Gods (18 page)

It didn’t matter what she wore. She was perfect. I wanted to join her and be her personal dresser, but Zack’s presence made that impossible.

After an hour, Trudy had picked several outfits and shoes. She went for bright colors—red, fuchsia, greens and blues. I threw in a couple of dresses and a pair of boots with Trudy’s purchases and tipped the salesgirls generously.

My Immortal guardians might have been lacking in affection, but they invested their money wisely and taught me to always tip people. Grimnirs could scare even the toughest of women, so I didn’t blame the salesgirls for being wary.

“Come back any time, and we’ll do this again,” the older woman said, grinning. The salesgirls nodded.

“Is there a woman immune to your charms?” Celestia asked, misunderstanding the exchange. I loved it when she acted possessive.

“Nope. After all, they’re mere Mortals.”

She laughed and slipped an arm around my waist when I tucked her to my side. Trudy rushed ahead of us to the next store. Texas and Daiku were the designated bagmen, but they kept up with her.

The store we just left must have made a few calls because the next few stores offered to close their doors for us. Since I wanted the girls to get the best service, I accepted their offers, kicked back, and relaxed. Zack smirked and shook his head.

“You must have led an interesting life in Kayville,” he mumbled.

“Not really. I was a typical high schooler.”

“Right. I bet you had the coolest car in school, the latest gadgets, and threads, and a monthly allowance average people make in a year.”

I chuckled. I had received a hefty allowance, which I’d only touched to order electronics and buy unhealthy snacks and fast foods when not eating at Raine’s.

“I drove a Jeep, my dream car, and bought cameras. I loved to capture important moments.”

“Loved?”

“Still do. Just don’t have as much time, and Helheim doesn’t really inspire me to take pictures. Other than the hall, there’s nothing I want to immortalize.” Celestia stepped out in a gorgeous lacy dress and above-the-knees boots and Zack ceased to matter. When she turned and showed us her back, blood rushed south and left me lightheaded. The dress had a triangular cut that showed most of her back. It was obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra. When she asked what I thought, I just stared at her like a moron.  She smiled and went back to change again. I hoped that meant she’d buy the dress. I wanted to take her out and show her off in it. No, I wanted to capture her image forever.

Why hadn’t I seen it? She was my inspiration. There were so many moments of her I’d stored in my head that I should have also captured on film, enlarged, and framed.

“You ever see paintings of a woman, and you can’t tell what’s mesmerizing about her? It could be the look in her eyes, the curve of her lips, or even just the graceful arch of neck. You want to sit there and stare at them because they make you happy.”

Zack shot me a weird look. “Uh, no. I don’t get most paintings. I want a woman I can touch, not admire from behind glass. That’s what makes me happy.” His eyes narrowed on the door of the changing room, and I knew he meant Hayden.

“Your cousin makes me happy. I may have failed to protect her from my grandmother, but she is the one. Every time I look at her, I capture everything that makes her special and store it in my head. Little things she does. The way she reacts when she’s happy, sad or annoyed. The way she says things. Her laughter. Her smile. She has this habit of sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees and then lays her head on top. It’s cute.”

Zack frowned. “That’s a habit she developed from hiding in the corner of a closet to escape Aunt Marguerite. She believed if she could make herself small, she might become invisible.”

Rage washed over me, leaving my chest burning and my skin feeling tight. “But she still found her?”

“No. She never cared enough to look. We missed a few meals doing that.”

Now I wanted to punch something, or someone. Corpse Strand wasn’t good enough for that woman’s soul. She needed to go there alive. I wondered what other habits Celestia had developed from her childhood.

“She has this weird habit of kicking off her shoes and curling her toes when she sits in class.”

“Dude, you need a psych ward, not jail.”

I didn’t dignify that with a response. Zack might act like he wasn’t enjoying himself, but I watched him every time Hayden stepped out of the changing room. He was into her.

