Page 75 of The Heir
She shrugged. “Victor is an interesting man.”
A stabbing pain in my solar plexus made me snap back at her. “You’re kidding, right?”
“He’s not all macho like you Nmen, but he’s not soft and pliable like most Motlander men either. Victor is intelligent and has respect for women. I like that about him.”
“How can you say he has respect for women when you see the way he treats my sister? He’s rude and obnoxious to her.”
Linea smiled. “Oh, come on, Thor. Tell me that you’re not that blind.”
I looked to Mason and Indiana, silently asking if I had missed something, but they didn’t seem to understand what Linea was talking about either. “I’m not blind. I see them fighting every time they’re together. That’s why I was surprised she agreed to help him with his project.”
Linea sighed. “I wouldn’t worry so much if I were you. You might see fighting, but I see verbal foreplay.”
“Foreplay?” I exclaimed with horror on my face. “That’s not fucking funny.”
She shrugged. “There’s passion between them. It’s vibrating in the air like a heavy blanket of unmet desires.”
Mason, who had been a bit distracted, checked back into the conversation. “Wait, what did I miss? What’s wrong?”
Indiana and I were scowling at Linea and Indiana pointed a hand at her, speaking in an accusatory tone. “Take that back.”
“Take what back?”
“I won’t sit here and have you talk shit about Freya. If she could hear you say that she had feelings for Victor she would be offended.”
Linea raised her palms. “All right. I take it back. Forget that I said anything.”
“Indy is right. Freya is too smart to fall for someone as arrogant as Victor. She has standards.”
Linea tilted her head to one side and even though she didn’t answer in words, I read the expression in her eyes. I’d called Victor arrogant before and she had told me I was no better than him.
“He’s…. he’s…” I searched for a solid argument that would open her eyes.
“A bastard,” Mason suggested.
“I’d say he’s an intellectual puppet,” Indiana offered.
I nodded in agreement. “Victor is a pain in the ass.”
“You’re just annoyed with him that he’s not in awe of you Nmen. You’re used to bossing people around in your domineering fashion and he’s not playing along.”
“If you’re such a big Victor fan, then why didn’t you stay with him?” Mason asked.
“Victor isn’t interested in me.” Linea said matter-of-factly. “He has his eye on Freya.”
I scoffed. “You’re wrong! And even if he did, she would never be with someone like him. Freya values loyalty and trust. The French just fuck around for fun.”
“True.” Linea agreed. “Which would explain why there are so many unresolved emotions between them. It’s a sad situation, really.”
Mason cleared his throat. “At least they didn’t sleep together.”
“How do you know?” Linea asked.
“Did they?” Mason’s eyes bulged and then he made a “tsk” sound. “Nooo, I would know if they did.”
“Would you?” Linea chuckled. “Do tell how you would know.”
“You can tell that sort of thing,” Indiana said in support of Mason, who nodded.
