Twist (Siren Publishing Allure) (13 page)

“I agree.” Lana noted Mona’s stunned expression and silently groaned.

“Tell me you love me.”

“Of course. I should get back to my conversation with Mona.”

He chuckled. “Forgot she was there?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“So how is that going?”

Lana considered her words carefully. “Willow.”

“That bad, huh? I see why you hesitate to say that you love me. Say
min sann kärlek
instead.”

“Why?”

“It is Swedish for ‘my true love.’”

“I like that. Min sann kärlek.”

“Good luck. Call me when you get home.”

“I will. Have fun.”

“I won’t.”

Lana giggled at his comment and sighed when he hung up. Mona was glaring at her. “He has a dungeon and wants you to fuck his brother?”

“What?”

“You asked him if he was afraid that you would break into the dungeon and find his torments. What the hell is that?”

“It was a private joke.”

“Is fucking his brother a joke?”

“Yeah, it is. His brother is a chef and made a comment about how much they both liked fudge. I took it wrong and thought they wanted to gang up on me. I was mistaken. You had to be there. I have a long drive ahead and my plants are cooking in the car.”

“Where the hell does he live?”

“In Ridgefield, way out in the woods. He is worried about me and doesn’t want me at his house all alone. He asked me to go sleep at his brother’s. His brother is sweet.”

“I had no idea that you were this trusting and naive.”

“I’m not fighting with you about this, Mona. You have my phone number if you want to call me. I will be fine.”

Mona threw her hands up in exasperation and without another word turned and stalked back to her car. Lana watched her go and then decided that she had packed enough for the night. She grabbed her two favorite paintings of her dog and locked up the house, heading for the car before Mona changed her mind and came back. She set the phone up as her guide and headed back to Ridgefield.

* * * *

She called Lee, and he was waiting for her when she arrived. He helped her unpack the car, setting up the plants on the floor-level window ledge. Lana put the box of clothing in the bedroom. When she came back out, Lee had the pan of lasagna and was eating a piece. “Want some?”

She nodded and he dished her out a plate, sliding it across the table. “Does Enar speak Swedish?”

“He knows quite a bit. He did a lot of reading when he was younger.”

“Because of his heart?”

“Yeah. Our mother was overprotective. She kept him inside and wouldn’t let him do much. He finally rebelled and got the doctor to talk to her.”

“Oh. What about Rolf?”

“He was the wild child. Always outside playing and getting into trouble. He loved his brother, but I think he resented how much our mother favored Enar.”

“Enar mentioned that Rolf didn’t come home for their funeral. Is that why?”

“I think so. I talked to him about it. He was torn up as hell but said he couldn’t get away from work. I think he regrets it now.”

“No sense regretting things that you can’t change.”

“Fortune cookie?”

She chuckled. “No. Something my grandmother used to say.”

“She sounds like a smart woman.”

“She was. Smart and unhappy.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah. I’m smart, happy, and insane.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sitting at the kitchen table of a man I met two days ago. I am having lasagna with his brother after moving in. I have had the wildest sex of my life and learned how to say ‘my true love’ in Swedish because my stepdaughter was standing in front of me and I couldn’t say it in English without having her flip on me again. Your brother asked me to marry him, and I’m considering saying yes. I’m not a silly, naive teenage, so I must be insane.”

His smile was filled with understanding. “Enar has that effect on people. If he says he loves you, then it’s the truth. My brother despises liars. If he wants to marry you, then he knows things between you are right. If you want to say yes, then do it. Happiness can be gone in a second. If the two of you have found it, then hold on to it.”

“Fortune cookie?”

“Touché. I just know Enar. He can be the most impetuous, irritating man on the face of the earth. I have also found that he is incredibly insightful. He knows himself well, and if he wants you, then he won’t let you walk away. He is not a silly, naive teenager either. I don’t think he ever was. He does love you. I see it in his eyes when he talks about you or looks at you. I see it in your eyes also.”

Lana wanted to believe him, but there was a small, nagging voice in her mind that questioned if their love would withstand the test of time.

