THOR (9 page)

Luke

The storm rumbles around the cabin and I wake a few times in the night. The cabin is a wreck. Clothes strewn everywhere. The bed is a tangled mess. During the night I woke up once and Olivia was not in my arms… I grabbed her and tugged her back. She mumbled something about me being a caveman. She fell right back to sleep but I wanted to tell her that I was actually on my best behavior. I was being a gentleman because what I really wanted to do was take her again. Slowly and leisurely.

At daybreak, I wake to find her lying beside me, watching me. Her hair is tousled and with her face bare of makeup, she looks young and innocent. A pang of guilt hits me. Until last night, she was innocent.

“You look like jailbait,” I grumble.

A glint of amusement lights her eyes and I can’t believe how happy it makes me to wake beside her. I can’t remember feeling anything like this. I’ve lived everywhere, traveled a lot of miles, and here I am, back in my cabin with everything I’ve ever wanted.

She pouts and my gaze drops to her full lips. They’re plush, especially the lower one and I want to bite it.

Her pout gives way to a smile. “You’re not
that
much older than me.”

“I have almost ten years on you.”

She knows this, but acts shocked. Her mouth drops open and her eyes widen. “Holy crap you
are
old.”

I growl softly and nuzzle her neck, biting her. She’s just a little too chipper for this hour of the day. There are only two things I want to be doing with her in my cabin at dawn. Sleeping with her in my arms or sinking into her. Since the first option isn’t going to happen, I’m choosing the second. I’m half-asleep but my cock has been hard all night.

“You do have some grey at your temples.” Her tone is filled with fake regret.

“Looks good, doesn’t it?” I bite her again. I’m not taking sass before daybreak.

She shivers and wraps her arms around my shoulders. “It does, in fact.”

I kiss her neck and inhale her sweet, honey fragrance.

Trailing her fingers down my spine, she has no idea what her touch does to me. “Do we need to stop at the pharmacists to get you some little blue pills?”

“Viagra? That might be dangerous for you, baby.”

I roll with her in my arms, so she’s on top of me. She giggles as I tug her legs on either side of me and coax her up. She’s naked, and so am I, so her wet heat presses against my cock. The soft light of daybreak casts a rosy light on her and when she tries to cover her breasts, I grab both hands.

“Let me go.” She writhes around, teasing my cock. The movement isn’t deliberate but it wrecks the last of my self-control.

Clasping her wrists in one hand, I settle the other on her hip. The touch is casual and I’m not trying to appear threatening, but she feels exposed and vulnerable and I’m pretty sure she knows she’s at my mercy like this.

She licks and bites her lip.

“Now, let’s see.” My gaze drifts from her eyes down to her breasts. They’re full and lush and fill my hand perfectly. “What were you saying about blue pills?”

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head. A swathe of her gorgeous hair tumbles down from her shoulder and veils her breast. I sweep it away and she flinches when my fingers skim her nipple.

“Nothing.” She says in a tone that’s pure challenge.

Her eyes spark.               I cup her breast and savor the weight in my hand.

“Good. Are you okay?”

The impudent look falls away and she holds my gaze. She’s silent, but she smiles at me, and the look on her face tells me she’s remembering what we shared last night.
Last night
…

“I’m okay,” she says quietly.

I release her wrists and she sets her hands on my chest, splaying her fingers. Lifting her hips, I ease her down on my cock. She’s hot and tight and perfect. I imagine gripping her hips, but instead I curl my hands into fists and keep them at my side. If I give into the savage need burning inside me, I’d grip her and fuck her rag-doll hard, but she’s still too new at this. I’m sure she’s at least a little tender.

She closes her eyes and begins to move. “Mm… it feels wonderful.”

Wonderful… something like that. Epic. Every time we touch, my body responds. Every. Time. It’s like on some primitive level my body recognizes her as my mate.

Rocking slowly, she rides me and lets out soft sighs. Languid eyes, parted lips, her expression is pure, unguarded desire. The effort it costs me to restrain myself makes my breathing deepen. She closes her hips and a smile tugs at her lips. Her breasts bounce, teasing me. A trickle of sweat, starts at my temple and slips down my scalp.

“I could come like this, Luke. You could make me come so hard.”

“I’m all yours.”

