Vikings Unleashed: 9 modern Viking erotic romances

by Kate Pearce

  “Your woman is very beautiful,” Aki said.

  “She is not my woman. She does not want me.”

  “How can she not want you when your thoughts and hers are even more entangled than yours are with mine? She cannot break those bonds. She cannot deny them.”

  “She thinks I am clinging to her because she was the first woman I saw when I woke up and that when I grow accustomed to living in this strange world, I will no longer desire her.”

  Aki stretched and yawned. “Now why would she say that?”

  “Because she thinks it is the truth?” Einarr growled. “And mayhap she is right.”

  “You don’t really believe that, do you?” Aki considered him. “Perhaps she is trying to save you from yourself.”

  “Save me from a woman who isn’t afraid of my strength or my magic?” Einarr shook his head. “Frey is my perfect woman. She just doesn’t believe it.”

  “Then how are you going to convince her to stay?”

  “You make it sound so simple.” Einarr shot to his feet and took a turn around the room. “You have seen how the women are in this place. They cannot be told what to do like slaves.”

  “Perhaps you could make a bargain with the FREN and TSA people. You will help with their studies if they let Frey stay with you.”

  “And trap her in a cage, too?”

  “Bjáni!” Aki threw up his hands. “Then you both insist on being heroic and losing each other forever? If that is the truth, then you are a pair of fools.” His expression changed as Einarr went still. “What is it?”

  “I cannot sense Frey in my head.”

  “But we just saw her.” Aki rose to his feet as Einarr charged toward the door, his axe already in his hand. “Where are you going?”

  “To find her.” Einarr wrenched open the door, and was met with a wall of guards all with their weapons raised and pointed at him. He recognized one of the men from the ship.

  “Moshe, I wish you no harm. Where is Frey?”

  “Brown’s taken her to the detention center.”

  “What exactly does that mean?”

  Moshe dropped his gaze and fiddled with his weapon. “She refused to cooperate with the FREN representative. They will keep her locked up until her trial tomorrow.”

  “Her trial?” Einarr realized he was shouting but he didn’t care. “What in Thor’s name is she supposed to have done?”

  Moshe met his gaze, his expression neutral. “She will be charged with disobeying direct orders from her TSA superiors and from FREN.”

  Einarr’s hand clenched around the handle of his axe. “What will happen to her if she is found guilty?”

  “It depends on the judge coming in tomorrow. They are drawn from all the planets in the Trios System. She should be okay if she doesn’t get an Etruscan. They hate telepaths and—”

  “Moshe? May I suggest you shut the fuck up right now?” Brown appeared behind the group of guards who parted to let him through to confront Einarr. “Science Officer Frey will be fine, Viking. She resisted arrest and had to be temporarily subdued.”

  “If you hurt her I will kill you.” Einarr glared at Brown. “You will take me to her immediately.”

  “I can’t do that, pal.” Brown sighed. “And if you attempt to get to her using excessive force, I’ve been authorized to knock you and your brother out, too.”

  There was a light touch on Einarr’s arm. “Brother? Perhaps we should lower our weapons and consider what we wish to do next.”

  “I want to find Frey,” Einarr growled. “There is nothing I wish to consider.”

  Aki’s grip tightened. “We will help her better when they think we are resigned to her fate. Do not rush into this like a blundering ox.”

  “You are giving me advice now?”

  “Aye, because Frey’s life matters to you more than anything. We cannot fail her.”

  Still holding Brown’s unwavering stare, Einarr lowered his axe. “I wish to be present at her trial.”

  “I will ask if that is possible.”

  “Tell them that if I am not allowed to be present and Frey suffers from her association with me, I will not work with their scientists.”

  “And neither will I,” Aki added.

  “I’ll tell them.” Brown waited until Aki put his sword away and then gestured at the door. “Please return to your quarters. I’ll keep you updated as to Science Officer Frey’s condition and your request to be at the trial.”

  “Thank you, Brown.”

  “You are welcome, Viking.” Brown waited until the guards had resumed their positions before escorting the brothers into their room. “Off the record, I don’t believe this matter is being handled correctly. I’ll do my best to stand as a friend to Tecky.”

  “I appreciate that.” Einarr gave the other man an abrupt nod. “I will not allow her to be harmed.”

  “They won’t kill her.” Brown paused. “You can rest easy about that.”

  “Then what will they do?” Aki asked.

  “The minimum—they’ll strip her of her military and professional rank and drum her out of the scientific space corp.” Brown shrugged. “She’ll be allowed to return to her home planet, but her reputation will be in tatters.”

  “And what if the judge is an…” Aki looked at Einarr. “What was the word that guard used?”

  “Etruscan,” Einarr said.

  Brown grimaced. “If the judge is Etruscan he’ll probably try for a harsher sentence, including jail time.”

