Page 46 of Thor
7
Loki
I staredat myself in the mirror. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d worn a suit, but Hoor had let me borrow his specifically for the funeral. We were about the same size, although he might be slightly bigger than me, but it didn’t show in the suit. I lookedgoodand classy. Given the chance, I only ever wore jeans, boots, a T-shirt, and either my leather jacket or cut with our patch. This was different but nice. A grenade sat in the inside, bottom pocket of my jacket, a heavy weight that gave me comfort. Thor said I couldn’t have a gun; he didn’t say anything about explosives. This specific grenade was smaller and was easier to conceal, and while it wouldn’t do the damage of the ones I usually had, it would still do the job.
The door to the bathroom opened and my gaze slid to Thor, who stepped out looking mighty fine in his suit. The material was tight against his arms and thighs, and if he hadn’t been wearing it for a funeral, I might have been tempted to rip it off him again.
I wolf whistled. “You look hot.”
He had product in his hair, something I wasn’t used to, but I was glad to see he hadn’t shaved his beard like I’d expected because he already looked good. He tugged at the jacket and twirled.
“I won’t scare anyone?” he asked with a small smile. At least he didn’t seem as nervous as he had a couple of days ago. Seeing his friend Morgan and his family had helped a lot, and I was glad I’d gone with him. Not only did I get to know him better, but I offered him the emotional support he’d always given everyone else in the Lords. He’d never asked for anything in return, and none of us, even me, had noticed the turmoil behind those pretty blue eyes. What kind of person was I to let him fuck me constantly, but to completely miss the pain he’d built a wall around?
“If anything, you’ll give me a reason to fight off your admirers.” I stepped closer to him, and he opened his arms, accepting me into a hug. He slanted his mouth over mine, and I shoved myself on tiptoe to kiss him deeply. He tasted like mint toothpaste. “You’ll do fine.”
He sighed and touched his forehead to mine, slipping his eyes closed. “Everyone will be there.”
“And we’ll handle them together. You’ve already seen Morgan, Dana, and your family. No one else matters.” I poked him in the side, and he dodged my finger when I went to do it again. “We’ll go to this funeral and then, if you want, head home. You get to tell Odin I didn’t blow up a single person.”
“You nearly shot Felix.” He smirked.
I held up my hands. “But I didn’t, did I?”
Shaking his head, he turned to stare into the mirror I’d been looking in and sighed. “I never expected to go to a funeral for one of my childhood friends.”
“Did you go to Andy’s?” I asked quietly.
“No. Felix didn’t want me there. I’m not sure about Andy’s parents. They never talked to me after the accident. Last I heard, they went to Florida to retire.” His eyes grew distant as he continued to stare at his reflection. “But they never liked me to begin with. So, it wasn’t exactly a loss.” He smoothed his hands over the suit one more time and turned to face me, mouth quirking to the side. “Let’s get this over with so we can go home.”
I nodded, kissed him again, and let him lead me out of the motel room. Earlier we’d decided to take one bike to the funeral, and I hopped onto Thor’s bitch seat as he started the Harley. She roared to life, the vibrations nudging against my balls through the fancy suit pants. I curled my arms around Thor’s waist, not ashamed to be seen holding him as though I was a cut slut. I’d be any kind of slut when it came to Thor.
We traveled for about fifteen minutes before we came to the graveyard, where a line of cars were already parked. Thor guided the Harley to a spot behind a black Audi and turned it off. The door to the Audi opened, and Thor’s father stepped out, his face drawn in seriousness and mouth pursed.
“Colonel,” Thor greeted quietly.
Colonel stared at Thor for a moment before squaring his shoulders and walking toward the place where a crowd of people had gathered to have quiet conversations. Anger clumped in my chest, and I imagined what it would be like to lay the older man out on the ground with a punch to the jaw, but thought better of it. Thor wouldn’t forgive me. Colonel was still his father.
Jeanie stepped out of the passenger side of the car and came straight to Thor, tugging him into a hug and kissing his cheek. “How are you, sweetheart?”
“Okay.” He grasped her arms and stared down at her more calmly than he had a few days ago. The tension wasn’t there, straining his muscles and making him look like he was going to be sick. This was the Thor I was used to seeing—strong, loving, powerful. He kissed her on the forehead and held his arm out to me.
Surprised, I let him slip his arm around my waist, as though claiming ownership of me, before we walked toward the graveyard together.
“We’re not going to a church first?” I asked quietly.
Jeanie shook her head from where she stood on Thor’s other side. “Daniel wasn’t a religious man. His mother said he only ever wanted to be buried with a graveside service.”
As we got closer, a couple who appeared a lot older than Jeanie came over to give her a hug. I heard her mention Daniel, and by the way Thor stiffened beside me, I assumed they were Daniel’s parents. The woman turned her attention to Thor and dragged him into a hug, and his posture relaxed. He leaned into the tight hold she had on him.
Her tears marked trails down her face. “He loved you, Toby. You were his best friend,” she whispered as she patted his cheek. “You were always a good boy to Danny.”
Thor nodded, his throat working in a swallow. If she expected him to say anything, she didn’t wait around. She moved on to a few other people who’d finally made it to this spot. Daniel’s father merely shook hands with Thor, his face masked sternly, even though he gave Thor a small smile when he looked at him. He wasted no time moving on, too.
“Sometimes I think about what I would have done if it’d been you,” Jeanie whispered, gripping at Thor’s left hand. “I worried you’d do something like this. Please never do anything like this, Toby.”
“I won’t. I have Loki to make me happy. I have the Lords.” He shifted his gaze to me, and my heart hammered. He stared at me as though I was his world, and fuck if it wasn’t the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
Jeanie gave me a sweet smile, her eyes turning warm. There was a gratefulness in her gaze, and she didn’t have to say a thing for us to communicate. She wanted me to take care of him when we left again, and for once, I didn’t have the words, so I gave her a short nod.
