15. Thoren
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
thoren
T he day is finally here, and I am beyond ready for it. I dropped Shadow off with my parents, packed my bag, and planned everything for the next two days with Lily. The last ten days sucked, filled with working overtime, a search and rescue case on Thursday, and training on Sunday. Lily was a godsend through it all. She spent most of her days with Shadow in tow, left pre-made meals in my fridge for my late nights, and still was up early to spend a few quiet minutes on her deck with me each morning before work.
We have gotten ourselves into a routine without even realizing it, and I hope it doesn’t stop. Next week, Jake’s replacement is set to start, so hopefully my schedule will calm down and I will have more free time to spend with her. That is a thought for later, though, because I am about to pick up my girl. I stopped in town on my way back from my parents’ place to pick up a coffee and muffin for Lily. I also had a small gift waiting in the passenger seat from my brother.
She must be just as ready for this day as me because she is waiting on her porch with her bag before I can even get the truck in park. I jump out to open the back door, taking her bag and adding it next to mine on the back seat. Moving to the passenger door, I open it and hold out my hand to help her in. Her fingers wrap around mine as she steps into the truck when she sees the bag on the seat.
“What’s this?” she asks, moving it to her lap as I lean over, buckling her in. Her warm vanilla scent is subtle today, warming me from the inside out as my thumbs brush over her thighs.
“A gift from my brother for tomorrow. There’s also a coffee for you, pick either one, and a bag of muffins behind you,” I add before closing her door and climbing into the driver’s seat.
She picks up both coffees, reading the labels for a white chocolate latte and a caramel latte. I think she’s going to choose the white chocolate because last week she talked about finding that flavor creamer in the store. If not, though, I got caramel because I know I’ve seen that flavor in her fridge.
Like I figured, she puts down the caramel and hums as she takes a sip of the white chocolate. “Thank you, this is delicious. Can I open the present now?”
“Sure,” I respond, reaching back to move the little brown bag with muffins to the center console in case she wants one later. “He asked if you had one, then sent this the next day.”
She carefully removes the tissue paper from the bag, setting it next to her. In true River fashion, he sent it already wrapped in a nice bag with a card and everything. Lily pulls out a Rainiers jersey with my brother’s number and last name on the back. It’s an authentic one, and he added a sweatshirt with the team logo as well. I guessed her size for him, so I hope they fit.
“These are so cool! You both have done so much for me. I’ll never be able to repay you for all this. It’s too much,” her voice slowly tapers off.
I reach over, giving her knee a squeeze. “Kindness doesn’t have to be repaid. We are doing these things because we want to and because we can. Now drink your coffee and put on some music. We have three hours to kill.”
I’m not going to give her time to argue. If I want to take care of her, then I’m going to, and I am man enough to let my brother spoil her, too. She grabs the cord and attaches her phone, scrolling through her playlist. Her music choice is a mix of pop and indie that she keeps at a low volume so we can easily talk over it. She didn’t drive this way when she came up from Phoenix, so she points out all the new and exciting things she likes.
“I have a few options when we get there,” I tell her as we draw closer to Seattle’s city center. “Your meeting isn’t until two, so we have two hours to spare. We can get an early check in at the hotel to drop off bags, grab a light snack and relax until then. Or we can go grab lunch by the water. I don’t know how you handle nerves, so you’re in charge of what’s best for you here.”
“Lunch on the water, please.” A soft smile plays on her lips. “I’m a nervous eater, and I want to see as much of the city as we can.”
I was hoping she would choose that option. There’s a spot my brother told me about that he claims has the best fish and chips in Seattle. The downtown traffic isn’t too bad for a weekday afternoon, and surprisingly, neither is parking. Duke’s is a smaller place, with benches out front on a pier that the host seats us at. From here, we can see the Space Needle, Mt. Rainier, and watch the ferry traveling back and forth to the islands. I have to admit that although I’m not a big city guy, Seattle is beautiful. Our server brings our food out, checking to see if we need anything else before leaving us to enjoy our lunch.
“The mountain’s out today,” Lily says with the widest smile on her face as she plops a fry in her mouth.
I snort around my bite of fish. “Did you hear someone say that?”
“Nope,” she says proudly, popping the p. “I looked up Seattle slang last night when I couldn’t sleep. Apparently, that’s what the locals say whenever it’s clear enough to see the mountain. I guess it’s a rare occurrence.”
God, she is so adorable. “It is. How are you feeling? Did the nerves keep you up all night?”
I struggled to sleep last night, too, half nerves, half excitement. This little getaway with her gives us time alone, time to really get to know each other better. I was also nervous that I would fuck up somehow. That maybe things wouldn’t go well with the lawyer, or that she will think I’m being presumptuous with only one hotel room.
“Yeah. I sent her everything I could think of Monday night after we talked. Every detail of our relationship, my performance review paperwork, email correspondence, all of it. The legal talk went over my head, but she said there was a process to all this and the first step was to send it somewhere for an investigation. I got an email from her yesterday afternoon saying they got back to her and we would review it and our options today. I just want justice.”
