CHAPTER NINE

Angela swallowed hard. When she mentioned bathing, she’d thought maybe a wet cloth, some soap and exposing one body part at a time. Not this. As she studied the appliance, she had to admit it was just big enough to fit her, if she bent her knees. It looked a little deeper than a tub though.

There had to be a way of tackling this task without getting completely naked and letting Sas wash her. Maybe he could tie plastic bags around her hands really tight at the wrists, but even as she thought it, her gut told her he’d never allow that.

A part of her wanted him to feel as uncomfortable and turned-on as she would feel. She had no doubt he’d feel uncomfortable based on the way he walked out on her the other day when she’d kissed him, tongue and all, which she shouldn’t have done and wouldn’t have if she hadn’t been high on pain killers.

The sad part was, she didn’t regret the action in the least. She just wished he’d responded in kind. It was torture to be in such close proximity to a man, every day, alone with him, and not act on her inclinations. If she wasn’t such an invalid, she’d have followed that kiss with another and then some.

And would she have been embarrassed by his rejection? Probably. He’d done her a favor by walking out. He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested without actually saying anything. Typical Sas. She couldn’t help smiling at that.

He strode back in from the pantry with a bundle in one hand, a small package in the other, and a bucket hanging from his wrist. He set everything down on the table where he usually ate.

“Are those my clothes?” The green colored woven yarn sandwiched between jean material and what looked like black sweats had to be her sweater.

“They are.” Sas opened the brown paper-wrapped package. Inside was a square wrapped in plastic.

Feeling a little happier to see her clothes, she couldn’t contain her curiosity. “What’s that?”

“Soap.”

“Oh.” And how would that actually be applied to her body? She could feel the heat in her cheeks. She would die of embarrassment.

Sas picked up the bucket and set it in the sink. Moving the lever that allowed the mountain ice water to flow into his house, he began filling it. He’d explained to her how it all worked until the winter freeze stopped all water from the mountain. Before that happened, he said he filled plastic jugs with it and stored them in his cave pantry.

When the bucket was full, he emptied it into the old refrigerator. He paused, examining the appliance.

Maybe it leaked and they’d have to do something else. She could only hope. Then again “something else” might be more embarrassing.

He pushed the fridge closer to the woodstove then returned to the kitchen.

She licked at her lips, thankful that at least they had healed. Wishing her hands and feet were better wouldn’t make it happen, at least not in the next half hour.

Despite her nervousness, she continued to enjoy the view of Sas emptying buckets of water into the makeshift tub. His naked torso, despite, or maybe because of the scars, was like the Aurora Borealis she witnessed her second night on the ship, sharp lines with waves of movement.

Sas filled one last bucket with cold water and set it aside. He moved back to the stove and with his bare hands, emptied the pots of boiling water into the tub then refilled them and set them back on the stove.

She’d gasped silently as he lifted the pots, but the handles were wood, so they must not have conducted the heat. Still, he must have very calloused hands to withstand the heat. She swallowed hard at the thought of his coarse skin touching hers.

He turned and strode back through his pantry door. When he returned, he held one large and one small towel.

She glanced toward the door where he always hung his towel and noticed it was there. It made sense he’d have more than one towel, but since he owned only one plate, one tin cup, and one chair, she hadn’t thought he’d have another towel.

What was stranger still was her disappointment that she wouldn’t be using Sas’ spruce scented towel to dry off. Shoot, she was thinking like a high schooler. That ship had sailed almost fifteen years ago. She needed to get her act together. But as Sas set the towels down on the table then headed toward her, panic set in.

“You first.” She blurted the half-thought at him as he moved the chair aside.

He pulled back the quilt. “What do you mean?”

She crossed her legs, something she’d just found she could do without pain. “I mean, we have to take my clothes off, right?”

His Adam’s apple moved in his neck as he swallowed. “That’s correct.”

“Then you first.”

His brows rose to hide beneath his hair once again. “Why do I need to take off my clothes for you to bathe?”

Good question. “Um, since I can’t bathe myself because of my hands, then you will get wet.”

