Page 25 of Cross To Bear

“Keys?”

Bjorn was smiling now, but right when I realised I hadn’t grabbed them in my haste, Razor rattled them then tossed the keyring to Bjorn. He snatched it out of the air and then climbed the steps up to my apartment. I was left to trail after him, having a very nice view of his arse, perfectly cupped in a pair of worn jeans, as we went upstairs. When we walked in the front door, I let out a sigh, right as the two of them walked over to the pile of boxes.

“This Jesse’s shit?” Bjorn’s smile had faded. “He hasn’t been by to pick it up?”

“He blocked my number, so I assume he just doesn’t want to see me anymore, and his stuff is collateral damage,” I replied, going to the fridge to see if I had a beer or something to offer them.

Instead, I was picked up and placed on the counter by Bjorn, while Razor raided my cupboards. He picked out a few glasses, found my pantry and pulled out a bottle of unopened gin. I tried really hard not to watch his forearms flex as he broke the seal, then poured several fingers into a glass.

“So it’s like that, is it?” I asked. “Get me drunk and take advantage of me?”

“Give you something to sip to calm your nerves,” Bjorn corrected, pulling out a can of tonic water and two beers, handing one to Razor. “And then some food to settle your stomach. Though first, a bath. How about something lavender scented? It’s supposed to be calming.”

“OK, yeah, that would be nice…”

Before I could finish the sentence, he was down the hallway and disappearing into the bathroom, where I heard the sound of water running.

“So anything else you want?” My head whipped around as Razor got closer, his blue eyes shining with barely suppressed amusement, but as I was about to ask what the fuck he was doing, he pulled out his phone. “When I put the takeaway order in.”

“Satays.” Where had that come from? I blurted it out without thinking. “Chicken satays. Please.” I tacked that on as an afterthought, realising how rude I was being. “And thank you so much for coming out to help. And for dinner.” I shook my head. “And for stopping my car from catching on fire.”

“I’ve got you.” Never in my life had I heard a man say that with such confidence. He gazed up at me, almost stepping into the space between my thighs though not quite. “You’ll work that out at some point and then…” His smile was back. “I’ll enjoy the distinct pleasure of hearing you say please over and over.”

Before I could interrogate him to find out what the fuck that meant, he punched the takeaway place’s number into his phone and put through the call.

“Bath’s ready.”

I jumped when I realised Bjorn was standing there behind me. He held out a hand, and I knew it meant a whole lot more to him than it did me. I’d been fascinated by the idea of fated mates when I found out about the whole thing, fantasising in the early days that Jesse was mine. Just because he didn’t have a bear, didn’t mean he didn’t have a mate out there, but… It was clear now that wasn’t me. The fact it was Bjorn and his sleuth made my mind stutter.

Don’t touch, that was my first instinct. Because he was Jesse’s brother, my boyfriend’s brother, but I didn’t miss Jesse now either as I took Bjorn’s hand. He drew me down the hallway and into a bathroom that was filled with lavender scented steam then set my gin and tonic down on a small side table he’d brought in from the living room.

“Have a nice long soak,” he told me. “We’ll take care of dinner. Put on some soft PJs after you’re done, and then we’ll have something to eat together.”

“And if I don’t choose you?” I asked. It had to be said. It hung in the air just like the steam, making it a little hard to breathe. “What then, Bjorn?”

I expected his smile to falter then, in the face of prospective rejection, but it just got a little sadder as he stepped closer. He moved so slowly, so that I could pull away at any time, right as his knuckles grazed my cheek.

“That’s not what this is about, Maddie. I’m not doing this just to make you love me. Kick me to the curb now.” His eyebrows lifted, challenge shining in his eyes. “Tell me there’s no chance in hell you’d ever want to be with me and my sleuth. Tell me that and I’ll still be here tomorrow to make sure you’ve got snacks when you watch your movies, and more of those fancy bath bombs. I stayed away because you chose Jesse, and I’ll stay away now if you tell me to, but…” His fingers left a burning trail along my cheek, still there after he pulled his hand away. “Right now I’m just fucking glad that I’ve got the chance to satisfy the ache inside me that says, no, demands I make sure you have everything you need.”

I just stared at him. He was speaking words, though not ones that made sense, not in that order. Real men weren’t like that. Dating was a contract both parties went into warily, expending money and energy in the hope for some kind of spark. But this…? I wanted to ask questions, interrogate him on the bond and what it felt like, analyse it until I had the bleeding parts of the mate bond cut up on the surgical table of my mind, able to be quantified. Instead, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and then was gone again, shutting the door behind him. And I just gaped as I stared at the door for several minutes, though my skin felt all flushed and clammy, so I yanked my clothes off and sank into the bath.

It was the perfect temperature, and the soothing lavender scent washed over me, just like the water. My body lifted up, suddenly weightless, and for the first time in a while, my heart felt the same way. I frowned at that and had a sip of my drink. I didn’t miss Jesse. I kept coming back to that thought like my tongue to a sore tooth, but right now I was worried I might miss Bjorn and the sleuth.

Chapter 16

Razor

“Spoons or chopsticks?” I asked Bjorn as I set the table. I’d found a tablecloth in the hallway linen cupboard and flicked it out over the top, then set out bowls, plates, cups, even decanted our beers into glasses. I did all the things my mum made us do when we came around for dinner.

“I dunno,” Bjorn said, his tone causing me to look up. The bloke was wearing that gormless grin he always sported after being around Maddie.

Then it usually turned sour.

Not this time, I vowed. Not fucking this time.

“Spoons,” I said with a definite nod. “Remember that time we went to the Chinese restaurant for Nelly’s birthday last year? Maddie thought she was supposed to eat with chopsticks and then spilled black bean on her jeans.”

And when Jesse saw that, he laughed. First bit of attention he’d paid her all night. Crash had gone and got her some club soda to blot the stain and then worked very hard to get the mark off the leg of her pants.

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