Valhalla Cupcakes

by Cassidy Cayman

  Stars twinkled at the edge of her vision at the absolute bliss he made her feel, and she gathered him close. His soft hair against her cheek, his strong body tight against hers, his hands expertly holding her, and that strange warm glow in her chest. It was all too much, and not enough. She greedily wanted more. He must have sensed it and pushed harder, pulling her hips closer to him.

  “Tell me when,” he murmured near her ear, kissing her neck.

  The low rumble of his voice did her in and she clung to him, pushing him back so she could watch him come.

  “Now,” she said, her eyes closing on their own at the fresh wave of euphoria that washed over her.

  He collapsed on top of her, quickly rolling to the side and pulling her close, burying his face in her hair.

  “I’m sorry, Audrey, I was trying to make it last longer. We can go again in a minute.” He kissed her, and dropped his head back onto the pillow, breathing hard but holding onto her so she didn’t roll off the narrow bed.

  She would have laughed if she weren’t so spent. She only managed to tip her chin back to look at him incredulously, trying to gather a thought.

  “Are you kidding? I think you gave me four, no, five orgasms. That was awesome.”

  She thought about what she was saying, essentially turning down his offer to go again in a few minutes. She didn’t know if she could survive, being so out of practice for this sort of thing. She didn’t have her phone with her, all her clothes still strewn downstairs, and didn’t know what time it was. Her exhaustion crept back in as her satisfied languor wore off and she knew they’d have to be back at work before dawn, still so much left undone due to their distracting activities.

  She knew she had to finish cleaning downstairs, but she wanted more of what he offered so eagerly. Her body and her brain started an epic battle, and before she could decide what to do, fell asleep in his arms.

  ***

  Erik held onto Audrey as she slept, looking down at her pretty face and glorious body. She shivered and he sadly pulled the blanket over her, tucking her closer to his chest.

  From the moment he had to put that ridiculous, insulting hat on his head, he knew he had to find the nearest opportunity to escape this new prison he was in. But then, he’d rather enjoyed working behind the counter, taking money and giving over cupcakes. Those small cakes of Audrey’s made people happy. Once he got the hang of it, it was as simple as she promised, and he’d enjoyed all the attention the customers gave him. He flirted shamelessly, once he saw it made them buy more, and it had all been worth it when Audrey ran excitedly into the kitchen waving the green bills about as if she’d been given the rule of a country.

  He supposed the shop she had made downstairs was like her own little country. She was fiercely protective and loyal to it, that was certain. Once again, he couldn’t begrudge her using him the way she did, and he was certainly getting well compensated.

  He’d expected it to be enjoyable, as he hadn’t had sex in centuries, but it had been beyond enjoyable. It had been almost frighteningly incredible, like nothing he’d ever experienced, and before he’d been cursed, he’d had more than his fair share of women. He really didn’t want to stop exploring new ways to make her sigh with pleasure, and was sorely disappointed when she fell asleep.

  Well, there was always tomorrow. He’d find ways to help her out more in the kitchen so she wasn’t so tired. He could learn to measure, that mysterious thing she seemed to think was of extreme importance and way over his head. He was so sated, the thought of wreaking his vengeance on the witch who locked him in the painting seemed far away and insignificant.

  He stroked the hair off her face, trying to cling to that good feeling for as long as he could, but every moment that passed made it recede, replaced with his age old anger. If it was only his life she’d messed with he might have been able to lose himself in Audrey’s touch, but what of his grandmother who needed him, his comrades who would think that he’d cowardly betrayed them just hours before a campaign? He couldn’t allow that to stand. Slowly, the recollection of Audrey’s passionately thoughtless words came back to him.

  ‘Do whatever you want.’

  At the time, there would have been no power in heaven or hell that could have dragged him from her body, but now? He eased closer to her, so warm and soft. And trusting. Really, she shouldn’t be so trusting. It bothered him. If he were the bad sort, he could have killed her in a second the moment she’d returned his free will to him. He didn’t want to imagine what might happen when the money lenders came back and he wasn’t around.

