Now, she needed to determine what part the man sitting beside her played in her life and if the secrets he harbored would destroy any possibility for them.
CHAPTER TEN
Galvin faced his father across the wide table. His decision to confront the Thunder God face to face had not been made in haste. He’d thought about a meeting on the long ride back to the city and concluded nothing his mother or Loki said in their attempts to dissuade Thor would work. Only he, the Son of Thor, could end the games his father played with people’s lives.
Their relationship had always been one based around control. The Nordic god viewed others doing as he dictated a given right. Galvin’s earliest memories were about heated arguments with his father rigid demands.
“You dare to tell me what to do.” Thor’s red beard trembled in indignation.
“Yes, Father. I do.” Galvin held the glare directed at him by the older god. “Your boredom with life here in Asgard gives you no right to tamper with the lives of so many on Earth in your efforts to show your son who is stronger.”
Lightning flashed in Thor’s eyes. “Do you admit my powers are greater than yours?”
Ego was another thing his father did not lack, Galvin knew, but to admit Thor’s powers were greater would be a lie. Through Galvin’s blood ran not only the power of his father, but much from his grandfather, Odin, and his grandmother, Jord, the mother of all creation, thus his capacity far exceeded that of Thor on many levels.
“Father, I concede your control over weather is one of great power, but I feel when challenged as with the storm of yesterday my abilities answered.”
Thor toyed with his beard, twisting the red hairs at the tip of his chin. “You, the youngest of my sons, dare defy me? Hmmm. I have always thought you too much of your mother’s son to do this.”
A glimmer of something Galvin never saw in his father’s eyes when they set upon him replaced the lightning. For the first time in his existence, he felt his father respected him. Could the reason be in part because he managed to turn both storms Thor directed toward him yesterday?
If only this were only a matter of the Thunder God playing games with him, their dispute would be of no issue. The problem went far beyond that when Thor’s amusements jeopardized the woman he loved. Galvin knew her feelings for him were becoming stronger, and like his, not based solely on the passion they shared.
He had felt her anguish when she thought him lost to the tornado and he came to her in the culvert after battling the storm. Yes, he tried not to use his powers when in her world, but his defenses were down after the war he had just waged against Thor. Her pain came across so strong he couldn’t block her agony.
“Father, can we not call a truce? I realize you are unhappy with my decision to seek a wife in the mortal realm, but I am determined to at least make the effort. Your continued attempts to thwart me will only extend my search.”
The Thunder God played with the buckle on his belt, Megingjard, as he appeared to consider the words of his son.
“Very well.” Thor unfastened his belt and laid the wide strip of gold on the table. “I will return Megingjard to its place of safekeeping. Your mother and I only hope you come to your senses soon.”
Galvin suppressed the sigh of relief that flowed through him. He would have continued to battle his father if need be, but not having to face the constant challenges Thor threw his way would free him to focus on his quest for Isabella. The decision on when to tell her who he really was, also bore heavily on him and if he knew his love, the longer he delayed, the angrier she would be when faced with the truth.
Maybe Thor’s agreeing to stop the games does not simplify my life as much as I initially thought.
Isabella stole quick glances at Galvin throughout the day, receiving a wink and a grin when he happened to catch her eye. Man, oh man, could she have used him last night.
Once she got home and washed several inches of dirt down the shower drain, she attended to the cut on her knee, glad she didn’t have to worry about getting a tetanus shot since she hated needles. No telling what lay buried in the murky goop in the culvert.
The after effects from such an adrenalin pumping experience earlier left her horny and restless. If Galvin had showed up at her door last night, she would have jumped his bones in nothing flat.
“Isabella, my office.” Sam barely slowed down when he barked out the order on his way by her desk.
“Coming.” Isabella rolled her eyes at Sandy and flashed a grin in Galvin’s direction as she followed the station manager.
The blinds to the office window were closed and when she walked in, the ghostly form of Leif Moultar occupied one of the chairs in front of Sam’s cluttered desk. Barely managing to repress the shudder that ran through her body every time she saw the man, Isabella nodded her head in greeting and took the chair Sam indicated.
“I’ve just been telling Mr. Moultar about the exciting adventure you and your team experienced yesterday, Isabella. He’s very pleased with the coverage.” Sam rubbed his palms together.
If he’s so pleased why doesn’t he say so himself? Isabella pasted a smile on her lips when she looked at the station owner. Iceberg eyes stared back and shivers played down her spine.
Moultar bobbed his head up and down as endorsement to Sam’s statement.
Put him in the back of a car window and he’d make a great bobble head.
Isabella clamped down on the thoughts floating through her mind to stop the giggle threatening to erupt.
“Thank you, Mr. Moultar. Is there anything else I can do for you? I need to get back to filling out paperwork for the insurance company on the loss of the station’s vehicle.”
“Yes.”
Isabella waited for him to continue. The silence stretched out so long she started to ask him if he’d be more explicit.
“I think Galvin Haldor’s usefulness for the station has ended. You may terminate him.” Two bottomless orbs of non-emotion stared at her.
