“See, was that so hard?” Samantha grumbled. Her attitude simmered slightly when she caught a flicker of sadness in his eyes. Sadness he quickly masked with that stern look he was so good at. But, at least now she knew he was feeling something beneath his tough exterior. And while she might be angry at him for his indifference, she was still capable of compassion. “I’m sorry about your dad and sister, Bjorn.” Her eyes fell to the fire. “I’m sorry about your mom too but—”
“Enough,” he interrupted as he sat. “I do not want your pity, so say no more about my family.”
Her brows spiked, and her eyes shot to him. She wasn’t all that surprised to see anger in his gaze. “Fine. I get it. No sympathy. Duly noted.” Yet it bothered her that he shut her out. That he shut out his own emotions. “If you don’t want to talk about your family, that’s fine. But you need to give me more answers.”
Bjorn nodded as he took the rabbit off the spit. He didn’t seem put out in the least by her response. If anything, he found relief in it. “First, you will eat and gain your strength.”
“No,” she said. “First, you’ll give me answers.”
He set the rabbit on a rock and pulled out a pouch and dagger. “Eat.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Answers.”
Bjorn sprinkled the rabbit with some of the pouch’s contents. “First, eat.”
The guy was impossible. His way or no way. “I’ll eat if you talk.”
“I am talking.”
“You know what I mean.”
Bjorn said nothing but tucked the pouch back into his pocket and started slicing the rabbit. His movements were fast and sure, methodical. He slid several pieces onto a small stick and handed it to her. “Eat, Samantha. Soon you will grow tired, and you need nourishment beforehand.”
“Tired? I doubt it.” She took the meat and eyed it, not all that impressed. “Besides, you weren’t worried about my stomach a few minutes ago when you were ready to storm off into the woods.”
“I would not have gone far,” he replied. “You would not have been out of my sight.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.” Her eyes narrowed on the meat. “What was in that pouch?” She looked at him. “Are you trying to drug me so you don’t have to answer my questions?”
“If I wanted you asleep you would be.” He frowned. “The pouch contains herbs. Seasonings to flavor the meat.”
“Didn’t you already do that before you cooked it?”
“I do it before and after,” he said. “Different seasonings. Some are better without the flame.”
Samantha sniffed it and tried her best to repress her pleasure. It smelled absolutely delicious.
“Eat and then we will talk, woman,” Bjorn said gruffly.
Her eyes shot to him and narrowed, but he looked away. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was responding to her reaction to the smell. “Am I turning you on, Bjorn?”
“Turning me on?”
The corner of her lip hitched. “Arousing you?” She softened her voice intentionally and watched him as she licked the meat slowly. “Mmm.”
His eyes narrowed and for a split second, she saw fire, then something else. Catlike eyes. Predatory eyes. Desire. For her. “No.”
Renewed heat flared beneath her skin and her tattoo burned. But she didn’t care. Though shaken to her core by seeing such clear evidence of his dragon, she was also enraptured by it. The desire he refused to admit to.
“I am female. You are male,” she whispered and licked the meat, her eyes never leaving his. Something inside her was taking over. Something wicked. “Lust is natural.”
Bjorn tore into his meat, his eyes never leaving her lips…her tongue.
Sam liked the power she had over him. The control. So she decided to approach this from another angle. She leaned forward, propped her chin on her fist, allowed him an ample view of her cleavage and murmured, “Why am I really here, Bjorn? Is it because you want me? Like your cousins Tait and Matthew did…do?”
His chewing slowed as he considered her. “Do you really want to know why you’re here, Samantha?”
“Sam,” she purred. “Yes. Please.”
“Samantha,” he said, ignoring her request, his voice unusually soft. “I will tell you the truth.”
Was he slurring or was that her hearing? Because he sounded odd.
“I’m listening,” she said through numb lips. Sam flicked her tongue, trying to feel them. She peered at him through one eye then the other when he stood. His body elongated and wavered.
