Page 7 of Loki

Loki grumbled and made his way toward one of the backrooms.

A voice sounded behind him as he turned down the long stone hallway.

“Are you ever going to let him win?”

Loki turned to find Odin walking toward him. White hair pulled back in a ponytail. Piercing blue eyes, leather jacket, and ringed hand, so different from the Norse God who had once punished him by tying him to a rock and letting acid drip on him. But the aura of power still exuded from him like a golden bubble.

“What would be the point of letting him win?” Loki asked. “You and I both know if I did, he would just accuse me of letting him win, and he’d be even angrier. The object is to give him a fair chance to win, and I always do.”

Odin nodded and held out a wad of cash to Loki. Loki took the stack of money and folded it into his hand. “People still think he’s gonna win?”

“You can’t win every time, Loki.”

Loki smiled. “Says who?”

CHAPTER 3

“Take these to table one.”Val slopped three steins of beer on the tray in front of Elle and pointed to the table before turning to the shelf behind the bar and grabbing a bottle of rum. She couldn’t help her somewhat foul mood. All she’d done was pick up some papers from Loki, and not only had he gotten her all flustered and bothered, but then she’d dreamed of him all night like some lovesick temple virgin.What the hell?

Never once had a man— or God— turned her into an aching bitch in heat. And she’d be damned if she’d let Loki of all beings do that to her. The God known for chewing women up and spitting them back where he’d found them. Too many of her sister Valkyries had told her stories of how he’d wooed them for a week or two, taking them into his bed and showing them the best time of their lives, only to grow bored and move on.

But she couldn’t blame him alone. Her Valkyrie sisters had heard the stories about him. Knew his history. They hadn’t gone into it blind. But still...

Elle lifted the tray and headed to the table as Heimdall caught Val’s eye. He held up his stein, and she nodded and prepared him a new one. Heimdall was a surprising comfort to her. Sitting in the corner, day in and day out. Watching every mortal who entered and keeping an eye on everyone who ventured through the portal from the Underworld to Midgard. His all-seeing golden eyes let Val relax enough for her to do her job and not worry about Elle every second. Heimdall knew who they both were. Knew their pasts. Knew everything about them, and yet he kept his mouth shut, as he did for every other being he knew about. Val appreciated that about Heimdall. Always had. The fact that he could know everything about everyone and yet never gossiped or judged. He did his job and accepted everyone for who they were.

Elle returned to the counter absently. Val watched her for a moment and noticed the glow that tinged the edges of Elle’s irises.

“Elle!” Val shook her shoulder.

Elle’s head jerked up, and the glow left Elle’s eyes. Did Elle even realize what had happened? Val knew the magic Elle held deep inside and how dangerous it could be. She also knew that unleashing her power in any way could alert anyone to their presence. Not to mention the havoc it would cause in Midgard. Humans didn’t know the first thing about magic, immortals, or the underworld. And everyone was happy to keep them blissfully ignorant.

Val pushed a stein toward Elle and jerked her chin toward the corner. Elle gave a tight smile and left for Heimdall’s table. Val tracked her as she went. Elle and Heimdall spoke, and then Heimdall did something Val had never seen before. He gripped Elle’s hand. Val’s mouth fell open slightly, but her eyes hardened as Thor walked up to the table.

Shit.Why was he there? In their month on Midgard, he’d not once come up to the topside of Frigg’s place, and now they were seeing him twice in less than twenty-four hours. First at the speed dating event, and now here.

The last thing Elle needed was Thor sniffing around her and finding out who Elle was. Who knew what the God of Thunder would do when he found out Elle was the daughter of his mortal enemy?

“Hey, sexy? Can I get a beer?”

Val turned left to where a man with hair like wheat and a body like Magic Mike staring at her with a smile meant to melt panties off. If he hadn’t been so good to look at, she would have told him where to shove his ‘hey sexy’.

“Hey,” she said. “What kind?”

His smile widened. “What’s good?”

“The house ale is decent.”

“Only decent? I was looking for something better.”

Flirting? Yeah, she could use some flirting from someone like him after her dreams about Loki.

“Unfortunately, we don’t serve anything amazing until after closing.” Why did she say that? Stupid question. She hadn’t been with a man since before Muspelheim, and she was due for a good time.

His light-colored eyes glinted with an inner glow. “When’s closing?”

A shifter, but more than that, an alpha shifter. He should be a hell of a good time. “Weekdays at one a.m. and weekends at three.”

“So later, at say, one thirty, I can try something amazing here?”

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