  You should take your chance while you have it, Agnarsson, he told himself grimly, for it may never come again. He shook his head, causing her to stir. Gently running his fingers along her hairline, he soothed her back to sleep, continuing warring with himself.

  Of course he needed his revenge. He wasn’t giving up on that, merely putting it aside for a short time. Yes, he could leave now, but he still had no money. He thought of the money in the cash register below and scowled at himself. He could never steal from Audrey. That would make him lower than the witch who cursed him, and he intended to have an honorable revenge, knowing he was the better person when he squeezed the life from her lying throat.

  He’d made a promise to Audrey to help her with her debt collectors, and she’d promised to free him when that was done. It should have been that simple but he’d wanted retribution for so long, it was difficult to put it aside any longer. He really needed this choice to be taken from him. It was distracting.

  He rolled away from her, careful not to pull her off the bed with him, and knocked into the bedside table before looking down at her. She still slept like a baby, so he bumped into the side of the bed as he made his way toward the closet where his few items of clothing hung. She still lay there like a log. He’d completely worn her out. With a deep sigh, he kicked the foot of the bed.

  “Arrgh,” he cried dramatically, swearing to himself when his toe flamed with pain.

  She sat up, looking blindly left and right. “What is it? Erik? Are you okay?”

  “Just stumped my toe,” he said, hurrying to the bed and pushing her back down into it. “Go back to sleep.”

  “What are you doing, though?” She shoved away from him and wrapped the sheet tightly around herself, sitting up again. “Don’t go, okay? You can’t go.”

  He turned so she wouldn’t see his contented smile. Mission accomplished.

  “All right, Audrey.”

  Chapter 7

  Audrey stared at the ceiling, finally swinging her legs to the floor. A few hours after Erik had attempted his escape, she woke up to find herself mashed against the naked Viking, one of his hands resting lightly across her chest and the other settling possessively against her hip.

  She had liked it so much it alarmed her into fleeing back to her own bedroom, and even though she knew she sorely needed sleep, it took her a long time to settle down. Just as her eyes were drifting shut and her mind stopped its feverish round of recriminations, her alarm cruelly went off.

  In the shower, she lathered up, trying and failing to not think about everywhere Erik’s hands and mouth had been. She scrubbed herself dry, flushed with embarrassment that she’d slept with him at all, but on only the second day of knowing him no less. Trying to talk herself down, so she could wake him up and have a somewhat normal day, she looked in the mirror at her shiny, shower fresh face and frowned sternly.

  “It’s not that big of a deal,” she said.

  So what if she had liked it so much she was afraid she would completely forget her responsibilities and spend the rest of the day rolling around in bed, and on the floor, and on the stairs— oh no, she couldn’t stop dreaming up scenarios. What if they got started and forgot to eat or drink, and actually died? She could see it happening, he was so addictive.

  No, she’d fallen asleep last night out of pure exhaustion, and was able to come to her senses. She was almost positive they wouldn’t die. So maybe she cou
ld crawl in with him for a few minutes before they got started with the day? She slapped herself. She was already running behind by being a basket case in the bathroom for so long. She needed to get him an alarm clock so she wouldn’t have to wake him up at all, and risk seeing all his golden skin and sinewy muscles. It took her another few minutes to snap out of her daze from just thinking about it, and she slapped herself again.

  “It’s not a big deal,” she repeated to herself.

  She was a modern woman who could have sex with any cursed Viking who came her way, if that was what she wanted to do. A thump outside in the hall made her jump, thinking he was already awake. She wrapped her robe around herself and peeked into the hall.

  It was empty, so she took a deep breath and strode to his room like a general about to face a battle. How badly would she lose this fight? She knocked on the door, shaking her head at her ridiculousness.

