by Amy Ruttan
She looked really well.
And then an image from his dream came rushing to the forefront of his mind. Of her in his arms, her luscious red lips against his and his hands in her silken blonde hair.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, trying to dispel the erotic dream from his mind.
“Okay. Slight headache, but I’m not dizzy. I’m wondering if I should go back to work today.”
“Don’t push it. My father said you were to take two days off.”
She crossed her arms. “I have a lot of work to do. I’m behind on preparing my lectures. I have charts from last week and operating reports to finish and file.”
“Well, you can catch up on a bit of paperwork but you don’t want to push yourself too hard.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Well, I don’t want to hold you back. If you have work at the hospital, go, I’ll be fine.”
“My orders were clear,” he said.
“And you don’t challenge your father?’
No. I don’t.
Only he didn’t say that. He kept his mouth shut.
“I’m to make sure you don’t have a setback on the road to recovery,” he said.
“So, paperwork day, then?” she asked. “That sounds good.”
He could hear the displeasure in her voice, because he felt the same way about doing some of the niggly administrative stuff that he’d let build up. He preferred to be on the front lines patching people up. Saving lives.
And though he should let her just relax and do paperwork, he didn’t want to do that either and he couldn’t help when the next words came out of his mouth, “Eira had an interesting idea.”
“Oh?” she asked, perking up.
“She knows my father all too well and that this is probably your only chance to have a couple of days off to play tourist.”
“Are you offering to take me around and act as tour guide?” she asked, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. One that made his pulse kick up a notch.
“If you’d like,” he said off handedly.
“Okay, that sounds good. If you don’t think that we’ll get in trouble from your father.”
“No, he won’t know. He never leaves the hospital if he can help it.”
The last time his father had taken time off was the day of his brother’s funeral. Not that there had been a body to bury. Calder had been lost at sea.
He shook the image of the stone monument on the cliff outside town. The one that was the memorial for everyone who had died in that accident. Lost forever beneath the icy cold waves. All except him.
“You need to eat something first and then we can go.” Axel spooned out some porridge for her and slid the bowl toward her. “Here.”
“What is it?”
“Hafragrautur...or oatmeal, if you prefer.” He slid some brown sugar over to her. “You can ease into it with this.”
“It’s thick!” she said, eyeing the bowl.
“It keeps the cold away.”
“For a moment I thought you were serving me a bowl of grits.”
“Grits? That sounds terrible. It sounds like dirt. What are grits?”
Betty chuckled as she spooned some brown sugar onto her porridge. “Instead of oats it’s coarsely ground corn. It can be savory or sweet.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“I haven’t had grits in a long time,” she said wistfully.
“You don’t have grits in New York?”
“Not proper ones. It’s a southern dish. I haven’t had it since my grandmother died. She lived in southern Tennessee. Chattanooga.”
“I don’t know where that is,” he said, chuckling.
“Well, I’m not too familiar with Iceland either. Other than the fact that you have volcanoes and black sand beaches.”
“The beaches will be cold, and you can’t get the sutures wet so the blue lagoon is out.” He tapped his chin. “I think we’ll just stick close and wander around Reykjavik if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all. It sounds great. Just promise me one thing,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“Don’t carry me around today. I don’t want to experience Reykjavik hanging over your shoulder with my main view of the city being your butt.” Her cheeks went red and she covered her mouth. Axel couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean...”
“It’s okay, Betty. It’s okay and, no, I promise you I won’t be carrying you around the city today. Eat your breakfast and we’ll head out.”
Axel left the kitchen, chuckling.
Today was going to be interesting.
* * *
Even though it had been bitter cold the last couple of days and there had been a snowstorm the night before, the temperatures were slightly milder as they walked toward the old town. Axel’s home wasn’t far from Hallgrímskirkja Church.
It was nice to get some exercise and some fresh air, but she still felt like a fool for the slip of the tongue. And it had to do with all those dreams she’d been having about Axel.
She could’ve sworn she had a dream that he came into her room last night and kissed her. The dream had been so real too. It was as if she could still feel his lips burned against hers, still feel his hands on her body. The dream had been so real.
She’d never had a dream like that before.
It was unnerving.
And then she had to go and talk about staring at his backside.
At least he thought it was funny.
Or it had appeared he thought it was funny at first. He’d certainly laughed enough and that was the first time she’d really seen him laugh. She’d liked it, but now as they were walking side by side he wasn’t saying anything.
It was so tense. The only reason she knew he was still walking beside her was the fact she could see his breath every once and a while out of her peripheral vision.
“So what’s at Hallgrímskirkja?” she asked.
“It’s an impressive cathedral. We might be able to climb to the top today, if it’s open, but if not we can check out Leif Erikson’s statue.”
