Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2)

by Morgana Phoenix

  He didn’t disappoint. His mouth slanted over hers and the world dissolved in a shimmering mess of heat. Nothing else existed but the pounding rhythm of his heart beating against hers and the throaty groan that vibrated from his mouth into hers. Valkyrie, who had never been kissed, fumbled awkwardly to keep up with the expert coaxing of his lips and tongue. Yet his mouth felt and tasted so painfully familiar. Part of her wondered if they had kissed the night she had unwillingly given herself to him and if it had been as amazing then as it was now. Her body bowed into his as the fire rampaging through her took on a life of its own and devoured her. The pang of something fierce and beautifully excruciating thrummed between her thighs and she moaned weakly.

  “God, your moans.” The hand in her hair closed, tugging on roots and twisting her head back even further to get at her exposed jugular with his teeth. “I could come on your moans alone.”

  His arm banded around her middle and she was pinned against his chest with her shoulder blades still braced to the window. The place between her thighs was filled with his hips and her legs instinctively wound around him. She was moved away from the window towards the sofa. He lay her down and was over her in the same fluid motion. His mouth never ceased its desperate war over hers, not even when she was certain the flames consuming her insides would, at any moment, devour them both. Her hips writhed against his, lifting and grinding and being met each time with equal force. The throbbing she was becoming all too familiar with roared through her and she was forced to break the kiss to gasp his name as the pressure broke inside her.

  He was littering the arc of her throat with open mouthed kisses when her senses drifted back to earth, when her ears ceased ringing and sweet content washed over her.

  “Does that ever get old?” she wondered numbly.

  His chuckle tickled the shell of her ear. “You’ll have to tell me. I know for a fact I will never get tired of seeing you come apart for me.”

  A warm sort of pleasure pooled through her as it always did when he spoke of them together in a way that surpassed just partnership.

  “I’ve never felt anything like it,” she admitted.

  Gideon raised his head. “Ever?”

  She shook her head. “It’s a sacred place that shouldn’t be disturbed unless it’s by one’s ... husband.” Heat prickled her cheeks. “I was always afraid I would lose my powers if I did it wrong.”

  With a groan that vibrated through her entire soul, he lowered his mouth and kissed her deeply.

  “God, the things I’m going to teach you...” The hard bulge pushing up against the front of his pants ground against the sensitive place between her legs, making her moan and widen her knees around him. “The toys and games...”

  Valkyrie laughed. “I do know about them,” she said. “I wasn’t born yesterday. I just never tried any of them.”

  His eyes held the dark intensity of an approaching thunderstorm. “Oh, we are going to try them all!”

  The idea of doing even half the things she’d seen in human pornos and read about in books with him filled her with a rush of exhilaration that dampened her panties. Her breasts swelled inside the soft material of her bra, aching to be touched and palmed. She may have been ignorant of her body’s carnal needs, but she wasn’t immune to them. She had spent the better part of several millennia fighting the things her body wanted. Her sisters never seemed to have that problem, and most days neither did she. Until Gideon.

  From the moment they had officially met at the treaty signing, she had wanted him with an intensity that had nearly gotten her killed during training. Her every breathing moment had been consumed by thoughts of his face, his hands, his body and it had nearly been all she could do to restrain herself when they were partnered. He was and had always been the only man that made her wet just by being in the same room.

  “What are you thinking about?” he teased.

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  His caress was a feather light skim over her cheek and along her temple to cradle the side of her face against his palm. He continued to crush her into the cushions, but his weight was a comfortable one warming the length of her body.

  “I’m sorry,” he said after a moment. “For the way I behaved and the things I said. I wasn’t fair to you.”

  Valkyrie blinked, taken aback by the unexpected apology. But he was still talking before she could open her mouth.

