“That’s me. Courageous Erik.”
“Sounds like a Viking King. Erik the Brave.”
“You’re thinking of Erik the Red. I’d be Erik the Blond. Doesn’t sound quite as fierce, does it?”
She smiled up at him, loving how good-natured and unguarded he seemed. “So leading tours in little Gardiner wasn’t enough. You watched your sister get married and move away. And the Viking King decided to do the same?”
“Well, sort of. But, with me, it was just the move away part.” He gave her a look.
“Of course. That’s what I meant.”
“Enough about me. How about you?”
“How about me?
“Well…I know that you’re a nurse. I know you say it’s for practical reasons. But, how’d it come about?”
“Well, I mean, I went to high school and my grades were pretty good, but I got…um, sidetracked by Wade that last year or so. I could’ve probably gone to school in Chicago near my aunt and uncle if I hadn’t lost my focus, but…my grades fell senior year and I mean, Great Falls U isn’t a bad school. It was close to home, and most importantly, it was close to Wade who was going there too. But, they don’t have, like, a million choices of major, as you know. And of course I had visited Ing and Kristian there all the time when I was younger and they were there for a couple of years. And Ing was in the nursing school. She sort of encouraged me to go for it. She called a couple of her old teachers and they kept an eye on me.
“I wouldn’t have actually thought I had the stomach for it, but I did. I like the caring aspect. I love being there at a birth, especially, or helping a child feel better. Hold the hand of an old person who’s frightened. It’s sad sometimes, but it’s more good than bad, actually. I just…I like helping people. I think that’s why I stick with it.”
“You know, you were great last Sunday.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, his face inscrutable under his sunglasses. “Really amazing.”
“Thanks.”
“The nursing part was good too.”
She realized what he was saying and swatted him lightly on the arm.
It’s a good opening, Katrin. It’s time to nip this in the bud and you may not get another chance.
“You know, I’m glad you brought that up, Erik.” She swallowed nervously. “Because I—um, don’t get me wrong, I totally enjoyed um, what happened between us. But, I don’t think—I mean, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”
Erik didn’t respond. He stared at the road, stone-faced.
“I guess what I want to say is this; I think it’s better for us to be friends. I really do. I…I don’t think it should’ve happened,” she finished quietly. She folded her hands on her lap, her heart beating fast and heat flushing her cheeks.
“I’m glad it did,” he said in a soft, controlled voice.
Katrin winced at this admission, suddenly hating herself for spoiling their sunny day by slapping him back into the friend-zone when he’d been so playful with her. She bit her lip, wishing she felt more resolute in her decision.
Erik pulled into a parking lot marked with a large green sign that read “Flathead Lake & Wild Horse Island Ferry Parking,” and parked the car. He took off his sunglasses, facing her.
“I think it should happen again.”
Her mouth opened at the boldness of his words before her brows creased in confusion. “But, Erik, you don’t want—”
“Kat,” he interrupted purposefully. “I’m going to make it really clear what I want, okay?”
His eyes were cool and serious, but the air between them sizzled. She nodded slowly, mesmerized by him.
“I want you. Your mouth. Your body. Your fingernails down my back. Your eyes rolled back in your head. Your voice calling out my name. In my bed. In your bed. In the shower. On your kitchen counter. Under the trees. Wherever you want.” He paused, nostrils flaring, his breathing audible yet controlled. The intensity of his voice, velvet and low, made her throat go dry. “That’s what I want.”
She couldn’t speak. She could barely think. Her eyes had widened, and her mouth was slightly open in “Oh” and she was fairly sure she hadn’t actually taken or released a breath since he started speaking. Her chest couldn’t possibly contain the relentless pounding of her heart much longer. If she could have looked away, she would have, but it wasn’t possible.
“Think it over. Maybe it’s even what we both need.”
Her head was still spinning, and every nerve ending in her body was screaming for her to grab him, slam her lips into his, run her hands through his hair, rip off her shirt and tear off his so that she could finally feel the heat of his skin against hers.
Katrin blinked at him but couldn’t seem to make her mouth work. She took a shaky breath and nodded at him once, finally able to break his gaze. Staring at her folded hands, she finally exhaled, then took a deep breath, still unable to form a coherent thought. Your mouth. Your body. Your fingernails…
She closed her eyes and shook her head gently to clear it, then looked back up at Erik.
“Glad we got that settled,” he said softly, opening his door.
***
Erik swung his body out of the car, shutting the door behind him. For all of his well-laid plans, his impromptu speech had shocked the hell out of him just as much as he had shocked her. Two weeks’ worth of pent-up lust wasn’t about to be ignored, and the words came from a starving place deep inside.
He was shaken from the intensity of his longing for her, and for how it had all tumbled out of his mouth in such a passionate, direct offer, which outlined nothing
