Page 24 of Thor

A smile curved his lips. “Now if only you’d be that forceful when you’re telling a different man not to touch you.”

She smiled.

Thor picked up the locket she hadn’t realized had slipped out of her shirt.

“What’s this?”

Elle plucked it from his fingers. “Oh. It’s a locket I made. It has my mother’s portrait in it.”

Thor touched the locket again. “You made this?”

She nodded. “With my own two hands.”

He stared at it for a moment. “It’s beautifully crafted. How did you learn to make it?”

“I... uh... I taught myself. I picked up metal scraps and... made it.”

He stared at it for a moment. “You have a marvelous talent. Have you made anything else?”

She shrugged. “A few things, but nothing with this complexity. The hinge was especially intricate.”

“Wow. You could sell things like this.”

“Really?” She loved creating it and working with the gems. Would people want to buy her work?

“Absolutely. If you taught yourself to make something like this and it’s one of your first tries, you have quite a gift.”

Elle smiled and put the locket back into her shirt. A talent. She had a talent. It was the first time anyone had said that.

CHAPTER8

Elle was an enigma.Thor wasn’t sure what to make of her. One moment he was afraid she might break from a stern look and the next he saw a fire inside her which made every inch of him wake up.

Holding her in his arms he was once again struck by how warm her skin was to the touch. He wondered if it was his imagination or if she truly radiated heat.

“So,” he finally said. “We should return to helping you stick up for yourself.”

She nodded and a serious expression crossed her face. “Yes. I need to learn to defend myself. I’ve never simply defended before.”

He wondered what she meant, but before he could ask her the backdoor opened and his father walked in.

“Thor, I was wondering—” Odin stopped and his eyes widened slightly. He looked from Elle to Thor and back again.

“Yes?” Thor asked.

Odin continued to stare at Elle and then coughed. “Sorry. Where are my manners?” He walked forward and extended his hand to her.

Elle glanced nervously at Thor and shook Odin’s hand. “Elle.”

“Elle.” Odin rolled the word around as if mulling something over, while continuing to shake Elle’s hand. Finally, Odin leaned in and kissed the back of Elle’s hand. “Lady Elle, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

Elle pulled away.

“Again?” asked Thor. “You’ve met Elle before?”

Odin’s gaze narrowed.

“Yes,” said Elle. “We’ve met at the Raven Weaver. Frigg introduced us when I was serving him.”

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