212

MAXINE

The door creaked softly as I pushed it open. I held my breath in anticipation as I stepped inside. My eyes swept across the room.

I stood there frozen in place. This wasn't what I expected. I expected to see a bed, and some bedroom furniture but, this wasn’t a bedroom. It was something else entirely.

It was a really large and dimly lit space. In the center, taking most of the space was a bath. It was sunken, in the ground. Steam rose and filled the room in soft and curling waves. They were coming from the water. It was like stepping into another world, one that was thick with warmth and heat.

And there, in the center of it all, was Ronan.

He was half in the water. His head was resting against the edge of the bath. He closed his eyes as though he was lost in thought. The water lapped gently at his broad shoulders. The steam surrounded his muscular frame. He almost seemed, otherworldly

His face was relaxed but there was a tension in his body that I hadn’t noticed from him before.