“What makes you tick, Zack? Other than football.”

“Money. Loads of it.”

I chuckled. “You are a cliché.”

“Spoken like someone who’s loaded. Money can buy my dream car and dream home.” His eyes followed Hayden. “A 1967 Shelby GT500 and the waterfront home on Perry Drive. I saw this house the other day with Jason. His father is a realtor. Lots of land, fortified against hurricanes, and an amazing view of the bayou. But the cherry on top is the large garage. It’s perfect for a workshop. I could restore classic cars away from prying eyes, so when I unveil them to the world, they’d make headlines.” He threw me a quick glance. “Of course, I’d probably need a cool mil to start, so I’m back to money. Loads of it. Pro football will help with that.” He stood. “I’ll get us coffee. Any preference?”

“Caramel Cappuccino.”

He knocked on Hayden’s changing room and disappeared inside for a few minutes. When he came out, he had a stupid grin on his face. And he called me crazy? Fifteen minutes later, he still wasn’t back.

I, on the other side, decided there was just so much a man could take before reaching his breaking point. Mine happened when Trudy picked swimsuits and insisted Celestia try some. At first, I listened to their conversation with growing concern.

“Baldur is building a pool and I’m going to learn how to swim, so I need suits,” Trudy said.

Celestia’s smile disappeared. “Good for you.”

“You could teach me.”

Celestia laughed, but it was hollow. “No. I don’t swim. Never want to swim. Never will swim.”

“Why not?” Trudy chose a yellow piece and pressed it against Celestia’s chest. “This would look great on you.”

“Trudy, leave her alone,” I warned.

Trudy ignored me. “This one, too. It’s perfect for your color.”

Celestia turned away. “I don’t swim, Trudy.”

“That’s even better. We could learn together.”

I could teach them. Maybe Celestia wouldn’t fear water so much if I were with her. “I could teach you.”

Trudy squealed. “Really?”

“You too, Trudy, but I was talking to Celestia.”

Celestia turned and studied me with unblinking eyes. I wondered what was going on inside her head. Her face was usually expressive, but for once, I couldn’t read her. I listened to her heart instead. It was pounding hard with dread. I tried to reassure her without saying a word, and it actually worked. Her heartbeat steadied. She gave me a tiny smile and nodded.

That’s my girl!
She was not afraid to face her fears. She grabbed several two-piece swimsuits from a nearby rack. As she walked past me, she dangled a stringy piece that could not possibly cover my hand and winked.

Okay, maybe suggesting being her teacher was not such a good idea. How far would the pool be from the Grimnirs’ gym? I could stand my girl showing skin in short dresses, shorts, and tank tops around reapers, but a two-piece bikini? That left very little to the imagination. No one was going to be around the pool when she wore them.

The wait to see her in them became unbearable. I gave in to the temptation, walked to the entrance of her changing room, and joined her. The expression on her face said she’d been expecting me. Unfortunately, she was in her normal clothes.

“I was hoping you’d help me choose. I can’t make up my mind whether to buy this”—she lifted a one piece that was both cute and sexy—“or this.” The two-piece was barely there.

“The one piece,” I said without missing a beat.

“But I like this one.” She picked up the print bikini. “And this.” She dangled a yellow one. It was sexy, and she would look great in it. She grinned, and I knew she was teasing me.

“No way. I’m supposed to teach you how to swim, not maul you.”

“What if I want both?” She threw me a teasing look over her shoulder as she hung the swimsuits on the pegs. “What then?”

I circled her waist and buried my face in her hair. She loved to mess with my head and no matter how much I loved it, I knew what the consequences were. I lifted her onto the bench and rested my cheek on her chest, listening to her heightened heartbeat. Funny how I could tell when she was excited, not just from her heartbeat, but her scent too. She smelled of wild flowers.

I lifted my chin to study her. She slid her fingers through my hair and tilted my head. “You shouldn’t fight your nature, Eirik.”

