Chapter 439: 439-Losing Control

Verity:

I felt my cheeks flush, and that alone was enough to tell me he wanted something more from me.

“What do you want?” I asked, although I had a terrible feeling he was about to say something that would make me blush even harder.

He tilted his head and smiled, and that smile alone said it all.

“You’re not that naive, Verity.”

The moment those words left his mouth, I swallowed hard and straightened my posture.

“If it’s anything related to intimacy, you…” I began, but before I could finish, he stepped closer and hushed me, raising a finger toward my lips.

He didn’t actually touch them, though, keeping a reasonable distance between his finger and my mouth.

“Why does your mind always go there, Verity? That’s so naughty. Do you like being naughty?” he teased, leaning toward me until his towering presence became downright intimidating.

“You know what? Stop it!” I snapped, pressing a hand against his chest and pushing him back.

He suddenly burst into loud laughter, placing a hand over his chest as he shook his head.

I had no idea what he found so amusing about teasing me, but one thing was certain.

He was doing it deliberately, and apparently, he was enjoying every second of it.

Besides, I’d never seen Ragnar laugh so openly or loudly, especially at night.

In fact, since we were still outside, his laughter drew everyone’s attention.

People stopped what they were doing and looked up toward us.

“Everyone’s staring,” I reminded him.

He continued chuckling with his eyes closed, as though he still had some laughter left to get out of his system.

Eventually, he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his thumb and forefinger against their outer corners, trying to compose himself.

“You’re such a jerk.”

The words slipped out before I could even consider the consequences.

Opening my mouth in front of Ragnar was practically like sending death an open invitation.

Yet there I was, calling him a jerk to his face, and the craziest part was that he didn’t even reprimand me.

He simply looked at me and smirked.

“Anyway, I was talking about an apology,” he corrected me, flashing a smile so sweet it almost seemed fake.

“An apology for what?” I demanded, quickly brushing past him and retreating into my hut.

Unfortunately, he followed me.

I’d expected to shut the door behind me, but just as I tried to close it, he planted a hand against the other side and effortlessly pushed back against my efforts.

With one careless shove, he forced the door open, strode inside, and shut it behind him.

“Why were you closing the door on me? Didn’t you see me coming?” Ragnar complained, leaving my jaw practically on the floor.

“Exactly!” I retorted, wondering whether his brain had suddenly stopped functioning.

That was precisely why I’d been shutting the fucking door. I didn’t want him coming inside!

Yet he acted as though I’d committed some terrible mistake, as if he had every right to walk into my room whenever he pleased.

“You still haven’t apologized,” he remarked, casually making his way over to the bed and sitting down.

Then he threw himself backward onto the mattress, letting his long legs dangle over the edge.

He reached up to undo his man bun, allowing his hair to fall loose before running his fingers through it.

I could only stand there, watching this giant-ass man practically take up the entire bed.

“Fine! I’ll apologize for being honest,” I declared, tapping my foot impatiently against the floor.

He stopped combing his fingers through his hair and slowly sat upright, letting out a low groan as he stretched his muscles.

Then he braced his hands against the mattress behind him and fixed his gaze on me.

“Your eyes don’t intimidate me,” I muttered, lying straight through my fucking teeth.

He blinked before letting out a soft chuckle.

“Good night.”

And just like that, he finally rose from the bed and headed toward the door.

I watched him in silence as he made his way through the living room and disappeared outside.

I hurried to the bedroom door and tried to shut it, only to discover that Ragnar was still standing on the other side.

Before I could close it completely, he reached out and stopped me.

“Oh, come on!” I groaned in exhaustion.

In response, he burst into another fit of laughter, clearly having far too much fun at my expense.

“Okay, okay! I’m done for the night,” he finally conceded, withdrawing his hand from the door.

I simply stared at him.

He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall beside the doorway, while I remained standing at the threshold, watching him.

After a moment, he tilted his head back to rest against the wall, his arms still crossed and his eyes fixed on me.

“Go ahead. Get some sleep,” he encouraged, finally pushing himself away from the wall.

He headed into the living room, ruffling the hair at the back of his head with one hand while the other rested on his hip.

Eventually, he reached the couch.

I grabbed the edge of the bedroom door, intending to close it, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Instead, I kept watching him.

Ragnar turned around and slowly planted both hands on his hips, tilting his head as he regarded me with a strange sense of warmth that I couldn’t quite understand.

“Close the door, Verity. Any more delay could be dangerous.”

His deep voice carried a warning, and I knew exactly what he was implying.

Closing that door should have been a simple task, yet I found myself struggling with it.

Eventually, I forced myself to listen and shut it.

I leaned back against the door and released a long, heavy breath.

“That’s not right. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

The voice came from somewhere so deep within me that I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I immediately snatched the lamp off the bedside table and looked around, prepared to defend myself against whoever had spoken.