Coldhearted Boss(41)
With that thought, I shed my towel and dip back into the lake, going for a second swim before I trudge back to camp, soaking wet.
In late spring, the temperature isn’t quite hot enough to warm me, and I’m still shivering by the time I make it back to the cabin. I change and eat a late lunch before sitting out on the porch, reading. I’m nearing the end of the paperback and the suspense is killing me. The author has been building toward an epic battle and I know I need to read quickly if I want to finish it before Ethan gets back.
The wind picks up and I shiver, unsure of the time. I was too hungry to rinse off earlier, but when I walk back into the cabin to escape the cool wind, my eyes catch on the aluminum tub in the corner. There’s a drain on one side. I know it could be used as a bath, and it’s clean thanks to my sweep of the cabin this week. The showers around the camp don’t get hot water. They get whatever the hell water they pull up from the wells, and usually that means quick freezing-cold showers taken with chattering teeth and goose bumps covering my entire body.
A hot bath sounds like an indulgence I can’t pass up, even if it means boiling water in the mess hall and lugging it back to Rose Cabin over and over again. My arms are shaky from exertion by the time I’m done, but when I put my hand down into the half-filled tub, I nearly groan with pleasure. The water has cooled down enough that it doesn’t scald my skin, but it’s still hot enough to relieve my aching muscles after I strip off my clothes and step in.
I lather up my arms and legs then spend extra time on my hair, letting the conditioner sink in while I lie back and close my eyes. The scent of my floral body wash hangs heavy in the air. I could stay here forever, but I pry my eyes open and finish washing so I can reach for the paperback and rush to finish the last few pages. Before Ethan gets back, I’ll have to put it right back where I found it so he doesn’t know I’ve borrowed it all weekend.
My fingers and toes turn to prunes and the water cools another few degrees as I turn pages, hungry for resolution.
I’m so caught up in the fast-paced ending that I don’t notice the creak of the cabin stairs or the sound of the door opening. All I know is one minute, I’m alone in that cabin, reading, and the next, I glance up just as Ethan freezes in the doorway, staring straight at me in the tub.
I scream and his paperback flies out of my hand, landing in the water with a heavy thunk. My eyes widen and I don’t give a crap that I’m so exposed because I WAS TWO PAGES AWAY FROM FINISHING and now—NOW the book is sopping wet.
“No, no, no!” I scramble to pull it up out of the water and shake it quickly. Water flies into my eye, but who cares?!
I lurch over the side of the tub and lay the book out on my towel, patting it dry.
“I’m so, so sorry!”
I didn’t want him to know I read his book. Now not only does he know I read it without asking him, I’ve ruined it too.
The words bleed together and when I flip to the end, the thin pages rip clean from the binding, all but disintegrating in my hands.
“Jesus,” Ethan groans, stomping forward. “What are you going on about?” He yanks the towel out from underneath the book and throws it onto me.
Ah yes, I’m nude.
Oh so nude.
My eyes fly up to his, and he’s looking down at the book, his hands on his hips, his face pulled into tight angry lines.
“Sorry,” I mutter, though the word sounds weak and useless.
Chapter 17
Ethan
Let’s get one thing perfectly clear: I don’t give a shit about that book. I couldn’t recall the name of it right now if my life depended on it.
She’s going on and on about it as she stands up and wraps the towel around herself, and though she didn’t ask me to, I whip around and give her my back. I’d expect her to be embarrassed to have been caught naked in the tub. Instead, she keeps apologizing for ruining my book. Who cares about the book? I walked into the cabin, expecting to find it empty, and instead, I found Taylor, sitting there with her hot curves on full display. Instead of walking right back out the door like a gentleman and giving her privacy, I stood there dumbstruck, lost, utterly enraptured by a woman who is nothing short of a fantasy with her tantalizing breasts, narrow waist, and long wet hair.
I am so ridiculously hard right now, I’m actually glad Taylor is babbling about the book because if she weren’t, she’d realize I’m making a complete fool of myself.
I’ve seen naked women before!
I’ve had plenty of sex!
Good sex with hot women, and sure, it’s been a couple months, but I’ve been busy, and I’m good at taking care of my needs in the shower, with my hand, while picturing this very woman with her small hands wrapped around me and her wet hair tickling my chest. I jerk myself away from those thoughts as I realize Taylor is kneeling in her towel, flipping through the book.
“Don’t worry about it,” I insist, tone hard and clear.
She’s mumbling under her breath. “Borrowed it without asking…ruined it…let me just see if I can dry it out and…”
She’s acting like I’m about to attack her for ruining my book. Is she really so scared of me?
I reach down and grab her bicep, easily lifting her up to her feet. Her skin is wet and warm. She keeps the towel closed with one hand and her big brown eyes find mine. She looks doe-eyed and innocent.