All You Need

  “I like to see skin.” He kissed my shoulder. “Yours especially.”

  He’s playing a part. Remember that.

  “I’m ready for the next one.” I reached for the zipper, but Axl’s fingers were already there.

  “Let me help you.” He inched the zipper down. After he finished, he murmured, “Touching you makes me lose my head.”

  Our eyes met in the mirror. “Since I’m half-undressed, maybe you should return to the main room like a dutiful boyfriend so you’re not tempted.”

  His warm lips traveled the slope of my shoulder, producing a shiver. “Doesn’t matter if you’re fully clothed or half-naked, Annika. I will always be tempted by you.”

  Then he was gone.

  I locked my legs. No way was I letting him render me weak-kneed.

  Elena sailed in. “Zis dress iz ze one you vant, An-nik-a. Timeless. Classic. Perfect for your skin and hair.”

  I waved off her help because we were on a tight schedule for time.

  The dress was a simple sheath style that ended below my knees. A fabric band stretched across my upper arms, giving the appearance of a strapless dress, yet it wasn’t. The top accentuated my breasts without being tasteless. The fabric, in an ethereal blue color of an early-morning summer sky, had been pin tucked down the front, creating texture.

  It was stunning.

  “Well?” Axl said impatiently outside the curtain.

  “This one will do.”

  His expression when I walked out?

  Killer.

  I’d made the chiseled-jawed Swede’s mouth drop.

  “I need shoes as well.” I wandered over to the shelf and immediately spied the ones I wanted. Modified mules in a pastel floral swirl pattern, with a tiny blue jewel on the toe. A spiky heel of about three inches and the back of the shoe molded around the wearer’s heel. “These. Size eight. And this.” I grabbed a small 1950s clutch-style purse in a pearly white satin, with a short handle that I could nestle in the crook of my elbow.

  Axl leaned against the wall, watching me from beneath hooded eyes. If he were a jungle predator, his tail would be swinging as he waited for the perfect moment to pounce.

  Standing, I slipped on the right shoe as I braced my left hand on the wall. “What?”

  “You picked that purse. You like white?”

  “It goes with pretty much everything.” I switched sides and slipped on the other shoe. Oh. Yeah. These were gonna kill my feet all damn night. “Why?”

  Axl pushed himself off the wall and pointed to a rack behind the payment area. “The white fur stole.”

  Elena’s eyes lit up. “You vant Annika to try it on?”

  “No. We’ll take it.” He handed her a credit card. “All of it on this.”

  “Of course, Mr. Hammerquist.” Elena handed him the fur.

  Axl turned and stalked me until I’d frozen by the shoe display. His voice was a husky rasp when he said, “Lift your hair.”

  I twisted it with one hand, my eyes never leaving Axl’s face as he draped the fur across my shoulders. The tiny button in the front rested directly above the V of my cleavage, and for a man with large fingers he was extraordinarily deft as he fastened it.

  He tugged it in place, smoothing my hair back after I’d released it. Then he held my chin. “Beautiful. Now you truly look like a vision from a fairy tale, Princess.”

  “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

  “But I wanted to. I’ve never had a woman to spoil and now I do.”

  Elena called for him and he turned away.

  Staring after him, I silently asked the universe the million-dollar question: All of this is pretend, right? Cementing our reputation even in front of Elena?

  I heard my cell phone buzz in the dressing room and went in to grab my bag so I could switch purses.

  “These items will be delivered to your office tomorrow morning, so leave anything you don’t want to take tonight,” Axl said.

  “Okay. I need three minutes to freshen my makeup and then I swear I’ll be ready.”

  The fur turned my hair staticky, so I plaited it into a quick French braid. My cheeks were flushed—Axl seriously had bought me a freakin’ fur?—so no need for blush. I swept on powder, added mascara, eyeliner and a fresh coat of lipstick.

  I exited the dressing room. “Done.”

  “Good. Let’s go.” Axl reached for my hand.

  “Thank you, Elena,” I called as Axl pulled me out the door.

  On the sidewalk, he said, “Our car is here,” and helped me inside.

  Glad he hadn’t sprung for a limo. That’d be over-the-top.

  Says the girl wearing fur.

  Axl lifted my hand from the console and kissed the back of my hand. “Why so quiet?”