  “You’ve been a warrior your entire life and in the sum of a handful of weeks, I’ve imprinted on you, taken your virginity, and gotten you pregnant.” He paused to shake his head. “Then I expected you to just change and accept everything without even giving you chance to get your footing. I’m an asshole. I don’t deny it. But I don’t want to be that with you. I want you to love me and have my baby and stay here with me. That’s why I spent the whole week cleaning this place up and making it the way I thought you might like it.”

  “You were here the whole week?”

  Gideon nodded. “The guys helped with the painting and bringing some of the stuff in, but yeah. I didn’t even leave to get supper. My mom brought it down.”

  “I think she brought me food, too,” she murmured.

  His face grew serious. “She did, and she said you haven’t been eating.”

  Valkyrie averted her eyes to his shoulder, overwhelmed with guilt. “I ate some of it.”

  That only intensified the creases in his brow. “I don’t know what Harvesters are fed, but bread and water isn’t what we normally eat here in the north.”

  “I wasn’t hungry,” she muttered.

  His features softened. “I know I hurt you. I promise I’ll try harder. But you can’t starve yourself either.”

  “I wasn’t starving myself!” she retorted with just a little too much heat.

  Yet the truth of the matter was that she had been, unintentionally. Her pride had kept her from seeing just how stupid she was being. But she wasn’t about to tell him that.

  There was a ghost of smile turning up the corners of his mouth. “Good.”

  While he hadn’t yelled at her, his gentleness still made her feel thoroughly admonished.

  “But while we’re on the topic,” she said. “You were wrong that night. I do want this baby and I’ve never wanted one. Not ever. But I want her.”

  The dark, possessive glint in his eyes stole her breath even before he kissed her with a passion that curled her toes inside her boots. Somehow, of all the things they’d done thus far, that moment, that kiss was by far the most intimate. It rang with every heartbeat, and thrummed with so much love that it was impossible not to drown in it. It scared her, but letting go was infinitely more terrifying.

  There was no warning when the first boom shook the walls. The shudder tore through the manor, vibrating along the glass and making the crystals overhead tinkle wildly. The second one was even louder. Gideon jerked his head up, his chest rose and fell rapidly in heavy pants. Eyes that had torn through her moments ago narrowed.

  “What is it?” she gasped, still trying to steady her heart rate.

  “Someone’s outside.”

  He rose quickly and helped her to her feet. Then kept a firm grip on her hand as he led them back towards the diner.

  “If I ask you to stay in my room until I return?”

  Valkyrie shot him a disgusted side glance. “That will not happen.”

  Gideon sighed. “Didn’t think so.”

  Neither spoke as they pushed their way through the kitchen. Liam and the others stood in the diner, watching as Magnus yanked the nails out of the plywood boarding the doors shut. It surprised her that Riley, Imogen, and Kyaerin were present. She almost expected them to be in the back, away from the possible danger. Part of her prickled with annoyance that they were there at all. It was dangerous. They had no idea who was on the other side.

  Magnus tossed aside the last board and stepped back. He glanced at his father and inclined his head.

  Liam raised the book in his hands and flipped
it open to one of the pages. He began chanting in Gaelic. Valkyrie knew a few words and understood enough of it to know it was a protection spell. Power and energy rippled around him the way heat did off the roads in the desert.

  “Mom, maybe you guys shouldn’t be here,” Gideon murmured quietly to his mother, who shook her head.

  “Whoever it is, will have to face all of us,” she said evenly, which Valkyrie could almost respect if it wasn’t completely stupid; the frontlines were no place for those not trained.

  She was given no chance to say as much when the doors burst open and a single figure stomped in.

  Valkyrie stiffened. “You!”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Looking out of place in actual jeans and a dusty leather jacket over a white t-shirt, Kyros stood darkening the doorway. His long, dark hair was tied at the nape of his neck and there was a backpack slung over one shoulder. He could have passed for entirely human if Valkyrie didn’t know better. But that wasn’t what had her blades drawn and her feet moving.

  “How dare you show your face here?”

