Chapter Twenty
JIRO SAW THE exact second that Aurora’s heart closed over.
Her face changed, losing all animation, going strangely blank instead.
Her lips closed over her cute bunny teeth, and her mouth became serious.
What had he said? Something wrong, obviously.
But he’d come here to declare his love, and he couldn’t give up now.
She’d been so open seconds before, so receptive, he needed to find that girl again, and quickly.
And the only way he knew how was to say those five simple words.
“Wait, Aurora, you don’t understand. I’m in love with you,” he blurted.
“That’s why I came to find you.” He swallowed hard, hoping he wasn’t too late.
Hoping she felt the same way. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, and I was stupid not to see that before.
I was stupid to let duty and responsibility drive me away from you. ”
Daring to look up into her eyes, he was surprised to see a sheen of tears appear suddenly in those beautiful brown depths. Then they filled with so much love it nearly took his breath away. She didn’t need to say the words; he could see her emotions all laid bare for him.
“Oh, Jiro, I was hoping you’d say that. I’m in love with you too.” She reached up and stroked his face. “I was worried that perhaps you hadn’t come here for the right reasons. And I’m still a little worried about how this is all going to work. But there’s no denying how good we are together.”
He sat up and pulled her into his lap, and she snuggled into him, setting his heart aflame again.
He cleared his throat. “Well, I knew the future would be an obstacle we’d need to address if this was to work.
So, for the past few months, I’ve been researching Sweden’s wolf population.
Did you know they were hunted to extinction and were completely gone by the 1960s?
Then, in the early 1980s, three wolves migrated from Russia and Finland and started up a new colony?
” His research had been fascinating, and he’d been surprised to find out the wolf population of Sweden was now thought to be around four-hundred and fifty, a fairly robust number.
So much so, the government even allowed some minimal hunting of the animal to keep the numbers under control.
Jiro had been shocked when he heard this, as wolves in America were highly protected; numbers were still so unstable.
But here in Sweden, the wolves seemed to be doing well, which was highly encouraging and made Jiro wonder if he could be part of their continued existence.
“No, I didn’t. And that’s very interesting.” But he got the feeling she was more interested in what else he had to say than in the scientific details of Nordic wolves.
Instead of putting her out of her misery straight away, he cheekily went on to say, “Not only that, they’re genetically isolated from every other population and completely unique.
” Again, a fact that’d piqued his interest. So much so that he’d started asking around.
His best mate at the Wolf Center had put him onto a contact here in Sweden, who’d led him to a researcher, Lucas Nyg?rd, at the Norwegian Institute for nature research, NINA, which worked across all countries incorporated in the Lapland area, including Norway, Sweden and Finland, running collaborative research projects on wolf populations.
Lucas believed that the Swedish wolf population was becoming dangerously inbred and required a genetic rescue if they were to continue breeding successfully.
He had plans to introduce individuals from nearby countries to help rescue some of the smaller, more isolated populations, especially in northern Sweden, which had excited Jiro immensely.
“Riiight. And this has something to do with us because…?” She tilted her chin up and raised an eyebrow in his direction, a shaft of sunlight glinting off the heart-shaped studs in her ears.
He really needed to find out who had given them to her; they were clearly very special to her, but that question could wait for another day.
He gave a wicked smile, but knew it was time to stop tormenting her. “It has everything to do with us, because I’ve been offered a job with NINA, an institute in Norway, but which runs projects all across Lapland.”
“Oh?” Aurora sat up very straight now so she could look him directly in the eye.
“And I came here to see if you would like me to accept the position. It would mean quite a bit of fieldwork, but I could be based anywhere up here in northern Sweden. Even say…Lule?.”
Aurora threw her arms around his neck. “Holy hell, Jiro, you know how to keep a girl on edge. Yes, yes, yes. A thousand times, yes.”
Her answer had been what he’d hoped. It would be hard leaving his father back in the US, leaving Taro to face his fate in prison alone.
But now that the trial was over, and the instigator of all the gun smuggling, Hiroshi Kiyota, had been arrested, and the Kyodo-kai disbanded, the FBI were going to release Taro’s wife and kids from witness protection.
Straight into the arms of Kenichi, who had offered for them to come and live with him in his large mansion-like house.
It was a good solution for both of them.
Kenichi would have the company and be able to enjoy his grandchildren, and Tamika would have the protection that the Nashimori name could offer.
Plus, now Papa had a love interest, who kept him more than well-occupied.
Jiro had never thought to see his father with another woman after their mother died.
And at first, he’d been a little taken aback, and worried that she might’ve just been after his money.
But Yuki was a traditional Japanese woman of substance, and Jiro was coming to respect and like her.
There might even be wedding bells on the horizon.
Wouldn’t that be funny if his father got married before he did?
That thought didn’t scare him at all now.
He was sure Aurora was the perfect woman for him.
Of course they’d need time to work each other out.
But he could feel it in his bones that he was going to marry this woman.
“Hang on.” Aurora drew back from him. “I thought you hated the snow. I distinctly remember you wondering, How could anyone live in this god awful weather? She crinkled up her nose at him in a cheeky grin.
“I guess I’m going to have to get used to it,” he replied with a sigh. It was perhaps the biggest drawback of moving to Sweden. But he had to acknowledge how beautiful the place was, no matter the weather, and if Aurora loved it, then he was sure he would learn to cope.
