25. Carina
TWENTY-FIVE
CARINA
Waking up in Henrik’s arms is indescribable. Pulled into his side, his leg possessively tucked over my calves, I couldn’t be happier. I’m the little spoon to his big. He trails his tongue along the shell of my ear and then blows on the damp flesh, causing goose bumps to spread over my naked skin.
Last night, I gave up the idea of wearing undergarments to bed when Henrik woke me up for the second time.
That time it was with his head between my legs.
Easy access definitely has its advantages.
After thoroughly eating me out, he positioned me on my hands and knees and then fucked me from behind. It was glorious.
“I’m going to hop in the shower and then make you breakfast,” Henrik says as he untangles himself from me.
Sitting up, I shiver at the absence of his body heat. He runs his hand down my curves, past my rib cage and to my hip. Squeezing tenderly, he says, “I’d love to hear about your ink sometime.”
Shyly, I smile. No one knows I have it except for Stacy since I’d made her go with me to get it.
“How about over breakfast?” I suggest. “Unless you want to join me back in bed?” Rolling onto my back, I’m fully exposed in the light of day.
Hesitantly, I look at Henrik to gauge his reaction.
I know he’s told me several times he thinks I’m gorgeous and sexy, but it’s easier to believe that when I’m hidden behind layers of clothes.
But one look at his lust-filled expression squashes all my worries.
“I’d love to crawl back in bed, but I’m starving, and you’re making it extremely difficult to walk away.”
“Oh yeah? How so?” I tease.
Leaning over me, he kisses my lips and says, “I am the luckiest man in the world. My girlfriend is not only kind, funny, and intelligent, but she’s a smokeshow too.”
No, I’m the lucky one. My heart swells and my cheeks grow hot in response to his words.
He smirks. “So, what’ll it be? A shower and breakfast or breakfast in bed?”
Raising my arms high, I stretch out next to his massive thighs. “I’d love to join you in the shower. Do you have a shirt I can throw on afterward, or is your plan to keep me naked all the time?”
His gruff laughter washes over me. “I would love to keep you naked all the time, but my family and Eirik have keys to my house, and they stop by unexpectedly.” His hungry gaze travels the length of me, and he growls, “Your sumptuous body is only for my eyes.” The possession in his voice makes me tingly all over.
My nipples pebble, and his fingertips ghost over them. Desire stirs in my core.
“You mentioned a shower?” I question. Henrik gives me a sultry smile, then takes my hand and helps me from the bed. Following him, he guides me into his bathroom. In seconds, he has the water turned on. When the room fills with steam, he leads me into the spacious tiled shower.
He washes my hair and body. His scent surrounds me, and I inhale deeply several times while he caresses and cleans me. Under the heated spray, I’m overwhelmed with notes of musk, leather, and forest, and my body relaxes with a contented sigh.
“Hungry?” he murmurs into the side of my neck.
I nod against his chest. “Starving.”
“Let’s get dried off and I’ll whip up some pannekaken.”
“What is panakan?” I ask.
He laughs. “No, it’s pannekaken. Sounds like pan-a-cake-in. They’re Norwegian pancakes.”
Leaning back, I look into his eyes. “I love pancakes. Are they thick and fluffy or thin, like a crepe or a Swedish pancake?”
Henrik turns off the water. “They’re thin like crepes or pannkakor.” I raise my eyebrow in question. “Swedish pancakes,” he explains.
Dragging on one of Henrik’s large undershirts, I laugh. With our size difference, it’s obvious I’m not wearing my clothes. Pulling out the sides of the white cotton tee, I curtsy. “This is like a dress on me.”
He smirks and mutters, “fucking adorable,” under his breath. My heart skips a beat. Why did I ever think he was a grump? He’s shown me his sweet and tender side more often than his grumpy, gruff side. In fact, he’s got me believing his bad-tempered nature is all an act.
Following him out of his bedroom and down to the kitchen, he asks me to fix two cups of coffee while he starts on breakfast. After I’ve fixed up both cups of steaming coffee, I open the fridge. “What do you eat on your…” I pause before I try to say it. “Pana-cake-in?”
“That’s better.” He chuckles as he flips the thin pancake. “There should be some of my mom’s homemade raspberry jam in there.”
“These are so good.” I moan as I stuff another bite into my mouth. “And your mom’s jam is perfect on them.”
Once breakfast is done, we come up with a plan for the rest of the day. “It’s a nice day. Do you want to go for a hike or beach walk?”
“I need to change first, but I’m always up for beachcombing. I usually leave the hiking to the summer months just in case I go off trail.”
After we get dressed, we head to my apartment to grab me some clean clothes. Once I’m redressed, we head over to Mill Bay Beach Park.
Standing at one of the picnic sites, I scan the rocky shoreline.
Big, jagged rock formations shoot out of the sandy beach and in the Gulf of Alaska.
The cliffs surrounding the park are serrated and provide a stunning, artistic overlook of the bay.
Being here makes me feel small and insignificant.
Needing connection, I reach out and touch Henrik’s arm.
“I heard you can surf here. Have you ever seen anyone catching waves?”
Henrik pulls me into his arms and wraps them around me tightly. He places his lips on my ear. His warm breath sends a shiver down my spine as he answers. “No. I don’t think there are too many surfers on the island. I have seen a really pretty sunset here, though.”
“Really?”
He nods. “It’s also a great place to fish for silvers from the beach. After the NOAA survey, we could do that. Or we could go kayaking or paddle boarding.”
“Sure. That sounds great.”
After exploring the beach for a few hours, we head back to Henrik’s for a quiet night. We’re both exhausted from the previous night’s lack of sleep, but I’ll happily suffer if being ravished by my sexy, grumpy crab fisherman is the reward.