The Solstice Mistletoe Effect (8 page)

Sigrid was obviously far more interesting than he was,

probably

Magnus’s

equal

in

terms

of

scientific

understanding. And Magnus clearly missed that part of his

career. Interesting conversation about the newest scientific

developments was something that Lance could never give his

lover.

Then there was the obvious support Sigrid had been

given by Magnus’s parents. His mother hadn’t been quite as

obvious, but her tacit approval and friendly smile had

spoken volumes. Sigrid was certainly the more “appropriate”

partner for Magnus in the Carstens’ eyes. Lance had felt

physically sick by the end of dinner.

That was when he’d gone upstairs. But sleep had been a

long time in coming. He hadn’t cried that much since the

first time he’d made love with Magnus, after which the man

had carried him back to his own bedroom. He’d felt utterly

rejected. Last night had brought back all his old fears.

Magnus loved him, but would that be enough to keep him

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57

interested? Keep him committed to Lance and Jakob? What

if he decided to return to his life of cutting-edge research,

with or without Sigrid at his side?

Lance would be left utterly alone.

He hadn’t wanted to stay in bed to wait for Magnus to

wake up this morning. He’d sneaked out of their room like a

thief in the night, focusing all his love and energy on taking

care of Jakob. He probably shouldn’t have done that. They

really did need to talk; Magnus needed to understand why

Lance had felt so hurt. And Lance needed to know what

Magnus had been thinking, if anything.

They’d traveled to the island of Djurgården, using the

same taxi service as on the other days, except this time they

got to take a trip with the ferry to reach the island itself. The

museum was a huge, modern-looking building dominated by

a large copper roof with stylized masts that represented the

actual height of the Vasa when she was fully rigged.

“Do you want to take the family trail around the

museum?” Magnus turned around from where he was

buying their tickets. “The lady says it’s the best way to see

not just the main exhibit but all the other exhibits and

models that portray the construction, location, and recovery

of the ship as well.”

“That sounds like a sensible idea, doesn’t it, Jakob?”

Lance looked at the eagerly nodding boy and smiled. “I guess

we can take that as a yes.”

When Magnus had completed the formalities, they

followed the signs to the entrance of the main hall.

“Look at the ship! She’s beautiful.” Jakob stood rooted

to the floor. “I can’t believe she sank on her first trip.”

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Lance had to agree. The ship was huge, the original

parts clearly visible because they were much darker than

those that had been fitted during the restoration. Old and

new looked different, but the overall impression was still

overwhelming.

Jakob followed the well-marked path and soaked up the

information like a dry sponge. They climbed from level to

level, each part offering a different view of the magnificent

ship.

When they were done, they went outside to admire the

four other floating museum ships. Jakob’s favorite was the

icebreaker Sankt Erik. The idea of needing a ship to cut a

route through the frozen ocean clearly fascinated him.

After a short visit to the museum shop, where Jakob got

a book about the Vasa’s history, they had lunch in the Vasa

Restaurant. They were all fascinated by the maritime

decorations, and the harbor view was priceless. Jakob stared

at the Sankt Erik the whole time, eating only when they

reminded him. Lance wasn’t really hungry, and he noticed

that Magnus wasn’t eating much either. This was getting

ridiculous. The only thing that made Lance feel slightly

better was the fact that Magnus was suffering as well. And

how stupid was that?

In the afternoon, they visited the Maritime Museum,

sticking with the topic of the day. Lance felt more and more

disoriented. It was difficult to focus, and he didn’t take in

much of the wonderful exhibits.

In the early evening, they went to one of the most

famous puppet theatres in Stockholm. The renowned

Dockteatern Tittut was more like a party than a visit to the

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59

theatre. The combination of puppets, actors, and shadow

puppetry created a stunning experience that made

everyone’s eyes light up with joy. The message of hope in the

piece they watched was clearly not lost on Magnus either,

since he took Lance’s hand during the performance and

didn’t let go even when the lights came back up.

“We need to talk, älskling.” Magnus’s eyes were a

burning silver-blue, suspiciously luminous. “I can’t stand

seeing you hurt like this.”

“We will. Just as soon as we can.” Lance hoped their

talk would be enough to shut up the little voice at the back

of his head that kept insisting there were some problems

that talking couldn’t solve.

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Chapter Seven

LANCE wasn’t only physically tired when they finally made it

home; he was mentally exhausted from all the worrying.

Thankfully, there was no big family dinner planned, and so

they put Jakob to bed after having a few sandwiches. Their

apologies to Magnus’s parents were met with indignant

frowns, but he didn’t care. He was determined to finally talk

it all out with Magnus, and it seemed that his lover agreed

with him.

As soon as the bedroom door was closed behind them,

Magnus opened his arms, and Lance walked into them,

relishing the physical contact he’d missed for way too long.

