He eyed me skeptically. “Just one question?”
“That’s right.”
“The look on your face terrifies me.”
I grinned. “Do you want the cake or not?”
“Go on then,” he said slowly. “Ask your bloody question.”
“When I met you that night on the road, did you really have no idea who I was?”
He met my gaze, unblinking. “I didn’t know you were the owner of the Traveling Tavern, and therefore, my rival. Not until you told me. I’ll swear it on the elements. I’ll even swear it on Freya herself. I just thought you were a pretty lass, one I wanted to spend some time with, even if it was only a night.”
“So, everything we shared…”
“It was real, Lilia. It’s all been real.”
“Hmm.” I smiled. “Good answer. However, I wonder if I should just keep the cake myself…”
“Oh no you don’t!” Ragnar leapt to his feet and swept me off the bedroll. He grabbed me by the waist, tickling my stomach. A fit of giggles took me as I wiggled in his arms.
The sound of our laughter echoed all night long.
* * *
Ragnar’s chest rose and fell beneath me. I curled against him, my head tucked between his shoulder and his chin. Birds chattered in the trees above us, and a light haze had crept into the sky, signalling the start to another day. The embers of the fire had all but burned away, but the heat from Ragnar’s body had gotten me through the night. For a few moments, I didn’t move. I relished the feel of him and the way my body somehow fit into his, like the curves of me were made for the hard planes of him.
Of course, that was an entirely ridiculous notion that I had no business thinking. One night with the man, and I was getting delirious.
With that thought in mind, I sat up and patted down my hair. Ragnar cracked open his eyes and shot me a smile that bordered on scandalous. All we’d done was kiss, and yet the way I felt…it seemed like so much more had passed between us.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured.
I loosed a breath. “Good morning. I hope you slept all right, even though I was crushing your chest.”
“I haven’t slept that well in months.” He smiled a crooked smile, one that sent a new jolt of heat through my core. “And you can crush me anytime you like, darling.”
“You charmer,” I said with a little smile, tucking my hair behind my ear so that I had something to do with my hands.
“You’re cute when you’re blushing.”
“I’m not blushing.”
“If you’re not blushing, I’m afraid you’re suffering from severe sunburn. Need some salve to put on it? I might have some you could use.” Chuckling to himself, he laced his hands beneath his head and winked.
I swatted his chest, then let my hand rest there instead of pulling it back. His corded muscles were as hard as steel. “Someone’s feeling frisky this morning.”
“Oh, you have no idea.”
My heart pounded. I still hadn’t moved my hand, and he was looking at me like he was hungry and the other half of the bread roll wasn’t what he had in mind. Suddenly, I felt far too nervous to sit. I leapt to my feet and grabbed my pack, hoisting it onto my shoulder.
“If we want to catch up to the pie man, we should probably get going,” I said, my words toppling over each other.
Ragnar watched me for a long moment, then he climbed to his feet and helped me pack up the bedroll. Our heads were bent close together, and every now and then, our shoulders brushed. I was so distracted that the bedroll ended up looking like a child had packed it, all scrunched and wrinkled.
Still, I shoved it into my pack and decided I’d sort it out later. Ragnar didn’t comment on my flustered behavior, and for that, I was grateful. I wished I could calm myself down. Truly. But when he looked at me—when he smiled—it sometimes scrambled my thoughts so badly, my brain turned to eggs.
“After you.” He gestured to the path that cut through the woods.
