by Kate Kinsley
I could fly her up to Virginia for long weekends, though, and my parents lived in Boca Raton now, which was only about half an hour from Fort Lauderdale, depending on where in the city she lived. So I could kill two birds with one stone whenever I flew down. My duty schedule at the moment was nine to five-ish, leaving me plenty of time to enjoy life. Get to know Vivian. Maybe work on something a little more permanent than my usual hookups.
Taco came when I called him and I scratched his head effusively, letting him know I was proud of him, and I clipped the leash back on. We headed back inside and up the stairs to Vivian’s room, and she was just coming out of the bathroom when we walked in. I turned in her direction, smiling, about to tell her what a good boy Taco had been when I saw her face.
“Jesus fucking Christ!” I hissed out a breath. “Did I do that?” I approached her quickly, lifting her chin to get a look at the bruise on the side of her eye.
She didn’t say anything, stepping back a little. “Well, kind of, but—”
“Fuck!” I threw the leash down impatiently, glad I’d already unhooked Taco. “I’m so sorry, Viv! Jesus, that’s never happened! Did I hit you?” I stared at her in shock, guilt and shame racing through me.
“No, it wasn’t like that.” She gripped my arm. “Gunnar, you were asleep! Completely unaware of what you were doing. And it wasn’t like you hit me. You were flailing, both arms going, and one of them caught me. I stayed clear after that and then you woke up. Really, it’s tiny, and I’ll cover it with makeup and—”
“Tiny doesn’t matter. I fucking hit you!” I was horrified, sinking on the bed and hanging my head. “Jesus, I have to talk to Lennox and—”
“Wait a fucking minute,” she said sharply, folding her arms over her chest and tapping her foot. “This is my life, not hers. You had a nightmare. It was an accident. There was no hitting involved. This is no different than the two of us bending down at the same time and head-butting each other. You weren’t awake, Gunnar. Please don’t do this to yourself.” She dropped to her knees in front of me, forcing herself between my legs so she could press against me. “Gunnar. Look at me.”
I felt like an ass, but I looked down into her pretty face, waiting to hear what she would say. Trying not to stare at the faint cut and pale purple bruise surrounding it.
“I’m fine,” she said softly. She took my hand and used one of my fingers to run along the bruise. “It doesn’t even hurt. There’s no swelling. You cut me a little and it’s discolored, but no pain, no big deal. You were having a nightmare. It’s not the same thing. And trust me—I would know.”
I was momentarily distracted by that last comment and drew my brows together. “What do you mean, you would know?”
“I was on the receiving end of a fist. Once. So you need to understand that I am not that type of woman. I dropped his ass so fast he felt a breeze as I sped out the door. So I know the difference. And this wasn’t the same thing.”
There was a long silence as we looked at each other. “I’ll kill him if I ever find out who hit you,” I said.
She smiled. “And I’ll give you his address if it makes you feel better, but this is different. Please, Gunnar, don’t freak out about this.”
“But what if I do it again?” I said under my breath.
“You won’t. And if you have another nightmare, now I know to get out of the way.”
“But—”
“Go take a shower.” She got to her feet and tugged at my hands. “Now. Or we’re going to be late.”
I felt like the worst possible human being, but she was leaning up for a kiss and I couldn’t help but give her one. Longer and deeper than was warranted when we were on a schedule, but I did it anyway, hoping to show her how sorry I was.
Chapter Seven
Vivian
I put on two layers of makeup, using a ton of concealer and the heavy cake-like foundation I didn’t usually like. It covered everything pretty well, though, and if anyone saw anything, I’d already decided to blame it on tripping over Taco in the middle of the night. Gunnar had been really quiet while we’d gotten ready and I wished there was something I could say or do to make him feel better.
“You ready?” I asked him as I dabbed some gloss on my lips.
“Yup.” He patted Taco. “Be a good boy while we’re gone and I’ll take you out for another run after brunch, okay?”
Woof!
They really had a bond and while it made me smile, it also hurt a little. I’d worked so hard to bond with Taco and though he was a great dog, I sensed he needed a man to take care of him. I could handle him, but the way he’d instantly been drawn to Gunnar was somewhat telling. They were already best friends, a place I was still struggling to get to with him, and Taco seemed to hang on his every word.
With the TV on and water in his bowl, we took a gamble and left him alone. I left him alone while I was at school all day, so this shouldn’t be a problem, but you never knew with Taco.
Gunnar was being a little distant and I slid my hand into his. “What do you want to do after brunch?” I asked him. “Lennox said there would be horse-drawn carriage rides for everyone, a dozen or so at a time, and there was a tour guide taking groups on walking tours in downtown Hiskale. Any of that sound good?”
He looked down at me. “You really want to spend time with me after what happened?”
I sighed. “Gunnar, you were dreaming. Please don’t make it a thing.”
“I hit you. Even if it was unintentional—”
“Vivian!” My mother’s voice rang out and I nearly groaned, but I tightened my grip on Gunnar’s hand.
“I swear to god,” I muttered under my breath, “if you throw me under the bus with my mother, I will hunt you down and hurt you.”
