Page 17 of These Rough Waters

But I had no rules now. So, I was having wine, and a bath.

The cabin was beautiful, quaint, and cozy with original wood features and a large hearth with soft furnishings and windows that looked out across the bay. I’d never seen anything like it, but that was Ravenpeak Bay, with its stunning forests and sleepy town. It was like something out of a storybook.

Padding bare footed over the hard wood floor, I head to the bathroom, kicking the door closed with my heel as I take a sip of the wine I’d treated myself to from the store.

The bath was almost full, but I didn’t want to wait any longer, so I strip out of my clothes, leaving them in a heap on the floor and climb into the hot water, a sigh rushing from me as I submerge myself into the bubbles, glass still in hand.

Oh, this felt so damn good. I sink almost completely under water, drowning out any possible noise while I balance the wine at the edge of the tub and close my eyes.

This was just simply too good to be –

A sudden loud bang has me whipping up from the water, splashing it over the rim and onto the floor while the glass almost slips out of my hand.

A squeal escapes me, fear injecting itself into every atom of my being.

He had found me.

He had found me!

“What the fuck are you doing!?”

The familiar voice springs my eyes open, and then I see him.

Torin stands in the middle of the bathroom, a gun in his hand and his eyes are on me. Everynakedinch of me.

“Get out!” I scream.

“What are you doing in here!?” He demands.

My eyes widen as I try to cover myself, shielding my chest with my arms and bringing my knees up but I was pretty sure he’d seen it all already anyway, “Excuse you! What areyoudoing in here!?”

His eyes drop to where I’m shielding my body, my skin flushed by the heat and now absolute mortification, “Jesus Christ!” He exclaims as if only just realizing he had a naked woman in front of him.

“What’s going on?” Harper’s sleepy voice sounds as she steps into the bathroom.

Torin quickly snatches his arm back, concealing his weapon behind his back to stop Harper seeing it.

“I – he –”

“Get out the tub,” Torin hisses quietly, “We’re gonna talk.”

As if I would be staying in it now I had amad manunder my damn roof.

“Then get out!” I spit.

He helps to divert Harper out of the bathroom and pulls the door to, but they only go out into the hall. I can hear them quietly talking, Torin trying to coax my daughter back to bed. What the hell was he even doing here!?

I quickly get out of the bath, I hadn’t brought any clothes in, but I did have my robe so after a quick dry down that still left most of me wet, I shove it on, securing it tightly before I storm out into the hall as Harper’s bedroom door is closing.

Torin’s blue eyes jump to me and years’ worth of feminine rage towards the audacity ofmenhas me quietly stepping forward, throat burning and heart pounding.

“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are,” I say in an eerily quiet voice, fingers curled so tightly into the palms of my hands I can feel my nails biting into my skin. “Or what kind of right you think you have, how fucking dare you! How fucking dare you come in here, into the bathroom while I am having a bath waving around your damn gun like you’re playing God.”

“Maya,” He raises one hand, the other dangling loosely at his side, as if to placate me.

“Get. Out.”

“This house is supposed to be empty.” His nostrils flare and his body tenses up.

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