But I need her taking care of the kids more than I need her in my bed.
But when I see her, sitting on the blanket, the hills and sea surrounding her, and her eyes light up as they meet mine, I can’t help the way my heart speeds up. My first impression of Sofie was that she was beautiful, and she is. The woman could be on the cover of magazines. But she’s so much more than that. She’s gentle and kind, and yet there’s a strength to her, one that won’t take any nonsense from the kids.
And I see the way they look at her. Astrid won’t leave her side, and even Finn and Lars have been tripping over themselves to make her happy.
She tilts her head back and laughs at something Lars says when I approach, those blue eyes sparkling with so much warmth. And I hate to think about her returning to America at the end of summer. But by then the kids will be starting school for the first time, and after going through the books, I know I won’t be able to keep her on just for the luxury of it.
“Hey,” she says, beaming up at me. “You made it.”
God, I love the way she looks at me. And I know I’d do just about anything she asks with one flash of that smile.
“The ocean suits you,” I say as I come up beside her.
“Does it?” She smiles broadly, her blue sweater brightening her eyes. “Norway reminds me of Seattle in some ways. Lots of green and water everywhere.”
“You should stick around, I can take you to the fjords.”
She hands me a sandwich and pulls open a bag of pretzels. “The kids sure love the beach too.” Lars, Finn, and Astrid are running up and down the sandy shore barefoot, with their corduroy pants cuffed and the salty sea curling over their toes. “They’ve found several crabs already and each one is like a new discovery.”
“They’ve seen hard times lately, but those three have had as idyllic as a childhood as you can get.”
“I noticed,” Sofie says as she takes a bite of her own sandwich. “I was intimidated at first, how self-reliant their mother - your sister was.”
“You seem pretty resourceful yourself,” I tell her. “I’ve been watching you the last week.”
She laughs, her hand resting on my arm. “You’ve been stalking me?”
I chuckle. “I wouldn’t call it stalking considering we live together.” That makes her smile and my heart warms with every second we spend together.
God, I want to kiss her again. Do so much more than that.
“You’ve done an amazing job coming here, and picking up where...” I swallow hard before saying my sister’s name. “Where Nora left off.”
Her hand still rests on my arm. “Thankfully Nora kept meticulous records of everything. It’s amazing, honestly. I found recipe books and notebooks on how she ran the household. Detailed descriptions of how much Borax she uses when she makes laundry detergent and how many quarts of applesauce to put away for the winter.”
I run a hand over my beard. “If only her husband had been so organized.”
“What do you mean?”
“I won’t bother you with it, Sofie. But if Daniel had been as meticulous as my sister, it would’ve sure saved me time that I don’t have.”
“You co-owned the fishing fleet, is that right?” she asks.
“Ja. I ran the crew, he managed the books.” I take a handful of pretzels, popping them in my mouth. “But he didn’t write half the accounts down, and he didn’t use a computer ... so I’m just trying to figure it all out now.”
Sofie sighs, her fingers squeezing my hand. “On top of taking on a family to raise.”
The kids run up to us, begging that we join them on the beach. “It’s not a chore,” I tell her, pulling her to stand so we can satisfy their pleas.
“I know,” she says, our fingers laced for a moment. “But still, it’s a lot.”
I wish I could stay like this all afternoon, her and me - no past, no future - just this. But I know now nothing is so sweet and simple as that. Eventually she will leave and I will stay. I’ve already seen enough heartache in losing my sister and Daniel to know I can’t bear the thought of losing anyone else. Sofie has lost someone she loved too. No need to make more of a single kiss we shared.
Even if that is exactly what I crave.
So instead, I drag her to the beach, refusing to let the heavy conversation darken the day. “Which is why we need to have fun while we can.”
Chapter Six
Sofie
A few days after we spend the afternoon at the beach, Erik comes home with a surprise.
“What is it?” I ask when he drops a large bag on the kitchen counter.
“Dinner!” His grin is huge, and I know by the squeals of delight from the kids that something good is in store for us.
“King crab,” he says, pulling open the bag and revealing four enormous crabs.
My eyes widen. “Did you catch these?”
He nods and asks Finn to get the crab pot out so we can steam them. I look Erik over, his masculinity overpowering the kitchen in a way that has my skin prickling. Everything about him is confident and self-assured. I wonder if I would have had more modeling opportunities if I’d been more sure of myself. Held my chin up, my shoulders back. Erik doesn’t apologize for the space he takes up. And not in a condescending way - in a way that makes it clear that he knows who he is.
When he looks over at me, I wonder if maybe he knows what he wants, too.
No. It’s stupid to think like this. To imagine more than another kiss. To imagine his big, strong hands wrapping around my waist and pulling me close. To the edge. Dragging me over it and under it and claiming my heart, mind, and soul.
“You okay?” he asks, coming up beside me. I inhale, not wanting to reveal my desires.
“I’m fine, but I’ve never boiled crab before. I’ve eaten it, but—”
He cuts me off. “We don’t boil. Just steam, eight minutes each, and dig in.”
