Valhalla Cupcakes (19 page)

Audrey swiveled her head around from the dresser, where she’d been trying to find appropriate underwear for the skin tight mini dress she’d been coerced into choosing.

“How do you know about his curse?” she demanded, realizing Seda had been acting weirder than usual lately.

“You told me,” she said quickly, face turning red.

Audrey shook her head. There was no way she’d told Seda the reason Erik was cursed. She wouldn’t have, it was too personal to Erik, and it still hurt her feelings on top of that.

“Well, I’m sure you must have,” she insisted. “How else could I know? Hey, the water stopped, you better get in the shower now so I can start your transformation into a cupcake goddess.”

Audrey didn’t want to let it go, but she got hustled toward the bathroom. When she passed Erik in the hallway, glistening with water and with only a towel slung low on his hips, she forgot about it, completely mesmerized by his insane body. Yes, she had to look amazing tonight, to stand a chance against all the successful cougars who’d gravitate to him like spray tanned meteors barreling toward the earth.

Seda made a strangled noise when she saw him, and he slammed his door behind him before she could do something that embarrassed everyone.

After Audrey got stuffed into Spanx and sprayed and powdered and glossed, she made her way down the stairs ahead of Seda, who was used to going out to glamorous parties and managed to get herself ready in ten minutes.

She caught a glimpse of Erik, sprawled out on the green armchair in his suit, his hair neatly combed in shiny waves that rested on his broad shoulders. He stood up when he saw her coming down the stairs, and she paused to gasp at how good he looked in the suit. She blinked, wanting to shield her eyes, feeling a moment of pure enjoyment at taking him in, until she remembered she was going to be standing next to him at the party. Talk about mismatched pairs, she completely paled in comparison to his tall, perfectly chiseled body and exquisitely handsome face.

Seda gave her a little shove, whispering she looked fine, always able to read her insecurities.

“By the gods, Audrey,” he said, and she smiled, always feeling a nerdy thrill when he said that.

And the way he looked at her made her breath hitch, as if he found her as enthralling as she found him. He always told her she was beautiful when they were in the throes of passion, but that was a different kettle of fish. He wasn’t blinded by lust now, he looked at her with clear eyes, and what she saw radiating from them filled her with a happiness she hadn’t felt in a long while, if ever.

He met her at the bottom of the stairs and took her by the waist, running his hands down her scantily clad body. She rested her hands on his shoulders, and looked up at him as he gazed down at her, entranced.

Seda cleared her throat in exasperation, unable to pass them. “I’m still here.”

He swept her off the final step and his look turned stormy. “Perhaps we shouldn’t go,” he said.

“What?” Audrey yelped. “I only agreed to go because I thought you wanted to.”

“I wanted to go when I thought you’d be wearing more clothing. I can see almost your entire leg.”

“This is the style now,” Seda said, turning in a circle. “Look, my dress is even shorter. It’s not scandalous or anything these days to show some thigh.”

He gave her a look that said she could walk around naked for all he cared, then turned back to Audrey.

“Do you feel comfortable in this dress?”

“No,” she admitted. “Not at all. But I wanted to look nice.”

“You always look nice,” he said, taking her hand. “You look beautiful from the moment you wake up, to when you have your apron on and are covered in flour. I especially like when—”

“Sweet Jesus,” Seda cut in, making Audrey want to hit her, not getting to know when he especially liked her. “Are we going or not?”

“Audrey decides,” he said, standing back and crossing his arms.

“Let’s just go,” she sighed, tugging down her hem. “Seda’s right. This dress isn’t really that bad.”

“I’ll stay close to you,” he told her.

Audrey didn’t mind that at all, and ignored all of Seda’s arguments that they needed to network, not make out in a corner the whole night. She looked at them appraisingly and shook her head, an odd expression on her face as she stomped ahead of them toward her car.

