‘I can’t wait to see it.’
‘It’s not finished but you’ll get an idea of how it’s going to be,’ he said. ‘And it’s not too late to change anything if you don’t like it.’
‘I’m going to love it, because you’ve made it.’
Aside from the scraps of wood and Mats’ muddy footsteps surrounding it, at first glance the cabin looked the same as it had two weeks ago. But when she went around the far side, there was a whole new cabin attached to it, set back slightly so that it disappeared into the trees.
‘You have to climb through the window to get inside,’ he said. ‘I didn’t have time to cut the hole through the cabin wall yet.’
Lotta climbed up the ladder that was leaning against the new part of the cabin so she could look through the window. She looked back at Mats who was watching for her reaction. He smiled bashfully when her eyes widened with delight at seeing the toilet.
‘How did you do this? It’s a real toilet!’
‘I promised you an ensuite,’ he said with a shrug.
‘It’s amazing. I love it. So we’ll have an ensuite bedroom and a lounge now.’
‘It sounds very fancy when you say it like that,’ he said laughing and catching her in his arms when she got to the bottom of the ladder.
‘Compared to what it was like before, it’s a hundred per cent fancier.’
‘I’m glad you like it.’
He pulled the door of the old cabin open and they went inside. The mattress was bare but otherwise it looked the same as it had before.
‘Where are the sheets?’ Lotta asked, her heart sinking.
‘I’ve been sleeping here most of the time, so I took them home to wash. I didn’t think to bring new ones,’ he said, groaning and running his hand over his face.
‘We have blankets. Let’s light the fire, then by the time we’ve walked round the island, it’ll be warm.’
Aside from looking at the building progress, the other reason that Lotta had looked forward to coming back to the island was fizzing between them. More now that the lack of a made bed had thwarted them. She felt like she hadn’t seen Mats properly even though they’d been together since last night, and found herself more aroused by Mats in his new builder’s clothes, unshaven and his hair tousled than she did by seeing him in a suit. And that was saying something.
But at this time in the morning, even in June, it was too cold to think about undressing. That didn’t stop them from making a start by kissing each other without taking a breath and by then, Lotta didn’t care so much about being cold.
‘I need you,’ Mats whispered in her ear before nuzzling into her neck, his stubble grazing her skin in the way she’d grown to love. His hands found their way underneath her layers and she gasped when they touched her skin.
‘Mats…’ She reached for the button on his trousers, undid it and pulled them down enough for what she needed herself.
It wasn’t slow, sensual lovemaking like they’d done before. This was essential. After two weeks, the lovemaking could come later. This was something more primal, sating a desire to be oneagain. To wordlessly say how much they’d missed each other, in a place where they had time to devote to that and nothing else.
It was fast and intense in a way they’d never been before, and Lotta felt overwhelmed by how her body responded to Mats. It was as if she had no control; she gave herself up to him in a way she’d never done with anyone else before. They lay on the bed afterwards, both trying to get their breath, their fingers linked, in the still chilly cabin that the fire hadn’t had chance to warm yet. But it didn’t matter. Not anymore.
‘Where did that come from,’ she said, looking at Mats who was lying with his forearm across his eyes and a lazy smile on his lips. He just shook his head as if he were still trying to gather himself. A minute or so later, he exhaled and turned to her, propping himself up on his elbow so he could kiss her.
‘Lotta. That has never happened to me before.’
‘Must be the island air. Perhaps you need to rethink and open a sex hotel.’
‘What’s a sex hotel?’ Mats said laughing.
‘I don’t know, maybe it’s a thing.’
‘My gut feeling is it’s nothing to do with the island. I think it’s this thing called chemistry.’
Lotta giggled. ‘Oh, chemistry? Like some kind of magic has happened because of your sexy builder clothes.’
‘It never happened when I wore a suit.’