He stepped farther down the bed to her feet and began unwrapping the bandages. “If my clothes become wet, I will change into other ones.”

She couldn’t counter that with anything logical. Shoot, she would have to admit how uncomfortable she was. “Listen, this may sound silly, but I feel really uncomfortable being naked when you’re not. I’m sure there is some psychological reason for it having to do with a balance of power or some such mumbo jumbo, but I don’t even care about that. I’m just trying to figure out how to get clean without being so embarrassed I start crying. I know how men don’t like it when women cry and I think that would just make you uncomfortable as well.”

Sas had stopped unwrapping her feet and stood there looking down at them.

Oh no, was something wrong with her feet? She stared at them, but didn’t see anything bad. In fact, they looked a lot better. All thanks to him. She moved her gaze to his face.

He frowned, clearly unhappy, but he didn’t say anything.

“The honest truth is, there isn’t much I can do if you refuse. After all, I can’t walk and I can’t use my hands, so I’m at your mercy. It would be absolutely terrifying if I was with anyone else.”

His head snapped up. “It would?”

She nodded rapidly even as his gaze slid away. “Yes. I’d be mortified. But I trust you, so that helps.”

“I will undress on one condition.”

Only one? If the shoe was on the other foot, she’d be making a list of demands. “What?”

“If you find me repulsive, you tell me and allow me to dress.”

Her mouth opened but no sound came out. He was worried about how he looked? Even with scars all over his legs, he was a damn sight better than most of the men she’d slept with. Now that he pointed it out, looking at him might help her take her mind off him washing her. Yeah, right. “I agree.”

“Very well. Allow me to help you first.”

She nodded, but her throat closed as he stepped toward her.

“Carefully, lift your arms.”

It was painful, but not unbearable. What was unbearable was Sas pulling her tank top up her waist, past her breasts and over her head. Beneath it was an elastic sports bra. She’d dressed in layers on purpose in case she got hot on the helicopter ride to the glacier. That seemed like a year ago now.

Sas’ roughened fingers took hold of the bottom of the bra and pulled it over her breasts and up her arms until it too was off. At the scrape of the material, her nipples hardened, as she’d feared.

She couldn’t look at him. Luckily, she didn’t have to. He stepped down to grasp her leggings at the waist and hooked her panties as well. She lowered her hands, but kept her elbows bent to take her weight there as she lifted her hips.

Sas pulled her clothing over her butt and down her legs. When everything was at her ankles, he stopped.

By this time she had closed her eyes, but when she heard his footsteps walking away, she opened them.

Sas had gone over to the counter and pulled a knife from a drawer. He came back, but kept his gaze on her feet. “I cannot get these off without hurting your feet. I must cut them.”

If only she could have waited until her feet were completely better, but since she was this far, she certainly wasn’t going to have him redress her now, especially in her smelly clothes. She swallowed hard to find her voice. “Thank you.”

As soon as she indicated it was okay, he sliced the leggings at the ankles and maneuvered them over her feet with no pain at all.

Once again, she counted herself lucky in having such an amazing caretaker even as she wished she could pull the quilt over herself.

Without another word, he lifted her into his arms.

As her body touched his naked torso, every nerve-ending came alive with awareness. His chest and abs were as hard as they looked as he held her against him to bring her to the water-filled fridge.

“You must keep your hands out of the water when I put you in it, but first I need to know if it’s too hot for you.”

Too hot? Nothing was hotter than he was. “But I can’t touch it.” She looked down at the water. Despite the unusual container it was in, it looked so inviting, she forgot her nakedness for a moment.

With her still in his arms, Sas knelt on one knee. “Move your foot into the water. It will be very sensitive as you have new skin forming. If the water is even slightly too hot, you will know.”

“Okay.” Carefully, she moved one leg over the edge and dipped her foot in. “Oh, it’s perfect!” Now that she was so close, she couldn’t wait to get in.

As if he sensed her eagerness, he lifted her up again and lowered her into the water.

As the warm liquid flowed over her, she sighed. It felt so good. Every muscle relaxed.

