AUGUST'S SHOWER IN HIS guest bedroom was just as to-die-for as the one in the main suite. Natural wood combined with soft blue and white tiles made it feel like the island was alive right here in this bathroom. If I could live in this shower, I would; that was how much I loved it.

There were not one but two shower heads–a feature I loved until I turned them both on simultaneously, and they sprayed ice-cold water on me, causing me to let loose a high-pitched shriek of surprise.

Shivering, I jumped back out of the shower and tried to reach in to adjust the temperature. But before I could figure it out, a loud bang on the door made me jump, slipping back into the shower as I shrieked again. Luckily I was able to catch myself before I toppled over and wound up on the floor.

"Castle!" August's rough voice echoed in the bathroom, even through the door. "What's going on?"

"Nothing!" I called before sputtering when I got a mouth full of ice-cold water. Squeezing my eyes shut to shield them, I reached blindly for the shower dials but ended up groping the air instead. "Just–ugh. How do you–"

"I'm coming in," he announced.

I didn't have time to protest before August burst into the bathroom, and all I could think was how relieved I was to still be in my swimsuit. But all that relief vanished when I wiped the water out of my eyes and looked over to see a jaw-dropping sight.

August Fletcher wearing nothing but a towel draped around his waist.

August Fletcher wearing nothing but a towel, draped around his waist with rivulets of water running down his broad, glistening chest.

"Are you okay?" he croaked. He'd marched across the bathroom and now had one hand on either side of the shower door, sweeping his gaze over me as though searching for the problem. The first pass of his eyes was frantic and assessing. And then the second, once he realized there was no bodily harm, was slower and downright appreciative.

His gaze was the only bit of heat in this bathroom.

I wrapped my arms around myself as another shiver wracked through me. But I couldn't say for certain what caused it.

"You sank a lot of money into this beach house for it not to have hot water, Fletcher."

"Jesus, Castle." He hung his head momentarily. "You screamed bloody murder and scared the shit out of me."

"It startled me," I said defensively. "It's freezing."

Fumbling with the temperature dial again, I bounced on my tiptoes to stay warm as the cold water continued to rain down around me. August was blocking my way out of the shower, and I didn't dare step closer to him when I was half-naked and he was almost entirely naked.

August did not hold the same reservation. He stepped into the shower, crowding me against the wall as he batted my hand away, spinning the dial the opposite way. Then instead of getting out of the shower, he turned toward me while letting the water drench the towel around his waist.

I was determined not to look at that towel. Not right now. Not when I was entirely certain if I looked down, I'd see outlines of something I definitely should not be looking at.

So I looked up at August's face instead.

That was also a mistake. Water clung to his eyelashes as he blinked, his deep brown eyes sucking me in. I was so distracted that when he put his hands on each of my arms, I jolted in surprise. August's lips curved in amusement as he rubbed my arms up and down in what I could only assume was an attempt to warm me up until the water found the right temperature, which it was doing very slowly.

"I thought you didn't need supervision," he murmured.

I rolled my eyes but my mind was too distracted by his close proximity to reply.

"You're getting wet," I noted when I realized I needed to say something but couldn't figure out what.

"You're so perceptive." He cocked his head to the side, keeping his attention focused on me. "It's no wonder you became a reporter."

I swatted at his chest before immediately regretting it when my hand was met with a solid wall of muscle.

"You didn't need to come in here," I continued. "I would have figured it out."

"You would have," he agreed. "But I should have been a better host and explained it first."

"Do you get into the showers with all your guests, Fletcher? Or am I just special?"

I found myself hoping I was special. From watching his interactions with people during the Warriors season, I knew this version of August differed from the one most people saw. But maybe it was just the island air that made him like this. Maybe it was the comfort of his hometown and offloading the stress of his career.

He laughed. "I'll let you figure that one out."

"You're no fun," I pouted.

August's lips fell flat, and his hands fell back to his sides. "That's what people tell me."

I immediately hated myself for saying that when it clearly hit a sore spot for August. Because the reality was that I had only been on Evergreen Isle for less than twenty-four hours, and I was already having more fun than I imagined I would when I'd been given this assignment. Some would argue that I was having too much fun.

"People don't know what they're talking about," I said, trying to sound reassuring.

August shrugged before tipping his head back and closing his eyes like he did on the beach early when he was soaking up the sun. Now, he was letting the warm water wash over him and running his hands through his hair to slick it back from his face. A nearly inaudible moan of appreciation slipped out of him, and that moan sent a shot of awareness through me.

