The Beauty Within (26 page)

“Gunnar!”

He gave her a lopsided shrug and smiled. “What can I say? It’s a testament

to a man’s virility and whatnot.”

Tyler rolled her eyes but chuckled. “At least I’m in a position to support it

now—”

“
We
are,” Gunnar corrected. “We.”

“We?”

“It’s half me, after all. This baby would be half American, a quarter Norwe-

gian, and a quarter Venezuelan.”

“The United Nations in one baby,” she giggled, staring at her belly.

“And as beautiful as her mother,” Gunnar said softly, sliding his fingers

over her cheeks.

She bit her lip. “I might not be pregnant.”

Gunnar needed the second reminder, because he was getting ahead of him-

self. He was already thinking of rooms to convert; how to convince Tyler to

move in with him; wedding rings…Clearing his throat, he put more food on the

fork and fed her once more, occasionally stealing a few bites for himself. When

they finished eating, Gunnar took the tray back downstairs and shut down

everything before returning to his room. Tyler was seated on the side, the

abandoned towel from earlier back around her.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

She didn’t look at him. “Home.”

He inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Why?”

Tyler tightened the towel around her and shrugged. “Um, is there a reason

why I shouldn’t?”

“Yes.”

“Which is?”

“I want you to stay.”

140

Savannah J. Frierson

Tyler’s shoulder slumped and her hands clutched the bedspread under-

neath her fingers. He had no idea what was going on in that head of hers, but

he guessed it included a healthy amount of over-analysis. Gunnar went to his

bed and climbed behind Tyler, enveloping her with his arms and legs. She

leaned against him, her eyes closed, and Gunnar kissed her shoulder.

“Stay,
kjære
. Please.”

She turned her head so her forehead rested against his pulse point, and her

finger traced a nipple. There wasn’t anything sexual in her touch, and he

recognized it; it was the need to be connected to someone on that tactile level.

His fingers returned the favor, trailing lightly from her shoulder to wrist and

back again. Gunnar didn’t ever think he’d tire of being around Tyler. Holding

Tyler. Loving Tyler.

“Can I at least get a nightshirt or something?”

“What’s wrong with your birthday suit?” Gunnar asked cheekily.

“Are you serious?”

“I sleep nude most nights,” Gunnar admitted.

“You do not!”

“Or damn near close in my boxers.”

“Most nights? Really?”

“Habit from LA. It was always so hot in my apartment so I quit bothering

with clothes.”

“I’m sure that’s the
only
reason,” Tyler challenged.

He smiled and kissed her temple. “You sound jealous,
elskling
.”

“Do I? I apologize.”

Gunnar laughed and tilted her chin up so he could kiss her lips. “Don’t. It’s

damn sexy to know you’re so possessive of me.”

“Man’s virility?”

“Not exactly,” he said, playing with her hair. Still holding her close, he

moved them under the covers, lying nose to nose with her as they caressed each

other gently.

“What is it exactly, then?” Tyler asked once they were settled.

He shrugged. “What do you want it to be?”

She shrugged.

“Tyler?”

“Yes?”

“Are we friends?”

Her hand moved down to his pectoral muscles before finding its way over

his beating heart. “I don’t think so.” She seemed unsure by the declaration,

however.

“What if I said I didn’t want us to be friends,” Gunnar said, holding his

hand over the one she’d placed on his heart.

“What would you like us to be?”

“More than that.”

The Beauty Within

141

“You mean…”

“I want you to feel you have the right to feel possessive over me, just as I

want you to know I feel possessive over you.”

“You do?”

“Damn straight I do.”

Tyler laughed, clearly surprised. “Good Lord, why?”

“Because,” Gunnar said, lifting her hand and kissing her wrist. “You’re my

woman.”

“I am.”

“Yes. I decided a few weeks back actually.”

“You
did
?”

“Yes. When that
rasshøl
walked into your shop like he owned everything in

it, including you.”

“Gunnar—”

“I’m serious,” Gunnar confessed. “I wanted to snap his smarmy neck, and I

didn’t even know who he was. Now that I do, I wish I had.”

