The soft touch of his lips sent electricity charging through her system. Lightning seared every nerve ending as his large hands splayed over her back.
His tongue touched her lips and she opened for him, impatient to deepen the kiss. It was her turn to groan when he thrust his tongue into her mouth. Her legs gave way again. She reached up, thrusting her fingers through his hair and held him to her.
He gripped her by the upper arms and pulled away after he brushed his lips across hers a few more times. Holding her steady until she could stand on her own, he looked out the door into the sunlight. His breathing was erratic and his chest heaved with the effort to catch his breath.
“We still have a lot of work to do.”
His voice was deeper that usual. More husky. The sound danced over her nerve endings and desire raced through her blood. It was almost as if he marked her, branded her in some way and now she was his.
She nodded and cleared her throat. She needed to make some kind of noise. To talk. She had to do something to take her mind of that kiss—to rid herself of the all-consuming need crawling beneath her skin.
“You’re right,” she agreed, licking the taste of him from her lips. “We have way too much work to do.”
Yet when nightfall came and the fields were cloaked in darkness, what excuse would they use then?
Chapter Four
By the time darkness fell, they had cleared the entire West field. Three large semi trailers stood full, waiting for the big rigs to pick them up in the morning, leaving the empties they would fill tomorrow.
The two trailers Emma towed using the tractors were also full. A testament to her determination to get her fields harvested. As was her decision to not visit her brother until the next morning. He could tell she wanted to go. Several times throughout the day, she pulled a worn picture from her pocket and stroked his face with her finger.
Hungry and exhausted, Thor wandered back to the house behind her thinking, if he was so tired, how exhausted would she be? It barely bore thinking about.
As he watched, she dragged herself up the back porch steps and into the kitchen, automatically washing out both of the thermoses they used. She set them carefully in the drain-board. After that chore was finished, she began another like a robot.
She moved through the kitchen like an automaton, tired, yet unwilling to sit—hungry, yet unwilling to eat until she had prepared enough for the both of them.
He tried to help, the only way he knew how, by staying out of her way and setting the table. He poured cola from a two-liter bottle into two plastic tumblers and turned to watch her as she continued to work.
Gritting his teeth, he wondered how long she’d lived like this. She existed on too little sleep and too much hard work. He wondered and blamed himself for his ignorance. How many years ago had this woman gotten down on her knees and begged him for his help? She’d still been a child then. Now she was a woman—a woman with too many responsibilities, too many burdens and too little love and understanding.
He held her chair for her after she placed their sandwiches on the table, but refused to let her carry the soup, afraid that she would spill it and scald herself.
Swaying on her feet, she barely seemed to notice when he grasped her arm and helped her into her chair. She smiled up at him but he still saw the shadows of fatigue in the heavy rings beneath her eyes, and the lines of stress bracketing her lips.
“Thank you.”
His eyes locked with hers. “You’re welcome.”
“I hope you like vegetable soup,” she said, looking down at her bowl after taking a bite of her bologna sandwich. “I’m just too damned tired to fix much else. I’m thinking we’ll have frozen pizza tomorrow.”
He nearly shuddered at the thought. “I’ll cook tomorrow. You don’t need to wait on me. I’m capable of pulling my own weight. Besides, we were both out in that field doing the hard work.”
She had done the work of two men out there today but he didn’t think she would appreciate the comparison.
“As a matter of fact, why don’t you eat and go to bed? I’ll take care of the dishes. You look exhausted.”
“I am exhausted, but you should be even more so. You were up before me this morning, remember.”
He grinned. “Yes, but I had that nice nap in your driveway yesterday.”
She frowned. “What were you doing passed out in my driveway, by the way?” Her eyes widened. “Good Lord! I should have asked you that sooner. My mind was on so many things, my brother, the harvest...” He half expected her to blurt out the trip to the cemetery where she had renounced the Gods her family had believed in for generations.
“To tell you the truth, I actually fell asleep next to the driveway. I thought it was a dirt road. I got a bit tired and sat down hoping for another ride. The next thing I remember, you were blowing the horn of that dinky car you drive at me.” He almost cringed when the words left his mouth. It was his first real lie to her.
He couldn’t very well tell her that he must have passed out when his father stripped him of his supernatural powers. She would run from him screaming that he was a raving lunatic. Hell, the night was young, she still could.
“Are you telling me you just rolled into the driveway while you were sleeping?” she asked, searching his eyes.
The look on her face told him that she didn’t quite believe his story.
She sighed at his nod and then shrugged. “Whatever. If that’s the truth, great. If not, it’s not as if you owe me anything but the honest day’s work you promised and you have already given me that.” Standing, she crossed the room to put her dishes in the sink.
“Thanks for offering to do the dishes.” She turned to him and grinned. “But if you think it’s going to get you out of that haircut, you’re sadly mistaken.”
She laughed when his mouth fell open.
“Don’t be such a baby about it. Go take a shower and get your butt back down here. I’m not going to bed tonight until I see what’s under all of that hair.”
