“Break it up, you two. We’ve got work to do.” Seda barged into the shop as the last customer left, her arms laden with garment bags, a tool box in one hand.
Erik hurriedly took everything from her and laid it on a table, and she flitted around him like a gnat, holding out her hands to gauge his size.
“I think I got it right. If it’s too big, we can pin it, and if it’s too tight, then good for all the women tonight who get to see him.”
“What are you talking about?” Audrey asked, her flowers and rainbows mood doused by the looming party they had to get ready for.
“I rented a suit for Erik. I brought you a bunch of dresses to try on, and all my Spanx. And makeup.” She turned back to Erik and looked searchingly at him. “You’re going to like this party tonight. It’s on a boat. You used to own your own ship, right? Back in your old life?”
Audrey dropped a lipstick back into the toolbox and blinked in surprise. Erik had been tightlipped about his old life to her. How did Seda know something like that? Had he said it when she wasn’t around, or she was too busy and didn’t hear? She didn’t think that was possible, because she was eaten up with curiosity about his life before he was cursed. It hurt her feelings more than she cared to admit that he might have shared something with Seda, who he barely seemed to tolerate.
He looked as shocked as she felt, and frowned so hard, his brows almost met in the middle.
“Did I ever say I did?” he asked, holding his hand to his forehead as if thinking about it gave him a headache.
“Well, did you?” Seda pushed, as if it was extremely important she know.
Audrey found herself leaning forward, wanting to know as well.
“I did,” he said uncomfortably. “But how did you know that?”
Seda jumped as if she’d been cattle prodded, or had a guilty conscience. Audrey narrowed her eyes and waited for her answer.
“I just took a guess, since you know— Viking.” She laughed nervously. “I bet you had an axe like the ones that were in the painting too, didn’t you? Just a lucky guess.”
He relaxed and nodded. “The weapons in the painting were accurate, yes.”
“Well, back to business, then,” she said, clearly wanting the attention off her.
Audrey found the whole exchange weird, but quickly put it out of her mind when she unzipped the garment bags and saw a nicely tailored dark grey suit in one, the other two stacked with sparkly cocktail gowns.
“Is it this fancy?” she asked, nerves flaring.
None of the dresses would look right with flats, and she hadn’t worn heels since— she couldn’t remember. Even for her graduations she’d worn flats. So much for dancing with Erik unless she wanted to break an ankle.
“Did I not specifically say swanky shindig? That’s English, right, Erik?”
Erik’s eyes grew wide and he shook his head, confused at her sarcasm.
“It’s going to have a bunch of important business owners, people who like to invest their money in impressive startups, and people who give lots of parties of their own. Parties that have dessert,” she continued.
“Okay, I get it,” Audrey said. “It’s important.”
Seda gave them each an unflattering once over. “Let’s get started, shall we? Both of you are going to look like supermodels in a couple hours.”
Audrey groaned, wanting to clean the kitchen and count the money before getting ready. She’d thought if she blow dried her hair and slapped on some mascara that might be good enough, let the dress do the heavy lifting. She shared that plan with Seda, who shot it down with a mean laugh.
“Do you want to look like this one’s grandmother?”
She nodded to Erik, and Audrey saw her point. Even in his t-shirt and jeans, his hair pulled back in a ponytail for work, with smudges of frosting on him, he still looked like a golden warrior angel, recently fallen directly from heaven to seduce everyone in his path. She thought with distaste of all the rich women with their glossy hair and pilates bodies and lack of under eye bags surrounding him like vultures.
“Fine,” she agreed tiredly.
Seda clapped her hands at her victory and turned her laser sights on Erik, who jumped under the unwanted attention.
“There’s no doubt about it, and it’s definitely unfair, but I think all Erik will need to do is scrub up and put the suit on.” She turned to Audrey and sighed, once more treating Erik like he wasn’t in the room. “He’s so freaking gorgeous, isn’t he? I’ve got my work cut out for me with you, however.”
