Page 24 of A Whiskey River Princess

Dirk walked in without thinking, keeping his head down. As he carried in the water, he didn’t notice that she was already in the tub.

“What are you doing?” Gabriella shrieked, quickly grabbing one of the towels to cover herself. “Get out!”

Dirk looked up, startled. “What areyoudoing?” he asked, looking only at her eyes. “I told you the water wasalmostready. Not that itwas!”

She looked around, flustered. “I only heard that the water was ready. Now, get out.”

He held up the two buckets with ease. “I was just bringing in the last two buckets of warm water—”

“I said get out. Now!” she screamed, trying desperately to cover herself the best she could with the towel. “Never mind the buckets. Get out!”

A devilish smile spread across his lips as he raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You want me to leave the buckets?”

“Yes, and get out!”

“As you wish, your highness.” A smirk appeared on his face as he walked over to the tub and poured one of the buckets over her head.

She gasped, flailing her arms as the warm water rushed over her, looking like a drowned rat. “What did you do to me? Get out!”

“You asked for it.” Dirk laughed as he poured the second bucket of water over her head as she flailed her arms, gasping.Then he carried both buckets to the door and turned around. “You know, it didn’t have to be this way.” As he walked out, he shut the door behind him, chuckling to himself.

“Vous êtes une brute sauvage!”Gabriella shouted, and then something hit the other side of the door and crashed loudly to the floor.

Chapter 7

Gabriella

“Vous êtes un idiot!Je ne peux pas croire que vous avez entré dans ma chambre comme ça!”Gabriella shouted, telling him that she couldn’t believe that he had walked in on her like that.

“I can’t understand you!” Dirk teased in a singsong voice from the living room.

“Well, it’s probably a good thing that you can’t!” She threw the wet towel on the floor.“Si ça se passe une autre fois, je vais coupez vôtre pénis et jouter le dehors pour nourrir les loups!”she challenged, telling him that if he ever did that to her again, she would cut off his male parts and feed them to the wolves.

“It would probably be more effective if you shouted at me in English!” Dirk chortled from the living room, clearly amused. “Hurry up! I’m next!”

“Oafish brute!” She reached for one of her shoes and threw it at the door.

“And stop tearing up my house!”

“You call this a house?” She started washing, but then had an idea. She hurried to finish her bath. “You want a bath?” she mumbled to herself. “Then enjoy an ice bath, you masculine pig!”

“I didn’t hear that!”

“Good! You weren’t meant to!” she fumed, and then slid down under the water. The water felt wonderful, despite her anger. Under the warm water, she started to relax.

Buster whimpered at the door, wanting to get in. “Buster, go lie down, boy.” Dirk was laughing on the other side of the door.

Despite Dirk’s antics, it was the most soothing bath she’d had in what seemed to be a long time. She sat up and used more soap to wash her long hair like the maids had taught her, and then dunked under the water again to rinse. Then, she slid up and just relaxed in the water. In spite of the fit she had thrown, she secretly admired that he had stood up to her like that. No one ever had.

She stayed in the water, letting the warmth soothe her muscles until it started turning cold. “That should do him.” Gabriella got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself. As she dried off, she looked around the room.

On the back of the door was a robe. Gabriella giggled as she took it off the hook. When she slid it on, it was huge on her and dragged along the floor when she walked, but it carried his scent, a combination of musk and rain. She picked up the wet towels and hung them over a chair, just as she had picked up the afghan, not wanting to just throw them on the floor like she would have back home. She was quickly learning that no one was going to come behind her to pick up everything she left lying around, as the maids did in Monaco. Dirk sure wasn’t going to pick up after her, that was certain.

In Monaco, she’d taken having servants for granted, having people at her beck and call to cater to her every whim. It had been a completely different lifestyle. In Dirk’s house, she was quickly learning how to care for not only herself, but for a house and for others.

But back at home, she had known nothing else. Here in Whiskey River, she was quickly getting an education from Dirkin the ways of the world and how to care for herself and a house, whether she wanted it or not.

She dried her hair. Then she picked up her clothes, hunted down the shoes she had thrown at the door, and walked out.

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