by Misty Dietz
Ridiculous. And these fucking sirens were driving him batty. He raised a hand to create a sound barrier around him and Jade. “Vikings have no fear.”
She folded her arms in front of her chest. “Are you really so unself-aware? There is no shame in feeling afraid. It’s what you do with that fear. You’re afraid of being stuck, and instead of dealing with it, you’re being a heavy-handed douche.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t know what it’s like to stay in one spot. More specifically, you don’t know how to find happiness staying in one spot. Even though you and Kat were together for many years, you guys hardly ever stayed in one place longer than a few months. You know Kat doesn’t prefer that kind of lifestyle, yet she did it for you. Now, if you love her as much as I think you do, you’ll figure out how to accommodate her needs as well.” She looked up and acknowledged Maddox from across the room, adding as she walked away, “Just because you don’t know ‘the how’ of something doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”
Ari watched Jade depart without really seeing her. She made it sound so easy, but he was coming to realize his and Kat’s situation was anything but simple. He was a man of action. He didn’t know what to do while standing still.
The sirens stopped suddenly, the silence almost more worrisome than the blaring. He glanced over to the DJ stage where Kat was reaching out to touch Kaikoa’s arm. “Kat, no! I’ll do the exorc—”
Ari streamed toward her as fast as he could, catching her before she crumpled to the floor. “Christ. Enough, you hear me? Enough,” he whispered as she turned her face into his chest. His gritted his teeth at the sign of her yielding in front of her staff, then he faced her team. “Reinforce all the exits, especially the terrace doors, with salt, holy water, and chrism oil. Use all we have if you need to. Get a few trusted priests to exorcise Kai and help us ready more holy armaments. I’ll wipe minds if needed afterwards. Unless you find yourselves in an unavoidable emergency, leave us alone. We’ll be back down…when we’re down.”
It would have to be enough.
He left Kat’s team and streamed to her private quarters upstairs. He had to figure out why she was so sick. He entered her office and went straight through to her shuttered, shadowy bedroom with its soothing wood and ivory linen textures. With her still silent in his arms, he sealed the doorway, the vents, and all the windows with wards. Whomever had set off the alarms—Leviathan, her hordes, Siolazar—they’d all have to wait.
All would wait. The island needed its Guardians whole.
He sat her at the end of the bed and began removing the pins from her hair. Her eyes soon drifted shut, her pulse settling into a rhythm that matched his own. With all the pins removed, her hair fell down around her shoulders. He ran his hands through it, the fragrance of it reminding him of happier times. “Remember when I told you that every time you feel the wind in your hair it meant I was thinking of you?”
She nodded, her eyes opening. “I’m in over my head right now, so I’m grateful for your help. But you need to know that I can’t do this with you, Ari.”
“This?”
She looked down at her hands. “The bonding. I’m attracted to you. I can’t hide that, but…the rest isn’t there.”
His chest tightened, but he sat down beside her anyway. She was lying. Again. He wasn’t wrong about their connection. What they had went beyond attraction and lust. But right now, he didn’t have the energy to convince her to drop the walls. She stiffened when his hand went to her hair. “It’s longer now,” he said quietly.
When she swiveled to face him, her gaze was tired. “Who knows what new madness is unleashed on the city, and you want to talk about my hair?” She tried to stand up.
He pulled her back onto the mattress and rolled on top of her, using his knees to nudge her legs apart, wishing she was wearing a dress instead of these tailored dress slacks she’d changed into after the white light bomb. “I don’t want to talk at all.” His lips found her neck, her quick intake of breath the perfect encouragement.
“Take me home.”
Yes. He’d been waiting to hear those words from her lips for three years and eighty-five days. Ari leaned up and away, pulling her with him so he could dispatch with her flimsy blouse. It was half way off her body when he realized she was feebly protesting. Don’t give her a chance to rethink her demand. He pulled it the rest of the way off, tossed it across the room, stripped off his own shirt, and then pulled her against him to feel her skin on his.
