Page 80

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He sounded drowsy now.
His chin settled on top of her head again, and in his arms, she was content.
For a long while, she listened to his heart beating steadily beneath her ear and breathed in his familiar scent, finding comfort in the protective, solid masculine strength and heat that was Adam Larssen.
She didn’t know how long she stayed that way, but gradually, she sensed a change in the rhythm of his breathing. Bit by bit, his hold on her began to loosen, his arms finally sliding, coming to rest on either side of his chair.
Eve waited a little longer while he slept, her throat tightening, eyes stinging a little from the poignancy of it all. She knew she was falling for this man as surely as the sun rose every morning over the rugged mountains of Las Vegas. She’d fought a valiant battle to resist it, but here she was.
As carefully as she could to avoid jostling him, Eve rose to her feet. She started to retrieve her purse but stopped and stood there a moment longer, looking down at this man, the fierce Norse warrior who, for the moment, looked so uncharacteristically vulnerable.
In sleep, he looked much younger than his years. Her gaze skated over his stubbled jaw, the shadows underneath his eyes, and his bright blond hair, now mussed from her fingers running through it.
Her chest and throat tightened so much, she ached with it.
She hated to leave him, but he needed rest. She spotted a black blanket on the opposite arm of his sofa. Tiptoeing to it, she scooped it up, then quietly returned, unfolding it to drape over him.
That was when she saw the wordFinnmarkembroidered on thecloth. Above it was a large golden castle.
Her heart swelled. A beautiful Nordic prince. She wanted very badly to touch him again, but Adam slept so soundly, and she didn’t want to wake him.
She picked up her clutch. “Shine bright tomorrow,” she whispered.
As quietly as she could, Eve exited Adam’s penthouse but not before she took one last, long look at him over her shoulder.
Chapter 12
Adam
How could he make it up to her?
Adam finished pulling on his swim shorts, then got a beach towel from the stash hidden in the ottoman at the foot of his bed.
He’d awakened with a start in the middle of the night, plagued by the same old nightmare.
He was in the 2024 on final approach, but the plane wouldn’t respond, no matter what he tried. Everything was happening fast, and he finally managed to regain control when suddenly, the nose pitched violently to the left.
That’s when he always woke up, and it was no different this time, except for where he found himself: sitting in his leather chair, covered by the old Finnmark blanket he’d bought on the family trip to see the northern lights.
At first, he was confused, but slowly, it all came back: Eve, storming in like an avenging angel, shoving past the guard to call Adam to the carpet.
She’d found him drunk.
He shook his head, disgusted with himself. He’d stood her up, and she kissed him so sweetly anyway, even covered him when he fell asleep in the middle of it.
To think, he could have taken her to dinner, then brought her here, to bed, instead of ingesting more alcohol than he normally drank in a month.
This morning, his skull was paying the price. He’d made a smoothie and taken three Advil. Now, it was time to detox. He threw on a T-shirt, picked up his key card and towel, and strode toward the elevator.
The scent of chlorine hit his nostrils as soon as the doors opened to the roof. His skin responded instantly to the sixty-five-degreetemperature. Hardly anyone used the pool this time of year, though it was heated to a tolerable seventy-seven degrees.
Invigorated, Adam peeled off his shirt and threw it on one of the lawn chairs arranged alongside the Olympic-sized lap pool.
He stretched, then rolled his shoulders.
His eyes detected movement, and his gaze went to the glass structure that half-encircled the starburst-shaped skylight on the other side of the roof. Employees bustled inside, cleaning up after the huge function held there last night.
Perfect.