Page 4 of Something New

It is late spring now, the blossoms have gone and the trees are just green with fresh shoots.

It’s a little scary walking through the orchard in the dark. My shoulders are stiff, all my muscles tense.

“Tuomo?” I whisper, still trying to keep quiet.

Silence.

“Tuom—” he jumps out from behind a tree and locks his hand over my mouth. I scream, but thankfully he stops the sound from escaping.

His dark chuckle rumbles against my back as he pins me to his chest.

Tuomo leans close to my ear and whispers. “You should be careful. You don’t know what could happen to such a beautiful creature, wondering out here all by herself in the dark.”

His words send an erotic thrill through me. He runs his hand over my neck, down my chest, briefly caressing my breast. Then he steps away from me, and I’m dizzy with excitement from his touch.

He turns me to face him and even in the dim light of pre-dawn, he is gorgeous.

“Hello, little bird.” He says, reaching out and twirling a loose curl of my hair in his finger.

“Hello.” I grin.

“I’m sorry about what happened with my father. I hope you don’t hate me for that.”

I shake my head. “I could never hate you, Tuomo.” With a bold sense of confidence surging through me, I take a step closer to him. “I do hate him, though.”

I want to kiss him again. It was so magical last time.

His mischievous smile shows me he wants to kiss me, too. He wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me hard against his solid, muscular body. He smells like sex on a stick - that cologne. I’d recognize it anywhere. Tuo smells like — Tuo. It’s unique. He leans down and presses his lips into mine. He tastes even better than he smells, like sin and sugar.

I melt into him. The moment stops time. Nothing else exists. I’m more alive than I’ve ever been. In the cold, crisp air of dawn, I think I might be falling in love.

Tuomo leans away from me, then takes my hand in his.

“Little bird, do you know what you mean to me?” He asks, his voice serious.

I shake my head. Excited and nervous to hear his thoughts. What could I mean to him? Me - a little mousy girl with brown hair and sharp features. My lips are too full, and my eyes are way too big. I’m not pretty. I’m just average, with a bland face and a bland figure.

So, for Tuomo to be interested in me - it seems impossible. Too good to be real. Maybe this is a game he and his brothers are playing? It doesn’t feel like a game when I’m with him.

I wait, focused only on him. What do I mean to him?

“You are my entire world. I’ve loved you from the moment I first saw you.” His voice vibrates through me and his words carry meaway as though they were being read aloud from a fairytale. Too farfetched to be true, but so tempting to believe.

“You - love me?” I stammer. “You don’t love me, Tuo.”

“I love you, and I don’t care what my father - or anyone else says - I want you to be with me.” He’s lost his mind. Maybe he’s drunk? The men in this house drink way too much. What am I supposed to say? I don’t know what to do.

My lips part as I stare up at him. God, he’s gorgeous. “I - I love you too, Tuomo.” I say, unsure if I even know what love is yet, but it feels right to say it back to him.

“Let’s make a promise to each other, little bird. A pact that can never be broken no matter how far apart we are - no matter what happens—”

His eyes are so dark right now, almost deadly serious. I nod again. Mesmerized by the way I, my whole body heats when he looks at me.

“What pact?”

“No matter where you are in the world - when you turn twenty-five years old - if you are not married or in love - then you will marry me.”

It sounds like a fairy tale. Or a bad low budget Christmas movie. Either way, I know Tuomo Vece will never marry me. His father has a list of suitable brides for all his sons.

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