyrumas coaxed, “Now I’m interested.”
“I said,” Fyrn half-growled, “I don’t feel like talking about it.”
He sighed. “Well, you’re certainly a stubborn one. I got more than a bargained for when I double-crossed you.”
The Sonara turned Mevrim didn’t reply, just crossed both pairs of arms and said nothing the rest of the time he was brushing out her hair.
When he finished, she reached back and fingered the straight, silky strands. “Um… thank you,” she murmured to him, “Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, as he turned to put his brush away, after discarding the green hair that had been in it.