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“Christbaum,” I told him.

He contemplated me for a moment.

“What?”

“I don’t know… it’s hot when you speak German.”

“Don’t even think about it.” I snorted and unbuckled my seat belt. “German dirty talk makes my skin crawl. It’s not happening.”

We got out of the car, laughing our asses off. We got a saw from the guy at the entrance who recognised that Arne had grown up nearby, and then we looked for our Christbaum.

Snow crunched under our boots and dusted our heads. It was perfect.

“Princess?” My voice made him halt and turn around. His soft lips were cold under mine. Not for long, though. Arne opened, inviting my tongue into his mouth, our hot breaths mingling in the frosty air.

“This is the most romantic surprise I’ve ever had,” I told him, caressing his cheekbones with my thumbs. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, Raven.” He smiled and leaned in for another kiss. “I have another surprise for you, but only if you want.”

“What is it?”

“You seem excited, baby. Can I take it that the first surprise was a success?”

“It was.” I grinned widely.

“There’s an ice rink behind the barn. Want to go ice skating with me?”

“Oh my God, Viking! Rhetorical question.” I poked him in the ribs and sneaked my arm around his waist.

We borrowed skates and put them on in musty lockers between a bunch of families and older couples, then set out.

“I can’t remember the last time I skated just for fun,” I told him, skating backwards so I could keep looking at him.

A few kids gaped at me, and I shot them a wink.

“I mean, it’s always fun to skate but…”

“It’s our job. I get it.” Arne sped up, forcing me to transition forward. By the Night Goddess, watching this man move on the ice was so hot. He blocked my path, ever a defenceman. “But you’re right, this is fun.” His cheeky grin made my heart flutter.

I feigned left and overtook him again. I then found myself with my back pressed to the boards a moment later.

His bright white teeth dug into his bottom lip. The smile won. “That’s the best date I ever had, baby. Don’t turn into a raven now, okay?”

The laughter burst out of me, and I freed myself.

“Come on, catch me, Viking!”

I sped around the rink that was surprisingly large for one in the middle of nowhere in Denmark.

Some people whooped when they watched us play. Two or three had smartphones in their hands. Damn. Drawing attention to us hadn’t been my plan.

But all we had done was talk and chase each other.

An hour later, we had to leave to be on time for lunch with Arne’s parents.

“That was great, Raven. We should do that more often.”

“Oh, you can try to catch me every day at training.” I grinned and leaned across the middle console to steal a kiss before he started the car.