Loki's Luck

Chapter 3

3

Jean shorts and T-shirt kinda girl, huh? The image made him swallow hard. Yeah, he’d love to see her in cut-off jean shorts showcasing her thighs and a tight shirt stretched over her full rack. Standing with his fists on his hips, Loki frowned down at the slip of a girl, sitting on the edge of her seat, thighs pressed together. Because…she was young. Her wide, innocent eyes alone broadcast her inexperience. Innocence wasn’t the only thing swimming in those remarkable, copper-colored eyes of hers. Blatant desire spun in them, as well. That was a powerful combination. He practically reeled back on his heels.

She looked close to passing out. An intense craving to sweep her onto his lap and cradle her in his arms seized him. Sage had to shove him out of the way because he didn’t want to break the charge of energy volleying between them. Those large puppy-dog eyes of hers flashed up at him as if he were a god or a gentle giant. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was zero softness left in him.

His gaze glided over her sweet little body. Pixie girl. Nice curves. A pouty bottom lip that teased the f**k out of him. Sexiness, he could handle. But f**k-me eyes like hers, shimmering with guilelessness, and his heart stuttered in his chest. If he closed his eyes, he could taste her brand of innocence. He’d guess it tasted like sunshine, wrapped in honey, dipped in f*****g sugar crystals. f**k his life. His c**k was coming to life. In public, no less. He couldn’t remember the last time that happened. He was a former solider and now a biker. If he dared to touch a bright-eyed fairy like her, he’d break her to pieces. Not. Happening.

The back rooms were always hotter, and with his tendency to save money, he didn’t lower them until a couple of hours before classes started in the training rooms. He left the room to decrease the temperature on the thermostat. Marching back in, he was pleased to see that the whoosh of cool air flowing out of the vents was blowing wisps of blonde pixie hair from the crown of Abby’s head. They looked so soft, floating there. Begging for his hand to smooth them down. Or tug them. He felt an unfamiliar twitch on the edges of the severe, straight line of his lips. Almost like a smile.

Over her shoulder, Sage winced and said, “You’re scaring her with that look on your face.” Shooing at him with her hands, she snapped, “Go do something.”

“No,” pixie girl peeped up. “It’s not him.” Her voice was like honey, smooth and sweet. A slow ache settled behind his sternum as if she’d reached out and rubbed her small hand over it.

“Are you sure? He has such a bully vibe,” Sage returned, still glaring at him from her seat beside Abby. Ever since her pregnancy, Sage had been snappier. Lines creased his forehead. He couldn’t remember what he’d seen in her, at one time. The contrast between her and the sweet, tasty treat beside her couldn’t be greater.

Dragging a chair over, he sat down close to Abby and wrapped his arm around the back of her chair. He was crowding her, but he couldn’t keep his distance if he tried. She jumped, as if startled, but then leaned in ever so slightly. His c**k pulsed again. Being close to that juicy little morsel did that to him. He canted his head to the side. Her flushed face and dilated pupils told him that she was literally juicy. He wanted to run his palms up her thighs and search between her legs. Check out for himself just how wet she was.

“So,” he began, “I heard that the supervisor has issues. You work with her, right? Let’s address those first and you can take the info back to her before tonight. Then I’ll go through the lesson, step-by-step.”

Across the back of Abby’s chair, he let his hand drop, the tips of his fingers brushing against her shoulder, and he felt a jolt of electricity. Christ, she was so aware of him. He didn’t touch, much less toy with females, but something about her messed with his internal control.

His hand was slapped off, and he leaned forward to glare at Sage, sitting on the other side of Abby. His gaze was caught in the gap in Abby’s shirt, and the top swells of her t**s.

Sage harrumphed. “Loki! You’re flustering her.”

“No, he’s not!” Abby denied vehemently, her blush deepening. Fanning herself, she plucked at her dressy, ribbed cotton sweater.

It’s not just the heat, sweetheart. Normally, he ignored chicks. Yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself with this one. She was like a ray of sunshine, a drop of raw honey on the tongue. He wanted to curl up and soak up her warmth and dip his tongue in for a taste.

Sage slapped at his hand. Instinctually, he growled, “You’re not a fuckin’ guard dog.”

