by Lauren Dawes
‘Have you made the hit?’
Korvain flinched. It was a subtle movement, and if he didn’t know his Mare so well, he wouldn’t have seen the slight tightening of his neck muscles. But Darrion did know him that well, and he had seen it.
‘You know the consequences of not completing the assignment.’ Darrion’s voice was dark, a prowling growl. He was so fucking ready to take out Odin.
Korvain’s spine straightened, his shoulders rolling backwards. ‘You don’t have to remind me.’
Darrion smiled at the Mare, baring his teeth. ‘This is your last warning, morier, I want it done.’
He faded before Korvain could retort with something else. Darrion had seen the reaction Korvain had had. He had broken the first rule of a Shadow Walker: don’t get close to the target. Gods, he had drilled it into him enough.
He knew his best assassin had been compromised, and if that had happened there was no way in Hel the mark would be wiped out when the time really came.
* * *
Korvain cursed as soon as Darrion faded from in front of him. He knew. Gods, he knew he had gotten too close to Bryn. He hadn’t meant to flinch, but talking about her as if she was disposable made his blood boil.
Korvain snapped open the front door, nearly pulling it from its hinges in the process. Adrian’s head appeared from around the corner. He had that ridiculous apron on again, a spatula in his hand.
‘Breakfast?’ he asked.
Korvain growled at him.
Adrian frowned. ‘What the Hel happened to you?’
‘Fuck! Just leave me alone,’ he snarled, pushing past his brother and climbing the stairs. He couldn’t deal with the cheer right that minute. The repercussions of his actions were still banging around in his skull. He hadn’t killed Bryn yet. Darrion was impatient. Korvain couldn’t physically harm the Valkyrie now even if he wanted to.
She had cared for him when he was at his most vulnerable. Gods, she’d been so close to him. His body had beaten back the pain and roared to life when she had pressed herself against him to clean the cut on his head.
He had breathed her in and smelled that fresh gardenia scent and crumbled. He shouldn’t have even been there. He should have left Eir with Bryn and hauled ass. Any excuse to be with her was supposed to be disregarded, but somehow he just couldn’t ignore her command to stay.
Korvain punched the hallway wall. Bones snapped in his hand and wrist. Ignoring the throb, he threw open his bedroom door, knowing what he had to do. He took a cold shower to calm himself down, to wash away the memories of Bryn’s healing touch on his body, to purge his memories of her delicate scent and his fierce desire.
The blood from his face washed away in pink swirls, his shoulder still stung, his knee aching every time he put any pressure on it. He twisted off the taps angrily, almost breaking the things off the wall in his rage.
Snapping a towel from the railing, he stalked through his room, wincing with every movement. He needed to heal. He needed to sleep in order to do that, but there was only one place he was going to go when he shut his eyes and that was straight back to Bryn.
When he pushed through the door into her mind, she was on the floor beside the couch, her arms crossed in front of her with her head on her arms. Eir was sleeping peacefully stretched out on the cushions. Whatever drug had been pushed into her system must have finally worn off.
Korvain approached the sleeping pair carefully, touching Bryn’s shoulder. Her head jerked up suddenly. Blinking, she simply stared at him for a moment.
‘Korvain, what are you—’
Korvain placed his finger against her lips and helped her stand. Gods, she was beautiful. He stared deeply into her blue eyes knowing unequivocally that he would not be able to harm her no matter the order from Darrion. He had to protect her; he felt it in his bones, down in the marrow—deep in his soul.
She bit her lip, her white teeth sinking into the pink flesh. A low, possessive growl trickled from his mouth; a fresh wave of gardenia hitting him, staggering him for just a moment.
‘Can I tell you something?’ she asked quietly. He nodded, knowing she would think this was just a dream. She swallowed nervously before meeting his eyes again.
‘I wanted you to kiss me before, when you were here and I was looking after you.’
Korvain closed his eyes, letting Bryn’s sweet words trickle in his ears. With his lids still squeezed shut he rasped, ‘I liked that you were looking after me.’