  When there was no answer, irritation flared in her, knowing beyond a doubt that he was awake and trying to get her to come into the room. Damn it, but he was clever. He probably had the sheet adjusted exactly right so she’d see every mouthwatering inch of him. She closed her eyes and swung open the door.

  “Morning, Audrey,” he said.

  She opened her eyes to see he sat on the edge of his bed, no less mouthwatering for having a t-shirt and his Thor boxers on.

  “You finally out of the shower?” he asked, innocently standing and moving past her without even a glancing touch.

  So he was going to be cool about it, was he? Good, she decided. That was helpful. Disappointing, but helpful. She could be cool, too, except she definitely felt disappointed and had to struggle to keep her face neutral. Hadn’t he been affected at all? Apparently not.

  “Uh, did you sleep okay?” she asked perversely. Why not just let him get his shower and be done with it? She could have had a batch of cupcakes done by now. “After you tried to slip out on me?” she reminded him, crossing her arms. Wow, way to be cool, Audrey.

  He smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. And I slept very well, thank you.” He leaned over and ran his finger down the side of her face, all the way to where her robe closed across her cleavage. “I missed you when you were gone, though.”

  “Oh, well, I— it was a little crowded. I mean, not in a bad way, just—”

  He smiled harder, as if he was trying not to laugh. “It’s not a big deal.”

  She recalled the thump outside the bathroom door, and the fact that he was already awake and somewhat dressed.

  “You were listening!” she cried, certain she was fuschia from embarrassment.

  “I wasn’t listening, I merely overheard.” He stepped closer. “If that’s how you really feel, I’ll have to work harder next time to change your mind. No man wants to be thought of as not a big deal.” He tipped her chin back and leaned down.

  She wanted the kiss. She wanted it more than she wanted to keep living at that moment.

  “No kissing,” she said, hating herself and the look of rejection in his eyes. Why did he look so sad? “At least during business hours. We have to get the cupcakes done,” she explained. “If today’s anything like yesterday, I need to make more to be prepared.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I can wait until tonight.” His expression turned lecherous and she swallowed hard.

  “We’ll see,” she squeaked, hurrying out the door and down the hall to her own room to finish getting dressed.

  “You can’t resist me, Audrey,” he called.

  Oh, he was maddening. More so because he was right, damn him. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through another frustration riddled day of being in the same house with him. She prayed it was as busy as the day before, not only because she needed that money, but to keep her mind and hands occupied.

  She resolved to finally give the dreaded ‘no touching’ order, certain her willpower would dissolve if she allowed him to keep randomly stroking her arm or running his fingers down her cheek, or pulling her by her hips to brush up close to him. With an animal noise of exasperation at herself, she yanked on her clothes and ran downstairs, already half an hour behind schedule because of her unruly hormones.

  In the kitchen, she found him already lining up the bowls the way he’d seen her do yesterday, and her spoons and other implements were neatly set out as well.

  “Thanks,” she said, glancing at the clock above the stove. “I’m really behind.”

  “Tell me what to do,” he said without a trace of sarcasm.

  She smiled gratefully, and told him what to bring from the refrigerator and pantry. She hurriedly put a huge pan of bacon into the oven, adding extra so Erik could have some for his breakfast, and then brought him over to one of the bowl setups.

  “I’m going to show you how to read a recipe, and measure ingredients today,” she said. “I don’t think I can make everything on my own, and the only thing to chop is the bacon and that won’t be done for a bit, yet.”

  “You’re putting the bacon in the cupcakes? I thought it was for me,” he said, looking bereft.

  “Some of it’s for you. Even you couldn’t eat all that,” she said, looking him up and down. He was pure muscle, didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, but he ate like a horse. He must have got a lot of physical activity in his old life. “I won an award for the bacon maple cupcakes a few years ago, and people still go crazy for them.”

  She showed him her red velvet recipe card, which was old and stained with flour, pointing out the measurements, the lines and numbers on the measuring cups, and the various spoons.

