74 The Great Betrayal

Tyr and Macha left his family estate a few days after his birthday. She was willing to stay longer, but he wanted to go to Jimbaran to spend some time alone with her. He saw this trip as a chance to become closer to Macha and get over his intimacy fears. They had been going out since Boreas's Day and he still did not make love to her, which bothered him. He wanted to show her how attracted he was to her and he could tell through their kisses that she wanted more.

Jimbaran lay far to South, past Phocée, so Tyr bought airship tickets to take them there. His family had their own airship, but he did not want to borrow it. If he used it, his mother would have questioned him and expected him to visit afterward. Jimbaran was a popular travel destination among the nobility and upper-class, so an airship left once a week from Marseille's port.

A large pile of clothes lay on Macha's bed. She was deciding on what to pack. Mama Ocllo and Freyr's tailor both had prepared her a new summer wardrobe. There were too many choices, and she was uncertain which ones she wanted to bring for the vacation. Eventually, she finished packing everything but her sleepwear. This item of clothing caused her to hesitate.

The current rate of intimacy between her and Tyr increased significantly, but not past kissing. He seemed to kiss her more lately, which left her unsure if they would be in separate rooms, or if Tyr had other plans. She did not want to ask because it would seem like she expected something to happen. After her talk with him on the way to his family estate, she felt certain they were not a couple, but friends that kissed... sometimes. Their whole relationship confused her and made her irritable when she thought about it.

In the end, Macha decided to pack her sexiest sleepwear. In her opinion, it would be better to be safe than sorry. She did not intend to seduce Tyr, but she would not mind if something happened. Macha wrapped her black lace negligee in a silk robe and shoved it to the bottom of her luggage. Thinking about him sexually made her cheeks blush. She wished he did not look so handsome and athletic. The beauty mark below his eye was enough to make her heart race.

Tyr opened Macha's bedroom door. He ordered the tickets and wanted to let her know that they would leave tomorrow morning. Macha had her hand under a pile of clothes and looked as if he had caught her doing something bad. Her cheeks were red, and she looked flustered. Tyr tilted his head, "Hey, is everything all right? I just got our tickets. We leave tomorrow morning." They rarely knocked on each other's doors because if they wanted privacy, they would just lock them.

The image Macha had of Tyr without his shirt on still tried to cling in her mind. She released her hand from the silk robe that was under her pile of clothes. Trying to give a casual smile, she sputtered, "Um, everything's fine. I was just deciding what to pack. I'm finished now though." Macha closed the top and lifted the latches to lock her sky blue luggage. "Where should I put it?" Right now she was mentally groaning at his timing.

Tyr walked into the room and picked up her blue chest. It surprised him at how light and empty it was. Usually, Fenrir would bring multiple chests with her. Her excuse was that she did not want to use the bedding at the hotels. Luckily Macha was reasonable and did not share the same sensibilities as Fenrir. Since Macha was smaller, he also assumed the lack of weight could be attributed to her clothes using less fabric.

As he made his way to his room, Tyr thought it would be easier for him if he put her things in with his luggage. This way he would only have to carry one and it would be less of a hassle. "Why don't we just take one? Both of us barely filled our trunks up." He had always been a light packer which would cause his clothes to become unfolded and toss around on the way to his destinations. If they shared a case, it would allow his items to rustle around less while in transit because the chest would be fuller.

Macha flung her hands around the luggage to stop Tyr from going into his room. "No," she tried to think of an excuse, "What about souvenirs and gifts? I need to buy a lot of things for people since we're going on a trip." The image of her sexy sleepwear flashed in her mind.

Tyr smiled and pulled the trunk out of her hands and continued to his room. "That's not a problem. If we run out of space, I'll just buy another luggage to bring back. You can get as many things as you want." A chuckle escaped his lips, Macha was always so considerate of others. Her idea of buying souvenirs seemed interesting. It was a practice they rarely did here, and he considered it thoughtful.

Macha coughed. His reasoning made too much sense, and he moved so quickly. She jogged into his room and saw him open the latches to her chest and open the lid. "Tyr!" she practically shouted out of desperation. Tyr turned his head to her as he began to put her clothes in his luggage. Macha blurted out the first thing she could think of, "I want to go out to eat dinner tonight. It's been a long time since we went out."

Tyr did not understand why Macha seemed desperate to eat out tonight. It was true that they rarely ate out, but that was his fault because he hated crowds. He also preferred her cooking and the comfort of his own home to a restaurant. "All right. Where do you want to go?" It was getting late, so he sped up his task. If she wanted to eat out and have enough time to train, they would have to hurry. He realized it would be faster if he just dumped her clothes into his trunk. It was not like Macha folded her clothes, she just tossed them into her chest.

Macha saw Tyr speed up instead of stop. "I don't care. Why don't we leave now? I'm so hungry. I can add my clothes after we get back." She moved next to Tyr and tugged his sleeve.

Tyr laughed, "Go get ready. I'm almost finished. I'll meet you in the living room." He thought Macha over-exaggerated her hunger. He knew for a fact that she had eaten lunch a few hours ago. Macha made sandwiches, but he had not been hungry at the time, so he only had a glass of lemonade. She had eaten his share, so there was no way she could be as hungry as she claimed.

Frustration caused Macha to give up. This man was too difficult to sway and he could not read between the lines. She only had one other trick up her sleeve. Tyr knelt on the floor so Macha moved in front of him. Her hand that had tugged on his sleeve, moved to his hair. Lightly tugging his hair, she tilted his head back. Tyr's green eyes darkened as she moved in to kiss him. Macha did not use her tongue but nibbled his lower lip. After her kiss, she looked at him and explained, "There's something I don't want you to see that I packed. Can I please have my own luggage?"

The kiss left Tyr in a daze. Whenever Macha instigated a kiss, it always surprised him. For some reason, he never expected her to kiss him, despite her being his girlfriend for half a year. Whenever she looked at him with her big brown eyes, he could not refuse her. His head moved on its own and he nodded. At that moment, he could die and be happy. He took an armful of her clothes out of his chest and put it back in her luggage. He quickly added any other pieces he missed and snapped the latches shut. "You could have just said something sooner." Macha made a move towards the door, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him.

The feeling of her full lips on his still left him hungry with desire. Tyr swept her off her feet and moved to stand up. He carried her over to his bed and laid Macha down. Their bodies sunk into his mattress and he grazed his lips over her neck. Tyr enjoyed her soft skin as he swept his hands along her legs and waist. He did not feel nervous right now and wanted to make love to her.

Macha pulled him closer and ran her fingers through his hair. She traced a line from his neck, down to the front of his chest. Her hand untucked Tyr's shirt and spread across his defined muscles.

The heat from Macha's touch egged him on. Everything seemed so right when he was with her. As he moved his hand up her thigh, his stomach made a loud growl, which broke the moment.

Tyr closed his eyes tightly and flopped onto his back, next to her. He had been ready to move forward, but his body betrayed him. "I suppose we should go eat," he sighed.