His eyes flash like cracks of lightning. “I’ll be the judge of that. Now, are you going to do it, or should I?”
Shivering, I remove my underwear. Kolya nods in satisfaction, then leans into the bathtub and crank on the water. Steam billows throughout the room almost immediately.
He straightens up, sighs, and cracks his neck in both directions. “Get in.”
Again, I do as he says. The moment the water hits my skin, I sigh deeply and sink into the tub. Finally, I can breathe again. The cold was sitting on my chest like a boulder until now.
“There’s a fresh towel over there,” he says, pointing it out to me. “I’ll be back.”
He steps out of the bathroom, leaving me soaking in hot water, trying to remember what my thought process had been when I left his side.
I’d had good reasons—right? They
