Loki's Game Read Free Page A

her.
    “I’m twenty-seven, never married, no pets, no job, and bills coming out of my ears.” She took a sip of her tea. “Other than that, there isn’t much to tell.”
    “That is unfortunate,” Rowan said. The look on his face was strange, as if he didn’t know how to verbalize the thoughts in his head.
    “What about you?” Perhaps if she prompted him…
    “Also not much to tell. Thirty-four. Never married. But I do have a pet.” Lily barked a nervous giggle and they fell back into tense silence. She sipped her tea once more. Rowan looked around, admiring his collection.
    Look at me like that, Lily caught herself thinking, and immediately squashed the thought. Tension! She couldn’t stand it.
    “The Monet…is that an original?” she asked. The question obviously pleased him.
    “It is. An early variation of Water Lilies.”
    “So you’re a collector?”
    Rowan nodded. “You are an art lover,” he replied. She blushed again, and felt silly for doing so.
    “Sort of,” she admitted. “I was an art history major. My specialization is Renaissance artwork.” Why was she telling him this? He had her résumé!
    “Impressive,” he said as if he was just learning this information. “So far you are the only prospect who has been able to correctly name one of my paintings.”
    “Score one for the home team,” she said, twirling one finger in a sarcastic fashion while attempting to ignore his comment—if he had more than one painting then she was in way over her head. He chuckled, and the sound shot through her like a surge of pure energy.
    “And a sense of humor. Miss Redway, you are by far the most interesting woman I have met in years.” She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. But one thing was certain…spending much more time in his presence would lead to very bad things. He was intoxicating, like a glass of fine, aged wine. Just this small taste of him already had her wanting more.
    Stop it , she berated herself, this is your future boss! In one gulp, she drained her cup. Here she was already placing herself in the job, and she didn’t even know what it was yet. This whole interview felt completely absurd—like it was only a front for something different. The longer she sat there, the less she felt like a job candidate and the more she felt like she was about to be propositioned. And she could not guarantee to herself that she would turn him down if he did.
    Talk about skewed perceptions.
    “So you know artwork,” he continued with a smile. “What can you tell me of mythology?”
    Lily shrugged. “Not much,” she said, thankful for the abrupt change to a less personal subject. “I had to study the history around the time period relevant to my degree, but the ancient mythologies I can’t say I know much about.” Setting her cup on the table, she brushed a hand over the side of her head to make sure her hair was still in place. “I know the Greek and Roman stories from high school, but I don’t really know much of the others.” She pinned him with a steady gaze. “Is there a reason you ask?”
    He smiled.
    “I find myself drawn to the old histories,” Rowan said. “Nordic mythology seems to be a particular favorite of mine.”
    “You mean Odin and Loki?”
    “The very ones,” he replied, and her heart leapt into her throat. She didn’t know these things! She was losing her chance… She had to find a way to save this.
    “Is that knowledge relevant to this job?” Lily asked.
    “Not necessarily,” he answered, and she relaxed a bit, watching him as he spoke and taking in the way his Adam’s apple moved in speech, the way his lips formed around the words, and wondered for a moment what those lips would feel like forming around hers. “But I cannot promise that I will not bore you to tears with the stories.”
    “I like stories,” she said dumbly. Lily grimaced and covered her face with her hand. She was making an absolute fool of herself, and all he could do was smile at