Forging Chaos (Forging #3)

30. Odin

CHAPTER 30

ODIN

My cousin Wyatt took his girl to the family ski house for a romantic escape, and his fatal flaw was not checking the schedule to make sure nobody else would be there. I am committed to avoiding getting caught with my ass in the air by any member of the Stag family, so I cross out the next three days on the shared calendar.

I order a bunch of meal kits delivered to the house from a service local to the area, and I beg my brother to grab me a few bottles of wine from the store when he’s out restocking on chips. By the time Thora hesitantly knocks on my door, I’ve packed the whole safe and satisfied basket along with a few outfits.

“Are you ready to be wined and dined?” I close the door behind me before she can engage Stellan or Gunnar in conversation.

Thora looks confused, so I hand her my knee roller and swing down the stairs. “The Stag family has a vacation house,” I tell her. “It’s like an hour from here. Super private. There’s a hot tub.”

She points to my cast. “Can you use a hot tub? ”

I frown. “Good point. We’ll just focus on other activities while we’re there.”

Thora squeezes around my backpack to open the front door of the apartment building, setting my scooter on the ground right outside the step. “What makes you think I want to be naked with you again?”

I wink at her. “I have so many more ideas for things we can do together, Thora Janssen. You are a college graduate. Don’t you want to celebrate with the safe and satisfied basket?”

Her cheeks are pink, and I pull my car keys from my sweats pocket. I click to unlock my car and hoist myself inside as she tosses her bag in the back and climbs into the driver's seat. It takes her a long time to get it all the way up close enough that she can reach the pedals and see over the steering wheel. “Would it kill you to drive a car sized for regular people?”

I laugh. “You think you’re regular-sized? You’re fun-sized.”

That has Thora roaring, and I’m glad I put her at ease. “Okay, you win. Tell me where to go.” I direct her out of town and east on the turnpike for a few exits. We put the windows down and breathe in the mountain air when we get off the highway and wind our way along the curvy roads to the ski resort where our house is located at the top of the mountain.

“It’s really quiet here in the summer,” I promise. “There are people here for hiking and stuff, but there is absolutely nobody up on the slopes where the house is.”

By the time Thora pulls into the driveway, she looks completely shell-shocked. I gotta admit, the house is pretty impressive. It’s got a sloped roof and multi-story windows overlooking the woods. I hop out of the car and smile at the trio of meal boxes on the porch, which I shove inside the door with the front of my scooter. “Come on,” I call to her. “Come see. ”

I grab her hand when she steps in the door, eyes wide at the sight of the great room. There’s a remote-controlled fireplace along one wall and a massive sectional sofa. My favorite part is the huge wooden table that seats 20. She drops her bag on the floor and I tug her against my side, kissing her neck. “Welcome,” I whisper. “Want a tour?”

She shakes her head, still staring.

I scratch at my chin, considering the open staircase leading up to most of the bedrooms. “Well, that’s maybe okay because I don’t think I can make it up to the second floor.”

She chuckles. “I think we will be okay on this floor.”

“There’s a basement, too,” I tell her. “That’s where the foosball table is. And the theater room. And the hot tub, which we’ve already established I can’t use…” My voice drifts off, and I stare out onto the deck, where the heated swimming pool is also off-limits while I’m still in the cast. Shit.

I let my hand trace along her arm as she looks around. “Are you okay? We can always play a game. Or watch a movie. I brought wine.”

I stoop to pick up the bottle I shoved in the water bottle pocket of my backpack. I grin at Thora as I hold the alcohol, and she smiles, relaxing a bit. “Wine would be nice, I guess.”

“You got it. Go sit.” Thora folds herself onto the couch, looking smaller than ever, as I roll to the bar and grab us a few glasses. The wine is a screw top, which makes things really easy as I settle in next to her and pour us each a few inches. “To you,” I tell her. “Congratulations.”

She bites her lip. “I can’t drink a toast to myself. That’s weird.”

I drape an arm around her, and she is receptive to that, so I scoot her closer to me. “What about…to relaxing?”

She clinks her glass to mine and nods. “To relaxing.”

I reach for the remote and flick a button so the fireplace roars to life. She smiles and wiggles her toes as she sits cross- legged, leaning against me a little more. We sip in silence until she’s put back about half her glass. “I still can’t get over being done and having the grant. And not having to work. And?—”

“Hey,” I lean forward and set my wine on the table, turning to face Thora and putting a hand on each of her thighs. “You’ve had some big changes. Let me help you forget all that for a bit. Make you feel good.” I let my fingers trace along her legs. She smells so nice, floral and leathery from my car, I guess. Or the couch cushions.

“What do you see in me? I’m mean to you.” She leans back against the arm of the couch as I keep rubbing her legs. She sips the wine lazily and watches me touch her.

I grin. “You know I like it when you’re mean to me.” I stroke a finger behind each of her knees and she sucks in a breath. “And you like when I’m mean to you right back.” I take the wine glass from her, set it on the table next to mine, and haul her onto my lap so she’s pressed against my chest, face an inch from mine. “But how about if I’m nice to you for like a half hour?”

I swallow her laugh with a kiss and soon it’s on like a remote-controlled fireplace. Thora wraps her arms around my neck as she presses her mouth into mine and I dig my fingers into her hips as I rock her on my length. “I’m so hard for you,” I murmur into her mouth. And then I look at her face, eyes wild, so I bite her neck, and she gasps. “You like that? Do you get wet when I’m rough with you?”

I remember how I fantasized about fucking her against the wall, about bending her over and slamming into her from behind. I still can’t do those things, but damn if I’m going to disappoint her while I have her on my lap. I pinch her nipples through her shirt because, of course she’s not wearing a bra. Her hands scramble to pull off my t-shirt, and I reach an arm behind my head, pulling it off by the collar as she stares at me. I feel her nails drag along my abs, her tongue tracing the diamond in my earlobe. “I like all of it,” she whispers, biting my ear as I pinch her nipples again.

She leans back to undo her jeans and yank them off while I work on my shorts. “Shit,” I say. “The sex stuff is in my bag.” I move to stand, thinking that I’ll maybe hop over and get it, but she places a hand on my shoulder.

“I got it, Stag.” And she saunters her tiny, naked ass over to my bag, strutting back over like some sort of sex goddess. She tosses it next to me on the couch. “Surprise me with your sack of goodies.”

“Oh, honey, just you wait.” I pull open the zipper. “Lie back.” She arches a brow and does as I say. When one hand drops absentmindedly to her breast, I pop open a bottle of lube and squeeze a few drops between her fingers.

“What?” She gasps and then moans. “Oh, it’s warm.”

“Damn right,” I tell her, smearing some more of it on my hands and massaging it into her nipples. And then I lap at one and then the other as she groans in disbelief. “And it’s fucking cake flavored. Because this is a party.”