Page 12

“I was surprised how cheap it all was,” Kjartan told me with a shy grin as he loaded the heavy furniture on the truck bed as if it weighed nothing.

Had he left his nerves in Nøkken? Would we just go back to dancing around each other, not daring to even touch?

I got my answer once we’d put all the little packets into the back seat, taken back the cart, and climbed into the cab. A heavy hand settled on my thigh as he steered the truck back towards the motorway leading back to Kincardie.

Every time he had to let go of me to change gears, his hand settled a little higher and gripped a bit tighter until he had me fidgeting in my seat, hoping and praying I wouldn’t come from his hand on my clothed thigh like a freaking fifteen-year-old.

“Do you want me to take my hand away?” he asked me in a deep, growly rumble.

“Fuck, no,” I huffed. I covered his fingers with mine and slid them up a few inches.

“Beryl.” He made a sound like a wounded deer, massaging my thigh, his pinky finger brushing over my crotch.

That we arrived at his place a moment later almost made me cry.

That’s just cruel!

“I’ll carry this upstairs… Would you help me unbox everything or do you need to leave soon?”

I checked my watch, doing a double-take when I saw how late it was. We’d spent almost three hours in Nøkken.

“I’d love to help! That’s half the fun. There should be trains until ten or so. If it’s okay with you, I’ll stay a bit longer.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Have you decided on where you want the bed to go?” I asked him once we’d taken everything up to his flat on the first floor.

“Not yet, no.” Kjartan planted his feet wide and surveyed the room, gaze flitting from wall to wall, corner to corner. “I’ll have to take it back. I don’t think it’ll fit.”

Oh Gods, Bee, don’t fucking say it.

“Oh, I’m one hundred percent sure it will fit, gorgeous.”

Damn it.

Chapter 10

Kjartan

“Are we still talking about the bed?” I asked Beryl, one eyebrow raised.

“Sorry.” He blushed quite beautifully. “It was a stupid joke, I—”

“No,” I interrupted him gently. “Not stupid. Funny. But also…what do you suggest?” Waving my hand around the room. I truly hoped he had a plan.

“It’s another beans on toast moment, isn’t it?”

“Beans on… Oh, the chef not cooking for himself, you mean?”

“Yep, you probably spend all your…wood sense at work and have nothing left for your own place.”

“Wood sense?” I couldn’t suppress a snort. I knew what he meant. Duncan had explained sheep sense to me when I’d been baffled by his dog’s ability to predict the sheep’s movements before they happened.

“Probably in more than one sense of the word.” He smirked, flashing his even, white teeth at me.

Do I have it, though?

I hadn’t been with anyone in years, for goodness’ sake. And even before I left Tír Suaite dating opportunities had been pretty scarce in my circles. Except for the occasional ‘thank Thor we’re still alive’ fucks, we’d kept our minds on the task at hand.