Nordic countries had some of the highest care regimes for people with disabilities in the world, and most of what was being provided would either be free or very low cost.Karl had been assessed, and was eligible for full-time nursing care in a retirement home come nursing facility on the outskirts of Luleå.Aurora didn’t envy the nurses who’d be looking after her father.One more reason for her to feel guilty, that other people would be bearing her burden now.
Guilt would always be her constant companion when it came to Karl, but she was beginning to realize that a toxic relationship with anyone, even if they were your only surviving parent, wasn’t good for her mental health.It was time to start putting herself first.Perhaps the one good thing that’d come out of this was that she and her sister were now closer.Astrid had returned to Malmö on yesterday evening’s train, and Aurora had actually been sad to see her go.They promised each other they’d visit regularly, and Astrid would come up to see her father more often too.
Aurora unlocked the shed and hung the snowshoes up on a hook on the back wall.There, now she had put the shoes back where they belonged and would no longer think of Jiro every time she walked past the mudroom.Perhaps it was time to take Erik up on his offer.The IT consultant hadn’t stopped asking her out—never seeming to register that she was holding a candle for a certain American tourist—telling her he realized she was dealing with a lot with her father but when she was ready, he’d love to take her to dinner one time.So now her father was receiving proper care, should she give in to his gentle pressure and go out with him?She didn’t want to stay single and alone for the rest of her life, did she?
She sighed and gave the shed a discerning glance.It needed a good cleanup.It was stacked with boxes, mainly full of Karl’s stuff that wouldn’t fit in her house when he’d moved in.Perhaps she could start this task today.After she’d been for a walk to the lake, she’d come back and begin clearing it all out.Yes, that would be good—another step in creating a new life for herself.
As she relocked the shed, she thought she heard her voice calling out her name.It sounded strangely familiar, but… “I’m around the back,” she shouted, then suddenly remembered she was still in her brief summer pajamas.Shit.It was too late, however, as a figure appeared walking down the small pathway between the side of the house and the fence.
Aurora stopped in the middle of her garden and stared.Was that…?It couldn’t be.
“Jiro?”It was as much a question as it was a statement.She could barely believe her eyes.But it was definitely him, even though he was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt this time, rather than the bulky jackets and long pants she remembered him in.The small part of her brain that was still functioning saw he had a pair of mighty fine legs beneath the hem of his shorts.Long, tanned, athletic.And strong biceps bulged from beneath his short sleeves.That unruly, curly hair still hung over his forehead.Tantalizingly cute.
“What…?”It was as if she’d lost the ability to speak.
Then he smiled, and something in her heart cracked wide open.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” he said, stalking closer to her.“Mårten told me you had the day off.So I thought…”
What?He thought he would do what?Just come around here unannounced and set her heart beating so fast she thought she might be having a heart attack?And he’d talked to Mårten?What was that all about?Part of her wanted her to act cool.Stay distant.Be a little wary even.But another part—the biggest part—wanted to jump for joy.Suddenly, she didn’t care why he was here.She just cared that he was.She’d been dreaming of him, and never let the idea of him go completely, and now he was, in the flesh.So what was she going to do about it?
She took a few precise steps toward him.“No, you’re not intruding,” she announced.Then, in a most un-Aurora-like-manner, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him, crushing him to her as if wanting to make sure he was real.He let out a kind ofoofsound as she collided with him, staggering a little but managing to stay on his feet as he took her full weight.
“Good to hear,” he whispered in her ear.“I was afraid you might turn me away.”He lowered her slowly so that her feet hit the ground, and she looked up into his face, suddenly shy, merely shaking her head.Of course, she wouldn’t turn him away.She hadn’t seen this man for six months, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with him now.He solved that dilemma for her by dipping his head and dropping his lips onto hers.They were soft.Gentle.Undeniable.And it felt like her chest had suddenly exploded.
She’d been so worried he’d forgotten about her.But his lips told the opposite story.He remembered her.He wanted her.He worshipped her.Her mouth became greedy for his, and she stood on tiptoe, pulling his head down closer.She needed him closer.Was this even real?Or was he a figment of her imagination?Something she’d conjured from desperation.Then he picked her up in his arms, and she knew he was really here.The physical strength of him as he wrapped his arms around her echoed through her body, and she remembered his touch, how good it felt.It was still there.The chemistry was like touching dry tinder to a match and watching it flare.Immediate and intense.
She didn’t want to speak.Words sometimes didn’t tell the full story.She wanted action.Wanted to let her body tell him how much she’d missed him.Everything else could come later.Explanations, justifications, reasons.She didn’t want to hear any of them right now.
“Upstairs,” she demanded through her kisses.Jiro obliged as quickly as he could, his mouth never leaving hers as he negotiated the stairs up into the kitchen.But the stairs to her bedroom were a much greater obstacle, and for the sake of speed, she motioned him to put her down, then dragged him by the hand up to her bedroom.
