by Day Leclaire
In The Market
Book #1 in the Nordic Heroes series
by
Day Leclaire
USA Today Bestselling Author
Table of Contents
In The Market
Table of Contents
Dedication
Book Description
Dear Reader
Link to Books by Day Leclaire
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
A Wholesale Arrangement
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
About Day Leclaire
Subscribe to Day Leclaire’s Newsletter
Links to Books by Day Leclaire
The Dragon Brides
Copyright Page
Dedication
To my husband, Frank, without whom this story would be impossible.
and
To Keith L. Andre, who makes a great Viking role model.
and finally,
To my sister, Diane, for loaning me her Viking husband. Thanks!
Book Description
Meet Rainer and Thor Thorsen. Two of Seattle’s finest bachelors. They’re rich. They’re powerful. They’re gorgeous. They’re modern-day Vikings.
They know what they want. They take what they will.
And they live by a single motto:
There’s only one thing a Thorsen loves more than fighting . . . and that’s winning!
Whether it’s winning at business or at love, these Thorsens will fight for what they want.
In the Market: Rainer Thorsen is determined to own Cornucopia. Only one thing stands in his way: Jordan Roberts . She’s equally determined to keep her family’s business. But one look at Rainer’s ruthless, winner-take-all grin and she realizes she’s in for the battle of a lifetime. Should she try and charm the modern-day Viking? Or should she kick him and his lightning bolt earring out the door? Either way she’s in serious trouble because Rainer has made it clear that winner takes all. And he intends to have Cornucopia . . . and her!
A Wholesale Arrangement: Thor Thorsen is as tough as they come and business always comes first. That doesn’t change when his former fiancée, Andrea Constantine needs his help to save the company she inherited. Thor proposes a business arrangement to solve her dilemma — marriage. But Andrea can’t live without love. The only way she’ll agree to Thor’s proposition is if it’s a marriage of convenience . . . unless she can convince him to put love before business.
Dear Reader
It’s so much fun sharing these books with readers, mainly because my husband and I once ran a store very similar to Cornucopia, the setting for In the Market . We had many wonderful customers over the years of ownership, one with a grip of steel who loved to squeeze our precious tomatoes, just like Mrs. Swenson.
Some of the events in the books are true, some creations. I’ll let you decide which is which, but I will say we experienced more than one tomato battle in our store!
The other detail that is true-to-life is part of the ending in A Wholesale Arrangement . To this day, my husband adjusts the supposed vows of our wedding ceremony, adding whatever changes he decides will work to his advantage, whether it’s to obey, cook, clean, or whatever else occurs to him. One vow remains constant—the vow to love each other.
I hope you enjoy the Nordic Heroes!
Love, Day
Link to Books by Day Leclaire
Coming October 2015:
The Dragon Brides: Fire
Part One: Scorched
Part Two: Ablaze
Part Three: Seared
Part Four: Forged
Nordic Heroes Boxed Set
Two great books for one low price!
In the Market
A Wholesale Arrangement
The Wacky Women Series
Once Upon a Cowboy
Once Upon a Jinx
Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Ghost
Once Upon an Enchantment
The Sinful Secrets Series
Mail-Order Husband
The Wedding Night
The Secret Baby
The Secret Seduction
Mail-Order Wife
The Dante Legacy
Dante’s Blackmailed Bride
Dante’s Stolen Wife
Dante’s Wedding Deception
Dante’s Contract Marriage
Dante’s Ultimate Gamble
Dante’s Temporary Fiancée
Dante’s Marriage Pact
Dante’s Honor-Bound Husband
Becoming Dante
Dante’s Dilemma – a novella
Featuring Primo and Nonna
Forever Dante – Coming in 2016
The Salvatore Brothers
Who’s Holding the Baby?
Matteo’s Story – Coming in 2016
D’Angelo’s Story – Coming in 2016
Dante – Coming in 2016
Fontana – Coming in 2016
Brand – Coming in 2016
Chapter 1
R ainer Thorsen rubbed a hand across his squared jaw and shifted impatiently. He didn’t like this—this endless waiting. Nor did he like standing around, biding his time and accomplishing nothing.
Everyone else moved with purpose, and normally he did, too. But this wholesale produce market wasn’t his home turf. His retail operation utilized other wholesalers. As much as he wanted to grab a hand truck and help out the busy salesmen racing back and forth filling orders, he couldn’t. His presence here served a different objective altogether.
Even so, hanging around a loading dock in downtown Seattle, staring at a woman—no matter how attractive—had him as near to crazy as he cared to get. It simply wasn’t his style. Action. Now that appealed to him. That’s how he preferred handling problem situations. He’d always lived by a personal motto of “When in doubt, get out there and stir things up.”
