Page 32 of Law

It burned through her. Her chest almost ached with it.

No, wait. She did love his hold, but it occurred to her she couldn’t breathe.

She struggled, and he let her go. Sucking in deep gasps of air, she grinned. “Now that is what I call a Viking hug.”

Tucking her hair behind her ear, he ran his thumb along her cheekbone, pausing when it passed over her tattoo. “That’s an unusual tattoo. I like it. How does the daughter of a high-priced lawyer get away with having a tattoo on her face? That’s pretty daring.”

Daring and necessary. But she didn’t want to discuss her past. Not yet. “Can Littles say they don’t want to talk about something, too? Because I’m not ready to talk about that.”

It turned out, curiosity could light a Viking’s eyes as much as any other emotion. Hadn’t she read somewhere Vikings like riddles and really wanted to solve them? Hmm.

After a pause, he nodded. “That’s only fair. But I hope you’ll be comfortable enough with me one day to share that story. I find myself wanting to know more about you.”

That was a good thing. She wanted to know more about him, too.

She didn’t tell him that. “So, is there anything else you want to tell me?”

This time, his smile was slow. It started small and spread until it reached his eyes. “No, I think that’s all for now. Let’s go see your brother.”

After ensuring she was buckled back in, Law pulled back onto the road. Lovelyn stared down at the seat between them, where his hand rested atop hers. His calloused hand felt like it belonged there. Staring straight ahead, she tried not to squirm, but the pulsing in her pussy was making it hard.

It didn’t take long for the silence to move from comfortable to awkward to oppressive. She should think of something to talk about. What on earth would a Viking Daddy want to talk about? Law didn’t strike her as the chit-chat type.

Thankfully, he must have sensed the same thing. “So tell me about yourself, fairy cat. What was growing up in the Thorne household like?”

Uh, next please. There had to be something happier to discuss than her life with Phillip. Say, the bubonic plague or world hunger.

“Normal, I guess. I lived with Mom and Phillip, went to school, did all the expected girl things.”

“Expected girl things?”

“You know, dance lessons, music lessons, etiquette lessons. That kind of thing.”

His eyes narrowed. Had she said something wrong already? That must be a record. Only she could mess up something as simple as talking about growing up.

Only it hadn’t been simple at all. Her childhood had been like spinning around ten times and then walking through a minefield. Blindfolded.

“Did you want all those lessons?”

When did that ever have to do with anything? She did what Phillip wanted. They assumed it was what she wanted, too, and she’d never corrected them.

She shrugged. “I guess.”

His brows scrunched. “I thought we weren’t going to lie to each other.”

Darn it!

With a sigh, she tried again. “Not really, but no one ever asked me. It was just what was expected, so it’s what I did.”

“What did you want to do? And don’t lie. I want to get to know you. And I’ve got the feeling you are used to changing yourself to fit whoever you’re with. Don’t do that with me.”

“The honest answer is I don’t know. I never had to think about it. And after Zane was born, there wasn’t time for much else but him.”

Did she sound bitter? She didn’t want to sound that way. She’d loved every minute she spent with Zane. Well, maybe the stinky diaper changing wasn’t her favorite, but she’d do it all again if she had to.

What would she have liked to be doing? She had no idea. When he remained silent and waited, something popped into her head. “I love to be outside. Does that count? I want to go mountain climbing. And I like roller coasters. Especially the ones that flip you upside down. Ooh, and laser tag. I never got to play that, but it always sounded fun when the kids at school talked about it.”

Maybe she did have some ideas. She needed to make a list so she wouldn’t forget anything.

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