locked with Thor’s. Not even when one of the women touched his crotch, did he break eye contact with me. As they danced around him in their naked beauty, licking his nipple, and rubbing their breasts against his side, he challenged me, “If you want me, come claim me.”
“He’s ours,” the women repeated in sync.
“No, he’s mine!” The minute I spoke the words, the sirens evaporated like clouds of dust. Thor was standing alone now, still watching me. As soon as I took the first step toward him, I realized that I was as naked as him.
“Put it down,” he said.
Confused, I looked to my hands and saw a sharp knife.
“You don’t need it.”
For a moment we stood gazing into each other’s eyes. For once his expression was soft and relaxed.
“I know you carry it to protect yourself, but you wouldn’t be able to stab me anyway. You’re too kind to hurt others. That’s one of the things I love about you.”
Raising my hand, I studied the knife, wondering where it had come from.
“It’s time for us to lay down our weapons. I already did.” His gaze fell to a small pile of knives on the floor that hadn’t been there before. “You can trust me.” Stepping closer he held out his palm. “Give me your knife.”
CHAPTER 22
Proof of Bravery
Thor
Despite a three-hour-long flight, I still didn’t have a grand plan of how to persuade Linea to marry me.
I wondered how her family would react to me showing up unannounced close to nine at night. At least it was summer and still light with the sun slowly setting.
The minute Mason’s drone landed, I ran to the windmill and knocked on the door.
My frustration when no one answered made me bang my fist against the wood, but there was still no sign of life.
“Fuck!” I could see Finn’s drone outside and figured they couldn’t have gone far. Maybe someone was in the bathroom.
Then I remembered that this was the Motherlands. Testing the door handle, I was surprised to find the door locked.
Backing up, I shouted, “Is anyone home?”
There was still no answer.
I hadn’t flown three hours to give up. Looking through the downstairs windows revealed that the kitchen and living room were empty, but as I looked up the tall windmill, I saw a window wide open on the top floor.
I wasn’t sure if that was still Linea’s room, but my desperation to talk to her made me look at the sidings, wondering if I should climb the mill.
My experience with climbing vertical walls would make this doable, but it would be risky without safety equipment.
With my hands on my hips and my neck leaned back, I planned the way up in my head while calculating the risks versus the rewards.
If I climbed to her window, surely Linea would see how much she meant to me. It was unlikely that she was in her room, but I could wait for her. I imagined myself sitting in her windowsill as she came home from wherever she had gone. She would be surprised and impressed that I’d risked my life to get to her room.
She’ll probably think you’re an idiot for not waiting by the front door.
I ignored my negative thoughts and ran back to Mason’s drone to search for any sort of equipment that might help me. I was relieved to find a pouch of chalk and a helmet.
Before I began my climb, I took off my shoes and swung my arms to get the blood flowing. Then I applied the chalk to avoid moist hands. Pumped with adrenaline, I reached up on my toes and used my fingertips to get a hold on the top of the brick while taking my feet off the ground and against the wall. Slowly I lifted my right knee to my chest and found an opening for my toes to get a grip. A thrilling sensation filled me as I lifted myself up the wall. I had climbed since I was too young to remember, but always for sports or fun. This time, getting to the top mattered and there was no safety equipment to catch me if I fell.
One step at a time, I moved up the five-story mill, passing windows on each level until I made it to the one that was open.
Grasping onto the windowsill, I hoisted myself up and felt my legs shiver a little bit. Looking down from this height, my feat seemed heroic.
Pulling myself through the opening, I slid down