He groaned satisfaction. You feel so good, elskan.
She was still pushing away from him.
He leaned back, keeping his hands on her upper arms. Everything in him stilled when he noticed tears forming in her eyes. “Did I miss something here?”
“I want to go home-home. As in, not here. And I don’t feel…I don’t want to take the time to drive there.”
Meaning, she wasn’t strong enough to stream there.
He had them to her house across the island in only a few seconds longer than normal. His vigor was steadily returning simply by being with her. After a quick check of the grounds to ensure no demons lurked in the area, he carried her to her bedroom.
Her quarters here were vastly different than the ones at AQUA. Both were comfortable and polished, but this bedroom was done in shades of gray and white. More streamlined and modern. Glamour and glass. Mirror and shine. Each bedroom reflected a different side of Kat. Her choice to be here told him much about her current mood. She needed the façade of strength to bolster her until she’d rediscovered her center.
He came up behind her at the dresser, watched her remove her diamond earrings, grateful that she no longer seemed ready to weep. He brushed his fingertips across the nape of her neck, then leaned down to breathe in her ear. “Tell me what I can do for you, my...” Love. “Lady.” He forced a smile into his voice.
Her hand paused on the velvet nesting box for her earrings, her lips quirking infinitesimally. “You may remove my necklace.” She tilted her head slightly forward. Delicate goosebumps ran the length of her arms.
“I am ever at your service.” His fingers lightly traced the line of her shoulder as he released the clasp. The gold slid down between the lacy cups of her bra before she caught the precious metal in one fist. He eased forward, pressing her into the dresser, his eyes tracking up every delicious inch of her exposed skin until they met hers in the mirror. His erection burned against the denim of his jeans. Her fingers flexed on top of the dresser. His palms came to rest on the hips of her gray slacks, not that she was going anywhere, but because if he didn’t put his hands somewhere semi-safe, he’d move way too fast.
“And now?” His voice was gruff, his throat dry. His hand cupped her chin. “No, don’t look away. Look me in the eyes when you tell me what you want, Katherine.”
One eyebrow rose. “Now it’s Katherine?”
“I’m trying to get you in a more agreeable mood. You owe me a month, remember?”
“That was only if you got rid of Siolazar. You didn’t. Leviathan did.”
“In case you forgot, the terms of my deal were, ‘if we get out of this.’ And we did. Doesn’t matter how,” he replied. His fingers crept along the front of her waistband, her stomach jumping with each advance as he unbuttoned her slacks. When they puddled at her feet, she lifted first one foot, then the other, freeing them from the fabric. Then she stood there in nothing but her bra, thong, and high heels. Bond. Make her mine. His gaze fixed on her navel in the mirror to find a center of control. To go slow.
His eyes closed. Breathe. Her body shuddered slightly, and a rush of electricity arced through him. His eyes snapped open to find hers in the mirror.
She’d reopened their intimate pathway.
I’m too tired to fight or play games, Ari. And I’m damn tired of being alone. Care for me once last time so I may face death with strength and honor.
He turned her and lifted her in his arms, wrapping her legs around his
waist, staring deep into faded blue eyes. You will not die while I have breath. Skin against skin, his blood sang. Her fingers threaded through his hair, the sweet sensation making him groan against her lips. His fingers curled into the soft skin of her bottom, moving her up and down in a slow, delicious grind against the front of his jeans until she was breathing heavily.
“Your jeans have to go.”
Helvete, her voice could slay him. “Not yet.”
She slid down his body, slow like molasses upon a wall. They were both shaking by the time her heels sank into the carpet. “Ari,” she protested.
He settled her into the wide, wing-backed chair, placing a pillow behind the small of her back. “You’ll get everything you want and more. I promise, skjaldmær—my shield maiden warrior.”