  “That’s it?” he asked incredulously? “I just fill the cup to the number on the recipe card? You made it sound like advanced ship building yesterday.”

  She pressed her lips together to keep from sounding like a battle-axe, afraid he wouldn’t take it seriously, but she’d already spent the time teaching him, so she’d trust him for at least one batch.

  “You have to be precise. I’ve been working on these recipes for years. They’re practically like my children. See, my whole secret is making them delicious enough that people think they’ve just had something sinful and decadent, but also light enough so they don’t feel gross and guilty afterwards and vow to never eat another one again. We want them to keep coming back for more.”

  “Oh, so that’s the secret,” he muttered, already squinting at her scrawling handwriting and reaching for the sugar.

  “If you can’t read my writing, just ask. Don’t guess,” she said, taking a few tentative steps away before turning back to him. “Do you want me to read it out for you one time to be sure?”

  He looked at her as if she’d offered to pour sewage on him and lightly shoved her away. “Leave me to concentrate,” he said. “I won’t let you down.”

  She whipped out her own batter and got the bacon out of the oven, and was filling the cups when he finally stepped back to show her. She rushed over and tasted, then checked the consistency.

  “You did amazing,” she said, taking another taste. “Oh my gosh, this is great.”

  “You’re just complimenting yourself,” he said sourly. “I didn’t do anything except follow the directions.”

  “You’d be amazed how many people can’t follow directions, or don’t bother to be careful. They don’t understand that baking is a science. Go eat some bacon, you earned it.”

  She showed him the portion he was allotted and instructed him to finely chop the rest, and they were once again able to miraculously open on time.

  “We’re a good team,” she said as she turned on the sign.

  “It seems so, yes.”

  After she unlocked the door, he pulled her close and twirled her around, seeming giddy with his accomplishments. He’d already eaten two of the cupcakes he’d made and had a little cream cheese frosting clinging to his lips, which she stood on her toes to kiss off. Even on her toes she wasn’t tall enough to reach, but he saw what she tried to do and leaned down. She licked off the frosting, g
etting scrumptious visions of other parts of him covered in it.

  She realized they’d done everything that needed to be done and she hadn’t even had to lay down the ‘no touching’ rule. There wasn’t much in her life to make her feel lucky, she still owed a hundred grand of which she barely had a hundred, but for some reason she felt like she burst with good fortune when he was around.

  Oh, darn. She hoped that wasn’t a pesky emotion creeping in. She ran her fingers over his pecs and tried to chase it away with dirty thoughts. It didn’t help, especially with him having that adorably proud smile on his face the past three hours when she’d let him mix up several more batches. Really, she thought she’d be lost without Maria, but Erik was proving to be a fine replacement, and there were definitely things he could do for her that Maria couldn’t.

  She immediately pushed away those thoughts, eagerly turning when the doorbell jingled. Erik slapped his helmet on his head with only the slightest grimace, and she turned to welcome the first customer.

  “Welcome to Valhal— oh, it’s just you,” she said, seeing Seda. She motioned to Erik who begrudgingly poured her a cup of coffee in a to-go cup. “Did you come to sexually harass my employee again?”

  “Oh, your employee now, is it?” she asked, with a skeptical raised brow. She took Audrey’s arm and began pushing her toward the kitchen. “You’ll be fine out here won’t you?” she called to Erik.

  Audrey looked questioningly over her shoulder, and Erik nodded that he’d be fine. A real customer came in, one of the ladies from the book club, and he sang out their welcome before proceeding to charm her tweed skirt off.

  “What?” Audrey hissed, when Seda had her alone in the kitchen. She was looking at her in such an odd way, and it made her feel guilty for some reason.

  “You slept with him, didn’t you? I could tell the second I walked in, not to mention his hands were all over you. Again.”

  “Yes, his hands are really all over me a lot,” Audrey mused. She tried to hide her embarrassed smile. “I don’t mind it.”