14. Fourteen
Fourteen
Max
A rne picked me up early the next day, as if he, too, couldn’t stay away.
His smile was a little wistful.
Did he miss me?
Because fuck, I’d missed him so much.
“Want to turn on some music for us?”
“Yes, sure.” I pulled out my phone and paired with his car, choosing a playlist with all my dopamine hits. These were songs I had gotten stuck in my head at some point, ranging from horny to manic.
“Oh, I like this one.” Arne shot me a sideways glance, then focused back on the street.
“Yeah, me too.” See? Maybe we can do this without me wanting to jump your bones at every moment .
Could we just be cool with each other and not act wild like horny teens?
I lost all hope as soon as we parked. I really shouldn’t have found his functional hiking outfit so sexy, but those cargo trousers hugged his thighs and butt in a way that got me all hot and bothered.
He wore a creamy white knit jumper with a zipper turtleneck. It exposed a sliver of his broad chest, and a tight navy blue compression shirt that emphasised the ridge between his pecs. His dark hair fell into his eyes, framing those blue eyes that crinkled at the corners. He looked like he belonged in an upscale outdoor magazine. He was the type of guy from the Pine Peak Outfitters catalogue who teenage Max used to fantasise about.
A catalogue or one of my wet dreams. Damn you, Viking. Why do you have to be so pretty?
“Ready to go?”
You lead. I’ll follow you anywhere.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
We shouldered our small backpacks and set off.
I kept my eyes fixed on my hiking boots. They were black, same as most of my stuff. Black had always been my favourite colour. It might have been because of my feathers. The Night Raven loved the dark; he excelled at blending in.
“This is the path that leads to the orchard. I’m so excited. I came here with Nate, Vee, and Bo last year. We had so much fun. There’s nothing like four grown men getting excited about picking apples.”
“You don’t say.” The idea of Arne getting giggly in the apple orchard was the cutest.
“So, Raven.” Arne gripped the straps of his backpack, biceps bulging under the knit jumper. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Are you breaking up with me before we even started dating?
“The other day when you were at my place.”
“Yeah?”
“Who was that on the phone?”
Oh .
“Uh.” I ran a hand over my nape, straightening out the feathers there.
“Come on through here. I want to show you something.” Arne led me off the path, and it came out on a little platform. The land fell down before it, and we took a seat on the wooden bench and got out our water bottles. “Protein bar?”
“Yes, thanks.”
He pulled bars from my favourite brand out of his pocket, gave me the strawberry and cream and waited until I’d taken a bite.
How does he know that’s the best flavour?
“You know I’m not judging you, right?”
“Yeah, I know.” I bit off some more, chewing it slowly. “It was my ex-boyfriend, Tobias.”
Arne didn’t press the matter, but his eyes rested on me, giving me the strength I needed to keep talking.
“He cheated on me with a guy from our village. I found out through his ArgoS and broke up with him.”
“But he won’t leave you alone?”
“Nope. No matter how often I tell him to stop calling. And I pick up every time. It’s like muscle memory. Dumb, huh?”
“No.” He took hold of my forearm, squeezing me. “I’m so sorry. You know I’m always here if you need someone to talk to, right?”
“Thank you, Arne.”
“Thank you for telling me. And you’re not dumb. You’re fantastic, Raven. Come on, let’s go pick some apples.”
We went back to the main path and walked for a couple of minutes until we arrived at a closed gate.
“Aw, no.” Arne turned around, his upset palpable. “Damn, why didn’t I check their website?”
“I’m one hundred percent sure a place like this doesn’t have a website.” I bumped my elbow against his, trying to lighten the mood. “It’s okay, though. We had a lovely hike.”
“Yeah, I suppose. I was really looking forward to going apple picking with you, though.”
The sad little pout he sported was the cutest fucking thing I had ever seen.
“Do you trust me?” I asked him, tilting my head.
“Yes,” he said without hesitation, making my insides soar.
“Okay, don’t panic.” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure we were alone, hugged him, and then we dissolved into shadows.
“Holy shit!” Gasping for breath, he stumbled, taking a moment to find his feet again.
“Breathe, Viking. I know it takes some getting used to. But you are safe with me. I’d never put you in danger.” I leaned my forehead against his. “Breathe with me, that’s it. In and out and in again, like we do in yoga.”
