“It’s a beautiful night,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way to enjoy it.”
She still wasn’t used to the feeling of the water on her bare skin. He lifted her and dragged his tip over her. The feeling of him and the water moving around her made her moan. She closed her eyes, taking in the new sensations. His hands moved to her hips, and he positioned her over him, giving her body a chance to adjust to his size.
“Open your eyes, Caroline,” he said.
She did.
His eyes were half-closed, his lids heavy with desire. As she met his gaze, he pulled her down his long, hot length. The contrast was overwhelming, the water swirling as he filled her. Their sighs echoed across the quiet water as he pushed deeper and deeper.
His breath was rough and harsh as he held her against him, as they adjusted to the newness of each other in the water. Then he began to move her. Their bodies slid against each other, smooth, mingling with the rush of water between them. Niklas was an athlete, all energy and hard muscle and unending endurance, but he felt different tonight. They felt different. The water slowed them down, replacing the friction and the weight of Niklas’s body with a sultry, luxurious flood of slow-burning heat.
“Jag älskar dig.”
I love you. This was the only sentence she knew in Swedish, and he whispered it, again and again until she cried out into the still night. Niklas’s fingers clenched around her hips, and his large body shook as he came. He bit down on her shoulder to muffle his ragged growl, driving himself still deeper inside her. She clung to him as her body shuddered again.
She kissed his parted lips and then tipped her head, easing herself back. The cool water hit the heat of her cheeks, and she let her limp body float.
“You look like a mermaid. A very erotic one.” Niklas’s voice came to her, muffled through the water.
She smiled and spread her arms out.
“I’m all yours,” she said.
She felt his laugh against her. He released her hips, his spent body leaving hers empty. He turned and dove under the water, surfacing a little further out. She looked up into the night sky, tracing clusters of stars all the way to the moon.
Niklas swam back over, and his hand found hers. He eased back into the water next to her. She breathed in deeply, Niklas’s warm hand in hers. Together. She lay still until the water cooled her body enough to make her shiver. She stood up and gently tugged his arm.
“Let’s go in,” she said.
“Never,” he whispered, his eyes closed.
“I’m getting cold.”
“Is that a hint?” he said, not opening his eyes. “I can warm you again.”
He grinned. Only his chiseled profile and the rounded muscles of his shoulders floated above the surface. Caroline rolled her eyes. She brought a hand to the surface and splashed him… a little more than she had meant to.
Niklas sat up, coughing.
“Sorry,” she giggled. “That was supposed to be a small splash.”
Niklas’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ll give you a five-second head start, and then I’m coming for a little payback.”
Caroline took off in a flurry of strokes that couldn’t have been quiet. Gone was her hesitancy to go skinny dipping and her worries about being discovered. Instead, all she could think about was just how seriously Niklas took every single game he played. This would be no different.
She moved her arms faster until they hit the sandy bottom. She looked up—the shore was within reach. And Niklas’s splashes were right behind her. She gathered her feet underneath her and started to stand, but a large arm grabbed her waist from behind. He pinned both arms to her sides and pulled her back against him. Her naked body pressed against his.
“You’re faster than I thought you’d be,” he growled in her ear.
She was panting hard, and she moved against him, struggling to break free. The water let her slip in his arms, and he shifted to hold her tighter. She felt him growing hard behind her, impossibly soon.
“Does chasing me get you hot?” Her voice still sounded breathless, and it only seemed to turn him on further.
“Fuck, yes, it does,” he groaned in her ear. “You know I can’t resist a challenge. And with you, naked?”
His voice faded out as he nipped her shoulder.
“Niklas, if your neighbors see us now, what will they think?”
Niklas’s deep laugh shook against her. “The way we were making noise back there? If any neighbors are watching, I think they know exactly what’s going on.”
Caroline cringed.
“I hope I never meet them,” she said.
“Don’t worry.” His voice softened. “Any guy who sees you would understand why I’d try to coax you into swimming naked with me.”
He loosened his arms and turned her around to face him, his touch gentling.
“And any woman who saw us?” she said, not meeting his eyes.
She knew how people thought around here. Women weren’t supposed to want the kinds of things she wanted with Niklas. Somehow she had gotten this message clearly, although growing up she had rarely spoken directly about sex with anyone.
Niklas kissed her forehead, wet from the swim. He stroked her hair and took a long, slow breath.
“Frankly, Caroline, I don’t care what any other woman thinks.”
He slid his hands down her arms and laced his fingers with hers. Silently, they walked up onto the beach. He grabbed her dress from the blanket and handed it to her. He pulled on his boxer briefs, clearly still aroused, and stepped into his jeans. They were both still dripping wet, but she had a feeling the clothes wouldn’t stay on for long.
She was right. Niklas led her straight to the French doors of his bedroom. He peeled off his clothes first, then hers. He lay down on top of her in the enormous bed and rested his weight on his elbows, his biceps flexed and close enough to taste. He told her all the things he loved about her, how lucky he was, how beautiful and sexy he found her. He entered her slowly, drawing out both their pleasure in the quiet, moonlit room.
