by S. T. Bende
“Anything,” I breathed.
“Why, Kristia.” He blew softly in my ear and I shivered. “I was hoping you would say just that…”
Chapter Six
“KRISTIA? WILL YOU please come down here?”
Early morning light streamed through the kitchen window as I stood at the counter, stirring sugar into my tea. After I set my spoon in the sink, I turned toward the sound of Ull’s voice. The living area was empty, so my eyes moved outward to the verandah. No Ull.
“Where are you?” I called back.
“Down here.” Ull sounded far away. I eyed my tea wistfully.
“I’m coming.” With a sigh, I picked up my oversized mug, cradled it in both hands and padded across the cool wooden floor. My silk nightie and matching robe didn’t provide much protection against the light breeze wafting through the open windows, but since they’d been such a hit the night before I hadn’t wanted to change.
Actually, it was entirely possible I was going to stay in this outfit for the rest of my existence.
“Where are you? Wait, did you say ‘down here’? This is a one-story house.” My head whipped around as I tried to figure out where Ull might be.
“No, it is not.” Ull’s head popped around the doorframe of the walk-in closet in the living area. “Come with me.”
“Into a closet? Is this some weird Asgardian version of Seven Minutes in Heaven?” I shrugged. “Okay. I’ll play.”
Ull’s eyes moved from my grin down my torso, stopping at the hem of my robe. It didn’t cover much—in fact, it stopped just below my tush. He stared at the expanse of bare skin, and when he finally opened his mouth he spoke to my legs. “I thought you wanted to learn weaponry. But think I like your idea more.”
I was so happy I’d let Victoria pack my honeymoon wardrobe.
“You’re actually going to teach me to fight with weapons?” I squealed.
“I promised I would.” Ull’s eyes didn’t leave my legs. “Lucky for me, I am a very efficient teacher. I believe we can wrap this up by lunchtime.”
“Perfect. But if we’re not playing a junior high kissing game, why do you want me in a closet?”
“Because this is not a closet.” Ull smirked.
I sighed. “Of course it’s not.”
“Follow me.” Ull held out his hand. I shifted my mug to one hand and twined my fingers through Ull’s as he stepped into the tiny space. Ull held his thumb to a small picture on the wall. It emitted a series of beeps, then retracted.
“What the…”
Ull lowered his face to the hole as an optical scanner emerged. The white beam ran along his eyeball while I tried not to gape. Satisfied with its reading, the beam disappeared and the entire wall dropped, revealing a spiral staircase. Ull squeezed my hand and pulled me after him, down the steps and into a massive room.
“Of course. You’ve got a secret hidey-hole here too.” It was official. The surprises would never end.
“Not as comfortable as Ýdalir’s, but it will do for a vacation residence.” We followed the stairs down to the second story, glowing wall sconces lighting our path. Once we reached the lower floor Ull tapped a panel and the lights brightened, illuminating the couches, table, and large open space.
“Where’s the kitchenette? What if I want some tea while I’m picking out my…” I crossed the dark wooden floor to the glass case on the wall, pausing to touch the soft leather of the couch. This was such a man-cave. My eyes landed on a metal ball covered in spikes. “Is that a mace?”
“Indeed.” Ull came up from behind and wrapped his arms around my waist. He rubbed the silky fabric of my robe against my stomach, and I nearly dropped my mug. “And do not worry about the missing kitchenette. If you want more tea, I will be happy to run upstairs and fetch it for you.”
“I love that about you.” I turned in his arms and kissed him. Hard. Then I pulled back and beamed up at him.
“We could always do this later. Maybe in an hour?” He ran his palms down my thighs, sending a wave of goose bumps across the exposed skin. I took a determined step back and cupped his cheek in my palm.
“For that, I’m going to need more than an hour,” I murmured.
“Faen, Kristia. You kill me.”
“You’re immortal. You’ll survive.”
Shaking his head, Ull crossed to the glass case. He rested his palm against a flat metal surface on the wall, and it beeped. The glass slid to the side.
“Pick your poison.”