“We can make out in the corner a little,” Audrey promised, still too hypnotized by Erik in a suit to care about Seda’s strange behavior.

He gave her a dazzling smile and held her close, sliding his hand along her thigh as he got in the car after her. Maybe the party would be fun after all.

Erik couldn’t stop himself from staring at Audrey’s expanse of creamy thigh. In the back seat of Seda’s car, he reached over and slid his hand along the smooth length, all the way to where the impossibly short skirt ended. She sighed and leaned toward him, hampered by the vehicle’s restraints.

While he liked her scandalous dress for his own base motives, he didn’t like the idea of anyone else seeing her that way. He didn’t like it at all, and found his lusty good mood at getting to spend a night out turning grim. As much as he wanted to laugh and drink and mingle, the closer they got to the harbor, the more he wanted to go back to their cozy little house and spend a quiet evening alone with Audrey.

That wasn’t like him at all, and he removed his hand from her leg, causing her to make a small disappointed noise. He smiled to himself, liking how open she was with him, never bothering to hide her true feelings. He recalled women acting aloof when he knew they wanted him, trying to make him work harder for their affections. It made him not want to waste his time with someone who could be so calculating. He could tell Audrey honestly liked him, and while he wasn’t sure why, beside the fact that they were so physically compatible, he appreciated that she didn’t hide it.

He didn’t know if it was her or the time she was from, but the way she gave herself so freely both delighted him and made his chest ache in a way he’d never experienced. There was so much about her that gave him that strange feeling. He could feel her looking at him and knew if he turned, she’d have an expectant look on her sweet, pretty face. He knew every line of her by now, from all the time he spent surreptitiously watching her, and his fingertips tingled to touch her again.

He reached for her knee, and leaned over to kiss her under her jaw, a place he knew made her weak. He liked making her weak for him. It made him feel both powerful and very small. It befuddled him, but he was too busy enjoying everything about being with her to analyze his new, strange feelings.

He knew he should be analyzing them. Really, he knew he shouldn’t be having them at all. He needed to keep his wits about him so he could leave when the time came. As she tipped up her chin to kiss his mouth, he wondered why he had to leave. There was a reason, he knew there was, but it was getting less and less important the more time he spent with her.

Her annoying friend Seda made a noise of dissent at their display of affection, and Audrey pulled away, tugging her tiny skirt down as far as it would go, smiling up at him with an embarrassed look on her face. Even in the dark car, he could see her eyes shining with happiness to be with him, shadowed with a slight tinge of nerves about being around new people. He’d only been with her a week, but he could read her feelings as if he’d known her his whole life. His smile grew as he took her hand, something that couldn’t bother the annoying friend. And if it did, too bad.

When they arrived, Erik was momentarily confused by the bright twinkling lights all over the massive yacht that housed the party. He’d never seen such a ship, and wanted to explore it further, but the place was crawling with noisy revelers, and if the captain of the vessel was on board, he was keeping himself hidden.

Music thumped and women dressed even more scantily than Audrey passed with trays of drinks. Seda kept hovering around them, introducing Audrey to people, and treating him like he was a pet dog Audrey brought aboard because she had nowhere else to keep him for the night. He knew his sweet Audrey actually liked her, but he didn’t see why.

He pushed his feelings aside. As obnoxious as she’d treated him, she’d also helped garner a lot of attention for the shop, which was good for Audrey, and that was what ultimately mattered. Still, he wished she’d leave them alone so he could get the promised make out session.

He found his bad mood getting worse as a man with a loud, booming voice pumped her hand and seemed overly excited to be introduced to her.

“Seda’s told me so much about you,” he said, not letting go of her hand. Erik was going to give him two more seconds before he did something about it. “She tells me your cupcakes are to die for.”

Erik took a slight step forward, not enough for Audrey to notice, but the man let go of her hand. Better, but now he should leave.

“You should come by the shop,” Audrey said agreeably. “What do you do?”

