Page 101 of Gunnar

He laces his fingers into mine and his eyes turn soft, in a way I haven’t seen before. “So you remember it forever.”

I’m still looking at him, still trying to catch up.

He’s already decided.

And I⁠—

Well, I’m right here.

Caught somewhere between what just happened and the way I want him again already.

20

Gunnar

It’s a long, long time before we pull up in front of the lodge.

My beast has been tearing at me the whole drive. Alexandria’s scent is everywhere—on my hands, in the air, clinging to me—and it’s driving me out of my mind. I don’t dare look at her. Don’t dare speak. All I can do is keep my eyes on the road and hold the wheel steady, forcing myself to stay in control.

At last, I park up and switch off the engine.

My muscles twitch, keyed up, my body still charged. For a moment, I just sit there, breathing, trying to get a handle on it.

Then I turn my head.

She’s watching me. Her eyes are dark in the fading light, her cheeks faintly flushed. There’s something in her expression—open, unsure—that hits harder than anything else.

“Wait,” I say, my voice rough.

I’m out of the truck, circling to her side and pull the door open. When I offer my hand, she takes it without hesitation.

Small. Soft.

Something in me tightens.

“Thanks,” she says, a hint of that familiar sass still there.

But she doesn’t let go. Her fingers stay curled around mine.

We go inside together.

The lodge is warm when I push the door open, the heat from the fire still hanging in the air.

There’s a note on the hallway table. I grab it.

Out for the night. Enjoy yourselves ;-)

A smile pulls at my mouth.

“What’s that?” Alexandria asks.

Her cheeks go pink as she reads it.

I watch her. “What is it?”

She bites her lip, thinking. I can see it happening—the way she turns things over, quick and careful.

“He knows,” she says at last.