I was sharing a shower with August Fletcher. Sure, he might be using a different showerhead than me, but we were in the same tiled rectangle, and steam was starting to swirl around us.

And because I was already in heaps of trouble where he was concerned, I took advantage of him having his eyes closed to slowly peruse how ridiculously gorgeous he looked when he was this close to me. Without his shirt on. With water running down his well-defined abs to the wet towel tied around his waist. The towel that was sticking to his hips and legs like a second skin, and–

"Trying to take my measurements, Castle?"

August's voice sounded thicker, more gravel-filled than the last he spoke.

I sputtered, lifting my guilty gaze back to his face. He smirked at me.

Goddamnit.

I cleared my throat. "Like you said, I'm very perceptive. I never know what I'm going to need to report on."

My voice came out scratchy, and I hoped it didn't give me away too much.

"Well," August murmured, his eyes sparkling between the water spray as he studied my face. "Before you go documenting too much, I'd like the record to show that I'm a grower...not a show-er."

It took me a second to understand what he was saying, and I felt my eyes grow round as the realization hit me.

"The record actually will not show any such thing, Fletcher," I huffed, reaching for the shampoo bottle I'd put in the corner before starting the shower. August clearly wasn't planning on leaving any time soon, so I might as well take advantage of the hot water while it lasted.

He lifted a brow. "You're going to do me dirty like that, Castle?"

"Oh, don't you worry. I'm just striking your dick size from the record completely. One, because I wasn't even looking at it. Please. And two, because I don't want to get fired."

August's lips pressed together, but they twitched as though he was trying not to laugh. I took a small step toward him, just enough that I was far enough out of the shower's spray to scrub shampoo into my hair, and August watched with amusement.

"Okay, Castle," he finally said before brushing his thumb across my temple, flicking suds off my now-scorching hot skin. "You're missing your hair completely and getting shampoo everywhere it's not supposed to be."

His eyes dropped momentarily, for a split second, to my chest before returning to my face.

"I'm sorry my shampoo technique isn't up to your standard," I said. "I'm not used to having anyone in my showers to judge me."

He bit down on his bottom lip, scraping it with his teeth as he contemplated my words. "That so?"

If I wasn't hot from the water, the steam rising around us, or August's toned muscles, I was definitely hot now. My breath hitched as I tried to figure out how to respond to that. As I tried to figure out how to comprehend the way he'd asked that.

"Yeah," I said lamely. "That is so."

"Hm." August's eyes stayed firmly on his face, but I sensed a struggle. It was the same struggle I'd already worked through. "Well, I'll leave you to shampoo in peace and without judgment," he said before moving on to give me a rundown of how to work the shower so we wouldn't end up in this situation again.

For some reason, I felt a slight twinge of disappointment at that. And it grew as August moved to leave the shower. Some unhinged part of my brain wanted to reach out and stop him. Worse yet, that part of my brain wanted to ask if he wanted to stay and help me. I had a feeling those large hands of his would do wonders at massaging my scalp.

The same unhinged part of my brain caused me to open my mouth and say, "Next time, I'm going to have to barge into your shower and judge your shampoo skills."

Mischief glinted in August's eyes as he looked over his shoulder. "You're welcome any time."

God, I really wished he hadn't said that.

August stepped out of the shower, saving me from answering. But then he stopped and stared at the ground and the mess his sopping-wet towel was making.

He sighed and glanced back at me again. "Unless you really did want to take notes, you might want to close your eyes. I need to shuck this towel and grab a new one, so I don't drench the floors."

I didn't want to close my eyes, but I did. Because, after all, admiring August Fletcher's naked ass would be unprofessional.

And while I hadn't been successful dancing around those professional boundaries my first twenty-four hours in Evergreen Isle, that didn't mean I couldn't get my shit together tomorrow.

"See ya after your shower," August called, and since his voice echoed, indicating he was further away and likely once again covered, I opened my eyes. "We've got to head into town and get some groceries, so I can cook us dinner tonight."

"You can cook?" I called back.

I could almost feel him roll his eyes in response. "Yes, I can cook. Don't sound so surprised."

With that, he left the bathroom, leaving me to stew in the thick steam.

I wasn't just surprised at what I'd found so far on Evergreen Isle. I was downright shocked.

And most importantly, absolutely screwed.

☀️

a/n:

I did say forced proximity, didn't I? 😌

Thanks for reading!
xoxo amelie