She scowled and loaded the garment bags over her shoulder to haul upstairs, but stopped when Seda reached up and tugged at Erik’s tidy ponytail.
“Speaking of cutting. You wouldn’t consider letting us cut this, would you?” she asked hopefully. “Wouldn’t he look great with short hair?”
Audrey frowned. He would look amazing with short hair, so much so that she probably wouldn’t be able to control herself and would end up doing something inappropriate, land herself in jail for public lewdness. But she also loved his long, thick blond strands, how they felt when she ran her fingers through them. And Erik’s look of dismay said he didn’t want it cut. It was the style he was used to, a last remnant of his old life, something he still hoped he could get back to.
“What do you say, Erik?” Seda wheedled.
“Would it help Audrey to cut it?” he asked, looking past Seda at her in such a way that her heart broke. She was sure it did, and pressed her hand against her chest to still the pain that blossomed there.
“Well, people would take you more seriously, get rid of some of the vagabond rock star thing you’ve got going on.”
“He’s not cutting it,” Audrey said, looking fiercely at Erik. “You’re not cutting it, understand?”
He smiled gratefully, twisting her heart even more. “Okay, I understand.”
While Erik took a shower, Audrey and Seda headed to her bedroom where Audrey picked out the longest, least sparkling dress of the bunch, and held it up for Seda to approve.
“Yuck,” she said.
“It’s your dress,” Audrey argued. “I think it’s pretty.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have put that one in there. That’s my funeral dress. Don’t you want to give Erik something to remember when he leaves?”
She flinched, but picked a sexier dress. Seda gave her a long look.
“Are you actually falling for him?” she asked. Audrey couldn’t tell if she was worried or hopeful, but Seda leaned over the bed, she was so eager to hear the answer. “What do you even know about him?”
“Less than you, apparently,” she said bitterly. “He never talks about his past.” She sighed and shrugged. “But honestly, that doesn’t really matter to me.”
“I don’t know how you can let him stay in the house when you wouldn’t let someone you dated for six months come over.”
“That was different. I was living with my mom back then, and that guy turned out to be a creep. I like having Erik here.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. I think you might be blinded by endorphins. Which is fine, but don’t let it get to the point where you get hurt. I mean, the guy got cursed into a painting for being a womanizer, remember?”
Audrey swiveled her head around from the dresser, where she’d been trying to find appropriate underwear for the skin tight mini dress she’d been coerced into choosing.
“How do you know about his curse?” she demanded, realizing Seda had been acting weirder than usual lately.
“You told me,” she said quickly, face turning red.
Audrey shook her head. There was no way she’d told Seda the reason Erik was cursed. She wouldn’t have, it was too personal to Erik, and it still hurt her feelings on top of that.
“Well, I’m sure you must have,” she insisted. “How else could I know? Hey, the water stopped, you better get in the shower now so I can start your transformation into a cupcake goddess.”
Audrey didn’t want to let it go, but she got
hustled toward the bathroom. When she passed Erik in the hallway, glistening with water and with only a towel slung low on his hips, she forgot about it, completely mesmerized by his insane body. Yes, she had to look amazing tonight, to stand a chance against all the successful cougars who’d gravitate to him like spray tanned meteors barreling toward the earth.
Seda made a strangled noise when she saw him, and he slammed his door behind him before she could do something that embarrassed everyone.
After Audrey got stuffed into Spanx and sprayed and powdered and glossed, she made her way down the stairs ahead of Seda, who was used to going out to glamorous parties and managed to get herself ready in ten minutes.
She caught a glimpse of Erik, sprawled out on the green armchair in his suit, his hair neatly combed in shiny waves that rested on his broad shoulders. He stood up when he saw her coming down the stairs, and she paused to gasp at how good he looked in the suit. She blinked, wanting to shield her eyes, feeling a moment of pure enjoyment at taking him in, until she remembered she was going to be standing next to him at the party. Talk about mismatched pairs, she completely paled in comparison to his tall, perfectly chiseled body and exquisitely handsome face.
