He enjoyed watching the gentle sway of her hips. “You don’t enjoy fighting? You’re very good at it.” He didn’t remember much from the night in the alley. But someone who could defeat four of Loki’s creatures was not your average combatant.
“It’s a necessary skill.”
“In your line of work?” He kept his voice light as they entered the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye he saw how she scrutinized him. Keep it cool, don’t scare her. This was like trying to coax a wild doe to take food out of his hand. Any hasty movement might make her bolt.
“For anyone of my build or gender,” she said casually, but he could hear an edge in her tone.
“We better see if we can build up those muscles, then.” He opened a cupboard and held out a can. “Split pea?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve had nothing but soup for the last four meals. Anything else available?”
He thought a moment. “What about oatmeal? Is that too solid?”
“I’d love oatmeal.” Her smile transformed her exquisite features into an ethereal beauty.
His breath caught. If that was all it took to make her happy, he’d cook oatmeal every bloody day.
Shit. Where had that thought come from? He would bed this woman without emotional entanglements—or at least whatever would calm his restless berserker and complete the bond. Once they’d rescued Per and had the wolverine situation under control, he’d deal with how to stop the själsfrände bond from messing with his mind and his hormones.
Turning to fetch the canister, he braced himself on the counter with one trembling hand. With his back still toward her, he held up the prize. “Oats it is,” he said hoarsely.
“You cook oatmeal from scratch? That doesn’t seem very kingly,” she mocked him.
“Whoever is not on patrol takes turns cooking. I do my fair share.”
“Vikings and Valkyries have mad skills in the kitchen as well as on the battlefield?”
He chuckled. “Most of them. Not Torvald though. He’s only skilled in combat. When he’s on cooking duty, you want a contingency plan.”
She laughed, a sweet, sunny sound.
Sweat broke out on his forehead. Curse the berserker hormones. Burying himself in the pots and pans cabinet, he rested his cheek against a stainless steel pot. The coolness calmed his emotions, marginally. Pot in hand, he soon had the porridge simmering on the stove.
He risked a look back at the table.
Naya rested her cheek in her palm, watching. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a king cook.”
“You don’t believe I am really a king, do you?”
“I believe you think you are their ruler, and they do seem to obey you…”
“It’s so generous of you to indulge me in my delusions.”
She chuckled. “Which of the Nordic countries are you from?”
“Sweden.”
“Where’s Irja from? Her accent is different.”
He was surprised she’d noticed. Spending centuries in the Americas had diluted much of their accents. “She’s from Finland.”
“Can you tell me what she does in the lab?” Her voice dropped when she asked a question important to her.
“She’s our doctor and pharmacologist all wrapped up in one.”
“Why do you need her?” Her voice remained low.
“Why is your biology different from other humans?”
“I asked you first.”
“If I tell, will you?”
“I might, but first I want you to stop taking blood samples from me.”
That was an easy request. “Okay.”
She frowned. “And I want you to stop testing the samples you already have.”
He grinned. She’d found the loophole. “Done.”
He wondered if she ever shared secrets without striking a bargain. “Let’s eat.” He ladled generous portions into two bowls and carried them to the table.
“This looks great.” Naya reached for the milk he’d put out.
“Hopefully it tastes good too. Let’s take the bowls into my office so I can remain in contact with Harald and Ulf.”
* * *
She must have said something to piss Leif off. Naya watched him from across his desk as he ate in silence.
She could do without the disturbing attraction she felt for this tall blond Viking. And yet, she missed the light mood that had been between them while he cooked. It bothered her how much she wanted this guy to like her. She wanted him to find her interesting, not just want her body. She set her spoon in her empty bowl and cleared her throat. “Thanks for the oatmeal, I really enjoyed it.”
He studied her, eyes sky-blue and intense. “I’m glad.”
The silence stretched. She fidgeted under his gaze. “You were going to explain why you have superior strength and need a full medical lab on-site.” She smiled to take the sting out of the request.