God, she hoped she still had a spare condom in her bedside drawer.She was no longer bothered that she was still wearing her pajamas—there was no bra or panties to impede their progress this time—or that her bed remained unmade.They were undressed in seconds.
Jiro almost threw her onto the bed and then dived after her.Her heart was hammering so hard as Jiro lay the length of his body against hers.One hand slid between her legs, while his other grasped the back of her head as he fastened his mouth to hers, leaving her speechless.Not that she had anything to say, she was pure physical form right now.Besides, she didn’t trust her words.He was here, and she was reacting to him as if he’d never even left.
Desperate to feel him inside her, she bucked her hips, sucking hard on his bottom lip, hoping he would get the message.He did.A condom appeared in his hand as if by magic—had he come prepared this time?He slipped it on and then levered himself so that he was hovering over her.Aurora stared deep into his beautiful brown eyes as he slowly entered her.Then everything became fuzzy around the edges, but yet also so sharply focussed as he began to move.Her hands slid up and down his body, whispering across his tanned skin, reacquainting her with his strong back, broad shoulders, and taut thighs.How could he make her feel like this so fast?She was hanging on by one tiny thread, her whole body taut with her need to orgasm.Before she could even warn him, a deep shudder started low in her belly, rising like a crescendo that she couldn’t control.
“That’s right, baby, come for me,” he whispered in her ear.
And she did just that, as wave after wave of ecstasy crashed over her until she felt almost entirely drained.Then Jiro orgasmed almost as hard and fast as she had, his whole body going rigid as he gasped out her name, over and over.
Afterward, Jiro pulled her into his arms, and they spooned, draping a sheet over their naked bodies as a warm breeze floated in through the bedroom window.They slept peacefully together for a few hours before Jiro stirred beside her again and this time they made long, languorous, middle-of-a-summer’s-day sex which was just as satisfying but proved beyond a doubt in Aurora’s mind that they were as sexually compatible as two humans could possibly be.
But this time, Aurora couldn’t fall asleep afterward.Her mind had begun to function again, and there were a million and one things she needed to know.
Eventually, she could stand it no longer, and she rolled over and lifted up onto an elbow so she could look down into his handsome face.“When did you arrive?”she asked, voice still raspy.She didn’t ask the other question on her mind,“And how long are you here for?”because that was skating too close to the edge of the abyss.Was he here to stay?Or was this just a quick visit?A roll between the sheets a few times before he headed back home.Not that she’d regret what they’d just done, but her heart was hoping for so much more.
“I got in late last night.I booked a room at the Scandic Hotel.I wasn’t sure if you would even see me.”He reached up to brush a strand of hair away from her face.
“Okay.”It wasn’t quite the answer she was looking for.
Before she could phrase another question, he got in first.“How’s your dad?I mean, he’s not here, so is he out at an appointment or something?”
Aha.So Mårten had told him she had a day off, but hadn’t mentioned the other momentous thing that’d happened in her life.She wasn’t sure where to begin or how to tell him about Karl.Her happy mood began to evaporate.It’d been six months without any contact, and now he just reappeared as if not a single thing had changed.He knew nothing about what’d occurred in the past few months because he hadn’t bothered to stay in touch.She was confused, to say the least.But if anyone were to understand what she was going through with her father, then it would be Jiro.
And she shouldn’t be the pot calling the kettle black, as she hadn’t enquired after him or his family either.While Jiro hadn’t tried to contact her once he’d returned to the US, she hadn’t followed him up either, even though she’d been tempted more than once to ask Mårten for his address.But she’d been kept updated by her partner as to what was going on with Taros’ case, even though she hadn’t asked, so perhaps she had an unfair advantage.She knew that after Liam Kenzo had recovered from his bullet wounds, he’d been tried down in Stockholm and found guilty of unlawful deprivation of liberty and serious aggravated assault.He would be spending most of the rest of his adult life behind bars.
She also knew that Taro’s trial had recently been held, and he’d been found guilty on multiple charges of gun-smuggling.His sentence was yet to be handed down, however, so that must still be hanging over Jiro’s head.Hiroshi Kiyota, the man who’d first coerced Taro into working for the Kyodo-Kai gang, had been arrested after months of undercover work by the FBI and been charged with multiple smuggling charges.His trial had been postponed, however, as they tried to get more information out of him about the inner workings of the gang, so they could dismantle the American faction.Jacob managed to collar two of the leaders of the gang in a well-orchestrated raid, but soon after, most of the other members fled back to Japan and went underground.Mårten and Jacob both knew that even though the Japanese authorities were hunting them, they’d probably just re-group and come back in a newer, better configuration in a year or three.This was one of the frustrating parts of policing—sometimes you never fully eradicated the vermin.