His chest felt so tight he could hardly take a full breath. He knelt between her legs, her skin an almost surreal shade of rose in the height of her arousal. She leaned up and reached for him then, vanquishing his control. Their mouths met, hot and seeking. Her fingernails scored his back. He unhooked her bra, then cupped her breasts. “So perfect.”
Her hands bracketed his face, pulling him away to look at her. “Y-you can’t say that.”
“What?” Aqua was returning to her irises. “Your eyes are the color of Sognefjord on a foggy morning. Have I ever told you that?”
She blinked at him. “No. I…no.”
“It reminds me of my family in happy times, and all things that have a good soul in this world.”
“Really?”
The naked vulnerability in her expression was so at odds with the polished, acerbic side of her. “I would never lie to you, Kat.”
She laid her forehead against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I know. But calling anyone perfect is too much pressure.”
Of course she would think that. “Okay, no more perfection.” He pushed her back against the gray cushions to nuzzle her belly. “No more thinking either.” His fingers slid the edges of her lace thong down, his lips following his fingers to press open mouthed kisses along the way. “No thinking. Just pleasure.”
Her hands feathered through his hair, her soft sighs weaving around them. His shoulders pressed into her legs as his tongue sought her softness. She squirmed on the chair, her hips shifting, rolling against his mouth with increasing strength. Sweat beaded at his temples, slid into his eyes. He hooked her legs over his shoulders and sucked harder, then pulled back before she lost control, blowing and kissing her swollen labia. Up and back down that erotic slide he took her, over and over until she was panting, cursing at him, demanding release, the claws he craved fully unsheathed.
He loved her in all her facets, but he hungered for this raw side. The way she threw off her cold veneer. So rare. But she did it for him. Came…
Undone.
Yes, Ari. God! His head rang with her intimate scream. His mouth, his fingers, his arms holding her in place. Riding out the orgasm with her. So beautiful.
You are mine. You can’t deny me anymore, Kat. A shadow passed through his mind. Don’t let her think. He scooped her out of the chair, pivoted toward the bed, and laid her diagonally across the covers. He studied her as he unzipped his pants, erection pulsing when she leaned up on her elbows to watch him. He pulled her up to stand, kissing her mouth when she opened it to complain. He swept her into his arms once more, then turned and sat himself on the edge of the bed, bringing her spread legs around him to hook about his waist. Let her lead.
She didn’t make him wait for long. She accepted him, then took him deeper into her body on successive grinds. Each motion of her hips brought them closer together, hearts beating in rhythm, breaths stirring each other’s hair, sweat mingling.
“Lean back into my arms.”
The freedom—the power—she felt with this man was a gift.
And a blade.
So much pleasure. So much pain. So much life.
So much everything.
Ari.
Everything was so dark without him. He brought the light.
How she’d missed him, the effortless vitality he wore like his own skin. When they were together like this, she could almost forget something tainted was inside her, consuming her.
Tears sprang to her eyes as ecstasy rose up. She grasped at her Viking’s broad shoulders and buried her face in his carotid, the forceful pulse of his life echoing the ripples of the orgasm rolling through her. His arms banded around her, his deep voice whispering ancient words in Norse and Latin as his body continued to claim her.
She could feel his spirit reach for her. Her soul jumped in response, but she blocked the connection before they could merge.
She held on to her Viking’s shifting back muscles. Wishing…
I’m sorry. If only you could stay it might be different.
Chapter 13
Kat came awake with all her senses online—the murkiness and curious pre-sunrise energy suffusing the atmosphere beyond her windows, the waves eternally crashing against the rocks outside her bedroom, and the cool ambient temperature of the room contrasting sharply with the heat radiating off the body beside her.
Ari. The way he moved, the scent of him, everything about him…so full of mystery. Exuberant, dauntless, free.
Everything she was not.
He would tire of her so quickly.
Yes, he would be drawn back to her over and over because of their artificial pairing. Maybe she could have lived with that if she had the lifespan of a mortal woman.