“He’ll pay, I promise.”
We finish up our meal and head back to the truck. Lily offered to drive in her car, Marge, but I didn’t want her to have any added stress. We have about fifteen minutes until the meeting and the anxiety is pouring off of her.
“What’s my truck’s name?” I ask, trying to distract her.
“Huh?” she mumbles, squeezing her fingers and looking out the window.
“My truck. Your Jeep’s name is Marge, what should I name my truck? I’ve never named a car before. He needs something manly.”
Her laugh is light, “Cars only have girl names. It’s an unspoken rule.” She thinks it over, clearly putting thought into her decision. “Freya.”
“Freya?”
She finally turns those sapphire blues on me again. “Yes. She’s a Norse goddess known for love, beauty, and material things. Since you have the whole Thor, built like a god thing going for you, I think it fits.”
“That’s not the first time you’ve alluded to my body like that. Like what you see, Lily?”
She turns even further toward me, slowly perusing every inch of me from head to toe and back. “I do,” she says without an ounce of embarrassment. My dick jumps, happy with her assessment.
I don’t have time to respond, as I pull into the parking garage for the lawyer’s office. With Freya in park, I turn her off, feeling the nervous energy radiating from Lily. “Would you like me to stay here, or come in with you?”
“Please come with me,” she says, chewing on her bottom lip.
I hop out and round the truck, opening her door to help her step out. My hand reaches for her and she takes it with no hesitation. With fingers intertwined, we walk into the office and get ushered into a small meeting room by the receptionist. We barely have time to sit before the door opens again and a tall brunette in a power suit steps in.
“Hello Ms. Wilks, I’m Kinsley DeWitt. You can call me Kinsley or Dewitt, I respond to both. Who do you have with you today?”
“This is Thoren, and you can just call me Lily, please,” she squeezes my hand tighter under the table. “Can he stay?”
“Absolutely. You are in control here.” She takes a seat across the table from us, laying out a folder as she opens her laptop. “First things first, I’m sorry you’re even in this scenario. That being said, I think we have options here. I called your former place of employment Monday when we got off the phone, and they basically laughed in my face when I brought up mediation. I immediately filed with the EEOC, the next step, after that and heard back from them yesterday. They said they found no fault, but you have the option to sue, if you so choose.”
My fingers are losing feeling with how tight Lily is squeezing them. I reach over and pull her chair closer to mine to give her knee a squeeze before grabbing her hand again. “What does it mean that they found no fault? Does she still have a chance to win in court?”
“Yes, I think we have a good case, and I haven’t even done more research or subpoenaed anything yet. The government hardly ever finds fault in these cases, but it’s a step we had to take. I will reach out to the company one more time offering mediation, and if they refuse again, then we will bring a lawsuit against them. We are hoping for mediation. It tends to be less ugly, but even that can get rough. Are you sure you want to move forward, Lily?”
“Yes,” her voice shakes, but her shoulders straighten. I am so proud of her.
“Good. Let’s nail these bastards,” Kinsley smiles as she opens a folder in front of her.
We leave the office two hours later, both of us feeling an odd mix of exhausted and relieved. Kinsley has a plan in place for moving forward that Lily is comfortable with. She will try for mediation one more time, which she doesn’t have high hopes for, and then will serve them with a lawsuit. This is going to cost me a good chunk of change, but is absolutely worth every penny.
I take us straight to the hotel, seeing the weariness start to creep over Lily. It’s a nice hotel with a great view of the Space Needle from the window of the room I booked. Before I take her in there, though, I need to walk her through the options.
I unbuckle both of us, turning in my seat to face her. “Before I ask how you’re doing, I want to go over tonight. My brother offered to let us stay with him, but I also booked a hotel room here. The choice is yours and I am up for whatever you choose. Us both with him, us both here, me with him and you here, the options are endless. Before you make that choice though, know that my brother has a routine before home games, and that routine usually involves… very audible sex.” I wince and rub the back of my neck. How do I tell her that the few times I have stayed at River’s before a game, he and his girlfriend have fucked on every surface they could find in the apartment? I’m sure he would keep it in his room with Lily there but still, not the mood I was going for on this trip.
Her cheeks are just as red as mine feel. “I think the hotel sounds lovely.”
I let out a slow breath, “I only booked one room. It has two beds, but I can get a second if you’re more comfortable with that. I just didn’t want to book two in case you wanted to stay with River.”
“That’s okay. One room is fine, it’s silly to pay for two. Will you at least let me pay for dinner tonight?”
That went over better than I expected. I’m not trying to get her alone in a room with me, even if that sounds like heaven. I really didn’t want to pay for two unused rooms if she wanted to stay with River. I should have known she wouldn’t, though; she doesn’t like to overstep, even if it’s offered. Not that I’m complaining. Thoughts of her climbing into a bed right next to me, where I can be with her all night, are swimming through my head.
I climb out of the truck and open her door before grabbing our bags. “I’m afraid dinner is on River. He’s taking us somewhere special tonight.”
