“Sure. I’ll get plates out.”
“That would be great. I have a tray that hooks on the edge of the hot tub. I’ll set that up to use as our table.”
“Hot-tub picnic. I love it.”
“I’ll meet you in there after I change into my trunks.” He smirked, suddenly wondering what she’d be changing into. “Will, uh, Miss America be making an appearance this evening?”
She laughed. “I think that can be arranged.”
He opened the truck door, grinning so hard his cheeks were starting to ache. “This might be the most epic night of my life.”
“It might be.” She said the words so softly he almost didn’t catch them.
When he looked over at her, she just grabbed the bag and got out. Did she have plans for this evening? Plans for what might happen after the hot tub? Now that they were no longer under the influence of any magic, there was no reason to hold back. Not if she gave him the green light.
Maybe it was time to see just how compatible he and the valkyrie were. With the same grin still stuck to his face, he disappeared into the garage.
Jenna headed for the kitchen. She put the bag on the counter, then went to her room to change. She slipped into the star-spangled bikini, smiling the whole time. Some men were easy to please.
So far, Titus was one of those men. And she liked that. She’d always thought she wanted a guy who was more like his brother. Kind of a gruff, super-focused, no-fluff kind of guy. Which wasn’t to say she was attracted to her boss. She wasn’t.
In fact, she couldn’t imagine being attracted to anyone but Titus right now.
She also didn’t mean that Titus was the opposite of those things. He certainly wasn’t a fluff kind of guy. Not at all. He was just more easygoing than his brother. He seemed open to all kinds of things.
And yes, easy to please. At least he was that way around her.
She laughed. She wouldn’t have said he was easy to please last week when they’d butted heads over where the water stands should be along the race route.
Now, however, she couldn’t see them having an argument like that. So what had changed?
They’d gotten to know each other. And she’d fallen for him. Head over sword.
She went back out to the kitchen and started removing the food containers from the bag. She took two plates down from the cabinet and set them out. She was dividing up the fries when she heard his outside door open and then close a short while later.
He was behind her a minute after that, leaning past her to sneak a fry. She didn’t have to look to know he was in swim trunks and nothing else. His bare chest brushed the back of her arm as he went for a second fry.
“The food smells great.” His hands went around her waist, and he kissed the side of her neck. “If I wasn’t so hungry, I’d suggest dessert first.”
“Really?” she teased. “You’d rather have the molten lava cake than the cheesesteak?”
He nipped her throat playfully. “I’d rather have the hot-as-lava valkyrie in my arms.”
She leaned into him, putting her arms on top of his. “Be careful. You might get what you wish for.”
He took a deep breath, and a soft, needy growl vibrated against her skin where his mouth was. “Blythe, don’t tease me.”
She turned in his arms, planted her hands flat on his chest, and stared into his wolfy, glowing eyes. “Do I look like I’m teasing?”
He stared back for a moment without saying a word. “No. You don’t.” He swallowed. “Let’s eat. I think we’re both going to need our strength.”
“Agreed.” She wasn’t about to argue with that.
They grabbed their plates and headed for the hot tub. The jets were bubbling away, and he’d set up the tray just as he’d said.
He took her plate while she got in. “Did you build that tray?” It looked like his work, and she’d never seen anything like it.
“I did.”
She took her plate back. “You have a lot of women over for hot-tub picnics, do you?”
He shook his head as he joined her in the water. “Not a one.” He put his plate on the tray. “Not since Zoe.”
“Is she who you built that porch swing for?”
He nodded. “I should probably take it down.”
She ate a fry. No wonder why it had been a sore subject. “Or you could just sit in it with someone new. Make some new memories.”
He smiled. “Or that.”
He was so handsome. “How have you not dated anyone in all this time?”
“It’s easy to be too busy with work and family stuff.” He cracked open a beer and set it next to her plate, then opened a second for himself. “But then, you already know that, don’t you?”
“I do.” She tilted her bottle in his direction. “Here’s to not being too busy anymore.”
He clinked his against hers, smiling. “Cheers to that.” He took a sip, then put the bottle back down and took hold of the first half of his cheesesteak. “I told you we’d still like each other.”
“You did. And you were right.” She picked up her cheesesteak as well. “I’m really glad.”
“Me too.”
They ate for a bit, satisfying part of their appetites. When they were halfway through, Titus leaned against the tub. “What are we going to do about the wraith? He’s still out there.”
She nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that. With Sola out of the picture, he might not still be out there. She’s the reason he’s here and as strong as he is. Or was here and was as strong. There’s every chance he was so weakened by the loss of her magic that he won’t be a problem anymore.”
He ate a fry. “And if that’s not the case?”
“Then the best thing to do would be to wait until Ingvar’s well enough to build the trap Sola was supposed to. That’s really the best way to take down a wraith. Draw them into a trap, where they’re frozen solid by the seer who opened the circle, and then run them through the heart with a fell maiden’s blade.”
He nodded. “So we’re in a waiting game.”
