Page 19 of Yes to The Holidays
“Janie, wait!”
My nostrils flared as I fought back tears of sadness and rage.
Tom turned. “Donnie, let it go. It’s done. Just let her go in peace. Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”
I stared out the wall of windows, able to see the sidewalk but knew I had to go the elevator to get to my car on the parking deck.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. You didn’t deserve how things went, and I’m sorry.”
Tom was trying to talk over him, but I finally turned, tears streaming down my face. “Fuck you, Donald. You don’t get to apologize now to try to make yourself feel better. You did a shitty thing, and you want forgiveness? Well, fuck you. I don’t owe you shit. And the decree we just signed says just that. So, take your apology and shove it up your ass.” I looked over at Tom, wiping a tear from my cheek, then stormed to the stairwell, so I didn’t have to wait for the elevator.
Slamming every door I encountered, including the one to my car, I mindlessly moved from place to place. I found myself pulled in front of the hotel where Odin was staying, and an attendant came to the window of my car.
“Miss, have you checked in yet?”
Looking up at him, I blurted out the number to Odin’s room. He nodded and opened the door, so I passed him the keys, and he handed me a ticket stub. I slowly made my way inside, clutching my bag close. In the elevator, panic washed over me.
I hadn’t texted him to say I was coming, and I surely looked like a mess. This was a mistake. I couldn't see him this way. He wouldn’t want to see me again after this. He was in town for a short time and didn’t need the drama of a newly divorced woman working through her wild emotions.
I slammed the button to the ground floor, but it wouldn't take since I was still going up. I paced the elevator then huddled to the corner when it started to stop at Odin’s floor. Frantically pressing the G button, I cursed under my breath until the doors opened and the G finally lit up.
“Janie? Hey, I didn’t see your message. I was just going to grab a coffee down the street because I didn’t know you were done.”
Shit. With wide eyes, I stared at the glorious Godly being, with his soft smile that began to melt away. He stepped inside the elevator and kept an arm in the doors.
“Hey, are you alright?”
He pulled me from the elevator, then walked to his room and pressed the card to the reader. He opened the door and waved me in, his brow furrowed.
I passed him, still clutching the bag but not looking at him. The door clicked shut, and he walked closer, his hands reaching for me. I stepped backwards, still unable to look at him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I don’t know what I was thinking. The car just veered this way and–”
“Hey, hey, hey. Shhh,” he said as he pulled me to him. I was stiff as he enveloped me in his warm embrace. “It’s okay. You had a rough day. Just let it out.”
Tears pooled in my eyes, but I fought to not sob onto his chest. We stood in the foyer of his hotel room, both in our coats, with his arms completely wrapped around me, holding me close in a cocoon.
“Do you want me to take you home?” he asked, his voice deep and gravelly.
“I don’t know,” I said, my voice muffled against his chest.
“Okay. We’ll stand here until you decide.”
He squeezed me tight, and quiet tears fell from my eyes, but no sobs. He was warm and comforting. And he was being very kind, but I was embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, Odin.”
He pulled me tighter and caressed my head. “Don’t apologize. I’m sure what you went through was tough. Good for me, but still tough.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. Good for me, too. God, why am I so emotional?”
A hum reverberated in his chest. “I think it’s normal to be emotional over this, even if it’s what you wanted. I just wish I could help.”
As crazy as it was and as crazy as I felt, I had one singular idea that I thought could help me feel better. Not for the pleasure, but to feel appreciated, to feel sexy, to feel wanted. “Odin, I think you can do something to help.”
“I’m at your service. What can I do?”
“Can you fuck me senseless again?”
Chapter 12
