He opened the door off the landing. It most certainly wasn’t a closet. It was an enormous bedroom.
Like the living room above, the walls were white and bare, as was the duvet that covered the enormous bed, but the wooden floor, exposed beams and a rough, wooden dresser filled the room with warmth. As in the rooms upstairs, long windows lined the side that faced the lake, interrupted by French doors that opened onto a deck.
“Wow,” she whispered.
Niklas brushed her hair off her neck and kissed her below her ear.
“You like it?”
Caroline nodded. “A lot.”
Niklas slipped his arm around her waist and drew her in closer. Caroline felt the pull between them grow stronger.
“Last night in the hotel room, I couldn’t stop thinking about having you, right here with me,” he said.
His voice was rough, and her muscles tensed in anticipation. She knew where this was leading, and after the scene at the airport and their quiet ride to the house, she wanted it. She needed him to hold her and touch her, the connection of his body against hers. Caroline turned around to face him. She found the hem of his shirt and slipped her hands underneath, onto his hot skin.
“What were we doing here?” she asked. “Or do you want me to guess?”
He groaned and brought his hands to her shoulders, pressing on her arms and stroking up and down, as if trying to contain some of the energy building between them. But why contain it?
Caroline brought her hands around to his stomach and slipped them down under the waistband of his jeans. She wasn’t sure if it was the coffee taking effect or simply her reaction to Niklas, but all traces of her prior exhaustion had disappeared. Her body hummed with the awareness of his. She played with the buckle of his belt until it came loose.
“Fuck, Caroline,” he growled. “I want you all the time. You’re making me so hard.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. Caroline reached down and ran her hand over his stiff erection, and he let out a hiss. He tugged at her shirt, lifting it off, exposing the see-through lace of her white bra. He pushed the straps down, and his rough hands teased at her bare skin.
Caroline closed her eyes, lost in feel of the scrape of his fingertips against her nipples, but the pulse of his erection brought her back. Niklas was a physical man, and he brought out a physical side of her that she had just begun to explore.
She knelt down in front of him, her mouth close to the straining bulge in his jeans. She ran her hands up his thighs until she reached his hips. She moved her hands along the waist of his jeans until she came to his button. Her hands trembled as she looked up at Niklas, staring down at her with brimming hunger.
She swallowed. He fulfilled fantasies she didn’t even know she had, that she didn’t even want to admit to herself. Like this. This position, his hulking body, the way he looked down at her as if she were the only woman in the world he wanted. It turned her on. It shouldn’t, but it did.
He tangled his hands in her hair and let out a groan as she eased down his zipper and kissed what lay underneath the fabric of his boxers. Or perhaps lay wasn’t the right word.
“Jesus,” he groaned again as she eased down his jeans and briefs.
He tipped her head up again so he could meet her eyes. His voice was raw and strained.
“I’m gonna come as soon as I feel your lips on my cock.”
His words sent a rush of pleasure through her. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, and his broad chest rose and fell in a long, deep breath.
“I’ve got to sit down,” he said, easing his body onto the bed, his hands clenching his thighs.
Caroline met his eyes again.
“Was this part of your fantasies back in San Francisco?”
“Better. Much better.”
His muscles tensed as she cupped him in her hands. When she took him in her mouth, his hands clenched in her hair again and he let out a low growl.
“Fuck, Caroline,” he groaned, pulling her hair off her face so he could watch.
After that, it didn’t take long. His gasps and groans and sounds of unfiltered pleasure filled the room. He shook, and every muscle in his body flexed in his release. He bent over cradling her in his arms, chest heaving.
“Caroline,” he whispered, stroking her hair.
His breathing slowed, and he tugged on her hand.
“Lie down with me,” he said, pulling her back onto the bed with him. “Just for a few minutes.”
She lay across his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart as she gazed out at the quiet shore through the glass doors. From this position the lake looked as though it was their own. And if she opened the door, they’d might even be able to hear the water.
She got onto her knees and started to climb over Niklas’s impressive naked body.
He tipped his head up, brow furrowed.
“Where are you going?”
“Just opening the doors,” she said.
His eyes darkened, and he shook his head.
“We’re not anywhere near done,” he said. “And I don’t want the neighbors listening.”
She waved him off and continued climbing over him, but he caught her foot. She looked back and saw the spark in his eyes.
“And you have way too many clothes on,” he said, smiling.
“Niklas, let go,” she said, batting at his hand.
He didn’t let go, and his smile darkened.
“You’re not in a good position to negotiate.”
She squirmed again, but he grabbed her leg higher and held her down. Caroline’s eyes widened. What exactly did he have in mind? Her face flushed as she pictured the scene from just a few minutes before. Niklas raised an eyebrow, as if he could read her train of thoughts.
“Hmm… what do I want to make you do?” he growled, clearly enjoying this opportunity to exercise his physical power.
“‘Make me’?” she repeated, trying to cover her smile with a scowl with only partial success.
