Odin

Chapter 7

Odin set Simone on her feet just in front of the circular mound marking Marie’s gravesite.

Simone took in the large space, rounded and ranging from only a foot or so high near the front, to almost seven feet in the back. “She’s here?”

“Her body is. I hope she is free to roam up there,” Odin said, pointing ever-so-slightly toward the sky.

Simone smiled at him. “A Demon that believes in heaven?” she asked.

“I know for a fact there is a hell, why wouldn’t there be a heaven as well?” Odin asked.

“I suppose you would know better than I,” Simone answered. She turned her attention back to the circular gravesite in front of her. “How long has she been buried here?”

“A few days.”

“And there’s grass on it already?” Simone asked.

“I have powerful friends,” Odin said.

“May I?” Simone asked, gesturing toward the grave.

“Please. It’s called Marie’s Hill. Anyone in Whispers is welcome to visit it and climb on it, sit on it. Keep her company.”

“It’s very beautiful,” Simone said. She stepped up on top of the hill and strolled around it before jumping down and taking her time walking around its outside. She came to the inscription on the stone and reached out touching it. “It bothers you that she might have been forgotten.”

He nodded.

“But she was where she wanted to be.”

Odin shrugged.

“Did you visit her often?” Simone asked.

“No. Never.”

“Never?” Simone asked, surprised.

“Not until the very end. It was too late then for her to have time to experience life. But I didn’t want her to die in the same small room she lived all her life in, so I brought her here and let her feel the water and the sand. I carried her through Whispers so she could see the trees, hear the birds. She loved the sun on her face and the beach. So, I buried her here, where people would be near, laughing, enjoying the same things she loved in her last minutes.”

“You think you disappointed her. That she lived all her life in that convent because of you.”

Odin’s translucent gaze locked with hers.

“She did.”

“No, Odin. She didn’t. She did live there, yes. But it was her choice. She sought shelter there and never, ever left again. That was a choice she made.”

“If I’d gone for her, she’d have left there. She could have lived here in Whispers and…”

“Her daughter left the convent. Marie could have gone with her. She could have left the convent to search for my mother. Maybe come to find me. She hid herself away from life, Odin. That wasn’t your fault.”

“It could have been different if I’d known she was there all this time. That she didn’t truly think me a monster.”

“Is that what kept you away?”

“I was hurt, angry. And it grew over time. I believed that I could only ever be what I was born to be no matter what my… my… I don’t know… me. No matter what I am on the inside.”

“Your soul,” Simone said.

He looked at her again. “I might not have one.”

Simone smiled and shook her head. “I have no doubt that you do. Just like everything else that God has created. Every little creature that has life breathed into it. We’re all a part of creation, aren’t we? None of this world would exist without the other parts to balance it out, so in my mind, it’s all got a soul. It’s all got the breath of creation breathed into it. That breath of creation, of the creator is the spark that is our soul. And you’ve got one, too.”

Odin just watched her as her words encircled him, giving him a sense of peace.

“I know it’s hard to know that she spent her entire life in that convent, but no one forced her to. She wasn’t held prisoner. Was she?”

“No,” he agreed.

“She made the choices that guided her life, Odin. Not you. You were nowhere near her life as she made those choices. Make no mistake about it, she was brave to take the chances that she did, and without those choices who knows if I’d even be here, but she did make those choices. And maybe the truth is that after she found a safe, quiet place to be, there was nothing quite strong enough to draw her away from it.”

“She said no one should live their lives within the same four gray walls, and that no one should have to outlive their children, and their children. She wished that she had it to do all over again.”

“Maybe she will, and because of the choices she made this time, not that you made, but that she made, she’ll have wild adventures next time.”

“Next time? What do you mean?”

“Do you truly believe that this life is the only chance you get?”

“I’ve never considered more than the here and now,” Odin answered truthfully.

“You know better than I that there is more in this life than most will acknowledge. And I believe that you can live it all again if you want to. You learn lessons, and you have unfulfilled wishes and desires and when you die, if you’ve done your best and you’ve not managed to get yourself condemned to hell, you get to try again.”

“You really believe that?” Odin asked.

“I do. I don’t know if it’s true, or just wishful thinking, but I like to think that when you die you don’t just go to heaven and that’s that. I like to think that you can have another chance to do things differently if you’re not satisfied.”

Odin looked over at Marie’s Hill and thought about it. “She said, ‘would that she could do it all over again’.”

“Oh, I hope she gets that chance.”

Odin smiled suddenly. “So, do I. She deserved to be happy, just as I have. And it was neither her nor I that kept either of us from it. We made our own choices.”

“You did,” Simone agreed.

“She deserved more.”

“I think you both did,” Simone said. She watched Odin, still the same male that had snatched her from her home and family, but now somehow different. He seemed freer, but suddenly so fragile. She started toward him, not stopping until she couldn’t step any closer without bumping into him, and rested her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his body.

“What are you doing?” Odin asked, holding his arms awkwardly to his sides.

“I’m holding you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a good man. A kind man. And I don’t think anyone has ever told you that.”

