“Seriously!” I yelled after him.
Vali laughed softly and pulled me closer. “I’d apologize for my father,” he said, “but you’re the one who told me not to kill him.”
I sniffed. “I’m beginning to regret that.”
“Hmmmm,” Vali murmured against my neck. His kisses grew more insistent. I leaned into his chest as his heat filled my body, burning away my cold fear. His hands cupped my breasts, and my nipples grew hard as the sheet fell to my waist.
“My wife,” he whispered, his lips and tongue tracing the curve of my collarbone.
Heat surged between my legs, and I bit my lip to keep from moaning. “Vali,” I whimpered. “The door is—” I gasped as Vali’s hand moved between my legs.
“Forget the door,” he growled.
My hips rocked as his fingers danced across my sex, brushing my clit in slow, rhythmic circles. I arched my back and felt the heat of his erection pressing into my thigh.
“Unless you want me to stop?” he whispered as he dragged his teeth along the sensitive skin of my neck.
“No,” I gasped. “No, don’t stop. Make me forget the door. Make me forget everything.”
His low laugh brushed my skin, sending shivers of electricity through my body. “When I’m done with you, wife, you won’t even remember your name.”
His touch grew more urgent, and the room vanished as I closed my eyes, letting him embrace me, letting his fingers and lips chase away thought and memory. He eased me back onto the bed, kissing a path down my breastbone as his fingers caressed my nipples. He moved slowly, running his hands over my nipples and his lips across the curve of my stomach until my sex was aching in low, dull throbs.
“Vali,” I pleaded.
He moaned, his breath soft against my navel. “My wife.”
His hands finally dipped to my thighs, and I groaned with relief. His fingers brushed the curls between my legs, and I arched my back, pressing my thighs up to meet his hand, desperate for his touch. His golden eyes sparkled wildly in the soft light of early morning as he moved up my body, his lips closing around my nipple as his fingers finally entered me.
My eyes rolled back in pleasure, and I cried out something that I’d intended to be his name but that came out as a guttural, animal moan. Vali’s thumb circled my clit and waves of heat cascaded through my body. Just when I felt I would lose control, he backed off, curling his fingers inside me and filling me with a different heat, a different ecstasy. His breath came faster now against the swell of my breast, and his long hair fell across my chest.
“Worried about the door now?” he panted.
“D-door?” I stammered. His thumb was on my clit again, pressing hard, then backing off, and it was inordinately hard to get my mouth to form words.
He shifted to kneel above me, his fingers still curling inside me. Oh, damn, the sight of his naked, muscular chest above me almost sent me over the edge.
“What’s your name?” he whispered. His fingers were moving faster now, and my hips rocked along with them, my body trembling as swells of pleasure carried me closer and closer to the abyss of orgasm. “What’s your name, wife?”
“N-n-n,” I panted, unable to get the words out. Name? My mind was a red wash of pleasure, unable to focus on any one word. What the fuck did names matter now?
Vali gave me a victorious smile and drove his fingers into me, thrusting hard. I came like an avalanche, screaming as my body stiffened beneath him, my back arching and my head driving into the mattress, my name completely and utterly forgotten.
I lay still for a moment, panting as the room circled above me. Slowly, I realized Vali was still kneeling between my legs, the stiff length of his cock glorious in the early morning light. I moaned softly as a fresh shiver of arousal lanced through me.
“More?” Vali asked, arching an eyebrow.
I hooked my legs around his hips. “More.”
I ALMOST FELL ASLEEP again as I sank back into my mattress in a soft red haze of satisfaction. The bone-deep exhaustion of the past few days settled over my body like a gentle weight, pushing me onto the sheets. Vali shifted next to me, sighing contentedly, and I closed my eyes. If I could just keep from thinking, just freeze the past and the future and keep them out of this bedroom, then everything would be perfect.
Something metallic crashed from the kitchen, followed by a sharp ceramic clank. My eyes flew open as the peaceful serenity of the morning evaporated.
“Goddammit, Loki,” I growled to my ceiling.