  Gideon grabbed her around the middle and hauled her into him, stopping her from slicing the intruder into tiny pieces.

  Cool, brown eyes leveled her with a hard stare. “Believe me, had I a choice, I would not.”

  “What are you doing here?” Magnus hurried past his friend to the doors and quickly slammed them shut. “Does the queen know—?”

  “I have been exiled,” Kyros stated crisply. “Because of your brother.”

  Against Valkyrie’s back, Gideon stiffened. “Me? What did I do?”

  “You overpowered me and spared my life,” Kyros said with an accusation that said very clearly that Gideon had done him no favors. “The queen no longer has need of my services.”

  “Get him out!” Valkyrie sneered, thrashing against the hold Gideon had on her. “Get him out, or I will cut him to ribbons.”

  “He can’t leave,” Magnus stated tightly. “He is indebted to Gideon.”

  “Then I will kill him and he will have nothing to worry about!” Valkyrie hissed through her teeth.

  Kyros observed her carefully, not in the least bit concerned by her thirst for his blood. “You will not kill me, not when I have information you seek.”

  “Lying will not stop me from having your head for what you have done,” she spat back at him. “Be a man and accept your punishment.”

  His bag struck the ground at his feet. His entire body seemed to swell at her words.

  “Vile, inbred—”

  “Enough.” Liam stepped forward. “You are in my home, Draconian. You will tread carefully and respect those within its walls.” He waited until he had Kyros’s full attention before speaking again. “State your business here.”

  “I have come to pledge my loyalties and service to your son for having spared my life during combat.” He bent down and hefted up his bag. “Believe me when I say that I have as much desire to be here as you do to have me here.”

  “We didn’t combat,” Gideon said. “I hit you. Once.”

  “You defeated me during my watch over the queen,” Kyros corrected. “I can no longer be trusted to protect her.”

  “So you were banished?” Riley piped in from across the room. “What is it with you people and banishment?”

  “It was banishment, or death,” Kyros said. “I chose not to die.”

  “Coward,” Valkyrie hissed.

  Gideon squeezed her gently. “I do not require your services,” he said to the other man. “After what your queen did, you’re lucky I’m not sending you back to her in tiny pieces.”

  “That is your right,” Kyros said. “I am yours to do with what you will and if death is what you desire...”

  “Wait.” Magnus took a step towards the other man. “You said you had information. Information about what?”

  Kyros continued to watch Gideon, his expression never changing. “Tiana was not just my queen. She was my grandmother and I was her personal guard for over nineteen centuries.”

  “You are Richella’s son.” Liam sounded astounded. “You were not born yet, but I knew your mother.”

  Kyros spared him the slightest nod. “My father and grandmother raised me after my mother died.”

  “I find it remarkable that you would show yourself here after what you and your family have done to mine.” Kyaerin folded her arms and bore down at Kyros like an avenging angel. “You most certainly are not welcome here.”

  “Mhuirnín,” Liam murmured quietly. “We should at least hear him out.”

  Something sharp sparked behind the blonde’s eyes that shocked everyone in the room.

  “They threw my son into the dungeon,” she growled through gritted teeth. “They drugged and assaulted my daughter. They started a war between us and the west and now they expect us to take in their little spy? I would not spit on them if they were on fire.”

  “He’s not a spy,” Magnus vouched. “It’s the draconian law of combat. The person who falls must relinquish their freedom to the winner.”

  “I am perfectly aware of their laws and behaviors,” Kyaerin replied. “It makes them all the less welcome here.”

  “Mom—”

  “This is not a topic up for discussion.” Kyaerin never took her pretty blue eyes off Kyros when she spoke. “Your queen may have very little regard for her family, but I will not have you here as a reminder of what you have done to mine.”

  Kyros said nothing a moment while he regarded the fierce woman with cool annoyance. When he spoke, he sounded almost bored.

