by penny watson
Hie and Loki laughed. They both saluted him. “Aye, aye, captain. Let’s get going. If we hurry, maybe you can fit in a quick date with Lys.” Ingo’s friends roared with laughter as they climbed back into his sleigh and headed toward the Bibliothek Magik.
“I love hole-in-the-wall joints like this.” Oskar had stumbled onto the Vietnamese restaurant not far from Brockman’s Books. Café Pho was shaped like a bowling alley, long and narrow with vinyl booths liberally decorated with duct tape. A multitude of multi-colored parasols dangled from the ceiling with bare light bulbs, and cracked photographs hung crookedly on the walls. Families crammed into the booths, enjoying a New Year’s dinner, chattering away in Vietnamese and various other languages. It was warm and steamy inside the cramped restaurant, smelling like lemongrass and chicken broth.
He was thrilled Kiana had broken down and agreed to hang out. At some point during story hour, she finally relaxed and melted into his side, as enraptured as the kids with his “make believe” tale about the elves in Glasdorf. He’d been hyper aware of every place her long legs touched his and the delicious floral scent of her skin. It reminded him of lush tropical flowers. Then she’d tried to escape. Again. She was desperately fighting her attraction for him, but he was confident he could earn her trust.
He wasn’t entirely sure why that was so important to him, but it was. He enjoyed their verbal sparring, her quick wit, her fluster when he got too close. Oskar wondered what it would take to break her out of her shell. He wanted to see that joyous smile erupt on her face like it had in his dream. He’d enjoyed watching her with the kids. It was the first time she’d been so carefree and lighthearted, the opposite of her buttoned-up facade at Gregor’s party.
The waitress placed a steaming bowl of pho in front of Kiana. “Anything else?” she asked in heavily accented English. She stared at the assortment of dishes in front of Oskar and shook her head.
“I think this is good. For now,” he said.
The waitress clucked and walked back to the kitchen.
Oskar glanced up at Kiana. “All you want is some soup? Really? I’m starved.”
She laughed and swirled a spoon in her bowl. “I guess storytelling must work up an appetite. I thought we were just getting coffee.”
“Sure. Coffee. Loc lac. Bun tom. Spring rolls. Whatever you want.”
“This is fine, thanks,” Kiana answered.
He grabbed a spring roll. “I had a great time at Brockman’s. You’re really lucky to volunteer there.”
“I know,” she agreed. “It’s my favorite place in the city.” She smiled at him as he heaped loc lac onto his plate. “You’re a natural with the kids. How did you come up with that amazing story? You had me believing every word.”
He shrugged. “I guess it stems from a love of reading, especially fantasy and sci-fi.”
“Well, the kids absolutely loved it. I can’t believe you turned into a rock star in barely an hour. Mr. Brockman would probably love to hire you full time.”
“He is a real character, isn’t he? And just a bit protective of you. He practically bit my head off when I told him I was interested in asking you out.”
“Really?” she said, surprised. “What did he say?”
“That he was the closest thing you had to a father. I thought your parents lived in Hawaii.”
Kiana stiffened instantly. Her eyes swept down to the tabletop. “They do. But I haven’t seen them in a long time. Mr. Brockman knows that. He is a very sweet old man.” Her voice was so quiet he barely heard her response.
“Hey, sorry to pry.” Oskar frowned, noticing her white knuckles gripping the edge of the table. She was obviously not comfortable talking about her family. “I think it’s great Old Man Brock is looking out for you. He is a little kooky, with his ‘aura speak’ and all, but I can tell he’s a good guy.” He wished he could wipe the wistful look off her face.
“He is, truly. Sorry if he gave you a hard time.”
“I don’t mind. Believe me, after dealing with four older brothers, I can handle just about anything.” He was relieved when she nodded in agreement and released the death grip on the table.
What the hell happened to you in Hawaii, Moon Goddess?
Kiana sipped her soup. “You know, you never told me what you do with the family business. I know all of your brothers are involved with Klaus Enterprises, but I was wondering if you help out, too.”
Oskar sighed. Here we go. “Yep, I help out, too. In my own special way.”
Kiana laughed. “You should see your expression. You don’t look too thrilled. What exactly do you do?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, I’m sort of Director of El… uh, Human Resources.”
She blinked. “You’re kidding, right?”
He drummed his fingers on the table. “Nope, that’s me. Mr. HR guy.”
Kiana giggled, then covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry for laughing, Oskar. It’s just… you don’t exactly look like a human resources director.”
“Really? You don’t say. Yeah, Nicholas is a master pastry chef. Sven is an incredible artist. Wolfgang helps needy children all over the world, and Gregor turns everything he touches into gold. And I take care of our hooligan employees.” He rubbed his forehead and winced. “Sorry, I’m whining. I hate whiners.”
“Come on. Your employees can’t be that bad.”
He barked out a laugh. “You have no idea. Seriously.”
“There must be something good about it. Anything?” Kiana asked hopefully.
“Actually, the best part of my job is organizing the employee parties. Especially the kid activities. This past Christmas we had a carnival for the families, and the kidlets were really jazzed about the whole thing.”
“That sounds fun. I love the parties at Brockman’s, too.”
