“She is like Loki,” he said with flaring nostrils. “Her happiness is brought by watching someone else’s misery.”
Raine hated to agree with Skars’ assessment of Milly, but she had been coming to the same conclusion the longer they had been forced to stay in the vault together. Milly must have made an impression on Skars, because his cheekbones were like watching live coals flicking under his skin.
“Her clothes were much cleaner than yours or any of the others’. She made everyone else give her the first choice of sleeping rooms, and when they were fed, she was first in line. Why is she allowed to act this way? The other women are much older than her; she should be more respectful to them. Three of the women are very frail. Reva is seeing to their needs until Thorsen arrives with our clan healer this evening.”
“That’s wonderful news. I’ve been worried sick about them. Silvia, Kaz, and Kennedy were living in the retirement village where the bank is located. When they came in to get their money before the bombs landed, Lucas knew they lived on their own, so he convinced them to stay with us. Emma and Karina aren’t in much better shape. They were both just waiting for their retirement date to be approved. Don’t tell Brinn I told you, but she is around the same age as them, but she pretends to be years younger. I pretend I don’t know her real age,” she confided in a low voice, even though they were the only two in the room. “I felt terrible when her fiancé ditched her before the bombs landed. He’s much younger. She thinks he was just concerned about his parents and that’s why he didn’t come and get her.” Her voice dipped even lower. “But, just between me and you, I think he never had any intention of coming for her.”
Did he just roll his red eyes at her?
“That still doesn’t explain why you allow Milly to behave the way she does?”
Raine stared at him in confusion. “It doesn’t? I thought it did. We’re all afraid of her. Most of them are too scared, depressed, or hungry to take her on. Piper was too sweet to say anything, and Tayla didn’t because she was worried she would put her in a half nelson if they got in an argument and didn’t want to make the older ladies frightened of her. Tayla doesn’t mind if dudes are afraid of her, but she feels bad if older women are.”
Skars gave her a dark glower. “Viking brides are not afraid of trying on clothes, nor of other women, and they do not scream like a howling lanree when they make a kill. We are the ones to be feared.”
“When I said afraid, I didn’t mean in a physical sense. I meant, I’m kind of sensitive, and I try to avoid having my feelings hurt if I can. The only reason I’m telling you this is because you’re kind of hurting my feelings now.” Raine curled her toes in the carpet, unable to take the disappointed expression on his face. She wished she were a braver person. Her father had told her once that she was a coward at heart when her mother had flown off on one of her rages, but that it was okay if she was, because he was one, too.
A loud sigh came from him that caused the top she was wearing to billow against her skin.
“Do you want a divorce?”
Skars gave her a gentle shake. “No. I do not want a divorce. I want you to listen to my words and take them to heart. You are a Viking bride; others fear you.”
“I’m a Viking bride; others fear me.”
She must have sounded surer than she was when he gave a pleased smile as a reward.
“Já, that is what I want! Come eat. I want my bride’s stomach to be full before I take you to your friends. I will not have your appetite destroyed by their inaccurate fears.”
She really didn’t want her appetite spoiled, either. She was starving, and she wanted to enjoy their first meal together. Technically, it would be the first date she had ever gone on.
“Wait.” Raine pulled back when he would have led her to the elevator. “I don’t have any shoes. You threw them away.”
“Sit,” Skars ordered, moving to a wooden chest he hadn’t opened when he had taken the clothes out of the other two.
She loved the feel of the slinky outfit as she moved; the clothing made her feel pretty and sexy. The top skimmed over her breasts to delicately flow around her waist. The loose pants were the perfect length, down to her ankles, and had a slit from the ankle to just below the knee, which would open and close as she walked. She wished she had one in every color of the rainbow. She loved the clothes so much.