ELSKER: THE ELSKER SAGA *complete*

CHAPTER TEN

Chapter Ten 

BY MORNING, MY OVERWORKED brain was moving like a herd of turtles. Ardis had helped me through my hysteria, but I was still coming up with every possible reason this relationship was doomed. I was too beat to indulge in a freak-out. Mormor always said there was no point in borrowing trouble. Besides, Ull kept me too busy to worry by showing me around Bibury.

“I think I need new rainboots.” I padded into the library in a fresh pair of socks. My first pair got soaked in the downpour that ended our walk.

“You think?” Ull held up a blanket and patted the couch next to him. I settled into the spot.

“Nice fire.” I was impressed. He’d set it up and made two cups of tea in the time it had taken me to change.

“I am God of Winter. I should be good for something.”

“Glad to know you’re not slacking just because you’re on vacation.”

“Oh Kristia, I am never on vacation. Odin can summon me at any time. Though I do consider it my duty to protect you from the elements raging outside.” He pulled my legs across his lap, and gently massaged my thigh. My breath caught as I fought the impulse to pull him down on the couch. Something told me the God of Self Restraint wouldn’t appreciate my hormones as much as I hoped he would.

“Well protect away, Your Holiness.” My wisecrack was drowned by a clap of thunder. “Is that your family calling?”

“Funny, Kristia.”

“I thought so.” Laughing was easier than thinking about how absurd our situation actually was. The cutest guy on campus moonlighted as a fierce Asgardian warrior. Not exactly the hobby I’d imagined my first serious boyfriend would have.

“Can I ask you more questions?” I rested my head on his shoulder and watched the rain pelt the window.

“Ask away.”

“You’re a lot older than me, aren’t you?”

Ull shifted beneath me. His silence spoke volumes.

“That’s a yes.”

“Does that make you uncomfortable, Kristia?”

“Does it make you uncomfortable?” The best defense was always an offense.

“It does,” he admitted. “You have been alive less than two decades. I have been alive… considerably longer. It is hard not to feel untoward when I think about my intentions for you.”

“Untoward?” I covered my mouth.

“Stop laughing.” The tops of his ears turned pink.

“I’m sorry. It’s just sometimes the way you talk is so…” Old? Antiquated? Out of date? “Proper,” I finished. “My grandmother would have found you charming.”

“Your grandmother would have found me inappropriate. It is not right for a man my age to want to do the kinds of things I plan to do to an eighteen-year-old.”

Now it was my turn to blush.

“Does it bother you that I’m younger than you?” I bit my lip.

“It is not going to stop me from pursuing you, if that is what you are asking.”

“Fair enough. Can I ask something else?” My fingers traced the lines of his chest as I settled my head back on his shoulder.

“Shoot.”

“How did you end up God of Winter?” It seemed like a softball question. But when Ull froze, I realized I’d touched on a nerve. I made myself very interested in my fingernails. “Sorry, that was personal. It’s none of my business.”