Sas grabbed her wrists. “Don’t let your hands fall into the water.”

Startled, she looked up to find him bending over her, but his gaze wasn’t on her face or her wrists. She flushed. “Sorry, I forgot. I’ll keep them on the edge. You can let go now and take off your clothes.”

He was slow to release her, his gaze clearly on her breasts. Did that mean he did find her attractive? The man definitely sent mixed signals.

Finally, he let her go and stepped away. His jaw tensed and his brows lowered as he unbuttoned his jeans.

She should be ashamed of herself for ogling her caretaker, but she couldn’t help it. When she’d first asked him to get naked, it had been pure instinct to level the playing field, though they weren’t playing and she was still at a major disadvantage.

If she’d been healthy, this scenario would have been completely different…and if he was interested. It was that doubt coupled with her helplessness that kept her usually assertive nature under control.

She watched, breathless as he lowered the zipper on his jeans, the pleasure of the bath almost forgotten, her only thought for it, keeping her wrists resting on the sides. She licked her lips. Would he wear boxers or briefs?

Sas pushed the jeans from his hips, revealing the V that outlined his pelvic region only to expose a large, hard cock. No underwear at all.

Her entire body lit up like the fireworks over San Francisco Bay. Tingles raced from her chest to her groin at the sight. That he was hard had all her drug-induced dreams resurfacing. The warm water she sat in was nothing compared to the heat of her body.

He lowered his jeans, stepping out of one leg then the other and turning around to fold them and place them on the table.

That was when her heart took control over her body, which instantly cooled. Sas’ legs weren’t free from scars either. Two looped beneath his groin as if his legs had been reattached. His right leg had another scar around the knee while his left leg had a scar around his ankle. What had happened to him?

She opened her mouth to ask, but he turned around and looked at her. She immediately gave him a sheepish smile. The last thing she wanted him to think was that his body shocked her. It did, not because it was ugly, but because the scars and muscle combination attracted both her body and her heart. “Thank you. I feel a little better.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he picked up the soap, a block of wood, and a small towel and walked toward her.

Her stomach tightened at his approach, but it wasn’t embarrassment or fear now. It was pure lust. The bottom of her breasts barely hit the water and were completely exposed. Her legs were bent as her feet were firmly on the bottom of the makeshift tub, her knees, which protruded above the water line, squeezed together to stop her from making a fool of herself. This was to get clean, not dirty.

Sas knelt next to the fridge. He set the soap down and ripped the small towel in half. “I will wash your hair first.”

Her hair? Shoot, she hadn’t even thought of that. “Do you have shampoo?”

He picked up the soap and moved behind her. “Sturge’s wife makes this soap for both hair and body. Now, move forward and tip your head back.

She’d never heard of such a thing, but it was the wilderness and just getting clean was motivation enough to comply with his directions.

He cupped the water in his large hands and let it fall over her hair. She closed her eyes, just in case any ran the wrong way. After soaking her hair to his satisfaction, she inhaled the scent of mint. The soap he used tingled her scalp, making it feel cleaner than it had ever been. That was probably because her hair was used to the chemical concoctions of the local drugstore.

As he shampooed, he massaged her scalp, relaxing her. Then he rinsed her head with the leftover water in the pot that he hadn’t poured in. It was warmer than her bath water, but perfect for getting the soap out.

When he was done, she opened her eyes to see him take half the small towel and wrap her hair, keeping it from hanging in the bath water. She’d love to see how her hair looked when it was dry. She glanced around the cabin, but didn’t notice a mirror.

Sas returned to the side of the tub and dunked the other half towel into the water and began washing her neck.

She closed her eyes and bent her head to the side, allowing him all the access he needed. As he moved the cloth to her shoulders and across her collar bone, her breaths came faster as need swirled in her belly. Instead of moving lower, he soaped her arms from wrists to elbows and underneath where the cloth brushed her breasts, making her nipples react.

She dared to look at him from beneath her lashes. He reached next to him and picked up the soap again.

She closed her eyes tight, knowing what was next. As the cloth moved downward from her chest, his touch lightened and it brushed over one nipple, making it far harder than if he’d grasped it.

