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“Astrid?” Flynn’s voice brought her back to the present, and she noticed he had slid closer to her and was staring straight into her eyes.
“Aye?” she asked, her voice breathy.
“What are ye thinking?”
“Me mind just went elsewhere for a while. Did ye say something?” she asked, shaking her head.
“I didnae. I only asked ye to eat yer food. Ye must be hungry.”
“Starving!” she exclaimed and immediately began to eat.
The food was as delicious as it always was, and the two of them ate in silence for quite some time. Astrid was slightly on edge, since Flynn was sitting too close to her and her body could sense his proximity.
A few minutes later, he swept aside his plate and turned entirely to face her, still maintaining a few feet between them. As his gaze landed on her, she knew it would be impossible for her to stay focused on her food.
She did not know what it was about him tonight, but his presence was making her slightly nervous. She had always known he could be intimidating and powerful whenever he wished to be, but tonight, there was something different in his manner. He was not being intimidating towards her the way he had been in the past but simply attentive.
His attention was making her feel things.
“Why are ye starin’ at me that way, may I ask?” she questioned, stealing a glance at him. Her heart rate accelerated as their gazes met, and she couldn’t help but once again marvel at how handsome he looked. There was just something in his aura.
“Can I nae?” he questioned back, still not taking his eyes off her. At this point, Astrid finally gave up and put away her plate as well. Although, she still couldn’t turn to look at him and stare into his eyes.
“Ye can. But there must be a reason for it.”
“There is a reason,” he replied as he slid even closer to her. A spicy scent of cinnamon and sandalwood reached her nostrils, and she inhaled, unable to resist how divine he smelled.
“What is the reason?” she whispered, twisting her body to look at him but still not entirely facing him.
Astrid squealed as he unexpectedly took her by the arms and turned her around completely in such a way that she was right in front of him, her legs touching his, as there was hardly any distance between them. Her breathing became erratic but quickly calmed down as they remained silent for several heartbeats, each just staring at the other. She could not comprehend what she was feeling, but whatever it was, it made her feel butterflies in her stomach.
“The reason, me darling, is simply that ye look too bonnie to be real, and I need to ken if yer real or nae,” Flynn whispered back, his face just inches away from hers. She would only need to move her face slightly to kiss him. As much as she wanted to give in, she held back.
“So, do ye ken now?”
“Ken what?”
“If I am real or nae?”
“I will have to touch ye to ken that,” Flynn said, his fingers trailing across her cheek as she closed her eyes at his touch.
“Yer touching me now,” she breathed, his touch forcing her to think of the kiss they had shared a year ago, a kiss that was seared into her memory and refusing to ever leave.
“I still dinnae ken. Ye could be a selkie bewitching me with her beauty and then…” he whispered back, and Astrid chuckled at his words.
“I would have already found another way to kill ye, Flynn.”
He smiled at her reply and continued to caress her cheek. Astrid settled into his touch, knowing he would not hurt her. A certain sense of comfort surrounded her whenever she was around him. It was the assurance that he would be there for her, no matter what. This trust sprung out of the time they had spent together, and she hoped he felt the same way about her.
“Can I tell ye something?” he asked.
“Anything.”
“I never forgot the kiss we shared a year ago. During all this time, I found meself thinkin’ about it more often than I am proud of, but ye always stayed in me mind. I wanted nothing more but to share that with ye again.”
Astrid’s eyes widened at the confession, as she couldn’t believe he was thinking about the kiss too. It was extremely surprising for her to know that he had thought about it more than once in the past year because she was certain that a man like Flynn had probably kissed a lot of women, and he would forget her just as he forgot the rest of those women. She, on the other hand, had remembered and cherished that moment since it had happened.
“Can I tell ye somethin’ too?”