A slight smile played at the corners of his mouth. “So I was. What will you give me if I tell you?”
Naya wasn’t sure what game they were playing. “What do you mean?” Her voice sounded sharp.
Leif looked up. “You are very reluctant to tell me anything about yourself, but you want to know a lot about me, about my people. How are you going to make it worthwhile to tell you our secrets?”
“You want money?” She couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice.
“Not money, I have plenty.” He got up from behind his desk and moved to sit in the chair next to hers. “What else do you have to bargain with?”
Her mouth felt dry. “I could tell you something about myself.” She hated how breathless she sounded.
Leif leaned closer. “Tell me why you were able to purge the poison so quickly from your body,” he mumbled against her forehead, his lips searing hot.
She closed her eyes so he wouldn’t see her lie, but also to savor the heat of his lips against her skin. She should pull away, but her body wouldn’t heed the command. “I spent a lot of time in a lab…a medical facility when I was younger.”
He pulled back. “Were you sick?”
Naya disliked how much she missed his touch. She opened her eyes.
His were a swirl of grays and blues. A storm moving in.
“Not that I remember,” she said after a few beats. “Maybe I was and they cured me.” She looked down. “I just remember a lot of injections and blood transfusions.”
“I’m sorry.” His look was sincere.
She almost felt bad for lying. “It was a long time ago.”
“Didn’t your parents explain why you were in the hospital?”
Naya didn’t bother correcting the location. “My parents died when I was little.”
“Who raised you?”
She shook her head. “Your turn.”
Leif paused, but then nodded. “Fine. Ask me something.”
“Why didn’t the poison kill you?”
“I’m a very strong man.” His finger traced circles on her thigh.
Heat rushed from where he touched her to the junction of her thighs. She couldn’t think. She shifted in the chair. “How is your DNA different?”
“Who says it’s different?”
“Irja does.” The sensation of his touch overpowered her brain. “There’s no way you are not enhanced in some way. You are freakishly strong.”
He raised his hand and played with her hair and the sensitive spot at the nape of her neck. “We are stronger than most, but not through altered chemistry. We train.”
“Nobody could train that much,” she snapped. “Harald and Ulf threw the wolverines across the alley like their bodies were made of Styrofoam.”
Leif chuckled. “Where were you hiding to see that?” His strong fingers loosened the kinks above her shoulder blades and then caressed her throat.
Clever Viking, clever hands. “I wanted to make sure they were your friends.”
“You cared about me even then,” he whispered, turning her face toward his.
“I don’t k
now you.” Her voice was breathless again.
“We could get to know each other better.” Gently he pulled her closer.
The protest she meant to utter died when the heat of his breath caressed her skin. A groan slipped past her lips. She felt his smile as his mouth met hers.
His lips traced a featherlight outline of her mouth. Naya sighed.
Leif growled in the back of his throat. He nibbled her lower lip, sucking it between his lips.
She knew she should break contact before she got caught in the emotional whirlwind their touch created. Instead her traitorous body leaned into his.
He deepened the kiss, increasing the pressure until she opened her mouth.
Every nerve ending focused on her tongue mating with his.
Leif groaned again. Hooking his other hand below her knees, he slid her onto his lap, caressing her jaw with his lips.
His erection throbbed against her bottom. His mouth found the perfect spot between the nape of her neck and shoulder.
Her resistance crushed, Naya melted in his arms.
His hand moved down and caressed her breast through her shirt, lightly pinching her hardened nipple.
This was dangerous, but his hands made her feel too good.
Those clever fingers found their way under her top. Calloused palms rasped deliciously against the tender skin just below her breasts. One of them snuck behind her back. She heard someone panting loudly and realized it was her.
Leif tugged on her bra snap. The garment wasn’t cooperating and he cursed.