“Leif Erikson. I should probably know who he is.”
Axel shot her a surprised look. “Everyone knows who Leif Erikson is. He was the first explorer to discover North America. He was son of Erik the Red. He was said to have founded L’Anse aux Meadows in Canada. And his father founded the first settlement in Greenland.”
“So he’s an important figure.”
“He is.” Axel nodded.
“And here I thought Christopher Columbus was the first to discover North America.”
“No, Leif beat him.” Axel grinned and winked at her and she felt completely at ease with him again.
“And after we pay homage to Leif?”
“Lunch in Old Town. Perhaps we’ll have some of that beer I mentioned before.”
“The Gold Viking?”
He chuckled softly. “Sure.”
“I don’t know. I’m sure your beer is stronger than beer in the States. I know Canadian beer is stronger than the US. And I’m not a beer drinker.”
“We’ll find you something.”
“Well, you’re the tour guide and I’m just the tourist.”
“Exactly.” Axel nodded.
“And you said this was Eira’s idea?”
“It was.”
“Remind me to thank her later.”
Axel chuckled again. “She said I was wound too tight.”
“She knows you well,” Betty said offhandedly.
“What?” he asked, shocked.
“You didn’t smile the first time I met you. You just complained about my footwear and then hoisted me over your shoulder and into your SUV.”
And her blood heated a
s she recalled that first meeting. Watching that tall, broody Viking come marching across Keflavik airport as if he was on a mission. The way his hand had felt on her backside.
She usually didn’t like alpha males. Thomas had taken charge in some aspects, but she couldn’t picture Thomas parting a crowd and then literally sweeping her off her feet. No one had ever swept her off her feet as Axel had.
Of course, she’d never really been towered over by a man before. She was five feet nine. Axel was six feet two. Easily. She let her gaze wander over his body, just for a moment, until she could feel herself blushing again.
Get a grip.
It had to be the painkillers that were causing her to act like some kind of crazed woman. She had swooned over Thomas too, and look where that had gotten her.
A broken heart, shattered self-esteem and enough hurt to have her fleeing across the ocean to Iceland.
“There, you can see it now,” Axel said, pointing.
As they started to climb a hill she got her first close-up look of Hallgrímskirkja, rising up into the sky.
“Whoa!”
There were tall churches in New York City like St. Patrick’s, but those cathedrals were dwarfed by the rest of New York City’s impressive skyline. Hallgrímskirkja sat out in the open, at the top of the hill overlooking the city.
It really was a sight to behold.
“It’s great, isn’t it?” Axel asked. “I do love coming here. It’s so strong. It just weathers everything and it stands so proudly.”
“It really is impressive. I heard about it and caught glimpses of it, but it’s really something to see standing up close.”
“Let’s go see if we can climb to the top.” Axel took her hand and led her toward the church. It shocked her at first to feel her hand in his strong one, but she didn’t mind.
“Do you really think climbing is smart for me?”
“Well, it’s not a real climb. There’s a lift and then a few steps to the viewing platform.”
The tower and church were open. Axel paid the admission fee in the church shop, while Betty peeked inside the main cathedral of Hallgrímskirkja.
There was a large pipe organ. Probably the biggest she’d ever seen. Everything about the cathedral was awe-inspiring.
“Ready?” Axel asked.
“I’m ready. Though I will tell you now I’m afraid of heights, so if I freak out and don’t get off the elevator you know why.”
“You’re afraid of heights?”
“Terrified. I’ve never been up the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. I like to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.”
“I’ll keep you safe.” He took her hand again. “Come on.”
There weren’t very many tourists at Hallgrímskirkja, so they rode the elevator up to the top in privacy. The doors opened and her body tensed as she saw just how high they were above Reykjavik.
Her heart was going a mile a minute as her anxiety kicked in.
You’re going to fall.
“Everything about you is so clenched,” Axel teased. “It’s okay.”
“Is it?” Her eyes tracked a bird that flew by.
“It is.” He held out his hand. “Come, I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
She took a step forward. She was worried a gust of wind off the ocean would lift her up and toss her off Hallgrímskirkja, but surprisingly there was no wind in the sheltered top of the cathedral. It wasn’t open to the air, there were windows and with that realization her body eased a bit.
“Come on.” Axel led her to one of the windows and her body was shaking but he stood behind her, his arms around her, steadying her. His arms around her made her feel safe, but also extremely nervous. The last time a man had made her feel like this, well, she didn’t want to think about it.
“What do you think of the view?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t looked yet,” she said nervously, trying not to think about how his arms around her made her feel.
“Well, look,” he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was multicolored houses stretching out toward the sea.
“Wow, you can see all of the city from here.”
