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“I thought Norwegians would be prudish. Instead, you guys have eighty acres with hundreds of sculptures of naked people.
“You guys? I’m American!”
“You know what I mean.”
He chuckled.“Scandinavians aren’t uptight about the human body.” He let his fingers roam over the backs of her bare thighs.“You should have worn the pajamas, but I’m not complaining.”
She muffled her laugh against his chest.“You would do things to me in your grandmother’s house?”
“I would do things to you anywhere.”
Caressing her hip, he slid his hand up to cup her backside, stroking over her lacy panties, squeezing. She arched her back and gave his Adam’s apple a swipe of her warm tongue, her front grinding against his thigh, and he felt his body instantly respond.
He didn’t remember a time when she didn’t arouse him, and nowhe knew for sure that it would forever be this way.
Forever was something he considered often these days when he thought of her.
Her fingertips stopped tracing, halting above his boxers. He wished she’d take him in her hand, but she didn’t. He frowned. She seemed a little stiff.
Maybe she was still cold.
“Let me warm you,” he murmured, low, in her ear. She always responded to that lower tone when he used it with her. Except that, now, she didn’t.
“Adam.”
He brought his hand around, a finger stroking over the edge of her panties.“Hm?”
He slipped under the lace, found her warmth, and started pushing in.
Only to have her hand grab his, gripping hard, halting his progress.
“Adam,” she repeated.
For some reason, his heart began to hammer, and not at all because of lust. It pounded in his chest so hard, he could feel it in his throat and hear the whooshing echo in his ears.
He swallowed.“What?”
“Your grandmother said something to me this evening.”
When he did not respond, she drew away from him and reached to switch on the nightstand lamp.
A sense of déjà vu made his stomach roll. This scenario seemed too similar to the sickening night in Orlando when she told him that three rapists had stolen her virginity.
This time, albeit not as bright, the light was no less harsh.
He pulled his hand away and gazed into her pretty face. Her brown eyes were wide, focusing on him with an intensity he almost couldn’t handle.
“What did she say?”
“She told me that the Larssen tradition was to marry and have children very early.”
Jesus Christ.
His jaw flexed.“That is true.”
“She also said the most important thing in a relationship—no, in a marriage—was having the strength to ride the storms. Any idea why she’d say those things to me?”
The pieces of his life began to scramble in his brain. He raked his fingers through his hair, pressing his forehead with the heel of his hand, seeking clarity.