Across the Music (Across the Ocean Book 2) (5 page)

My blood has been heating up to a light boil during my perusal of this bloke, flowing slowly through all my veins like lava and lighting me up. My imagination starts playing its own porno, full of naked male limbs mixing with mine, hot kisses and dirty yet delicious deeds.

Loki is still sitting in his chair, oblivious to me while strumming on his acoustic guitar. I'm not sure how long has passed, but it couldn't be longer than a minute or two. I couldn't have been staring at him for some incredibly lengthy time. I hope. The sweet notes he's playing wash over me, filling all the empty crevices inside of me full to brimming. I move from the door frame and into the room, leaning back more comfortably against the solid wall so that I can watch him play better.

My eyes eagerly take in the artwork coating his arms and hands, while the melody carries me on a breeze to a sweet land full of emotions that I can't place or name. His fingers move quickly and effortlessly over the frets and strings, never missing a note. The high notes blend perfectly with the deeper ones, and I'm simply enthralled.

I can feel a familiar pressure building in my throat with the urge to sing along, as a melody forms in my head and tries to push its way out of me. I think I'm still too shy to start singing suddenly in front of this bloke though. He might already have a melody for this song, and I'd hate to overstep myself or make him upset over it.

I feel a sweet melody flowing into my ears along with the guitar, and I realize that I haven't been doing such a great job of reigning myself in. The compulsion to sing is too great, and I've begun unwittingly humming the notes out loud that are calling for me to set them free, and I hope he won't freak out when he realizes.

Loki continues to play flawlessly with my humming, although his head suddenly jerks in my direction when he hears me, an eyebrow quirked with curiosity. Pure, undiluted blue eyes stare at me with an intensity that makes me suddenly shy to keep sing, the notes fading from my throat. My pussy begins to throb with the beat of my pounding heart, tingling with awareness.

"
Ekki hætta
," he commands his voice throaty and raspy. I know enough of Icelandic to know that means 'don't stop'. I'm surprised that he wants me to continue, but begin my humming again. He still hasn't missed a single note on his guitar as far as I can tell. I'm impressed, and so are my lady parts. His command hit me like a wave of heat, and I liked it.

The rest of the song feels as though it flies by too quickly before it's over, but Loki doesn't stop looking at me for a single second until the last note fades. My insides are starting to tremble from the intensity of his gaze and the silence suddenly between us; I'm unable to keep eye contact with him for a long periods of time due to my nerves feeling like floppy spaghetti. I realize that the ciggy still hanging from his full lips must have died a short time ago. He's probably even forgotten he has it, and I'll take that as a good sign.

"
Fallegt
," he murmurs deeply and satisfyingly, nodding his head softly with approval, and I feel like a proud dog that has been told they did well. A shy heat rushes to my cheeks, and I would even go so far as to say that I'd probably appreciate a good rub down from him like a dog too. I'd happily roll over and let him rub my belly. I clear my throat and take a step towards him, unable to help myself as I stretch an arm out towards him for a handshake.

"I'm Sophie. I'm here a bit early for the party going on tonight. Sorry if I crashed your jam-fest," there's a giddiness inside of me from the rush I get with singing, coupled with the feeling that I'm meeting someone famous or important. I would bet money that he's just a regular bloke. Handsome as fuck though. Maybe he'll become important to me.

A smile spreads easily across my lips as I lift my arm to shake hands with Loki. He puts his guitar down carefully and pulls the ciggy from his lips and into the ashtray. He stands up in front of me, suddenly towering over me in the way that women tend to love. His warm hand reaches for and firmly clasps mine, gripping more firmly then I would expect for a first meeting, but I don't complain as my eyes drop to his heavily tattooed hands and knuckles wrapped around my own much smaller hand. The artwork is exceptionally well done, I’m extremely impressed. And feeling rather randy, now that I think about it.

Seconds pass that feel like hours while our eyes stare into each other’s. Our hands are slowing shaking continuously, as if we can’t be bothered to let go. He stands up, placing his hand where his towel is tucked into itself, to prevent it from slipping (sadly), and he takes another step towards me.

There isn't much space in the room to begin with, but now I'm overwhelmed by his presence in the best way possible. His scent fills my head; his heat radiates off of his chest and seeps into me. My inner trembling begins again, and I'm more than a little concerned for the state of my knickers. The party hasn’t even started yet!

“It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, Sophie,” Loki’s raspy voice is another type of music to my ears, and it definitely doesn’t help me feel less attracted to him. His accent is much heavier and pronounced than Gunnar's, and it feels like an invisible caress down my spine.

“Same to you mate,” I smile and wink back at him, releasing his hand. The heat evaporates quickly between us with a breeze from the open balcony door, leaving my palm feeling cold, clammy and bereft.

"I'm sure you can see that I'm in a position where I need to get dressed. I hadn't expected to come across you when I did…" His eyes take a journey down my body and back up to meet my eyes again, he grins at me. Slowly, Loki begins to walk around me, still close enough to where I could reach out without fully extending my arm and touch him. His bare chest had been in front of me, and there are important mysteries that lay hidden behind that flimsy towel.
So close yet so far away
!

"Sure, I u-understand," I stutter like an idiot, full of feminine hormones and apparently no brains.
Stop embarrassing yourself; he's just a regular bloke
! I attempt to move out of his way, and he reaches an arm out to lightly touch my upper arm.

"You sing beautifully, I hope to hear you again sometime," he walks out the door without another word or glance, leaving me flushed with pleasure at his praise and his touch.

I stand and gawk at the open doorway for a split-second, trying to regain my composure some before heading to the living room again. I don't know if I should be embarrassed that my evening has consisted of me drooling over these two guys or not.