‘Look at me, Korvain.’ Her voice cracked over his name. He did as he was asked and stared into her beautiful face. ‘Kiss me now?’
The blood in his body heated and, surging forward, he claimed her mouth with his. Their tongues met in a fierce struggle for domination, which he won when she moaned his name. The sounds of her whimpers lit another fire within him.
Korvain started angling them down the hallway toward her bedroom. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pinning her body against him while cupping her neck—caging her in. She molded to the front of his body as if she was made for him, melting into his heat.
A column of heat shot through him at the different points of contact. He was so keyed-up he could have taken her right then against the wall, but he treated her with the respect she deserved. Korvain’s fangs began to thrum, the call of her blood singeing his nerve endings.
Running his nose along the length of her neck, he smelled the bouquet of her skin. He licked the side of her throat, teasing the vein to come to the surface. Her heart was beating so fast he could feel it against her skin. He kissed the long column of her throat, drawing soft moans from her lips.
Her back had finally hit the door at the end of the hall. Korvain reached behind her, twisting the knob and pushing open the door. Leading her in, he kicked the door shut and took a step back.
Bryn looked up at him shyly. ‘I can’t get the image of you sitting shirtless at my dining room table out of my head.’ Her admittance colored her cheeks. Korvain laughed at her gently, sliding his hands along her neck and stroking the side of her face with his thumbs.
‘Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint you then.’
He took a step back and pulled the tee from his body. When he dropped it to the floor, Bryn’s eyes had glazed over. There was a deep-seated sense of satisfaction at seeing her reaction to his body. He was rewarded with another hit of gardenia. She approached him, stopping an inch away and looking in his eyes for permission. He nodded and felt her warm fingers trailing over his skin.
‘So many scars,’ she murmured, lowering her mouth to the one above his nipple on his left pectoral. His breath left his lungs in a long shudder. She kissed another one of his scars; this one on his collarbone. Her tongue swept along his skin leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake.
Catching the end of her t-shirt, he began inching it up her torso slowly. She moaned his name—a raw, guttural sound—and bit his freshly healed shoulder. He hissed, the sound bringing her head up in a jerking movement.
‘Did I hurt you?’ she asked.
He shook his head. ‘Do it again,’ he replied hoarsely. Gods, he had dreamed of taking her blood into him; her teeth in his flesh only concreting the idea more firmly into place.
With a shy smile, she lowered her head once more. Her teeth sank into his skin and his whole body responded. The erection he’d been sporting since he’d kissed her suddenly became a monstrous hard length he couldn’t hide away anymore.
Bryn brushed up against his hips and gasped. With a low, throaty growl, he kissed her on the mouth while still working her shirt up her body. They had to break away when he pulled it over her head, but like two magnets, their mouths were fused again.
He hadn’t touched her bare skin yet. Slowly, carefully, he rested his hands on her waist, remembering how he had reached for her before. Warm, soft flesh met his fingertips and he knew this was his version of heaven.
‘You feel so good,’ he mumbled, forcing the words out from between their tightly pressed mouths
.
With the tips of his fingers, he climbed up her torso. They gently undulated over each of her delicate ribs, rising and falling with increasing intensity the further he travelled north. When he brushed past lace, he knew he had found the underside of her bra.
Bryn’s head kicked back and she groaned, pressing her fingers into his biceps. He growled low in his throat, slipped a finger into the top of her bra and pulled. Her warm breast filled his hand; her nipple peaked—hard and ready for him. Using the pad of this thumb, he rubbed that tight knot of flesh relishing in the way her back arched and her hips jack-knifed into his erection.
Korvain drank in the sight of her; her quickening pulse, her dilating pupils, her flushed skin. She was so ready for him. He walked her toward the bed until the back of her knees hit the edge. Lowering her body down, he stood back to watch her chest heave up and down, knowing he was responsible for it.
‘I want all of you, Bryn, and I won’t stop until I kiss every inch of your skin. I will bury my head between your thighs and lick and suck and suckle until you come screaming my name.’