“This is…wow.” I joined Ull at the case and ran my fingers across the flat surface of a shiny, metal blade. It was three inches thick and easily as long as my torso. The thing looked like it weighed a ton. To its right was a star-shaped blade hung from a leather rope, and on its left was a thick wooden club with curved blades sticking out of each end. “I don’t even know what half of them are. Can you really teach me how to use them?”
“Eventually, yes. Some of them are fairly easy to pick up, like this one.” Ull pointed to the long blade. “Broadsword is a matter of speed and strength. It is one of my favorite weapons. Others are slightly more strategic, like this.” He touched a longer, thinner blade with an elaborate handle. “This is a rapier. It is Inga’s favorite. Because of it’s relatively light weight, the angle and force of the impact determine the extent of the damage to its victim. Then there are these.” He gestured to a series of smaller weapons that looked more like torture devices. “These require direct application to an attacker, which means you would need to be sufficiently skilled to debilitate them hand-to-hand. You will get there, but it will take some time.”
“So what should start with?” My vision swam at the wall-to-wall weapons case. Even with eternity stretching in front of me, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to learn to use them all.
“Good question. You are petite, so the mace would not work well for you. You are a novice, so nunchucks are out. You have decent speed and an impressive strike, so the dagger could work. But I think you might be best suited to this, actually.” Ull carefully removed a shiny silver sword and offered it to me. Its slightly curved blade was longer than my arm, and it had a thick handle wrapped in black leather.
“There are two.” I nodded to the sword’s slightly smaller twin, still in the case.
“I know. How about we start with the one and work our way up?”
“You’re the boss.” I shrugged.
“About time you admitted it.” Ull winked. “Now this is a katana. And yes, they can be used with a mate. You hold it with the edge facing away from you, like this.” Ull wrapped his hands around mine, placing the hilt of the sword in my palm. It was lighter than it looked, maybe two or three pounds. I lifted it experimentally. “Feels nice, eh?”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
“For now, use both hands on the handle—right on top, left an inch beneath. Try to keep your thumbs and forefingers a bit loose, to maximize movement of the sword. Remember if you are gripping it too tightly, you might not be able to strike as quickly as you need. And with this weapon, range of motion matters.”
“Got it.” Ull guided my hands back and forth experimentally. Since he was wearing black pajama bottoms and no shirt, I couldn’t help but lean into his bare chest. He smelled incredible; his woodsy scent mixed with the beachy air to create an intoxicating cocktail that left me breathless.
“Pay attention, Kristia,” Ull admonished.
I forced myself away from the planks that were his pecs and gripped the sword. “Yes, sir.”
“Now, it is important to deliver a clean cut with the katana. Because of the curvature of the blade, it is easy to misdirect your strike. But remember, a ninety-degree slice is going to have a much deeper impact on a target than being struck with the broad end of the sword. Ja?”
I nodded, then I removed one hand from the hilt and touched the edge of the blade. It was sharper than any knife I’d ever owned. Anyone on the receiving end of this wouldn’t be feeling too great the next day…if they were feeli
ng at all.
“Shall we go outside and practice?” Ull took the katana from my hands, and grabbed another curved sword from the case. One corner of my mouth turned up.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
I followed Ull up the secret stairs, through the living room and onto the beach. My eyes watered when we stepped into the bright sun, but I exhaled and blinked back the tears. I was getting a handle on my new sensitivities, but occasionally the effort required more focus than I was able to muster. Things like light and heat were more easily controlled. Ull’s touch was still an entirely different matter.
I glanced down as Ull led me across the sand, and I sucked in a breath. I was still wearing what I’d worn to bed. Hardly fitting combat attire. I turned on one heel and headed back to the house.
“Where are you going?” Ull’s hand on my arm stopped my trajectory.
“To change. I forgot I was in…well, this.” I gestured to the barely-there nightie and robe.
“I did not forget.” Ull’s eyes shifted to the inky blue I’d come to love.