Three and a half weeks later, Lana found herself again making lasagna and cheesecake. Enar had been called into work and Lee had gone to the airport to pick up Rolf and Jessica. She stood in the kitchen, stirring the sauce and smiling. Life with Enar had been a wondrous roller coaster of emotions and sensations. He had kept his promise of varied sexual encounters. They had made love in different places in the house and outside in the forest. Food, and a range of toys he had picked up, had been incorporated in erotic sex. Then there had been the dungeon, where she was almost always tied and blindfolded. He had even gagged her and put muffs on her ears to make the experience one of total sensory deprivation. Even considering some of the things that he had done to her made her pussy ache with desire. He had never really hurt her, never forced her into anything, seeming to sense when her resistance was real. Enar was always sweet and loving. He could be funny, chasing her around the house with a spatula when they cooked in the nude. He could be serious, discussing thing from their pasts or talking about their future. He hadn’t asked her to marry him again. Lana was slightly disappointed, but she was also glad for the time to get to know him better. Rolf’s phone call two nights before to tell them that he was coming had brought tears of happiness to Enar’s eyes. Everything with him was real and alive.

* * * *

Enar walked in the front door, glancing around. “Smells good. Lee isn’t back yet?”

“No. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he replied with a half smile.

She frowned at the oddly weary expression on his face, his eyes looking distant and distracted. “Did something happen at the job?”

“No. Do you need help with anything? The table looks magnificent by the way. Where did you get the flowers?”

“Rolf sent them.”

“I can’t wait for you to meet him. I know that you will like him.”

“You don’t talk much about him.”

He slid into a chair. “As small children, we weren’t really close. As you know, our mother was very protective of me. I spent most of my time indoors, reading or playing. He was always running around, playing games that my mother wouldn’t let me play. The doctor finally told my mother that she had to back off. Over time, Rolf and I got closer. He became the protective one, and once we reached high school we were really close. We went on dates together. We would switch girlfriends to see if they noticed. We always seemed to have the same taste in women and wanted the same girl. It could have started problems between us, but it never did. Then he moved to California to pursue his desires to be a fine-art trader. He travels all over the world, buying rare art and collectors’ items, bringing them home to sell them. He does well at it. He came home for Sue’s funeral. That was the last time I saw him. We talk on the phone two or three times a month. I really miss him.”

The door opened and Lee walked in, lugging a huge suitcase. A bouncy-haired blonde woman was behind him. “Don’t drop it!” she barked.

“I’m not going to drop anything. I should throw it at you,” he responded with a growl.

Lana sucked back a chuckle, raising her eyebrows to Enar. He pulled her to his side, whispering in her ear, “That is Jessica.”

“She looks like a skinny supermodel. Not big on personality, huh?”

“No. I have no idea why he stays with her.”

Rolf strolled in the door, flipping back his long blond bangs. His face was a duplicate of Enar’s, but his hair was longer and parted to the side. He was slightly taller than Lee, making him about six inches taller than Enar, and his body was thicker, more muscled. His eyes connected with Lana’s and he stared openly at her. His gaze caused her to swallow hard, the itch in her groin increasing slightly. Enar chuckled in her ear. “Sexy, huh?”

She turned to him, giving him a side glance. “Oh, please.”

“Yeah,” he said, extending the word to accent his sarcasm. “If I stick my hand in your jeans, what will I find?”

“Exactly what you think, because I was stirring the sauce thinking about us.”

He put his hand to her cheek, urging her into a gentle kiss. “I don’t mind if you think he is sexy. I want you to like him.”

“Liking him and having sex with him are two different things,” she whispered. She had to wonder about the undertones of his comment.

“I suppose.”

Rolf walked past Jessica, taking Lana’s hand and kissing it. His gaze was intense, his eyes focused on hers. “My brother was right. You are enticing,” he whispered softly.

She frowned, remembering Enar’s comment about him and Rolf always liking the same women. “Hi, it is nice to finally meet you.”

Rolf considered her for a moment longer, smiling and then shaking his head with a sigh. He turned to Enar. “We need to talk, brother. Let’s go for a walk.”