I laugh. “You take your crab seriously here, I guess.”
Astrid smiles. “We only have it for special occasions.”
I lift my eyebrows. “What is the occasion today?”
Erik shrugs. “It doesn’t matter.”
“No, tell us,” I press. “What’s the celebration for?”
“It’s my birthday, that’s all.” Erik runs a hand over his beard as if not wanting the attention.
“Really? Why didn’t you tell me?” I look at the kids, and I can tell they didn’t know either. “We would have decorated and made a cake and—”
Erik waves me off. “Eh, I don’t need all that fuss. We have crab, that’s more than plenty.”
I bite my lip, wishing I’d known. Wishing I knew everything about him. “Well we’ll make the cake tomorrow - no arguing, and today we’ll feast,” I say brightly.
The kids nod, and I can see their excitement. They need this. Something to be happy about.
“But we need to work together,” I tell them. “Lars, I need you to clear the table. Astrid, set it, Finn, get everyone something to drink. And Erik,” I say, pointing at him, stepping closer. Wishing I could step even closer still. “You are in charge of the crab.”
He laughs. “The king crab,” he clarifies with a wide grin.
I nod, licking my lips. Suddenly starving. But not for the catch of the day - for this Norse king who has my heart fluttering in ways it never has before.
* * *
After dinner, we take a long walk along the property with the kids. As they run around with flashlights playing tag, Erik’s fingers brush against mine. Our pinkies link and I draw in a breath. Wanting this. Him.
“You should have told me it was your birthday,” I say. “After the year you’ve all had, you need any excuse to celebrate.”
“I’ve never been one to make things about me,” he says.
“No? What did you do last year for your birthday?”
“Let me think...um, I guess I went to the pub and drank several pints. Err...” He scratches his head as if trying to remember.
He pulls back and I stop, facing him. “Nei,” he says. “Not many women here, it’s a remote village. And I don’t get to Oslo much.”
“But when you do, all hell breaks loose?”
“You want to have this conversation, Sofie?”
“I don’t know what I want. I just...” I sigh. “I want to know more about you. Want to know everything.”
“Ja?” He scoffs. “Well, I’m one of those fools who is easily heartbroken. After enough times of falling for the wrong girl, I quit trying. So it’s been a bit since I’ve been...”
“With someone.”
“Ja.” Erik stops, the kids are lost in their game and I’m lost in him, in this moment. I feel the air between us sharpen, clarify, like I can see deep inside of him. See what he is holding back.
“I always fall for the wrong person too. I’ve never been in love with someone who loved me back and that used to be something I was ashamed of. That I was embarrassed about.”
Erik tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and I lift my eyes, meeting his. “And now?” he asks.
I exhale sharply. “Now I’m glad I’m a virgin. That I waited.”
He tilts his head, studying me. “What are you waiting for?”
I lick my lips and step closer to Erik. For so long I thought falling for someone was only about fireworks and passion, but Erik brings out something else in me. A softer, more hopeful version of myself. “I was waiting to feel like I do now.”
He clears his throat. “With me?”
I nod. “With you. Tonight.”
His body trembles and I know it’s not from nerves - it’s from want. He lifts my chin with the crook of his finger. “And you said you didn’t have a birthday gift for me.”
A smile breaks out across my face and I laugh, grateful for his humor in a moment that feels so defining.
When the laughter stops, I ask, in a whisper, “So what happens next?”
“I put the kids to bed with their books and we have dessert of our own.”
* * *
When Erik knocks on my bedroom door, the house is asleep. Lights are turned off and soft music plays in the background. The kids are in their bedrooms and I am here, waiting for him.
The day I arrived here and saw him, I was instantly attracted to him. But then the more I learned about him and the children, I pushed that heat aside and focused on my job.
Now though, Erik is in my bedroom. The bed with the handmade quilts and the pine-paneled walls. It’s cozy and rustic and as he closes the door and turns off the overhead light, it feels intimate.
“They went to sleep okay?” I ask.
He nods. “Are you tired, too?”
I shake my head. “No. I feel wide awake.” I step closer to him, the dim light from the bedside table casting shadows on the wall and I swear he can hear my heart beating wildly.
“You’re so beautiful,” he tells me, his hands on my waist.
I close my eyes. This is the compliment most men give me, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed in hearing it from him right now.
But then he opens his mouth again, his words against my ear, heat and strength and need all wrapped up into one voice. “But that isn’t what makes me so fucking hard for you, Sofie.”
“No?”
“No.” He kisses my earlobe, sending a thousand pinpricks of desire over me. “It’s your heart. Your tender heart, so utterly gentle and kind. Too fucking pure for the world, for anyone.”
Tears pool in my eyes and I try to blink them away, but I’m not fast enough. Erik sees. He sees me.
“I’m sorry—” I start. But he doesn’t let me finish.
“Do not apologize for your tears, Sofie.” He cups my face with both his hands. This strong fisherman who has weathered so many storms. “Your tears make you vulnerable. That’s a strength, not a weakness.”
“You’re not like other men,” I say as a single tear slides down my cheek.
