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Odin lifted a brow, the corner of his mouth turning up in a barely contained, self-satisfied smile. “Too late,” he leaned back. “You’ve already agreed now, Huntsman.”
“That doesn’t count.”
“Oh? Are you saying you won’t?” Odin didn’t touch him, but he didn’t have to in order to maneuver him just the way he wanted. He pressed forward, forcing Hunter back until his head was resting against the headboard. “Don’t forget that I’m still angry with you, Little Whisper. Even if it was to follow your long lost sister, you walked out of Club Cherry on your own two feet.” He clicked his tongue. “You disobeyed. There should be a punishment.”
“I think I’ve been punished enough.” He hadn’t meant to spoil the mood, but the words were out before he could stop them.
Odin’s eyes lost their fight and he dropped his forehead against Hunter’s lightly, letting out a pained sound that rocked Hunter to the core. “Huntsman. Please. I need this. I need you.”
He meant he needed him to agree. The strain in his tone said everything he couldn’t with words, and Hunter picked up on every single one of them.
Even though they were both here and they were alive, Odin was scared.
The same way Hunter had been scared when he’d woken and feared the worst.
Tentatively, he reached up and ran his fingers through Odin’s hair, both hands pulling his head back enough that their eyes could meet once more. Sure enough, the raw worry was shining back in Odin’s gaze.
“I don’t want to lose you either,” Hunter confessed. “If doing this is so important to you, then all right, I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he blew out a breath, the seriousness of the moment making him uncomfortable to the point he felt he had to break it or he’d die of mortification, “You know it’s dumb though, right? Marriage? I mean, look how well that turned out for Isabel and Ander—”
Odin silenced him with a kiss and Hunter forgot all about what he’d been trying to say or needing to distract himself. For the next few minutes, everything else faded into the background, useless and unimportant.
All there was in the whole damn universe was this, their mouths, Odin’s tongue tangling with his dominatingly, his hands holding Hunter in place, and the heat that spiraled between them, growing like a tiny inferno until they were both sweating and panting and ablaze.
Chapter 9:
He never thought there’d come a time when he’d be relieved to make it back to this room, but the second Hunter entered their bedroom in Club Cherry, it was like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.
The entire drive from the hospital he’d been anxious, checking the rearview mirrors, searching for any signs they were being followed. While he understood Isa would be a fool to attack them now, he couldn’t quell that frantic voice inside himself long enough to relax. Wren had told him he’d only been with Frost for eight hours, but in his mind, it was so much longer than that, and though the beatings hadn’t been all that creative, they’d carved into his psyche in a way that his past encounters with being beaten hadn’t.
He’d never lost sleep over the situation with Grimes men, for example, and yet now…He shivered just thinking about that cement room and Isa’s constant, unwavering stare. How it’d turned from taunting and loathing to awed and a bit manic the second he’d discovered what Hunter was.
The door clicked behind Odin and beeped as the locking mechanism was set into place, and Hunter automatically reached for his empty wrist where the bracelet should have been.
They’d managed to track it to a part of the city, but the bracelet itself had never actually been located. Odin had reassured him on the drive over not to worry about this, since he was able to cancel it remotely, meaning no one would be able to use it to access the club, but that still didn’t make Hunter feel comfortable.
“You don’t need it,” Odin said, possibly misreading his apprehension. He stepped up and wrapped his arms around Hunter’s waist, pulling him back so he firmly rested against his front. “It’s not like the bracelet did any good anyway. You still slipped out unnoticed.”
“That was Meg,” Hunter explained, even though there was no real reason for him to.
“Still, you chose to go with her.”
“Can we not do this right now?” He closed his eyes and rested his head back against Odin’s shoulder, inhaling that familiar scent deep into his lungs and letting it settle there. It calmed his nerves even more and when he exhaled it was with a contented sigh. “Later, you can scold me all you want.”
“Oh, Little Whisper,” Odin leaned down and pressed his hot mouth to the curve of his ear delicately, “I’m going to do so much more than scold you. But yes, that can wait. Come, let’s get you to bed. You’re still recovering.”
Hunter grabbed onto his wrist when he went to move away. “I’ve slept enough.”
He paused, easily catching on. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. You may feel all right now, but your injuries were severe, and according to the doctor you still need time—”
“I’m not suggesting you bend me over the nearest flat surface and fuck my brains out,” Hunter snapped, irritation blooming as the feeling of rejection reared its ugly head. He didn’t like feeling like he needed to beg for it when up until this point Odin had been the one constantly making the first move. “Forget it. If you don’t want me after all then just leave. I don’t need a chaperone to take a damn nap.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.” This time Odin was the one to catch him when he went to move for the bed, easing him back into his arms, front to front. There was so much patience in his expression and he spoke gently as if dealing with a wounded animal.
Hunter hated it.
