Beak Performance (Fangs on Ice #3)

28. Twenty-eight

Twenty-eight

Max

W e took brief showers and got dressed. Arne waited for me by the front door, wearing slacks and a smart shirt. Together with his dark stubble and the intense blue eyes, he looked like a million bucks.

“You look great,” I mumbled, feeling a little self conscious about my own outfit. I’d always liked my clothes a little edgier. ‘Extravagant’ some had called them. Tobias, for example.

‘You’ll stay alone forever, Maxi.’ Arne can have anyone. Why me?

“You, too.” He bit his lip, his gaze travelling up and down my body. “You were always gorgeous, Raven. But now you are breathtakingly beautiful.” Brushing a stray curl off my forehead, he leaned in to kiss me.

“I’m not.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

One thick eyebrow arched up.

“Excuse me?” Then powerful arms turned me around so I faced a full-length mirror behind the door. I hadn’t even noticed it before.

Arne cupped my chin, turning my head to the side and kissing my cheek. “You are delicious, Max. I am always craving your taste, your touch, and your attention.” He brushed the words over my skin like a soft caress. “I’d make a fool of myself if it meant you would notice me.”

“How could I not notice you? I’m at your mercy.” Turning to face him, I slipped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. “If anything, we’re both fools.”

He gave me a pouty smile as he leaned in again.

At your feet, Viking.

“Come on, Raven. I want to take my boyfriend out for dinner now.”

The grin I gave him was so fucking embarrassing.

Hand in hand we made our way up to the car and drove into the next town in search of a restaurant.

I loved having the freedom to hold, hug, and kiss him whenever I wanted. But it hurt me to think how much I craved that at home.

“Arne?” A woman’s voice made us both turn around.

“Johanne!” My viking beamed and hurried to hug her, babbling away in rapid, musical Danish. I loved hearing the language, but a pang of jealousy laced through me.

“Max, meet Johanne,” Arne introduced her in English. “We went to school together. Johanne, this is my partner, Max.”

I only just stopped my jaw from dropping on my chest.

“Hej, it’s so nice to meet you.” Taking me by surprise, she hugged me, too.

“Hey, the pleasure is mine.”

“Are you here to spend Christmas with Ida and Aksel?” Johanne enquired when she’d let go of me.

“Yes. We wanted a quiet holiday this year. I thought Max would enjoy the beach house.”

“Oh, I hope you do.” The woman grinned at me. “I designed it. I’m an interior designer,” she explained.

“It’s beautiful. You’ve done a great job.”

“Thank you, Max.” Her smile turned radiant.

“Well, merry Christmas to you. I hope you have a wonderful time together. It was lovely seeing you, Arne.” She hugged first me, then him, and excused herself.

“Ready for dinner, baby?” He turned to me with a smile on his face.

“You just told your friend that I am your partner.” I still felt a little numb and confused.

“I did. Johanne won’t blab about us online.”

“Did you date her in school?”

Arne cocked a heavy eyebrow at me. “Maximilian Gruber,” he muttered, stepping nearer and hugging me around the waist. “Are you jealous of a woman I might have dated fifteen years ago?”

“No,” I croaked.

“God, Baby. You are so cute.” He nuzzled his nose into my hair. “Johanne and I went to a school dance together and then had one date at the cinema. It was as awkward as only a date between two sixteen-year-old kids can be.” He brushed the shell of my ear with his lips. “It’s one of my best achievements in life that we just went back to being friends after that.”

“I’ve never stayed friends with anyone I dated.”

“Let me take you out for dinner now, okay?” Arne kissed my neck.

We entered a sleek place that offered a variety of dishes. A risotto with mushrooms caught my eye, and I ordered it from a nice waiter with a tail.

“What’s wrong, baby?” he whispered, scooting up the bench so he was right next to me. His hand found my leg under the table, squeezing me gently.

“Nothing,” I brushed him off, avoiding his gaze and pretending to focus on my food. It was delicious, but I barely noticed.

“Hey.” Arne snatched my hand out of the air and brought it to his mouth. A soft, slightly scratchy kiss landed on my palm. “Tell me what’s wrong, my love.”

