Page 46 of Entwined in Norway

Ida couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in the water. It had been years, but she still remembered how cold it was, even in the summer. But it was a warm, sunny day, and it might be refreshing. Also, she was desperate to get her hands on Erik again.

They reached the jetty, and Erik swiftly undressed, standing there with nothing on while Ida was still unbuttoning her shirt. Seeing him in all his glory slowed her down.

‘Jøss…’

‘C’mon, Ida. Don’t make me wait.’

‘Sorry.’ She recovered herself enough to speak in English again and to undress more quickly.

Erik watched appreciatively, his eyes taking all of her in, but she didn’t feel as self-conscious as she thought she would. It was one thing being naked in bed together, and she thought this would be weird, being naked in front of each other in broad daylight, but it was so liberating; it gave her a rush.

They stood, facing the water, and it suddenly dawned on Ida that they’d actually be getting in. Now. Erik took her hand in his.

‘Ready?’

‘Not really.’

He pulled her hand, making her think he was going to jump in right then. She shrieked, and he laughed.

‘I’m messing with you,’ he said, and instead pulled her down to sit next to him on the edge of the jetty. ‘I’ll get in first, then I can catch you.’

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she could get in fine on her own, but it sounded nice the way he said it. ‘Okay.’

He lowered himself into the water as he had when Ida had watched him the other day. He slipped in as if it weren’t icy cold and then grinned up at her with one hand still on the jetty.

‘Come on, then.’

With one hand on the jetty and the other in Erik’s, Ida braced herself and lowered into the water as quickly as Erik had. Although she couldn’t make it look nearly as effortless. The cold literally snatched her breath away, and she had to remind herself to breathe.

Erik pulled her to him with his hand on her waist, and she clung to him, trying to sap any warmth there might be, but his skin was already cold.

‘Why did we do this?’

‘Because it’s refreshing, and it’s a beautiful day, and you’ll feel so good when you get out. Want to swim?’

She nodded and waited until Erik had done a couple of strokes before she followed him, doing a small circular swim in front of the jetty.

‘That’s probably enough.’ He hauled himself out of the water in a way Ida knew she wasn’t capable of, but before she could worry about how she was actually going to get out, Erik reached a hand down and lifted her out as if she weighed nothing.

She picked up a towel and wrapped it around her shoulders.

‘See? Feels good, doesn’t it?’ Erik didn’t wrap himself in a towel. He did the same as the other day and rubbed himself down while Ida watched, just as enthralled.

‘Yes. It does. I feel…’ She was trying to think of the word in English, but it was out of reach.

‘Invincible?’

‘Yes. Exactly! Invincible.’

18

When they got to the hotel, Ida went back to the reception desk while Erik went up to his room for a shower to wash the sawdust out of his hair. The fjord was refreshing, but he wasn’t in there long enough to get clean.

He’d spent the day wondering what he could suggest he and Ida do over the next few days. Being on the island was wonderful, but it was a little restrictive when it came to dating. He wanted her in his bed tonight. Every night for as long as he was here, but he knew she wouldn’t want to eat in the restaurant every night with the guests. That wasn’t a night off for her. In fact, in the week he’d been here, she hadn’t had a day off.

‘Are you due a day off?’ he asked her when he came downstairs. She was still waiting for Emilie to show up. Mats wasn’t running as reliable a boat shuttle as they usually had, so she was running late.

‘Yes, probably.’