Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1)

by S. T. Bende

  “Eighty?” Shut the front door, he wanted to be with me that long?

  “Just working through scenarios,” Tyr explained. “Odin would have to sign off on it, but there might be magical options we could use to keep you at your current appearance, if that’s something you want to do. Our Goddess of Wisdom, Idunn, has apples that give us our immortality. If she adapted the formula for human use, they should be able to mitigate mortal aging processes. Or Odin might have a spell to keep you from aging beyond a certain point. He’s manipulated human genetics before; I’m fairly positive it’s within the realm of his powers to do this kind of thing.”

  I shivered. These waters were so deep, I needed two life preservers. “Okay. So we have options. We can discuss them later. Number three.” I paused. “Do you want to be with me?”

  Tyr took our coffees and set them on the ground, held my hands between his, and met my eyes with a look that made me forget my notebook filled with concerns.

  “Yes, Mia. I want to be with you.”

  “Why?” I pressed. “You can be with anyone—god, elf, fairy princess, whatever. Why did you choose me?” I wasn’t fishing for compliments. It literally made zero sense that this six-and-a-half-foot Swedish—correction, Asgardian—dreamboat would waltz down from his cloud, look around Earth and say to himself, That brunette over there. Mia Ahlström—she’d be a great gal pal while I’m on vacation. I’ll ask her out. I mean, I was a great catch, but there had to be a whole lot of attractive options when you had the whole entire cosmos at your disposal.

  “Oh, Mia.” Tyr sighed. “Why not you?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Believe me, if I could stay away I would.” Tyr held my gaze.

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “You misunderstand. I never meant for you to get mixed up in all this. Fenrir hurts the people I care about—and they’re immortal. Can you imagine what he could do to a human? When he attacked you in the woods, I thought it was an unfortunate coincidence; you weren’t someone I cared about, or even knew, and so I figured once you recovered from your injuries you’d be safe.”

  “Huh.”

  “Hear me out. You didn’t mean anything to me the day you were attacked. I didn’t know Freya led me to you until after we met at that party. I didn’t plan to talk to you that night, but Brynn made sure I didn’t have a choice. And once we started talking, I realized I actually liked you. I tried ignoring you, partly because I was ticked that Freya butted into my personal life again, and partly because I didn’t want you getting involved in all the crazy, but we can see how well that worked out.” Tyr shrugged. “And then you showed up at Elsa’s cabin and turned my world on its head.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Tyr paused. “I’ve always sorted my life into neat compartments, and that day you barged in and knocked them all on their sides. Suddenly, my work life was mixed in with my personal baggage, and instead of hating it like I always thought I would, I was happy because… well, because I had somebody to share that part of my world with. Somebody I could actually be vulnerable around. It was the first time I’d ever let my guard down and shared that… that pain… with someone I cared about.” Tyr drew a shaky breath. “I liked letting you see that side of me. It made me feel like I wasn’t all alone.”

  “You’re not all alone. You have Henrik and Brynn. And Freya,” I pointed out.

  “True. But technically I’m Henrik and Brynn’s boss. I try not to get overly emotional around them. And Freya and I talk about surface things. She might be one of my oldest friends, but I’m not one of those guys who wants to talk about what’s bothering him. Or I wasn’t, before I met you.”

  My cheeks warmed. “I’m glad you want to talk to me,” I admitted.

  “Me too.” Tyr leaned forward to brush my forehead with his lips.

  “I obviously like you. And I don’t think I could break up with you, even if I wanted to. But dang it Tyr, this is complicated. How is this going to work? Is this even allowed where you come from?” I gestured between us. “This can’t be natural.”

  “It’s as natural as we want it to be, baby.” Tyr waggled his eyebrows and I groaned.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “We’re not the typical couple, true. And this isn’t exactly encouraged back home. Odin doesn’t promote inter-realm cohabitation. But he lets me have a little more leniency than most of the council.” Tyr stroked my hand with his thumb. “And I’m certainly not going to let a little thing like you being from another realm stop me from seeing where this goes. That is, if you want to take a leap with me.”

