Page 96 of Golden Burn

“Maybe there was a reason for that,” I offer.

He takes his jacket off and slips it onto my shoulders. I snuggle into it, enjoying the warmth infused into the material. “Maybe,” he says. “Marrying a vet seems like a good reason to keep it.”

“Think of what I could do with it,” I say gleefully. He looks nervous. “I’d totally turn it into a zoo.”

“Just no cats.”

I gasp. “How dare you. Happy wife, happy life, right?”

“Right.” Odin smiles and wraps his arm around me. “Fine. You can have Romeo. That’s it.”

“Alright,” I concede.

Odin doesn’t speak. Then, “You’d find every stray cat in the area and bring it back, wouldn’t you?”

Muffling my laughter, I shrug and say, “I guess you’ll have to find out.”

We arrive in Athens airport and immediately catch a taxi to the harbor. But instead of getting on the public ferry, Odin picks up our luggage and takes me over to a private boat.

“What happened to the more traditional way?” I jest, pointing to the decent sized yacht.

“I want to impress my wife,” he says, and the way that word rolls off his tongue is so sexy it makes me forget people are around. It makes me want to hitch my dress up. Odin recognizes the gleam in my eyes. “Don’t tempt me.”

Chuckling, I pick up my dirty hem and follow him on board. A host of crew greet me by my new term—Mrs. Bolt. And each time, I see him swell in my periphery.

The boat is stylish and expensive, with cream leathers, LED lights, and tinted windows. Odin guides me onto the deck and sits us on one of the lounges. A crew member brings us some food and water and we both dig in till it’s all gone.

The boat takes off, water churns, the city of Athens becomes a speck on the black horizon. Exhaustion consumes me. Yawning, I shift so my legs are underneath me. Odin decides it’s not good enough for me to sleep like that and takes my upper body in my arms, turning me so that he cradles my shoulders, and my hips drape down his side, legs bent on the couch. My head finds its place against his bicep and chest. I’m cocooned in his husky smell and strong body, and I couldn’t be safer.

He strokes my back, lulling me to sleep. I clutch onto the fabric of his white shirts as the boat rocks with the waves.

“Goodnight,” he murmurs against my forehead when I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.

“Wake me when we get there,” I demand weakly.

“Yes, ma’am.”

He does as I ask and tries to wake me. Unfortunately, I’m so exhausted, my eyes only flick open for a brief second before I want to sleep again. I mumble an apology, and Odin chuckles. He carries me to ourdestination, never letting me go. After stepping over the threshold, with my unconscious body in his arms, he wipes away the dirty makeup from my face and tucks me into bed, still in my wedding dress.

He kisses me goodnight again and I experience none of it.

But in my dreams, I see everything. A spectrum of colors that only exist because of him. Gold and red and pink and blue and green.

A rainbow.

Kacey Musgraves sits with me and we both smile.

36

Etta

‘Breathe (Lauv Remix)’ - Astrid S

Iwake, a little sweaty, a little tired. The sheets tangled between my feet and the pillow soft behind my head. “Good morning,” Odin murmurs and kisses me delicately. “You must have been tired.”

“What time is it?”

“Nearly lunch.”

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