Vivian and Brigeeta had to jump out of the way as Fenrir stalked past them and headed out of the room.
Grace hung onto Fenrir with her good arm as he stormed through the bar area. Customers looked on wide-eyed and backed away. She could only imagine what they were thinking.
Vampires running out. Now Fenrir, covered in blood, carrying her out of the bar. She got the feeling it wasn’t a common occurrence in Odin’s place. At least, she’d not seen anything like it in the six months she’d been working there.
Once on the street, Fenrir turned left and took off at a sprint. Grace jostled up and down as he whisked her to safety.
Twenty minutes later,they stopped in front of a tall luxury building. Fenrir hadn’t even broken into a sweat as he’s run the entire way. The doorman looked at them and then pulled the door open. Fenrir stalked to the elevator and pushed the button. It opened immediately, and he stepped inside. He pushed a button for the top floor and waited as the doors slid closed. He still hadn’t said a word to her, and Grace wasn’t sure what to say herself. She looked at him through the elevator's reflective surfaces. His face and shirt with splattered with blood. His shirt sleeve had been ripped open, revealing his muscular bicep. A slash on his cheek had already closed and scabbed over.
The door opened, and Fenrir stepped into the hallway. He shifted her into just one arm as if she weighed no more than his baby sister and dug in his pocket before producing a set of keys.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside. The door swung shut behind them cocooning them in total darkness. He fumbled on the wall and hit a light switch that turned on a light in the hallway and another for the room beyond. He looked around, turned left, and headed through the living room area.
Inside the bedroom lay a large deep blue bed big enough for at least six people. He walked to the bed and laid her on it before turning in a circle and spotting the bathroom. He strode inside, and the lights switched on automatically. He stopped momentarily and looked around as if trying to see who had turned on the lights. Then he grabbed a towel and turned on the water in the sink.
Grace sat up with a slight wince, the majority of the poisoning already having left her system, and watched as he saw himself in the mirror. He blinked several times, ripped off his shirt, and threw it to the floor. He took the towel, ran it over his face and neck, and then washed his hands before ringing it out and walking back to her. Without a word, he sat beside her on the bed and gently peeled back the fabric from her wound. He dabbed it with the washcloth. The skin itched like a three-day-old scab, but it no longer hurt.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
She laid her hand atop his and waited until he looked at her. “Stop apologizing for things that aren’t your fault. If you want to apologize to me for something, apologize for running out of my room and not contacting me for two days.”
His eyebrows drew together. “I… I didn’t know what to say.”
“That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that you and I had sex, albeit not very long sex, but we at least tried, and then you just vanished. I didn’t know if I was going to see you again. I didn’t know if you’d hurt yourself. I didn’t know how to even get a hold of you. It’s not like I have your address or phone number or anything.”
Fenrir opened his mouth, closed it again, and then tried a second time. “I… I’m sorry. I just… when I saw the blood and your pain, I just-”
She grabbed his chin with her good hand. “I get it. I understand why you ran. I do. But you can’t do that, Fen. Not from me. Not if you want there to be something between us. Do you understand? You cannot run from me. You have to stay. You have to let me in. It’s the only way you and I will ever work. I’m not a fragile little doll. You aren’t going to break me. I’m tougher than I look.”
He looked down at her wound and whined. “You took this hit for me.”
She nodded. “Yeah. I did. And I’m still here. I may not be as strong, fast, or badass as you, but that doesn’t mean I am weak either.”
He searched her face. “When I saw that monster touching you, I lost it.”
She smiled. “And I love that you did that for me. That you protected me. Saved me.”
He blinked several times. “You… you didn’t find me revolting?”
“Why would I find you revolting?”
“Because I’m a monster.”
“No. They were the monsters. You were my hero.” She pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him softly. “I don’t care how long it takes. I don’t care how many times I have to tell you. One day you will believe me, Fenrir Loki’s son. One day you will believe that you are not the monster you have always thought yourself to be.”
He looked at her. “No one has ever taken a hit for me before. No one has ever given me a second chance before, either.”
“Well, I’m not no one.”
He cupped her cheek. “No. You aren’t. You’re mine.”
Her chest squeezed. There it was. The truth. Bold and plain. Neither of them may understand it. Hell, neither of them may have expected it, but that didn’t change the truth of it. He was who she had been waiting for. He was the one her mom had told her to find. He was the pull that had dragged her to the Underworld. He was her mate.
She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered. “And you are mine.”
He swooped in and kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him over her. His hands roamed her skin as she skated her nails down his back.
His hand moved roughly over one breast, kneading it before pinching her nipple and making her moan.