“Just a brief one.” She brushed her hands off over the side of the tub so she didn’t get crumbs in the water. “If there’s the slightest indication that he’s still around and causing problems before Ingvar’s on her feet, I can always call in another seer.”
Titus went for the second half of his cheesesteak. “Good to know.”
“There is one other possibility.”
He stopped just shy of taking a bite. “One I’m not going to like, based on the tone of your voice.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t like it either.”
He frowned. “What is it?”
“Sola had a spell on Leif to keep him from going fully corporeal. When that happens, a wraith is the most dangerous because they’re at their strongest. It’s like they’ve returned to their mortal berserker form. They have that kind of strength and speed again.”
“You’re right, I don’t like it.”
“There are two factors that make this stage hard for them. First, they still aren’t mortal. They still feel the constant pull of the underworld calling them. As a reminder of that, their touch eventually brings death. Think about that. What would your life be like if touching something too much caused it to die?”
He grimaced. “I see your point. And the second thing?”
“The biggest drawback, for them, is they can be killed. Yes, they’re already dead, but in that form, a second death is a final one. A blade through the heart and the wraith’s soul can finally be transported to its final resting place.”
“You did that in the circle.”
“I did, but he wasn’t solid. Not fully. More like a hard candy shell with a soft nougat center.”
“Okay, that’s a little gross. But I get it. She kept him from reaching that stage to protect him from being killed.”
Jenna nodded. “It was smart. Or maybe ‘diabolical’ is a better word. But now that her magic has been nullified, he coul
d reach that stage on his own. No clue how long it might take him. Or if he’s lost his way without her.”
Titus sat back. “I’d like to know for sure. I don’t want to have to worry about him wreaking havoc in this town. Or coming after you.”
“I understand. I don’t like the idea either. But I think we’ll know soon enough, because if he’s at that point, he’s not going to sit idle. He can’t get his full life back without the resurrection stone from my sword. Trust me, he’ll make his presence known.”
Titus’s gaze shifted past her to the far end of the deck. “I think he just has.”
Jenna followed Titus’s line of sight.
The wraith stood at the end of the deck, just a shadow creature at the moment, but fast becoming solid before their eyes.
Her worst fear realized.
Every fiber of Jenna’s being went on battle-ready alert. She jumped out of the tub, flinging water everywhere. She landed on the deck between the tub and Leif. “You don’t belong here, wraith. Not at this house, not on this plane.”
“You took my wife.” He was fully corporeal now and every inch the berserker, except for those glowing ember eyes. “I want her back.”
Jenna had no doubt he was solid through and through without Sola’s magic to protect him. This was going to be a test of skills like she’d never encountered before. “Sola hurt Ingvar. And even if she didn’t do that, she still broke the vows of the seer.”
Just like he’d broken his oath as a berserker to become a traitor to their kind. He and Sola made a fine couple in that regard.
He roared at her. “She was helping me.”
“To do what? Kill me? Not a great argument.” Helgrind itched for release, but he hadn’t drawn his sword yet. She didn’t want to force that next step. Not until Titus could get to a less vulnerable spot, and from the sound of sloshing water behind her, he was moving.
“You killed me.” Leif’s eyes beamed as he held his hand out. “Give me your sword, and I’ll let you live.”
They both knew that was a lie.
She shook her head. “You know how this is going to end, Leif.”
He smiled, a gruesome sight. “Yes, valkyrie. I do.”
Titus growled softly, but it seemed to have no effect on Leif. “Jenna,” he said quietly. “Should I shift?”
“I don’t think it’ll make a difference now. He’s too far gone.” As she spoke, Leif reached back and pulled out Kirsgut. The mammoth weapon gleamed in the light spilling out of the house. She went for hers at the same time, freeing Helgrind with the sweet, metallic bladesong that had so often announced Jenna’s foray into battle.
“I’ll call for help,” Titus said.
“You can,” she answered. “But I don’t intend for this to last that long.” She whipped Helgrind around her body. She was vaguely aware of the sliders being opened and Titus going inside. “This is your final chance to leave, berserker. Accept your fate and take your place in the underworld.”
“Never,” he snarled.
She didn’t wait another second. She swung her sword to drive him back. He counterattacked, their blades meeting in a clash of metal that sent tremors down her arms and into her bones.
The beeps of Titus’s phone as he called for backup barely registered. She was focused on putting an end to Leif.
They fought on, sparks flying when their blades met, sweat trickling down her back and mingling with the water from the hot tub.
Leif’s sword was bigger and heavier, but she wielded Helgrind like it was an extension of herself. She caught him across the thigh. Just a slice, but enough to make him rage harder and fight wilder.
And it bled.
She realized something as she connected again, thanks to his sloppy swordplay. He was so far gone that the rage that should have been his greatest strength was making him reckless. And a reckless fighter was often the loser.
He would soon slip up and leave himself open enough for her to get her sword through his chest. That’s all she needed.
So she pressed harder on the metaphorical wound she’d found. “Sola always used to say how someday she was going to find some idiot berserker to practice on. I guess she did.”
He growled, overreaching with his next swing and missing wildly.