The bed shook slightly as Vali laughed next to me. “Want me to go punch him?” he offered.
I shook my head. “If anyone’s going to punch him, it’s going to be me. But not before a shower.”
Vali propped himself up on his elbow, his forehead furrowing. “Shower?”
“Yeah. I really don’t want to punch anyone until I can at least wash my...” My voice trailed off as the expression on his face registered with my cloudy brain.
Shower. Shit. Vali spent the last two thousand years imprisoned as a wolf. I assumed he’d seen cars and buildings, from the outside, at least. But a shower?
“You don’t know what a shower is, do you?” I asked.
“It’s...rain?” Vali said, hesitantly.
I grinned as I pushed myself out of bed. “Come here, sexy. Let me show you something.”
Vali trailed me, looking puzzled.
“So, this is the bathroom,” I said, gesturing at the white tiled walls and wishing I’d cleaned the floor this week. Or last week, for that matter.
“Yes, that much I was able to discern,” Vali said, still frowning slightly.
“Ah. Just wait,” I said, pulling my tea-rose shower curtain back with a flourish. “You twist these silver knobs here,” I said, demonstrating. A rush of water roared through my shower nozzle. “And just give the hot water a minute—”
“Oh!” Vali’s eyes widened.
He stepped forward cautiously, extending his hand toward the falling water as if he were afraid the drops might bite.
“It’s...it’s warm,” he said, looking at me with such wonder I felt like he was giving me personal credit for the invention of indoor plumbing.
“Nice, huh?” I smiled, stepping into the tub. “Just pull the curtain back when you come in, or you’ll get water all over the floor.”
I moved to the far end of my tub, giving Vali room to join me. He stepped over the white porcelain lip of the bathtub and arched his back like a cat, groaning with pleasure as the hot jets of water made a halo of steam around his head.
“Oh, Karen,” he moaned, stretching under the water, his face blissful.
I giggled with my back pressed against the wall. It was a small shower, even for just one person, and Vali’s muscular frame took up a lot of room. But squashing myself against the wall was worth it to see that look on his face.
“I’ll just leave you to it, then,” I said.
His arms were around my waist in a heartbeat, pulling me into the steam and heat of the shower jets.
“Don’t you dare leave,” he growled, his lips and teeth tracing my neck.
Our hips rocked together, and I gasped as he reached down to part my legs. I had time to wonder how he could possibly be so hard again before he lifted me, pressing me against the tiled wall while hot water streamed down my face and hair. Our wet chests slipped against each other as I hooked my legs around his waist, opening to him. He entered me with a moan of pleasure, and the world held still as we embraced, our bodies joined, our hearts racing together.
“Yes, this is nice,” he panted.
I tried to answer, but his lips pressed against mine as his hips drove me into the water-slicked tile. Water poured off my hair and shoulders, forcing me to close my eyes. My drenched body was pinned against the wall by Vali’s muscular chest, and he was deep inside me, stretching me, filling me, hitting some pleasure center buried so far within me it must have been at my very core.
I pressed my legs into his wai
st, driving him deeper. My short, gasping breaths turned into sharp cries of pleasure, and my head knocked against the tiled wall as water poured down my face in rivers. I dug my fingers into his broad shoulders, wanting to be closer, wanting to be a part of him.
Vali slipped and hand between our water-slicked bodies and traced the curve of my stomach, dropping to brush his thumb over my clit. Lightning raced through my body, searing my nerves, and my cries became screams, echoing off the walls and filling the steamy air. I dissolved in ecstasy, losing myself in the heat and the feel of his body in mine. Vali’s back and legs stiffened a moment later, crushing me against the wall as his orgasmic cry joined mine.
He held me against the wall, his forehead pressed to mine, our chests rising and falling together as hot water coursed down our bodies.
“Shower,” he whispered. “I like it.”
I moaned when he slipped out of me and lowered me to the floor of the bathtub. My head spun in the steam. The hot water hitting my over-sensitive skin was almost too much to bear.
“I’m getting out,” I said. “Stay as long as you like.”