She bit down on her bottom lip to stop the groan. Her legs scissored on top of the sheets, pushing them away and forcing them into a bunch at her feet. Dropping to his knees, he captured her ankles, stilling her legs instantly. The rest of her body, however, still writhed like a trapped snake.
The rolling of her hips and stomach was hypnotic. He planted one hand in the span between her hip bones, forcing her to calm. He leaned down to the button on her jeans and pulled it out of the hole and to one side. The zipper shuddered open, revealing the top of her black silk panties.
Bryn threw her arms over her face and groaned. Korvain released his hold on her body, sliding his hands up her hips to her waist. Her skin felt like silk against his palms, and the delicate scent of her arousal hung in the air.
As Korvain pulled at the sides of her jeans, she lifted her hips to help him remove them. Inch by inch, he dragged the fabric down, revealing the cleft between her thighs and the long expanse of her lean legs. Korvain then pulled her panties off slowly, drawing more moans from Bryn’s throat. Bunching up the fabric, he stuffed it into his pants pocket.
Starting at her toes, he stayed true to his word. He kissed her feet, her legs and her thighs, hovering just away from the place he really wanted to be.
‘Please,’ Bryn begged, her toes curling into the sheets. He smiled up the length of her sinuated body.
‘I’m going to make you come,’ he whispered. She whimpered and he lowered his head.
He wanted to taste her so badly, but he had to take it slow. He placed kisses along the inside of her thighs, moving closer and closer toward her slick heart. When she grabbed onto his shoulders, guiding him closer, he pulled back and just watched her shudder for him.
‘Korvain,’ she begged in a breathy voice. He chuckled and lowered his head once more. She was glistening already. He could see it and he longed to taste it. Flattening his tongue out, he swept once through her trembling flesh, sending a spasm coursing through her body.
Her hips flexed off the mattress, her fingers dug into his shoulder. A haze of blood tinted the air, only adding to the drugging effect Bryn had on him. He made another long sweep, latching onto the tight knot of nerves at the top.
‘Gods!’
He looked up at her, knowing how his eyes must have been swallowing shadows and growled low in his throat. ‘This is fantasy number one,’ he said, licking his lips appreciatively, ‘and you haven’t disappointed.’
He sucked her into his mouth once more; her spine bowing in response, her hands scrambling for purchase. He could feel her body twitch, getting closer to release. Her inner thighs began to tremble. He wanted it to be magnificent for her, so he increased his attention, redoubling his efforts.
His tongue was on her, in her, and when the tip swirled her clit, she finally exploded around him. She rode the orgasm up, her chest heaving with the effort. She cried out, her internal muscles pulsing, drawing it out. She arched off the bed, her hips rocking under Korvain’s mouth.
She may have come, but he wasn’t done with her yet. Using the flat of his tongue, he swept the entire length of her heart, lapping up her arousal and groaning when the taste hit the back of his throat. He swallowed her down, tasting her completely.
‘Stop, please,’ she begged. He ignored her pleas, smiling as she shuddered once more. ‘Korvain.’ She was desperate for him to stop, but he was desperate for her to come undone one more time. He shook his head and her hips jacked up off the bed once more.
She came apart, repeating his name over and over again until he could barely take it anymore. She crested the wave of her orgasm and lay limply on the bed, her breathing sharp and jerky for a while until she calmed down.
He looked down her body, hungrily licking away her arousal when he saw her hardened nipples. ‘I’ve wanted to do that for so long.’
Chapter Nineteen
Bryn slumped against the mattress, her breathing labored. They had not been her first orgasms, but they were the best she had ever experienced. She looked down at Korvain, knowing he would make a good lover. His huge body pulsed with a juxtaposition of dangerous energy and protectiveness. She squeezed her eyes shut. Gods, if only this was real. If only he would really come to her and make her feel this way. Was it too much to hope for?
Deep down though, she knew why he couldn’t. She was too afraid of what Odin would think of her. This was the reason Kara had been dismissed from his service. This could never happen in real life, but in her dreams...in her dreams there was nothing to stop her from fulfilling her fantasies.
