I blinked in surprise. “Then what happens when you want to commit to one another for life?”
His corresponding grin was effervescent.
“We have children. And even then, many will not marry because we have the Children’s Act which gives both parents equal rights and responsibilities with respect to the child.”
“Huh, that is different. Now you have me curious about the average age of couples who do get married in Norway?”
“You ready to be shocked?” He chuckled.
“Lay it on me, big guy!” I teased, feeling the pressure of meeting the parents slipping away with each word my fiancé spoke.
“Forty,” he stated flatly.
My mouth dropped open. “No way!”
He nodded avidly and crossed a finger over his heart. “Swear.”
Right then Ingrid the flight attendant notified us that we were ready to disembark and that our bags were currently being loaded into the car Erik had requested.
Erik helped me up and then held open the denim jacket and scarf I’d brought on the plane. I pushed one arm and then the other through the sleeves and lifted my hair up and out, letting it fall down my back. Both of his hands rested on my shoulders, but before I could leave, he tugged me until my back leaned against his chest. He dipped his chin against the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply.
“You smell divine, Savannah. Like wild berries sprinkled in sugar.” He breathed against my neck. “It’s been driving me mad the entire flight.” He groaned low in his throat.
Feminine pride flooded my chest and gave me a sudden burst of confidence to turn within his embrace and place my hands to his narrow hips. I lifted my chin and looked up at him through my lashes. It was a coy maneuver to be certain, but for some reason, I wanted to be bold. To take a chance on this man the way he’d taken a chance on me.
I licked my lips and watched as his golden eyes lit with interest.
“So, what are you going to do about it?” I taunted the hulking, beautiful beast of a man before me.
He raised his hands and tunneled them into the back of my hair where he cradled my skull. Then he bent lower, his face only a scant inch from my own.
“Are you teasing me, elskede?”
I grinned wide. I couldn’t help it. I wanted to seem sexy and sure of myself, but this man broke me down to the very woman I was.
Raw. Uncertain. Nervous. Excited. Vulnerable.
All of those things mixed into one. A woman standing before a ridiculously gorgeous Viking god and wanting him to find her beautiful. Special.
“What does elskede mean?” I whispered, feeling his breath against my lips as he exhaled.
“It means beloved,” he murmured.
I gasped, and before I could question it further, his lips pressed to mine.
Searching. Taking. Gorging.
Only it wasn’t him who was doing the taking. Oh no. It was me. It’s as if he struck a match within me and set me on fire.
I burned for his kiss.
In mere seconds, I was clinging to his broad shoulders, practically climbing the man like a tree to get closer to him. He did not disappoint. Pulling me tight within his arms, protecting me from any and all outside sources as he kissed me deeply. One hand tangled in my hair, the other wrapped around my waist, holding me tight.
I moaned against his tongue, my own flicking along his and sighing at the undiluted pleasure that filled the air around us. We were in a pleasure bubble. A safe haven where I could run my hand through his silky hair. Cup his bearded jaw and appreciate the soft strands tickling my palm. His lips were plump, succulent, and moved with mine so perfectly it felt like two people kissing after years of learning what the other liked, not the touch of new partners feeling one another out.
The sound of the plane door unlatching and a swift breeze of air teasing the skin of my forearms broke me from the kiss of a lifetime. I fumbled and backed away from Erik, bringing my hand to my mouth, shocked at how out of it I was from a single kiss.
His kiss.
Not Jarod’s.
I closed my eyes and turned around, taking a few deep breaths to get myself back in order. I heard Erik shift around behind me, and once I felt a bit more put-together mentally and emotionally, I turned back around and faced him.
He was grinning like a loon, not playing it cool at all. Showing me up front how very much he’d enjoyed our kiss.
Without a word, he took my hand and led me off the plane, down the steps, and placed me in the passenger seat of a dark sea-green Audi e-tron SUV.
I ran my hands down the leather as he ambled smoothly into the insanely cool car. “Is this fully electric?”