“You’re here because I’ve kidnapped you, Samantha,” he said, heading her way.
Sam barely heard his last words before the world twirled and everything started to fade.
“And yes,” Bjorn said. “I put herbs on your food to help you rest.”
Then everything went black.
Chapter Three
“ARE YOU SO certain that this was the right course of action, Bjorn?” Näv said as they ate and Samantha slept. He covered her with a fur so he no longer had to look at her. The woman had an unnatural allure, and he wanted nothing to do with it.
Nothing to do with her.
“It was the only course of action,” he replied to his cousin. “The best place for that woman is far away from not only her family but mine. She is nothing but trouble.”
Näv stuck her feet in a bowl of warm water and sighed with relief. “You say as much, but I wonder if she is not an excuse for you to stay away from your family as well.”
“My new King is my priority now as should he be yours.” Bjorn took a swig from his skin. “He does not need another threat to contend with.”
The seer eyed Samantha, unconvinced. “I like her.” Näv grinned at him. “She gets you riled up. I’ve never seen that before.”
“She annoys me.” He took another bite of rabbit. “Nothing more.”
“Perhaps.” Näv eyed him knowingly. “When did you last lie with a woman, Cousin? You seem particularly repressed as of late.”
“That is none of your concern,” he grumbled and took another bite.
“When you asked for my help you made all of this my concern,” Näv reminded and sat back against the log, clearly still relishing the feel of the water. “My feet haven’t hurt like this in ages. You know this only happens when that bugger in my mind tries to walk in my shoes. You know she’s pure crazy.”
Because Näv and her sisters were children of a demi-god and the most powerful seer born to Midgard, they were more vulnerable to the fluctuations of the human mind than most. Therefore Näv kept them stable by feeding their insecurities and weaknesses into a mirror image of herself. One locked away deep inside.
Though Bjorn only nodded, Näv understood that was his way of saying thank you. She had gone to great lengths to help him, and he couldn’t be more appreciative.
“This is for the greater good,” he said. “I promise you that, Cousin.”
He and Näv had always been close. He imagined it was because they found solace in the mountains and nature. More than that, they were both firstborn and passed over for positions of authority. In his case, King. In Näv’s case, first apprentice to the head seer, her mother, Aella. Vigdis had taken that spot instead.
Neither of them were bitter about their circumstances, but they related.
“Your dragon responds strongly to hers,” Näv murmured. “As does hers to yours.”
“My dragon responds to any female dragon who is not family,” he countered. “Hers is no different.”
His gaze narrowed on the fire as he tried to keep his eyes off Samantha.
He could not look at her.
“Loki’s cock, you do not lie well, Bjorn.” Näv shook her head. “But I have never seen you try to lie to yourself like this.” She dumped out the water, curled her toes in front of the fire and studied his face. “Samantha has been inside my head now. Which means I know her mind. Would you like to know what I discovered there?”
“No.�
�� He swigged half his skin, laid down on the hard ground and pulled a fur over him. “It’s none of my concern.”
“But it will be,” she said softly. “Because you and Samantha share kindred hearts, Cousin. She can help you, and you can help her.”
“Get some rest, Näv,” he mumbled and closed his eyes. “We travel at sundown.”
Bjorn continued with the premise that the enemy was not defeated and preferred daylight. So they would travel at night. Yet rest was something that didn’t come easily if at all. When it did, he relived the same day over and over. The enemy telling his father that he had eaten Meyla. Then the fury in Naðr’s eyes before he shifted and the two began fighting.
Enraged, Bjorn tried to shift but couldn’t. Not since the enemy’s dart had hit him. It had repressed his and Matthew’s dragons. All he could do was watch his father get massacred in the air as he stood docile and useless at the end of the dock. He clenched his fists and roared in rage as the enemy ripped his father’s neck open. He could barely see straight he was so livid. So helpless.
Heidrek and Cybil were there, but he wasn’t.
The king’s son was unable to help him in his hour of greatest need.