She giggled and hid her face in his neck. “Oh, Gunnar!”

He pulled her closer, feeling her towel loosen from his efforts. He pulled it

completely away from her body, preferring to feel her unhindered anyway. “I

was protective and possessive of you before I even had the right to be. I would

apologize if I felt sorry for it, but I don’t.”

Tyler sighed and wrapped an arm around his waist, inserting a leg between

his. “It’s all right.”

“Good,” Gunnar said, feeling his body beginning to react to her nearness

yet again. “Especially since it’s official now.”

“What’s official?”

“That I have the right to be protective and possessive over you.”

“Ah.”

“We should celebrate,” Gunnar said, rolling her onto her back and lying

atop her.

Tyler grinned, spreading her legs to fit his hips into their cradle. “Really?

Any thoughts on how we should?”

His grin matched hers, and he proceeded to show her exactly what he was

thinking.

Fourteen

“You’re still here?”

Gunnar’s head jerked up to see Valerie standing in the doorframe, her look

curious, yet knowing at the same time.

“I’ll call you when I get home,
elskling
,” Gunnar said lowly into the phone,

and smiled when he got his reply. “Until tonight.”

He placed the receiver into its base gently, staring at the phone until a fe-

minine throat cleared, garnering his attention again. His smile widened.

“What can I do for you, Ms. Young?”

Valerie sat down in the chair in front of his desk and smirked. “Tell me her

name, for starters.”

“Her name?”

“Yes. I know it’s not Kaci, because every time you were on the phone with

her, we could all hear the, er, ‘discussion’ on the gym floor!”

Gunnar blushed and shook his head, not wanting to be reminded of that

incredibly unwise dating decision. “No, it’s not Kaci.”

“So…”

“So, what?”

“Her name, babe! What is it? Though it’s not unusual for you to stay at

work late, it is unusual for you to be smiling on the phone like you were.”

“Like I was?”

Valerie shrugged. “Like a man in love.”

Gunnar nodded and his grin widened. “Tyler.”

“Tyler?”

“Her name is Tyler.”

“Tyler…Tyler…
that
Tyler?!”

“What do you mean, ‘that Tyler’?”

“Damon’s Tyler!”

The Beauty Within

143

“She’s not
Damon’s
anything—”

“Oh, you know what I mean!” Valerie insisted, slapping the desk with her

towel for emphasis. “Wow! Talk about a small world, huh?”

“What do you know about Tyler?”

The redhead shrugged, reclining in the chair. Her dark blue Lycra suit was

soaked with sweat, though she had on a jacket because it was chilly in the gym

when one wasn’t working out. “I know she was a shy thing when I met her.

Cute, but shy.”

“You were checking her out?”

Valerie gave him a mild glare. “Like you don’t check out every girl
you
meet.

Besides, I’ve been pretty on with my straight-dar. She’s a gay woman’s dream,

except, she’s not gay.”

“Bummer.”

“Don’t patronize,” Valerie said, narrowing her eyes. “Anyway. I’m sur-

prised. I didn’t think she was your type, either.”

“Why?” Gunnar asked, unable to keep the slight edge out of his voice.

“Because she’s nice and normal,” Valerie said, slapping the desk with her

towel again. “C’mon, Gunnar! You have a black man and a gay woman in your

employment; if you’re going to be prejudiced about anything, it wouldn’t be

about silly things like that!”

“So her size—”

“What about her size? Like I said, a gay woman’s dream. A lot of woman to

hold, lots of curves…she’s damn sexy. And the best part, she doesn’t even know

it. That’s the ultimate in sexy, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

“You do realize if she was bi, I’d be giving you a run for your money—boss

or no,” Valerie said with a wink.

“I’m well aware,” Gunnar said on a laugh.

“Good. Don’t fuck this up, hear?” Valerie warned, standing. “She really is a

nice, sweet woman, and I only needed one meeting to realize that.”

Gunnar nodded. “Thanks for the advice, Val.”