  “Taking a moment to reflect.”

  He snorted.

  “What? I can be introspective.”

  “You’re fretting about me buying the fur and clothes and you’re dissecting my motive.”

  Damn him. “Maybe I am.”

  “Simple. You’re appearing at this party as my girlfriend. If you weren’t my girlfriend you wouldn’t be attending the party and you wouldn’t need appropriate attire, so it is my responsibility to pay for it. And I cannot stress enough how stunning you are.”

  “Is this how Axl acts in public now that we’ve dispensed with the sexual temptation?”

  He laughed.

  “What?”

  “There is nothing short of castration or a sex-change operation that will end the sexual heat between us, Annika. We’ve discussed not acting on it.”

  “How lucky for us we’re both so strong-willed. Lesser mortals might be tempted.”

  He had nothing to say to that.

  The car stopped. Axl was out and on my side helping me out almost before the driver reacted.

  I’d been to this private club more times than I could count—both growing up and in recent years as a Lund corporate exec, so I hadn’t expected the rush of nerves. Axl too had become quiet. Would I see the man he’d described earlier? The one who listened instead of talked?

  A tasteful rendering of the Wild logo on the door to one of the smaller event rooms indicated we’d reached the right place. A woman with a clipboard standing just inside the doorway signed us in and then we were on our own.

  “What now? Stand here looking stupid until someone comes up and starts talking to us?” Axl said irritably.

  “Etiquette dictates we find the hosts of the party first, thank them, exchange chitchat and then we’re free to head to the bar and mingle with other guests.”

  Axl spied Bunny and Ron and beat a path straight to them. They were already talking with another couple. Axl’s agitated state increased, so I tried to distract him. I slid my hand up the lapel of his suit coat. “Have you always had such great taste in clothes?”

  “I know what I like.”

  “Axl. This suit you’re wearing didn’t come off the rack.”

  “It didn’t.” He gave me a fast smile. “I learned early on that I’m difficult to fit and I’m picky. My tailor in Stockholm made my first suit when I graduated from secondary school. He’s still making my clothes. Now I can afford a better quality of cloth and need many more clothes, not just suits.”

  “If it’s not our newest D-man,” a hearty male voice said.

  Axl smiled and thrust out his hand. “Ron-Du. Thank you for the invite.”

  “Glad you could make it. Happy that we don’t need a translator.” He clapped Axl on the shoulder.

  Bunny said, “Annika. Darling, you are ravishing!”

  “Thank you. You are very smashing yourself.” Bunny looked ready for prom. In the 1990s. Satin dress in a deep green, the bodice covered in sequins and rhinestones. She had a pouf in her skirt and a pouf in her hair. I still didn’t have a clue about her age . . . maybe late forties. But for all I knew she could be in her early thirties.

  “Annika, this is my husband, Ron.”

  “Happy to meet you. Th
ank you for the party.”

  “It’s Bunny’s deal. I just put on the monkey suit when she tells me to.” He squeezed her shoulder. “My honey Bunny is the original Energizer Bunny. She’ll dangle a carrot and rope you into doing stuff.”

  “If she makes it through the first five games,” Bunny said with a condescending smile. “Few do. Love the fur. Wherever did you find it?”

  “Crafted from my own two hands. I trapped, gutted and skinned a couple of rabbits that annoyed me—”

  “She’s joking,” Axl interrupted. “We bought it at Elena’s.”

  “Is that in the Mall of America?” Bunny asked.

  “Yes, you can’t miss it—it’s catty-corner from the LEGO store,” I said with a straight face.

  That was when Axl led me away.

  “What?”

  “Troublemaker.”

  “Just making conversation.”

  Three guys approached him from behind. “So, Hammerquist, is this the hot chick with the hot car?”

  “This is my girlfriend, Annika Lund. These guys were salivating over your AMG more than you, so forget their names right after I introduce you to Flitte, Dykstrand and McClellan.”

  “Hello.”

  “Did you know he could speak English? I mean you had to, right?”

  I glanced at Flitte after that comment and then said to Axl in Swedish, “You are in big trouble for this.”

  “You have no idea what I’ve promised them to make up for it.”

  “See, dumb-ass?” McClellan bumped into Flitte. “I told you she had to speak his language.”

  They were off.

  We cut to the back corner, hoping to find food.