Seda gave her a little shove, whispering she looked fine, always able to read her insecurities.
“By the gods, Audrey,” he said, and she smiled, always feeling a nerdy thrill when he said that.
And the way he looked at her made her breath hitch, as if he found her as enthralling as she found him. He always told her she was beautiful when they were in the throes of passion, but that was a different kettle of fish. He wasn’t blinded by lust now, he looked at her with clear eyes, and what she saw radiating from them filled her with a happiness she hadn’t felt in a long while, if ever.
He met her at the bottom of the stairs and took her by the waist, running his hands down her scantily clad body. She rested her hands on his shoulders, and looked up at him as he gazed down at her, entranced.
Seda cleared her throat in exasperation, unable to pass them. “I’m still here.”
He swept her off the final step and his look turned stormy. “Perhaps we shouldn’t go,” he said.
“What?” Audrey yelped. “I only agreed to go because I thought you wanted to.”
“I wanted to go when I thought you’d be wearing more clothing. I can see almost your entire leg.”
“This is the style now,” Seda said, turning in a circle. “Look, my dress is even shorter. It’s not scandalous or anything these days to show some thigh.”
He gave her a look that said she could walk around naked for all he cared, then turned back to Audrey.
“Do you feel comfortable in this dress?”
“No,” she admitted. “Not at all. But I wanted to look nice.”
“You always look nice,” he said, taking her hand. “You look beautiful from the moment you wake up, to when you have your apron on and are covered in flour. I especially like when—”
“Sweet Jesus,” Seda cut in, making Audrey want to hit her, not getting to know when he especially liked her. “Are we going or not?”
“Audrey decides,” he said, standing back and crossing his arms.
“Let’s just go,” she sighed, tugging down her hem. “Seda’s right. This dress isn’t really that bad.”
“I’ll stay close to you,” he told her.
Audrey didn’t mind that at all, and ignored all of Seda’s arguments that they needed to network, not make out in a corner the whole night. She looked at them appraisingly and shook her head, an odd expression on her face as she stomped ahead of them toward her car.
“We can make out in the corner a little,” Audrey promised, still too hypnotized by Erik in a suit to care about Seda’s strange behavior.
He gave her a dazzling smile and held her close, sliding his hand along her thigh as he got in the car after her. Maybe the party would be fun after all.
Chapter 13
Erik couldn’t stop himself from staring at Audrey’s expanse of creamy thigh. In the back seat of Seda’s car, he reached over and slid his hand along the smooth length, all the way to where the impossibly short skirt ended. She sighed and leaned toward him, hampered by the vehicle’s restraints.
While he liked her scandalous dress for his own base motives, he didn’t like the idea of anyone else seeing her that way. He didn’t like it at all, and found his lusty good mood at getting to spend a night out turning grim. As much as he wanted to laugh and drink and mingle, the closer they got to the harbor, the more he wanted to go back to their cozy little house and spend a quiet evening alone with Audrey.
That wasn’t like him at all, and he removed his hand from her leg, causing her to make a small disappointed noise. He smiled to himself, liking how open she was with him, never bothering to hide her true feelings. He recalled women acting aloof when he knew they wanted him, trying to make him work harder for their affections. It made him not want to waste his time with someone who could be so calculating. He could tell Audrey honestly liked him, and while he wasn’t sure why, beside the fact that they were so physically compatible, he appreciated that she didn’t hide it.
He didn’t know if it was her or the time she was from, but the way she gave herself so freely both delighted him and made his chest ache in a way he’d never experienced. There was so much about her that gave him that strange feeling. He could feel her looking at him and knew if he turned, she’d have an expectant look on her sweet, pretty face. He knew every line of her by now, from all the time he spent surreptitiously watching her, and his fingertips tingled to touch her again.