I head down the hallway back towards the living room. I'm excited to see Sophie again. I notice that the door to the bathroom is now open, steam escaping lazily from the heated room. Loki must be finished with his shower and is probably getting ready. As I walk into the entryway, I observe Sophie coming out of the small room that's connected to the living room, a sweet smile on her lips and pink cheeks. I can only assume that she's met Loki by now, as most women walk away from him with similar expressions.

"Hey Sophie, come in the living room with me while I set up the music and open the doors inbetween the rooms," her head turns quickly in my direction and she nods, her face lighting up as though she's happy to see me. It takes some effort to keep myself from strutting like a proud peacock into the living room.

Sophie isn't far behind me, and she returns to the spot she sat when she first arrived, on the sofa. I walk across the room to the closed sliding doors between this and the small room, and push them both all the way open. The space instantly feels much bigger and suitable for a party. Turning back to face her, I notice her eyes quickly travel from my ass back up to my eyes, a mischievous smile curling her lips. She's adorable.

I turn and take the few steps towards the computer I have set up next to the far end of the couch. After a few seconds of silence between Sophie and me while I click around with a purpose, music finally begins to play through the surround sound speakers I have set up in key locations around the room for optimal listening. I think a bad sound system is like fingernails on a chalkboard for my ears, and I'm pretty particular compared to most people.

When I finally finish, and turn back to Sophie, I watch as she moves her head to the beat, her eyes closed as she lets the music take her away. She's so sexy. Heck, any woman who can appreciate good music, especially the kind that I like, are of course more attractive to me.
Psychic Gibbon
, by Younger Brother is playing, and they're one of my favorite bands. Their music always hits me on a personal level. Katla was all about whatever was the most popular pop song, and she didn't want to listen to other types, which was terribly annoying, and was always limiting. Why am I comparing everything about Sophie to Katla? They're not similar in any way. I need to remember that.

I pull a lighter out of my pocket, making my way around the two connected rooms, lighting candles I had placed earlier this evening. The warm, reddish glow is enough to allow me to dim the lights low and still have a great ambiance for the party. When I'm finished, I turn back to Sophie and sit at my spot on the couch. I grab the beer I had placed on the table earlier and take a few chugs while Sophie just stares at me, her eyes traveling down to watch my throat move as it swallows. I almost start choking like an idiot, but manage to quell most of my coughing with lots of throat clearing.
Smooth, Gunnar
. She's just smiling at me sympathetically, still enjoying the music I hope. I pull my phone out of my pocket to check the time and realize that people will start arriving any minute. If only I could get a little longer to have an actual one on one conversation with Sophie.

"This is a great song; would you tell me the artist?" Her voice startles me from my phone, and I look up at her genuinely interested face. Her green eyes are mesmerizing and I get lost in them and the music for a moment before I remember that she asked me a question. I feel weird things, but I don't understand what they mean.

"Ah, right. Younger Brother. Great stuff, huh?" She nods and looks away, I'm probably too intense, or idiotic rather. What is going through her head right now? I feel like there's something about her that I don't know yet, and that I want to know it. What is she thinking? I just hope it's about me, whatever it is.

A dark figure fills the doorway to the living room and I see Loki is dressed and ready for the evening. I'm pretty sure that the two of them met earlier, and I'm wondering what she thought about him. Loki and I are really close, and have on more than one occasion had a thing for the same girl. Sophie must see that I'm looking at something in particular, and turns her head to look towards the doorway too.

I think my brain needs a reboot. I haven't taken any drugs but I feel almost out-of-body-high. This music, Gunnar's eyes, paired with meeting Loki the way I just did, my noodle-nerves are overloading my senses. Too much good-looking male meat and beautiful music. I'm drawn to Gunnar's aura of a pure, good man. He has the best lines on his face, those of someone who has been happy or had a good life. No deep lines from old worries and stress. I want a taste of that.

When I turn to look at the doorway and see Loki, my thoughts return to my homemade imaginary porno. Tattooed limbs mixed with bare limbs, lips on me, and mine of them with enough heat to burn us to ash. I think I'm actually on fire right now from the mental images.

I turn back to Gunnar who is watching me closely. I know my face is probably shooting flames; it's so hot with embarrassment and my wayward sex drive. My active imagination is still gifting me with enough brain candy to make my knickers useless.

“What’s the plan tonight, Gunnar? Are we partying?” I’m overwhelmingly relieved to hear Loki start speaking, and in English, it’s incredibly thoughtful and something I really appreciate. So often I’ve been left listening to a huge conversation while I couldn’t understand any of it, and it isn’t a pleasant feeling to be left out. I know I'm a foreigner here, so I don't say anything usually.

“Já, we’re hosting that engagement party for Brooke and Ari. It's a small one though. People should start showing up at any minute.”

Even though Gunnar is talking to Loki, he keeps looking at me to include me in the conversation. It’s considerate and sweet that both of them are making an effort to make me feel welcome.

There’s a knock on the front door, and I’m grateful for the distraction, and a chance to get myself under control. Gunnar gets up to answer the door. Loki walks over and grabs his guitar from the connecting room where he played earlier, returning to the living room to sit on the middle piece of the sofa, to my right.

Damn he looks good in those black jeans. Crossing one leg over the knee of the other again, he lounges back against the couch with the guitar across his chest; ready to play. Gunnar opens the front door and I hear a woman’s voice coo at him in obvious pleasure at having arrived.

I also hear an American accent, so I lean against the arm of the couch so I can turn to look towards the front door. I'm hoping that it’s Brooke. I could sure use another woman here to even out the hormones in the room. Sure enough, Brooke and Ari have entered the apartment and have begun the friendly hug and kiss that is so common here.