Against his better judgment, he left her doing dishes to go take the warm shower that beaconed to him like a siren. Just the thought of being clean again was enough to send him on his way.
His father’s laughter did little to lighten his mood.
How will anyone ever take me seriously if she cuts my hair and makes me shave my face?
It is your power that your people responded to, boy, not your fearsome looks. Besides, it’s not as if you cannot appear to them as you always have. You merely need to appear as a human to her. His father’s comments didn’t help him much.
I appear human to everyone.
Not to her. To her, you are a great orange bear. Large, intimidating and rather frightening.
That comment gave Thor pause. I frighten her?
He sighed. Studying himself in the mirror. He could see how his wild hair and scraggly beard could be intimidating. It made him look rather like an unwashed, unkempt bum. He grimaced. No wonder, Siv had refused him.
Turning, he reached into the shower and turned on the water. He waited a moment before climbing under the hot spray. It felt good to clean himself the mortal way. Merely thinking his body clean was easier, yet it did not hold the comfort of the warm water cascading over his skin.
After washing the tangled mass that he’d mistakenly called hair, along with all the other necessary parts, he turned off the water to face the mirror again.
What would he look like with a clean-shaven face? He hadn’t been without a beard since he was a youth. Remembering what he looked like as a boy, he grimaced. His mouth was too big, his nose had a pronounced arc. Not to mention his eyes. Those were both too big and too blue. He’d grown the beard to cover the fact that he wasn’t perfect and as a God, he should have been.
Shave it off or wish it gone and I’ll remove it. Either way, get it over with, you infant. His father’s voice boomed through his head, a sure sign that he was becoming impatient. If the woman is truly meant to be you
rs, she will love you regardless of the ugly face beneath all that hair.
Thor closed his eyes. His father was right. He knew it. Yet it didn’t give him any comfort. Why was he even having these thoughts? Besides, he was the son of a God. In truth, he was a God in his own right. It was ridiculous for him to fear anything—especially something as simple as the stroke of a razor on his skin.
It didn’t take long once he started. The job was done quickly and easily with the scissors and new razor Emma had provided. To be honest, all in all, it had been a rather pleasurable experience.
Reaching up, he felt the smooth skin of his cheek. He tried to ignore the fact that his mouth was still too big and his nose didn’t seem to fit his face.
He shrugged at his reflection, got dressed in the clean clothes he found lying on the bed and started downstairs to face the music. He was confident that she wouldn’t mind that he wasn’t handsome because she was meant to be his. He knew it.
Her back was to him when he entered the kitchen. Her shoulder length hair was still damp from her shower, its length wetting the back of the pink pajamas she wore. The color looked good on her.
She smelled nice too. A bit like berries. He could smell her across the room and it made his cock jerk and his balls ache. She turned away from the sink, another pair of scissors in her hands. Her mouth fell open and the scissors dropped unnoticed to the floor.
This is wonderful, father. I’m so ugly she’s going to pass out. I’ll never win her over this way.
For once, Odin the wise remained conspicuously silent.
* * * *
After Thor left the kitchen to shower, Emma hurried to his room to set out clothes. He was a bit larger than her father, but his pants and t-shirts should fit him well enough. She tried not to smile at the picture of Thor wearing her father’s large t-shirts when he was obviously an extra-large t-shirt kind of man. What a show she was going to get with that knit cotton stretched over all that muscle.
She set the clothes on the bed and hurried to her room for her own shower. She had time. If he was like any other boy or man who didn’t want his hair cut, he’d take forever to gather the courage to leave that bathroom. After changing into her pink pajamas, she hurried back downstairs with the hair care kit.
She’d just organized the implements on the counter when Thor walked into the room behind her. She turned when she heard him and her mouth went slack. Her fingers loosened on the scissors and they fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
Just as she suspected, he was hiding a handsome face under all that hair. But she hadn’t really expected this! The man was a god! A walking, talking, living, breathing God. To think, he’d hidden all of that beneath that scruffy, scraggly beard and long hair.
“I—I’m only going to trim your hair,” she said, ignoring the electric trimmer on the counter.
Using a comb, she untangled the horrific mop of copper-colored hair and layered it, giving it a fuller, more stylish look.
No matter how she tried, she just couldn’t bring herself to cut it short like she had planned. Not after combing his hair and feeling the smooth, silky strands sift through her fingers. Leaving it long enough to run her fingers though, was the only thing she could think about.
Pausing, she frowned, fearing that running her fingers through the silky mass was her main motivation for leaving it long. She couldn’t help it. She loved the way it felt in her hands.
“There you go.”
She finally pulled the towel from around him and carried it outside to shake the hair from its folds. Refusing to look at him, she busied herself with putting away the hair cutting supplies. She had hesitated in uncovering him. The action seemed symbolic somehow, like she had been unwrapping a present.