Then he watched his father crash to the ocean…to his death…
Another roar ripped from his chest, and Bjorn jolted upright. It was a dream. At the exact same moment, Samantha sat up and their eyes locked. Golden rays of dwindling sunlight sliced through the trees and ignited her hair as though it was on fire.
He could deny it all he wanted, but there was no questioning her stark, wild beauty. He had never seen another woman like her. Untamed, flaming red curls framed her face and poured down her back. Her features were remarkably beautiful. She had smooth, ivory skin and almond-shaped eyes a unique shade of deep hazel. Almost the color of the sea just before a storm took her.
“I…you…” Samantha’s eyes remained wide on him as she whispered, “I was there with you…I saw…I felt…”
It took several moments for him to realize what she spoke of. She had been in his dream. Lived it with him.
“You saw nothing.” He dragged his eyes from hers, wiped a hand over his face in frustration and set to packing.
Surprisingly enough, Samantha said nothing…at first. But then Näv had been kind and cast a spell on her. One that meant she wouldn’t remember him drugging her just yet. Regrettably, it didn’t apply to everything else that transpired.
“Why did you kidnap me, Bjorn?”
Samantha’s voice was so suspiciously soft that he glanced at her just to be sure she wasn’t coming at him with a weapon. The look in her eyes caught him off guard. She wasn’t mad but concerned about him. Worried. Pity didn’t reflect in her bluish-green gaze but a need to connect and comfort.
“I will explain as we travel,” he said, cursing his gruff words, cursing the unexpected emotion she pulled from him. He had worked hard to push past the effects a dragon female could have on him.
The effects Erin had on him.
Then Cybil.
He refused to mate with a woman now. He should not have wanted to before. Not based on his past. Not when he could lose so much again. But dragon females had a unique allure. They cast a spell on the male mind. Or so it seemed. But he had grown stronger and recognized their draw for what it was. Chemistry. Nothing more.
So he would not claim a female.
Especially not this one.
“Where’s Näv?” Samantha said, interrupting his thoughts.
As he fully expected, his cousin had no intention of continuing the journey with them. She might have gotten Samantha here, but would be a party to it no longer. She did, however, leave appropriate clothing for the futuristic woman.
“She will meet up with us later.” Bjorn gestured at the clothing and boots Näv left. “Change into those.”
Samantha eyed what she was wearing. “It’s pretty warm. What’s wrong with what I have on except maybe the sandals?” Her eyes went to the endless forest. “They probably aren’t the best for traveling.”
Against his better judgment, he allowed himself to eye her outfit. The short scraps of material that barely covered the gentle slopes of her hips and the round globes of her backside. The long, trim muscled expanse of her shapely legs. Then the cinch of her waist and the plush fullness of her breasts.
“Bjorn,” she chimed, her voice taking on the temptress tone that meant she was up to no good. “Whatcha looking at?”
His eyes snapped to hers and narrowed before he tossed the clothes at her. “Change, woman, or you will never survive here.”
“Yes, sir, grumpy,” she said as he turned away.
He ground his jaw against untimely arousal. He wasn’t sure if it was because he’d looked at her or if it was the sound of her clothes being pulled off. When the scent of her need hit his nostrils, red skirted his vision, and he was tempted to lay with her. Just once. Just to see. Was sex with a fellow dragon all that different than with a human? Because he wasn’t so sure it would be. He had been well-satisfied by the countless human women he’d lain with.
“All right, lead the way, kidnapper,” Samantha declared. “But I hope to hell it’s in the direction of your Fortress because last I checked you had an ailing father and a best friend turned king who needs you.”
Bjorn ignored her sarcasm and frowned as he nudged her along through the forest. Näv had done him no favors with Samantha’s outfit, and well the devious seer likely knew it. Now she wore brown, fitted leather pants and a snug jerkin that did nothing to hide her figure. Naturally, the feisty redhead swayed her hips invitingly though they traveled over rougher and rougher terrain. And by Loki’s balls, he knew she did it on purpose.