“And you’re not like other women.”
“I’m nothing extraordinary, Erik. I think you might—”
“I think I might be falling for you.”
I open my mouth to speak, but there are no words. Falling for me ... for real? It’s always been a one way street for me regarding love, but here, in this corner of the world, I found someone who might just want me back.
Erik’s mouth is on mine before I can say another word. And really what would I say besides yes. Yes. Please.
Because this - his hands on my body, his breath, his warmth, his skin - this is what I really want. What I crave.
“God, I want you,” he groans as he pulls back from the kiss. My body is eager, and as I move against him, I see his cock is eager too. He lifts the hem of my sweater, pulling it up, over my head, and I fumble with the zipper on his jeans before he catches my mouth against his and kisses me. We roll onto the bed, stripping ourselves of our clothing as we move. The energy is happy and charged the newness of our bare bodies against one another.
I unclasp my bra and lick my lips as Erik runs his hands over my breasts, groaning as he leans down and kissing them, sucking my nipples, making my body squirm. I feel his cock and I want to reach out and touch him. This is all so new for me, but with him, I don’t feel nervous. It feels so right.
When I wrap my hand around his cock, I gasp at how velvety smooth he is. This is so much better than I imagined. I break into a smile and Erik pauses, asking what I’m laughing about.
“I’m not laughing ... I’m just ... so happy.”
“I make you happy?” he asks, his chest rock hard and rigid and taking my breath away.
I run my fingers over his muscles. “Yes, Erik. You make me very happy.”
“Good,” he says, easing my panties down. “Because there is more where that came from.”
Chapter Seven
Erik
I ease her knees apart and run my hand over her bare pussy. She is so wet and ready, and I haven’t so much as licked her sweetness. She is excited and I love that about her - her eager desire to feel good, to be touched, to be treasured. It makes me want to please her in a way no other man could. Completely. Utterly. I want to make her smile like this forever.
Still, there is a part of me that knows I’m getting ahead of myself. There are no guarantees in life. I know that better than most people. I am the provider for three children with zero experience. Life can change in the blink of an eye.
But it also makes me appreciate the moments that I do have.
Like right now.
With Sofie.
God, she makes me happy. Her smile could brighten any damn day, but as I run my tongue over her slick folds I realize it’s more than that - she is a light. Her soul a beacon of goodness. It makes me steady myself, slow down, to be sure her first time is what she hoped.
I lick her up and down, her creamy slit willing and ready, and her back arches, ever so slightly as I ease a finger into her wet hole. “Faen, you’re tight,” I groan as she whimpers. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You’re not ... it’s a good kind of pain.”
“Sure that’s a thing?” I ask, looking into her eyes.
She nods, hungry with want. “I’m sure.”
As I finger her, she strokes my cock. She wants this, and I want it too, so I add a second finger, easing her open. Then a third, making her creamy pussy drip as I move in and out of her, her juice pouring as I lean down to lick it all up. God, she tastes good. Here, her on her back, legs spread and pussy wet I could fucking explode. She must sense my need because she draws me to her, and I lean down, kissing her lips. Her juice on my tongue and her warm pussy ready to be filled by me.
My cock finds the warm place where it belongs and I move ever so slowly into her, cradling her as I enter the girl of my goddamn dreams. She squeezes her eyes shut, her full tits pressed against my chest as I open her up, wider, fitting
snugly inside her sweet little cunt.
God, I love this, being inside her tight hole, her body tucked so close against my own, like we fit. Perfectly. I don’t want to let her go. I move against her, her whimpering louder, turning to moans as I take her. As I make her shake with pleasure, the sweet roll of an orgasm washing over her as I move deeper inside of her until she is begging me to come.
“I want you to fill me up, Erik,” she pants. “Please. Give me everything you have.”
And I do, I come in her, hot spurts filling her willing pussy and I kiss her then, hard this time. So fucking hard I might pass out. Our mouths are one, our bodies joined - my heart hers.
God, I hope like hell she doesn’t break it.
* * *
In the morning, sunlight streams through the window, but the house is still quiet. I haven’t slept this hard in ages. We wore one another out and finally passed out naked and sweaty and utterly pleased with ourselves.
Sofie is still in bed, but her back is to me and I see she’s on her phone.
“Everything okay?” I ask. She rolls over and I cup her cheek.
God, she looks divine in the morning with tousled hair and bare shoulders. Her eyes though are someplace else.
“Just a voicemail I need to deal with. Even in Norway real life seems to be able to track me down.”
“Real life? What’s this then?” I ask. “Pretend?”
She places her phone on the bedside table and rolls over, closer to me. My hard cock unavoidable. There’s a smile on her face as she grinds against me.
“Not pretend. But being here is like an escape from reality.”
I frown. “This is my reality.”
“I know but...”
“But what?” An unsettled feeling moves through me. Our relationship hasn’t been about anything on the surface, it’s been about deeper feelings, stronger truths. But now I realize I don’t really know much of anything about her real life.
Unruly Norse: Love Without Limits Page 3