Taking my hands, she lifts them to her breasts. Eagerly, I do as she tacitly asks, cupping her breasts and pinching her nipples lightly. And then a little harder. She rides me a little faster.

The urge to grab her, pull her down and drive into her claws at me like a feral beast. Her pussy clenches around my cock and she lets out a keening cry, arches and screams my name. I clasp her hips and pull her down on my cock, coming an instant later.

Slowly, she collapses to my chest where I take her into my arms. She’s breathing fast and I can feel her heartbeat drumming in her chest. When she tries to roll off me, I tighten my arms.

“Stay,” I tell her. “Right where you are.”

To my amazement, she lets me hold her there. Ever since we’ve come to the cabin, she’s been the sweetest, most docile thing. I smile. It won’t last, but I have to admit I like her submissive side when we’re in bed. I close my eyes and fall asleep with her draped across me.

Olivia

We wake up late and the cabin is filled with sunshine. Somewhere comes the sound of a printer or a fax machine running. Luke growls and tugs me closer and I melt into his embrace. When I just allow myself to feel, not think, I can imagine doing this every morning. He murmurs things about being together forever and never letting me go, but I’ve realized why he says those things. He’s protective of me and considers me his responsibility.

I don’t like being an obligation.

Luke has fallen back to sleep, his head on my chest. I’m wearing an old t-shirt of his, so there’s a layer between us, but still. This feels so intimate, like I’m his to use however he wants. While he sleeps, he wants me under his head like a pillow. He’s stubborn about where and how I sleep. It’s got to be on top of him, under him or tucked beside him.

Even when he’s asleep, he needs to have his way about things. Big surprise there. If I were to scoot away or reposition him where his lips weren’t millimeters from my nipple, he’d growl. It’s a deep rumbly noise that he makes without waking, then he wraps a big, muscle-bound arm around me and hauls me back.

The printer is still working away in the other room, page after page. My breath catches and I wonder if it’s my contract. This is what I’ve been waiting for, but I had imagined going in to the lawyers where I could ask them if the clause about the percentage is in place. I don’t want to have that discussion with Luke. I know he’d steer me in the right direction, but the morning after losing my virginity to him is not the time to discuss the messed up wiring in my brain.

“Luke,” I whisper.

“Yes,” he says without stirring. “It’s your contract. Sign it today and the money will be wired this afternoon.”

I stare at the massive beams that span the ceiling. All I have to do is sign it. So simple.

Luke lifts my head. “Why are you freaking out?”

“How do you know I am?”

“Your heartbeat got faster and you’re muscles tensed.”

“I have trouble reading stuff.”

There. I said it. I didn’t mean to, but the words fell out of my mouth. I watch for a reaction. Learning difficulties have always been the thing I carried around, but they’re helpful in a strange way. I took a million tests when I was in school. Vision. Perception. IQ. No one ever really understood why I couldn’t get it. But my learning issues are a test, too. Like a little personality test. I can tell a lot about someone by how they treat my problem or me when they find out.

“Contracts are a bitch to read,” he says. “I’ll help you.”

“I have trouble reading all sorts of stuff. Not just contracts.”

He plunks his head down and sighs happily as he settles his head between my breasts. “S’all right,” he murmurs. “You can’t be good at everything. Everyone has something, Tart.”

I smile and stroke his hair. The bristles of his short beard prickle the tender skin of my breasts, but I like feeling him there.

We get up and he makes me breakfast. Pancakes. Bacon. Eggs. He walks around the kitchen in a pair of boxers making breakfast. It’s as if he owns the kitchen. If I stepped in there to help, I’m sure I’d get mowed down by six and a half feet of fury. He’s a man on a mission, frowning at the pancake batter, beating the eggs with a whisk, frying bacon to a perfection.

My mouth waters.

“Being taken advantage of makes a person hungry,” I say.

He grins as he flips a pancake. “For both parties.”

We sit and eat at a big table and he grins when I serve myself seconds of, well, everything.

Later, Luke and I sprawl together on the couch, drinking coffee and reading the contract. He leans against the armrest and I lie against his chest and he goes through the paragraphs with me. Not once is he snide or superior.

He holds the papers in one hand and wraps his other arm around me. Every so often, I look over my shoulder and catch a glimpse of him wearing his reading glasses. I’m seeing the side of him that is professional, no-nonsense and I find it sexy as hell. Not that he needed anymore points in that category, but seeing him so studious and going to bat for me, overwhelms me.