Which meant it was time to start stirring.
He narrowed his eyes. Why couldn’t he go over to Ms. Jordan Roberts, look her straight in those lovely smoky eyes and say, “Lady, sell me your produce market”? He grinned. That would ruffle a feather or two. Or three. And anything that could ruffle her feathers interested him greatly.
He watched her examine a carton of cantaloupes, bending low to tug open the stapled lid. Firm muscles played beneath her fitted jeans, drawing his gaze to her rounded backside. His grin widened. Nice. Very nice. She lifted one of the large textured melons to her face. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, a tiny smile playing about her lips. The woman understood produce, he conceded. The reverence with which she handled the fruit told h
im that much.
Rainer spoke to the salesman beside him. “She seems to know her way around all right, but she’s too young for this business, Marco, too sweet. It makes me suspicious. There’s got to be something else lurking behind that angel face. Something with more of a bite to it.”
“She’s got a bite, all right,” the shorter man confirmed. “It’s just that—”
“I knew it! Soft as peach fuzz on the surface, but underneath she’s—”
“A nice kid.”
Rainer chuckled, his gaze once again on Jordan’s trim figure. “Right. A nice kid who bites.”
“That’s not what I meant. She is a nice kid, always has been,” Marco insisted obstinately. “Ten years she’s bought from us. First with that crazy uncle of hers, now alone. She’s always seemed bright and cheerful and—”
“She’s worked in the business that long?” Rainer tilted his head to one side, his scrutiny of the dark-haired woman sharper than before. She’d moved farther down the dock, stooping to examine a box of Jonathan apples. She didn’t look a day over twenty-two—twenty-three at the most. He’d have to readjust his thinking a bit.
“You gonna take her down?” Marco asked anxiously. “I’d think snapping up a woman’s livelihood would go against the grain.”
Rainer frowned, not appreciating the reminder. That eventuality disturbed him, as well. But this was family business and nothing stood in the way of that—not even a pretty brunette with a figure that turned every head on the docks.
He decided to answer Marco honestly. “It would bother me more if she owned the store. But she doesn’t. Her uncle owns it. She runs it. If I can win her over to my side, the store will be as good as mine.” He paused to consider. “I bet I’d be doing her a favor by taking it off their hands. She can’t have much of a life, tied to such a time-consuming business.”
Marco looked surprised. “I never thought of it that way. Seems a shame. She’s always appeared to be such a happy, contented—”
“Biter?” Rainer’s admiring gaze drifted back to Jordan.
The salesman scowled. “It’s only when she’s pushed that you see her scrappy side.”
He suppressed a smile at the combative tone in Marco’s voice, intrigued by his spirited defense of the woman. “So much the better,” he said gently. “I prefer a fair fight.”
Marco groaned. “This is not good. No, sir, it ain’t. You don’t understand, Rainer. The lady has this little bitty stubborn streak. You swiped her bananas and that’s bound to make her a tad testy.”
Rainer raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t swipe them. You sold them to me.”
“Not on purpose, I didn’t.” The older man’s face drooped into deep weather-beaten creases. “I didn’t hear they were sold till after I’d promised ’em to you. She’ll want ’em back. If she kicks up a fuss and Nick Constantine hears of it, the boss will have to side with her, no question. After all, those bananas did belong to Ms. Roberts first.”
Rainer shrugged. “True. Not that it matters. I’ll still have accomplished what I set out to do, regardless of the outcome.”
“Which is?”
“To see what she’s made of. You think she’ll fight me for those bananas, don’t you?”
“Don’t have to think. I know. She’ll fight.”
Rainer laughed, clapping a hand on Marco’s shoulder. “I’m going to enjoy this. There’s nothing a Thorsen relishes more than a friendly tussle with a strong determined opponent.” He paused, his grin wicked. “Nothing, that is, except winning.”
Marco shifted uneasily. “Listen, I’ve been thinking. Your father and me, we go way back. Working for Alaric like I used to, I’d do anything for him. Anything. But maybe you could figure out some other way to test Ms. Roberts. She’s a nice girl, Rainer. Why would you want to start trouble with her?”
“Because I live for trouble,” he said, tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Marco gave an emphatic shake of his head. “Not with her, you don’t.”
Rainer lifted an eyebrow. “Are we talking deceptive packaging here—as in volcanic possibilities?”
The salesman stirred uncomfortably. “Like I said, only when pushed. Then she’s Mount St. Helens in action. I’ve seen them both go off.” He shuddered. “Don’t want to see either do it again.”
Rainer studied the woman with renewed interest. “Must have been a beautiful sight.”