Naya’s enchantment broke. Swiftly, she scooted off his lap and braced her arms against the desk a safe distance away. When she’d caught her breath, she faced him. “We need to slow down.”
“Didn’t you like it?” His dimples deepened.
“That’s not the point.” She searched her overheated brain for why they needed to stop, but no good reason came forth.
“I’m attracted to you. You like me too. We’re both consenting adults.” He shrugged. “Why would we not indulge?” He stood and walked toward her.
She held up her hand.
He stopped.
“I don’t know if I like you. I don’t know you.” The truth was she liked him too much. She wasn’t equipped to deal with sex that also involved emotions.
“We are getting to know each other.” Leif took another step.
She frowned. “You didn’t answer any of my questions.”
He laughed. “Is that what this is about?”
“Yes. No.” Damn it. She couldn’t think when he was close.
The mirth left his face and he closed the gap between them. His fingers traced the outside of her ear. “What else do you want to know?”
“Tell me about the monsters in the alley. Are they enhanced?” And how did they know about me and my brother?
He frowned. “I don’t know.”
“But you know what they are.” She tried not to enjoy the closeness of him, the warmth of his body.
“I know who sent them.” His hand played with her hair.
“Who?” Every fiber of her body wanted to lean into his touch.
“Someone who wants to destroy the world.”
“I don’t understand.”
He traced her neck and shoulder with the tip of his finger. “If I tell you more, will you kiss me again?”
Electricity rushed downward, making her nipples pucker. “One kiss. No touching,” she said, secretly thrilled to have an excuse to feel his lips again.
Leif smiled. “If that’s all you offer, I’ll take it.” He leaned in.
Naya stepped back. “You have to tell me about the wolverines first.”
He flashed his dimples. “I think you want me to kiss you first.”
She shook her head, hoping they would both believe the lie. “Tell first,” she croaked out.
With a smug smirk, he nodded. “I don’t know how they are made, maybe through genetic enhancement. The one who sent them is an enemy of the ones who rule me.”
“You said you are the king.” What kind of weird power struggle had she walked into?
“That’s true, but I’m an appointed king. I have to answer to the g—management above me.”
“So, your job is to fight these creatures. Like some kind of military unit?”
“My warriors and I are a unit.” He leaned toward her.
Her hormones rejoiced as his body heat engulfed her. “But not a branch of the actual armed forces.” Naya made it into a statement.
His eyes were sky-blue again. “Not as you think of the military.”
“Do you work for the government?”
“I’ve answered enough questions to claim my kiss now.”
She swallowed loudly. A part of her couldn’t wait to taste his lips again. Another part, the part that handled self-preservation, told her to get out of the office. Now.
But she needed to know whose side Leif and his Nordic warriors were on. And she needed to taste those lips again. Wait, no. She shook her head to clear her mind.
That self-satisfied smirk played on Leif’s lips again, as if he sensed her internal struggle.
She kept her promises. And she never backed down from a challenge. “Okay. One kiss, but your hands stay where I can see them.”
He lifted his hand.
She stepped back. “I said no touching.”
“You said I should keep them where you can see them. You can see the front of your body.”
Her nipples tingled as he made a point of looking at her chest. “No hands anywhere on my body.”
He sighed, but lowered his arm.
He hoisted her up on the desk. She squeaked in protest.
“I can reach you better here.” Leif leaned in, placing his hands on either side of her.
Clever king.
Slowly, he lowered his head. Pressing his lips against her mouth, he pushed her back until she was lying flat on the desk. Bracing himself above her, he assaulted her mouth.
The kiss before had been gentle compared to this. His mouth devoured hers, offering no reprieve, almost punishing her.
She couldn’t catch her breath. She didn’t want to. She wanted him, more of him. Naya moaned. Her skin was on fire. She arched. Wanting to feel him. Needing him closer.
Leif raised his body out of reach. His biceps bulged but he kept kissing her effortlessly, licking her lips, nipping them with his teeth. He sucked her tongue into his mouth.