He chuckled. “Not going anywhere.”
We turned and waved at my mother and Brad.
“Who’s this?” Mom asked with a curious smile.
“Mom, Brad, this is Gunnar. Gunnar, my parents, Michelle and Brad Altman.”
He shook hands with Brad and smiled politely at my mother.
“What happened with Taco last night?” Mom asked.
I gave her an abbreviated version and we moved into the dining room together.
“Lennox asked that we sit together at brunch since she and Sandor are leaving this afternoon,” she told me.
“Okay. I hope there’s room for Gunnar.” I didn’t give her a chance to say anything, letting go of Gunnar’s hand and detouring in Lennox’s direction.
“Good morning,” I told her.
“Morning.” She smiled. I’d never seen my strong, athletic, badass sister look as relaxed as she did right now. I really loved my new brother-in-law for being responsible for this look, for how happy she was.
“Did we make a baby yet?” I teased, since she and Sandor were planning to try to get pregnant as soon as possible.
“I have no idea,” she responded. “But we sure as hell had fun trying.”
“Is it okay if Gunnar sits at the family table at brunch?” I asked her. “I only have him for one more day—he’s leaving tomorrow.”
“Of course. No problem. It’s Sandor and me, Mom and Brad, Harlow, Daniil, Elen and Xander, and you and Gunnar. That makes a perfect ten, since the tables are all set for ten.”
“Thanks.” I went back to Gunnar, who was chatting with Brad about something, and Mom took my arm.
“Is this serious?” she asked me under her breath.
“It’s been less than twenty-four hours,” I responded with a shake of my head. “He’s really great, and I like him a lot, but he lives in Virginia, so I don’t know how it would work, if we can even try to make it work.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
I hoped she was right.
After brunch, we said our goodbyes to Lennox and Sandor, since they’d be gone on their honeymoon by the time we got back from our carriage ride, and stopped briefly to take Taco out. Then we headed out with the first gr
oup. I’d never been in a horse-drawn carriage and I sat close to Gunnar as we headed out of the palace grounds and onto the street towards downtown.
Gunnar had his arm around me and I rested a hand on his thigh. He’d been so subdued today, I wished there was something I could say to make him feel better, but he was struggling with what had happened last night, no matter how many times I told him it was okay.
“I probably should have asked you this before we had sex,” he said, “but how old are you?”
“I turned twenty-two last month. You?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“How long have you been in the military?”
“Ten years. I joined right out of high school and was lucky enough to get a degree too. It took longer than usual because I was deployed in the middle, but I finished after I got back.”
“Is that what you have nightmares about?” I asked softly. “From when you were deployed?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw as he stared straight ahead, but he nodded. “Yeah. I was supposed to be in Iraq for two years. I’d been there about a year when there was an attack on our convoy going through the mountains. Everyone else was killed and I was taken prisoner.”
“Oh, baby.” I slid closer to him, resting my head on the side of his arm. “Did they hurt you?”
He nodded. “Luckily, another unit rescued me after two days, but I was in pretty bad shape. It took me six months to heal physically and a lot longer mentally. I thought I’d moved past it, but last night…”
“I’m sorry if I did something that may have triggered you,” I whispered.
“What?” He looked down at me in surprise. “Babe, you have nothing to be sorry for. This was me, my demons. It had nothing to do with you.”
“When was the last time you had a nightmare?”
He hesitated. “Over a year, but there’s no way this was about you.”
I didn’t say anything because I couldn’t help but wonder about that. Why had it happened after a night with me? It felt like we needed to talk about it, though.
“I really like you,” I said slowly. “I hope what happened last night doesn’t make you not want to see me again.”
“I like you too, and while it makes me nervous that I might hurt you, I definitely want to stay in touch, see what there is to see.”
“If I’m not worried, you shouldn’t be either.”
He squeezed my hand. “I’m always going to worry about hurting someone, especially someone I’m sleeping with.”
“Let’s not dwell on that, okay? Let’s just talk and get to know each other. Ask me stuff.”
“Okay.” He smiled thoughtfully. “Are you close to your stepdad?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he’s awesome. My mom’s been married four times and this guy is so different from the others, I can’t even explain it. Lennox’s dad left when she was little. Harlow’s and my dad is a shithead too—we haven’t spoken to him in years. There was a guy between Lennox’s dad and ours, but I don’t know much about him. Mom finally took a break after she and our dad divorced, and didn’t get married again for like fifteen years, but Brad is incredible.”
“It sounds like it. I don’t think he and your mom were married last time I saw Lennox before this.”
“They’ve only been married a few months, together two years.”
“My parents are still together but they fight all the time. It seems like a really stressful way to live.”
I thought about that for a minute. “Honestly, I want someone kind of like Brad. I mean, obviously younger and stuff, but someone kind. Someone who likes to have fun with me but I can count on when it’s important. Brad has a lot of money, and while that’s a nice bonus, I just want a guy who works. More than anything, I want a guy whose biggest goal is to make me happy.”
“I think that’s the right thing to aim for in a relationship.”