“Ull.” I palmed his chest. “I can’t learn how to fight you wearing this. Even if it weren’t wildly inappropriate, my sleeves are too billowy. They’ll get caught on the blade.”
Ull dropped the swords and tugged the sash off my robe. In one swift movement the flimsy fabric was pooled at my feet, and I stood on the beach in nothing more than a black negligee.
“Ull!”
“Problem solved. Weapon up.” He handed me a sword with a sexy grin, and walked toward the edge of the water. Then he bent in a low crouch and held his blade at chest level.
“Seriously? We’re just going to go for it? In…this?” I gestured to my outfit. I looked utterly absurd.
“You afraid?”
“No,” I huffed. I stormed down the beach and copied Ull’s pose. “Now what do I do?”
“Now you defend yourself.” Ull crossed to me. He swung his sword in a circle above his head and brought it down just above mine.
“Hey!” I held up my sword to block him, and jumped back. “That wasn’t fair!”
“All is fair in love and war. And this is quarter speed. Our enemies will not go so easily on you.”
Well that stunk worse than a week-old fish fry.
“All right. Go again.”
Ull repeated the same move and I blocked him. Again and again he swung at my head, every strike picking up speed until the blade was nothing more than a blur. Each time I stopped it with my own weapon, but I felt the reverberations through my forearms. It should have made me tired, but instead I felt invigorated; I was finally learning something that could tangibly help protect us.
After I blocked my fiftieth blow, I put my hand on Ull’s arm. “Can we switch?”
“Of course.” He grinned. He dropped his sword and closed the distance between us. He wrapped both hands around mine and pressed against me from behind. His bare chest was damp on my back. I tried my hardest not to picture the drops of sweat trailing along his impossibly perfect abs.
I failed.
“Swing like this.” Ull moved my sword over my head in a slow circle and then brought it down in a line perpendicular to my body. As he moved, he pressed his hips into my bottom. The fabric of my nightie rose another half-inch.
“Like that, huh?” I repeated the swing, this time exaggerating the movement in my waist.
Ull groaned. “Keep that up and I am taking you inside.”
“Oh, you could take me outside.” I grinned. “But not now. It’s my turn to whomp on you for a while.”
Ull raised one eyebrow. “Do not get cocky, Mrs. Myhr.”
I turned to blink up at him. “It’s not cocky if it’s true.” I shoved him toward his sword and he chuckled.
“I like this side of you.”
“And I like that side of you.” I eyed his spectacular behind as he bent to pick up the katana. He turned with a raised eyebrow, and my eyes dropped to his bare chest. “That side, too.”
“One more comment and swordplay is done. Now, strike.”
“Yes, sir.” I gripped my hilt lightly and swung the sword. It bounced off Ull’s with a little too much force.
“Very good, Kristia.”
“You don’t have to sound surprised,” I grumbled.
“Now do it again, a little slower this time, and draw your power from your legs. Then I want you to drive your sword directly into the sand, as if you were staking it. You might not always have a blade at your disposal, but if you find yourself in a dire situation, and you are able to locate any sharp object—a rock, a stick, a branch with a severed edge, if you can get one—if you use that object to bear down directly on your attacker, then you might be able to debilitate him, at least long enough to run away.”
“I don’t run away,” I reminded Ull.
“One day you may have to. Now strike.”
I did as instructed, repeating the moves until I could do them to Ull’s satisfaction. Then we moved on to side strikes, jabs, and footwork.
After two hours, Ull wiped his brow. “How about a little game?”
I shook out my arms. The muscles had stopped burning half an hour ago; now they just felt numb. Apparently supernatural goddess strength was no match for two hours of Ull’s unrelenting training. “What did you have in mind?”
“One round. Winner has to make dinner.”
“Fair enough.” I crossed in front of Ull and drew my sword. “Get ready to get cooking.”
Ull narrowed his eyes. “Pretty confident there.”
I tossed my hair over my shoulder. “Oh, it’s on.”