  If you want to take a leap with me. The world was spinning. And underwater. The world was spinning underwater. While upside down.

  Breathe, Mia.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking now,” Tyr probed.

  “That falling for you isn’t exactly turning out like I’d expected,” I confessed.

  “I’ll never hurt you, prinsessa. I might disappoint you, I know I’ll confuse you, and I’ll sure as Helheim frustrate you. My life doesn’t fit into any of your neat boxes. I’m okay with that, but I know it’s going to be a while before you can be. But Mia Ahlström, I swear I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy, every single day that we have together. What do you say?” Tyr leaned back to study my face.

  Well, when he puts it like that… My anxiety ebbed. Tyr was being completely honest with me. He couldn’t give me a normal relationship, but he wanted to give me all that he could. What he pledged was his absolute commitment—one hundred percent of himself, no matter how scary things got. How could I walk away from that?

  “This is a little bit overwhelming. And a lot bit terrifying. But I like you too much to walk away,” I admitted. “Whatever we’ve got going here, I’m all in.”

  “Really?” Tyr’s face lit up in a look of genuine joy. “Oh, thank Odin. After I didn’t hear from you all day, I thought you were done with me.” He shook his head, bent down and pressed his lips against mine. I responded instinctively. My hands flew to his hair, my fingers wrapping in the tousled strands. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip and I sighed, giving myself over to the sensation. A warm burn started in my belly and radiated to my extremities. I no longer wanted to compartmentalize anything—not what Tyr was, not what he was trying to do, and not the impossible things I’d seen last night. I just wanted to be as close to him as humanly—or godly—possible. I climbed on his lap and straddled him, pressing my body against his. He grabbed my hair with one hand and pulled my head back, bringing his mouth to my jaw. I groaned and he moved lower, kissing a line down my neck. He ran one hand down my arm, sending the familiar heat along my skin. Spreading his palms across my back, he pulled me against him, holding on like he might never let go.

  I hoped he never would.

  The wolf whistle from the water polo players’ house across the street ruined what was fast becoming a very memorable moment. I immediately buried my head in Tyr’s chest, and he leaned back with a laugh. “Can I take you on what’s probably going to be the weirdest date of your life tomorrow?”

  “Weirder than the night I found out my boyfriend was a Norse god?” I asked, willing some of the heat to drain from my cheeks. Stupid water polo house.

  “Possibly. The clock’s ticking, and I need to get two more ingredients for the rope. Tomorrow’s fishing day. What do you say?”

  “I say get ready to be schooled. Yours truly holds the Ahlström family record for biggest catch.” Jason was still sore about that.

  “You are one amazing woman.” Tyr pressed his lips to mine, and pulled back. “Come on. Let’s order a pizza.”

  “It’s only four o’clock,” I pointed out. “You might qualify for early bird specials, but us teenagers eat at regular hours.”

  “Have you eaten yet today?” Tyr asked.

  “Well, no.” Come to think of it, I was starving.

  “Didn’t think so. Come on.” He stood and held out a hand. I placed mine in hi
s, and picked up my notebook before leading him into the house. He was already dialing the pizza parlor and placing an order for delivery. What’s that he mouthed, pointing at my notebook.

  “This?” I stared at the pages filled with my befuddled scrawl. A few hours ago, making sense of everything had seemed so important. I’d needed to know where this was going, how it would end, and how we’d tackle the seemingly insurmountable obstacles we had ahead of us. But a girl could get glad in the same britches she got mad in. And Jason had been absolutely right. Letting go of my rigid structure, trying new things, even just accepting things for what they were instead of what I wanted to make them be… it felt right. Crazy, impulsive, maybe even stupid, but right. And saying goodbye to Tyr would have been all kinds of wrong, even if it meant I didn’t have a concrete five-year plan. Oh, God. I didn’t have a five-year plan. In through the nose… That was okay. I’d only lost the plan with respect to this relationship. I could still have the plan for my major, and my career, and my fitness routines. It would be baby steps for me. I led us to the kitchen and threw the notebook in the trash.