“Fuck.” A tear spilled from my eye, and I impatiently brushed it away.

“Baby, hey.” He scooted even closer, pressing the length of his thigh against mine. He kept my fingers in his and slipped his other arm around my back. “Tell me what’s wrong. Please.” His scruffy cheek rubbed against my shoulder.

“It’s nothing,” I bit out, my voice cracking, and then the words tumbled out of my mouth. “I hate that we can just be ourselves here but that we have to hide from others when we’re at home.”

“Oh my sweet Raven.”

Arne kissed my cheek. “It’s something to work on. I don’t want to hide you forever. Let’s make it through your first year and wait until you get a new contract. Okay?”

I knew he was right. We had discussed this at length before.

“It still sucks,” I muttered, knowing full well that I was being childish.

“It does,” Arne agreed. He pressed his cheek to my shoulder again, and his other hand dipped under the table, gently squeezing my cock. “But we will still have this holiday, and the time when we are alone. It’s not for long.”

“Okay.”

“As soon as you have signed your contract, I will barge into the room and sweep you into a kiss.”

I snorted, imagining Jerke’s confused expression. “That would be pretty epic.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Arne kept his hand on my dick, but sat up straight and took his fork again. “Finish your risotto. We need to leave before we get thrown out because I can’t keep my hands off you.”

We fell through the door of the cabin, kicking it shut behind us before we collapsed in a heap on the fluffy carpet.

The food had done nothing to soothe our appetites.

“God, I’ll be so sore after this holiday,” my boyfriend giggled as he raised himself up into a sitting position, straddling my hips, and started to take off his smart shirt. His hands moved slowly from button to button.

My boyfriend!

“Are you edging me?” I smirked up at him, grinding my hips up against his groin.

Arne ground back, a teasing smirk on his lips. “Maybe I will. I bet you would love that.”

“You’d love it, too.”

“Oh yes.” His smirk turned indulgent. “I would love to hear you beg for release.”

My breathing sped up as he unbuttoned his shirt at last, exposing his deep chest fuzzed with dark hair, the tiny buds of his nipples, and the lines of his abs.

“You look so lewd,” I told him in awe.

He’s so hot with his open shirt and dark slacks.

Without a word he threw me a teasing, pouting smile. My focus stayed on his face until it slipped away to follow his fingers. They trailed down his chest to his belt.

I gaped as if I had never seen him undress before. Screw me. Stripping your hockey gear or day clothes was different from this. My proper, well-mannered Viking, hard length tenting the fabric, was struggling with his zipper until… He finally freed himself from the confines of the trousers, his thick cock hard and already leaking precum over the head.

“Take your clothes off and then mine,” I told him. Arne’s immediate reaction was everything I wanted.

He hurried to strip, then undressed me with tender, shaking hands.

“You’re even more beautiful than when I first met you.” His voice was raspy and reverent.

“You think so?”

“God, Raven.” He gasped as he pushed my shirt up, his fingers moving across my stomach, mapping the newly formed washboard abs. He slid the shirt higher, cupping my pecs, and plumping them with a low groan. “You are so fucking hot, baby.”

I stared up at him, darkness at the edges of my consciousness. The Nachtkrapp had never reacted this strongly to anyone. Arousal had been tied to my human side, not to him . With Arne, everything was different. He turned me feral.

Sitting up, I dragged his mouth on mine, and fished around for the bottle of lube. He gasped at the slight creaking of the cap and tried to look around.

No.

My grip on the back of his neck tightened. He wasn’t a small man, but his strength was no match for mine.

His tongue licked into my mouth, feverish and slick. God, he loved it when I manhandled him like that.

It didn’t take long for him to soften up around my fingers, rolling his hips so he was fucking himself on my hand.

“Yndling,” he moaned into the kiss, then added a string of Danish words I couldn’t translate but understood perfectly.

“Yesss,” I hissed as the shadows broke out of me to wrap around my beautiful man. “Yes, I am right here, Viking. Be a good slut and take my dick into that sweet ass of yours.”

Arne cursed, again in Danish, gathered some of the lube from between his cheeks and spread it on my dick. Then he tilted my length and let me slip into his hot body.