We smiled at each other and those same sparks of electricity that I’d been noticing from the first time I’d seen him, passed between us. Was it really only twenty-four hours since we’d met?
“Do you want to go sightseeing after this?” he asked. “Or would you rather just hang out at the palace?”
“Is that code for sex?” I asked with a chuckle. “Because good sex always wins over sightseeing.”
“Was the sex good?” he teased, his knuckles skimming one of my breasts. I wasn’t wearing a bra and my nipple instantly hardened.
“I think you know the answer to that.”
He leaned over to kiss me, his mouth taking mine with what could only be described as tender possessiveness. That magnetic pull between us, the invisible force that had been driving whatever this was between us since we first laid eyes on each other by the champagne fountain, was back. It had disappeared this morning after he saw my eye, but now it was in full effect, bringing us right back to where we started.
“Can we find someone to watch Taco?” he whispered. “Because I need to hear you screaming my name.”
“Yes.” I licked my lips. “Absolutely. Yes.”
Chapter Eight
Gunnar
We finished our carriage ride and then I took Taco outside to run for a few minutes while Vivian found someone to watch him. She was planning to lie and say he’d been alone too long and that she was going sightseeing in Hiskale, but really, we were going to my room to get naked. Hopefully for the rest of the night. I only had about sixteen more hours with her and I wanted to spend most of that time inside of her. I didn’t know what was going to happen once I left in the morning, but I’d enjoy every second we had together.
“We have to go get Taco,” Vivian whispered several hours later after we’d ravished each other repeatedly.
“We can move the party to your room,” I said, running my hand down her bare back. “I’m kind of hungry, too.”
“Me too. Chocolate kisses are fun, but not that filling.”
“Let’s call down to the kitchen,” I suggested. “By the time we walk Taco and get settled in your room, our food should be ready.”
“I love living here,” she giggled. “Just pick up the phone and get room service—and it’s free.”
“Right?” I laughed and sat up. Glancing over at her, I was really going to miss having a gorgeous naked woman in my bed once I got back to Virginia. “Hey, Viv?”
“Hmm?” She turned from where she was pulling on the dress she’d been wearing before I stripped it off of her.
“When do you go back to school?”
“Last week of August.”
“You want to fly up to Virginia before that? I know it’s only a month away, but I can take a couple of days off and I was thinking we could spend a few days together, get to know each other beyond the whole wedding thing.” I met her eyes questioningly.
“I’d like that,” she said. “I’ll have to figure out my work schedule and see if Mom will watch Taco, but I’d love to visit you in Virginia.”
“Awesome.” I reached out to touch the bruise on her eye. “I feel like I won’t ever be able to apologize enough for this. I’m going to call my therapist as soon as I get back, see if we can figure out why it happened.”
“It was a nightmare,” she whispered. “There’s nothing to figure out; don’t worry about me.”
“I have to worry about you,” I said, pulling her against me. “You’re special, Vivian, and I don’t want to lose you before we have a chance to figure out if there’s something between us.”
“We already know there’s something between us, silly.” She leaned up on her toes and kissed me. “Now let’s go.”
After more incredible sex, lots of chocolate kisses, and a few hours of conversation where it felt like we’d known each other forever while simultaneously getting to know each other, Vivian fell asleep. I tossed and turned, though, unable to settle down, and I figured deep down I was afraid I’d have another nightmare. I could doze on the flight since it was a long one and I really didn’t want to take the chance that I’d get violent ag
ain. Not that I’d had any control of what I’d done, but even the possibility of hurting Vivian wasn’t acceptable.
As I lay there in the darkness, I’d begun to rethink whether or not we should continue seeing each other. She was a sweet, beautiful woman who shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not her boyfriend would smack her in his sleep.
Damn. I’d just used the word boyfriend in my head and as Vivian snuggled up against me, I realized things would get serious quickly if I allowed them to. We had an intense connection and I didn’t need to spend a lot of time together to know I liked her more than I’d liked anyone in years. Which meant I had to make a decision. Either I had to go all in and risk the consequences of what more nightmares could mean, or I had to cut all ties.
Keeping in touch would only make things complicated. If one or both of us fell in love, and then things went bad with the nightmares, it would be a disaster. If I just walked away right now, I’d protect her from that. It had only been a day and a half, so no one’s heart would be irreparably broken, and I’d be able to focus on going back to therapy so that the next time I met someone special, I wouldn’t have to worry about nightmares.
I sighed, glancing down at her. She was so damn pretty, her lips slightly parted in her sleep, one of her small hands resting on my chest. I wasn’t in love—that didn’t happen overnight—but I was in like. Walking away from her was going to be hard and I didn’t know why, but I had to do it. If I was honest with myself, I was a little scared. Not just about the nightmares, though that was my main concern, but also with the way I was feeling. We’d met thirty-six hours ago and I was thinking about how to get her up to Virginia, when I’d see her again, how much I liked her dog.
It was ridiculous and I didn’t know how to handle being this attached to a woman after one damn day. I’d gone down on her in public, bonded with her dog, and had even met her parents. I also had a strong friendship with one of her sisters, which I didn’t want to screw up.
