Chapter 7 #3
It was in stark contrast to the rest of the fight club, with a plush bed in one corner and an open bathroom with a shower made of glass. A fire roared in the corner next to the bed, and near the bathroom stood a wooden cabinet with a deeply carved cross on it.
A thick black phone rang on a table next to the bed.
Strange. How had phones gotten down to Helheim? What did they even connect to? But then… how did cellphones work in Helheim? Magic was the only answer she could come up with.
She limped over to the bed, her body aching in ways it hadn’t for decades.
Loki answered the phone. "Hello?"
He stood near the far side of the room- lean, unhurried, one hand in the pocket of his trousers, the other holding the receiver.
His dark hair hung loose below his collar, still immaculate despite everything, and his shirt hung without a single crease.
Under the low amber of the fire, there was something deliberate about the way he occupied space- like a man who had never once needed to fill a doorway to make himself known.
His blue eyes moved to her briefly, then away. "No, thank you, we don't need a healer. But you might want to check in on Odin. He will say he doesn't need you, but he does."
Loki placed the phone in the cradle and walked to the bathroom. He turned on the shower head, which sprayed water like a rainstorm. Then he walked to a closet, pulled out two plush red towels, and set them on the counter. He placed a bar of soap, a toothbrush, and toothpaste there as well.
"You can clean up now."
Val looked at him, then at the shower, and back again. She wanted nothing more than to take a shower and scrub off her skin, maybe even let out her wings, but... There was no bathroom door, and the shower was see-through.
"I can get you some clothes as well. You just let me know what you want." He waited, but she didn't move. "Is there a problem?"
"You mean besides the fact that there is no door or privacy at all?"
Loki grinned. "Afraid I'll watch?"
"Only if you want a couple of black eyes." She smiled and batted her eyelashes, making her eye twitch with pain and her cheek spasm.
He snorted and walked to the bed, lay on it, and picked up a TV remote. He turned on a loud action movie and then glanced at her.
"I won't even hear you over that. And I promise to be a complete gentleman and not peek- unless you want me to." He wiggled his eyebrows.
The idea of him watching her made her skin flush. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked. "We may not know each other well, but you know me well enough to know that being nice isn't going to get me into your bed."
His expression grew serious, and he licked his lips as if looking for words, and then sighed.
"Honestly? I don't have an answer for you. Usually, my charm and looks are enough to get women into my arms, but with you, I am honestly just trying because... it feels right. I know that makes me sound stupid, but it's the truth. I’m not trying to get you into bed, Val, though I am absolutely not opposed to the idea. I just… I don’t know. "
She wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe he was telling her the truth, and he really wasn't trying to play her.
He threw her a panty-melting smile. "I can tell you this, though.
I've never, not ever, worked so hard to make a woman simply like me.
Especially expecting nothing in return. But I truly don't want anything more from you than the joy of your company.
That's it. Does that make you look at me differently?
Have I lost my ‘Playboy’ image with you? "
Sincerity rang in his voice, making her uncomfortable.
She wished he wasn't telling the truth. It would be so much easier if he only wanted to screw her.
At least then she wouldn't... be starting to rethink her original impression of him.
Which she didn't want to do because if she didn't hate him, if she didn't see him as a user and a womanizer, then that left her where?
Open? Vulnerable? She didn't want to be either of those things.
Not with him. Not with a Norse god. But. ..
No. No buts.
"No peeking." She stood.
He saluted her. "Wouldn't dream of it. Wait... yes. I would totally dream of it, but I won't do it for real. That I promise. What I do in my head is my own business, though."
"Is it?" she asked. "It's only your business if you keep it in your head and don't try to plant it in mine like you did the other night."
A chagrined expression crossed his face.
She knew it. She'd heard he had the power of dream walking, but she hadn't been sure until that moment.
It had been him in her dream the other night.
And the thing they'd done in her dream..
. Kissing. He'd kissed her. Her first, real kiss, even if it was only in her dreams. The idea of doing it again, mixed with the sight of him lounging on the plush bed, had her body heating up in places she didn't want.
She turned before he discerned what she thought and headed for the shower. She definitely needed a shower, and a warm one at that point wasn't necessary. She needed cold. Ice freaking cold.