Page 14 of Thor

She scanned the hallway like a scared rabbit. “All right.” She dropped her gaze and let her hair fall over her face.

He stopped in front of her, heart beating like he’d never talked to a girl before. What the hell was going on with him?

“I... I’m glad you made it back safe last night.”

“Thank you.” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and folded her hand in front of her and shivered.

“Are... are you cold?” He ran his hands up her bare arms making them pebble. “I can find you a sweater.”

Their gazes connected and something inside him moved. A piece of him he’d buried away. One he’d sworn he’d never allow out again. A part of him he’d thought he’d lost under the years and years of fighting and killing and drinking. But somehow, the beautiful, timid creature had brought that piece of him back from the brink of death.

She dropped her gaze to where his hands rested on her arms. “Why... does it feel like that when you touch me?”

“I... I don’t know. Has it never happened to you before when someone touched you?”

She shook her head. “I’ve only ever been touched by two other people. Val and... someone else. And neither of them ever made my skin feel like embers were burning from underneath it.”

Thor swiped his calloused thumb over her skin and waited for it to burst into flames.

“Where did you come from?” he asked.

“You’re a god. And you have children of your own, so I’m told. I would think you’d know where babies come from.”

He caught the tickle of a smile that crossed her lips. “Is that a joke? Did you make a joke?”

She smiled and her cheeks flushed a deep shade of peach.

“You know what I mean. Where were you before you came here? Why did you decide to come to Midgard?”

She shrugged. “I’d never been. I wanted to see what it was like. Wanted to see what humans were like. I’d heard many tales of them throughout my life. I wanted to see for myself. Why did you come?”

“To be honest? Valhalla grew boring. I was restless. Centuries of fighting aren’t erased because you go to paradise.” Without thinking, he lifted a strand of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers.

“Why are you doing that?”

He peered into her bright eyes. He’d never seen so many colors blended together. Green, yet blue, but with gold flecks that shimmered in the light. There truly was no way to describe them accurately.

“Do you want me to stop?” he finally asked.

“I... I’m not sure.”

* * *

Elle’s headspun at his nearness making her unable to think straight. She’d never been touched so tenderly or intimately before. The way his eyes clouded with pain and something else she’d never seen, intrigued her and made her want to hold him close and hug his bad memories away. But she was playing with proverbial fire. When he found out who she was—

He leaned in and smelled her hair. Her skin turned into an inferno, and she couldn’t help the sigh that crawled up her throat. What was happening with her? She’d never experienced feelings for a man before, not that she’d had much opportunity. The only men she ever saw were her father’s men. Fire giants. Half giants. And any other thugs he’d managed to dominate. Not one of them had ever looked at her with either tenderness or kindness before. And none would have dared to touch her for fear of having their hands removed. And their arms. And their—

“Are you okay?”

She gave Thor a weak smile. “Yes. Thank you.”

“I want to take you somewhere.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere you want. You tell me and I’ll take you there.”

“I... I don’t know anywhere to go.”