  I didn’t hide my snicker when I spied the food on the buffet table.

  Testily Axl said, “What’s so funny?”

  “That.” I pointed to the relish trays. “Of course Bunny serves rabbit food at her event.”

  That did bring a tiny smile to his face.

  Two media reps worked the room, snapping pictures. We posed, but I knew the more intimate ones of us would reach the news outlets.

  Leah and Linc were chatting with Coach and his wife—who looked young enough to be a bunny herself.

  But after the photo ops, Axl had a hard time deciding which group to join if any, so we sort of stood in the middle, staring at each other.

  “I hate this,” he said tersely. “So don’t try and make me laugh.”

  “You’d rather I tried to make you mad? Okay. I signed us up for karaoke later.”

  “Not. In. The. Mood. For. Jokes.”

  “Lucky for you they didn’t hire a clown.”

  Axl got right in my face and growled, “Do you even listen to me?”

  That was when I realized his stomach was growling. I placed my hand on his belly.

  Oh, hello, hard six-pack of man flesh. Would you like to get intimately acquainted with my tongue?

  “Did you just offer to lick my abs?” he demanded softly.

  I’d said that out loud? “No. The acoustics in here are terrible. Good thing we’re not singing karaoke. But I do have a solution to your problem. Follow me.” I laced our fingers together and took him through a door at the back of the room.

  “We’re not supposed to be back here,” Axl said tersely.

  “Relax. We won’t get in trouble. I’m a regular here.”

  “How regular?”

  “‘Forced Lund family brunch every Sunday with my grandfather when I was growing up’ kind of regular. Now there’s an LI function at least once a month. We pay hefty dues to be club members, so we utilize the meeting rooms as often as possible.”

  I led him down the hallway to the main kitchen. It wasn’t super busy on a Monday night.

  The cook wiped his hands on his apron and came over to greet us. “Miss Annika. You look far too lovely to be traipsing around in my messy kitchen.”

  “Your kitchen is always spotless, Maxwell, so I’m not worried. However, I am concerned for my hangry boyfriend. We didn’t eat before we came. We assumed there’d be food—real food—here, and that is not the case.”

  “What party?”

  “Ducheneaux.”

  “Eh, finger food. No wonder you’re hungry. What can I do for you?”

  “Give me free rein in your pantry and prep area so I can fix my man something.”

  Maxwell grinned and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Take whatever you need.”

  I led Axl to a rolling stool and said, “Sit. You, sir, have to hold my fur.”

  He latched on to my hips. “Annika. You don’t have to do this.”

  “I want to do this for you.” I smooched his mouth twice.

  “You are a goddess among women,” he murmured against my lips. He slipped the stole from my shoulders, sensually trailing the fur down my bare arms.

  Don’t imagine him teasing your entire naked body with long sweeps of that fur. Or alternating between the soft fur and his rough-skinned hands.

  Shaking off that thought, I grabbed four slices of hearty multigrain bread, tomatoes, brown mustard, mayonnaise, slices of Gouda and Swiss cheese and a tin of caviar. First, I sliced the tomatoes. I debated on toasting the bread.

  “How did you know?”

  “That you were hangry? Well . . . I think hangry pretty much says it all, don’t you?”

  “No, what ingredients to choose to build a sandwich.” He gestured to the cutting board. “That’s exactly what I would’ve ordered in Sweden.”

  “When my grandpa comes to visit us from Sweden, he complains about the bread in the U.S., so he started baking his own. He insists on making me lunch like this at least once a week.”

  “Do you ever visit him?”

  “I haven’t for a few years.”

  “You should come to Sweden with me. We’ll visit him and I’ll show you my favorite places.”

  I pointed my knife at him. “You wouldn’t try to trick me into snowboarding or going eel ice fishing?”

  Axl laughed. “No, there are plenty of other things we could do.”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as going for a hike.”

  I shuddered. “Only if we’re hiking to a secluded cabin in the woods with modern amenities. I have no qualms admitting I am an indoor enthusiast.”

  He smirked. “I bet after one hiking excursion with me you’d change your mind about all the opportunities the great outdoors offers. In fact, maybe for our date tomorrow night we should hike around one of the ten thousand lakes you Minnesotans brag about. I’d even pack traditional Swedish hiking snacks for you.”