Page 73 of The Sinner and the Gunslinger
“Buna ziua,” I greet in Romanian.
His eyes widen. “You speak Romanian?”
I nod but gesture to Leila. “She doesn’t.”
“So we will speak in the English for you.”
“Thank you.” She smiles.
He takes her hand and shakes vigorously. “You must be the nun. I speak with your holy woman. She has good things to say.”
Nun?
Leila doesn’t blink. She rolls with the cover the Sisterhood set out for her.
“Very nice to meet you, Orlov,” she says. “Thank you for accommodating us on short notice.”
“Oh, is okay. No problems. We don’t have many visitors this time of year. But come, you must be cold. You look like you fell from the sky!” He frowns at our wind suits.
Leila gives me a wink and then smiles at him. “It’s definitely been a long journey.”
“Food and a hot shower, yes?” he decrees boisterously. “This way to your rooms.”
He takes us down the porch and around the cabin. A path leads through the muddy grass to another cluster of cabins. As we walk, I note an open garage door. Inside, a burly blacksmith pumps the bellows, adding air to a fire. Perhaps he makes shoes for the donkeys. Through the window of another house, a family sets a long wooden table for dinner. My stomach grumbles.
Leila sees the same thing. Orlov catches us both staring and announces with gusto, “We will eat in thirty minutes. You are most welcome to dine with us.”
“Thirty minutes?” That’s not enough time for the hot, steamy shower sex I dreamed about giving Leila on the journey over.
Leila hits me in the stomach, then smiles politely at Orlov. “We’d love that, thank you.”
Twenty-Nine
Leila
Orlov hands me a key and explains housekeeping rules as he takes us on a quick tour of the folk-decorated cabin—everything has flower patterns. The oven, the tiny two-person dining table, and the couch before the lit fireplace. Even the ceiling and windows have flowers. A ladder leads up to a loft where Orlov says the bedroom and bathroom are.
When he leaves, Zeke drops his backpack and turns to me with a scowl. “Now we only have twenty minutes.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I promised myself while we were walking that as soon as we get somewhere warm and dry, I’m going to have hot shower sex with you.”
“Oh, you did, did you?”
He nods.
“You can barely stand up. You need rest. We could be headed back out into the wilderness tomorrow. If we’re lucky.”
The cheated look on his face makes me laugh. It’s like I’ve told him no Christmas gifts this year. I roll my eyes and head toward the loft ladder. He takes my hand and pulls me to him with a serious look on his windblown face.
“You’ll get lucky,” he mumbles, wrapping his hands around my waist. “I’ll see to it.”
“Were you always this horny?” I smirk.
His eyes glimmer with amusement. I’m sure a roguish reply is on the tip of his tongue, but his gaze gets lost around my mouth.
“I love seeing you smile,” he says, brushing a thumb across my lower lip.