She inhaled sharply and her eyes began to water. Fuuuck, he’d hurt her feelings. She was sensitive as hell lately, and Kingdom would go ballistic if he found out that his woman, his pregnant woman, was upset by something he’d said. Closing his eyes, he sucked in a breath and did what he had to do.

“I didn’t mean that, Sage. Sorry,” he muttered.

Sage’s lower lip trembled slightly, but she got herself under control. Rising to her feet, she said, “I’ve got calls to make. Abby will be in all the classes with you.” Turning to Abby, she said, “I’ll wait for you outside to talk after you hammer out all the details with Loki.”

After giving Abby a quick hug and him a final glare, she left. The door clicked softly behind her, leaving them alone in his office. Alone.

“Christ,” he muttered low.

A pair of big doll eyes turned on him and a hand gently, cautiously, inched to his thigh. The muscle jumped upon contact. “It’s not your fault. It’s the hormones talking.”

Was this little pixie girl trying to comfort him? That was bold of her. There was a spine under all that softness. He almost barked out a laugh. Something niggled at him. What did Sage say before she left? Abby would be at each of his classes. She was the supervisor. Sage hadn’t specified that the supervisor was coming and when he laid eyes on the girl, with that fairy air about her, he assumed she was an assistant of some kind. Oh. Hell. f*****g. No. Just no.

※※※

“Listen, I don’t appreciate anyone supervising me like I don’t know what the hell I’m doing,” he bit out.

Abby drew in a sharp breath and retracted her hand from his rock-hard thigh. That was a quick turnaround. She craned her head back to get a better look at him. Where was this defensiveness coming from? “I’m not supervising you.”

“Aren’t you a supervisor at the Agency?”

“I am a supervisor, but my intention is not to supervise you.”

He looked at her askance. “Yeah, if that’s the truth, then don’t come tonight.”

“It is the truth, actually, and I plan to attend for my clients. They’re my priority and several of them are in vulnerable states, at the moment. One has recently started a twelve-step recovery program for d**g a***e. A few others suffer from psychological and emotional issues, including panic attacks. Practically all of them have some form of PTSD.” Loki’s large frame stiffened beside her. “It’s my duty to be present in case they need me.”

“I’ll be there. That’s enough. I’ve been a trainer for years. I can handle anything that comes up.”

Abby’s blood pressure shot up and waves of heat spread over her face. She stared at him in disbelief. How dare he? “Do you have specific experience working with this kind of population?”

“See! You’re questioning me. Someone at your agency reviewed our proposal and my résumé. There were competitors, but we won the contract in the end. Because we know what we’re doing.”

“I’m not questioning whether you know what you’re doing, having seen your résumé, but…” she paused as her eyes surveyed him from head to toe, “you’re a large man. It could potentially be intimidating.” Alex didn’t take to large men, and she was most worried about Alex. She might have conceded to Loki’s wishes if Alex wasn’t participating but she was, adamant about “getting strong.” And when Alex got on a kick, there was no stopping her.

Loki snorted through his nostrils. Glowering at him, she asked, “What was that for?”

“You’re overexaggerating. Don’t know why you’ve got to coddle these women. Whatever they’ve been through, they need to dig in deep, pull on their inner strength, and build on it”

He pushed his face close to hers until there was a hair’s breadth of space between them, the intensity of his stare scorching her to the core.

“That’s what you’re doing, you know that, right?” he spat out. “Coddling.”

She had the urge to smack the arrogance off his face because she doubted a man like him knew much about damaged women. Straightening her spine in preparation for a battle, she rejoined,

“If there is any issue, any backlash, that comes from taking your class, then who do you think will be picking up the pieces? Hmm? Answer me that.” She paused meaningfully before forging on. “Me. That’s who. Therefore, I decide how to handle it, and I’ve decided that I want to be there to take care of any situation that comes up.”

Staring into the composite of ice shards that were his pupils, she decided to double down on her stance. “If you have a problem, feel free to take it up with my supervisor. Be forewarned, as far as the well-being of my clients goes, my word is law, and I won’t take s**t from you or anyone else. However,” she swept her hand out grandiosely, “feel free to try.”

Loki’s jaws were clenched, a muscle ticked away at the bottom of the left side, but she was not budging on her decision. When it came to Celine, Alex, and Jenny, she’d fight tooth and nail. Eyes flashing with cold fury, Loki leaned back in his chair and gave a shrug.