Korvain was licking his lips, sitting back on his heels while half her body was on the bed, and the other half was draped over the side of it. She sat up slowly, aware of how her breasts swayed and the way Korvain’s eyes watched them. He still had his pants on, his erection straining to get free.
‘Come up here,’ she said, surprised at just how husky her voice sounded. Korvain smiled, revealing the tips of his fangs. He stretched out beside her, his large hands playing across her collarbone, dipping between her breasts. She laughed nervously when he trailed down the middle of her stomach and gasped when he dipped between her still-sensitive thighs.
‘I’ve never let anyone do that to me before,’ she murmured.
‘What?’
She glanced down to where his fingers were now stroking. ‘That.’
‘Really?’
She nodded her head, flushing at what she was about to say next. ‘I’m technically still a virgin.’ Admitting it now in this dream would be the only time she would leave herself so exposed.
Korvain’s expression sobered and his hand stilled. He withdrew from her body slowly. Bryn reached for the fastening on his jeans, hoping to see how far the dream would take her.
‘Don’t,’ Korvain said softly. She looked into his bottomless black eyes and frowned. His free hand smoothed the wrinkle away gently. ‘Let’s just lay together for a little while.’
Confused, Bryn rolled over onto her side to hide her body from him. She didn’t know why, but his rejection felt a whole lot more than just a simple rejection. He pulled her onto her back, his dark eyes serious.
‘Don’t ever hide yourself from me, Bryn.’
Don’t hide yourself? Even in her dreams, she couldn’t allow herself to cross that self-imposed line. She blew out a frustrated breath. ‘I had no idea I could dream this up,’ she muttered under her breath. Korvain brought her in line with his body, curling around her spine. His jeans scratched against the skin on her lower body, a heavy reminder of just how seriously fucked up she was when Odin and his wishes were concerned.
She couldn’t even dream about losing her virginity.
‘We have time,’ Korvain rumbled, his words vibrating through her back.
She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. Korvain was all she could smell, all she could hear. She drifted off...
‘Bryn?...Bryn?...Wa
ke up.’ Bryn woke with a gasp, jerking back from the hand that had touched her shoulder. She blinked Eir into focus then looked around. She was propped up beside the couch, her face feeling like it had been flattened. She shifted, feeling wetness between her thighs. For a dream, it was pretty damn realistic.
‘Bryn?’ Eir asked softly.
Bryn squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. Turning her head so she was looking at Eir, she asked, ‘How are you feeling?’
The other Valkyrie was sitting with her legs tucked in close to her body, her arms wrapped around her knees. She gave Bryn an unsteady smile. ‘Still a little off.’
She nodded, staggering to her feet. Her legs were really stiff. How long had she been asleep for? ‘Do you remember who attacked you?’
Eir shook her head, her long blonde hair cascading over one shoulder. Her face was a lot paler than normal, making her blue eyes stand out on her face. ‘I was talking to you then I was stung by something.’
‘You weren’t stung. Someone stuck you with a needle. We don’t know what you were injected with, but whatever it was, it seems to be out of your system now.’
Eir rubbed at her neck where the injection site would have no doubt been. ‘Why would someone want to do that?’
Bryn sank down beside her on the couch. ‘Beats me,’ she lied. ‘You’re just lucky Korvain was there. He saved you.’
‘Korvain?’ she asked, massaging between her eyes.
‘Yeah, one of my bouncers.’
‘Did he recognize the man?’
She shook her head. ‘Look, I want you to stay here with me until we get this figured out. If someone is attacking Valkyries, I need to know you’re safe.’
‘Of course. I’ll go and get some clothes now.’ Eir stood up, but Bryn stopped her by grabbing her wrist.
‘I don’t want you going alone. I’ll call Korvain later and get him to go with you. He can check in on the others, too.’
* * *
Loki paced the cold floor of the underground room he had discovered below Boston’s streets, the gun still in his hand. Anger didn’t really begin to cover how he felt about having his Valkyrie taken from him. Livid. Wrathful. Splenetic; pissed off, to use the common tongue of the age.
