“Not at all.” He crossed to the enormous front door, opened it, and stood back.
“I’ll go get my coat.” Lila hurried off.
Kira stomped past him with no outdoor wear or scarf. Hell, he’d never known lush lips could thin so much. Týr followed her out into the freezing weather. “Where’s your jacket?”
“I’m hot.”
“Yeah, you are,” he muttered under his breath.
Her head snapped to him, eyes flashing in suspicion.
He cast her an innocent stare.
Scowling, she went back to slaying the trees with her glower.
He shook his head wryly. It must be the drugged air from so many flowers in the castle responsible for him uttering such provocative nonsense.
Ever since he’d first met her a year ago in that dingy club downtown, in an odd way she’d brought light to the shadows that haunted him, distracting him from his nightmarish past. But he was bad news all around.
He destroyed things…people.
Hell, he should back off. But when it came to this female, she was like his very own catnip. He couldn’t stop needling her…waiting for a reaction, which her sharp tongue never failed to deliver.Fates. He had to stop this madness.
Teeth clamped, he pulled on his jacket and patted the pockets for his candies. He found the two crinkly packages and stilled, eyes narrowing.
Why was she in such a rush to leave?
She’d said work. He didn’t buy it. Not this late.
He’d heard Echo rag on her about changing boyfriends as frequently as she did her hair color. And recently, she rarely came by the castle. Until the wedding…
Another date with some worthless human loser?
“I’m ready, Warrior.” Lila reappeared, her coat on, distracting him from the churning pit in his gut. She shut the door and slid her hand to the crook of his arm, holding on tightly. Kira merely touched his other leather-clad arm with her fingertips.
Dematerializing with humans was always a risk if they suddenly let go.
But at her reluctance to touch him, Týr grit back his irritation, grasped her icy fingers and hauled her close. She stumbled into him and gasped. It sure as hell gave him a punch of satisfaction flustering her. But too late he realized the futility of his actions as his own torture surfaced and her warmth and fragrance wrapped around him like a hug. Her wary gaze met his for an infinitesimal second longer before sliding away.
Hell, she was perfect…while he was a tragedy waiting to happen.
Before thoughts hauled him into a place he could never cross, he let their molecules dissolve, transferring them to their home. As the Oracle’s granddaughter, not only was Kira totally off-limits, she was human. Forbidden.
* * *
Kira Smith utterly disliked being transported home or anywhere as a clump of molecules.Dematerializingas the Guardians called it set her teeth on edge. She really hated the sensation of nothingness.
In the foliage-concealed archway entrance of their brownstone in the Village, the three of them reformed. Kira’s woozy head made her pay for this deviation at what mortals could and couldn’t do. More, it made her all too aware ofhim—not like she could ignore him, even for an instant.
The former Norse deity drove her batshit crazy with his need to provoke her every time their paths crossed. And right now, she needed clarity.
Kira unlocked the door and ran up the wooden stairs to her cozy, green and pink bedroom. The digital bedside clock glared its time in neon red. Darn, it was almost ten.
She undressed, hauled on jeans and a sweater, then wrestled with the pins holding up the elegant updo she’d sported for the wedding. With the last pin freed, her sprayed hair tumbled down like a bird’s nest. Kira sighed.
With Gran not here, she’d have to find someone else to do her usual multiple, skinny-braid style she wore to keep her curly locks tamed. But the dark auburn color appeared dull and lifeless. Ugh.
Out of habit, she touched her hair, willing it to a brighter, reddish-brown tone, and the new shade swept through her strands in a glimmer. It was a good thing she didn’t have to waste dollars on tinting her own anemic mane. But really, why couldn’t she have a more credible ability like tracking missing kids?
