AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Odin’s lips twitch with one of his infamous I’m-trying-not-to-smile smiles. And all of a sudden, I’m blushing.
More alcohol. More liquid added to the fire roaring in my belly. Odin undoes the top two buttons of his navy shirt. The clarity of my eyesight is nearly impeccable as I narrow in on his fingers working. On the way, his veiny hands move, revealing more of his chest.
“Tell me about it. Swimming with sharks.”
He rubs his jaw before he speaks. “I wasn’t planning on going, but the person I was traveling with wanted to. I couldn’t say no. We went off the coast of Western Australia and the water was so clear you could see the sun’s rays reflecting off the fish scales.” His gaze lifts, as if he’s recalling everything he can about the memory. It must be a happy one from the gleam in his eye. “They’d been chumming the water for only a few minutes before the first one swam up from underneath the cage. It was big. Way bigger than I expected them to be.”
“Did you know they eat the weaker siblings in the womb?”
He appears mildly horrified.
“Sorry,” I say, raising my hands in apology. I change the subject. “How did you meet Dom and Ford?”
Odin rubs his chin. “Ford got dispatched from the military after he nearly killed three guys who mocked him for being gay.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. They were lucky he’d been drinking the night before.” I nod, impressed. Ford takes no shit. I’ve seen it firsthand. Odin continues, “Afriend who knew I was in need of some protection mentioned Ford’s name. He didn’t want to commit to the job until he met me face to face.”
“Obviously it went well,” I muse, taking another drink.
“A little too well. He agreed to work with me only because, and I quote, ‘My sexual fantasies always include pirates, so I’ll do my best to keep your pretty face safe.’”
I burst out laughing. “No, he didn’t!”
“He did.”
“And Dom? How did you meet him?”
Odin relaxes, spreading his legs in the chair. My own muscles turn molten and heavy, my core beginning to thrum with energy. I run my tongue over my lips; the rapid desire to know what he tastes like is astounding.
His jaw twitches. “We’ve been friends since we were in middle school. I met him at a debating competition.”
“These stories keep getting better.”
“He was on the opposing team and absolutely obliterated us. He came up to me after and told me how much he liked my arguments, but that I needed better teammates if we were ever going to have a chance at winning. I liked his thinking, so got my dad to transfer me to his school. We were state champions by the end of the year.”
I chuckle again. “Wow. Odin the nerd. Looks like we have that in common.”
He doesn’t respond to that. It’s strange to be friendly and laugh over a drink with him, let alone have something even remotely in common besides the fact that we dislike each other.
But do you? Really?
Our gaze remains locked, a thousand questions swimming in our minds. There’s a simmering thunder in his steel-coloured eye, an exactmatch of my own. It’s as intoxicating as the whiskey we’ve been drinking. Just as dangerous.
Still… we don’t give in. We can’t.
We both break contact and peer down at our empty glasses.
“I think we’ve both had enough,” he says. “We should get some sleep.”
I sigh. My head swims with the effects of too much alcohol and too much confusion. I don’t like his suggestion, but I know he’s right. I swing my legs off the bed, with the goal of putting my glass back, when I begin to wobble, the dizziness intensifying. My hands fly up to cover my eyes. The glass slips from my grip and lands on the floor with a crash. Odin shoots from his chair, his hands wrapping around my arms as I tilt backward. Tiny particles of glass burst apart and scatter.
He pulls me against his solid body. “Woah. Sorry.” I press my cheek into his shirt. I’m instantly limbless at the scent of him in my nose, the hardness of him against my chest, the grip of his warm hands on my skin.
My God.
I’m suddenly starving for something that isn’t food. I relax into him. He makes a sound close to a sigh, though through my blurry vision I think he’s grimacing.
