Page 25 of Tyr

“Safe from? No. But… but…”

“But what?”

“But you are still in your underwear. And when a woman who looks the way you do is standing around in only their underwear…”

“Then men should be as respectful as if she’s wearing a muumuu.”

“Of course. That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“You’re in your underwear!” Exasperation rang clear in his voice.

“Then let’s fix that. You get me clothes, and I get to not be a prisoner in your room.”

She wasn’t sure if Tyr would say no again or throw her over his shoulder and take her back upstairs. To her surprise, he did neither.

“Fine. I’ll get you clothes, and then you can move around the main house. Tell me what you want, and your sizes, and I’ll have someone get it for you.”

“I also need underwear, and though I may not be ashamed of my body, I prefer not to have someone else picking out underwear for me unless it’s someone I’m dating.”

“Do you let the men you date pick out your underwear?”

Her cheeks heated. “Maybe. Not that they’ve ever picked something remotely comfortable. Why do guys think underwear that goes up the butt crack is so sexy? Have they ever tried wearing them? I’m pretty sure if men did, they would realize how very unsexy things can be when they aren’t comfortable.”

“Uh… I wouldn’t know.”

“You wouldn’t know because you’ve never bought a woman that kind of underwear, or you wouldn’t know because you’ve never tried them on yourself?”

“Both,” he stammered.

She admired his chiseled chest and hard-packed abs. “I think you might look good in a g-string.” She thought for a moment. “I bet Herm has tried a g-string.”

Tyr opened his mouth and closed it again. “Thank you for an image I will now never get out of my head. There’s a place here in the Underworld where you can get anything you need. I’ll take you after you eat, and I finish my meeting with Herm and Vid.”

“Okay.”

He turned from her and headed back into the kitchen. As he went, she glimpsed a full back tattoo of an intricate war scene. She followed him into the kitchen to get a better view. He grabbed a cup from the cupboard as she stepped closer to make out the details. The scene had been amazingly done—so intricate that she waited for it to start moving.

He turned and bumped into her, knocking her off balance. He grabbed her healed arm and steadied her.

“Guess you weren’t kidding.”

“About what.”

“That you’d catch me if I started to tip over.”

Tyr pulled his hand away and put the cup under the espresso machine.

She bit her lip. “So, you haven’t heard from my dad?”

Tyr looked at her sideways as he pushed several buttons. “No.”

Celeste’s gut twisted. She let down her barrier and felt for her father.

Nothing.

“We should call him.”

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