“Yes. We’re facing west, toward Greenland and North America.”
“Too bad we can’t see them from here.”
“That would be impressive, but Greenland is about three hours by plane from here.”
“Have you ever been there? Seeing how Leif Erikson’s father was Erik the Red and he discovered Greenland?”
“And you said you didn’t know anything about Leif Erikson.”
“Well, not really,” she teased. “I heard it from someone once.”
Axel chuckled, “Well, to answer your question I have been to Greenland.”
“What was it like?” she asked.
“Not green,” he said dryly.
She laughed.
“You’re not shaking any more,” he whispered against her ear, which sent a zing of electricity down her spine.
“What’re you talking about?”
“When I first put my arms around you, you were shaking like a leaf.”
Warmth crept up into her cheeks. She didn’t know how to respond to that. So she shrugged out of his arms and stepped away from the window toward the lift.
She had to put some distance between them if she wanted to keep their relationship professional and friendly.
“I’m hungry. Do you want to get some lunch? I’m feeling a bit dizzy.”
“Sure. We can go get some lunch,” Axel said.
Betty nodded. That tension that was there between them before was back and it was her fault it was back, but it was for the best.
She wasn’t here for a relationship. She was here to work. To find herself and regain her confidence.
CHAPTER NINE
HE’D PUSHED TOO HARD.
And he knew better than that. He should’ve just kept his distance from her, but he couldn’t help himself. When he was around her, everything else just melted away. He quickly forgot who he was now.
It just felt right.
You can’t let it feel that way.
And he had to keep reminding himself to keep his distance. Betty was only here for a short time and by the way she moved away from him and changed the subject, by the way she couldn’t even look him in the eye, he could tell that she had no interest in him.
She was playing it smart.
They were colleagues. They were friends and nothing more. The only way it could be.
And he had to remember that.
Axel owed it to his brother to devote his life to Eira, to be there for her always. It was Calder who had thrown him out of the helicopter, saving Axel from the brunt of the blast.
Don’t think about it.
And putting Eira first made dating nearly impossible. His last serious girlfriend had wanted nothing to do with the responsibility of caring for a child. She’d left him and it had made him realize he was better off going it alone.
He glanced over at Betty, who was staring up at the ceiling of the lift. She wasn’t making eye contact with him and he hated himself for stepping out of bounds with her. It was just, she was so beautiful. So kind, so funny.
Betty was clumsy and quirky.
It was a change.
The lift stopped and the doors slid open. Axel held the door back to allow Betty to get off and then he slipped out, letting other people get on.
Now there was a small crowd going up to the observation tower of the cathedral. He was glad they had gone up when they had and had the viewing tower all to themselves for that one stolen moment, allowing Axel to forget about who he had become.
He wasn’t in the tactical navy any longer. He wasn’t out on the water o
r in the sky, things that he used to love more than anything.
He was caged.
Under his father’s thumb, but that was fitting punishment for surviving when Calder hadn’t.
“You okay?” Betty asked as they walked out of the cathedral, meandering back toward the statue of Leif Eriksson.
“Fine.”
But he wasn’t fine.
He was just good at hiding it. “Where do you want to eat?” he asked, changing the subject.
She shrugged, her hands in her pockets. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin. You’re the tour guide for the day.”
He smiled gently. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
Betty nodded. “I’ll leave the choice up to you, then.”
“Old town it is.”
As they were heading down the hill there was a commotion behind him and then a scream, which sent a chill down his spine.
They both spun around and he saw a man collapsed on the ground at the crest of the hill, near the statue where he and Betty had been moments before. Axel went running and he could hear Betty behind him.
He was down on his knees beside the man who was convulsing on the ground.
“What happened?” he asked the woman who had cried out.
“I don’t know. One minute we were talking about going up the tower of the cathedral, the next thing he told me the heartburn he’d been having was really bothering him and suddenly he was on the ground. Are you a doctor?”
“I am,” Axel said. “Have you called the paramedics?”
“Yes,” the woman said.
Betty was kneeling beside him, holding the man as Axel pulled off his jacket and placed it over him.
Axel checked the man’s pupils and airway, making a precursory evaluation. All the while in his head he was going through the symptoms, trying to figure out what could be the cause.
“What did she say? I couldn’t understand what she was saying,” Betty whispered.
“He was having bad heartburn.”
The wail of a siren grew louder as the ambulance came up the hill and parked on the green, bringing a stretcher.
“Dr. Sturlusson.” The young paramedic who had dealt with Betty the night of the accident was there. “What do we have?”
“The patient collapsed after complaining of significant heartburn. He has a laceration from where his head hit the cement. His pulse rate is sixty and his pupils are equal and reactive.”