I lunged for Ull’s chest but he blocked my jab. He swung his sword in one hand, driving it at my side. I jumped back. Then I swiped my blade in a diagonal arc, forcing Ull to step to the side. With his footing off-balance, I swung again, nicking the skin on his forearm. Crimson liquid bubbled at the surface, and dripped onto the pale sand. I threw my sword down and ran to his side.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I hurt you!” I put my fingers on the wound to stop the bleeding. When I pulled them away, the blood was gone. “What the—”
“Sweetheart. Our skin heals almost instantly. Do you really think I would swing this thing at you if I could hurt you?” He held up his sword with a raised brow.
“Oh. I didn’t realize…”
“But now that I have you here…” Ull’s eyes shifted to my favorite shade. He wrapped his arm around mine, pinning me against his chest. Then he lifted his sword to my shoulder with a lazy smile. “Checkmate,” he breathed against my ear.
“What? No. That is not fair.”
“It is perfectly fair. You disarmed yourself. You came running to me. If you ask me, this is an all-out surrender.” Ull flicked his sword and it sliced the thin strap of my negligee. My hands flew to my chest just in time to stop the silky fabric from falling. Ull’s chest vibrated against my back as he chuckled. “You want me to do the other one or do you admit defeat?”
My breath hitched as Ull ran his nose along the side of my neck. “I want a rematch,” I demanded. Only it came out as more of a question.
“Oh, do you?” Ull raked the bottom of my earlobe with his teeth. “Well I am the winner. And I want something else.”
He dropped his sword and clotheslined me behind the knees. In one swift move I was cradled in his arms, his mouth crushed against mine. My fingers wrapped around sweat-streaked strands of blond hair, pulling him closer. Ull’s tongue probed the front of my teeth and I parted my lips to let him in. He tasted like pine, and mint, and sweat, and I sighed as his tongue massaged mine. When he pulled back to suck on my neck, my eyes rolled back in my head.
“You always get what you want, don’t you?”
“No.” Ull didn’t look up from his ministrations. “But I will spend the rest of my existence making sure that you do.”
With characteristic determination, Ull held me to his chest and ran for the house. And for the rest of the morning, he stayed very,
very true to his word.
Chapter Seven
DESPITE MY EXHAUSTION, or maybe because of it, I’d slept like a hibernating bear since we arrived on Asgard Cay. I had no memory of slipping into the dream, but one minute I was wrapped safely in the arms of the God of Winter; the next I was in an ornately-decorated hall somewhere far from my happy place.
The air felt cool against my bare arms, the silent chamber thick with the quiet of a sleepless night. Not even a cricket stirred outside the oversized windows. It was unnatural. Something about the room made me feel like I was in an earlier era, though I had no way of knowing for sure. A breeze blew against my legs and I glanced down with a groan. Apparently I’d decided a lacy, blue nightie made for appropriate travel clothes.
Fabulous.
My knees gave out beneath me as a furious roar rang through the space. I dropped to the ground, scraping my thighs on the rough stone floor. Heavy footsteps thundered outside the room, and I scrambled on my knees to dive on the far side of an enormous cupboard. My shoulder struck a basket of blankets someone had placed against the wall, and I threw one over myself to avoid being seen. Then I lifted the blanket just enough to peek out. I kept my face to the ground and poked my head around the corner of the cupboard. As I watched, the door burst open, and two figures stormed through. They were shrouded in shadows, their faces obscured by traveling cloaks, but as I peeked around the corner of the cupboard, I could make out the difference in their size. The first appeared to be a male of human stature, a little over six feet tall. He moved with an air of grace as he swept through the room. The figure behind him seemed to be a female over twice his height. She moved with the refinement of an inebriated mountain goat. She stormed behind the man, emitting a grating wail I could have sworn I’d heard before. Twice, she tripped on the benches strewn throughout the hall. When she stumbled a third time, she picked up the offending furniture and threw it at the wall behind me. It ricocheted off the cupboard, splintering into a thousand pieces and showering shards of wood across my back. One pierced the blanket and dug into my flesh like a tiny needle, making me wish I’d worn my thick flannel pajamas to bed. The extra coverage, though unflattering, would have come in handy.