  “The only person I am permitted to obey is your son.” Kyaerin visibly bristled. But Kyros wasn’t finished speaking. “However, should you feel so strongly about it, I will take my leave.” He started for the door. “But know this, I have been privy to my grandmother’s secrets for more than half my life and I know where all the bodies are buried.”

  “Stop.”

  To everyone’s surprise, it was Gideon’s command that stilled Kyros from reaching the door. The other man turned back to the room. His features were impassive, but there was no missing the arrogant glint in his eyes.

  “You will tell us what you know and when you’re finished, Valkyrie will be the one to decide your fate.”

  It was a tossup who was more surprised by his decision. But only Valkyrie had the inexplicable urge to kiss him. Kyros looked on the verge of leaving no matter what. The prospect of having his life in the hands of the one person anxious for his head probably was not what he’d been hoping for when he had left his people to find Final Judgment in search of sanctuary. It made the whole matter that much sweeter.

  “It’s either that, or you take your chances breaking your oath,” Gideon finished.

  Kyros pivoted slowly on his heel until he was facing the room once more. The knuckles on the hand clasping his bag tightened to rigid, white points. Brown eyes shifted to Magnus before confronting Gideon once more.

  “Very well.”

  Magnus, Reggie, and Octavian wedged the boards back over the door as the rest of the group followed Liam to the back of the house. Gideon, with his hand still clasped firmly around Valkyrie’s, stopped his mother before she could follow the rest through the doors. There were lines of frustration creasing her brow, but her features were quietly patient when she focused on her son.

  “We need to know what he knows,” Gideon told her softly. “This is why we went to them in the first place. Trust me, no one wants to see him dead more than I do, but I want to get all we can out of him first.”

  Kyaerin’s mouth thinned, but her gaze remained pensive. “I understand and I agree, I simply don’t like it.” Her eyes traveled from her son to Valkyrie. “How are you?”

  It was a reasonable question, except she was still not accustomed to being asked, to being cared about. The fact that Kyaerin had even stood up for her in front of Kyros, defending her against what his people had done was an anomaly in itself.

  “Fine,” she lied smoot
hly.

  Kyaerin studied her with all the careful patience of a mother bird watching her baby chick about to take its first leap out of the nest. Her blue eyes were a little too steady on Valkyrie’s face. Then, just as fluidly, they slid to the hand Gideon still held and followed it up to his face.

  “Darling, why don’t you run on ahead? I need to get something from my room and I would like Valkyrie to join me. It won’t be but a minute,” she promised when Gideon didn’t speak right away.

  He turned his head towards Valkyrie, his expression questioning. She gave him a nod and relinquished his grip on her hand. That same hand slid to the small of her back instead as he leaned over and planted a kiss to the side of her head. It took her momentarily by surprise, and by the time she recovered, he had walked through the kitchen doors after the others. She peeked at the other woman and received a smile.

  “We should be quick,” Kyaerin told her.

  Not sure what to say, Valkyrie followed the woman mutely to the back of the house. They walked past the parlor just as Gideon reached the door. He glanced back once as they walked past him and his gaze caught on Valkyrie’s for just a second before he disappeared inside.

  Kyaerin took her to a different parlor, this one dusty and filled with forgotten pieces of furniture. Dust covered everything in a fine, gray powder and clung to the sheets of light falling through grimy windows. Valkyrie wondered if this was the place the other woman would finally attempt to kill her when Kyaerin led her to a brown, leather sofa facing an empty hearth.

  “I’m afraid I can never find enough time to clean as this place requires,” Kyaerin said with a sigh. “Please excuse the state.”

  Valkyrie sat, but made no comment on the dirt.

  Kyaerin, hands folded neatly in her lap, did that watching thing Valkyrie was really beginning to hate. It was as though the woman was rifling through Valkyrie’s brain, picking and dissecting everything about her.

  “How are you, Valkyrie?”

  Valkyrie was almost certain that was a question she’d already been asked. Nevertheless, she responded as she had earlier.