“Yeah, I could tell you were having fun with the bambinos. I guess you have some experience dealing with an unruly bunch, too. The kids at Brockman’s got pretty riled up.”
“I thought you were great with the children. You managed to get them calmed down and focused for story hour, something I can’t always do. I think you’re a natural,” Kiana said with a smile.
He raised a brow. “Yeah, well, I guess my on-the-job-training as HR guy paid off. My employees make the kids at Brockman’s look like Tibetan monks.”
She laughed, and then her expression grew thoughtful. “I’ll bet your family is really appreciative of what you do. It might not be as glamorous as Gregor’s position, but it sounds like it’s just as important for the success of Klaus Enterprises. Honestly, you probably have the most difficult job of all your brothers, dealing with tough employees and making sure things go smoothly.”
Oskar nodded. “It’s not that I’m jealous of my brothers’ success. Far from it. They work their butts off and deserve all the credit they get.” He hesitated, searching for the right words. “It’s just… I guess I’ve been thinking about what I do lately. My dad’s getting ready to retire soon and one of us is supposed to step up. It’s a big tradition in our family, the ‘passing of the torch’ from the current… uh… CEO to his son. It’s called the Überholen.”
“Wow. That sounds like a huge responsibility,” Kiana said.
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure the HR guy will be in the running for CEO of the company. Not that I necessarily want his job, believe me.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I’ll be getting a bad comb-over and a Porsche to go with my mid-life crisis soon.”
Kiana laughed. “Hey, it’s that time in our lives. We start reassessing things and wondering how we stack up. I think you should be really proud of what you do. It sounds to me like you’re a vital part of your family’s business. Think about it this way… what would happen if you didn’t do your job?”
He paused for a moment, imagining the outcome. “Mayhem. Madness. Chaos.” He laughed. “Just the thought of those… uh, buggers running around off-leash would send Klaus Enterprises into a tail spin.”
“Well, I know who to hire for my head cheerleader when the mid-life crisis flares up. Thanks for the pep talk.” He enjoyed watching her blush. “How exactly did you end up in library science? You work at the New York Public Library, right?”
She nodded, a shy smile on her face. “I guess it grew out of my love for books. When I was little I was obsessed with reading. Anything I could get my hands on. Being a librarian seemed like the obvious choice since it was more or less my second home.”
“So, you were one of those brainiac kids, huh? I thought everyone in Hawaii was into surfing and hanging out.”
Kiana instantly clammed up. “I guess so,” she mumbled into her soup bowl.
Oskar was aware of her reluctance to discuss her past, but he couldn’t help his curiosity. He wanted to find out if that vision in his dream was real. “Well, you couldn’t have spent all of your time reading in Hawaii. Did you learn to surf? Everyone on the island picks up a board at some point, right?”
Her face flushed and she refused to meet his eyes. “A bit.”
“A bit? I know a lot of kids there are learning to surf when they’re practically toddlers.”
She rolled her eyes and nodded. “Uh huh. That’s true. It’s pretty much the beach bum culture at its finest.”
He heard the bitterness in her voice. But she didn’t look bitter in his dream. In fact, she looked incredible… sexy… exuberant as she rode the waves.
“Have you ever tried snowboarding?” he asked. Most of his surfer friends were avid snowboarders, too.
She glanced up at him. “Actually, no. I know you love it, especially the jumps. You’re crazy to take risks like that.”
He frowned. “How do you know I like the risky jumps?”
Kiana’s face froze and she turned white. “Um, I guess Gregor must have told me.” She swallowed and looked down into her soup bowl. “I would love to try it sometime. Maybe you could give me a lesson?” she asked tentatively.
“It’s a date. I’ll bet you’d pick it up in no time.” Oskar loved the idea of snowboarding with Kiana. He wished he could take her home to Glasdorf. They would have a blast.
Before he could pin her down for a date, she reached across the table and gently touched his forearm. “Your tattoos are really unusual. Are they some sort of special snowboarding symbols?”
Oskar caught his breath. Her touch was electrifying. He stared at her fingers making circles on his arm and he craved more… more of her touch on his skin, all over his body. Those soft, sweet fingertips exploring his tattoos. Especially the ones on his chest… down his back… everywhere.
“Oskar?” Kiana’s fingers stilled.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, not exactly. Um… they’re just designs that appealed to me at the tattoo parlor.” No need to tell her the tattoo parlor was filled with drunken elves, and that many of the designs were elfin warding symbols. He loved the fierce patterns and striking color combinations.
“They look like snowflakes, especially the bands. Like a string of snowflakes.”
He stretched his arm closer to her, hoping she would continue her exploration. “Yeah, you’re right about the bands. Have you heard of Snowflake Bentley? The snowflakes are fashioned after his early photographs.”
Kiana nodded and smiled. “Yes! That is so cool.”
He opened his palm to her and held his breath. Her fingers slid down to his, and he squeezed them, holding on tightly. Her soft, delicate hand felt fantastic. I’ve got you now.
“So, how about you? Got any tattoos?” He wagged his eyebrows, waiting to see if she’d admit to the mermaid.