“Don’t worry. I have more in mind than just getting sucked off all day,” he said with a predator’s smile. “Maybe just one more time. Or two. Or—”
She knew this game well by now. If she had any hope of getting away, now was the time.
Before he finished his next taunt, Caroline kicked hard enough to take him by surprise. He let go and fell back, and she couldn’t contain her laughter. She scrambled for the edge of the bed, but her mistake was to look back with a smile of victory. Just as she reached for the floor, his large hand clamped down on her thigh and hauled her back up to him. She squirmed and struggled as he wrapped one thick arm around her, pulling both of her own arms down to her sides. He used the other arm for support as he climbed on top of her, straddling her. She gave one last twist and then submitted. She wasn’t going anywhere.
“Does that turn you on?” she panted, buried under his body.
He caught her earlobe and sucked. Then he kissed her neck.
“I think we already know the answer to that,” he whispered, chuckling again. “The question is whether it turned you on.”
Caroline wasn’t ready to admit that aloud.
When she didn’t reply, he added, “I guess I’ll have to find out for myself.”
His free hand found the button of her jeans and unzipped them. He reached down and stroked her.
“You do like that,” he groaned.
Her face burned hotter, but she couldn’t deny his conclusion.
Chapter 5
NIKLAS OPENED THE door from the house to the garage and squeezed her shoulder.
“Are you ready?”
Caroline smiled up at him. “I’m not sure ready is the word, but I’m definitely more relaxed now.”
Niklas chuckled.
“Me, too,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “Let’s hope it lasts.”
Niklas pressed the button to open the garage door, and light flooded in, bringing two ca
rs into view. Caroline’s gaze skimmed over a rather non-descript silver car and landed on the shiny black two seat convertible. Her eyes widened. That one looked like fun.
She smiled up at Niklas. “Have I entered the bat cave?”
Niklas snorted.
“Let’s take that one, top down,” she said, pointing.
She looked up at Niklas again, and he frowned.
“I think it’s a little flashy for meeting your parents, don’t you?”
Caroline sighed. He was right. Flashy wasn’t the right tone for her parents, especially when they still held out for dependable Brad.
He read the disappointment on her face and added, “We can take it out, just the two of us.”
She nodded and walked over to the boring silver car. She opened the passenger door, and her eyes widened. However unexceptional the outside of this car looked, the inside made up for it. The dark interior felt private as she ducked in, and she saw how soft the seats would be before she even sat down. The car felt sensual in a way that she didn’t know cars could.
“Like it?” he asked, slipping into the driver’s seat. “It actually costs more than the other one, but you’d never know from the outside. Which is why I bought it.”
She understood. As fun as the black two-seater looked, this was much more Niklas’s style. This was the guy who helped her find a quirky, homey hotel in Greece but quietly bumped her ticket to first class, “So we can sit together.”
The car provided some distraction as they glided through his neighborhood, but as they turned onto more familiar roads, a tense silence settled. Caroline’s attention drifted to the impending dinner with her parents. Except she couldn’t picture Niklas in the scene at all. Their relationship existed outside the world of her hometown, and the more familiar the roads became, the more Caroline wondered if this was a mistake.
At least Niklas had the sense to leave the convertible behind. Even the luxury of this understated car managed to make her feel out of place on her own territory. The rift between them grew in the silence.
One glance at Niklas suggested his thoughts were about the same. The muscles of his jaw tensed and worked, and there was no hint of his teasing smile for reassurance. Caroline closed her eyes.
“I should have told them about you first, before we came,” she blurted out. “I’m sorry.”
Niklas didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he unclenched one hand from the steering wheel and rested it on her thigh.
“It’ll be fine,” Niklas said, stroking her gently.
“This’ll be rough on my father,” she continued, speaking faster. “He’s not much for staying together before marriage—it’s the Catholic thing. He was really upset when I moved in with Brad, and at the time he thought we were getting married. He still thinks it might happen, in fact. He loves Brad. Staying with someone who I practically just met, who doesn’t even want to get married—”
“I didn’t say that,” he interrupted. “I said I never imagined getting married before.”
“Okay, whatever.”
Niklas glanced over at her. “Next time, maybe we should talk about this kind of thing a little further ahead?”
“Yep,” she mumbled.
“I thought you were the one with more relationship experience,” he said, his mouth hinting at a smile.
She rolled her eyes. “Clearly not the good, healthy kind.”
They pulled up to her parents’ house, and he turned off the car. Neither of them moved. She looked up at her old bedroom window, still decorated with the frilly white curtains she had chosen when she was ten years old. Shit. The two pieces of her life were about to collide. She had avoided imagining how her parents would react to Niklas, which suddenly seemed like the worst possible approach. Why didn’t she think this scenario through? She had left this part of her behind last summer, hadn’t she? She steered her own life now.
Caroline raced to cobble together some semblance of a plan.
Niklas continued stroking her thigh. “Are you okay?”
Caroline swallowed hard. “I want this to go well, but I didn’t tell you anything about my parents, what to ask about…”
His other hand caressed her cheek, and he leaned over and kissed her.
