Chapter 79 #2
He shakes his head, expression staying serious.
My cheeks heat, and he looks back at my feet.
I stay silent as he applies bandages over each spot of ointment. And I continue to stay silent as he lifts my feet and slides off the bed.
I watch as he opens another cabinet, takes out another bin, and pulls out a pair of thick socks.
They’re way too big. But they’re soft. And I know they’ll help keep my Band-Aids in place while I sleep.
I let Ethan help me up. And I let him help me slip my feet into a pair of really old-looking tennis shoes that came out of another bin.
They’re gigantic, but Ethan ties the laces so they’ll stay on. Then he walks me out the door and across the few yards to the outhouse.
“Here.” He hands me the solar-powered lantern he pulled from another cabinet.
He checked it when we were still in the cabin. The glow was dim but still better than the thin band of light from the flashlight.
Ethan mentioned needing to charge it tomorrow, that it should be brighter, but I’m grateful for it as I carry the lantern into the tiny building.
Before I close the door, I eye him, standing feet away. “Ethan?”
“Yeah.”
“Please don’t stand there.”
He looks down, then looks back up at me. “Why?”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t mean that exact location. I mean, don’t stand so close you can… listen.”
Ethan drops his chin and looks at me like I’m being absurd.
I lift the hand not holding the lantern and point at him. “I’m serious. Go pee in the woods or something.”
Ethan sighs but doesn’t argue. And he doesn’t go back to the cabin for his flashlight. He just walks off into the dark woods.
Oh, to be a man with no sense of fear.
With the lantern on the floor, the outhouse is filled with a cozy glow as I do my business.
I was wondering about the lack of fireplace in the cabin, thinking the winters must be pretty cold out here. But the more I consider it, I figure Ethan just doesn’t come out here in the winter.
The trek alone would be nearly impossible with a couple feet of snow on the ground.
And since the toilet seat is chilly right now, I can’t even imagine what it would feel like in freezing temperatures.
When I exit, Ethan is standing a few feet farther away than he’d been before, next to the well.
“Here.” He holds out a bar of soap.
I happily take it and use the water as he pumps it out to give my hands a proper wash. Then I soap up my hands again and scrub them over my face.
It’s harsher than my usual face wash, but I need the refresh.
Ethan hands me a paper towel, and I smile at him as I use it to dry my face.
Then I gasp, because the next thing he hands me is a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. “You’re like Mary Poppins with those damn cabinets.”
When I’m done, I turn my back to Ethan, ignoring his sigh over my attempt at modesty as I rinse my mouth and spit onto the ground.
I use the damp paper towel still in my hand to wipe my mouth, then I give him back the toothbrush.
He applies more toothpaste and puts it into his mouth.
And I have to clench my thighs.
That should be gross.
But it’s not.
It’s not gross at all.
Ethan holds eye contact as he brushes his teeth.
The sun has officially moved below the horizon, and the heavy tree cover means we’re in full darkness.
But the lantern is sitting on the stump beside me, and it’s just enough light to watch Ethan watch me.
He doesn’t turn away when he’s done.
He doesn’t turn away when he spits into the grass.
And I know I’m screwed.
Because I’ve never found these things hot before.
Being a Bad Girl.
Having a Good Boy.
Sharing a toothbrush.
Spitting…
I swallow.
I’ve never found these things hot before because I’ve never tried them before. But Ethan…
Ethan makes it easy.
He makes everything easy.
Talking. Teasing. Touching…
And I want more of it.
So much more of all of it.
Ethan grabs the lantern, and the light sways, sending shadows across his handsome face. “Come on, Starlight.” He holds the lantern in the direction of the cabin.
I take a step.
“Careful.” He grips my arm.
And I bite my lip again.
That’s another thing Ethan makes easy.
Caring.
I swallow again. For a different reason.
He’s so good at caring.
The gentleness.
The way he rubs his thumb in circles.
The concern.
Being careful, I step up into the cabin.
It’s even darker in here.
