Chapter Four
I sighed, walking down the stairs of the tower and below. This was ridiculous. A date in the middle of the madness was like having a nice cup of tea in the eye of a hurricane.
When I opened the door at the bottom of the tower, Arne was standing there, hands clasped behind his back. He stared out one of the windows while grinding his jaw. Something important must’ve been on his mind.
I walked over to him and ran my hands down the large expanse of his back, feeling the peaks and valleys and wondering what it might be like to do the same, minus the shirt.
He turned but didn’t jump. I had a feeling this man didn’t fear anything. “Janis, I’m sorry. I was in my own world.”
The corners of my mouth lifted in a smile. While I couldn’t hear the words with my ears, the sentiment they carried weaved their way into my chest, warming me from head to toe.
Perhaps this date in the middle of chaos was a good idea after all.
“You didn’t say where we were going or anything.” I pointed to my jeans and flowy shirt that hung off my shoulders and had two longer pieces that tied at the side of my waist. It was an outfit I could imagine my sis wearing on a date with one of her mates.
“You look perfect as always. For the future, any dates with me will be casual at best. I’m not so good at the pomp and circumstance of it all. Not like your other mates.”
I took one of his hands in mine. It practically swallowed mine in girth. My fingers were like string in between his beefy ones. “Good. I need a lot less seriousness and formality in my life. How about to start we get the hell out of this stuffy castle?”
He chuckled and held my hand as we left the stone walls and torches behind in favor of the crisp fresh air and freedom.
“I’m taking you to my favorite patch of forest. We will have some security with your guards, but you’ll be safe with me. I’ve told them to stay at a distance for our privacy.”
We walked to the stables, and my stomach jumped at the chance to ride my lovely horse again. “Whatever do we need privacy for?”
He turned to me and hooked his finger under my chin. “For whatever we wish, my queen. Whatever should happen.”
I huffed. “When I’m with you, I’m not a queen, I’m just Janis.”
Cocking his head, Arne took a step further. His finger was still under my chin. “You are my queen regardless of the crown and this kingdom, Janis. Even if you and I were farmers or a maid and footman, you would still be my queen. When I call you queen, it means that you rule my world.”
Gods, he was so different from Gunnar or Liam, but in a way I welcomed. I knew that in the future, it would be this mate I ran to for comfort and strong arms to hold me tight when I felt like I was falling apart.
“Well, in that case, you shall be my king in the bedroom.”
One of his eyebrows cocked upward. “That I cannot wait to hear.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon taking a slow, easy ride through the lands and to the south where I’d been but not really explored as I should’ve. Arne and I walked, hand in hand, through the forest, leaving our mounts picketed upstream. He named off all of the tree species and pointed out birds. He knew them by their call alone.
“You love it out here. I can tell,” I said, moving to tuck myself under his arm.
“I do. It’s much better with company, I have to admit.”
We found ourselves perched on some rocks next to a babbling brook that acted like a balm to my worries.
“My mother used to bring me here when I was a tiny thing. She would sit and watch me bounce around and bother the hell out of her while she tried to relax. But she never complained once. I splashed her and tugged at her dress, wanting her to play with me. No matter what was going on, she would stop and make sure I had her attention.”
I actually hadn’t realized he grew up here.
I dipped the tips of my fingers into the water. “I’d love to meet her one day.”
He cleared his throat and wiped his palm on the thighs of his pants. “She passed when I was fourteen. A kick from a horse. It had been my turn to feed the horses, but I had run off with my friends and shucked my responsibilities.”
Gods alive. All of my problems seemed like whispers in the wind compared to what clearly sat on this man’s conscience.
“Arne, you think it’s your fault your mother is dead.”
He shrugged. “My father did as well. Did until he passed last year. He took me with him and moved after she was gone, but I never felt at home anywhere else. We lived a few hundred miles away and kept breeding horses, but he lost interest more and more.”