AllFreeNovel
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I look around. I was in here just last night, but I was so freaked out, I didn’t even notice the shower. It’s built to look like the inside of a sauna; the walls are made with light-coloured wooden planks, and there’s a little bench built into one side. I find the water knob and turn it, gasping under the burning hot spray. Powerful jets of water pummel me, beating away the tension in my body. I close my eyes and just stand there for a moment, basking in it, then look around for something to wash with. There’s a little shampoo rack fixed to the wall, lined up with three bottles. One black, one white, one green. I’m sure Eli wouldn’t mind me using his; I just have to work out which one it is. I pick up the black one and pop the cap, smelling it. The scent is hot and musky, like whiskey and spice. I close my eyes, inhaling. It’s fuckingdelicious,but it doesn’t seem like Eli’s thing.
I try the white bottle. It smells fresh and clean, like sheets and soap. This one’s a possibility. So is the green one, which is scented like fresh-cut pine. I stand there for almost a minute, holding the bottles and deliberating under the hot flow of water, before I manage to shake myself out of it.
Jesus Christ. What the Hell is wrong with me? Is it something in the air? Is there less oxygen at this altitude, or something? Why on Earth am I standing in a strange man’s shower, huffing his shower gel?
I squeeze a bit out from the black bottle, wash myself down, then get out and dress quickly. When I step back into the kitchen, braiding my hair, Eli’s standing at the stove holding a sizzling frying pan. The sweet, buttery smell of pancakes hits my nose, and my mouth immediately starts to water.
I finish tying off the end of my plait. “Can I help? Do you want me to set the table, or something?”
“Don’t worry about it, babe. Just sit down.” He tosses me a sideways look. “How are you feeling?”
I rub the back of my stiff neck. “Okay.”
“Still hurting, huh?” He flashes me a grin. “If you’re gonna lie, you should get better at it. We have plenty of experience dealing with Cole. The guy once got bitten by a moose and didn’t tell us until two days later, when heliterally started dyingfrom blood poisoning.”
I roll my shoulders. “Kinda sore,” I admit.
He licks some batter off his thumb. “You know, that massage is still on the table.”
“Dream on.”
He laughs easily. “Oh, trust me, I will. Hey, check it.” He shuffles the pan a couple of times, then flips the pancake high in the air, catching it neatly. I watch his big bicep flex under the sleeve of his t-shirt.
“Very nice,” I manage.
He tosses me a bright smile, then turns back to the food.
“Morning,” a low voice rasps. I look up to see Riv standing in the doorway, his dark hair rumpled. He’s wearing thick-framed glasses and a tight white t-shirt that practically glows against his black skin. I didn’t realise just howbuilthe was last night. He’s even more ripped than Eli. The muscles in his arms are like ropes. He pours himself a mug of coffee, slaps Eli on the shoulder, then comes to stand by me. I jump when he stoops, taking my neck carefully between his hands.
“Wha—”
He slides his thumbs under my jaw and gently moves my neck to each side. I’m suddenly surrounded by the scent of him; clean and fresh, like crisp linen straight out of the drier. It makes me want to bury my face in his shirt.
“I thought you gave me the all-clear?” I say weakly, as he turns my face under the light.
“Double-checking never hurts,” he murmurs. As he pulls back his hands, I could’ve sworn his thumb brushes my cheek. “Here.” He presses two more pills into my hand.
“Um. Thanks.” Eli slides a plate of pancakes in front of me, tugging at the end of my braid. “Thanks,” I say again. “Really. You two are being so kind.”
I say thetwoquite pointedly. Eli snorts, sitting down next to me. I start wolfing down my food.
Riv goes to the stove to make up his plate. “I radioed down to the nurses in town,” he says over his shoulder. “Apparently, the snow is forecasted to stop by this afternoon.”
I perk up. “That’s great!”
Riv winces. “It’s not as simple as that. Even though the storm might have passed, it doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to travel.”
Eli nods out of the window. “We’ll have to dig ourselves out, first. And then wait for the roads to be cleared.”
“Down in the city, they have snowmobiles, but all the way up here, the government just pays farmers to use their tractors,” Riven adds. “God knows when they’ll get to it.” He takes a deep sip of his coffee. “It does mean that cell phone reception should be back up, though. There must be so many people worried about you.”
I poke at my pancakes. “I doubt it. No one even knows I’m here.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Not even your family?”
“They stopped speaking to me.”
“No friends?”