He needed another minute to calm down enough to speak.
“What was that?” Arne swallowed hard.
“I took you into the shadow realm, but only for a few seconds. Look.” I inched my head over my shoulder.
“Oh my God, Raven!” He turned away, gaping at the apple trees around us. “You teleported us? Holy crap, we’re breaking and entering!”
You sweet little princess.
“It’s okay. There’s no one but us here. Well, except for a small group of deer in the forest behind us, and a fox snoozing in its den.”
“How the hell do you know that?” Arne surveyed me for a moment, then mirrored my smile.
“I can feel their presence. It’s a bit difficult to explain. And we didn’t teleport. We just…travelled here through another dimension.”
“Oh, okay, then.” He huffed, his voice dripping with so much sarcasm even I could taste it. “You took me to another dimension and broke into the orchard.”
“Yep.” I reached up with one of my shadow tentacles and plucked an apple off the tree. “You wanted to go apple picking, didn’t you?”
Teeth digging into his bottom lip, he hesitated for a moment, then took the offered fruit. “That’s pretty biblical, isn’t it?”
“Mm,” I hummed. The tentacle reached out to glide up his neck and over his Adam’s apple. “The question is… are you Eve or Adam in this metaphor?”
“Not Eve,” he whispered, tilting his head up ever so slightly to give me better access. “If anything, I’m the one tempting you .”
“You are tempting me,“ I affirmed. Denting his skin a little, I slid the tip up to stroke the spot where his pulse hammered under his skin. “But I never understood what was wrong with that.” My shadowy limb dissolved, and I took a step back. “Let’s have a look around, Viking.”
“Okay, let’s.” He kept by my side, sighing a little. “I want to have my own farm when I retire,” he told me in a quiet voice.
Okay, where did that come from?
“Really? I love that. I don’t know what I want to do with my life when I’m not playing anymore.”
“You have a lot of time before that day comes, Raven. You’ll figure it out.” Arne threaded his arm through mine and pulled me down a row between the apple trees.
Most of them had already been plucked, but we found enough fruit to entertain ourselves with. Arne kept the touches to a minimum as he led me away from the gate with purpose in his step.
It was only when we were at the far end of the orchard that he seemed to feel secure enough to stop and turn around to face me.
Is this when I’m finally getting my kiss, Viking?
Arne hesitated, uncertainty dancing in his blue eyes.
“Oh, fuck it.” I wasn’t proud of the needy little sigh I uttered before I closed the gap between us and crashed my mouth into his. Fists tangling in his functional jumper, I moved him off the path and behind one of the old apple trees.
My big strong viking groaned into the kiss when I wedged my thigh between his, lining up our cocks.
“I’ve been dreaming of this,” I gasped out between frantic kisses.
“Me, too.” His fingers splayed on my cheeks, tilting my face ever so slightly to align our mouths better.
I trailed my hands down his body, mapping his back, and gripped his hips. He bucked them against mine, and his kiss turned more frantic.
How about this, Viking?
I brought my left hand between us, running it over his bulge.
“Oh, God, Max.” Hearing him moan my name like that almost brought me to my knees.
I pulled away and kissed his temple. “Do you want me to take my hand away?”
“No?” he whined.
Fuck yes.
I stroked him again, more firmly this time, and kissed down his temple and his cheek until I reached his neck.
“God, I’d love to get on my knees for you right now,” I told him between nipping kisses.
“Fuck, Raven. We can’t. Not here.”
Let’s go somewhere private then?
“I know.” He shuddered when I licked his neck. God, I’m way too into this. “I still remember that dream, Cap. Please tell me you had it, too.”
Arne froze.
Shit .
“Sorry, I…” My voice trailed off and next thing I knew, that gorgeous man devoured my mouth.
“Oh, fuck, Max. That dream was…holy shit, I didn’t know you…I—” He swallowed hard. “I blew you in that dream,” he added in a whisper.
I hummed, gripping his chin and bringing his lips back on mine.
“Best dream ever.”
“Want to come back to my place for a bit?” Arne blurted out.
I let my guard down for a moment so he would see the shadows swirling in my eyes.
“You sure?”
“Oh yeah, Raven. Never been more certain of anything in my life.”