He leaned his head against Magnus’s chest and listened to

one of his favorite sounds: his lover’s strong heartbeat. They

stood like that, not moving except to breathe, for quite a

while. Lance took in the warmth coming from his lover’s

arms, his musky male scent, and the feeling of his hard

muscles against Lance’s body.

“Come on, älskling, let’s get comfortable.” Magnus

briefly tightened his arms before he let go and took Lance’s

hand to lead him to the comfortable recliner in front of the

bay window that looked out over the drive and the quiet

street.

Once Magnus was comfortably seated, Lance climbed

onto the recliner and snuggled in next to him. Lying on his

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61

side, he slid one leg over Magnus’s thigh and an arm across

his middle, supporting his head with his hand so he could

look at his lover’s face.

Magnus smiled, and Lance couldn’t help himself. He

moved forward and pressed his lips to Magnus’s, suddenly

needing the intimate contact with an urgency that made him

sigh into his lover’s mouth as the other man opened up to

him without hesitation. Their tongues stroked and caressed

each other, and Lance melted into the tightening embrace.

Magnus’s hand stroked his nape, and the tender caress

travelled straight to his hardening cock.

They both pulled back at the same time, panting for air

and smiling like fools.

“I love kissing you, baby, you know that.” God, it was

hard to stop kissing Magnus. “But we need to talk about

what happened with Sigrid last night.”

“I know.” Magnus nodded slowly. “I got the impression

that something about her or her visit has you worried. Even

though I don’t really understand what it could be, I noticed

that you’ve been acting differently ever since she was here.”

“You don’t understand?” Lance looked at Magnus’s

puzzled frown and realized that his lover was serious.

“No, I really don’t. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to

figure out what it was that I did or didn’t do that had you

upset enough to cry yourself to sleep.” Magnus shrugged,

looking truly clueless.

“Oh, Magnus!” Where could he even start? “Didn’t you

see how she looked at you? Didn’t you notice how she only

spoke with you, ignoring me completely after having said

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hello? I know that she’s your friend, but she could at least

have made an effort to include me in the conversation.”

“Huh? How she looked at me? What does that have to

do with anything?” Magnus frowned.

“You honestly didn’t notice, did you?” Lance grimaced.

His lover could be so oblivious; it was a miracle the two of

them had ever gotten together.

Magnus shook his head no.

“Okay, let me try and explain. She looked at you as

though she thought you’re her lover. She completely adores

you, and I’m sure she’d love to have you to herself.” It still

hurt just thinking about it.

“Oh, that’s ridiculous!” Magnus tensed as if he wanted

to sit up, but light pressure from Lance’s hand stopped him.

“She was one of the most promising students when I wrote

my dissertation and I was teaching a few classes to earn

some extra money. She was, and still is, a very bright

scientist. I’ve always been happy to help and support her

because good glaciologists are very rare and we need to stick

together as much as we can. But our relationship was never

anything other than professional.”

“It looks to me like she may have missed that memo.”

Lance was sure the woman wanted more from Magnus than

a professional relationship. “Just look at the way she kept

peppering you with questions during dinner, not giving you

an opportunity to talk to anyone else. Not even your

parents.”

“But surely that was because she enjoyed talking to an

old mentor.” Magnus looked thoughtful, clearly trying to

figure it out. “And I must admit that I enjoyed talking to her

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too. Grand Teton National Park is not all that advanced in

terms of the science they do. And I miss some of the more

theoretical aspects of my previous jobs.”

Lance had been afraid of that. His current job wasn’t

challenging enough for Magnus. Sooner or later, he’d want to

go back to his old life, and it looked like Sigrid might be the

one who’d make it possible for him. After all, she was still

working at Stockholm University, and from what Lance had

understood, she’d been asked to organize the university’s

next polar expedition. They could probably use someone with

Magnus’s level of experience. What a neat cover for the

woman to sneak into Magnus’s life! From what Lance had

seen last night, she definitely had Mr. Carstens’s support,

and Mrs. Carstens might not be far behind.

“So you don’t think the level of interest she showed was

a bit over the top for ‘an old mentor’?” Lance had to try and

get through to Magnus. God knew what Sigrid would do if

she thought Magnus was open to her advances.

“Not really, no.” Magnus cocked his head. “She’s always

been a bit intense. She even tried to get personal a few times.

But I ignored her, and while I never advertised that I’m gay, I

never hid it either. She’s not stupid, so I’m sure she got the

message that anything she tries with me won’t lead

anywhere.”

Lance was floored. How could Magnus think that

ignoring that woman was enough to make her understand,

never mind give up? Magnus was sure she’d gotten the

message? How was Lance supposed to fight his own lover’s

insensitivity to the woman’s wiliness?

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LANCE was still mad at himself the next morning. He hadn’t

been able to make Magnus understand why Sigrid might be

a threat to their relationship. His lover had reassured Lance

again and again that he loved only him. Magnus had come

right out and said that assuming that Sigrid had “designs”

on him was not logical and lacked evidence. And since it was