“What?” Anger bubbled up at the casual way Moultar dealt with employee lives and she struggled to control her temper. “Let me get this straight. You want me to terminate someone I objected to being hired in the first place.”
“Letting him go shouldn’t be a problem since you were against his hiring, then should it?” The station owner looked down and studied his long slim fingers, flexing each, one at a time.
“I won’t fire him.” This was the last straw in the games this egomaniac played with her staff. Screw the little fact that he wanted her to do exactly what she considered doing yesterday.
“Excuse me.” One of the hairs on his white-blond head may have moved he snapped his head up so fast.
“Now, Isabella, you’re the department head and unfortunately letting people go when they aren’t working out is part of your job.” Sam put in his two cents in an attempt to placate the situation.
“Yes, I’m responsible for letting people go when I don’t feel they’re doing their job, but how would Mr. Moultar know if Galvin falls into that category?”
“My knowledge of you department’s workings does not matter.” Moultar stood up and walked to the door where he paused and turned back to face Isabella. “Release Haldor.” He dropped his parting words and left without giving her the opportunity to respond.
Isabella trembled with rage and red spots danced before her eyes. She came out of her chair intent on following the man who held her career in his hands and give him a piece of her mind.
“Isabella, no.” Sam blocked her way. “No. Sit.” He pointed to the chair she’d just vacated. “Don’t give him an excuse to add you to the list.”
“His demand isn’t fair, Sam.”
“Honey, life isn’t fair.” He leaned against the edge of his desk, looking far older than his fifty years.
Pity tweaked at Isabella’s heart. Did he know about the office gossip flying around that had his wife and her co-anchor as the main stars? Looking at the tired man poised in front of her sh
e hoped not. The station manager did have a suck-up management style and maybe he was a little dull in the personality department, but overall he wasn’t a bad guy.
“Go get this over with. Tell Galvin where the command came from if you want to.” Sam waved her up and out of his office.
She took her own sweet time in getting back to the weather pod and knew her face was an open book when Sandy looked up and an alarmed expression spread across the young intern’s face.
Isabella shook her head to tell Sandy not to say anything. “Galvin, can I talk to you?”
“Sure.” Galvin leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head.
“Let’s go into the conference room.” The down side of the open pod arrangement was in a situation like this, when she needed to discuss a private issue with an employee. Locking themselves behind the closed doors of a conference room always generated rumors as to what transpired behind the glass walls. Speculation on the conversations taking place when the door shut became an office pastime and today they were probably right on.
Galvin followed her and closed the door behind him. “What’s up? From the look on your face it can’t be good.”
“I’ve been told to let you go.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I don’t think I stammered. I have to let you go.”
“Go where?”
He wasn’t going to make this easy for her and she couldn’t blame him. Joking wouldn’t have been her way of dealing with being fired though.
“Go wherever you want to go. Just not here.” The blank look on Galvin’s face told her he wasn’t joking. He didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. What turnip truck did this guy fall off of?
“Galvin, I’ve been instructed to fire you. You no longer have a job here at Channel Twelve.”
“Whose idea was it to fire me?” The dark blue eyes deepened and flashes of something that reminded her of lightening zapped in their depths. “You? This is what you have wanted to do since the first day.” He took a step toward her.
“Talk to the grand friend of your father, Leif Moultar. He says you’re no longer needed here at the station.” She’d just be damned if she would take the fall for this.
“I see.” He stopped and studied her, giving Isabella the urge to squirm.
Galvin didn’t say another word. He turned and left the office. She collapsed in a chair and fought back the threatening flood of tears. His reaction destroyed any hopes she had for them. “Breathe. Take deep breaths and you’ll be fine.”
When Isabella returned to the weather pod all signs of Galvin Haldor were gone. A stranger wouldn’t know he ever existed. Now if only her heart could be wiped as clean as the desk the man had occupied the past few weeks.
Depression weighed heavy as Isabella made her way home. The spiked designer heels that she normally thought added a little sass to her step, contained lead tonight. Putting one foot in front of the other to make the trip from her subway stop took major effort.
“Good evening, Ms Girardi,” the new doorman tipped his hat when he held the door.
Isabella struggled to muster a smile, but didn’t attempt to recall his name. That took too much effort.
Behind the locked doors of her condo, she collapsed on the couch, the pain acute to the point breathing took effort. She’d had her fair share of relationships through the years and the end of a couple left her sad, but this ache was ridiculous. Open heart surgery couldn’t hurt as much.
The door chimes sounded out the annoying strands of Are You Lonesome Tonight and irritating as it was, the effort to go to the door didn’t exist. “Go away,” she mumbled at the insistent sound.
The ringing changed to pounding as the determined intruder on her privacy now hammered on her door. In frustration she stomped over and peered through the peep hole. Whoever was making the attempt to crash her pity party stood out of her line of vision. She needed to do something about the arrangement of the security feature since this happen too frequently.
“What do you want?” She didn’t try to hide her irritation.
“Izzy, open up. We need to talk.”