“Wait.” Ethan steps in behind me.
I wait, staying where I am near the foot of the bed as I hear the door click shut. Then another sound, a muted thud, as Ethan turns the lock on the door.
The light moves around to my side as Ethan crouches next to me.
And I stay where I am as Ethan unlaces my shoes.
“Let me grab bedding.” He leaves the light where it is and goes to the cabinets. As expected, he pulls out another bin, opens the lid, and removes two pillows.
Caring.
“Now?” I let him hear the smile I force into my voice.
I’ll find a way to manage my emotions, my feelings toward Ethan. I don’t need him knowing that everything he does makes me fall more than a little in love with him.
He’s probably like this with everyone.
“Almost.” My smile turns real at his response. “Hold these.”
I take the pillows from him and hug them to my chest.
Ethan drags the blanket off the bed and drops it in a pile on the empty pillow bin. Under the blanket was a mattress protector, but no sheets in sight. Then I notice a handful of little sachets.
“What are those?”
Ethan grabs the little pouches. And I can smell the answer before he speaks. “Lavender.”
“Fancy.”
“They’re losing their potency, but they’re good for keeping bugs and rodents away.” He drops them on top of the discarded blanket. “So, at least if something gets in the cabin. They should stay out of the bed.”
My mouth pulls into a frown.
Maintaining a cabin in the woods comes with all sorts of logistical issues.
I press my nose against the pillows as Ethan pulls out a full set of bedding from another bin.
Inhaling, I notice the pillows have the same laundry scent as the clothing he gave me.
“Can I help?”
Ethan lifts his head to look at me from across the mattress, the answer written all over his shadowed expression.
I let him see me roll my eyes. “Fine, I’ll just watch you do everything.”
“Good.”
This man is something else.
Not helping, I take another sniff of the pillows. “When were you here last?”
“November.”
My eyebrows lift. “Seriously?”
Ethan circles the bed, securing each corner of the fitted sheet. “Yeah. Why?”
“Everything is so… fresh.”
He does a snapping motion with the flat sheet, and it drapes perfectly into place.
“I’ve had lots of practice learning what works best.” He unfolds a heavy wool blanket, similar to the one that was on the bed before, and it falls into place on top of the sheets.
“Plus, the elevation keeps things dry. Humidity would make everything moldy.”
Coming from Vegas, the literal desert, I don’t have much experience with things being humid. So I take his word for it.
Ethan smooths the blanket with his palms, then pulls down the top edge. When he holds his hand out to me, I hand him the pillows.
He sets them in place. “You’re on that side.”
I step out of Ethan’s big shoes and walk around to the far side of the bed. “I thought you haven’t brought women here before?”
“I haven’t.” The bed creaks as I climb into it. “But I’ll always sleep between you and the door.”
The lantern turns off.
The room goes dark.
And my breath catches in my throat.
I’ll always sleep between you and the door.
Putting himself between me and any danger.
Telling me he’ll always do it.
Implying there will be more nights together. Not just a weekend stranded in the wilderness.
The bed creaks again as Ethan climbs in, and I lie on my side, facing him, head settled on the pillow, blanket pulled up over my shoulders.
“Ethan?”
“Yeah?” His reply is close, his body turned to mine.
“I just want you to know I’m on birth control. The arm implant.”
“Good.”
I wish I could see his expression. “Good because…?”
Because he assumed I was?
Because he doesn’t want kids?
“Good because I plan on coming inside you again.”
A sleepy snicker sneaks out of my chest at his seriousness.
Followed by a yawn.
“Ethan?” I close my eyes.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for today.” I feel my body getting heavy with sleep. “I’ll explain it all tomorrow. But… thank you.”
His knees bump into mine. “Are you thanking me for involving you in a plane crash?”
My lips pull into a smile. “It was a controlled emergency landing.”
Ethan’s exhale ghosts over my lips. “Go to sleep, Wife.”
Wife.
What a pleasant word to fall asleep to.