I add the last bucket I’m carrying and watch the snow dissolve into the already lukewarm water. It won’t take long now before it’s steaming. To judge by the walls of the room and the way the stove is vented, this whole hut was built as a sauna, and the bathtub was added later. Probably when whatever bachelor clearly built this cabin realized that he needed a spot to get clean if he ever wanted to bring a lady friend up here with him.
That’s the story in my mind, anyway, as I stir the last bucket of snow into the water, then dip a finger into the bath to test it. Just a few more minutes until it’ll be hot enough.
Eager to get started, I spin around, ready to shut the door into the shed.
That’s when I find Tony leaning on the frame of the doorway, watching me with hooded eyes, his expression unreadable.
“What?” I ask as I step past him to toss the snow bucket outside.
He doesn’t answer. I brush back into the shed, bumping my shoulder against his hard enough that he’ll feel it.
“At least get out of the doorway,” I say as I pick my way across the toolshed toward the little sauna bath. “You’re letting all this nice heat out.”
He steps into the shed and lets the door click shut behind him. For a moment, that’s the only indication I get that he’s even listening to me. Then he clears his throat, eyes on the stove. “Shouldn’t we be conserving that wood?”
“We have plenty,” I tell him without turning around. “This is just extra I found in here. But if you’re worried about it, you can bring in more from the pile outside. It’s buried under the kitchen window.”
He locks eyes with me for a long moment. Then he sighs and shakes his head. “Where should I put it? The kitchen’s already full.”
“Bring it in here. It’ll dry off in the shed.” I turn without waiting for another response. If I wait any longer, this bath I’ve worked for all morning is going to get cold.
There’s a soft click as he opens the door, then another slam as it shuts behind him. I wait a moment, watching the outer door of the shed. Then I step into the sauna, and ease the door closed. I don’t shut it all the way. Not quite. I leave a sliver of a crack, and hesitate, debating. But I want somewhere for the steam to vent—a consideration the sauna builder doesn’t seem to have thought about when he constructed this little add-on room.
That, and, I can’t deny that part of me wants to know what Tony will do. How he’ll react if he comes back in here and I’m already naked and sprawled in this bathtub.
So, I leave the door partway open, and begin to strip. It doesn’t take me long to peel off the layers I donned this morning. By the time I do, the water next to me has wisps of steam rising from its surface. I step into it, and can’t help it. I let out a sigh of pleasure as the warmth wraps around my foot, my calf, my thigh. I add my other leg, sink slowly into the bath, and moan aloud as it envelops my whole body.
I haven’t felt this warm since before my car started to skid yesterday afternoon.
Was it only yesterday?
Time flies when you’re trapped in a cabin on the edge of the world.
I hear the creak of the shed door. Then a clatter as Tony drops off the wood in the shed. Next, footsteps. My heart flutters, and my belly tightens at the memory of the way he acted yesterday. How fierce he was when he grabbed me, took what he wanted.
The door creaks open. “I’m not sure where you want—” Tony breaks off abruptly, eyes locked on my body, mouth still half open. He snaps it shut, and his gaze drifts up to mine. “The wood,” he finishes, eyes holding mine tight.
I can’t look away. So I don’t bother. I just lean back in the bathtub and rest my neck along the marble sill, allowing myself a small, teasing smile as I gaze up at him. “Right here is fine,” I say, my voice thick with meaning. We both know I’m not talking about that wood anymore.
Still, Tony hesitates on the threshold. Lets his gaze drip over me again, lingering, full of desire. I know how to read that longing expression in his eyes now. “Corina, what happened last night…”
I spread my legs, really slowly, so he knows I’m doing this on purpose. I love how easy this is. How quickly his gaze drops to my belly, then my pussy, as I open my knees as wide as I can in the big bathtub. “What about last night?” I ask, my voice low. When he doesn’t reply, I lick my lips. Try my luck. “Was it everything you fantasized about, Professor?”