But an eternity of watching him leave?
You don’t have an eternity. Sure, she felt good right now, but this vigor would fade as the sickness inside her came creeping back. She could sense it during quiet moments like this. Feel it under her skin and in her mind. Watching. Waiting. For what she didn’t know. Maybe she had somehow been infected with the dark sleep. But an archdemon had to be powered up by a holy relic to infect a Guardian, and she hadn’t heard of any relics going missing. Neither from her Unholy Inc partners or from any free agent Guardians.
Then again, maybe she was simply losing her mind. Going insane like her notorious father.
Alexios would eventually be forced to end her. Or maybe Michael would blitz her into nothingness. That would probably be the most merciful way to go.
Whatever was causing it, it was already coming back—an awful heaviness thickening her blood, making her heart work harder to pump vital oxygen through her body.
As ardently as he’d tried, Ari’s healing was becoming less effective.
She blinked back the moisture rising in her eyes as he rolled onto his back, naked and spread eagled on the bed. Then he went completely motionless again. His lips parted slightly, soft in repose. He slept the sleep of the guileless. Lucky bastard. She’d resisted him for so long now. Once she’d thought he was hers.
Silly girl.
Silly, sad girl.
She ached to brush the sun-kissed locks from his brow. To wake him with kisses along each glorious, sculpted plane, and start the healing all over again. But one person—especially one full of shadows like her—couldn’t expect to hold a lightning bolt like Ari. He was laughter on the wind, a shout of triumph standing on the bow of a warrior’s ship, a living example of fight hard, play harder.
If only he could stay.
Stay, stay, stay.
She shivered and touched her lips, remembering how his skin had warmed her through the long hours of the dawn. She never thought she’d have another experience like that again.
All that focused attention was overwhelming and magnificent.
Her heart drummed against her chest, her legs shifting in the sheets. He would probably try to stay. Might even be able to by sheer force of will. But his spirit would die like a bird with clipped wings. He needed movement, new shores, sundry experiences. It was why he’d never joined the Unholy Inc partnership.
She wouldn’t change her restless Viking. She probably wouldn’t even lov—
She snatched back
the hand that had nearly caressed his face. Oh, you stupid girl. She would always love him.
He didn’t think she understood why he’d left to find Jade, but she did. His pride refused to accept that he couldn’t fix her grief. And the Viking code that forbade any show of weakness denied him the solace of acknowledging his own grief. He did the only thing he knew. Went in search of a salve for both of them.
She loved him all the more for it even as it broke her heart to realize that what he needed, she couldn’t give…her soul, bonded eternally.
The connection they both craved would eventually rip them apart.
Stop thinking about it.
And she needed to stop looking at him.
She rolled carefully away and slipped from the bed, quickly dressing in yoga pants and a thin cotton shirt. She froze when he turned and reached toward her side of the bed, but he only grabbed a pillow and pulled it to his chest. She stared at him for a few more, bittersweet moments, then grabbed her phone off the nightstand, and quietly left her big, beautiful warrior slumbering alone.
5:17 am
She stepped onto the tiled lanai, skirting around the pool toward the beach. She needed sand between her toes. The spray of surf on her skin, the wind in her hair.
All permanent things. Things she could count on.
She kept her distance from the waves, gathering shells that gleamed milky white in the hazy pre-light, trying to block thoughts of Ari.
And Mary. Her sweet face. How she’d loved her younger sister.
How jealous of her she’d been.
The ugliness of it twisted and burned in her belly even now.
Father had loved Mary best. No, father had loved only Mary.
“Enough!” She crushed the shells in her fist and threw them back toward the ocean. “I don’t care! Do you hear me, father? I can’t keep doing this.” She plunked down onto the dry sand, staring at the waves.
So tired of it all.
Tired of keeping the wall fortified. Keeping the bad memories away.
The few good ones, too.
