Correct, she thought.
'If I lived in Skavanga, I'd come here to recharge my batteries.'
Which was exactly what she did. She sometimes came to the cabin just for a change of pace. It helped her to relax and get back in the race.
And it was high time she stopped finding points of contact between them, Britt warned herself, or she'd be convincing herself that fate was giving her a sign. There was no sign. There was no Emir and Britt. It seemed they got on outside sex and business, but that was it.
'What are you thinking?' he said.
She was resting her chin on her knees when she realised Emir was staring at her.
'Why don't you take your underwear off?' he suggested. 'You can't be comfortable in those soggy scraps.'
'They'll soon dry out,' she said, keeping her head down.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him shrug, but his expression called her a coward. And he was right. She was usually naked before she reached the door of the sauna-and she'd had sex with this man. Plus, she was hardly a vestal virgin in the first place. But somehow with Emir she felt exposed in all sorts of ways, and her underwear was one small, tiny, infinitesimal piece of armour-and she was hanging onto it. 'I'm going outside,' she announced.
'Excellent. I'm ready for my ice rub, Ms Skavanga.'
'Okay, tough guy, bring a towel. And don't blame me if this is too hard core for you.' Her grand flounce off was ruined by the sight of Emir's grin.
She had used to swim through the snow when she was a little girl-or pretend to-and so she plunged straight in. It wasn't something you stopped to think about. The shock was indescribable. But there was pleasure too as all her nerve endings shrieked at once. The soft bed of snow was cold but not life threatening. It was invigorating, and wiped her mind clean of any concerns she had-
But where was Emir?
She suddenly realised he wasn't with her. Springing up, she looked around. Nothing-just silence and snow. She called his name. Still nothing.
Had he gone back to the hut?
She ran to the window and peered in. It was empty.
The lake-
Dread made her unsteady on her feet as she stumbled towards the water, but then she gusted with relief...and fury as his head appeared above the surface. 'You're mad,' she yelled. 'You never go swimming in the lake on your own. What if something had happened to you?'
'You stole my line,' he said, springing out. 'I'm flattered you'd care.'
'Of course I'd care,' she yelled, leaning forward hands on hips. 'What the hell would I tell your people if I lost you in a frozen lake? Don't you dare laugh at me,' she warned when Emir pressed his lips together. 'Don't you-'
'What?' he said sharply. Catching hold of her arms, he dragged her close, but she saw from his eyes that he was only teasing her. 'Didn't I tell you I wanted more?' he growled.
His brows rose, his mouth curved. She could have stamped on his foot-much good it would do her in bare feet. They stared at each other for a long moment, until finally she wrestled herself free. 'You're impossible! You're irresponsible and you're a pig-headed pain in the neck.'
'Anything else?'
'You deserve to freeze to death!'
'Harsh,' he commented.
Wrapping both towels around her, she stormed off.
'You're a liability!' she flashed over her shoulder, unable to stare at the gleaming lake water streaming off his naked body a moment longer.
'Come back here. You haven't fulfilled your part of the bargain.'
She stopped at the door to the sauna. Emir's voice was pitched low and sent shivers down her spine. This was another of those 'what am I doing here?' moments...
And as soon as she turned she knew. There was nowhere else on earth she'd rather be. 'My part of the bargain?' she queried.
'Ice,' he said, holding her gaze in a way that shot arousal through her.
'I can't believe you haven't had enough yet.'
'I haven't had nearly enough.'
Those black eyes-that stare-that wicked, sexy mouth-
'You asked for this,' she said, scooping up a couple of handfuls.
She was right about ice melting on Emir. Even now, fresh from the lake, he was red hot, and as the ice scraped across his smooth, bronzed skin it disappeared beneath the warmth of her hands, leaving her with no alternative but to explore the heat of his body.
'That's enough,' she said, stepping back the instant her breathing became ragged. She had been wrong to think she could do this-that she could play with this man-toy with him-amuse herself at his expense. Emir was more than a match for her, and the strength she'd felt beneath her hands had only confirmed her thoughts that his body was hard, while hers was all too soft and yielding.
She didn't need to see his face to know he was smiling again as she went back to the sauna hut. Her hands were trembling as she let herself in, and hot guilt rushed through her as she curled up on the bench with her knees tucked under her chin and her arms wrapped tightly round them. By the time Emir walked in, she had put safety back at the top of her agenda. 'Let me know if you plan any more solo trips in the lake. Forget the sheikh-I don't even have a contact number for your next of kin.'
'Your concern overwhelms me,' Emir said dryly as he poured another ladle of water onto the hot stones.
'Where are you going now?' she said as he turned for the door.
'To choose which birch switch I would like to use,' he said as if she should have known. 'Would you care to join me?'
Talk about a conversation stopper.
CHAPTER SIX
SHE WAS TWISTED into a ferment of lust. Her heart was beating like a drum as she watched Emir selecting a birch twig switch. She loved that his process of elimination was so exacting. She loved that he examined each bunch before trying them out on his muscular calves. Each arc through the air...each short, sharp slap against his skin...made her breath catch. Her head was reeling with all sorts of erotic impressions, though she couldn't help wondering if he ever felt the cold. She had grabbed a robe and fur boots before exiting the hut and was well wrapped up.
He started thrashing his shoulders. This was like an advanced lesson in how to watch, feel and suffer-from the most intense frustration she had ever known.
'What do you think?' His dark eyes were full of humour.
'I think I'll leave you to it,' she said, shaking her head as if to indulge the tourist in him.
'Why so prudish, suddenly?' Emir challenged as she turned to go.
Yes. Why was she so strait-laced with Emir when thrashing the body with birch twigs was a normal part of the traditional sauna routine in Skavanga?
'Don't you want to try it?' Emir called after her with amusement in his voice.
She stopped, realising that however high she raised the bar he jumped over it and raised it yet more for her.
Where would this end?
'I can do it any time,' she said casually. He didn't need to know she was shivering with arousal rather than cold as she headed for the door. She swung it open and the enticing warmth with the mellow scent of hot wood washed over her.
'It's not like you to run away from a challenge, Britt.'
She hadn't closed the door yet. 'You don't know anything about me.'
'Are we going to debate this while our body temperatures drop like a stone?'
His maybe. 'You could always join me in the sauna...' she suggested.
'Or you could join me with the birch twigs.' As Emir laughed she made her decision.
'In your dreams. And you might want to put some clothes on,' she added, heading for the sauna hut.
Slamming the door behind her, she leaned back against it, exhaling shakily. Damn the man! Did nothing faze him? She had dreamed of meeting her match, but now she'd met him she wasn't so sure it was such a good idea. They were too similar-too stubborn-too set on duty-too competitive-too everything.
It was too exhausting!
Flopping down on the bench, she closed her eyes, but that didn't help to blank out the fact that a connection of some sort, that wasn't sex, was growing between them. Crashing into the hut in a blast of energy and frigid air, Emir exclaimed, 'Make room for me,' before she could progress this thought.
'Close the door!'
'Wuss,' he murmured in a way that made her picture his sexy mouth curved in that half-smile.
'I don't like the cold,' she muttered, hugging her knees and burying her face so she didn't have to look at him.
'You could have fooled me! But I guess you'd love the desert,' he said.
She went very still and then forced herself to reach for the ladle so she didn't seem too impressed by this last comment.
'You can't still be cold?' Emir commented as she ladled water onto the hot stones. 'That's enough!'
The small hut was full of steam. She had been ladling the water on autopilot, trying not to think about the possibility of travelling to the desert with Emir, and in doing so was threatening to steam them alive. 'Sorry.' She lifted her shoulders in a careless shrug. 'I got carried away.'