But… had he been about to kiss her last night before his brother walked in and ruined everything?Her heart told her he had.And her body told her too; the physical reaction to his closeness had been extreme.First, he’d surprised her when he’d pulled her in close for a hug, which had set off all her internal proximity alarm bells ringing—in a good way.God, he’d smelled like a pine forest and fresh snow, all woodsy and masculine somehow.And without that bulky puffer jacket, she could feel the definition of all those flexed muscles as she wrapped her hands across his back.And he’d called her a rock star of all things, which had filled her with a surge of foolish pride.Then, instead of letting her step away, he’d held onto her hands, gazing down into her face.They both had similar colored eyes, his perhaps a little darker than hers, making them almost black, and she liked getting lost in their depths for those few precious moments.As they stood together, his gaze had drifted to her mouth, and she’d had to stop herself from standing on tiptoes to reach for his lips.
How long had it been since she’d kissed a man?Aurora tipped her head to the side to contemplate the answer.There’d been no one special since she’d moved to Luleå two years ago, and certainly not since her father had moved in with her.Sure, she’d had a crush on her new partner Mårten when she’d first started working with him, but who wouldn’t under the same circumstances?It was probably more of a reaction to her loneliness than anything else.Erik, the IT guy, was the only one who seemed remotely keen on her at the moment.And before Jiro had walked through the reception door yesterday, she might’ve even considered going out with him.But not anymore; her taste for geeky guys seemed to have evaporated all of a sudden.Now, her mind was occupied with tall, athletic men who had dark eyes and a mop of curly black hair.
A sudden loud knock at the door pulled her out of her daydream.
“Who is that?It’s too early in the morning,” her father snapped, lifting his head from his cold cuts of meat and cheese to squint his eyes in the direction of the front door.
“I don’t know.I’ll go and see, shall I?”she replied in a sarcastic tone, which she immediately regretted.She needed to stop snapping at her father.She should be the bigger person and try not to stoop to his level all the time.
“You didn’t ask that witch to come around again to look after me, did you?”His rheumy eyes turned brittle.
She rolled her eyes, but didn’t deign to answer this time.Let him sweat over it a little.This was why it was so hard to hold her temper with him; he never had a nice word to say.But as she approached the front door, she wondered who it could be, before suddenly realizing she was still wearing her pajamas.Shit, she hoped it wasn’t Mårten coming round to have another privatechatwith her about her antics yesterday.He’d already spoken to her back at HQ and made his feelings about her going out alone perfectly clear, very loudly.He also made it clear that he wasn’t angry because he doubted her abilities; he was angry because no one, not even a seasoned officer, could control a situation if they were taken by surprise and they had no backup.She was not to do it again under any circumstances, and she’d agreed she wouldn’t as she stood with shoulders back, chin in the air.It was the first time Mårten had really reamed her out about anything.Probably because it was the first time she’d ever really stepped out of line.
Knowing Mårten, he would probably regret his outburst—his unusual yelling the reason she knew she’d scared the shit out of him, and he was more worried about her than actually angry—so he might want to drop by to see if she was okay, which would be his form of an apology.Perhaps he might’ve brought her a takeaway coffee.Even though she’d already had her first morning brew from her wonderful espresso machine, she would never turn down another one.
But it wasn’t Mårten standing on her doorstep, shivering; it was Jiro.
“I need your help,” he said, without as much as a hello or how do you do.
She couldn’t stop the slow somersault in her stomach at the sight of him.There’d been a distinct possibility she might not see him again, but now here he was standing on her front step looking all delicious.Then, her cop brain kicked in, and she noticed the haggard look on his face.Oh shit, had his father died during the night?And she was leaving him standing outside on her doorstep ogling him, while he was freezing and desperate.
“Come in, come in.”She beckoned him into the warmth.She was almost shivering herself by the time she shut the door on the icy wind that was whipping up the snow outside.Jiro’s teeth were chattering as if he’d been out in the cold for a long time.
“Who’s there?”her father called from the kitchen.
But she didn’t answer, instead saying, “Let me help you.”She was unable to watch him fumble with his zipper any longer with his numb fingers.“Where are your gloves?And your beanie?Why would you go out in this weather without them?”She didn’t wait for him to reply, instead pulling down his zipper and helping him out of his jacket.Then, without asking, she bent down and unlaced his boots, assisting him to step out of those as well.“Your socks are soaking.You need better boots than these.”She’d noted the same fact yesterday when they’d gone out to rescue Kenichi, but had no time to lecture him about it then.If he were going to stay any longer in northern Sweden, he’d need to do something about his inadequate clothes.