  “Okay, thanks.” Tyr hung up his phone. “Pizza’s here in twenty. What is that?” he asked again, now pointing to the trashcan.

  I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his bottom lip. “It’s something I’m ready to let go of.”

  “Fair enough.” Tyr kissed me back, wrapping an arm around my waist to lift me closer to him. I might not have known where things were going to end with us, but I sure as heck liked exactly where we were.

  And that was good enough for now.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “YOU READY FOR A day on the lake?” Tyr slammed the trunk of the Hummer and picked up his tackle box. As always, he was unimaginably gorgeous in dark denim, a black T-shirt and a zip-up hoodie. He wore the requisite black boots, and a baseball cap sat low on his forehead.

  “Absolutely.” I carried two fishing rods in my right hand, and laced fingers through Tyr’s with my left. He looked down at our hands with a slow smile.

  “I like you next to me, you know that?” He stopped to plant a leisurely kiss on my lips, the kind that made me forget where I was. It still blew my mind that this spectacular creature and I had found each other, but I was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  “I like it too.” I stood on tiptoe to draw out the kiss, but Tyr squeezed my fingers and turned to stare at the water. I reluctantly followed suit.

  We’d driven an hour outside of Arcata to a quiet lake surrounded by redwoods. The water was still and blue, and thin clouds stretched across the early afternoon sky. A handful of cabins lined the opposite shore, and the only roads in and out of the lake were dirt. There wasn’t a freeway within ten miles. It was relaxing, and rustic, and incredibly romantic.

  “Come on. We’ve got work to do.” Tyr tugged on my hand, reminding me why we were here. I followed him to a wooden dock, where a sleek boat was tied to one end. He walked me to the edge and held out a hand. “Hop in.”

  “Does its owner know we’re here?” I asked cautiously. I wasn’t quite ready to add grand theft boat to my otherwise immaculate rap sheet.

  Tyr laughed. “It’s mine. Brynn drove it out this morning.”

  “Oh.” My eyes widened.

  “I see what you’re thinking.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s not that extravagant.”

  “Most people in these parts have rowboats.” I pointed to the line of modest boats lining the neighboring dock.

  “I’m not most people.” Tyr grinned. “Now hop aboard, skipper.”

  “Yes, sir.” I saluted before stepping onto the rocking boat. It was designed for speed, all sleek and white and streamlined. But it was also extremely lux. Plush leather seats lined the small sitting area, and three steps led up to a little cabin. “Ooh, can I go up there?”

  “You can go anywhere you want. Bed’s to the right.”

  I blushed.

  My fingers gripped the railing as I walked. Wearing ballet flats with my skinny jeans had been a good call. The boat rocked gently from side to side; it took me a minute to get my bearings.

  “What do you think?” Tyr breathed in my ear. He’d come up right behind me, and snaked his arms around my waist.

  I jumped at the touch. “It’s nice.”

  It was. The driver’s seat was behind me, ensconced behind a clear window. A small kitchen was to the left, with a tiny cooking area and an intimate table laid out for two. And to the right was the promised bed. It was much too large for the space, easily a full king.

  Tyr caught me looking and growled. “Want to test it out later?”

  “Would that be before or after we catch the magical fish?”

  “It can be whenever you want, baby.” Tyr ran his nose along the curve of my neck. When I whimpered, he gave a reluctant sigh. “But not now. We need to push off if we’re gonna be back by nightfall. I don’t want to drive through these woods after dark.”

  “You’re such a tease.”

  “Get that cute little butt deck-side. Now.”

  He pinched my backside and I scampered down the stairs, rolling my eyes as I dutifully donned the fluorescent orange life vest he pulled from one of the benches. “This is just lovely.”

  “Safety first.” He snapped my vest in place. “Do you want to ride inside the cabin or out here?”

  “I’ll stay out here if you don’t mind. I haven’t been on a boat in a while.”

  “Then sit down and hold on. I drive fast.”

