14

IT WAS WONDERFUL to wake up together and for neither of them to have anywhere to be. Iris stretched and then snuggled into Siggi's side, her head lying on his shoulder.

‘So you're not working until tonight?' she asked.

‘I wish I could switch out with someone, but I can't ask them to do that now it's starting to get busy again.

‘We could hang out together today and then I can work later when you're working.'

‘You don't want to come again tonight?'

‘I'd love to, but I have to try and fit some work in, so if we can both do that at the same time as each other, that kind of makes sense.'

Siggi murmured in agreement. They lay in silence for another couple of minutes, then he propped himself up on his elbow, eyes shining, and said, ‘I have an idea.'

‘What?' Iris said, laughing at how excited he looked.

‘I'm going to take you camping!'

Iris wasn't averse to camping at all. She was outdoorsy and loved that kind of thing. But in the temperamental weather of Iceland? Not so much. But how was she going to say that without bursting his bubble?

‘You don't think it's too cold? It did snow on the way back from the volcano the other day.'

‘Trust me. I think you will love it. Also, it is very close to Reykjavik so I can go to work tonight and you can bring your work to do, but it will be like a little holiday for us over the weekend.'

It sounded tempting. They had such a short amount of time together, a break away could make it feel like they'd had longer. And if she could work at the same time, what reason was there to say no?

‘Okay, let's do it.'

‘Yes, Iris!' Siggi put his arms around her in a bear hug and rolled them both around the bed.

Iris laughed harder than she had for a long time, fuelled by the rush of agreeing to a plan on the spur of the moment.

‘I need to make a call,' Siggi said. ‘Perhaps I should not have made it sound like a sure thing because I have to check with a friend whether it is possible.'

‘You make the call while I shower,' Iris said, shifting further towards the edge of the bed.

‘I am not ready to get up yet,' said Siggi, placing an arm around her waist, pinning her to him. ‘You stay right there while I make the call and then we can make plans for the day while we relax in bed.'

By the time Siggi had made the call and organised whatever needed organising, and they'd finished relaxing in bed, it was almost lunchtime. It astounded Iris how quickly the time could go when you weren't doing anything in particular.

‘I'll go home and pack,' Siggi said, pulling his clothes on while Iris watched appreciatively from the bed. ‘Shall I pick you up in an hour?'

‘Perfect,' she said. ‘I'll pick up some coffee and pastries for the road.'

He bent down to kiss her. ‘See you soon.'

Iris showered, dressed and packed, making sure she had her laptop charger, since Siggi had assured her that the camping wasn't basic and that there was electricity and running water. It was exciting, heading off on an adventure without having really planned it and without knowing exactly what it was. This was the side of Siggi that took him off on his travels, Iris supposed. He probably liked spontaneity, whereas she was much more of a planner.

An hour later, she waited outside the hotel with her bags at her feet and the coffees and bags of food in her hands. Not knowing where they were going, as well as pastries, she'd bought fresh bread rolls from the bakery, and had popped into a deli and bought some cheese and cured meat of some sort, in an attempt at a makeshift picnic.

Siggi pulled up and left the engine running while he helped her get everything in the jeep, then they were off. It was a windy day, and grey clouds scudded across the sky with some speed, so the sun was in and out with regularity.

They headed out of the city on a road that Iris hadn't been on before. Unsurprising, since she'd only been to the Reykjanes peninsula or the IMO offices. She sat back, sipping her coffee and enjoying a change of scenery, when Siggi pulled off the road.

‘Here we are,' he announced.

‘Already?' It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes since they'd left.

‘I said it was close by.'

‘I know, I wasn't quite expecting it to be just down the road.'

‘Let's come back for the bags when we have seen where we are staying,' he said, climbing out of the jeep and opening the back door to fetch his coat.

Iris did the same, then they held hands and walked along a path towards a wooden building that marked the entrance to the camping park.

Siggi held the door open for Iris to go inside.

‘ Hey, Siggi!' The man behind the desk came out and hugged Siggi. They exchanged a few words in Icelandic before Siggi introduced Iris.

‘This is Kristján,' Siggi said. ‘Kris, this is Iris.'

