Page 6 of By Candlelight

I knew he’d been naked. I’d seen him through the glass. But now that he was right in front of me with no partition between us, the steam dissipating, I had a front row show to…well, all of him. And dear reader, it was a headlining act.

My eyes scanned his body. I tried to stop them. I felt my eyeball muscles straining under the influence of good manners. But it was for naught. I looked. I saw everything. All six-foot-two of him, all sinew and muscled skin…all thick, long,manlinessof him. And the worst part was, I couldn’t look away.

The man smirked and walked over to the towel shelf to grab one, taking his time to dry off, not even having the decency to cover up as he did so. And my traitorous eyes followed every move he made.

“You’re gonna catch flies,” he said, wiping the towel over his face and hair, leaving the rest of him mercilessly (or mercifully?) naked.

I clamped my mouth closed so fast, my teeth rattled in my jaw. Who was this man?

“This is obscene,” I managed, but didn’t move a muscle. He just smirked again.

“Then why are you still staring?”

My mouth dropped open again, god bless it, I had no control anymore.Get yourself together, Mia. It’s a naked man, you’ve seen them before.Not one like this. Not one even close to this. Something had to give, though, because I was close to combusting.

“I’ll just…I’m going…BEDROOM!” I blurted out, screamed more like, and ran from the room and down the short hall to lock myself in the bedroom and never come out. This was where I lived now. This is where I would die.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded. I’d managed to lock the door and hide under the covers. Partially because a stranger had trespassed and was in my rental, but mostly because that stranger was hot as heck and he was doing things to my insides I had never experienced before. Sheesh.

“Come on, I won’t call the cops if you just leave nicely,” he said. Wait, what?

That got me out of my hiding spot. I walked to the door, but didn’t open it.

“What do you mean ifIleave nicely? This is my rental!” I yelled at the wood.

“Yeah, well I have it on good authority that it was vacant this week.”

“Oh, so you just figured you’d help yourself?”

“Like you did?”

“What?! I’m calling the owner and CozyHost immediately. After I call the police.”

“Wait, you know the owner?”

“Yes. Well, I’ve corresponded with her. And I’m sure she would be enraged to know some squatter is here, flashing her unsuspecting guests.”

“Look, I’m not a fucking squatter, okay?” The little humor I noticed in the bathroom was gone and he sounded annoyed.

“I don’t see why you’re angry about this. I am a single woman, alone here, and you could be a murderer!” It was stone cold silent after that. I almost wondered if he’d walked away and I didn’t notice. But then he spoke again, his voice softer.

“Look, the owner is Alex, right?” I didn’t answer him, but he continued. “That’s my sister.”

“Wha—your sister?”

“Yeah. Her husband told me today this place was vacant and said I could stay here this week while my apartment gets fixed.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“Well, how do I know you’re telling the truth? You could be anyone.”

“I guess that’s true. And so could you. I was innocently taking a shower and you walked in on me. You could be a murderer too.”

I felt myself deflate.

“Why don’t you come out and we can call Alex together?”

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