Nicholas smiled when Eliana accepted his offer to wash her.  She was being so nice to him, despite his involvement in her captivity -- he wanted to something nice for her.  After rolling up his sleeves, Nicholas dunked his hands into the bathwater, getting them thoroughly wet.  Then he rubbed the bar of soap until he’d worked up a good lather.  Beginning with Eliana’s neck, Nicholas slowly spread the bubbly froth across her skin, gently massaging her in the process.<br/><br/>Her question required a few moments of mental calculation.  He’d run away from home at sixteen, spent two years on the the streets before Sebastian found him...and he was twenty two now.  “Four years,” Nicholas answered, slightly surprised that it had been that long.  Sebastian rarely paid attention to what day it was, or even what month it was, so time spent in his company tended to slip away without being noticed.<br/><br/>As Nicholas’s washing moved lower, he found it increasingly difficult to keep his mind focused on the task.  He’d never touched a woman’s breasts before.  Under the guise of bathing them, his hands curiously explored the mounds of pale flesh, very pleased by what they found.  “You feel really nice,” he murmured.  “So smooth and silky.  Except these.”  Lightly, Nicholas’s fingers brushed the bubbles away from one of Eliana’s nipples.  “Why are they hard when the rest is so soft?”