The bright blue eyes staring down at her said he felt the same, but he stepped back, closed the door, and left Jinx inside as he walked around the truck. She took a few seconds to get herself together, inhaling and exhaling a couple of times.
As he entered the vehicle, he looked over at her with a smile. “You ready for an adventure, Vakker?”
Jinx frowned. “What?”
He chuckled. “Ah, my Norwegian roots are showing.”
“What does that mean?”
“Beautiful. Vakker means beautiful.”
She would’ve argued that he was clearly blind, but they were moving through town, heading in the same direction as her property.
For once, she sat back and let someone else take control. And Viking did so with ease, with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on his thigh. The low hum of the engine filled the cab of the truck, but nothing could deter her attention away from him.
“You can change the channel if you want.”
She jerked as Viking’s deep rumble broke the spell she seemed to be under. “I’m good,” she mumbled.
They continued to ride for a few minutes, silence stretching between them. Jinx felt the knot in her throat ease. She was alone in an enclosed space with a virtual stranger, but her fight or flight hadn’t reared its head.
“I like to see your smile. It makes your entire face light up. You’re beautiful, but when you smile—beautiful doesn’t come close to describing you.”
“Are you trying to get laid, Viking?” She half turned, placing her back against the door so she could look at him better as he drove.
He came to a stop at a four-way intersection, staring directly at her. “Jinx, if I wanted to get laid, I wouldn’t use some bullshit words to do it. I don’t lie or sugarcoat shit. You don’t know me or anything about me. I get that. If you want, I’ll turn around and drop you back off at your rig, and we can pretend this,” he waved his hand between the two of them. “Never happened. No harm, no foul.”
She closed her eyes and then opened them. “I’m sorry. Honestly, it’s not you. It’s me. Hell, I’m the one who's done the ogling and picturing you naked.”
Jinx wanted to call the words back, but watching his eyes gleam with hunger kept her lips sealed.
“Trust me, you ain’t the only one with those thoughts.”
A horn honked, breaking the spell they’d fallen into.
Viking lifted his hand, waving at the driver behind them as he eased forward. They continued driving outside of town, getting closer to her property. Jinx’s stomach tightened, a hint of fear slamming into her.
“Almost there,” he said.
Jinx sat up straighter, marveling at the coincidence of his family property and hers being so close to one another. They’d passed hers a few minutes ago, but if she was right, they probably backed up to the same water source.
The long driveway differed from her own, showing signs of life and love, unlike her overgrown forest of neglect.
“I bet this is beautiful in the spring and summer.” She eyed the tall trees lining the drive on each side.
“Oh, yeah.”
Jinx rolled her eyes at his deadpan. “Don’t even start that with me.”
His deep laughter made her stomach do somersaults; the tiny flutters she’d felt since the moment her eyes caught sight of him became a full-on tsunami. Good lord, Viking should come with a warning label.
By the time they drove into a clearing, she could see a large home up on the right. From what she could see, it appeared to be a two-story home. The exterior was a mixture of logs and stones with an abundance of windows.
“Oh my. What a gorgeous home.”
Viking veered the truck to the left, away from the big house. “Thank you. Well, I can’t really take too much credit, except for helping build it. My dad designed it, though.”
She held up her hand. “Wait. Is your dad Sam Larsen, the architect?”