Vali caught my shoulders before I could pull back the shower curtain, and gave me a long, slow kiss. When he pulled back, smiling at me through his wet hair, my heart felt like it might burst.
“Damn, I love you,” I whispered.
“I should hope so, wife,” he said, turning back to the shower.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
It took my orgasm-clouded brain a second to recognize the tall, red-haired man sitting at my kitchen table. Loki. Of course. Vali had distracted me so thoroughly this morning, both in bed and then again in the shower, that I’d almost forgotten I woke up to find Loki in my bedroom.
“I have a doorbell, you know,” I snapped. My voice came out a bit harsher than I intended.
Loki looked up from the New York Times he was reading and raised an eyebrow.
“I also have a phone,” I said, pushing my wet hair from my eyes. “Or you could have just waited in the goddamn living room. Really, anything would have been better than standing in my fucking bedroom, you creep!”
Loki gave me a sly sort of half-smile, and I felt blood rising to my cheeks. Exactly how loud had Vali and I been this morning?
“If you’re quite done,” Loki said, although it was unclear whether he was talking about me reaming him out or my morning activities with Vali, “I made blueberry pancakes. That is your favorite, no?”
My eyes widened. “How the hell did you know that?”
“You have the recipe taped to your fridge. Also, you’re welcome.”
I tried to think of something snarky to say to that, but I came up empty. Instead, I grabbed two pancakes and a cup of coffee. The pancakes were actually pretty good, but I certainly wasn’t going to tell Loki that.
“So, you’ve married my son,” Loki said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.
I coughed and choked on my pancake. After a few minutes of gasping in a very undignified manner, I took a sip of coffee and nodded. “I did.”
Loki sighed and turned to the ceiling. “I wasn’t expecting that,” he said, softly.
“Yeah, well, me neither. Honestly, I wasn’t exactly expecting any of this shit.”
“I’m sorry about this, Karen. Truly. If there were another way...” His voice trailed off.
I took another sip of coffee and found my anger at Loki slowly evaporating. It was hard to stay mad at him. Which was just one of the many intensely irritating things about him.
“Karen?” Vali’s voice echoed from the bedroom.
“Here,” I answered. “In the kitchen.”
Vali walked into the kitchen, smiling at me. He was completely naked and dripping wet. Water ran from his long hair and down his muscular chest and legs to pool at his feet on my kitchen linoleum. And, despite two orgasms already this morning, his gorgeous cock was semi-hard again. I tried to ignore the sudden rush of heat soaking my underwear.
“It’s the, uh, shower,” he said, rolling the word shower around in his mouth. “It’s gone all cold. I turned the little circle thing, but I can’t get it to work.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Oh! I think we probably used all the hot water.”
Vali gave me a blank stare.
“I mean, that’s normal. You didn’t break anything,” I said, trying not to gape too openly at the way the V of the muscles across his lower abdomen led down to his cock. Damn, he looked good naked.
Vali turned to Loki, and his smile vanished. “Father. You will respect the bedchamber I share with my wife.”
“Of course. My apologies, and it won’t happen again. There’s breakfast on the stove.” Loki fixed us both with a level stare. “We should get going. Soon.”
My stomach clenched, and my appetite evaporated. The plate in my hands clanked against the kitchen counter. Vali turned to me, his hair still dripping. For a heartbeat I wished he’d ask me again to run away with him.
Because I’d say yes. God help me, I’d say yes.
“I’m not hungry,” Vali said, shaking his head and spraying the kitchen with a fine mist of water droplets.
Vali stretched as the air in front of him shimmered. A heartbeat later, he was fully dressed. Black leather and fur stretched across his chest and pulled tight over his thighs, hardly disguising the bulge between his legs. I repressed the sudden urge to run my hands over those pants. Damn. He looked good fully clothed, too.
Loki folded his newspaper, pushed his chair back from the table, and stood. “If you’re both ready?” he said.
My mouth went dry; my arms and legs suddenly felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. Vali crossed the kitchen and took my hand, his eyes searching my face.
