Page 27 of Ship Wrecked

He stared, too swamped by fierce, damnableneedto answer her.

“Vengeance is mine,” she whispered, then chucked him under the chin. “As you Americans say: Mess with the Pippi bull, you get the Pippi horns,skitstövel.”

She was insane. Adorable but insane.

And it didn’t matter how much he wanted to touch her. He couldn’t.

Even disregarding his other very serious concerns, she’d already rejected him once, and once was enough. So before she could further decimate his self-control, he gathered up the disgusting wad of candy from the floor with a stray tissue and headed for the door.

“I’d better get packing myself, especially since my flight leaves so early,” he said. “I imagine I won’t see you tomorrow, so...”

He didn’t reach out for a hug or a handshake, because he wasn’t stupid enough to touch her. Not when they were alone at night in her hotel room.

“Goodbye, Maria.” Exiting her suite with all due haste, he stopped a generous distance outside her door. “Safe travels. I’ll see you in November.”

Her knuckles bulged white where she gripped her doorframe, but her smile was as cheerful as ever. “Same to you, Peter.Hej då.”

Farewells safely accomplished, he turned and left without another word.

He’d managed not to say that he’d miss her terribly. Good. She didn’t need to know that.

He’d rather not know it himself.

Fan Thirst

The Hottest Magazine About the Hottest Celebrities

Curvy and Confident, NewGods of the GatesStar Maria Ivarsson Reveals All!

When showrunners Ron Acheson and R.J. Nullman began to adapt author E. Wade’s bestselling fantasy series two years ago, they chose to excise a few key characters.

“Without cuts, we were concerned the show would become too sprawling,” Nullman says. “We knew some fans would protest those decisions, but we definitely weren’t prepared for Cyprian and Cassia’s cult following among Wade’s readership.”

As soon as the first season began airing and the shipwrecked couple’s absence became evident, that following reacted. Fans of Cyprian and Cassia—original characters created by Wade, not to be found in Roman mythology—wrote petitions. They picketed the production studio in Canada. They started very popular social media campaigns calling for the inclusion of the book series’ favorite enemies-to-lovers storyline.

In response, Acheson and Nullman added two more cast members for the show’s second season: longtime character actor Peter Reedton and Swedish theater ingenue Maria Ivarsson. That casting choice reverberated throughout Hollywood, and not simply because the showrunners had bowed to the demands of the outspoken Cyprian/Cassia fandom.

“Ron and R.J. cast two fat actors for characters not originally specified as fat in the books,” Ivarsson explains. “That never happens, and the showrunners deserve an enormous amount of credit for their decision. It’s a real step forward for body diversity in Hollywood. I’mespecially delighted because fat acceptance is a passion of mine, as followers of my social media accounts can attest. And, of course, it’s an honor to be cast alongside an actor as accomplished as Peter and to join a show already so beloved by its viewership.”

That viewership hasn’t yet seen Cassia on-screen—the production is filming its second season right now—but Ivarsson has already become a social media darling, with millions of followers on her various accounts, as well as an overnight symbol of body positivity.

She embraces that role wholeheartedly, and with total confidence in her own plus-sized, all-natural sex appeal. WhenFan Thirstapproached her to model for our October cover, she didn’t hesitate... even when we asked her to bare everything for our readers.

“‘Just don’t get me arrested,’ I told them,” she says with a laugh. “Otherwise, I had no concerns. I’m not shy, and I love my body. Also, I’m happy for the attention the cover may receive, because I really want to ensure that Ron and R.J. get all the kudos they deserve for such a forward-thinking casting choice.”

The authorities won’t be beating down her door anytime soon, not with the way our photographer carefully posed Ms. Ivarsson. At least, they won’t be beating down her door to arrest her.

They might, however, request an autograph, and for good reason. Maria Ivarsson is a sultry, statuesque star on the rise, as this month’s cover shows so nakedly.

Check out our website for alternate cover images and our top-ten list of Ivarsson’s funniest and most incisive social media posts!

7

“Who else is here already?” Maria asked Conor with studied casualness as she accepted her heavy, old-fashioned room key. “Ramón? Nava?”

The hotel proprietor’s freckled nose crinkled charmingly when he smiled. “You’re the last to arrive, Maria-My-Dear. Same rooms as last time.”

“Good.” She tossed her room key in the air, caught it with a flourish, and winked at Conor. “I like an audience when I make a grand entrance.”

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