  “You are not reassuring me as to my mate’s welfare, Brown,” Einarr said. “I don’t want her to suffer because of me.”

  “Maybe it’s for the best,” Brown said encouragingly. “You can’t be imagining you have a future together or anything?”

  Einarr swung around and barely resisted the impulse to wrap his fingers around Brown’s neck and squeeze hard.

  “She is mine.”

  “She’s her own person, Viking. Women are no longer seen as possessions in this space system. And maybe if she thinks it will leave you free of her, Tecky will be okay about taking her punishment. I know she wants you to stay here and transition into a normal life.” Brown nodded at Aki and headed for the door. “I’ll keep you both informed.”

  Einarr waited until the door shut, picked up the nearest object and threw it hard against the wall where it shattered on impact. The shards of glass reminded him of the moment when he’d emerged from the ice and been reborn. He sank down onto his haunches and shoved his hands through his hair.

  “I will not give her up, Aki.”

  “I understand.” His twin patted his shoulder. “I have never seen you like this before Einarr.”

  “Brown is a fool, but he is also right. Frey is trying to protect me. That’s why she keeps saying she doesn’t want me.”

  “Then she is a noble and courageous woman.”

  “And a fool.” Einarr exhaled. “By Thor, I don’t mean that. Although I’d still like to shake her until her teeth rattle.”

  Aki grinned. “Then all we need to decide is how we are going to find her and set her free.”

  11

  Frey swayed a little as she faced the front of the hastily convened courtroom. Her head still throbbed and she was queasy after her hurried breakfast. Because she’d attacked one of her guards the previous day, her hands were manacled behind her with a narrow plastic strip that bit into her skin. After a signal from the bench, Brown gently nudged her forward.

  “Go on, Tecky.”

  She raised her chin and walked toward the central table, which faced the female judge who didn’t look particularly warm and fluffy. In fact, her expression was downright hostile.

  “She’s Etruscan,” Brown murmured in Frey’s ear.

  “Frak,” Frey breathed out the curse. “Preprogrammed to hate me on sight. I wonder if Mitzi arranged that?”

  The man at the table to Frey’s right stood and started speaking, introducing the judge, who went by the name of Trallis Verchon, himself as t
he FREN-sponsored prosecutor and the male on Frey’s left who was apparently her defense.

  “Excuse me?” Frey said loudly. The man didn’t stop speaking. “EXCUSE ME? I was not consulted about my defense. I wish to speak to the Pavlovan ambassador for this region.”

  The male stopped talking and glanced at the judge who stared at Frey.

  “The Pavlovan ambassador has been informed of this trial. If he cannot be bothered to turn up, we are prepared to proceed without him.”

  “I am not prepared to do that,” Frey said firmly. “I know my rights. Trios System regulations state that all officers of TSA are entitled to representation by a lawyer from their own planet.”

  “Orin, your representative is from Pavlovan.”

  “But I haven’t had a chance to speak to him,” Frey countered.

  “He has been fully prepared by FREN to defend your case.” The judge nodded at the two men. “Please proceed.”

  “But—”

  “Science Officer Frey, if you don’t keep quiet I will have you taken from the court and tried in your absence.”

  “You—”

  “Be silent. This is your last warning.”

  Frey pressed her lips together as the prosecutor, whose name was Braze, began speaking. Hearing herself described as a sloppy worker who ignored protocol, disobeyed orders from superiors and lacked basic human decency was difficult enough. When Braze started in on her morals, she had trouble keeping her temper. According to him, she was some kind of temptress who had deliberately led the poor little Viking astray and used him for her own wicked ends.

  After this general character assassination, Braze moved on to specific incidents, and Frey’s mind began to wander with the absurdity of it. She could only hope that Einarr and Aki had been kept in ignorance of her trial. The last thing she wanted was to be rescued by an irate Viking…

  She glanced over at Braze, who was really warming up to his theme of her incompetence. All things considered, seeing Einarr bury his axe in the man’s head might be quite cathartic. But she couldn’t think about that now. Her yearning to be with her mate was hard enough to bear without asking him to commit murder for her. She had to believe that justice would be served. She had to believe the Etruscan judge would be fair-minded and lenient.

  Heeze… Frey sighed. Like that was going to happen. She was going down. The only question left was how severe would the penalty be.

  Witnesses were called. To their credit, most of the crew from her ship tried hard not to implicate Frey. They were restricted to answering the very narrow questions Braze asked. All of which showed her in the worst possible light. If it was possible, the judge’s lips narrowed even further, making her look as if she was sucking on something sour.

  Even Captain Travis tried to defend her in his own way, but Frey knew nothing would help. FREN wanted to hold her entirely responsible for their decision-making and there was nothing she or anyone else from the TSA could do about it. Scapegoat, was an Earth word. She wondered if Einarr knew it.

