Beak Performance (Fangs on Ice #3)

24. Twenty-four

Twenty-four

Max

“ F uck!” Arne angled for his phone on the nightstand. “My parents are here. Mum texted me an hour ago.

I pulled out and Arne scrambled out from under me, giggling like a schoolboy. He was about to get up but stopped. My sweetest princess cupped my cheeks and gave me a slow kiss that made me swoon so hard it was embarrassing.

“Come out if you want. I’m sure they would love to meet you as soon as possible.” Arne took his discarded shirt and cleaned himself haphazardly before pulling out a pair of boxers and some Pumas merch—shorts and one of the blue shirts with the fierce yellow wildcat on the chest. “See you in a few minutes, okay?”

I nodded.

Oh my God, what am I saying?

He dashed back across the room to bend over the bed and kiss me again.

“Come on, meet the in-laws.” With one last peck and a cheeky wink he left.

I lay there for long minutes, staring up at the ceiling and letting his words sink in.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

The happy Danish voices from outside the bedroom door made me get up.

I used the same shirt he had to wipe my dick clean and dropped it with the rest of our discarded clothes in a heap on the floor. Then I grabbed fresh clothes from my bag.

Giving myself a last once-over in the mirror on the wardrobe and trying in vain to fix my stubborn curls, I grimaced at myself.

What would his parents say when I came out of the bedroom looking like I had just rearranged their son’s guts?

Well, there is only one way to find out.

The voices stopped abruptly at the sound of the bedroom door opening, and I entered the living room with my heart hammering in my throat.

Damn it, I hated meeting strangers. But maybe it was a good thing that I had little time to get nervous.

“Hello,” I greeted them, fiddling with my hands.

Where are they supposed to go?

Arne’s mother had short blonde hair, and everything about her looked effortlessly elegant. His father wasn’t as tall as him but was equally broad. I knew he worked for the local rescue team that retrieved lost hikers. He, too, had dark hair and those blue eyes.

His mum got up when she saw me coming over, a wide smile on her kind face.

“Oh, you must be Max.” Taking my outstretched hand into both of hers, she squeezed it without sparing my feathers a glance.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs Bendixen.”

She gasped and gave me a stern look that reminded me of Arne. “Absolutely not. My name is Ida, and this is my husband, Aksel.” Ida gave my hand another squeeze. “We are so happy to meet you. Arne has told us so much about you.”

The idea still baffled me.

I met his eyes and a wave of love and affection swept through me and into every corner of my being. Its intensity made my heart flutter like a frantic bird.

Mine.

“Welcome to the family, son.” Arne’s father had joined his wife, extending a large hand to me.

“Thank you,” I squeaked, taking the offered hand and shaking it.

Arne invited me to his side, taking my hand as soon as I sat next to him.

Okay, that’s settled, then.

“We’re sorry to barge in like this,” Ida said, giving me an apologetic shrug. “We wanted to wait for tomorrow, but we were just too excited to see you two. I hope we didn’t wake you up.”

My cheeks heated.

“It’s okay, uh…”

Arne said something in Danish, and both his parents chuckled good-naturedly.

“We’ll be leaving soon. We will see you tomorrow, Max? Will you be joining us for lunch?”

“I forgot to tell Max,” Arne explained, rubbing circles on my knuckles. “We haven’t talked about our plans.” His hopeful smile confused me. Did he want me to come or stay away?

“I don’t have plans yet.” All the plans I have involved Arne anyway. “Lunch with you sounds good.”

“I can show you the town where I grew up, Yndling. How about it?”

He short-circuited my brain.

Yndling?! He calls me his favourite in front of his parents?

“Yeah,” I told him, “if you want me to.”

“Rhetorical question.” Aksel Bendixen smirked over at us, looking so much like his son it was like looking into the future.

Looks good.

Arne squeezed my hand, giving me the cutest smile ever. For a moment, his feelings overwhelmed me. I hovered between this form and the raven, wanting to transform and fly away. Be free of all worldly sins.

But then Arne laced our fingers together. He brought them up to his mouth, kissing them. And I knew I would follow this man anywhere. Even to lunch with his parents.

“We should be on our way, Aksel,” his mother breathed. “We need to pick up a few things at the shop.” When I looked around, she gave us a warm smile. The corners of her eyes crinkled like Arne’s did when he smiled.

The Viking gave my hand a little squeeze and got up to hug his parents goodbye.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, Max.” His father shook hands with me.