“I know,” he replied, teeth chattering.“Living in San Diego doesn’t really prepare you for these types of temperatures.”He tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace as he rubbed his hands together to try and warm them.
Then something occurred to her.“Wait, how did you get here?”
He wouldn’t quite meet her eye.“I didn’t know your proper address, and the Uber driver got mad when I kept giving him vague answers, so I ended up walking.”His teeth were still chattering as he blew on his hands to warm them.
“You what?Not all the way from the hospital?”Aurora was aghast.The hospital was on the outskirts of town and at least fifteen kilometers from her place, so it would’ve taken him hours to walk that far in these conditions and in the dark.Instinctively, she took his hands between her own.They were like ice blocks.She began to rub them gently, trying to impart some of her warmth into his frozen digits.Even ice-cold, there was something about having his hands in hers.The touch was electric, and even though she tried to ignore the sensation, it reminded her of their hands entwined last night, and threatened to bring back those thoughts of wanting to kiss him.She suddenly became acutely aware that she was only wearing her worn cotton pajamas.This was the second time in two days he’d encountered her in her fluffy pink nightclothes, and she mentally kicked herself.Why couldn’t she have been wearing something a little sexier?Like that cute little pair of silk pajamas she’d bought on a whim last year.But no, he had to see her in her most frumpy outfit.She avoided his gaze, not wanting him to see how embarrassed she was.
His voice brought her back to the present problem at hand.“No, only from the main road that skirts your suburb.I got that much right at least.But then the Uber driver got confused, and then mad at me because I asked him to drive up and down all the streets, so we both agreed he would drop me at that big roundabout out on the main road.”
“You mean Bensbyvägen?”That was the large arterial road that serviced her suburb, leading back out to the main highway.Even if he’d known exactly where to come, the walk would’ve taken him twenty minutes or so, but it sounded like he was out there walking up and down the streets for perhaps an hour or more.
“Probably.That sounds about right.I didn’t think it would take me quite so long to find your place, I must admit.This place is like a maze…” His voice trailed off, and she looked up to find his gaze fixed on her.“That feels nice,” he acknowledged, his fingers tightening around hers.Was that a flash of desire she saw in his eyes?That wasn’t what she been aiming for when she took up his hands to warm them, but now… She couldn’t believe she was actually thinking this, but if her father hadn’t been in the next room, she might’ve even leaned in to try to taste him.It really wasn’t the time or the place, but try telling her hormones that.Her body was suddenly alight with craving.Craving to take his mouth in hers, find out if those lips were as delectable as they looked.Find out if he too felt this overwhelming desire like she did.He would be a great kisser, she just knew it.
“Tell me who is there.”Karl demanded from the kitchen, his voice breaking into their intimate interlude, hitting her like a slap in the face.
“Bloody hell,” Aurora whispered.But knowing she needed to answer him, she said more loudly, “It’s my friend Jiro, from the other night.We’ll be in in a second.”Time to stop her daydreaming and get on with reality.Dropping her voice to a whisper again, she asked, “Why didn’t you message me?I would’ve come and got you.”
“I’ve been trying to text you for the past hour,” he replied, raising both eyebrows so they disappeared beneath his lock of unruly hair.
Aurora stopped chafing his hands between hers.“What?But my phone is… Oh, God, I’m sorry, it’s next to my bed.I leave it on silent so it doesn’t annoy my father first thing in the morning.And I just haven't checked it since I got up.”
“It’s not your fault,” he assured her.“I left the hospital in a rush, which is why I forgot my gloves and beanie.”He glanced down at where their hands were still joined.“But I might leave my gloves behind more often if this is the treatment I get.”
Aurora smiled at that.“Come on, let me make you a hot coffee and get you something hot to eat.”Reluctantly, she let go of his hands and turned to go into the kitchen.
“I don’t have time to eat,” Jiro countered as he reached into the front pocket of his pants and pulled out his phone.“I wasn’t joking when I said I needed your help.I can’t find Taro.I left the hospital room to get something to eat this morning.I was only gone for half an hour, but when I came back, Taro was nowhere to be found.”
“Okay.”Aurora wasn’t sure why that was such an emergency.
“I tried to call him and message him, but his phone must be turned off.It’s weird.Taro had nowhere to go and no one to see.We were both waiting for Papa to wake up.Why would he just leave?”
