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anymore,” she answered while they sat down on one of the benches. They were all alone on the deck. The clouds were dense and almost black now, and a light drizzle had begun to fall. The few other passengers had already retreated to the lower parts of the ferry.
    “Only a few,” he murmured, a surprising tenderness in his voice. He jokingly bared his teeth for her and growled. Startled, she winced; then giggled again as he pretended to bite her. “If you get outrun by a bear, he'll eat you alive.” His gaze wandered over her face and lingered on her neck, and she had the distinct feeling that he wanted to finish his tale by actually tasting her sensitive skin. Or did she only want him to do it? She realized that she had tilted her head slightly until her hair fell back, baring her neck to him. His eyes had taken on a deeper grey hue now as he stared at her, almost as dark as the heavy rain clouds above.
    "And what if the prey didn't object?" she whispered, her eyes traveling from his eyes to his mouth. It was lush for a man's, and the mere thought of kissing him made her moisten her lips, involuntarily. Then his attention was on her mouth as well, looking at it as if he'd just seen a special treat he'd like to taste. She forgot to breathe for a moment, and when she did, her intake of breath sounded like a soft moan, barely audible.
    "Alrik," she said. Her tone was almost pleading, and it was the last barrier that made the invisible wall between them crack and finally tumble down. In the next moment his hand was at the back of her neck, pulling her closer as he closed his eyes and brushed his lips to hers, gently first, just caressing her mouth with his, tracing the outlines of her upper, then her lower lip. He continued with this until she uttered an impatient sound and tried to open up for him, to invite his tongue. But he quickly regained control by inclining his head slightly, wordlessly telling her that she'd only get what she wanted if she allowed him to set the pace.
    His kiss was so tender that it made her want to cry. He took his time, just exploring and tasting her, holding her in the safe circle of his arms. She let it happen and leaned back into his embrace, sighing softly into his mouth as his kiss became bolder. His fingers were in her hair, playfully pulling at the mass of her curls, then caressing her neck.
    After a long while, he reluctantly lifted his head, looking down into her eyes. "You are lovely," he said. "We have to stop before this goes too far. I wish I could …"
    She shook her head. "Don't," she said, hoping he hadn't realized that her heart was breaking at that very moment. "You didn't promise me anything, and you probably have your own reasons, which – whatever they are - you can't or don't want to speak about."
     He didn't answer, but his eyes left hers.
    She swallowed. "Do you have a wife, back in Sweden?"
    This made him laugh. "I wish it was as easy like that. No, I don't have a wife … or a girlfriend, nowhere. There are … other circumstances preventing me from being in a serious relationship right now. You deserve much better, Jade."
    Fighting a sudden urge to laugh bitterly at this, she simply nodded and looked towards the water. The harbor seemed far away, clouded in mist. It was eerily quiet, apart from the low rumble of the ship's motor.
    "Good. This is all I wanted to know." But the conversation had destroyed the magic of the moment, and she moved a bit away from him while he dropped his arms to his sides.
    "Don't shut yourself off from me," he said in a slightly husky voice. "I don't want to argue with you, Jade." He cupped her chin with his hand and turned her head towards him, forcing her to look into his eyes. She held her breath at the expression of his face. It was open and filled with a strange longing that shook her down to her core.
    "Let's just talk and enjoy being together for now," he said. Slowly, his hand traveled down over her cheek, then over her shoulder and