“I can handle this,” he said, kissing her again. “Believe it or not, I have some social skills, too. I’ve even made it through a whole meal without putting my foot in my mouth.”
She smiled. This was true. Over the past months, she had watched him handle ticket mix-ups, hotel double-bookings and a press conference back in Stockholm, all without outward signs of discomfort. He wore the same easy smile for her now, as if to tell her, Relax. I’ll take care of this.
Which is exactly the position she didn’t want to be in—having someone else handling things for her. But at this point, it was too late to care. Just get through this dinner.
“Aren’t you nervous?” she whispered.
He laughed and stroked her hair.
“I’m nervous as hell. But I work well under pressure.”
He waggled his eyebrows a couple times, coaxing a smile from her.
“Okay, champ,” she said, opening the car door. “Let’s do this.”
“You’re not going to let me open the door for you?”
She shook her head. “You’ll have to give me more warning before you start with the gentlemanly gestures.”
“You’re saying I’m not gentlemanly?”
Caroline snorted. “Don’t worry. You have other appealing attributes.”
He got out of the car in time to close her door and take her hand, and they walked together across the lawn. Caroline put her hand on the front door handle and took a deep breath. Niklas squeezed her hand, and she turned the knob.
“Mama? Papa?” she called as they stepped in.
Her mother came from the kitchen, dressed in an embroidered blouse, with her long hair pinned up into a loose bun.
“Caroline, I—”
Her mother stopped, mid-step, at the sight of Niklas. Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open a little.
“Sorry,” her mother said with a forced smile. She reached out her hand to Niklas. “I’m Julianna, Caroline’s mother.”
“Niklas,” he said, shaking her hand. “I hope this isn’t too much of a surprise.”
Her mother hesitated.
“It’s nice to meet you, Niklas,” she finally said.
Her mother’s eyes stayed on Niklas for another beat, as if trying to adjust to his presence. Then she turned to Caroline and squeezed her tightly.
“What’s going on, honey?” her mother whispered in her ear.
While Caroline tried to form an answer, she heard more footsteps.
“Mi amor…” came her father’s voice from down the hall.
But the sight of Niklas stopped him, too. Caroline frowned. She was almost certain they didn’t recognize him. American sports, especially those that required cold weather, weren’t even on her parents’ radar. She glanced over at Niklas, but if he noticed her father’s reaction, he didn’t show it.
Instead, he took a step forward and offered his hand to her father. Her father recovered more quickly than her mother had.
“Miguel Mendoza,” her father said, shaking Niklas’s hand. “Welcome.”
“Nice to meet you, sir. Niklas Almquist.”
Her father smiled.
“Just Miguel.”
Niklas played that one right. Maybe he could handle this. He was a big man, and he had probably learned from a young age how and when to show deference. Caroline let out a little sigh. Maybe, just maybe, they’d get through this dinner.
Her father turned his attention back to her. He walked up and caressed her face, then pull her into a hug.
“Mi amor,” he repeated before he let her go.
“Miguel, can you show Niklas around?” her mother said, leading them down the hallway. “Caroline, can you help me in the kitc
hen?”
“Sure,” she said, but she could hear the uncertainty in her own voice. Caroline wasn’t much help in the kitchen, and her mother knew that better than anyone.
Her father, never much for small talk, cut straight to the point with Niklas just as she and her mother turned into the kitchen.
“So, Niklas, what kind of work do you do?”
Already? She had hoped they would avoid this subject at least until the wine was served. But as much as Caroline wanted to stick around for the conversation, her mother guided her into the kitchen as her father led Niklas outside.
When their voices disappeared, her mother turned to her and caressed her cheek, just like her father had. And her mother didn’t waste any time either.
“Who is this?” her mother continued. “He’s quite a surprise.”
Caroline shook her head slowly. “Surprise is one way to describe him.”
“But you should have told me,” said her mother.
“I told you I was bringing someone.”
Her mother frowned. “Not this kind of someone. I was imagining you’d bring the person you’re staying with.”
Oh my. Caroline wasn’t going to answer that. She searched for a way to steer the conversation in another direction.
“Up until yesterday, I thought he was continuing on to Sweden right away,” she said carefully.
“And now?”
Caroline looked out the kitchen window for a glimpse of Niklas.
“I don’t know. He’s a hockey player, and he played for the Red Wings until recently. But he’s skating with them tomorrow to see how it goes.”
Her mother bit her lip. “Okay. But we have a more immediate problem.”
Caroline searched her brain for what this problem could be. What could explain her mother’s and her father’s expressions when Niklas stood in their hallway? She felt a frown tug at the corners of her mouth as the answer came to her.
“You invited Brad,” she said. Her own voice sounded dull and flat.
Her mother closed her eyes.
“We were hoping…” Her mother’s voice faded out for a moment. “He just wanted to stop by. He’s called a few times to find out when you were coming back.”
Stockholm Diaries, Caroline 2 Page 6