“She said she’d find one who’d do anything for her. One she’d pretend to love, all in the name of manipulation.”
He charged, but she stepped aside as if she were a matador and Leif a bull blinded by the mania of the fight. He tossed his sword into the air and caught it, reversing his grip on the hilt.
Then everything happened at once.
Titus stepped out of the house. “Hank is on his way.”
Leif threw his sword like a javelin, sending it straight at Jenna.
Titus shoved her out of the way.
She fell, twisting in the air as she reached for the weapon that was no longer aimed at her. She landed flat on her back as Kirsgut flew overhead and buried itself in Titus’s chest.
The scream that ripped out of her left her throat raw. Her vision went red. She leaped to her feet and charged Leif, flinging herself into the air and driving her blade into his heart.
His mouth came open, and his eyes flickered red-hot, then they burned out. Dead coals. He fell to the deck beneath her and, a second later, disintegrated into ash and smoke.
Helgrind in hand, she ran to Titus, tears blinding her.
He lay sprawled a few feet from the hot tub, Leif’s sword still jutting from his body where it had pierced his heart. She dropped her sword to return it to her back as she knelt beside him, cradling his head in her lap. She didn’t need to take his pulse to know she was losing him. “Titus,” she sobbed.
His smile was weak, his eyes unfocused. He tried to reach for her, but his hand fell back. “Hey. Should have ducked.”
How could he joke at a time like this? She sniffed hard. She was about to watch him die. She couldn’t let that happen. “Yeah, you should have. I love you. I’m not losing you. Do you trust me?”
He managed a nod. “With my whole heart.”
“Good. This is going to hurt for a second.” She eased his head back to the deck, then steeled herself to do the most terrible thing she’d ever done. “Close your eyes, baby.”
They were already closing. She had no time to waste. She pulled Leif’s sword from Titus’s chest and tossed it aside, then unsheathed Helgrind, raised it high and plunged the blade into the heart of the man she loved more than life itself.
He gasped, eyes coming open. He started to say something, but she didn’t have time to explain.
She wrenched Helgrind free, ripped the resurrection stone from the pommel and shoved it into the gaping wound left behind.
Light exploded from Titus’s chest, filling him with the sharp green glow of ancient magic. He seemed to levitate a few inches off the deck. She rocked back on her heels, sending every ounce of energy she had left toward him. Tears still streamed down her face.
If she lost him…Sola would not live either.
In the glow of the stone, Jenna realized Hank, Birdie, and Bridget were watching from the open slider. They looked paralyzed by what they were seeing. She understood. She wasn’t sure when they’d arrived or how much they’d seen, but there was blood everywhere and light spilling out of Titus, and she could only imagine what they were thinking.
The glow began to subside, and the wound closed, but Titus was very pale and not moving.
“Titus?” Bridget said softly.
Jenna couldn’t speak. She knew how this must look to his family. There was blood everywhere. She reached out and took his hand. His fingers wrapped around hers. That was all the sign she needed.
She looked up at his family, laughing through her tears. “He’s going to be all right, but we should still probably get him to the hospital.”
“Hey.” Titus’s voice was thin and reedy. “Am I alive?”
“You are.” She leaned over him, kissing his cheek. “But I th
ink you’re going to need some serious rest so you can finish healing. The stone can only do so much, you know?”
He stared up at her a little blankly. “You plunged your sword into my heart.”
“What?” Birdie screeched.
Jenna just nodded. “Yeah, I did. But it was to save you, and now you’re going to be okay.”
He smiled at her. “I love you. You saved my life. We should get married.”
She laughed. “How about we talk about that after you’re fully recovered?” She looked up at Hank. “Hospital. Now.”
That lit a fire under the sheriff. He bent to take Titus by the arms. “You got his feet?”
She nodded. “Your car?”
“Yes.”
They lifted at the same time, carrying Titus through the house. Bridget and Birdie looked like they were about to explode with questions.
Jenna caught Bridget’s gaze. “Do not touch the sword on the back deck, and do not let anyone else touch it. Touching it will release the wraith, and I need him in there so I can take him to the underworld. Got it?”
“Underworld. No touching. Got it.” Bridget nodded as she ran ahead to open the front door.
Birdie wrung her hands. “Should I call Tessa?”
“No, just keep an eye on things here. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Remember, no one touches that sword.”
“No one touches the sword,” Birdie repeated. Then she gasped and put a hand to her heart. “I can’t. I have to go with Titus. I need to know he’s going to be all right.”
“Go on,” Bridget said. “I’ll stay and guard the sword.”
“Call Remy,” Hank grunted as they went through the front door.
Birdie went ahead again and opened the passenger door of Hank’s SUV.
“Might as well call Tessa too,” Jenna said over her shoulder. Tessa wouldn’t let anyone touch the sword, and she wasn’t sure Bridget was going to stay at the house, considering the way she was looking at her brother being loaded into Hank’s vehicle.
“Jenna?” Titus’s voice still had no strength.
The Werewolf Dates the Deputy Page 23