“Karen?” he whispered.
I leaned against his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through his leather shirt, hearing the rhythm of his heartbeat. His arms wrapped around my chest, and the world stood very still as I breathed him in, the sweet, wild scent of my husband.
“I’m okay,” I whispered, bracing myself on his arms. “I’m ready.”
Vali held my arm as we walked through my living room, the clock in my study ticking in counterpoint to our steps. I pulled the door shut behind me, not bothering to lock it, and we walked down the front porch stairs together. Sunlight sparkled off the snow in my front yard; it looked like it was going to be a glorious day.
I wiped my eyes on the back of my hand and turned toward the driver’s side of my Subaru, but Vali pulled me back. “Sit with me,” he said. His lips curved into a smile, but his eyes brimmed with tears.
I nodded and handed my keys to Loki. “You can drive, right?” I asked.
Loki raised an eyebrow and managed to look somewhat offended. I coughed, refusing to apologize to someone who had appeared in my house in the middle of the night without permission. More than once.
“What do you think I’ll need?” I asked Loki. “Skis? Snowshoes?”
He shrugged. When he spoke, his voice was low. “I don’t think you’ll need anything.”
My heart sank. I hadn’t realized I’d been looking forward to a few extra minutes with my house, one final trip to the garage to gather my ski gear.
The Subaru’s engine purred to life, and Loki began backing out of the driveway. I held my breath as I watched my front door shrink and recede behind us. The front porch light was still on, shining valiantly against the dawn.
Vali pulled me close, kissing the top of my head and running his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes, trying to think only about the feel of his fingers on my neck, the soft rush of his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest.
I SAT UPRIGHT WITH a jolt, woken by the slam of a car door. I was surrounded by sunlight so bright it was almost blinding, and a sharp lance of pain shot through my neck as I stretched. It took a second for my brain to process where I was, and to remember what the hell I was doing in the backseat of my own car. I must have fallen asleep as Loki drove us
to Yellowstone.
The door creaked open with a blast of cold air, and Loki’s face leaned in. Panic shot through my chest, and my heart surged as though it wanted to break free of the cage of my ribs. My fingers trembled as I unbuckled my seatbelt. Vali appeared at my side as I climbed out of the car. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks, and he leaned to kiss my forehead. His hands wrapped around my waist, tight and trembling. I tried to breath, but my nostrils stung with the burned scent of the cave. I could feel Níðhöggr’s dark, brooding presence. Fear rose in my chest, tasting bitter in the back of my throat.
Loki cleared his throat. “I doubt you’ll have far to go, this time.”
I shivered violently in Vali’s arms. His grip tightened, and I suddenly wondered if I could do this. I wasn’t sure I could even stand without Vali’s arms around me.
Loki continued. “I believe it’s just over that—”
“Yeah, I know,” I said, irritation flaring in my chest.
I wiped my eyes and turned to the hill. Níðhöggr’s scent was so strong the dragon might as well have been screaming to me. Vali’s arms shook as he released my waist. He caught my hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing my palm. Then he pulled my hand from his lips and pushed it against my chest, to the space above my heart. His hand slowly left mine as he stepped away, smiling through his tears.
My vision blurred, and I turned away, afraid to look at him any longer. Loki offered me his arm. Feeling numb, I took Loki’s outstretched hand. His cold fingers closed around mine, pulling me toward the hill.
“Don’t look back,” Loki whispered.
I opened my mouth to say yes, I won’t, but the words froze on my lips. Shivering, I pulled away from Loki and stepped off the highway’s shoulder. My feet crunched against the snow. The effort of the climb helped calm the raging mess of grief and anger in my heart. With every step I thought of another thing I should have done, or said, before I left my house. My car. My husband. A scurry of ice crystals blew across my black boots, falling like tiny stars.
The snowpack changed under my feet, becoming thicker and softer. My boots sank into the snow, first up to the laces, and then all the way up to my ankles. I glanced up, expecting to see the sagebrush flats I’d crossed on skis with Zeke and Colin.
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