Free Tower in the Woods by Tara Quan

utilize the water supply. A turn of the tap sent water from the reservoir into the bathtub full of clothes. Nel hastily scrubbed the items with small amounts of precious handmade soap. It was regularly delivered by Mother Gothel, but Nel just couldn’t bring herself to waste something she depended upon so heavily and couldn’t create herself.
    Once all the items were clean, Nel padded back into the sniper’s nest and spread the damp items on a drying rack located next to the fireplace. She was still wearing her chest bindings and underwear so she wasn’t too concerned about Dane waking up to see her unclothed. When she was done with her task, she looked back toward her sleeping pallet to find him still soundly asleep.
    Feeling too energized to stay still, Nel went through her afternoon workout routine. She usually stayed awake throughout the night, monitoring the borders for zombies and falling asleep at daybreak. Her regular sleep cycle ensured she would wake sometime in the late afternoon, which still gave her far more free time than she needed. Since she had fallen asleep much earlier in the night than she was used to, Nel figured it may still be morning. Perhaps because of the man slumbering in her tower, the prospect of having to face a few more free hours in the day didn’t feel at all like a chore.
    Determinedly, she tried to burn off what seemed like an endless amount of restless energy by doing push-ups, sit-ups, knee-highs, squats, and lunges. When she ended her exercise routine over an hour later her body glistened with sweat and she didn’t feel as edgy as she had before. Rolling her eyes when she turned to find Dane still fast asleep, Nel resolved to take a cold bath before giving in and waking the man up.
    * * * *
    Breathing a heavy sigh of relief as Nel disappeared into what he assumed was the bathroom, Dane flipped onto his back and opened his eyes. He had woken up to the sight of her clad only in a pair of cotton panties and chest bindings. To make things worse for his morning boner, she was working out, and his jaw dropped as he watched her sweat-covered body go through various strenuous exercises.
    Damn, she was hot. Nel’s compact body contained barely any excess flesh, and the muscles of her arms, shoulders, and torso stood out in stark definition as she moved. She needed more meat on her, and her breasts and butt could stand to gain a few additional inches, but the sight of her as she was did more than enough to whet Dane’s appetite. He wanted Nel. He wanted her so desperately it was difficult for him to breathe when she was around. He was close to thirty-five years old and he had slept with a good number of women before now, but he had never desired any female as much as he wanted Nel.
    Deciding not to put his conscience in any more jeopardy than was necessary, Dane had firmly closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. If he had continued watching her or talked to her while she was dressed that way, he had no doubt she would have ended up flat on her back with his erect penis buried inside her. He was that close to losing control, and it galled him that the innocent little sniper had absolutely no idea.
    Now that she was gone Dane took the opportunity to deplete as much sexual frustration as he could. Grabbing his still damp boxers, which Nel had so kindly washed, he slipped them on as he went through his own morning routine.
    Dane’s exercises had a much bigger emphasis on the upper body. Nel didn’t have a chin-up bar so he did handstand push-ups instead, trying his best to tire himself out before she came back into the room. Unfortunately, she didn’t take very long to wash up so he found himself watching her in an upside-down position as she stepped through the bathroom door comfortably clad in an oversize black T-shirt and a pair of camouflage pants identical to the ones she wore last night. Dane didn’t understand how someone could look so damn sexy in such unflattering clothing, but Nel