Page 56 of The Heir
“Stop moving around, please. You need to trust me, or it’ll never work between us.”
Walking two steps to the sofa, I leaned down and placed my hands on the top of the backrest. I tried to ignore the feeling of fire ants up my legs as I met her gaze.
Linea placed her hand on top of mine. “Obviously, I feel the attraction, or I wouldn’t have kissed you. But talking about me moving is pointless when you need to focus on finding the woman that you’ll one day marry.”
“What?” Her matter-of-fact tone freaked me out. “Why can’t that be you?”
“Me?” This time Linea chuckled. “Where do you want me to start? First of all, Freya already told me how important it is for your father that you marry a pure Northlander. Second, I would be an awful match. You need someone who is drawn to your life in the spotlight. Living in a large palace isn’t my dream at all. I’m content with small and cozy.”
“Not a problem! I’ll find the smallest room at the Gray Mansion or build a tiny cottage in the park where we can live.”
Linea’s face softened. “Thor, be serious.”
“You can’t dismiss me without at least trying.”
“It would never work between us. Besides, I couldn’t give up on my work in the Motherlands.”
It surprised me how hurt I was by her blatant dismissal. It wasn’t as if Linea and I had ever been close. She had frustrated me, challenged me, and last night at the club she drove me insane with jealousy and desire. If anything, she and I had tolerated each other while coming to terms with the strange electric spark that always occurred when we were close. Now that she flat out refused me, I suddenly felt desperate to make Linea see that we had a future together.
“You teach in virtual reality. You could do that from the Northlands, couldn’t you? I would never ask you to stop working. I’ve seen other women pursue important careers and I respect that. Aubrey and Sparrow have the Explorer Academy that they run. Raven just got promoted to Inspector in the police force.”
“I know and that’s great.”
I sensed a “but” was coming from her and continued my rant. “Freya and I already discussed the importance of the Northlands being a country where people are free to pursue their dreams, no matter if they’re men or women.”
Linea played with the edges of her hair while watching me with a serious expression. “I’m happy to hear that you have respect for working women, but it’s not just that. You’re aiming for the most time-consuming job in the world. How many times did your father have to stay behind when your mother, Freya, and you came to visit us in the past? From what I’ve seen, he works all the time. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t have time for me.”
“I’ll make time! It’s true that my father works a lot, but I also know that the best part of his life is my mother. If he didn’t have her, it would all be pointless. I’ve always known that my success and happiness in life depends on finding a woman who is strong enough to challenge me and tell me when I’m off track. Who better than you?” I straightened up. “With you reading my mind, I can hide nothing, and I know that you have no problem telling me when I’m wrong.”
Linea sighed. “I can’t read your mind. We established that. I thought you asked me if I liked you when in reality you asked me if you could kiss me.”
Unwilling to give up, I waved a hand. “That’s close enough.”
Linea shook her head like none of this made any sense to her. “I feel like I shifted into a parallel universe. How did we go from you not liking me to telling me that you want me to move to the Northlands? Are you bipolar?”
“No.” I sighed and spoke with frustration. “It’s not logical to me either. But I’m acting on my gut feeling here.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “I think you mean your crotch rather than your gut…”
“For fuck’s sake, Linea. Why are you making this so hard on me? You've been on my mind since that day I walked into the library and you did a reading on me.”
Linea watched me without interrupting.
“I can’t say that it was love at first sight. The thought that you might see my secrets was scary and made me suspicious of you. I was in a bad place back then. And yet, that night, my mind kept showing your face when I… ehm, went to bed. It got worse after our confrontation in the ballroom, and it exploded after you found me in the Motherlands. I’ve literally craved you for the past six months.”
Even though Linea spoke with a normal voice, her next words rolled through me like thunder. “All right. If it’s a matter of sexual craving, then let’s have sex.”
I stared at her.
“Don’t look so surprised. We’re adults. There’s something between us, and we’re in France. Where better to have a sexual adventure without consequences?”
I stepped back a little, trying to control my urge to put her over my shoulder and carry her to the bedroom.
“What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to have sex with me. What happened to hard and punishing?”
“I want that but…”
“Thor.” Her eyebrows pinched together. “You’re scaring me. Why do you look so pale all of a sudden?”