They stayed awake talking late into the night. Just as she had settled into the comfort of his arms, his large body against her back in the dark room, he whispered in her ear.
“We can’t care about what other people think or say, Caroline. We have to let that go.”
“I know, Niklas,” she said. “I’m trying.”
“I feel so good when I’m with you,” he said, kissing her neck. “Things are going to change a lot in the next week. We need to remember how this feels, right now.”
Caroline nodded. “I want everything to stay just like this. Maybe we should have kept traveling and never come back.”
Chapter 9
CAROLINE WOKE UP the next morning to an empty bed and the smell of food. Was that bacon? She closed her eyes again to take in the warmth of the covers one last time before she got up. If only they could stay inside today, away from the rest of the world.
She heard Niklas’s footsteps on the stairs, and the bedroom door creaked open. Caroline kept her eyes closed and tried to repress her smile. She felt him move closer. The bed sank under his weight, and she could feel him crawl over the bed until his body eased down on hers.
His unshaven jaw scraped her neck.
“I know you’re awake,” he whispered.
His stubble traveled lower, tickling her shoulder. She laughed and opened her eyes. Niklas hovered over her, shirtless, his muscles flexing as he moved. Usually, when they were in this position, she was… well, too distracted to take in how each thick muscle strained and flexed. He was unbearably sexy like this. She wanted to take her time with him, to feel his smooth skin, to bite—
“Time to get up,” he said in her ear.
She raised an eyebrow.
“Are you sure?” she asked. Her voice came out low and breathy, and she felt Niklas tighten against her. He sat up on the bed and nodded.
“I made breakfast for us,” he said. “I have a meeting in an hour.”
Caroline sat up and let the covers drop, leaving her top half naked.
He swore under his breath. “I know what you’re doing.”
She laughed and scooted off the bed. “I’m just giving you something to think about today.”
She glanced over her shoulder as she headed for his dresser.
He shook his head. “This isn’t the kind of thinking I’m supposed to be doing today.”
She felt his eyes on her as she bent down over his drawer. His breath hitched a little as she pulled out an old Red Wings t-shirt. She smiled and turned around before letting the shirt fall over her body.
“Ready,” she said, looking up at him.
His lips were parted, and he reached down to adjust himself. Her smile widened, and she turned for the door.
“Come on,” she called, her voice still husky from sleep. “I’m hungry.”
She heard a mumble of foreign words as she walked up the stairs. It only took a moment for him to catch up with her.
“Don’t you know by now that I can’t resist when you tease me?” he growled.
“Then don’t lie on top of me without a shirt if you’re not prepared for me to react,” she said.
He was right behind her, and he caught her around the waist with one hand and moved her hair off her neck with the other. His teeth scraped over her shoulder.
“Later,” he whispered, laughing.
She sat down at the table, and Niklas pulled the plates out of the oven: bacon, eggs and toast. He set down a cup of coffee next to her bowl of melon.
“A girl could get used to this kind of treatment,” she said.
He smiled.“I think I’ve exhausted my repertoire.” He sat down across from her and took a bite of his eggs. “We need to talk this morning.”
Caroline’s body stiffened. Good news rarely followed We need to talk. Niklas must have seen the shift because he leaned across the table and caressed her cheek.
“No surprises, älskling,” he whispered. “Just about the next couple days.”
Her shoulders inched down, and she tried to smile.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “It’s just… I woke up thinking about what you said last night. I’m trying to concentrate on now, but it’s a lot harder than it sounds. I think I need to take up meditation or whatever people use to deal with this kind of stuff.”
Niklas laughed. “I’m just happy to hear you woke up thinking of me. You can give me the details later.”
Caroline smiled for real and took a sip of the warm, strong coffee.
“What’s your plan for today?” she asked.
“Work out, another scrimmage. And a meeting with my agent.”
She raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if he’d offer more information. Niklas took a deep breath and put down his fork.
“He wants to talk about how I should position myself, whether I should reach out to other teams. That kind of thing,” he said. He massaged his temples with one hand.
“We made the newspaper,” he frowned. “They only caught a little of you. But there will be more of that coming if we stay here in Detroit.”
“But not other places?”
Niklas looked out the window. “There’s a lot less of that kind of curiosity in Sweden. Girlfriends and families can stay out of the media.”
He let the words settle between them, along with those he didn’t speak: If they moved to Sweden…
“I should know in a couple days whether or not I’ll get a contract offer,” he said, looking up at her. “Then we need to decide what we want to do.”
We. This was coming from a man who didn’t see himself getting married, but he wanted to plan his career with her?
“Unless you have other ideas?” he asked.
Caroline managed a little smile.“Travel photography for a year?”
Niklas took a moment to respond. She hadn’t been completely serious when she threw out the idea. It sounded tempting, but people didn’t really do that kind of thing, did they? Besides, at this point, traveling sounded a little too much like running away from hard decisions.
