Page 128 of The Vacation Mix-Up
“You’re not yet ready for all of me, sweetheart, especiallythatpart.”
You delicious, arrogant son of a bitch!
I’m about to tell him he’s a jerk, when he raises my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Slow and steady, remember? I won’t push you to where you’re not willing to go.”
How sweet.
He cups his crotch and winks. “That part can wait.”
How… obnoxious!
Rising to my feet, I slide my hands up his chest and into his hair, tugging lightly to expose his neck, my tongue trailing along his skin. “Can it?”
He shudders.
“I guess it can,” I say, letting him go before sashaying to the bathroom.
Two can play at this game. And whata fun game it is!
After buying new bathing suits,we exited the ship and boarded a tour bus before journeying to the Blue Lagoon—a manmade geothermal oasis set amongst a lava field, and arguably Iceland’s most popular tourist attraction.
“It looks like blue milk,” Riley says as we stand by the edge of the vast, picturesque pool, steam billowing from the surface.
Holding my cell horizontally, I snap a few photos. “It does, but I can assure you it’s not milk. It’s surplus water from a nearby power station.”
“So we’re about to bathe in radioactive juice?”
“No!” I laugh and turn toward him. “Didn’t you listen to the tour guide when he explained the water is made up of silica, algae, and other minerals?”
“Oh great! So I’m soaking in bacteria today?” Riley wrinkles his nose, then covers it with his arm, mumbling, “Hugo and Manny were right. This place stinks.”
“It’s the sulfur. And no, you’re not soaking in bacteria. This water is good for you.”
He scoffs. “Yeah, sounds like it.”
“Come on,” I say, sliding my hand into his, enjoying the feeling of our entwined fingers. “We have to shower before we can go in.”
His eyebrows hitch. “Shower… together?”
“Not exactly.”
His eyebrows plummet. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Youhave to shower, naked, with other men.”
Riley digs his heels into the rocky ground. “Thatis not going to happen.”
I let go of his hand and clasp his stubbly cheeks. “I thought you were confident with your body.”
“I am.”
“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.” I give him a quick peck on the lips, then skip past him. “I’ll see you back here in aminute. And hurry up! We’ve only got a couple of hours before we have to leave again.”
Scuttling into the changing room, I snicker to myself for telling Riley he had to shower naked in front of other men. He doesn’t, although nudity is embraced by Nordic culture, so I’m not surprised when I find women of various ages, shapes, and sizes hygienically washing in their birthday suits.
Craning my neck, I seek out a cubicle, only to find them all occupied with people waiting their turn.
Peanut butter!
