Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
"Take these to table one." Val slopped three steins of beer on the tray in front of Elle and pointed to the table before returning to the shelf behind the bar and grabbing a bottle of rum. She couldn’t help her foul mood. All she’d done was go to pick up some damn papers from Loki, and not only had he gotten her all flustered and bothered, but then she’d dreamed of him all night like some lovesick temple virgin. What the hel was that?
Never once had a man- or god- turned her into an aching bitch in heat.
And she’d be damned if she’d let Loki of all beings do it.
The god known for chewing women up and spitting them back where he’d found them.
Too many of her sister Valkyries had told her stories of how he’d wooed them for a week or two, taking them into his bed and showing them the best time of their lives, only then to move on.
But she couldn’t blame him alone. Her Valkyrie sisters had heard the stories about him. Knew his history. They hadn’t gone into it blind. But still…
Elle lifted the tray and headed to the table as Heimdall caught Val’s eye.
He held up his stein, she nodded, and grabbed him a new one.
Heimdall had quickly become a surprising comfort to her.
Sitting in the corner, day in and day out.
Watching every mortal and supernatural who came into the bar.
Keeping a closer eye on everyone else who ventured through the portal from Helheim to Midgard.
His all-seeing golden eyes let Val relax enough to do her job without worrying about Elle every second.
Heimdall knew who they both were. Knew their pasts.
Knew everything about them, and yet he kept his mouth shut, as he did for every other being.
Val appreciated that about him. Always had.
The fact that he knew everything about everyone and yet never gossiped or judged.
He simply did his job and accepted everyone for who they were.
Despite that, she didn't believe he would let something happen to them if he could help it.
Elle returned to the counter. Val caught the slight glow that tinged the edges of Elle’s irises.
"Elle." Val grabbed her shoulder.
Elle’s head jerked up, and the glow faded.
She wondered if Elle even realized what had happened.
Val had seen the magic Elle held deep inside.
Knew how dangerous it could be. Unleashing her power in any way could alert anyone to their presence.
Not to mention the havoc it would cause in Midgard.
Humans didn’t know the first thing about magic, immortals, or Helheim.
And everyone was happy to keep them ignorant.
Val pushed a stein toward Elle and jerked her chin toward the corner.
Elle gave a tight smile and headed toward Heimdall’s table.
Val tracked her. Elle and Heimdall spoke for a moment, and then Heimdall did something Val had never seen before.
He touched Elle’s hand. Val’s mouth fell open, but her gaze hardened as Thor walked up to the table.
Shit. Why was he there? In their month on Midgard, he’d not once come up to the topside of Frigg’s bar, and now they'd seen him twice in less than twenty-four hours.
The last thing Elle needed was Thor Odinson sniffing around and finding out who Elle was. Who knew what the god of thunder would do when he found out Elle was the daughter of his mortal enemy.
“Hey, sexy? Can I get a beer?”
Val glanced to her left. A man with hair like wheat and a body like Magic Mike staring at her with a smile meant to melt panties. His penetrating dark eyes watched her with the intensity of a predator. If he hadn’t been so damn good to look at, she would have told him where to shove his ‘hey sexy’.
“Hey,” she said. “What brand?”
His smile widened. “What’s good?”
She shrugged. “The house ale is decent.”
“Only decent? I was looking for something a bit better than that.”
Flirting? Yeah, she could use some flirting from someone like him after the dreams she’d had about Loki.
“Unfortunately, we don’t serve anything amazing until after closing.” Why did she say that? Stupid question. She knew why. She hadn’t been with a man since before Muspelheim, and she was due for a good time.
He chuckled, and his eyes hinted with an inner glow. “When’s closing?”
A shifter, but more than that, an Alpha. He should be a hel of a good time. “Weekdays at one a.m. and weekends at three.”
“So tonight, at say, one thirty, I can try something amazing here?”
Val chuckled. “Maybe.”
“I’m Marek.”
She nodded. “Val.”
“Short for Valerie?”
“No, Valkyrie,” she said without thinking. Dammit. She needed to keep it together. How the hel could she be so stupid? She’d just been so stressed about Thor finding out who they were, and here she was blurting it out.
“Valkyrie? Like the Norse warrior chicks. Very cool.”
Elle approached the bar, and Val poured the hot shifter an ale before walking over.
"What's wrong?" Val asked.
"Uh... nothing." Elle bit her thumb.
Val scanned Elle. Her skin had a rosy sheen, and she chewed her nails like they were potato chips. "Why are you flushed?"
"Am I?" Elle touched her cheek.
Val eyed her. "You're chewing your fingers again."
Elle dropped her hand and looked away. "I need another beer."
"Which table?"
"Heimdall."
"He never drinks more than one an hour."
"It's not for him." Elle continued not to meet Val’s eye.
Val glanced over Elle's shoulder. Thor had seated himself at Heimdall’s table and seemed in deep conversation. "Elle-"
"I didn't ask him to come."
"We've talked about this. If he finds out who you are-"
"Lady Frigg knows. And Heimdall and Loki-"
"But Frigg, Heimdall, and Loki didn't try to kill your father.
And thousands of fire giants. And vow to kill them all after Ragnarok.