I chuckled. My nature was telling me to open my mouth, burn off her clothes, and make her mine right here inside the changing room.

“Kiss me,” she whispered.

The simple request unmanned me, yet I couldn’t deny her. I cupped her face and stroked her cheek with the pad of my thumb. Her skin was so soft. Dimples flashed on her cheeks, and my heart swelled. I wasn’t sure what made her special. Her adorable smile, the perfection of her features, or the way she filled me with anticipation, made my breath catch and my body hardened with need. Or maybe it was the fact that she felt, sounded, and smelled right.

Growing impatient, she gripped my head, pulled me closer, and initiated the kiss. For a moment, time stood still as I got lost in her and savored her sweetness. I lifted one of her legs and wrapped it around my waist, pressing closer to her softness as mortally possible. She made me want with a hunger that clawed my inside and laid my soul bare.

At the back of my mind, I knew I’d gone into a partial shift, yet I couldn’t stop. Her arms wound tighter around my neck, her soft moans pushing me over the edge. I yanked my lips from hers and buried my head in her neck, hoping to slow things down, but her scent flooded my lungs, triggering an explosion of feelings I couldn’t contain.

I hurled my head back and fire shot from my mouth. I staggered backward, shocked and disgusted by my lack of control. I expected Celestia to scream or look at me with repulsion. Instead she smiled with pride, like I’d done something wonderful. She jumped down from the bench and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“See? That wasn’t so bad. You let yourself go, and it was awesome. I want to see more of that. I need to know and see all of you, Eirik.”

My chest hurt. Damn, she was priceless. All of me was too much to handle by myself. Having someone who cared enough to share that burden with was humbling. I buried my face in her hair and inhaled just as a knock resounded on the door.

“Are you guys alright in there?” Hayden asked.

“Yes,” Celestia called back, while stroking my back, her touch soft and soothing. This was why she was mine. She got me. “We’ll be out in a second.”

I lifted my head to study her face. “You are perfect.”

“I know.”

I chuckled and traced her lush lips. “You have no idea what you do to me. I’m crazy about you.”

“Good, because I’m crazy about you, too.” She went on her toes and planted a kiss on my lips. “Now let’s go out there and reassure the salesgirls that we are not about to burn their store down.”

I became aware of raised voices and opened the door to the changing room. The boss was with Trudy, Hayden, and Zack. He didn’t look pissed, and the Grimnirs smirked a few feet away, which meant he hadn’t seen the fire or they’d runed him and made him forget.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“We don’t allow food in the store, so I cannot let your friend back inside.”

“That’s okay. We are done here. She found the perfect swimsuit. Didn’t you, Dimples?”

Celestia looked over her shoulder. She went back and eyeballed the pieces.

“I don’t know,” she murmured.

“Take them all.” If she didn’t mind a flame in the middle of a clothing store, she wouldn’t care if the pool turned into a hot tub.

She went back inside, and chose two—a two-piece and a one-piece, then headed to the register. I scooped up the remaining suits and added them to the pile in Trudy’s arms. She had several swimsuits in different styles.

“Plan to swim a lot?”

“Oh yes. Zack promised to teach me.” She followed Celestia to the cashier while Hayden watched her with narrowed eyes.

“If you have a problem with it, just tell him he can’t,” I said.

“I don’t have a problem with my man. I have one with your protégée in a swimsuit. She looks bad in a swimsuit.”

“What do you mean?”

“Badass.” She made a face. “No man is going to be safe in Eljudnir. Where exactly is this pool going to be? I hope it’s by the gym. I’d so love to see the men make a fool of themselves.”

I wouldn’t. Zack waited outside with drinks. He’d even gotten the Grimnirs some. He wasn’t a bad guy, just a little annoying when it came to his cousin. We were on our way to the food court on the second floor when Celestia turned and frowned, her heartbeat shooting off the chart. I turned to see what caught her attention.