He’s looked at a lot of contracts and agreements and for a moment I’m struck by how lucky I am he’s helping me with this.

“It all looks good, baby,” he murmurs, as he sets the contract aside and folds me in his arms.

“I’ll sign it and send it back.”

I was sure the new owners would balk at the profit-sharing, but the percentage is right there. Luke double checks things for me.

“Everything looks good,” he says.

I sign and hand it to him. He faxes the contract back to the lawyer. Now, all I need to do is wait for the money to be deposited and figure out what to do with the rest of my life. This is the first time since I was twelve or thirteen that I don’t have a job or responsibility. I stare out the window, getting lost in the view.

Luke steps behind me and encircles me with his arms. We stand together in silence and I revel in the feel of his arms around me. The contract is signed. He’s under no obligation to watch out for me and I wonder if he’s thinking how to make a clean break or if he wants to continue this thing we have.

He rubs my arm and turns away. “I’m going to go for a run.”

I keep my gaze fixed on the horizon. I’d like to run too, but I sense he wants some time to himself. After he leaves, I head to the shower. Sometimes that works to clear my head. The hot water streams down my body and I notice how sore I am from making love.

I’m dried off and finishing dressing when I hear the door open.

“That wasn’t ten miles,” I say. “Did I wear you out?”

The bathroom door opens. It’s not Luke. It’s Trey.

I scramble backwards. “Shit. Trey. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“You’re a hard person to keep up with.” He leans against the doorway, crossing his arms. “Whose place is this?”

My mouth goes dry. My lungs don’t seem to want to take in air and I’m terrified I might faint. I’d be out and at this asshole’s mercy. He looks different. Deranged. He always kept his hair short and it’s long. He’s got scabs on his forehead. He looks like pictures I’ve seen of meth users.

“You’ve been sending me those pictures, haven’t you?”

He smiles. “You think you’re going to sell The Cabaret? I build that club. It’s part mine.”

I want to tell him that it’s already sold. That it’s done and there’s nothing he can do about it. I would love to throw that in his face, but I have to play it cool. He’s a head taller than me and while he’s not muscular like Luke, he could hurt me. He could do some serious shit and be gone before Luke gets back. I’m praying Luke didn’t go for ten miles this morning.

“What do you want?”

“I want part of the deal. I should get some sort of commission.”

He’s crazy. I overhauled everything about that club and if he thinks he’s getting a penny, he’s nuts.

“Okay, sure. You want me to call a meeting and tell them to hire you for the new club?”

“No, I want you to pay me. Straight up. Ten percent.”

“Sure. No problem.”

He steps forward and runs his fingers down my jaw. A shiver of revulsion shoots up my spine. I should knee him in the balls. My brain screams at me, but I’m paralyzed. When I saw him choking my friend, I knew exactly what to do, but now, my mind is blank.

With a quick motion, he draws his hand back and slaps me. He wants to hurt and humiliate me, but it actually makes me snap out of my daze. He’s too close to knee him, so I punch him in the gut and land a blow to his face, but he grabs my hair and with a twist, he’s got me down on my knees.

“I never liked you, Ice. Never understood what men saw in you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy fucking you.”

He drags me from the bathroom, walking backwards. I ram my hand up and don’t hit anything, but on the second try I hit his knee and he stumbles.

“Fucking bitch,” he snarls and tries to kick me.

I grab his foot and he falls. He still has my hair in his fist and we roll on the ground. He wrestles me back and straddles me, pinning my hands to the ground.

“You always had to do things the hard way, didn’t you? The only reason I’m not going to kill you is because I want my cut. You could say we’re partners. In every sense of the word.”

Luke’s roar fills the cabin. “
The fuck
!”

He yanks Trey off me and throws him halfway across the room. Trey scrambles to his feet and comes at Luke. He flails absurdly, as if he’s a child having a tantrum. Luke lands a punch to Trey’s jaw. With a single blow, it’s all over. Trey crashes to the ground and doesn’t move.

Luke kneels beside me. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m okay, Luke.”

He gathers me close and holds me. When he tightens his arms around me, I feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.”

I tremble and it makes my teeth chatter.

“Don’t let me go,” I whisper.

“I won’t. Ever.”