“I’m not a man, Simone. I’m a Demon.”

Simone lifted her head and looked up into his face. “You can’t help that any more than I can help being born female, or that snake can help being born a snake. But you can choose not to have your spirit harnessed by what others think you should be. And you’ve done that. You’ve broken the barriers that were supposed to determine how you lived and what you became. You’ve remained loyal to yourself rather than what was expected, and that takes bravery. I admire that about you.”

Odin looked into her eyes and was literally made speechless. This human woman admired him. She thought him brave.

“It’s okay, you know?” she asked.

“What’s okay?” he asked quietly.

“To be what you feel you should be, rather than filling an expectation you’re born to.”

“Who are you?” he finally asked, his arms coming up to rest against her waist.

“You know well who I am. You brought me here.”

He began to lower his head toward hers, the need to press his lips against hers something new and unanticipated for him. “I’m glad that you’re here,” he whispered against her lips before he pressed his mouth to hers.

Simone didn’t pull away, instead she leaned into him.

Odin kissed her gently, not exactly at ease with being this close to her, but not willing to stop either. Simone nibbled at his lips, causing him to pull away and look down at her.

Simone smiled and reached for his head, pulling him closer again so she could kiss him.

This time he licked at her lips. “I can’t nibble at yours,” he said.

“Why not?” she asked.

Odin pulled his lips back to display his teeth and she looked dramatically at his pointed teeth.

“Oh, yes, let’s not have you nibble at my lips.”

Odin nodded and stepped back.

“What are you doing?” Simone asked.

“Not kissing you.”

“Why not?”

“You said not to.”

“I said don’t bite me and shred my lips. I didn’t say not to kiss me.”

“I didn’t want to frighten you by insisting that we continue.”

“Odin, do I look frightened?”

“Not particularly. But I know that such things are not acceptable between a male and a female without some kind of covenant.”

“Odin, I know you’re from another time, but just how old do you think I am?”

“You’re a female and should be treated with respect at all times.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at him. “But to make things perfectly clear, I’m standing here, kissing you because I wanted to. I walked over to you and put my arms around you. You didn’t force the issue. You didn’t invite the issue. I did.”

Odin opened his mouth to answer, but instead ended up just nodding.

“It’s not the first time I’ve been kissed. Nor will it be the last.”

“Who’s kissed you?” Odin asked, his brows furrowed, a scowl firmly in place.

“I’m thirty-six years of age. I’ve been kissed, as much as I wanted to be. And let’s just leave it at that. Until I take a man to husband, I’ll do whatever I please.”

“And what exactly will please you?” Odin asked.

“At the moment… I wonder if I might be able to splash in the waves I hear in the distance.”

“You wish to swim?” he asked.

“And clean off the mud.”

“Come,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her away from Marie’s Hill.

Odin led Simone all the way to the beach, then right up to the water’s edge, stopping only when her toes sank in the sand and the gentle waves lapped at her feet. She knelt down and moved her hands gently in the water until the mud washed away, then she looked up to smile at him. “This place is magical.”

Odin looked out over the water, the beach they were standing on and the way it hugged the shore as far as they could see with fresh clean waters lapping up against the sand with trees standing back further inland, but still close enough to be seen. The contrast was intriguing, and welcoming. “I suppose it is.”

“Can I go further into the water, or is there some other kind of dread creature waiting to take a bite out of me?” she asked, standing up, but still looking at him.

Odin smirked. “It’s safe. You can go in if you’d like to.”

Simone’s eyes filled with mischief just the way Marie’s had when she’d been a child, then she pulled her skirt up and waded into the water up to her thighs. “Oh, this is glorious!”

Odin smiled and sat down on the beach to watch Simone as she moved deeper and deeper out into the water, splashing and scrubbing at the mud on her body. He stood up to get a better look at her. She’d stretched out on her back to float for a while in the waves. He’d felt the need to make sure she was still atop the water when she’d been quiet for a while.

It only took about fifteen minutes for her to decide to venture back toward the shore. Odin was sitting on the beach with his face lifted to the sun, his eyes closed as he rested, his arm braced behind himself in the sand considering all the things Simone had opened his eyes to since she’d arrived.

“Do you want to get the mud off your body?”

Odin opened his eyes to find Simone standing there looking at him. “Not necessarily.”

“You’re covered in mud, and I’m not” Simone pointed out.

Odin’s gaze traveled down the length of her body, stopping against his will to focus on the dark pink of her nipples showing through the wet material of her white dress. Almost hesitantly his gaze traveled lower to that soft vee shaped intersection of body and both thighs. The darkness of the shadow in that most secret place let him know he’d find soft curls keeping her most vulnerable places hidden. He let out an exaggerated sigh and closed his eyes.

“Are you well?” Simone asked.

“No. I definitely am not well.”

“Can I help you to feel better? What is it that you need?” Simone asked.

Odin pushed up off the beach and quickly strode directly into the waves. “The water,” he grumbled as he left her standing in the sand. “I need the water.” He stood there, his back to Simone until he felt the swelling in his cock was gone.