He normally liked how agreeable she was, but he wished she wouldn’t smile so broadly at this man, and keep him around with her interested questions. What was so interesting about him? He looked quite a bit older than her, was that what she liked? And apparently he owned his own business, a party supply store of some sort. It sounded a frivolous way to make a living, but what did he, Erik, have to offer Audrey? He was basically her kitchen helper, and bound to do that by his curse. Without her, he’d be destitute, something no woman found attractive.

Now they were eagerly babbling about cross promoting or some such nonsense he didn’t understand, and didn’t want to understand. If the man’s gaze dropped to Audrey’s breasts one more time, he was going to drop him. He finally left them, and Erik scowled down at her, giving the annoying Seda an even darker look, which unfortunately didn’t scare her away, but made her look gleeful for some reason.

“What?” Audrey asked him, grabbing two delicate glasses from a passing tray. “Aren’t you having fun?”

She handed one to him and downed hers in one gulp. Alarmed, he drank his as well, finding it to be bubbly and alcoholic. Not strong, but he knew she rarely drank, and thought her tolerance might be low. He did not want her getting drunk at such a raucous affair.

He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her close. “Let’s explore the boat,” he suggested, wanting to get away from Seda’s uncomfortable scrutiny of them. She was always an odd one, but tonight she was acting odder than usual.

A tall woman with a mass of red curly hair came up to them and hugged Seda, then demanded an introduction while somehow wedging herself between him and Audrey. His arm fell away from her and he could see she was flustered as the woman fawned all over him.

At first he was alarmed that she looked so upset, but then he recalled how friendly she’d been only a moment before with that party supply man. No, he didn’t want to act in such a low manner, purposefully trying to make her jealous because he couldn’t control his own emotions. Emotions he shouldn’t be having in the first place.

“Goodness, you’re even more handsome in person,” the woman gushed.

Did people have no shame in this time? He’d always got attention for his face, but never so blatantly as here and now. She didn’t even care to ask his name before she thrust a small card at him. He caught Audrey’s eye and raised a brow. Another phone number for her to crumple. This one wasn’t handwritten, though, and he noticed Seda whispering something to Audrey, making her expression change to one of interest.

“I saw that darling little ad Seda made. Just so hysterical,” she went on and on. When could he disappear with Audrey to some private space? In fact, when could they go home?

“Drew’s a casting agent,” Seda told him, giving him a hard look. A glance at Audrey showed much the same face. He was supposed to do something, but he wasn’t sure what. “She vacations here, but her agency is in Los Angeles.”

“Seda did my guesthouse,” Drew said, showing all her teeth. “She’s got such a good eye for furniture, and now I can see she has it for talent as well. Have you ever thought about acting or modeling? I’ve got a couple commercial spots you might be perfect for. One’s national— razor blades. They want edgy and tough. You definitely look tough.”

He saw Audrey nodding eagerly behind her, making motions with her hands to go along with it all. He relaxed his face and nodded and smiled, agreeing to whatever she said, a little disturbed that Audrey didn’t seem the least bit jealous. When the woman finally left, she grabbed his arm and squealed.

“This is turning out to be a great night,” she said happily. “National commercials pay a ton of money. I could pay off the loan sharks faster and you could—” Her voice dropped an octave and her cheerful demeanor became forced. “If you liked it, it could be a really good career for you, uh, when you start your new life. You don’t have to do it, of course, but it would mean you’d be free sooner.”

She swallowed hard, and grabbed another drink as a server passed by, taking a gulp of it. He frowned and took the drink from her. The longer he stayed with her, the more uncertain he became about leaving.

“This kind of work would be like doing the video Seda made?” he asked uncertainly.

He’d hated every second of that. And the women who came into the shop and cooed about how adorable he looked in it, asking him to wink and take pictures with them. If it hadn’t sold a load of cupcakes, he would have been completely humiliated. As it was, it was difficult to hold his head up. Adorable, indeed.