Kiana’s face flamed. “Do I look like I have tattoos?”
Way to avoid the question, Moon Goddess.
“Well, you never know. I’ll bet a lot of librarians have hidden tats of books or something.”
She giggled and squeezed his hand.
God, this feels so good. I can’t wait for my good night kiss…
The waitress interrupted his thoughts. “Excuse me, young man. We close now.”
“What?” Oskar protested, as the old woman whisked all the dishes from the table and plopped them on her tray. “I’m still eating!”
“Yes, well, we have New Year’s hours today. Close early. Too bad,” the waitress answered with pursed lips.
Oskar shook his head in frustration as Kiana laughed.
“Damn, sorry about that. I thought we’d have more time to hang out.” His plans were unraveling.
“That’s okay. I should probably get home soon anyway. I promised Trish we’d catch a movie tonight.”
“Well, what are you doing tomorrow?”
She looked at him in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. Let’s go ice-skating at Rockefeller Center. Isn’t that what New Yorkers do in the winter time?”
Kiana smiled and Oskar felt a kernel of hope start to germinate.
“I don’t know, Oskar. I’ll have to think about it.”
Oskar was not deterred. After the waitress shuffled them out of the restaurant, he pestered her about the date. He suggested museum trips, a Broadway show, even a bar crawl. At some point during their walk he’d grabbed her hand and refused to let go. Slowly, she began thawing with each step closer to home, opening like a spring blossom. It was great to see her relaxed and smiling. Every time she laughed at one of his jokes, he felt ridiculously pleased.
They finally arrived at her building and took the elevator up to her floor.
“Look, you might as well give in and say yes. Otherwise, I’m going to camp out in front of your apartment until you agree.”
They stopped in front of her door and she turned to him, her gaze growing uncertain. “Honestly, I don’t know why you’re harassing me. You had your pick of gorgeous supermodels at Gregor’s party.”
“Yeah, well, the supermodel crowd isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It gets boring talking about shopping and fashion.”
“That wasn’t very nice,” she said, shaking her head in mock disapproval. “What could possibly be bad about a throng of beautiful women hanging on your every word?”
He grinned and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Well, you’re a gorgeous woman, and I’d rather have you hanging on my every word.”
Kiana laughed and shook her head. “Uh huh. Sure.”
Oskar placed his hands on the door behind her head. “It’s true. The models see my tats and hair and expect me to act a certain way. Sometimes I just wanna talk about…” he paused and took a step closer, trapping Kiana within his arms. “Andy Warhol. You know?”
She swallowed and stared at his lips.
He took another step forward.
“Kiana.”
“Uh huh?”
“Say yes, Moon Goddess. I don’t really care what we do tomorrow. As long as you agree to see me again.”
He pressed gently against her body until she was pinned to the door. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. One hand slowly reached down to rest on her hip, anchoring her to him. The other pulled another pair of useless glasses from her face.
Kiana blinked her gorgeous aquamarine eyes at him. “This is a really stupid idea,” she whispered as he lowered his head to her neck, inhaling deeply.
He heard the waves first, then the ukulele music again. He ignored it as his lips dragged across her skin. “Why is it a stupid idea? I personally think it’s a great idea.” His mouth worked its way to one perfect earlobe and bit gently. Her entire body trembled against him.
“My life is nice and orderly and I really don’t have any room for… for this… uncertainty.”
He noticed her eyes were
closed as she spoke. Silently he willed her to look at him, but she kept her eyes tightly shut. “Life is full of uncertainty. Some things are worth the risk.” He sucked on her lower lip until she groaned.
“But some things aren’t,” she responded breathlessly. Her eyes were still closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tighter against her smaller frame.
She was lapping at his top lip like a kitten, and he felt his knees go weak. The roar of the surf filled his ears. He dropped her glasses to the ground and cupped her face in his hands. They were both breathing hard as he devoured her soft lips over and over again. He was vaguely aware of his hips rocking against her, desperate to get beneath the thick layers of coats and sweaters. Kiana’s fingers tunneled into his hair and stroked his scalp. It felt incredible.
His mouth wandered along her jaw, down her neck, licking and nibbling her fragrant skin. He sucked hard enough to leave a love bite. He wanted to brand her, to mark her, devour her on the spot.
She moaned in approval and tilted her head back, exposing her neck to his teeth. Kiana grabbed onto his hair and pulled hard, demanding more.
Oskar smiled to himself as his hands slid down her back and cupped her sexy ass, squeezing and pushing her against his arousal. If she was shocked, she didn’t show it. Instead, she arched against his larger frame, gasping for breath. He could feel the tremors coursing through her body.
When her delicate hands began to stroke his chest, he growled in satisfaction. He loved the feel of her hands on him, the delicious scent of her skin mixed with the fragrance of salt and sea. If only she would open her eyes and look at him, admit her growing passion was real. The scent of tropical blooms was almost overpowering…
His phone rang, and Kiana’s eyes snapped open. He cursed the interruption and the awful self-awareness in her eyes.
She took a deep breath and pushed against his chest. “Oh my God. What am I doing?” There was clearly panic on her face.
His phone rang again, and he realized it was the emergency ring tone. No, not now!