Odin kissed her.
Chapter Four
Odin’s mouth was against hers. His lips were warm and firm and his hands had curled around her hips as he brought her closer to him. Maisey’s heart pounded so loudly in her ears that she couldn’t hear anything but the mad drumming. Her lips were slightly parted, and her tongue slipped forward to tease Odin as—
What in the hell am I doing?
Her body jolted. She tried to jerk back, but even though Odin’s mouth lifted from hers, he didn’t let her go.
“Not yet.” His voice was barely a breath.
Not yet? Why not—
Then she heard the slam.
“Now,” he said. Again, his voice was still low. “He got the key and left.”
He’d left? But they’d only been kissing for a few seconds and— “This is one hell of a place for a first kiss.”
“Sorry.” A rasp. “You talk when you’re nervous, so I was trying to help settle you down.”
Settle her down? “Excuse me?”
“That was…not the right thing to say.” Another rasp. “We should get out of here. Before your neighbor decides to come back again for shits and giggles.”
His hold fell away. She shivered. Odin had been warm. Wonderfully warm. And now she felt a chill even as he inched open the closet door.
“He realized he was missing his key. Came racing back for it. I’d deliberately dropped it on the floor, just in case that was the reason why he was charging back.”
She latched onto his arm, stopping him before Odin could leave the closet. “How do you know that was why he came back?”
“Because he came in the bedroom cursing about the key.”
He had? Maisey didn’t admit to not hearing that part. Telling Odin that she’d been so stunned by his kiss that she hadn’t heard anything but the frantic beating of her own heart wouldn’t come off as all cool and collected.
Then again, she’d never, ever been the cool and collected type.
Odin, obviously, was. Ice cold. The kiss had been nothing for him. Only a way for him to settle her down.
“Are you all right?” he asked quietly.
Dandy. “Why?” she choked out.
“Because you just growled.”
She barely stopped herself from growling again. Settle down, her ass. She’d show him some settling down—once they were out of Clay’s place. The search had been a bust, and the sooner they got out of there, the better.
***
Maisey didn’t speak as they made their way back to her house. Odin checked, but there was no sign of Clay or his red Mustang. The road was dead quiet.
Once they were inside her home, he figured she’d head for her bedroom. Maybe crash. He’d go back to his uncomfortable position on the floor. Stare up at the ceiling. Think about her mouth.
“You could try saying…‘Be quiet.’”
He’d just secured her door. Odin turned around, pressed his back against the wood, and studied her.
“You could have put a finger to my lips. That’s like, a universal signal for being quiet. And, yes, I talk when I’m nervous. That’s why I am talking like crazy right now.” She huffed out a breath. “You don’t settle someone down by putting your mouth on said person. You don’t—”
“I lied.”
She took a fast step toward him. “You did what?”
“I could have handled it better. Should have. If you want the full truth, I actually thought Clay was going to bust into the closet and catch us.”
“Wait…what?” Another fast step.
“And if he came in and found us making out, I thought it would catch him off guard. Confuse the hell out of him. Whatever. You don’t expect intruders to stop for a make-out session.”
“No, you don’t.” Maisey shook her head. “What is happening right now?”
He was trying to explain the situation to her. Wasn’t that what she wanted? “While he was caught off-guard, I would have attacked.”
“That was your strategy?” Once more, she shook her head. “It sucks. Terrible strategy.”
A shrug. “I’ll remember that for next time.”
But her eyes narrowed on him. Her delicate nostrils flared. And she stalked toward him. “Liar.”
Hadn’t he just admitted—
Her hand lifted, and her index finger jabbed him in the chest. “You kissed me…because you wanted to kiss me.”
He didn’t remember denying that point. He’d wondered how she’d taste ever since they first met.
“You acted on instinct. I was talking. You were thinking about my mouth. Then bam, you kissed me. And it didn’t settle down either one of us.”
She’d flipped on the lights as soon as they’d entered her place, so Odin could see her features perfectly.
She waited. Lifted a brow.
Was he supposed to say something? There hadn’t been a question in her words. With his track record, keeping silent was probably the best course of action.
“Are you denying it?” Maisey demanded.
Ah, now there was a question. His lips parted.
“Or are you going to act like you don’t feel this attraction between us?” Then she seemed to hold her breath.
Her gaze darted down to her poking finger. Her eyes flared as she yanked the finger back.
But he caught her hand. Closed his fingers around hers. “I deny nothing.”
Her stare slowly rose until her incredible gaze was on his.
“I want you.” Maybe it would be better to just get it out in the open. So he didn’t hold back. He let the words tumble forth. Screw it. He held back with everyone else. Always watched his words as carefully as he could, but with her…
Maybe he’d try something new. Maybe she’d run from him as fast as she could. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t.
“I wanted you from the first moment I saw you in my office. You were standing in the doorway, one hand pressed to the frame. And I thought you were the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen.”
Her tongue swiped across her lower lip.
“You wanted to hire me as your PI. I wanted to get you naked.”
A swift inhale. “Is that why you took the case? Because you want to…have sex with me?”
“I took the case because you need help. Because when we got to your place, someone had broken in. Me wanting you—that’s something I have to deal with. I can keep my control. Don’t worry about that.” He’d learned early in life how important—how necessary—control could be. When you were bigger than everyone else, stronger, when one punch from you could send an enemy—or a friend—staggering to the ground, you learned that you didn’t get to be wild. That acting on impulse wasn’t for you.
His life was ordered. Regimented. That was how he made sure no one ever got hurt. That he didn’t hurt anyone.
“You can keep your control. That’s just wonderful to know.” She shivered.
Odin realized that he was stroking the delicate skin along her inner wrist. He stopped. Let her hand go. For a moment, her hand just lingered in the air, then Maisey slowly lowered it back to her side.
“I did kiss you because I was trying to come up with a distraction—both in case Clay entered the closet and because you were…stressed.” He’d wanted her focus on something other than her fear. “I shouldn’t have done it. Next time, I’ll try something else.” He hoped that reassured her. “You can get some sleep.” His voice turned gruff. “No one will come inside tonight. And I’ll get the new security upgrades started ASAP.” There were some folks in the area who owed him favors. He’d call in those favors.