*
Terrified Maris would grow bored and leave, Ture rushed to close and get everything cleaned and cleared so that his people could go home and he could be with Maris. But for some stupid reason, it took twice as long to do the simplest task.
Please don’t leave, Mari...
Damn you, fate, for conspiring against me.
By the time he returned to his office to do the last bit of paperwork, he had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that he was too late.
It evaporated the minute he opened the door and found Maris sleeping on his couch. A slow smile spread across Ture’s face as he noted how very boyish and sweet Mari appeared. His long legs were bent, and yet they still dangled over the edge of it. He’d taken his jacket off and used it as a makeshift blanket while he had his head resting on his arm. Never had he seen Maris more at ease.
Or more delectable.
The need to rake his hand over that luscious sight was so compelling that he wasn’t sure how he resisted. But he didn’t want to disturb him until he could give Maris his full attention. Silently, he started for his desk. But the instant he moved, Maris shot off the couch into a lethal pose.
He relaxed as soon as his gaze focused on Ture. “Sorry. I should have warned you that I’m a light sleeper.”
No kidding. One who came awake like a soldier, ready to battle.
Ture filed that away as a warning not to make any sudden move while Maris slept. “No problem. I have a little bit of paperwork to finish in here, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Maris picked his jacket up from the floor. “Do you need me to leave?”
“No.” Ture blushed as he realized how fast and forceful that response came out. “I mean—”
Maris cut his words off with a laugh. “Why are we so nervous around each other? I haven’t danced around a man like this since the days before I told Darling I was gay, and I was terrified he’d find out and hate me.”
Because I’ve never been in love with a man like this before...
Ture barely caught those words. They were the truth. He had a hunger for Maris unlike anything he’d ever known. But it was too soon to tell him that. “I don’t know. I think it’s your fierce aura that intimidates me.”
“My fierce aura?”
Ture nodded. “It’s like being in the same room with an exotic wild beast. You’re sleek and beautiful. Every movement is a symphony of grace. And at the same time, I know how easily you can take a life and not blink. How fast you can erupt into a bloodthirsty assassin.”
“I’m not bloodthirsty.”
Ture closed the distance between them to straighten the folds in Maris’s shirt. “But I’ve seen you kill without remorse. And I’ve had a bad run of people who’ve hurt me. So...yes, you make me a little nervous. I don’t want you to have some bad flashback and kill me.”
He cupped Ture’s face in his palm as those dark eyes scorched him with their intensity. “I would never hurt you, Ture.” Maris lowered his lips to his and gave him the gentlest kiss he’d ever known.
Ture closed his eyes and savored being held again. How he hoped this wasn’t the mistake Maris feared it to be. “I think my paperwork can wait.”
Maris pulled back with a deep, sweet laugh. “Work first. I’ll still be here and I’ll still be hard for you.”
His eyebrow shot north at the last bit. It was so out of character for his prim and proper soldier-statesman.
Maris kissed his brow and stepped back then gently nudged Ture toward his desk. “Quicker you get done...”
Quicker he could dine on what he hungered for most.
Biting his lip, Ture went to run the receipts and batch the credit slips while placing reorders for the morning. All the while, his gaze kept wandering over to Maris, who sat on the couch with his link in his hands. “What are you doing?”
An adorable smile curled his lips. “I’m a fierce gamer. Right now, I’m slaughtering Hauk who’s playing against me.”
That surprised him. He would have never guessed Maris was one of those. “You game?”
Maris shrugged. “It was part of our training when I was a soldier and while I don’t relish a real kill, fake body counts entertain me to no end.”
“I would never have thought that of you.”
“I know, right? Underneath all this mountain of incredible sexiness beats the heart of a little kid.”
Ture laughed at the image in his head. A part of him envied Darling for the long past he’d had with Maris. “What were you like as a child?”
“Brooding. Aggravating. Temperamental... Haven’t really changed, now that I think about it.”
“I wouldn’t classify you as brooding or temperamental.”
Maris flashed a grin. “No disclaimer on aggravating. Noted.”
Ture laughed again. “You are not aggravating, Mari.”
“Just wait. You haven’t seen me in the morning. I assure you, I have PMS until two...sometimes three in the afternoon. Not even Darling wants to deal with that bitch.”