Page 9 of Thor
Thor’s phone buzzed, a strangely haunting tune echoing from it, and I turned to frown at him. I’d heard his ringtones before, and none of them sounded like that. His face paled and he darted a wide-eyed look at me as he quickly stood, shoving his hand in his jeans to yank the phone out of his pocket. The only reason we’d heard the phone at all was because the music had been between songs.
He rushed out of the room as he answered the call, and unable to stop the curiosity, I followed him through the entertainment room and into Odin’s office, which was past the foyer and to the left of the barroom. He didn’t bother to close the door, so I assumed he didn’t mind me listening. Either that or he didn’t expect me to shadow him.
He’d already answered the call by the time I arrived at the door, his back to me and hunched forward as he made a noise to signal he’d heard what the other person had said. The room was dark, and all I could see was his frame in the middle of the office, the patch on the back of his leather jacket glowing from the direct moonlight that filtered through the wide arched window to our right.
He’d turned on the floor lamp standing beside Odin’s desk, and while it was dim and no one outside the office would notice, it gave me enough light to see him properly.
“Yeah….” His voice was low, and I didn’t miss the sadness there, lingering below the deepness of his baritone. “I know.”
I stepped forward as quietly as I could, careful to avoid making any noise that would disrupt the conversation, and stopped right behind him.
“I know,” he whispered again, clearing his throat. “All right. I’ll be there this week. I need to talk to my… boss.”
I frowned and cocked my head, reaching out. Thinking better of it, I stole my hand back again.
He turned like he felt my presence, and the hard lines of his face surprised me into widening my eyes. There wasn’t just sadness in the way he stared at me, but a fear I hadn’t seen in him before. We’d faced off with all kinds of guys, from other bikers to cartel soldiers to mobsters, and none of them had made Thor look like this. Not one. Yet, right now, in the moon’s luminosity, he was terrified.
My heart ached and I did touch him this time, cupping his cheek and stroking my thumb over his face. He smiled, but his expression radiated with heartache and a story he hadn’t yet told me.Fuck, I was a goner. He’d stolen my heart and soul, and he had no idea. Sex was fun, and I’d satisfied my sexual fantasies with him for over two years. I’d never expected to want more. I was young—twenty-five—and I didn’t need anything more. Until I’d fallen into Thor’s honey trap. He was everything I wanted in a man. I could make a list and it’d probably be on everyone’s fantasy-man checklist.
Strong.Check.
Sweet.Check.
Sexy as fuck.Check.
Throws me around when we have sex.Check.
Nice cock.Check.
Knows how to fuck.Check.
Possessive.Check.
Has a nice bike.Check. Check. Check.
There was so much more, I could write a novel on all the hot qualities he had—if I ignored the fact that he didn’t want to get into a relationship. Well, he hadn’t outright said that, but he didn’t want to fuck up what he had in the Norse Lords MC, and he thought fuckingmewould do that. Thor believed Odin would give a shit that Thor was banging his adopted son. When it came to sex, I didn’t think Odin cared about anything past his own cock.
“I heard you. It’s on Friday.”
His voice yanked me out of my thoughts and I focused on him. I tilted my head when he winced.
“I know, Mom.”
The words startled me and my mouth dropped open. Since I’d known him, Thor hadn’t said a thing about his family. Eighteen years and he’d not said a word about a mother, yet here she was talking to him on the phone.
“I’ll talk with you soon. Bye.” He ended the call and glanced up at me, the hollowness in his gaze shouting for help.
“What was that?” I whispered, cradling his jaw and stepping closer until our chests were pressed to each other and our boots touched.
“My mother.” He looked at my lips, then back into my eyes, and I knew what I saw—he wanted to kiss me so I couldn’t ask questions. But he also knew that wouldn’t work. I wouldn’t give up until I had answers. “My friend from high school died. He… hung himself.”
I sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged and wrapped his arms around my waist, dragging me closer. In the dim room, we were hidden from the world outside the office. The loud music filtered through the house. No one would know we were here, curled up in each other’s arms close enough to kiss. The only one who knew about the physical relationship between us was Damian.
“Thanks.” He pressed his forehead against mine and rocked us, almost like we were dancing with the heavy rock music from the barroom. “I have to be in Washington state for the funeral on Friday. I think I might drive up. Give myself a few days to think about things.”
“I can come with you,” I said, but he shook his head and kissed me lightly on the lips, which was unusual because everything Thor did was hard and fast and rough. He didn’t do things gently. So whatever was happening with this friend had to be affecting him.