“That is why you hired me, though you don’t utilize my common sense

nearly as much as you should,” Valerie teased.

He laughed as she left his office, shaking his head and packing up his be-

longings. Valerie hadn’t said anything he didn’t know, but Gunnar was glad he

heard it again anyway. Between Damon, Wendy, and now Valerie, he had many

checks on his relationship with Tyler, and he appreciated them all. It’d been

two weeks since that fateful session, and they were deep in the honeymoon

period. Just hearing the beginnings of her name made a smile form on his face,

and he stole many spare moments to leave her short messages on her voicemail

telling her how much he missed her and how often he thought of her.

He was just about to go home when his phone rang again. Smiling, he set

down his bag and answered.

144

Savannah J. Frierson

“
Elskling
?”

“
Hallo, bror; synsk, ja
?”

“Inge!” Gunnar said, pleasantly surprised to hear her voice. “And no, I’m

not psychic!”

“Oh? What’s her name?”

Gunnar laughed. “What is this, ‘Get-Into-Gunnar’s-Business’ Day?”

Inge laughed as well. “You may be the older brother, but I still have the

right to look after you!” There was suddenly crying and arguing in the back-

ground. “Greta, please return the dolly to your sister. I’m trying to talk to

Uncle Gun—” A sigh. “Singe wants to talk to you.”

There was a few seconds of rustling. “Hi, Uncle Gunnar!” his oldest niece’s

sweet voice filtered through the phone.

“Hello,
søt
Singe,” Gunnar greeted with a chuckle. “Are you sharing your

toys with your sister like I taught you to do?”

“But
Uncle Gunnar
,” the little girl whined, and Gunnar imagined her pale

cheeks rosy with consternation and golden ringlets swaying vigorously as she

shook her head. “She’s been playing with it
all day
and it’s
mine
!”

It was another thirty minutes before he calmed his niece down, and after a

few words with his youngest niece Greta, Inge was back on the phone. “I have

to come visit soon,” Gunnar said, his heart aching to see his family again.

“I can ship them UPS. Wouldn’t a pair of nieces be much better than a pair

of basketball tickets for your birthday?”

Gunnar laughed. “That’s awful, Inge!”

“So says the bachelor with no children!”

Gunnar’s mind immediately went to Tyler and their first time together.

There wouldn’t be any news for two more weeks, but it was entirely possible

he could be a father himself now.

“You’re very quiet,
bror
.”

“
Unnskylde
.”

“What’s her name?” Inge asked again, ignoring his apology. Gunnar smiled

to himself, knowing Inge wouldn’t have forgotten her earlier question. Before

he could answer, another yell was heard in the background, followed by the

deep voice of Igne’s husband Roger chastising the children.

“Just when you were about to dish,” Inge muttered, and Gunnar laughed.

“Don’t worry,
elskling
. I’ll tell you soon, okay?” he promised, thankful for the

reprieve his nieces had unwittingly given him.

“You better! Or I’ll tell
mor
, and you
know
how she gets!”

“That’s dirty,
søster
,” Gunnar accused, thinking of the grilling his mother

would surely give him if she found out about Tyler from anyone
but
him.

“
Jeg er glad i deg
,” Inge said on a laugh, blowing him a kiss.

“
Samme
,” Gunnar replied and hung up the phone.

The Beauty Within

145

The brief conversation on the phone filled Gunnar with the need to see

someone else dear to him, even if it was just to say goodnight. When he pulled

into her driveway, there was another car there, one he didn’t recognize. He

kept his cool, though his immediate thought was it was Quincy trying to sniff

around something that no longer belonged to him. Tyler had told him the man

had been in regular contact with her since visiting her shop a month ago, and

while it annoyed Gunnar greatly, he reminded himself Tyler was with
him
now.

And if Gunnar had his way, she wouldn’t be leaving, either.

Gunnar rang the doorbell and shoved his hands into the back pockets of

his jeans. There was a hum of voices before the door opened, and his shoulders

sagged in relief.

“Wendy,” he said with a chuckle.

Wendy’s look was knowing as she leaned against the doorframe.