She leads us into the lobby after I refuse to let her carry the bags. “I don’t want to ruin his routine or take up any more of his time,” she says, a little unsure.
“This dinner is as much him showing off to his new girlfriend as it is for us all to have a quiet evening together. He will be able to talk you through baseball and show you around tomorrow, but tonight, he just wants to catch up and get to know you.” I don’t like that she’s always so nervous and unsure of everything. I don’t know if it was tiny dick Tyler that made her this way, or the way she was raised, but I intend to help her find her self confidence and worth again.
After checking us in, we take the elevator up to the twenty-eighth floor. Lily leads us to our room, unlocking it while holding the door open for me. Together, we walk into the room and take in the wall of windows and glass front balcony. Brilliant oranges and fiery reds dance on the Puget Sound’s surface as the sun descends, igniting a warmth that mirrors the joy in my soul.
“This is incredible,” comes Lily’s soft voice. She slowly turns and looks at the luxury room, two queen beds, a brown leather couch, and the large en suite with a double shower head and jacuzzi tub. “This is too much, Thoren.”
I set the bags by the closet, stepping into her space. I need her to really hear and understand me. “You deserve nice things, Lily. This is not too much. It’s not nearly enough.”
I let my words linger in the air, feeling her chest rising and falling in front of me. Slowly, I step back and bend down to unzip my bag. “Now, did you pack a nice outfit like I said? Our dinner reservations are in an hour.”
She breaks out of her stunned silence, grabbing her bag as well. “Where are we going for dinner?”
I turn and point to the large structure out our window like it’s no big deal. Her giggle is cute, as she pulls things from her bag.
“I figured somewhere out there, but where?”
I lightly grab her shoulders, turning her toward the Space Needle and point again. “There’s a restaurant at the top. We’re eating there.”
“What?” she shrieks in excitement. “I thought it was just a lookout on the top.”
“Nope. It has a restaurant as well. It rotates very slowly, one rotation an hour, so you get 360-degree views while we are up there. Food is pretty amazing, too. I’m going to take a super fast rinse, if that’s okay? Then the bathroom is all yours.” I grab my new clothes and toiletry bag, laying them out.
“Go ahead,” she says, still rifling through her bag.
I take the fastest shower I can, knowing women take time to get ready and we have to leave in forty minutes. My scruff is cleaned up, so I comb my hair to lay nicely. I pull on my dark gray slacks and white button up and head back to the room so Lily can take over. She has a dress laid out on her bed, a pair of heels sitting on the floor below it. She’s not in the room though, she’s leaning on the railing on the balcony, her hips pushed back toward me, and my mouth dries. Her long hair is cascading down her back, and I can see the smile on her face. She’s radiant, and dirty thoughts cross my mind at how badly I want to truss up her natural beauty. To bend her further over that railing and eat her from behind while she enjoys the world at her feet.
Fuck. Now I’m hard and these pants hide nothing with how fitted they are. I do my best to hold my dirty clothes in front of me and make my way to the open balcony door.
“The bathroom is open for you.” She straightens and turns at the sound of my voice. Her eyes widen as they trail down my body, the lust in them showing. My chest puffs out, knowing she likes what she sees.
“Thank you.” She grabs her dress and toiletry bag and takes over the bathroom.
I hear the shower turn on and debate taking care of my problem, but I don’t know how long she’ll be in there. Instead, I think of every unsexy thought I have ever had until my body has calmed down. Thankfully I didn’t because Lily is in and out of the shower in two minutes. I feel bad that she’s rushed. Jen used to take almost two hours to paint her face and get ready, but this was the only reservation time available. Surprisingly, I hear the bathroom door open with ten minutes to spare.
Lily steps out, and my soul leaves my body. She has on a long navy blue dress that hugs her every curve. It is simple, a halter style, but when she turns to grab her heels, I see her entire back is exposed. She slips on her heels, grabs her clutch from the bed, then stands and faces me. Loose curls frame the bottom of her long hair, dark liner rimming her blue eyes, and the lightest pink sheen graces her lips. As my eyes trail down, I see the slit on the side of the dress, exposing her lean leg and I have to bite back a groan.
“Can you spin for me?” I ask, before I can stop myself.
Her smirk is wicked when she replies, “Only if you spin for me, too.” She holds her hands out to her sides, then does a slow twirl so I can take in how dangerously low the back of the dress goes, and how it hugs her perfect ass. When she gets all the way around, she twirls her finger for me to do the same. I laugh, but comply, copying her slow spin.
By the time I turn around, she’s staring in a lust filled gaze aimed straight at my dick. “I can’t tell if I like this or the work pants better.”
“I hope the work pants because you’ll see them a lot more. Lily, you look breathtaking. Literally, I am struggling to get a full breath in.”
She giggles and slaps my chest with her clutch. “Oh, hush. Let’s go. I am dying to go to dinner.”
While we wait for the elevator, my phone pings in my pocket. I slip it out to see an email from Kinsley with the latest bill attached and two sentences: I really like her Thoren, don’t screw this up. Tell your brother I said hi.
Yeah, Kinsley, I really like her, too.