Pressing his hardness against her, Leif set a fierce pace with his hips and his mouth. Her hips moved on their own accord, matching the rhythm he set as he sucked and plunged. The seam of her denim shorts hit the right spot between her legs, rubbing her sensitive nub through the underwear. She moaned again, needing his touch. All of his touch.
He tore his lips from hers. She whimpered in protest, but he shushed her, whispering her name as he trailed kisses down her neck.
He sucked her nipples through her shirt, first one and then the other.
Craving the heat of his lips on her naked skin, she grabbed the material and ripped it apart. Buttons clattered on the desktop.
He murmured his approval before he nuzzled her bra out of the way and lavished his attention on her bare skin. Hot moisture from his mouth shot sparks of electricity straight to her clit. An animalistic growl echoed through the office. She realized it came from her. Arching off the desk, she slapped her hands down to keep from hitting the floor. Leif’s hands grabbed her hips, steadying her.
His mouth traveled downward, tracing a trail of heat along her sternum. His tongue circled her navel while his hand made quick work of unbuttoning her shorts. Together with her underwear, he pulled them down her legs. The cloth bundle hit the floor with a dull thud.
His hands grabbed the outside of her hips and then slid inward between her thighs. She forgot how to breathe when his thumbs stroked her clit. His mouth took the place of his fingers. Heat shot from that small nub to her core. White stars flickered in her vision.
&
nbsp; She arched her back, her hands desperately gripping the surface of the table. His teeth grazed her skin and she cried out. He bit down lightly and then licked her clit to soothe the nip before biting again.
Her eyes rolled back in her head. She buried her hands in his silken hair.
The pressure built inside her body until it reached the boiling point. She tried to hold back, but the pressure was uncontainable. Her body trembled violently as wave after wave of orgasm traveled through her.
He slowed down the pace, changing from sucking and biting to gently nipping the sensitive spot between her legs. When she stilled after what felt like an eternity, he stopped altogether.
Burying his hands in her hair, he touched his forehead to hers. “You okay?” he whispered against her mouth.
She could taste herself on his lips. She’d never fallen apart like that before. Never become so undone she felt like she’d never make the pieces of herself fit together again. “I’m fine.” Her voice was hoarse.
Leif stood and, grabbing her hand, he pulled her into a sitting position.
She’d growled like an animal. Embarrassed, she avoided his gaze. She needed to get out of here so she could think again. Leif’s pull was too dangerous. She could drown in him. He had too much power over her responses, sexual and emotional.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Yeah.” Naya straightened her shirt. Most of the buttons were gone. She overlapped the panels of cloth and jumped off the desk, wincing at the sensitivity and wetness she felt between her legs. “I have to go.” She dipped down and pulled on her shorts, stuffing the underwear in her pocket.
He moved as if to touch her again, but she ducked under his arm. She struggled briefly with opening the door but finally fled from the room. He called out her name, but she ignored him.
Chapter 9
Hours later, Leif paced his office, agitated and pissed off. He’d tried to talk to Naya, but she’d barred her bedroom door to him. When he’d heard the shower come on, he’d left her alone to try later. Before he had a chance to see her again, she’d left the fortress. Somehow she’d caught a ride with Irja when she went into town for supplies.
A nagging voice in the back of his mind told him he’d moved too fast. He’d rushed into being intimate with her. He squelched the voice. Naya had enjoyed their time together as much as he had. He shook his head and sighed loudly. Women were hard to understand under normal circumstances. Naya had too many secrets. And she didn’t seem to understand that he knew best how to handle things. He was the king for gods’ sake. She should listen to what needed to be done to keep her safe. According to Irja, for the bond to work, there had to be trust and mutual respect between them. He respected Naya, but how could he trust someone who wouldn’t confide in him? He was so fucked. But he still needed to keep track of her. Ulf was working on tracking her cell phone.
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