The Wild Heir(64)

And this is why bringing sex and a physical aspect into this makes things that much more confusing.

“You only want me to say yes because you have to get married to someone,” I say. “And I’m convenient. I’m right here. You’ve invested your time. It might as well be me.”

He doesn’t say anything to that and so I know I’m right. If the whole marriage thing was lifted and he was free to do whatever he wanted, I’d be pushed aside and forgotten, just like I normally am.

Some things don’t change, at least not for me.

He sighs and lets his hand drop away from my face. My skin feels exposed now.

“Ella, if you don’t want me now, I have a hard time believing you’re ever going to change your mind,” he says. From the way his arched brows are coming together, he actually looks hurt.

“I didn’t say I don’t want you. I just…this is a big thing.”

Now he’s back to his cocky grin, his default setting. “I know. Almost too big.”

“You know what I mean.” I lightly punch him in the chest, trying to bring this back to the easiness we had before. “I just need some space to figure things out.”

He frowns, like he doesn’t understand, then nods. “Okay. I can give you space. For what little time we have left.” He steps away from me. “What did you want to do today? There’s a small lake not too far behind here, and Viktor and I usually go fishing.”

He sounds so casual now and looks the part, running his hand through his lush hair, that it’s hard to believe he just told me last night that I was everything to him.

It’s just as hard to ignore the way that made me feel.

Wanted. Needed.

Desired.

I take in a deep breath. “Fishing sounds fine.”

“Great, dress warm, put on your boots and—”

He’s cut off by Einar yelling something in Norwegian.

Magnus and I both raise our brows at each other and run to the door, opening it to see Einar staring at himself in the mirror in pure horror while Viktor is keeling over laughing. Einar starts yelling at him again, angry and red-faced, only it just makes Viktor laugh harder. It’s hard to take Einar seriously with that mustache.

“What is he saying?” I ask Magnus.

“Oh, he’s letting loose a few of those swear words you learned. Viktor and I better sleep with one eye open tonight.”



“Are you allowed to play that question game with me?” Jane asks.

I look up from my book, a copy of The Secret Garden, to see Jane standing in the doorway. She looks like she’s just gotten back from the stable and there are a few pieces of straw in her hair. While Magnus and I have gone off and done our things, she started taking an interest in riding, something she used to do as a child.

“You mean question time?”

She walks across the parlor room and sits down across from me. I don’t bother pointing out that she left woodchips and dirt in her wake. She’s gone from Lady Jane to Pigpen.

“Ella, you still haven’t told me what happened at the cabin. Tomorrow is our last day here. You have to make your decision.”

I sit up and look around, making sure Magnus or Ottar aren’t hanging within earshot.

“Relax,” she says. “Magnus went for a run. You’d hear him if he came back. That man can’t be silent even if he tried.”

“Where’s Ottar?”

“He went running too.”

“And Einar?”

“Right here,” Einar says with his hand up, suddenly appearing in the corner of the room where apparently he’d been sitting for who knows how long.

“Jesus, Einar,” I swear, always jumpy when I suddenly discover him somewhere. “You were easier to spot when you had that mustache.”

He raises his brow at that but doesn’t say anything as he exits the room. It took a great deal of soap and Jane’s extra-strength makeup remover to get that stuff off.

Jane watches him until he’s gone, then looks back to me. “So, what happened?”

“Who says something happened? I mean, other than Einar’s mustache.”

“You and Magnus went from being all starry-eyed and flirty with each other before the trip to staying away from each other like you both have the plague.”

“We were never starry-eyed and flirty.”

“You don’t think so, but I know. Ella, this whole thing has been playing out in front of me like I’m watching a live version of Downton Abbey. It’s been glorious.”

I tuck my feet underneath my legs and settle deeper into the couch. “Well, I’m glad that this has been pure entertainment for you.”

“Something happened. You need to tell me.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s cold. We should get another log on the fire.”

“If that’s your way of telling me I need to put another log on the fire, I’m not playing. Or I will…if you tell me the truth. Did you sleep with him?”

“God no,” I exclaim, but my face is going hot, only because of the amount of times I’ve thought about it.

“No?”

“No,” I repeat. And then the words spill out, “He…we kissed.”

Jane gives me a knowing smile. “I figured something would happen. That’s why I wanted to stay out of it. How was it?”