Page 44 of Midnight Sun
Bending low over Glói’s neck, Jamie spurs the gelding to go faster. Wind ruffles his hair as they follow the course of the river at breakneck speed. Jamie’s blood is rushing in his ears; Finn is right behind them.
“Slow down, Jamie. This is dangerous!”
Jamie doesn’t listen. He doesn’t want to examine his motives for running from Finn too closely. Yes, he can always claim that he’s trying to make a point, that he wants Finn to leave him alone. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. A part of him isthrilledto be hunted. He wants to push Finn until he makes him obey, and isn’t that twisted?
The gravel path narrows even further, and the steep hillsides right and left are closing in on him. Suddenly, the path ends in a narrow valley basin. Glói stops abruptly, almost throwing Jamie out of the saddle. Turning around, heart beating frantically, Jamie sees Finn stopping his ugly chestnut, effectively blocking the way out. Jamie should end this twisted game. He should throw a snide remark at Finn and be done with this. Instead, he reaches for the sword.
“Leave me alone,” Jamie hisses.
“You don’t know the way back. And you destroyed your phone,” Finn deadpans.
“That’s none of your business!”
Finn snorts. “You’re very much my business, Jamie Arden. Now, are you coming with me or are you going to attack me with that?” Finn nods toward the drawn blade.
Jamie twirls the sword just to spite Finn. He’s very much aware that Finn hasn’t allowed him to spar with it yet.
“You coming or what?” Finn asks again, anger now evident in his voice.
“Make me.”
Finn is on him in a flash. He doesn’t bother to draw his blade, but steers his horse as if he had accidentally ridden past Jamie, only to grab him with an arm around the neck and pull him out of the saddle.
Jamie yelps and flounders, dropping his sword to claw at Finn’s arm with both hands. If he were really trying to fight Finn off, he wouldn’t have dropped his weapon, but he doesn’t want to take any chances and accidentally hurt Finn or the horse. Deep down, Jamie must confess that he wants to lose this particular fight, and he fears Finn knows it, too. Jamie has to stumble along, his feet barely touching the ground as Finn steers his horse a few steps further.
“Will you come quietly now, or must I drag you back to the lodge?”
Jamie has no answer for that. He’s frustrated and humiliated, but he wants to keep playing this game. He wishes Finn would stop asking questions and just do with him as he sees fit, so Jamie could complain later. But no such luck. Finn waits patiently for an answer, keeping him on the tips of his toes. Jamie starts to struggle again.
“Fuck you! Stop telling me what to do.”
Finn growls. He rummages one-handedly in a saddlebag and procures a rope, probably spare reins or a leading rope. He snatches Jamie’s wrists and ties them with practiced movements. They both know that Jamie could pull away if he had really wanted to. But Jamie’s light-headed with arousal, and the last thing he wants is for Finn to stop. Finn slips out of the saddle as soon as he’s done, and steps into Jamie’s space, a questioning look in his eyes.
“Is this what you want?”
Jamie drops his gaze and feels his cheeks warm. The tunic probably hides most of his growing arousal, but Finn seems to know, anyway. But no way is Jamie going to swallow his pride and admit that he’s been fantasizing about a scene like this. Finn tilts Jamie’s head up and forces him to meet his gaze. A small noise escapes Jamie’s lips, something that could be a sigh but is more likely a moan.
“Do you want to be captured and dragged to my home? Do you want me to treat you like your little knight from the movie?”
Jamie’s lashes flutter, and he feels himself dropping into a state of surrender, but he knows that a shaky nod won’t suffice to convince Finn to go through with this. Jamie forces himself to open his eyes and meet Finn’s gaze.
“Yes,” Jamie breathes. “Please.”
“Do you remember your safe word?”
“Cherries.”
“Good.”
Finn leans forward to press a fleeting kiss to Jamie’s lips. When he pulls back, he rises to his full height, his features turning stern and his eyes stony. Jamie has to swallow against the lump forming in his throat. He may be biased, but Jamie doesn’t get why Hrafna doesn’t just fire Edmonton and let Finn take over his role. Sure, he isn’t an actor, but he pulls off the role of the stoic Viking effortlessly, while Jamie struggles not to laugh at Edmonton’s attempts at acting all the time.
“Move,” Finn says, pulling on the rope. Jamie is too surprised to disobey. What is Finn doing? Jamie expected Finn to help him back into the saddle, but Finn just mounts and turns his horse. When he moves to grab Glói by the reins, Jamie has no choice but to follow him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Finn ignores him, slipping a halter over Glói’s head and attaching a leading rope. Then he guides the horses back to the path they came from, leaving Jamie to stumble after him if he doesn’t want to be literally dragged behind.
Jamie follows obediently for some distance. He has to walk at a brisk pace to keep up with the horses and he’s starting to sweat. But the longer they go, the more unsure he is that Finn is really planning to stop. Jamie’s anger spikes again the more uncomfortable the walk becomes. He’s thirsty and tired and he just wants to lie down and forget about this whole cursed day. As his frustration becomes unbearable, Jamie stops. He leans his entire weight against the rope to rip it out of Finn’s hands, but the infuriating man must’ve kept closer attention on Jamie than he realized. Finn gives the rope a rough yank that makes Jamie stumble forward a few steps but doesn’t cost him his balance completely.