He reached for her knee, and leaned over to kiss her under her jaw, a place he knew made her weak. He liked making her weak for him. It made him feel both powerful and very small. It befuddled him, but he was too busy enjoying everything about being with her to analyze his new, strange feelings.
He knew he should be analyzing them. Really, he knew he shouldn’t be having them at all. He needed to keep his wits about him so he could leave when the time came. As she tipped up her chin to kiss his mouth, he wondered why he had to leave. There was a reason, he knew there was, but it was getting less and less important the more time he spent with her.
Her annoying friend Seda made a noise of dissent at their display of affection, and Audrey pulled away, tugging her tiny skirt down as far as it would go, smiling up at him with an embarrassed look on her face. Even in the dark car, he could see her eyes shining with happiness to be with him, shadowed with a slight tinge of nerves about being around new people. He’d only been with her a week, but he could read her feelings as if he’d known her his whole life. His smile grew as he took her hand, something that couldn’t bother the annoying friend. And if it did, too bad.
When they arrived, Erik was momentarily confused by the bright twinkling lights all over the massive yacht that housed the party. He’d never seen such a ship, and wanted to explore it further, but the place was crawling with noisy revelers, and if the captain of the vessel was on board, he was keeping himself hidden.
Music thumped and women dressed even more scantily than Audrey passed with trays of drinks. Seda kept hovering around them, introducing Audrey to people, and treating him like he was a pet dog Audrey brought aboard because she had nowhere else to keep him for the night. He knew his sweet Audrey actually liked her, but he didn’t see why.
He pushed his feelings aside. As obnoxious as she’d treated him, she’d also helped garner a lot of attention for the shop, which was good for Audrey, and that was what ultimately mattered. Still, he wished she’d leave them alone so he could get the promised make out session.
He found his bad mood getting worse as a man with a loud, booming voice pumped her hand and seemed overly excited to be introduced to her.
“Seda’s told me so much about you,” he said, not letting go of her hand. Erik was going to give him two more seconds before he did something about it. “She tells me your cupcakes are to die for.”
/> Erik took a slight step forward, not enough for Audrey to notice, but the man let go of her hand. Better, but now he should leave.
“You should come by the shop,” Audrey said agreeably. “What do you do?”
He normally liked how agreeable she was, but he wished she wouldn’t smile so broadly at this man, and keep him around with her interested questions. What was so interesting about him? He looked quite a bit older than her, was that what she liked? And apparently he owned his own business, a party supply store of some sort. It sounded a frivolous way to make a living, but what did he, Erik, have to offer Audrey? He was basically her kitchen helper, and bound to do that by his curse. Without her, he’d be destitute, something no woman found attractive.
Now they were eagerly babbling about cross promoting or some such nonsense he didn’t understand, and didn’t want to understand. If the man’s gaze dropped to Audrey’s breasts one more time, he was going to drop him. He finally left them, and Erik scowled down at her, giving the annoying Seda an even darker look, which unfortunately didn’t scare her away, but made her look gleeful for some reason.
“What?” Audrey asked him, grabbing two delicate glasses from a passing tray. “Aren’t you having fun?”
She handed one to him and downed hers in one gulp. Alarmed, he drank his as well, finding it to be bubbly and alcoholic. Not strong, but he knew she rarely drank, and thought her tolerance might be low. He did not want her getting drunk at such a raucous affair.
He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her close. “Let’s explore the boat,” he suggested, wanting to get away from Seda’s uncomfortable scrutiny of them. She was always an odd one, but tonight she was acting odder than usual.
A tall woman with a mass of red curly hair came up to them and hugged Seda, then demanded an introduction while somehow wedging herself between him and Audrey. His arm fell away from her and he could see she was flustered as the woman fawned all over him.
At first he was alarmed that she looked so upset, but then he recalled how friendly she’d been only a moment before with that party supply man. No, he didn’t want to act in such a low manner, purposefully trying to make her jealous because he couldn’t control his own emotions. Emotions he shouldn’t be having in the first place.
Valhalla Cupcakes Page 14