Enar nodded. “Yes, we do. How long until dinner, Lana?”

“I was gonna take it out of the oven in about half an hour. So three quarters of an hour.”

He kissed her lightly and the two men headed out the back door. Lana watched them go and then turned back to Jessica. “Hi, I’m Lana.”

“Yes, I know. Where is our bedroom? I am tired and I need to freshen up. I believe you will call when dinner is ready?”

Lana glared at her and Lee chuckled, as he hoisted the bag up. “You are staying in the spare room. I’ll show you where it is.”

He ushered her into the back bedroom and then returned to the kitchen. “I have a headache.”

“I can’t imagine why. Is she always that rude and demanding?”

“Always! I guarantee she will come out bitching about the accommodations and demand that Rolf take her to a hotel.”

“Will he?”

“No. He will tell her to shut up and go back to the bedroom. Or he will tell her to get back on a plane and go home. I don’t think he wanted her to come in the first place.”

“Then why didn’t he tell her to stay home?”

“Rolf is in control, but she is a sneaky bitch. I don’t think he trusts her to stay home. She has been known to sell things without his knowledge.”

“Why does he stay with her?”

“Why did you stay with your husband?”

“Complacency.”

“That and she looks good hanging on his arm. His circles are filled with very visual people.”

She shrugged, and Lee asked, “Did you finish the salad?”

“Yes. Would you like to make the garlic bread?”

“If you want to help.”

“No problem.”

* * * *

Everyone raved about dinner, except Jessica, who refused to eat even a forkful of anything beside the salad, which she ate with no dressing. She complained about the bed and was given the two options that Lee predicted. She stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Enar groaned and then slid to his knees beside Lana. He lifted her hand. “Marry me?” he asked, opening a black box to reveal a beautiful filigree ring accented with a large heart-cut emerald and a sapphire, their two birthstones. The stones were wrapped with tiny gold strands of ivy, entwining them together.

Lana’s heart was pounding with excitement as she nodded. She had known that he would ask her again. His timing was a bit off, but Enar had no control over Jessica and her tantrum. Once Enar had his mind set to something, it was almost impossible to dissuade him. They had gotten to know each other well over the last three weeks and Lana understood his odd proposal. He might make a big deal out of the wedding, but maybe not. It was more likely that drama and romance would be saved for the honeymoon. Almost everything with him was handled in a cool, almost methodical fashion, and Lana admired him for it. Yet things in the dungeon were filled with fiery passion, and he was an openly expressive man, always willing to discuss anything without anger or judgment. If he was cool headed and not overly romantic in other things, it was fine with Lana. She loved him and he had proven how much he loved her. Enar would do anything to make her happy. He did make her happy.

Lana held out her hand. “This ring is beautiful. Of course. When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“What?” It was rare that he surprised her, but in his usual fashion, he wanted everything immediately.

“I want to get married while Rolf is here. Please? Lee can marry us.”

She looked at him thoughtfully, thinking that he looked tired. “What’s the hurry? If you wait, it will give Rolf an excuse to come back.” Obviously, she had been correct in her thinking that he wouldn’t be interested in a big ceremony. From what he had told her about Sue, her parents had insisted that they have a huge wedding. It had been an elaborate affair that had cost him a fortune. Enar had hated it. He didn’t like large gatherings with crowds of people, and he despised the show of wealth that the event had displayed.

He took the ring from the box and put it on her finger. Enar then took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Excuse us.” He led her outside. “I didn’t go to work today. I went to my heart doctor. The muscles of my heart are weaker than last year.” He seemed to hesitate and then said, “He gave me maybe another five years.”

“Then what?”

“Then I die.”

“Can’t they do anything?”

“I am not a candidate for a heart transplant because my arteries aren’t good. I don’t like the multitude of side effects that all the medications have. I won’t take them. If I had, I would probably already be dead. I talked to the homeopath, and other than the vitamins and herbs I am already taking, there isn’t much else he can recommend. I want you to be my wife. Please say yes.”