Page 21 of In Love With the Leshy

“Only because he wanted you to?”

“Yes.”

Dipping my loofa in the water, I consider her words while bathing myself. Neither of us speak. When Masha’s done cleaning her daughter, the little girl lays on the surface of the water and floats. I work on scrubbing off the concoction Em spread over my ankle before rinsing my face and hair with clear water. I peek at Masha sitting with her eyes closed. She’s beautiful, and comfortable with herself in a way that’s foreign to me. Part of me hates her for it.

How can she sit there like she doesn’t have a care in the world? What if Em shows up? Is she okay with him seeing her naked? Does she want him to? I can’t bite my tongue any longer; curiosity eats away at me.

“Is Em Anastasia’s father?”

Masha laughs. “No. Why would you think that?” I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. “Ohh.” She says, dragging the word out as if she solved a mystery. “You like Em.”

“What? No.” My face flames. She doesn’t say anything, just raises an eyebrow as I ramble on. “Em is . . . I mean, yeah, he’s good-looking, and he smells . . . You know what? It doesn’t matter. He’s not human.”

“No, he’s not. But he’s strong. Protective. And let’s face it, he can turn into anything you want him to be.”

“Eww.” Why am I acting like I’m twelve, pretending I have no interest in him when I clearly do? I don’t know. I blame it on fear. Of Em. Of Nikolai and everything around me.

“Really?” Masha leans in and narrows her eyes as she taunts me. “You don’t want to feel him press his body against yours?” An image of him laying me on the mattress flashes through my mind. “Pinning you to the floor as his hands skim over your body and his lips caress every part of you that aches for a man’s touch?”

I don’t say anything, but her words hit me with memories of longings I’m not used to. Remembering how gentle his hands and lips were when they touched me has my body yearning for more. Thinking of him in this way creates an ache deep inside that I don’t want to acknowledge.

“Imagine all those big muscles on top of you, around you as you writhe together. And the same way he makes his body grow, he knows how to make that part of him thicken and elongate, too. Are you sure eww describes how you feel right now? Or is it more like ohh?”

I want to slap her. Punch her. Splash her. Do anything I can to lash out at her. I don’t know what upsets me more, that she thinks she knows anything about me and what I want out of a sexual relationship or that she’s thinking of Em in that way. I try not to consider the last option at all—that she’s experienced him in that way. She must have. That must be how she knows the things his body can do so well.

“Come on, Anastasia.” Masha stands and nudges her daughter. “It’s time to go.”

“Are you mad at me? Did I do something to you?” I ask as she walks out of the hot spring.

Masha looks over her shoulder. “Do not play games with Em. You don’t want to see him angry.”

“Are you in love with him?”

She shakes her head. “This isn’t about love.”

“Then what?” My head spins with the turn of her emotions. Where is this hostility coming from?

Chapter 11

“I’m sure if you wait long enough, Em will come save the day,” Masha says as she, Anastasia, and Safra leave me alone. Alone in the woods. In what feels like a magical spring. Now that they’re gone, I half expect the water to turn green and bubble up around me while it melts my insides.

Paradise turns to hell the second they’re out of sight. Every sound in the forest is amplified, and my imagination runs rampant with the possibility of being torn up and eaten alive. My teeth clatter from my overworked nerves. I can’t believe I let Masha lead me out here and leave me alone! What a bitch! That wasn’t part of the deal. The deal was we were here together, and we had a cougar to watch over us.

A cougar! As if it’s a guard dog. I’m so stupid. No, I’m losing my damn mind.

Movement in the distance grows closer. The wind whips, shaking the leaves and branches surrounding the area I’m in. I lower myself so that everything below my lips is submerged in the water. I don’t know who or what is the cause of the growing commotion. Em? An animal? The weather?

Thunder roars. This is no time for a surprise storm. I don’t want to get knocked unconscious by a falling tree. I look to the skies; they’re clear and blue. Not a cloud to be seen, which makes the weather warnings even stranger.

My breath catches quickly in my throat when I remember I’m bathing naked, except for my soaking wet panties that I was too chicken to take off. Being fully clothed wouldn’t change my situation, but I wouldn’t feel so vulnerable. My brain glitches for a moment as I debate getting out of the water to dry off and get dressed or staying where I am.

Looking around one last time, I don’t see Em or any animals in the vicinity. At least no large, scary animals. I rush out, moving as fast as I can through the water. I stop to catch my breath when I’m on solid ground again. Bending at the waist, I reach for the cotton fabric Masha left me to dry off with. As I straighten, I feel hands on my waist behind me. I scream, stepping away and wrapping the useless cloth around me.

“Erin.” The deep, gravelly voice brings me to tears.

Em! My heart thunders. Relieved, I throw myself against his broad chest and rest my head on his rock-solid pecs.

“Are you hurt?” Concern pours from his eyes as his fingers run through my hair and down to my back. His touch leaves an electric trail of tingling heat in its wake.

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