“Are you sure you’re well?” she called out.

He looked over his shoulder toward her and found her facing him, still standing in the same place she’d been. The dress she wore was still wet enough for him to get an idea, a very clear idea of what lay beneath it. His cock began to swell again, causing his trousers to fit uncomfortably tighter. “Just… let me stand here a while.”

Simone smiled innocently at him and nodded until he turned his back on her again, then she grinned, knowing full well what he was struggling against. She pulled her dress over her head and dropped it to the sand at her feet, then started into the water. She’d always been adventurous, and this day was no different. The opportunity of seducing the Demon she’d always fantasized about was not something that she’d let pass unseized. Especially since she’d learned he was actually real. And she’d met him. And felt the undeniable pull toward him.

The gentle lapping of the water at her skin had Odin turning toward her just as she reached him. His breath caught when he saw her upper body, naked and wet. “Where are your clothes?” he exclaimed.

Simone hesitated for only a few seconds. “Do you not want me?” she asked.

His mouth opened just enough to let her know he didn’t know how to answer.

“I am not a child, Odin. I’m old enough to be considered an old maid.”

“You’re a beautiful woman with plenty of life left ahead of you,” he insisted.

“I’m not an innocent girl. I want this. I want you.”

Odin swallowed visibly as he took in the sight of her breasts glistening with the water splashed on them and the sun reflecting off them.

“I’m not an innocent, Odin, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

He reached out and cupped the bottom of one of her breasts in his hand, feeling the weight of it as he ran his fingers over the smooth skin. He let her breast fall then grabbed her with both hands and pulled her against his body, gripping her hair in his fist and pulling her head back. With her head back, the column of her throat exposed to him, he licked her from collarbone to jawline.

Simone moaned and lifted a leg to rub her knee against his thigh, expecting to feel trousers between his legs and hers, but instead felt flesh. “Where are your trousers?” she asked.

“I did away with them,” he said, not really explaining, but it didn’t matter. All that did matter was that they were gone. He gripped the hair still in his fist and tugged on it again, forcing her chin up to give him access to her throat again. He pulled her up and onto his waist to rest there, their lower bodies in the water while he licked and kissed her neck and breasts. “I may bite you, but I won’t damage you. Do not fear me!” he said with no small amount of angst.

She tried to lift her head, so he let go of her hair so she could move.

She sat perched on his hips, her knees bent, her stomach pressed against his, his arm around her waist and rear, keeping her against his body as the waves lapped gently against them. “How could I fear such a beautiful creature? There is nothing frightening about you.”

“I am terribly frightening!” he insisted, almost insulted that she would think him not.

“To others, not to me.”

He scowled at her, but didn’t let go at all.

“Would you rather me be afraid of you, than appreciative of your appearance?” As she spoke the words, she rubbed her lower body against his, letting him feel her warmth.

“No, I would not.”

“Will you kiss me again?” she asked, running her hand slowly over his chest.

“You want this?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re sure you want this? This cannot be undone,” he warned.

“I’m sure,” she murmured, rocking her hips against him as her eyes fell closed.

“Simone!”

She stopped moving and opened her eyes. “I’m beginning to wonder. You keep interrupting me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am sure.”

He lifted her away from his body just enough to allow his swollen penis to prod at her entrance. He stopped, still holding her in position and bumped his flat nose against hers, causing her to look at him. “Is there another?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Am I going to have to kill a male after this? Do you have a mate you’ve sworn loyalty to?”

“No, I do not have a mate.”

He hid the smile at realizing she knew all about mates, and instead of sharing that smile, he shared himself. He held her steady while he lined himself up, then pulled her body toward his, as he pushed his hips forward, his hardened cock slipping into her depths.

Her hands grasped for his shoulders, finding purchase among the blueish toned spikes there as her back arched and she adjusted her hips, experimenting with the feel of having him deep inside her. Her breathing was staggered as she felt her bottom flush against him, her heels behind his bottom, pulling him tighter.

His eyes were closed, but when they opened, she swore she saw blue flames in his translucent pupils just before he slipped a hand down her lower back to her bottom to hold her in place as he began to force himself in and out of her body. The water around them churned, as she moved her hips in time with his, helping him take them both to the crest of satisfaction before he backed off.

“Why did you stop?” she asked, licking the skin on the side of his neck and sucking there for just a split second before he gently pulled her mouth away from his body.

“I can’t get in there like I want to!” he snarled, turning and striding for the beach while still holding her against him. When he reached the beach, he grabbed her dress and shook it out, dropping it to the sand again before he knelt and laid her on top of it. Then he pushed her legs apart and crawled between her legs, pushing into her again, and slamming his hips against her as he forced his way inside. “That’s better,” he growled, holding her down with a hand on her throat while he kept one of her knees up near her chest with the other hand, turning his hips this way and that to make his cock stroke inside her at different angles with each thrust. It took no time at all and she was screaming in pleasure as he hissed and slammed into her for the last time, filling her body with his release.