"Maki is not making it weird. Maki is helping. Maki is a very good familiar."
Her thumbs worked into the base of my skull, pressing against the occipital ridge with a strength that surprised me. Maki was small and soft and spent most of her time pretending to be helpless, but she was a Platinum-tier supernatural predator. Her fingers contained enough force to crack walnuts.
Right now they were doing something to my neck that should probably be illegal.
"Where did you learn this?"
"Previous master liked neck rubs."
"The one you killed."
"He was boring. And bad at petting. Master is much better."
Her hands moved down my shoulders and across the width of my back, fingers walking along the ridge of my spine like she was reading a map. Every point of contact sent another wave of relief rolling through abused muscle tissue. The water sloshed gently against the stone sides of the tub as she repositioned herself, sliding around to my side so she could reach my back properly.
