"A bath," Nalini confirmed, a bit of good-natured sarcasm creeping into her tone. "You know, one of those wet things that people enjoy sometimes? Warm water, sometimes bubbles, sometimes salts?" She had to say that the Cirque had done very well by them, as far as the most lovely bathtub she had ever seen went. It was deep and comfortable and just perfect to sink into up to the neck.
Granted, she hadn't really invited Ashok to be a part of any of her prior baths. And she wasn't sure if she was doing so now. The thought had occurred to her, but it was entirely possible that she wouldn't go through with it – a lot of that depended on his reaction. And the notes of hesitation that she heard on his part weren't really encouraging. Maybe she wasn't his type?
It didn't matter. The bath was an offer of relaxation, not an awkward attempt at seduction. "If tea and meditation don't work, and the Guardian is going to overtake you one way or another, you might at least enjoy a soak? It always made the process less distressing for me." She didn't mention that just the mention of the bath had been enough to distract him from his worries – if he was busy thinking about the offer, he wasn't thinking about the Guardian.