Tempted by a Dangerous Man by Cleo Peitsche

 
    Grinning, Corbin checked the stove’s flue, then he lit a match and stuck it inside the stove. He stared at it a moment, though I wasn’t sure what he was looking for. Satisfied, he dropped the match, shoved two logs and a fair number of twigs into the stove, then lit two twigs, holding them until the hungry flames burned bright. He carefully placed them in the wooden nest he’d built.
    Soon the fire had taken hold, and Corbin closed the stove’s main door. He brushed his large hands against his pants and turned to me, his cheeks still red from the cold. “You see the roof?”
    “See it doing what?”
    “Grab your boots and coat.”
    He went to a door that I hadn’t opened. I’d assumed it was just another closet, but then Corbin flipped the light on, illuminating a narrow flight of stairs leading upward.  
    I followed him as I zipped up the coat, all the while appreciating how firm his ass and legs were. Good for thrusting. Knew that from firsthand experience, though I was more than ready for a refresher.
    He pushed a door up and out, then stepped onto the slanted roof. “Not icy,” he said, turning to help me off the last step.  
    Good thing it wasn’t icy. A puny wooden rail was all that would keep someone from toppling headfirst over the side.
    Corbin rooted around in the snow, then suddenly shoveled it to the side, revealing a little padded seat attached to the roof. He indicated it with a flourish.  
    “My burning thighs thank you.” I wasn’t aware of how dirty it might sound until after I’d said it. Corbin, watching the sun dipping behind the mountains, didn’t seem to notice.  
    Everything was now bathed in purple. The sort of light that would only last for a few moments. It was so beautiful that there was nothing to say. I absorbed the trees, the moon appearing in the sky like a pale ghost, the fading light. Even the cold didn’t bother me.
    “Should keep an eye on the stove,” Corbin said, turning to go back. “You can stay if you like.” His voice was gentle. He disappeared down the steps.
    A moment later he returned, though, and handed me a blanket. He dug around in the snow again and cleared off another seat.
    “What about the stove?”
    He held up a phone. “Hope you don’t mind, but I put your phone on fire duty.”
    “Fire duty?”
    He pushed a button, and his phone turned into a camera. Except it was showing the stove, which wasn’t doing anything interesting.
    “There’s cell service up here?” I asked.  
    “There is, but that’s not what I’m using.” Corbin arranged the blanket over my legs. “Different technology. We get the good stuff before it’s mainstream.” He cleared his throat. “I would like to transfer your number to the other phone.”
    “Uh…” I shifted to face him. “Why?”
    “It’s more reliable.”
    “And you can track it,” I said, needling him.
    “That’s true. I can track it. Though I wouldn’t except in case of emergency.”
    “I’ve been using the new one more and more anyway,” I said, pondering this. If we got into a huge fight and never spoke to each other again, it wouldn’t be a problem for me to get another crappy cell phone. “Yes. But only if I can give you the money that I would have spent otherwise.”
    Corbin grunted, likely sensing that I wouldn’t budge on that. “I’ll set it up tonight,” he said.  
    “So if I wanted to sell that phone on the black market, what’s it worth?”
    “Nothing. I can brick it from afar, short the circuits and leave you with a smoldering mess. Shooting star,” Corbin said, pointing. It was a brief streak in the darkening sky.  
    There was only one thing I wanted, though it would take some crazy powerful magic to make it happen. “Did you make a wish?” I asked.
    He slanted a reproachful look my way. “You know if I tell you, I won’t get it.”
    “You’re so full of secrets.” I settled back on the roof and stared up at the sky.  
    “Enough secrets between us, I