"You will be perfectly fine," he said, watching her hesitation with a softer look. "Don't you have faith in me?"
Her lips pressed together. She didn't answer, mostly because she didn't know how to.
"The water has to be freezing," she insisted instead, scrambling for any excuse she could reach. None of them seemed particularly convincing.
Ragnar looked like he was two seconds away from hauling her over his shoulder and dropping her in the lake himself.
She heaved a heavy sigh, feeling her reluctance crumble, inch by agonizing inch. He sensed it and amusement flickered in his eyes like he had already won.
Then her expression sharpened. She lifted a hand and jabbed a finger warningly at his smug face.
"Turn around," she ordered, her fingers already sneaking toward the laces at the front of her dress.
His gaze went molten, deepening into something like liquid bronze. For a heartbeat, his expression turned serious.