" She looked around. "And though most of these are mortals, any number of sups pass through here who, I am sure, would be more than happy to sell you out for money or favor with Surtr. "
"Then why did we run? Why did we come here if I'm still going to spend the rest of my immortal life looking over my shoulder? I might as well have stayed and let Thadren have his way with me. At least with him I would've been protected."
In many ways, Elle was still so sheltered. She’d been through a hel of a childhood, but she had no real idea what could happen to her.
A waitress approached with an order, and Elle stepped to the side. Val grabbed the ingredients and started mixing the drink.
She crushed a lemon and leaned in to Elle. "You are protected. I will protect you. I just want you to be careful."
"I'll do my best. But I can't ask him not to come to his mother's establishment. That would be more suspicious than if I do nothing."
"Then continue to do nothing. Don't be discourteous, but don't encourage him either. If Thor Odinson finds out who you are, you can bet he will want one of two things: to use you to hurt Surtr, or to kill you to hurt Surtr."
Elle snorted. "Too bad he doesn't realize my father would have killed me himself if he'd cared enough about me to lift a finger.”
When Elle escaped with Val, she'd anticipated her life getting easier, not harder. She shook her head. She should have known better.
"Problem?" Frigg appeared next to Elle and smiled. “What can I do to help?”
Val gave Frigg a tight smile. “Nope.” She grabbed the mug and dumped it out, then wiped down the counter with a towel.
A table of men caught Val’s attention, and she nodded. “Table six wants you.”
“But… the beer-”
“I’ll take it,” said Frigg.
Elle nodded and headed off.
“I know you are worried about her, but you don’t need to be. She is perfectly safe with all of us.”
“Is she?” Val’s gaze returned to Thor.
Frigg grabbed Val’s hand and squeezed it.
The contact soothed and warmed Val at the same time.
Frigg had always had that effect on people.
Her kind, motherly nature, soft voice, and eyes couldn’t help but make people comfortable.
Even so, Val had seen Frigg fight and knew firsthand how formidable Frigg’s magic could be.
“Val, you need to relax. I know you haven’t been able to for years and years, but you need to. Take a day off. Have some fun. Remember who you are. Find out who you want to be.”
Val’s gaze slid to the shifter who sipped his beer.
“I don’t know how to relax anymore.”
“Then maybe it’s time someone helped you remember.”
Val looked back at Frigg.
Val poured Thor another beer and handed it to Frigg. “Did you send us to meet Loki at your house on purpose last night so Elle could meet Thor?”
Frigg winked, squeezed Val’s hand, and walked away, but stopped and looked over her shoulder and stared at the back of Marek’s head for a good ten seconds before blinking several times and turning and hurrying to Heimdall’s table.
Val frowned. What was that about?
Suddenly, Marek sniffed the air and looked around in confusion. Then his gaze landed on Val again, and he smiled and asked for another beer.
Loki sat at his oversized desk staring out his office window when his cellphone rang.
He didn’t move for a moment as he continued to replay his dreamwalk from the night before.
He’d never experienced something so real.
And Val… damn. The woman had left him with the biggest hard-on since he’d woken up; it had been painful to even stand to go to work.
Especially since he was still sore all over from the latest round of fighting Baldur.
It surprised him he’d been able to dreamwalk at all with the injuries he’d sustained.
Baldur had lost, but Loki’s game had been off due to the meeting with Val.
The phone rang twice more before he picked it up without looking at the screen.
"Odinson, how interesting to hear from you twice in two days."
"I need your help," Thor said.
Loki smiled. Help? Really? That intrigued him.
"Well, well, well. I can't remember the last time the Mighty Thor, son of Odin, needed my help. Oh, wait, yes, I can. It was when-"
"Are you going to help me or not?"
Loki paused. Thor wasn’t in a jesting mood. He never was anymore, sadly. "Of course, cousin. What do you need?"
"Meet me at Frigg's."
"When?"
"Topside. Now."
Loki thought for a moment. Val worked at Frigg’s. Maybe he’d run into her if he went. Loki scowled. Why was the Valkyrie so damned tempting? He’d never had another female get under his skin the way she did. And he didn't even know her.
“All right,” Loki finally said.
Thor hung up before Loki could say more.
He set his phone back on his desk and looked at his watch.
It was after the lunch crowd and before the nightly rush.
Going to Frigg’s and helping Thor shouldn’t take up too much of his time.
Besides, doing a favor for Thor would mean Thor owed him, and he could think of several things to ask for in return.
All in all, helping Thor might put Loki ahead.
Loki stood and adjusted his once again erect crotch. How was it that the mere idea of seeing Val got him hard? Loki sat back down and picked up his phone to call Thor and say he wasn’t coming, but stopped.
Enough. His body would just have to chill out.
He wouldn’t let a woman dictate what he did or where he went.
Especially a Valkyrie. If he wanted to help Thor, he would help Thor, and his erection would have to go back to sleep.
And there were only two ways to get it to go away.
Screw something or remember the most bizarre and painful experience of his life- giving birth to Sleipnir, his eight-legged horse son.
And as there was no one readily available for screwing so…
Loki placed his hands on his desk and took a deep breath before letting the memory wash over him. “I hate this memory.”