Yeah, right, Emma. If you think he’s really attracted to you, you need to get a grip. He only kissed you today because you are convenient. It’s not like all the women in the county are beating down your door for a date with him.
Tears burned her eyes at the thought. No one had ever kissed her that way before and no one ever would again. That was a safe bet.
She would have to savor the memory of that kiss for the rest of her life.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he walked up behind her. Heat radiated from his body, causing goose bumps to rise on her skin.
How does he do that?
She had asked herself the same thing last night. She’d lain in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering. Why did he have such an effect on her? Why him, when no other man had even turned her head?
Warm hands rested on her shoulders and she closed her eyes. Heat from his body enveloped her. She inhaled, loving his scent. Even though she knew he smelled of the same soap her brother used, it was different on him somehow. Sexy. She fought the urge to lean back and press her body against his. What was it about him that turned her into such a quivering ball of need?
Chapter Five
“You smell good.”
The heat of his breath against the back of her neck, made her shiver. Who knew that she had such a sensitive spot just below her ear? Who could have known little tendrils of desire would attach themselves to her suddenly, over-sensitive nipples and burn a trail down to her nether parts.
Warmth settled in her middle as an unfamiliar heat pooled between her legs. She fought the urge to stiffen her spine. She didn’t want him to think he made her uncomfortable. If anything, he made her feel alive for the first time in her life.
Relaxing against him, she sighed when his lips touched her neck softly. His calloused hands brushed down her arms and wrapped around her to pull her rear back against his hips. The press of rigid flesh between her buttocks was nearly her undoing. Suddenly, she didn’t care that this man was a virtual stranger. All she cared about was how he made her feel. What he made her feel.
“I love the feel of your body rubbing against mine,” he whispered in her ear as he nibbled gently on the lobe.
She groaned when his thumbs brushed over her nipples, causing them both to pebble against the soft cotton of her pajama top.
He shouldn’t be doing this. She shouldn’t let him. Something deep inside her said it was wrong, yet she was powerless to stop it. Her arms and legs felt like gelatin and she couldn’t force herself to voice her protest.
Even when her mind said no, her hand reached up and covered his. She pressed his hands harder against her breasts and instinctively wriggled her bottom against his hard cock.
“Yes.”
She breathed the word out on a sigh. Swallowing thickly, she leaned her head back against his shoulder, giving him better access to the curve of her throat.
“Every time I look at you, I want to do this,” he said as he kissed the side of her mouth. His hand trailed down to caress her stomach.
She turned toward him, deepening the kiss. He pulled his lips from hers and she whimpered a protest.
“Do you know what else I want to do when I look at you?”
She shook her head and gasped when he laved her ear.
“I want to do this,” he said as he covered her mouth with his. He brought both hands up to cup her breasts with his warm hands and lightly pinched her nipples. “And I want to bury my cock in your tight pussy, Emma. Does that turn you on?”
“Oh, my God,” she whimpered as her legs gave out.
His arms tightened around her, holding her pressed against him. The ridge of hard male flesh that rode between her cheeks, coupled with the overwhelming sensations of his lips sliding over her skin, had her breath coming in short gasps.
All of these new sensations were so wonderful, so new. The feel of that hard shaft pressed against her rear, his hands expertly stroking her breasts was almost too much to bear. Warm breath brushed her throat, sending shivers of delight through her nerve endings.
She couldn’t lie to him. Couldn’t deny the words he wished to hear. “Yes.” She nodded, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. “Yes, it does turn me on.”
Spinning in his ar
ms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers. Deepening their kiss nearly drove her mad.
A little spear of doubt pierced her consciousness when his arms tightened around her. He pulled her more firmly into his embrace, pressing every inch of her to the front of his solid frame.
What in the world had come over her? Why was she making out in her kitchen with a man she barely knew—a man she was barely even attracted to?
Turning her head, she broke their kiss. She gasped when he bent and covered the tip of her breast with his warm, wet mouth and suckled her through the material of her top.
He thrust his leg between hers, his thigh pressing intimately against her creaming pussy.
“Oh, my. That feels…”
Her breath left her lungs in a whoosh when he lightly bit down on the hardened nub.
Blood roared in her ears. Her whole body grew hot and every nerve ending in her body burned with the need for more.
Still panting, she untangled her fingers from his hair and did the most difficult thing she had ever done in her life. Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed him away from her.
“I can’t...” Not here, not now, and not in Mom’s kitchen with Alex in the hospital in a coma.
What right did she have to take this time for herself when her brother lay like a broken toy soldier in a hospital an hour away? What right did she have to waste this time that should be spent on visiting him and harvesting the fields so they could eat this winter? So she could eat, because Alex was never coming home. It was time she faced the facts.
“I just can’t...” The words came out on a sob. Her face burned as she wondered how she’d suddenly lost control. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry.”
She backed away from him when he released her.
“What’s happening between us shouldn’t be happening. I don’t want a relationship now.” Or ever. I can’t afford to fall in love with you. Something horrible will happen, you’ll die and it will kill me.
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