“Galvin? Galvin, wait a minute.” Her hands trembled in her attempt to unlock the barrier that kept them apart. The bolt finally released and she flung open the door.
Galvin didn’t wait for an invitation to come in. He pulled her into his arms as he stepped into the apartment and pushed the door closed with his foot. His mouth claimed hers and her pulse beat erratically when his hands moved over her body in slow sensuous movements.
“I thought you were gone,” she sobbed.
“Never. I needed to think and knew it best if I sorted things out before we talked.”
“Are you still angry with me?”
“I was never angry with you. I admit to being upset when you told me to clear out my desk, but my anger wasn’t toward you.” He nibbled her bottom lip. “Do you realize you always chew on your bottom lip when something is bothering you?”
“No,” she buried her head in his shoulder, embarrassed her traits were so obvious to others.
Galvin laughed and claimed her lips again and slid his tongue into her mouth. He tasted of citrus and sunshine, igniting the banked fire inside her.
“I came over to talk with you.” He pulled away and took her hand, leading her to the couch.
“Not now. Save the talk for later. Save whatever you want to tell me for the pillow talk we women crave after a wild session of love making.” She turned and pressed her body against his.
His strong hands on her shoulders pushed her back. “Are you sure?”
“More than sure.” Their gazes connected and she wanted to drown in the stormy, dark blue pools of his eyes.
A mutual reaching for each other had them entwined on the sofa. Isabella paused only long enough to toss the pillows along the back out of their way to create more room.
Clothing became a nuisance. She rolled off the couch and began to tear the offending garments from her body. A glance in Galvin’s direction told her he was of the same mind as his clothes flew in various directions around the room.
Maybe they needed to slow down a bit here. Their prior two couplings were quick and passionate, over much too fast. Instead of peeling the blouse off as she originally intended, she pulled the fabric back onto her shoulders.
Her hips started to sway in a seductive manner, slow and easy. The blouse dropped down her golden arms, inch by inch. Free of its confines, she held the silky navy fabric in front of her, using it for a curtain which she peeked around before tossing the top aside.
Next, the straps on her black lace bra slipped down one at a time. She reached around and nimble fingers unhooked the back, allowing her full breasts to spill free of their containment. A twirl around her finger and the lacy object landed against Galvin’s face where he sat mesmerized.
Then, the black pencil skirt skimmed down over her full hips, followed by the black lace panties she wore over a matching garter belt. The glint in Galvin’s eyes led her to believe she wasn’t the only one remembering the hot coupling in the elevator. Maybe she’d leave the stockings on.
Isabella strutted toward the couch, hips swaying. Galvin reached out and put a hand on either side of her waist.
“Come here. I have something for you.” His strangled response excited her more.
She straddled his legs and eased downward to impale her hot sex on his waiting cock. “Yes, oh yes,” she hissed.
Rocking back and forth Isabella quickly found herself on the edge of ecstasy. She paused, not wanting to achieve the ultimate goal just yet. The need to devour him was strong and she could understand why some spiders ate the male after mating. Their deed wasn’t out of maliciousness, but from the need to consume, to fill the void left once the act was completed.
“Let’s move to the bedroom.” Galvin’s words were husky with desire.
Isabella slipped off and immediately missed his hard shaft. She stood and held out her
hand to lead Galvin to the bedroom. He stopped her effort to lie down on the moss green comforter, instead slipping his hands around her waist and pulling her hips against his erection. There was no doubt in her mind he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
His hot breath on the back of her neck sent goose bumps flooding across her skin. Strong hands cupped her full breasts and his fingers tweaked the hard nubs of her nipples. The ache was exquisite and shot to her core.
A gentle pull turned her to face him and he eased her down onto the queen sized bed. A moist mouth now replaced fingers on her nipples as his hands continued to cup her breasts. He suckled and nibbled the pointed tips until Isabella hovered on the verge an orgasm without her aching sex being touched.
“Please, oh please,” she begged as she guided one of his hands down between her legs.
Wet with the lubrications of her passion, Galvin easily slipped a finger inside her and used his thumb to caress the exposed clitoris. “Galvin,” she screamed his name when the first convulsion racked her body.
The spasms calmed to small tremors and Galvin replaced his finger with his engorged cock. She sighed with contentment when he slid into her heat. “Yes, yes. Fuck me hard.”
Complying, he thrust into her welcoming vagina again and again. His body tensed and she knew his release was imminent. Her fingers captured his nipples, squeezing hard as he shuddered against her.
“Wow,” was the only comment Galvin made. He cuddled her against him in the crook of one arm and stroked her face with his other hand as his breathing slowed. “You are amazing.”
Isabella buried her smile against his shoulder. Amazing would be him, but let him think she was the one.
“Izzy.”
“Mmm.” Consumed in the afterglow, the hated nickname didn’t even bother her. She felt him shift his weight and opened her eyes. His elbow rested on the bed and he braced his chin on one hand.
“I am ready to tell you about me.”
Isabella’s heart lurched in fear at the serious expression on Galvin’s face.
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