She sprang backward with a strangled cry, arms windmilling as she tried to catch her balance. Thetruebiggest badass on the train clasped her upper arm with one massive hand, and she suddenly realized what had sent her harasser running. The man steadying her might just be the biggest human she’d ever seen up close, all muscled and scowly and towering over her by at least a foot. Her pulse fluttered like a hummingbird at the base of her throat as she considered all the ways his strength and size were superior to hers— nothing at all like the diminutive man who’d just bolted. And this time she trulywason her own. Her earlier alarm came roaring back even more acutely than before, and just as she was about to catapult into panic mode, the big stranger released her and backed away, raising his hands in the universal gesture of “no harm intended.”
She grabbed the back of the closest seat as the train jolted back into motion, relieved to be able to breathe again now that he’d put a few feet between them. “W-where the hell did you come from?” Her voice held none of its earlier fire, and the brute took another step in the opposite direction, his broad shoulders shifting as he jerked a thumb toward the door she’d had her back to.
“Since when does this train make a stop in Asgard?” Now that she didn’t seem to be in imminent danger, her smartass streak was reasserting itself. But he merely looked back at her blankly, so she tried again. “Asgard? Where Thor lives? Just saying, what with you all…”
“With me all…?”
Her cheeks burned at the amused rumble of his voice, but it didn’t stop her from waving a hand down the length of his six-foot-plus frame, all buff and Hemsworth-y. “Just… you know.” He even had his dark blond hair pulled back into a bun, for God’s sake. But instead of nodding or smiling or playing along in any way, his gaze remained flat and steady.
“Gah, never mind.” She whirled away with a huff and reclaimed her seat, her heart thrumming for an entirely different reason now, while her unwanted rescuer dropped onto the bench running lengthwise down the train. Without a second glance her way, he plugged in a set of earbuds, leaned against the window, and closed his eyes, apparently done with the conversation.
She wasn’t though. Her pleasure at helping the frightened woman had curdled, and it was this guy’s fault. This guy and Harasser McGee and, what the hell, her mother too, while she was assigning blame. If Pamela had just sent a reply text, Josie might not have gone looking for a fight.
Who was she kidding? She wasstilllooking for a fight.
“I was fine, by the way,” she called to the god of thunder. “I washandling it.”
His only response was to crack open one eye, shrug, and link his fingers over his battered moto jacket.
“Well?” she demanded. De-escalation was apparently not an option for her tonight, even with a man as big as he was.
The guy pulled one of the earbuds from his ear with a sharp tug and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, clearly indicatingWell, what?When she continued to glower, he heaved a sigh. “Sorry.”
“For?”
He gave her an opaque look. “For whatever’s got you so angry.”
She shut her mouth so hard her teeth clicked together. “Well, that’s a terrible apology. You’re just putting the burden on the injured party. Care to try again?” She crossed her arms over her chest, but he merely blinked and returned to his precious earbuds, leaving her to fume unnoticed.
Before long though, the aloof chill he radiated from six feet away wrapped its tendrils around her and poked a hole in her fight! instinct. As the buzzing in her head quieted, regret trickled in, like usual. Had she been too harsh with the huge, hot guy? He’d presumably thought she was in trouble and stepped in to help, and she’d yelled at him for it. It wasn’t his fault that she’d been startled by his size and angry that she’d needed rescuing.
Dammit.Shewas the one who needed to apologize.
She peeked at him under the pretense of checking her phone. His eyes were peacefully closed, as if their interaction never happened. Still, guilt swelled in her chest until she called, “I’m sorry” over the seat in front of her.
His lips quirked even though his eyes stayed shut and his earbuds remained in place. “Why? Aren’t you the injured party?”
Yeah, she deserved that. She stood and trudged toward him, her pinched toes crying for mercy after a long day in her tallest heels. “Okay, so I’m notinjured, per se. But I—”
“—could’ve handled it. I heard.” His eyes snapped open. “I believe you.”
He tugged his earbuds out again as his bright blue gaze traveled from the top of her head down to her shoes. She puffed out her chest, conveying as much toughness as possible in her Brooks Brothers business suit.
“You’re goddamn right,” she insisted. “I haveskills. I know self-defense.”
He twitched those full lips again. “Sure. You could probably teach Lady Sif a thing or two.”
His reference to the Asgardian warrior pulled a surprised laugh from her. “Youdidget the reference.”
That earned her another nonverbal response along the lines ofWell, obviously.She shook her head and had started to pivot away when the rough velvet of his voice stopped her.
“I’m curious.”
She turned back to find his head cocked in her direction.
“Your self-defense style. Is it mostly shin-kicking and yelling ‘fuck you’ from a distance?”
Heat coursed through her as his gaze moved across her face, both from her anger at his suggestion and her awareness of how well he wore that smirk on his lips. She was so caught off guard by her reaction that for once she couldn’t find the words for a comeback.