He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair, looking out the window. He still hadn’t put on a shirt, and Caroline couldn’t help but wonder if this was a calculated decision. Was he leveraging his physical appeal in this conversation? If so, it worked. She watched the muscles of his arms flex in a display of strength and masculinity. She bit her lower lip.
His eyes met hers, and his voice was soft when he spoke.
“It’s one answer,” he said slowly. He paused, his gaze still fixed on her. “But if we do that, I will probably never play hockey again. I’m too close to the end of my career to take a year off.”
The kitchen was silent as his last words echoed in her mind. Could she ask him to do that? Caroline shook her head.
“No, Niklas. At the end of that trip, we’d be right back where we are now. But with fewer options.”
The wariness in his expression eased, suggesting that he agreed. “Where are you in the job search?”
“I contacted the guy about the New Hampshire lead I got from Jess,” she said. “Hopefully he’ll get back to me today.”
Whatever he thought of that, he didn’t show it.
“I’ll set you up in the office,” he said.
She didn’t particularly want to discuss the other item on her to-do list for the day. She was tempted not to bring it up, but she had tried to dodge difficult discussions enough this summer to know avoidance would be a mistake.
“There’s something else,” she said.
“What is it?” he asked, brow furrowed.
“I need to meet up with Brad. Soon. To get my jewelry and to make sure the end is clear.”
Niklas’s expression didn’t change. Every second that he sat still, silently watching her, her heart beat faster. Back in Stockholm, when Ludvig had put himself between them, Niklas had backed away, though it clearly wasn’t because Ludvig didn’t bother him. Instead, Caroline had the sense that he didn’t want to go anywhere near where a confrontation might lead. He knew his own weak points and stayed away from anyone who might get to them.
Her heart beat faster. Did meeting with Brad push his buttons?
Finally, he crossed his arms and nodded.
“Did you already make plans?” he asked quietly.
She heard the unspoken words behind his question: Did you make plans with Brad without telling me? Not an accusation, but there was a hint of hurt in his voice.
Caroline shook her head. She found his legs under the table and tangled them with hers.
“No, Niklas. I haven’t spoken to him at all since we saw him at my parents.”
His jaw unclenched a little. “Okay. Which car do you want?”
She blinked. “Is that it? No argument?”
Niklas’s eyes lit up with amusement. “I thought you said you didn’t like conflict?”
“I don’t, but if you were meeting up with your ex-girlfriend who…”
Caroline’s voice trailed off. Niklas finished her sentence for her.
“… who had just brought me flowers to lure me back to her house and get me naked?”
“The kind of flowers he should know I don’t like,” she muttered.
The corners of his mouth quirked up. “Are you asking if I’m the jealous type? If I’m going to carry you over my shoulder to the bedroom and strip you down and make you scream until you promise not to go?”
“Not exactly. I don’t know what I’m asking.”
“I can do the whole bedroom thing if you’d prefer.”
She shook her head. Niklas’s voice was serious when he spoke again.
“What do you want to know?”
She frowned a little. “I guess I want to know what you think about it.”
Niklas took a long breath, and his smile faded. “Caroli
ne, the last thing I want you to feel like is some sort of kept woman, where you need to ask my permission to meet up with your ex-boyfriend or anyone else.”
“But I don’t want to hurt you,” she said. “With something like this, I’m not sure you’d tell me if I do.”
Niklas chuckled. “Maybe you’re right.”
He stroked her hand with his thumb as she waited for him to speak again.
“The truth is I don’t love the fact that you’re meeting up with someone you’ve been intimate with. Someone you lived with for years. Someone who could fit neatly between travel jobs, who’ll just wait for you until you get home. Someone who I’m not.”
Deep furrows creased his brow, and Caroline had the urge to walk around the table and sit on his lap and stroke them until they disappeared.
“So if that’s jealousy, then yes, I’m jealous,” he continued. “But I saw the way he tried to get under my skin the other day, going straight for what he thought would hurt the most. At some point, he’ll probably do the same to you. Which tells me I shouldn’t be anywhere near him.”
Niklas’s words confirmed her suspicion: He knew his own flashpoints and deliberately avoided them off the ice, but that wasn’t the same as making them go away. Caroline wondered the same thing that had probably crossed Niklas’s mind hundreds of times: What would he do when he no longer had hockey as an outlet?
She couldn’t resist the temptation any longer. She stood up and came to him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m not going to let him get to me,” she said, though even she could hear her own hurt leak through these words.
He pulled her tighter into him.
“He’ll go straight for your defenses, Caroline. With me, he just guessed, but he knows you better.”
“Well, maybe I’ll have to punch him out on your behalf,” she said.
Niklas chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind seeing that.”
One of Niklas’s hands rested on the nape of her neck, gently massaging. Though she and Brad had been together for years, never once had Brad held her this intimately. She let her body relax into Niklas’s arms as they comforted each other before facing the rest of the day.
Stockholm Diaries, Caroline 2 Page 11