Free Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1) by S.T. Bende

Charlotte.
“Did he seem into her?”
    Charlotte shrugged. “I couldn’t hear what
they were saying, but he looked pretty happy. She was laughing at
something he said; had to be an ego boost for him, if nothing
else.”
    The girl. His muscles. His face. Being named
after a god. Tyr’s list of ego boosters was endless.
    “You okay?” Charlotte asked gently. She took
the utensil from me and added another scoop to my bowl.
    “I’m fine. It’s no big deal. Good to know
where I stand with him, right?” I stilled the disappointment
churning in my gut. Any connection between us was the product of my
hyperactive imagination. Obviously, I was just a new running buddy
he barely knew. Nothing more.
    So why couldn’t I get Tyr Fredriksen out of
my head?

CHAPTER
FIVE
     
     
    “ GOD MORGEN, MIA.”
    The husky voice took me by surprise. I wasn’t
expecting to find anyone sitting on my porch steps. The front door
slammed behind me as I spun around. Hopefully my roommates were
heavy sleepers.
    “You came,” I blurted. Then I mentally palmed
my forehead. Did I have to sound like a kid on Christmas?
    “Of course I came.” Tyr’s brow furrowed. “Did
you not think I would?”
    “I… erm… how long have you been out here?” When in doubt, deflect . Jason’s old football adage came in
mighty handy now and then. Or was that the best defense is an
offense ? My brother had a lot of adages.
    “Just a few minutes.” Tyr stood, stretching
his impossibly long legs as he walked down the porch steps. “Shall
we?”
    “Sure.” I turned toward the house as I bent
down to double knot my shoe. “Thanks for picking me up at such an…
are you staring at me?”
    “No.” Tyr quickly shifted his gaze.
    As I straightened up, I bit the inside of my
lip. “Tyr Fredriksen, you were totally checking out my bootie.”
    “Do you want to run or not?” he muttered.
    “Fine.” I jogged toward the sidewalk, nudging
him with my elbow as I passed. “What would Red think?”
    “Who?” Tyr fell in step beside me.
    “My roommate saw you out with a girl with
reddish-blond hair. Your girlfriend?” I deliberately kept my tone
light.
    “You keeping tabs on me, Ahlström?” One
corner of Tyr’s mouth turned up.
    “No.”
    But I’d tipped my hand. We ran in silence
until we reached the edge of the forest. Tyr ran ahead of me, then
turned so he was running backwards. Uphill.
    “Showoff,” I muttered.
    “I don’t have a girlfriend.” He kept his eyes
on me as he ran.
    “Oh.” I shrugged. Inside I was turning
inverted aerials off a bumps course. “Anything else?”
    “Yeah.” Tyr grinned. “Race you to the top of
the hill.”
    He turned and sprinted for the peak. I tried
to keep up, pushing off the balls of my feet with everything I had,
but Tyr was taller, stronger, and a whole lot faster than me. Plus,
he’d had a solid head start.
    He made it to the top a whole minute before I
did. By the time I got there, he stood with crossed arms and a
smirk. He wasn’t even out of breath.
    “No fair.” I put my hands on my knees and
panted. “You cheated. How did you run so fast?”
    “Better athlete than you.”
    When I glanced up at him, a giggle built up
in my throat. “You’re totally checking out my bootie again.”
    “What? No. I’m making sure you’re okay. Your
face is red.”
    “Because some cheater just raced me up a
hill.”
    “Fine.” Tyr uncrossed his arms. “Two out of
three?”
    “I have a better idea.” I stood straight.
“Race you down to the creek.”
    Tyr stiffened. “I told you, Mia, a hiker saw
a wolf down there.”
    “That was more than a week ago,” I reminded
him. “Is that going to freak you out forever?” But my arm throbbed.
I’d seen a wolf in the woods, too. Correction—I’d imagined one.
There was no way I’d been bitten by a giant wolf, saved by a
mysterious blond-haired guy who may or may not have borne a passing
resemblance to Tyr, and walked away without so much as a scratch.
The