“Hi.”

I smiled tremulously at Anton when I opened the door – the same door Freya had slammed and almost broken with the amount of strength she’d used – approximately twenty-five hours later.

“Hey.” He was smiling back at me. His smile was infinitely bigger and brighter than mine. I realized with a jolt that this was the first time I’d seen him with a big smile on his face. Was that because of me? Dread was starting to pool at the bottom of my stomach.

What if Eric and Freya – loathe as I was to admit it – had been right? What if I was just setting him up for more hurt?

I recalled the past times when I had inadvertently hurt Anton’s feelings, and felt a pang. I didn’t want to hurt him. He was too good for that.

And I never wanted to have to look into his beautiful green eyes and see the hurt reflected there, ever again.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” I said in a small voice.

Anton’s smile dimmed. He reached out to grab my hand. I jumped a little at the unexpected touch. “No,” he countered, in a stronger tone of voice than any I’d ever heard him use. “You promised. You can’t back out now.”

“But I’m not over Siegfried,” I mumbled. “I’ll just hurt you…”

“I know that,” he said, looking away for a moment before turning the full power of his gaze back on me. “And I don’t care.”

I was already beginning to close the door, blabbering excuses because I was suddenly afraid that I was going to cry. Eric and Freya’s words were repeating themselves in my head, and my heart ached.

It ached because I had just thrown away two of the most wonderful friendships I’d ever had.

“It’s really for the best—” I didn’t know anymore if it was Anton or myself that I was trying to convince.

I could feel Anton’s searing hot gaze on me. “What’s wrong?” he finally asked.

“You know what’s wrong,” I tried to evade the question. “This just… isn’t going to work out.”

“Did someone try to change your mind?” he guessed.

Well, he had really hit the nail on the head with that one. I guess nobody could ever accuse Anton Karlsson of being unperceptive.

“I just don’t feel like going out tonight,” I said softly.

“Rain-check?” he suggested.

I hesitated, but he barreled on, “Can I come in?”

“I—” I started to say that I would prefer to be alone at the moment, then saw the expectant look on his face and sighed. “Okay, why not?” I stepped back to let him in. He stepped in, closing the door behind him.

We stared at each other for a moment.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly.

I shook my head. I was suddenly struck with the urge to do something crazy. He was standing in front of me, in such close proximity that I could smell the warm musk of his scent radiating off him. His eyes were so green, so captivating. I breathed in deeply.

He smelt good.

Really good.

“I don’t want to talk,” I whispered. I didn’t know why I was whispering, but it seemed like the right thing to do right then. He was staring down at me, and I saw the exact moment his pupils dilated.

He blinked.

Hesitantly, I reached up and placed my hand on his chest. I relished in the warmth I felt radiating from under his button-down shirt. My hand crept up to touch his collarbone lightly.

He inhaled, but didn’t exhale.

I felt a smile grace my lips, even though I didn’t particularly feel like laughing at that moment. “You can breathe, Anton,” I said teasingly, moving my hand further up to twine around his neck. I could feel his pulse jumping erratically under my fingers.

“Cassie,” he breathed, and his eyes looked so dark that they were almost black, even under the bright fluorescent lights that lit the room.

Slowly, I pulled my body into full contact with his. I wound my arms around his neck and looked up into his face. Our lips were barely an inch apart.

We held eye contact for a long moment. Then his arms came up to hold me around the waist. After that I forgot who moved first, but before I knew it his lips were on mine, devouring me. I opened my mouth under his and he needed no more encouragement. His hand slid up to cup my cheek. A ragged sound tore from my throat and I pressed myself more fully against him. One of my hands reached up to pull lightly at his hair.

He broke away briefly to look me in the eye. “Cassie,” he said in between quick kisses, “we should stop.”

“We should,” I agreed, even as I pulled his face back towards mine. I ran my hands daringly under his shirt and felt his sharp intake of breath. “But I don’t want to.”

He pulled away again, “It’s not Siegfried you’re thinking of?”

I laughed a little. “Hell, no.” I stood on my tiptoes and brushed a fleeting kiss on his jaw. “I want you, Anton.”

He smiled. “Okay.” Then he picked me up and carried me over to my tiny dorm bed, while I struggled impatiently with the buttons on his shirt.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered as he laid me gently on the bed. My heart skipped a bit, but I ignored it. Getting frustrated with the bottom two buttons that just refused to open, I tugged his shirt roughly apart and the two buttons flew out onto the floor.

I giggled a little, “Oops.”

He just shrugged out of the shirt and bent down to kiss me as his fingers worked at my clothing. I shuddered and gasped when he succeeded in his endeavor and I felt the thrill of his bare skin against mine, “Anton…”

“Say my name again,” he whispered against my mouth. His lips brushed against mine with every word, and the friction was delicious. My tongue darted out to lick his lips mischievously.

“Anton,” I whispered back.

And then no more other words were exchanged for quite a little while.