‘Great to meet you,' Kristján said, pulling Iris in for a hug and kissing her on both cheeks.

‘You too,' she said, surprised at the greeting.

‘The best tent is available for tonight,' he said. ‘I have already lit the fire in there, so it will be toasty.'

Iris sighed with relief and smiled at Siggi. ‘So not exactly camping, then?'

Siggi winked at her, which made her weak at the knees. ‘Thanks, Kris,' he said.

‘Let me show you.'

Kristján led the way outside, heading through a gap in the hedge and into a field. It had eight large white dome tents, each with a chimney pipe coming out of the roof and a wooden hut attached to them. As they walked towards the opposite side of the field, Iris noticed that the front part of the tents were glazed with triangular windows that continued the shape of the domes.

‘Wow, this is amazing,' she said. ‘You can watch the stars from your bed.'

‘That's the idea,' said Kristján.

Siggi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

‘This is yours.' They stopped at the farthest dome from the entrance. It had a fantastic view of the mountains yet was tucked in the corner of the field and so had more privacy. ‘I have lit the fire under the hot tub too, so it'll be steaming in an hour or so. And I reserved you a table for dinner since we were getting full, but if you don't want it that's okay.'

‘That sounds great. Can I let you know? I might have to take a Northern Lights trip tonight, but otherwise I think we'd love to have dinner.' Siggi raised his eyebrows to check with Iris who nodded.

‘You may be lucky, my friend. The forecast is not good for tonight. Anyway, I will leave you to settle in. Enjoy.'

Iris was excited. This place was unimaginably perfect for a romantic getaway, and that type of thing had been non-existent in her life until now. She felt so lucky to be with Siggi. It was his more adventurous nature that was giving her these amazing experiences while she was in Iceland.

‘Come on, let's go inside,' he said.

The way in was through a door in the wooden hut at the back of the tent, if you could even call it that. They stepped inside, finding a tiny hallway where they could hang their coats and leave their shoes. To one side, within the hut itself, was a tiny bathroom with a toilet, shower, and sink. It was tiled in dark grey, giving it a luxurious feel. Then the wooden hut led through into the tent itself. There was a kitchenette against the back wall of the hut, and the space opened out under the dome. Sumptuous looking bed linen, fur throws, and cushions adorned the enormous bed that sat in the middle of the room. There were more fur rugs on the wooden floor and, as promised, a fire was burning in an open-fronted stove to one side.

Iris walked over to the window, which had a panoramic view across the hedge at the edge of the field and over the plateau beyond. The mountain was to the left but still gave them uninterrupted views of the northern skies.

‘I'm torn between wanting the forecast to be terrible so you can stay here, but then I might see the Northern Lights from here, anyway, if you have to take the trip.'

Siggi came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘I will always think of you when I see the aurora now.'

She turned to face him. ‘Me too, although it'll happen much less often. Maybe never again.'

They kissed.

‘We will see the aurora together before you leave. I am certain of it.'

‘How long before you know about tonight?' Iris whispered.

‘Long enough for us to try out the hot tub.'

‘It won't be warm enough yet.'

‘We can find something to do until then.'

Siggi pulled his top layers off all in one go. Iris grinned, loving his lean, tanned body with its tattoos. She took a step towards him and ran her hands across his chest, pinching his nipples between her fingers and thumbs as she looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘What do you suggest?'

He pulled his trousers down and she saw exactly what he was suggesting. Suddenly, there was nothing Iris wanted more than that. She wasn't interested in seduction. There would be time for that later. For the first time in her life, she wanted to surrender herself to the feelings that were coursing through her. She pulled off her own clothes as quickly as she could, and with one hand, pushed against Siggi's chest so he fell backwards onto the bed. She straddled him and could see the lust in his eyes and the excitement when she pinned down his arms with her hands and leant over him, her eyes full of promise.

Siggi unravelled himself from Iris and the various throws that were keeping them cosy, and threw another log on the fire.

‘Don't go,' she said.

‘I'm going to the car to get our stuff and to call the office. Stay here. I'll check the hot tub on my way back.'