“Beautiful from a nice safe distance,” Marco corrected him. “Not so beautiful when you’re standing in the path of the explosion.”
“That doesn’t sound like you.” Rainer frowned. “Where’s that famous spirit of adventure I’ve heard so much about?”
“With my fiftieth birthday, that’s where. Both of which are a good ten years past.” Marco shoved his pencil behind one ear and tucked his order pad into his pocket. “In all the years she’s come here to buy produce, she’s always kept herself to herself. So why do you have to pick on her? Why can’t you go after someone else—someplace else?”
Rainer continued to study Jordan. She stood by a carton of grapes, sampling them before giving a nod of approval. He liked the look of her, the suppleness of her movements. Trim, sleek, and graceful—what wasn’t to admire? Under normal circumstances, he’d be tempted to warm himself in the fire Marco mentioned. But business came first, pleasure . . . dead second.
“If there was any other way, believe me, I’d take it. Unfortunately that miniature volcano stands between me and something I want. Something I want very much. And once I get her figured out, I’m going to ease her to one side and take it.”
“Yeah?” Marco chuckled. “You’d have better luck easing aside a pallet full of spuds without a forklift. But it might be interesting to see you try.”
“Then stand back and get an eyeful.” Rainer rubbed his hands briskly. “Just make sure Ms. Roberts knows who has her bananas. I’ll be curious to see how she reacts.”
“I already told you how she’ll react.” Marco made the sound of a bomb exploding. “Thar she blows!”
H e was staring at her again, Jordan could feel it. The prickles of reaction started, creating an uncomfortable itch square between her shoulder blades. All morning long he’d watched her and all morning long she’d pretended not to notice.
Until now.
Now she planned to do something about him. She slid her hand truck beneath the heavy cardboard boxes of apples on the dock. Angling the stack backward, her arms took the weight of the unwieldy load with ease. She gave the cart an experienced shove and pushed the load over the metal ramp and onto her twelve-foot flatbed, depositing the apples close to the truck’s bright green cab.
Her watcher had the advantage of knowing her identity, or at least where she worked. Both her truck doors read Cornucopia Produce Market, the words emblazoned in letters as rosy as the apples she’d just purchased. Now, if she could only figure out his identity. So far she’d been unable to catch a glimpse of him. One way or another, she’d change that.
She swiveled and tossed her long dark braid over her shoulder. Leaning her arms across the handles of the upright cart, she casually scanned the groups of men standing on the cluttered loading dock.
Squinting against the early July sunshine, her gaze instantly zeroed in on him. “Lord help me!” she muttered beneath her breath. If he’d carried a giant hammer in one hand and had lightning bolts flashing from his eyes, she couldn’t have been more surprised—or dismayed. A Viking! The man staring with such unswerving intensity was a living, breathing Viking. She froze, unable to look away.
He looked around thirty, tall and broad-shouldered, with an impressive physique. The sun glinted in the bright white-blond of his hair, which he wore short, no doubt to control the thick, stubborn wave. He stood unmoving, openly studying her, his legs spread wide and his arms folded across his large chest. His immobility didn’t fool her. At any moment she expected him to let out
a thunderous war cry and come charging her way.
Jordan shivered. She didn’t like the sensations he stirred in her. She felt as if someone had hit an internal panic button, and it took every ounce of her self-control to keep the rush of apprehension from showing.
How could she have overlooked this man for most of the morning? It unnerved her to think she’d been so aware of him, while he’d proved so elusive to spot. More importantly, why had he singled her out? What did he want?
She forced herself to look away, debating how to handle the situation—if there really was anything to handle. Perhaps she should discover his identity before she took action. With a decisive shove, she pushed the cart off the truck and toward the salesman writing up her order.
“Who’s the Viking, Terry?” she asked quietly.
The salesman didn’t even bother looking up. “What Viking?”
She frowned. “The big blond guy. The one who looks like he just stepped out of some Norse legend.”
“Oh, yeah. Right. That guy.” Terry cleared his throat. “Been wondering the same thing myself. I think he’s some high roller Marco brought by to meet the boss.”
“Well, your high roller’s been staring at me.”
The salesman chuckled, relaxing. “Him and everyone else on the docks. Face it. You’re surrounded by a hoard of lusting animals—also known as men. So what’s one more? You should be used to the looks by now.”
Jordan rested a foot on a cumbersome carton of lettuce and bit her lip thoughtfully. “It’s not that kind of staring. He wants something.”
“Tell him to get in line. He’s got a long wait.” Terry paused in his scribbling and yanked a list from his back pocket, running a gloved finger down it. He stabbed his pencil toward the flats of mushrooms she’d selected. “Those kabobs have gone up another buck, Roberts. Forgot to mention it.”