  “You do everything fast, don’t you?” Driving, running, flying…

  “Not everything.” Tyr raised an eyebrow and my pulse spiked. He leaned over the boat and released the moorings. When he’d wound the ropes and put them inside the bench seat, he ducked into the cabin. I took my seat.

  “Pushing off.”

  Tyr expertly steered the boat into open water, picking up speed when he was a safe distance from the shore. The wind brushed my face as I tilted my head back. It was cool in the early afternoon sun, and the thrum of the engine was oddly relaxing. Tyr steered the boat in a slow arc across the lake, taking a handful of unnecessary turns that nearly launched me off my seat. My hands gripped leather as I glared at the cabin. The laughter in Tyr’s eyes let me know his navigational skills were deliberate. When I wagged my finger at him, he just winked.

  There would definitely be payback.

  Tyr slowed the boat when we reached a secluded cove near the opposite shore. The sun was behind the mountain, so we rested in the shade. Tyr climbed out of the cabin and picked up his tackle box and both fishing rods. He handed me a rod as he took a seat beside me. He rested the other on his lap, then opened the box.

  “You know you’re on my list, buddy.” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, I’m scared.” Tyr nudged me with his shoulder, and I laughed. “You usually bait your own hooks?”

  “Sure.” It was my least favorite part of fishing, but it had to be done.

  “Not today.” Tyr grabbed my hook and returned it with a worm.

  I batted my eyes. “Such a gentleman.”

  “No problem. Want me to help you cast, too?”

  I laughed. “I think I’ve got that part.”

  “Cause I’m more than happy to assist you with your form.” Tyr dropped his rod. He wrapped his arms around me from the side, and held my hands between his. His proximity was overwhelming.

  “Well, aren’t you just all kinds of helpful today? But I’ve got this, Fredriksen.” I nudged him away and cast my rod, easily sending the fly ninety feet. At its splash, I turned around with a coy smile. “Did I do okay?”

  Tyr’s mouth was slightly open. “Great Odin. You’re as good at fishing as you are at shooting.”

  I lifted a shoulder and turned back to the water. “Like I told you, makeup to mud in the time it takes you to say bless your heart.”

  Tyr came up from behind and wrapped his arms around me again. He leaned over so his breath tickled my ear. “Prinsessa, if you were
n’t standing in my arms, I wouldn’t believe you were real.”

  “I could say the same to you.” I was on a half-million-dollar boat in the arms of a smoking hot Norse god, trying to catch a fish so we could use its magic breath to trap a homicidal wolf. By all accounts, I was the realest part of this bizarre situation. “Besides, I like fishing. And until you prove me wrong, I’m going to tell people I’m better at it than you.”

  Tyr chuckled. “Good luck with that. Now we’re gonna catch as many as we can—shoot for a dozen.”

  “Does it matter what kind of fish we catch?” I asked.

  “No. I only need to bring in the breath of a fish. Any fish.”

  “Okay.” I nodded.

  “Just so you know, I’ve never tried extracting breath, so I might screw it up the first few times. When you catch one, throw it in this bucket.” Tyr picked up a silver pail and dipped it in the lake so it filled with water. “We’ll aim to keep them alive, but the ones that don’t make it get to be dinner. Sound good?”

  “Yes.” I bit my tongue and narrowed my eyes as I waited for a tug on my line.

  Tyr baited his own hook and cast, then stood quietly on the deck while I tried not to stare at his perfect profile. Thankfully, my line began to twitch.

  “I think I have something.” I reeled the line slowly, and soon a wiggling trout dangled from the end of my rod. Tyr guided the fish into the pail and gently removed the metal from its mouth. It turned fast circles in the small space.

  Tyr baited my hook again and picked up his rod. “Now catch another.”

  We set to our task, bringing in fish after fish. When there were ten swimmers in the bucket, Tyr put down his pole.

  “Let’s call it for now, and see if I can make this work.”

  “I’d like the record to reflect that I caught six of those fish. That’s two more than you, Fredriksen.” I nudged Tyr with my toe.

  “Well played, baby. But I was distracted by your killer butt when you bent over to check your line. Next time, I’ll have better focus.”

  “In your dreams.”