Page 47 of Sinful Temptations

“Frederik, please,” I pleaded with an Oscar-worthy smile, “would you mind leaving me to bathe alone? Like you did last time?”

“Not this time.” He took another step closer and began undoing his shirt buttons.

“Excuse me.” My eyes bulged. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m hopping intomybath.” He pulled off his sand-colored Stingy Brim hat and scooped his long hair up into a messy knot on his head.

“It’s notyourbath; it’s mine.’

“And there’s plenty of room for both of us.” He threw his towel aside and without any hesitation, climbed the steps. I didn’t know where to focus. My gaze bounced from his tight red speedos to his muscular torso to his hairy chest. Before I’d had time to swallow, Frederik was in the water with me.

My jaw dropped, and I was completely lost for words.

“See . . . we fit just fine.” He nodded at me defiantly.

His fantastic body threw me off guard, stunning me beyond speaking. Frederik was younger than I’d originally thought, and fitter. I was torn between storming out of the bath, intentionally wetting him in the process, and standing my ground by sinking deeper into the steaming water.

I did neither, and it was a long, awkward few seconds during which we simply stared at each other across the pond before I cleared my throat. “Why did you come now?”

“Pardon?” His eyebrows bounced up.

“Why now? The bath is here all the time, yet suddenly you need a bath right now. Why?”

He cupped handfuls of water over his shoulders, and as I waited out his silence, I had a feeling he was debating what to say. Finally, he shrugged. “Because you have the special bath.”

“Special?”

“Yes, it smells nice.”

I scrunched up my nose. “You can make your own bath smell nice.”

“Not like this.” He glided his hand over the water. “You work for that tour company, Vacation Dreamz. Yes?”

He changed the subject so quickly it was like he’d rehearsed this moment. “Yes, I’m the tour guide.”

“Hmmm, I suppose you think you know everything about this castle.”

Squinting at him through the steam, I tried to preempt his line of questioning. “Everything significant, yes.”

He lowered his shoulders beneath the water. “Okay then. Hit me with it.”

I did a double-take. “I beg your pardon?”

“I want to know what it is you’re telling people about Thorsteinn Castle.”

He seemed angry and determined to prove I was worthy of my profession, I intended to wow him with my knowledge.I relayed almost word for word the same spiel I told the tourists every time we drove up to Thorsteinn Castle.

He glided his hand over the top of the water, remaining silent.

Had he even heard my speech? When he stopped moving and his green eyes met mine, I was captured by their intensity. Frederik seemed in turmoil. He inhaled and let the air out slowly. “So, your knowledge is limited to what’s on Wikipedia.”

“No.” Although his comment was probably true, I was more upset by his implications.

“All right then. Give me something you can’t find on Wikipedia.”

A trivia challenge. Ha! He had no idea who he was dealing with. “The Ottomans destroyed the castle in 1529 and again in 1683.”

“Wikipedia.”

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