“So, when are you gonna tell me why you’re avoiding your family and obligations just for little old me?” she finally said.
Samantha had a strange way of saying things. He understood her meaning more so because of her various, unending expressions than because of her actual words. As it was, the Yggdrasill allowed them to understand one another’s language but not necessarily the slang terms or twenty-first century sayings. So there was room for interpretation. Or at least there would be with any other woman besides Samantha.
His eyes remained locked on her swaying backside.
She made things pretty clear.
“Bjorn?” She stopped short, and he walked right into her.
Like the night before, they both froze. Unable to control himself, he leaned down, nuzzled close and inhaled the scent of her soft, thick hair. It smelled of sweet flowers that had warmed in the sun. He imagined that same scent drifting around him as he sunk into her heated depth.
“Bjorn,” she whispered and turned ever-so-slowly, curling into him like a cat might her master…like a sweet little dragon might her captor. He licked his lips, eager to play her game. Curious to see how far she would take it.
“Did you know I’ve got a thing for you?” she purred as she flicked her tongue along the side of his neck and her hand trailed up his thigh. “Since the moment I saw you in that cave in the mountain.”
“Did you really?” he murmured, remembering well her appreciation for all men present. But hel if he wasn’t enjoying this. So he grabbed her ass with one hand and more than relished the gasp she released when he yanked her close. “Tell me more.”
She swallowed, unsure for a moment before she continued, her voice ridiculously sultry. “How could I not?” she murmured. “You were all big and strong and…”
When her hand closed around the hilt of the dagger at his waist, his hand closed around hers and squeezed. “And what, Samantha?” he whispered close to her ear.
Yet again their eyes met and narrowed on each other except this time their lips were inches apart. Her heartbeat quickened. So did his. He squeezed her backside while slowly guiding her hand to pull his dagger out and press it to his side. Bjorn repositioned it until one good thrust would be all it took. “Is this what you want, woman? To end me?”
Their eyes continued to hold, but she said nothing.
Yet something happened.
Something he didn’t expect.
Words started to filter through his mind.
Words that weren’t his.
But hers.
Do you really think I want to end you, you idiot? I can’t stop thinking about you. Hell, I’m glad you took me because I needed to know you were okay. And look at you…clearly not okay. Shit, how am I gonna fix you? This? Everything? God, your poor mom.
Bjorn pulled back sharply, grabbed her wrist and kept walking. “I do not have time for this.”
“Time for what?” Samantha quipped. “Fake lust?”
“Stay out of my mind, dragon,” he growled and didn’t look back.
“Gladly,” she said. “Never been there. Never intend to.”
But he knew she sensed the unintended telepathic communication.
Frown in place, Bjorn said nothing more as the night wore on. How had she managed to get inside his mind? She wasn’t related, and they would mate over his dead body. Outside of seemingly caring for his mother, he found no admirable attributes in the redhead. She was brash, too free with her opinions, overly willing with men and there was that other thing.
He might have been mourning his father those last days at the Fortress, but he didn’t miss how Samantha spent her time. Telling people that they should be glad they were divorced. That they should celebrate it.
What sort of woman found happiness at the end of love? At the end of a strong relationship?
Not any type he wanted to claim.
The sun was hours away from rising before Samantha spoke again and this time there was nothing sultry about it. “Näv isn’t joining us, is she?”
“No,” he said bluntly as he lit a torch then nudged her into a small cave that interconnected with several others along the oceanfront. “Nobody is joining us.”
“So what? You’ve brought me all this way to kill me?” she spat, her voice a little shaky as she stood, unsure which way to go.
Almost tempted to comfort her, Bjorn shook his head and remained evasive. “I brought you here to keep our kin safe. Nothing more.” His eyes finally met hers and he made things very clear. “Though my dragon might get confused about whether it desires you, I do not. I want nothing from you but your cooperation until I figure things out.” When she simply stared at him, he said, “Do you understand?”
Vengeance of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 2) Page 4
