Free Legend of the White Wolf by Terry Spear Page B

here to object, maybe he'd heat up the hot tub a little early.
       "Did you bring a swimsuit?" he asked.
       Faith stopped putting some of her sweaters in a drawer of a small three drawer chest and looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Lake's frozen solid. And I'm not a member of the polar bear swim club either."
       "I was thinking more in the line of a hot tub."
       Her expression brightened considerably. "Oh, I forgot about that." Then she seemed subdued again. "But the owners aren't here." She returned to the kitchen and pulled the cans of groceries from a plastic sack, then tucked them under the cabinet.
       "And the owners should be in residence. Besides, we wouldn't do anything they wouldn't do if they were here. So I figure, why not?"
       She shook her head. "I thought you were an Eagle Scout."
       "I am, but…" He shrugged. "So, do you have a swimsuit?"
       Looking thoughtful, she pulled a golden curl behind her ear, which made him want to nibble her lobe, right then and there.
       "I wonder how many other guests are here?"
       She was going for it! And he bet she didn't have a swimsuit.
       "Not many. Looked like at least half of the eight cabins were under renovation, closed tight. I saw lights on in one of the remaining ones. None on in the other. And of course there's mine, which is vacant. Otherwise, that's it."
       "One renter. Could be an active family with tons of kids. What if they showed up about the time we did our illegal firing up of the hot tub in the late afternoon? Here we'd be, snuggled down in the hot soupy water, and kids with floaties would pour onto the deck, chattering, and laughing, and—"
       "I'll heat up the hot tub and be right back." He didn't wait for another objection—if she was even going to offer one—shoved his jacket on, and hurried outside.
       He thought about what she might wear for their excursion. Something pink and lacy? White, maybe? Daring red? Black and seductive?
       The stiff wind hit him with a blast of snow. He wished he hadn't been in such a hurry and had taken his goggles and ski hat. Next trip, when he escorted his date to the spa, he'd be better prepared.
       When he reached the deck attached to the shower house, he plowed through the snow and retracted the cover on the spa. Steam rose from the heated water. He pulled off a glove and stuck his hand in. Warm, not really hot. After turning the heat up and the jets on, he pulled his glove back on and rubbed his hands. Billions of bubbles popped up, creating a white foam, soon hiding the Caribbean blue marble effect on the walls of the circular tub.
       He would have opted for one that was couple-sized, but the spa looked like it could hold six to seven adults, not half as cozy as he would have liked. And the awful thought it could be filled with lots of kids came to mind. He turned on the lights around the edge of the tub, then found a snow shovel in a utility shed, and cleared as much of a path on the deck as he could up to the cedar surrounded spa from the changing rooms. He envisioned Faith in the tub with him and how hot things could get if he and Faith could have more privacy. Too bad they didn't have one inside their own cabin.
       Then he went inside the changing room to warm it up so they could shed the majority of their clothes. A gust of bitter cold wind blew in through the doorway and he turned, thinking Faith couldn't wait to join him. But no, it was some other woman, and he felt a pang of disappointment. If she was a guest, that was the end of his plans to share some private time with Faith. But then he wondered if this woman was one of the owners ready to give him a dressing down for heating up the hot tub without permission.
       "Lila Grayson," she said, slamming the door shut behind her with a lot more force than needed.
       Lila Grayson, the one from Back Country Tours—it hit him as odd that she'd arrive here of all places. Wearing ski