Steam and Spite

The heat in the sauna's outer room was thick enough to melt the air itself. Anya sat on the wooden bench, fingers wrapped around a cedar whisk, watching a bead of sweat crawl down Maxim's back. He stood with his back to her, ladling water from an oak bucket, and every shift of his shoulder blades beneath that smooth skin was familiar enough to drive her crazy.

"You promised this wouldn't mean anything," she said, her voice already hoarse from the steam.

"And you promised you wouldn't look at me like that," he turned. His gaze was heavy, sticky, like the heat itself. "But you're looking."

She looked away, but it was too late. That familiar tension hung between them, impossible to hide behind a towel. He stepped toward her, and the heat became almost unbearable.

"Anya, can we just... take a steam?"

"We can," she trailed a finger down his chest, where the moisture gleamed. "But you know that's not going to happen."

He caught her wrist, squeezed. Not hard, but firm. Hard enough that she felt her own breath catch.

"Then why are we here?"

"To see who cracks first," she yanked him toward her, and he stumbled. They crashed onto the bench, the whisk flying into the corner.

"I'm not about to make up with you," he breathed, but his palm was already sliding up her thigh, higher, under the damp towel.

"And I'm not asking you to," she bit his lower lip, tugged. "I'm asking you to shut the fuck up and fuck me so hard I forget what we even fought about."

He growled something unintelligible, and her towel slipped to the floor. In the dim light of the sauna, her skin looked like porcelain, and he closed his mouth over her nipple, sucked, drawing circles with his tongue until her elbows gave out. She threw her head back, feeling his hands grip her ass, pulling her closer.

"Harder," she demanded, and he obeyed—bit down just a little more, and she arched, fingers buried in his hair.

He sat up, pulling her onto his lap. She could feel his cock—hot, hard, pressing against her stomach. She reached down, wrapped her hand around it, stroked from base to tip, feeling it twitch in her grip.

"You want it?" he asked, voice rough.

"I want it," she bit her lip. "But I'm not forgiving you. Not just like that."

"And I'm not asking you to," he lifted her by the hips and lowered her onto him, one smooth thrust, buried to the hilt.

She cried out—the sauna's heat mixing with the heat inside her. He filled her completely, and she could feel him pulse inside her, her walls clenching around him.

"Oh... fuck," she breathed, and he started to move—slow, deep, making her feel every inch.

"So are you forgiving me now?" he asked, his voice low and mocking.

"No," she rocked her hips in answer, making him squeeze his eyes shut. "Not yet."

He laughed—that same laugh that always made her knees weak—and flipped her onto her stomach. She braced herself against the slick wood of the bench, and he entered her from behind, immediately, deep, all the way. She moaned, biting her knuckles.

"Better this way?" he whispered, leaning down to her ear, his breath scorching her neck.

"Don't talk," she pushed back against him. "Just do it."

He did. His rhythm was steady but heavy, and every thrust hit that spot that made her vision blur. She clenched around him, and he let out a low growl, slowing down.

"Don't you dare stop," she gasped, and he smirked, but obeyed—picked up the pace, slamming into her harder and harder, until she couldn't hold back her moans anymore.

The steam thickened around them, and the world narrowed to the heat, the smell of wet wood and overheated skin, his hands on her hips and his breath on her neck.

"I'm gonna come," she was almost sobbing with the tension. "Max, I—"

"Let go," he grabbed her breasts, squeezed her nipples, and she exploded—a wave, sharp as a splinter, clenching around him so tight that he couldn't hold back either, coming with a groan, face buried in her shoulder.

She lay beneath him, feeling his heart pound against her back, feeling the steam slowly cool.

"Truce?" he asked, voice hoarse.

"I don't know," she turned her head and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Let's try again. For testing purposes."