The cloth moved around, over and under her breast as if he’d never seen one before and was fascinated by the shape. That was silly. He was probably just being thorough and the last thing she wanted to do was interrupt him.

The cloth finally moved down to her rib cage and over her belly before being lifted from the water again.

She opened her eyes to watch his large hand soap the cloth again. Sasquatch. That’s what they’d nick-named him and right now, she finally saw it for the compliment it was.

Her breasts were not small, but as his large hand moved to her other one, it completely covered it. He washed that one thoroughly as well, all around, under and this time, he took her nipple between his fingers and rubbed it back and forth within the cloth.

Spikes of pleasure shot straight to her core, and she glanced at him in question. Did he want to have sex?

As she watched his facial features, he looked completely absorbed, like she did when the helicopter had crested the first mountain and below them was the ice of the massive glacier. She’d been in awe. That was the same expression on his face.

Could it be he’d never had a woman like her? Maybe the women he’d been around were smaller. Maybe that was why he was so gentle with her. Oh shoot. Of course! He’d said he never had a girlfriend. He’d probably never given a woman a bath. That would account for his intense gaze and fascination.

His hand finally pulled away as he reached for the soap again.

She took a deep breath. Her whole body was primed for sex. Would he wash between her legs next?

He moved behind her and bent her forward, washing her back from the tops of her shoulder blades to the top of her ass. She’d thought a bath would be mortifying, but instead it was titillating. The mint scent of the soap filled her senses, making her…happy?

Sas was determined to be thorough. As he reached her ass, he pushed his hand beneath her. She allowed herself to float up to give him access, her heart racing as the cloth moved from one cheek to the other before burying itself between them.

Her breath caught as excitement sped from her anal hole to her sheath. His hand retreated, and she lowered herself, finally taking a deep breath as she tried to calm down.

Sas nudged her so she lay back against the side as he wrung out the cloth. He soon soaped it up again and moved down to her feet. Lifting her ankle, he washed the new skin on the top of her right foot before cleaning the bottom. When he was happy with that, he moved from her ankle to her shin and calf then to her knee.

He set her foot on the edge of the fridge which forced her knee to bend toward her. Without a word, he grasped the soap which had slipped uncomfortably close to the juncture of her thighs and he soaped the cloth.

Every movement was purposeful, slow and thorough. He rubbed the cloth up her thigh, around it and to the inside.

She held her breath as a part of the cloth brushed against her labia. When convinced that leg was clean, he lowered her foot into the water again, only to start with the other.

Despite sitting in a fridge full of water, her sheath moistened as Sas brought the cloth over her mons and past her clit. Slowly, as if determined to touch every inch of her skin, he ran his finger with the cloth between her folds.

She wanted to grab his hand, press it to her and rub against him, but her hands had to stay out of the water. Her only hope was that he was as turned on as she was and would take care of her once she was clean.

Her sheath tightened when he brought the cloth up to her clit to make sure every crease was attended to. She pressed her wrists against the top of the bath and lifted her hips, unable to resist any longer.

Sas dropped the cloth immediately and pulled the soap from the water. Without a word, he stood, his hard cock letting her know she wasn’t the only one affected by his ministrations to her cleanliness. He dropped the soap on the counter and started to fill one of the buckets at the sink.

She stifled a moan. She’d never look at bathing again in quite the same way. Why had he purposefully made her crave him? She watched his tight butt as he walked to the wood stove and poured the cold water into the pots of hot water. When he crouched to add more wood, his ball sac peeked from between his thighs.

She closed her eyes. A vision of her on all fours with him pumping into her from behind, that very sac slapping with his movements, filled her head and heated her body even more. Shoot. She snapped her eyelids open, but the reality was even better.

Sas stood next to the stove looking at her. Though the water was opaque from the soap, her breasts were clearly visible and that’s exactly where his gaze was locked. She glanced down to see his cock stood straight out from his body, which gave her hope that they might both find some release.

He stepped up to the fridge and her breath caught. “Do you think you can stand?”