Iris lay there with her eyes closed, a lazy smile on her face, thinking that she hoped the Northern Lights trip was cancelled. She wasn't in the mood to work, and had talked herself into thinking that there wasn't much point in doing anything else on the report until she'd been to the IMO on Monday. She had plenty of holiday days accumulated, and anyway, it was the weekend. Her body felt heavy and more relaxed than she could ever remember it being before, and she could hardly contemplate getting out of bed.

‘I am off the hook!' Siggi said triumphantly when he came back from the jeep. ‘The forecast is not good, so they have bumped everyone to tomorrow.'

‘That's great news,' said Iris, from her snuggly spot in the bed.

‘I confirmed about dinner. We can eat at seven.' He came and perched on the bed next to her. ‘You want to get up?' he asked, running a finger down her cheek and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

‘Not really.'

‘The hot tub is perfect.'

Iris sighed. They should make the most of it, she supposed. ‘Okay. Let me get my costume out.'

‘Haven't you learnt anything, Iris? We do not need costumes. We just need to shower first.'

‘But —'

‘But no one can see our hot tub from their tent.'

Iris relented, and settled on using a supplied fluffy dressing gown and nothing else, feeling reckless since it was still daylight, just about.

‘You feel naughty?' Siggi asked as they pulled their boots on for the short walk to the hot tub.

‘Yes,' she said, laughing. ‘It is the opposite of something I would do normally.'

‘You know, if you go to a swimming pool in Iceland, you have to shower naked before you go in. No swimming costume. Usually open showers with everyone else.'

‘Oh my god, really?'

‘Yes, really.'

‘In that case, this is fine.'

The hot tub was indeed looking inviting. Great clouds of steam were billowing into the air and the smell of wood smoke from the fire underneath only added to the outdoorsy vibe.

Siggi whipped off his robe and stood with nothing on while he toed off his boots. He laughed and held his arms out wide. ‘See? It feels great!'

‘You're a nutter!' Iris said, laughing along with him. She took her own robe off and felt the cold air nip at her skin while she took her boots off as well.

Then they both stepped into the steaming water, sinking beneath the surface to banish the cold. Iris thought nothing had ever felt as wonderful as the heat that enveloped her.

‘Oh my god,' she groaned. ‘It's absolute heaven.'

‘Better than the bed?' Siggi murmured, having his own moment of deep appreciation for the hot tub.

‘Better in a different way.' Iris leant her head back against the side of the tub and closed her eyes, luxuriating in the warmth.

‘Do you know what? I have never been in a hot tub with a woman before. Naked.'

Iris felt him move to sit next to her. She smiled, but kept her eyes shut. ‘That's not true. We went in the hot tub on the roof of the hotel the other night.'

‘Oh Iris, that does not count. Here, it is you and me in nature. I don't think you would get naked in a hot spring in the middle of nowhere, so this is the next best thing.'

‘You think I'm a prude?' She was definitely a prude, but Siggi was bringing out her adventurous side and she wanted him to know how far she'd come.

‘You are a lovely prude.'

Iris stood up in the middle of the hot tub. The water was at waist height, thankfully, because she certainly would have been prudish about baring everything. She flung her arms out to the sides and lifted her face to the sky, grinning, and enjoying the feeling of the cold air on her skin, knowing she would plunge back into the heat at any moment.

‘Okay, you have convinced me,' Siggi said, laughing. He put his hands on her waist and brought her over to straddle his lap. She felt ready to suggest they went back inside to the bed. ‘Oof, you are cold!' he said, as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed herself against his chest. But he pulled her to him anyway, and Iris didn't think she'd ever feel as happy as she did right now, ever again.

Once the fire underneath the hot tub began to die down, it got colder and Siggi announced it was time to get out. ‘It will soon be time to leave for dinner,' he said.

‘Where is this dinner place? Can we walk?'

‘Yes,' he said, handing her a robe and a towel as she stepped out of the tub. ‘It is an amazing place that people travel especially to get to, so it is always booked up, even if no one is staying here. It helps them to keep the business going in the winter months when it is too cold for camping.'

‘This isn't camping,' Iris said.

‘No,' agreed Siggi. ‘This is not camping, ástin mín .' He kissed her.

‘What does that mean?'

‘My love,' he said, and she thought her heart might explode.

My love. That was what he'd called her.

My love.

She was his love.