Twenty-Four
Thor
My limbs feel as if they’re made of lead as I sit up in bed, wiping a hand over my face and beard. The nightmare last night was intense. One of the worst I’ve had in a while. It’s not surprising. Anytime I go without a lot of sleep, it always increases the severity of the dreams.
I clench my eyes shut, my fingers grazing over the dog tags tattoo as I pray that these dreams will leave me. That I can rid myself of the constant guilt.
With a sigh, I stand, stretching my hands over my head. Someone knocks softly and without thinking, I call out, “Come in.”
I drop my hands as the door swings open and Clover steps in. Her eyes immediately drop to my chest, which I belatedly realize is bare, and she lets out a little yelp, covering her eyes and spinning around.
“You said to come in,” she hisses accusingly.
Chuckling, I grab my shirt off the chair beside the bed, slipping it over my head. “Sorry, forgot where I was for a minute. It’s safe now.” She turns around, and I give her a wicked smirk as I cross my arms. “Just be glad I didn’t sleep like I normally do.” I pause for dramatic effect before saying, “In the nude.”
Her already flushed cheeks darken. “Oh my gosh, Thor!”
“I’m the worst, I know.” I stride slowly toward her until our feet are almost touching and tuck a curl behind her ear. I’m thankful there are no cameras in here as I rest my hand against the soft curve of her cheek. Bending my head until my mouth brushes the shell of her ear, I lower my voice. “But I think you like it.” I linger a moment, enjoying watching her skin pebble at my touch.
Clover lifts a delicate shoulder. “I wouldn’t say you’re the worst.”
I grin, my thumb developing a mind of its own as I brush it across her jawline and then stupidly over her bottom lip. “I’ll take it.” My thumb still rests on her lip, tugging it down slightly.
I’m playing with fire here, but the hold this woman has on me makes me forget everything else except her.
However, before I have a chance to make any other move, Clover steps back, clearing her throat. “I thought you might want to come eat or watch a movie or . . .” she trails off, her cheeks becoming pink once again.
She’s so stinkin’ adorable that I can’t hide my smile. “I can’t believe you missed me that much in just a few hours, Love.”
Clover blinks at me. “Thor, it’s almost noon.”
I cringe. “Oh, sorry. I meant to be up early to keep you company. ”
Clover’s expression softens. “You needed the rest. Besides, Edith and Bex have been keeping me company.”
“That’s good,” I say, but I’m hung up on her first words. “Um . . . did you sleep okay?”
Biting her lip, she averts her gaze. “Pretty good.”
I sigh and rub my neck. “Listen, I’m sorry if I woke you up. I . . . um—”
Clover places a hand on my arm, stopping my words. I meet her violet eyes, finding understanding within their depths. “Thor, it’s fine. You don’t have to explain anything to me.” My throat constricts at her soft words. I want to open up and tell her everything. But not now. Not while someone is stalking her.
I offer her a small smile before noting the shirt she’s wearing. “Where’s your snarky shirt of the day? I was looking forward to seeing what it said.”
She gives a strangled laugh, tugging at her solid purple shirt as her nose scrunches. “I may need to update my wardrobe for some more appropriate shirts. It seemed weird to wear one that said ‘I’m only here to establish an alibi’ at a security firm.”
A snort of laughter erupts from my mouth. “That would have been hilarious, though.” Then, my expression turns serious. “But you realize that you don’t need to change for anyone, right? You’re amazing the way you are.”
“Thanks, Thor.” She smiles softly at me.
“Okay, so what movie are we watching? ”
Clover smirks. “ Anne of Green Gables , of course. I can swoon and sigh over Gil, and you can get big heart-eyes over Anne. It’s a win-win situation, right?”
I hum in agreement. “Sounds perfect.” As if I’ll be paying any attention to the movie or Megan Follows when the most beautiful woman in the world will be sitting next to me.
Yesterday was one of the best days I’ve ever had even though I was stuck in the office all day—by choice. Clover and I had an Anne of Green Gables movie marathon with Clover taking breaks to do some editing work.
It would have been better if my co-workers hadn’t kept crashing our time together. I wasn’t too suspicious when Edith came in and asked to watch one of the movies with us, but when she left and ten minutes later Hunt joined us, I knew something was up.
After Hunt left, Clover excused herself to use the bathroom. Then, Bex arrived with fresh pizza. She didn’t even try to hide what she was doing as she set it on the coffee table and plopped on the couch beside me. “Rock says it’s my turn to babysit.”
I scoffed. “I knew Hunt didn’t care about watching Anne and Gil’s love unfold.”
Bex snorted. “Yeah, I would have been in here sooner, but I had to listen to him complain about the movie for a solid five minutes.”
Running a hand over my hair, I sighed. “Nothing is happening.”
Bex cut her eyes to me. “Because we’ve all been in here.”
Gritting my teeth, I shook my head. “You know me better than that, Bex.”
She smiled softly. “I do, Thor. Which is why I don’t think Rock is wrong about having extra eyes around. It’s for accountability and to prevent any kind of lawsuit.”
“I get it.” I reached for a slice of pizza. “Is it that obvious, though?”
Bex laughed. “Dude, sickeningly so.”
Clover came back in after that, and Bex started talking about some book event coming up. I loved watching Clover slowly become more comfortable with Bex, her eyes lighting up with excitement as they shared their love of books.
All too soon it was time to tell Clover goodnight. My sleep was restless, but at least I didn’t have nightmares.
After breakfast, Clover and I set up a board game in the conference room, which I only suggested so Rock wouldn’t think I was trying anything with a client. His hovering is beginning to make me antsy. Besides, I’m back on the clock, so I’m only doing my job. But even with us in the conference room, Rock is making frequent trips outside of his office, conveniently walking by the conference room window and sending not-so-subtle glances at Clover and me.
I grin back at him, and he rolls his eyes, but I don’t miss the twitch of his lips.
Clover wipes the floor with me and when she jumps up and does a little victory shimmy, while chanting, “Champion, champion, champion,” I fall a little more for her. My chest swells knowing that she’s only doing this because of how comfortable she’s become in my presence.
An hour later, we’re sitting in the break room drinking coffee and eating Edith’s pastries. Clover is tapping her nails against her mug, her leg bouncing up and down as her gaze darts around.
“You okay?” I ask before sipping my coffee.
Clover glances at me and where before, she may have given a snarky remark or rolled her eyes, she sighs. “Just feeling a little like a caged bird.”
“Hm . . .” Biting into the raspberry-filled pastry, I ask, “Want to get out?”
“Get out?”
“Yeah. We can go for a ride. Do some sightseeing. Maybe go grab dinner at this great place I know.”
She perks up. “That sounds great, actually. Think Rock will have a hissy fit?”
Chuckling, I down the last drink of my coffee. “Probably, but remember, he can’t keep you locked up here. Besides, he knows I’m the best one to keep you safe. And that’s the most important thing right now. ”
She wets her lips, drawing my attention there for a beat too long. “And there’s been nothing else from Angie?”
I tap my fingers on my thighs. “Unfortunately, no.”
Picking at the crumbs on her plate, she sighs. “I can’t live here forever, Thor.”
A lump forms in my throat. “I know.”
Studying me a moment, she stands and offers me a small smile. “Okay, let’s go.”