That wasn’t exactly the question she’d expected. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll lift you.” Without waiting for her agreement, he bent over and lifted her entire wet body out of the water. As her skin touched his, she wasn’t sure if the shiver that raced through her was from him or her.

Slowly, he lowered one of his arms, allowing her feet to touch the bottom of the fridge. The position had her standing sideways against him from his chest to his cock, which rested against her ass.

Despite the sexual current running through her, she focused on her balance as her feet took her full weight for the first time in over a week. It was like riding a bike and yet not. Her body remembered what to do, but it was a little unsure how to do it.

She leaned her arm against his. “I think I have it now. Why do you want me like this?”

“I need to rinse you. Don’t close your eyes.”

“Okay.” She already held one arm out to the side to keep her balance, so as he carefully moved away, she extended her other one out as well.

Sas only needed to take a step to grab the pot of freshly warmed water. He held it above her shoulder and let the water flow over her. When all the water had run out, he did the same on the other side with the second pot, quickly finishing with both arms before returning the pots to the counter.

Her knees started to shake when he grabbed up the clean towel and lifted her off her feet again. This time, she held one arm around his neck, though she was careful not to let her hand touch him.

She thought he would place her in the bed so they could have sex, but to her disappointment he lowered her into the chair. Instead of relief, she found herself on the receiving end of more stroking as he methodically dried her off, from her breasts to the folds of her pussy, which just caused more wetness to gather there.

She closed her thighs tight against further drying. “I’m good.”

He shook his head though he didn’t meet her gaze, focusing on her calves instead. “It’s important you’re dry. Wetness conducts the cold air.”

At the moment, she couldn’t believe she’d ever be cold again. “Believe me, I’m quite hot.”

His brow furrowed and he lifted the back of his hand to her forehead.

She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. He couldn’t be that clueless. He had to be joking, but as he took his hand away, there was no lightness in his features.

“You don’t have a fever. You’re warm from bathing.” He moved behind the chair she sat in and undid the towel around her hair.

If he wasn’t taking such great care of her, she’d give him a piece of her mind. Her body was ready for sex, but despite his erection, he seemed oblivious.

He towel-dried her hair then walked past her to a shelf on the wall between the kitchen counter and the equipment area. Above it was a triangular piece of a mirror maybe a foot in length that she hadn’t noticed before.

Sas removed something from the shelf before heading toward her.

Did he not know how hot he was? He obviously thought his scars should be hidden, but his body was muscle in motion. People thought the statue of David in Florence was inspiring, but that had nothing on Sas.

Not only was Sas not a statue, but his movement was so smooth that he practically glided, the muscles in clear definition as he strode across the room. In seconds, he was behind her chair, and she hid her disappointment at not being able to see him.

When a comb started through her hair, she widened her eyes. The man thought of everything. As with her body, he combed every strand on her head and then did it again. Either he was a little anal or he liked her hair. Of course, that meant he liked her body and hadn’t just washed every inch of her because he was someone who had to be thorough. She grinned.

“Your hair is almost dry. If you’re still warm, I suggest not donning any clothes until tomorrow. It will be better for your circulation.”

Now he was talking her language. He came around to her side, but before she could ask him what was next, he lifted her once again.

She got her arm around his neck and held on as he lowered her to the bed. As he bent over her, she lifted her face to his and kissed him again, confident from his constant erection that he was definitely interested.

For a split second, he opened his mouth and his tongue pushed inside hers. At its forceful entrance, pleasure swept over her, and she moaned.

He pulled away quickly, but ever careful of her hands, and stalked toward the door.

“Sas? Where are you going?”

He jerked the door open as if she’d angered him. “I decline to answer.” The door slammed shut.

Shoot, now what had she done? He’d made her hotter than a cat in heat then walked out on her? For the first time, she was more than frustrated. She was pissed.

When he came back inside, she would lay it all out there. She wanted to have sex with him and since she couldn’t do much about it, he better. She just had to hold on to her anger until he returned.

She smirked. That shouldn’t take long. He’d just left the cabin stark naked with what had to be, at this point, a painful hard-on.