“Are you sure about this? I mean really sure?” Those dark chocolate eyes speared him with an intense gaze.
She was right to ask, and she was right to have doubts.
They had only truly known each other for such a short time.
And now he was back six months later, declaring his love for her.
How could he prove to her how committed he was?
It would have to be firstly by his words and secondly by his actions.
It would take time, but he needed her to trust him right now.
“I’m deadly serious about moving here,” he replied.
“I’ve given up my rental place in San Diego, and quit my job at the Wolf Center.
” Some people might call him crazy. He’d come here on a whim, not really knowing what kind of reception he’d get from Aurora.
But he had spoken to M?rten on the phone before he came, and her police partner was only too happy to confirm that she wasn’t seeing anyone else, and was still in fact pining for Jiro.
The words had shocked Jiro, sounding a little alien coming out of the normally earnest inspector’s mouth.
But Viskten was a good guy, and didn’t seem to hold any grudges against Jiro for the way he’d left Aurora and Sweden.
In fact, he seemed rather happy to hear Jiro would be coming back to Lule?.
“I missed spending last Christmas with you, and it nearly broke my heart. I want to spend this Christmas with you, helping you to decorate your beautiful tree. And every Christmas after that, if you’ll have me.
” He hoped she could hear the sincerity in his voice.
“I want to see this Aurora Borealis you are named after with my very own eyes, even though I know it won’t be nearly as beautiful as you. ”
Her face went a delightful shade of pink at his bumbling attempt at a compliment. But he meant it. He was yet to see the northern lights, and would love to do so while holding her hand. Nothing could compare to her beauty right now, however.
“I missed you last Christmas too,” she replied softly.
“More than you’ll ever know.” He had been such a dickhead leaving her like that.
Leaving her to face Christmas with a father who was still in hospital.
But he’d had his own family dramas, and perhaps they both had to sort out their problems alone before they could finally come together and be the incredible couple he knew they could be.
He placed his lips on the back of her neck, landing soft butterfly kisses.
After that, they stopped talking for a long time.
And he used his body to show her exactly how much he adored her.
He knew he would never tire of worshipping her this way.
At last, they lay entwined together, twisted in the bedsheets, panting and sweaty and ecstatically happy.
“We should probably retrieve your bag from the hotel at some stage,” she said, a raspy note still in her voice.
“I’d like you to move in with me, if that’s what you want too.
” He’d been planning on finding a place to rent nearby, not wanting to impose too much on her too early on.
But if she wanted to jump in feet first, then why not?
“I’d love that,” he replied, kissing the tip of her nose.
“And after we’ve done that, I might drop in to HQ and tell M?rten I’m taking a few days off.
He’ll understand,” she added. “We’ve got a new rookie on our team.
He can take up some of my slack while I’m gone.
” This time she gave a wicked smile. It was good to hear she was no longer the newest kid on the block. She’d earned her stripes.
Then something occurred to him. “Whatever happened to Dalstrom?” he queried. “Right before I left Sweden, I heard rumors the detective inspector had been put on suspension, but I never confirmed exactly why.”
“Hmm.” Aurora screwed up her nose. “Yes, Dalstrom still isn’t my favorite person. But he’s back working with us now. The commissioner had no choice but to suspend him when it became clear the detective inspector was indeed intentionally mishandling the case.”
“Oh, wow.” So Jiro hadn’t been wrong when he’d felt the other man had something against him.
“It turned out that the sniper, Liam Kenzo, who was hired to kill us, was actually an old friend of Dalstrom’s.
They went to primary school together and had been very close at one stage.
” Jiro had never found out the sniper’s name, but wondered now if it was even important.
“The sniper was feeding Dalstrom false information. He told the detective inspector that your father was mixed up in dodgy dealings and had actually disappeared to fake his own death to get money from a life insurance policy.”
“And Dalstrom actually believed him?” Jiro was aghast.
“For a while, I guess he did.” Aurora grimaced as she thought about the officer who’d been a thorn in their sides and let his allegiance to a friend color the way he viewed the case.
“He had a severe conflict of interest and was trying to hide it. But when the sniper attacked us, he obviously changed his mind. He felt very guilty about the whole thing. Especially when the commissioner removed him from duty.” She gave a wry smile at that.
“But it seems he’s been forgiven, or at least allowed back to work.
He’s on probation and has to adhere to strict rules and regulations, and he’ll probably be watched like a hawk for the rest of his career. ”
Jiro didn’t feel the least bit sorry for the man.
He’d made the job of finding his father a whole lot harder, and Jiro would never forgive him for that.
They sat in silence for a few moments as Jiro digested the information.
“Perhaps I can’t forgive him, but maybe I’ll just forget him instead,” he said at last, putting the man from his mind.
“Good. Are you hungry? Shall I go and fix us something for lunch?” Aurora asked, stretching her arms above her head and revealing her delectable breasts as the sheet fell away.
The only thing he was hungry for was her. Without answering, he pulled her back down onto the bed beside him and showed her what he really wanted for lunch.
They could talk more about the future later.
About hope and love and even having a family.
But right now, Jiro was going to savor every second he spent with this amazing woman.
His move to Sweden was going to be the best adventure in the world.
With Aurora by his side, they could achieve everything they dreamed of.