  “Tecky?”

  “Slavin. How are you?”

  “I’m at the space dock with the Pavlovan ambassador. We’re waiting for a member of the security council to arrive. We’ll be with you as soon as we can.”

  Frey tried to relax as the prosecutor finally shut up and her defense stood. He consulted his notes and cleared his throat.

  “The defense cannot dispute any of the evidence presented to the court so far. We do, however, want to mention that until this incident, our client had an exemplary record and that in any sentencing, that record should be used to ameliorate the harshness of the punishment.”

  He sat down again.

  Frey turned toward him. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

  “Science Officer Frey,” the judge said. “You have been warned.”

  “But this is ridiculous!” Frey shouted as Brown advanced toward her, his expression troubled. “He did nothing to defend me!”

  The judge stood and looked right at Frey. “This court finds you guilty on all counts. You will be incarcerated in a class-one Pavlovan penitentiary for a minimum of a year. Your memories of this entire incident will be eradicated. The court may rise.”

  “No!” Frey was yelling now as Brown dragged her toward the door of the court. “I refuse to accept this verdict. Einarr, help me!”

  There was a sudden crash behind her and a scream and then Brown was knocked away from her. A huge muscled arm locked around her waist and dragged her back toward the wall. The plastic bonds around her wrists loosened as Einarr cut her free with his dagger.

  “I am here, my female.”

  Amongst the screaming, she heard Trallis shouting orders. Aki came up behind the judge and held the tip of his sword to her throat. His blue eyes glittered as he smiled.

  “Everyone get out, or I will kill her,” he roared.

  The legal teams took flight, followed by the remaining security guards leaving Aki, the judge, an unconscious Brown and her and Einarr occupying a suddenly quiet room.

  “Are you unharmed, my heart?” Einarr demanded.

  With a sob, Frey turned in his arms and buried her face against his armored chest. “I couldn’t let them take my memories of you away. That’s not fair. I have to have something left to remember you by.”

  “When you give me up?”

  “I don’t want to do that either, but I can’t involve you in all this craziness. It’s just not right.”

  He slid a finger under her chin and made her look up at him. “I am already involved. This entire world seems crazed to me. Now that I have disrupted a court and taken a judge hostage, I suspect my chances of escaping your planet’s justice have just shortened considerably. Mayhap we can share a cell?”

  She gulped. “Oh Gods, why did you have to say that? It’s so romantic.”

  “Frey, you called me from the ice. You saved my soul.”

  “I did what FREN told me to do. I didn’t—”

  He kissed her firmly on the mouth. “You called to my blood. We were fated to meet.”

  “But—”

  Somewhere by her feet, Brown groaned and rolled onto his back.

  “May I intrude?” Einarr’s head snapped around toward the elegant white-suited male who stood at the wrecked door. Frey gasped at the immense surge of telepathic power that radiated from the still figure. Behind him stood Slavin and another man who both looked anxious.

  “Senator Ash?” the judge whispered.

  “Yes.” The male’s smile was charming. “I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He glanced back at the door and beckoned Slavin and the man whom Frey reckoned had to be the regional Pavlovan ambassador forward. “My security team will make sure we aren’t disturbed.” He turned his attention toward Aki. “Perhaps you might lower your weapon and assist the Honorable Trallis Verchon to a seat?”

  “Einarr?” Aki frowned and turned to his twin. “Shall I release this Kúkalabbi?”

  Frey spoke fast. “This man is Senator Ash, the head of the Pavlovan Senate. He is the most powerful man on our planet.”

  “And a friend to you or our foe?” Einarr asked her.

  “I would hope he’s a friend.” Frey noticed Slavin nodding vigorously.

  “Then Aki, stand down and allow the judge to sit and speak with this man.”

  Frey held her breath as the senator took a seat opposite Trallis Verchon and waved at everyone else to do the same. Aki shook his head and stayed behind the judge, one hand on his sword as if ready to lop off her head at a word from Einarr.

  Einarr took Frey’s hand and sat beside her, his booted foot almost resting on Brown’s head.

  Ash looked down at the recumbent figure. “Perhaps Security Officer Brown might be helped into a chair as well.”

  With an ungracious sound, Einarr bent down, hauled Brown to his feet and dumped him unceremoniously in a seat.

  “Now, judge, would you be so kind as to repeat your verdict on this case to me?” Ash
said.

  “I found the prisoner guilty on all counts, Senator.”

  “And the sentence?”

  Trallis raised her chin. “Science Officer Frey will be incarcerated in a class-one Pavlovan penitentiary for a minimum of a year.”

  Frey turned to Ash when Trallis stopped speaking. “With all due respect, Senator. The judge forgot to mention the bit about eradicating my memory.”

  A slight crease appeared on Ash’s smooth brow. “Are you quite sure she said that?”

  Brown cleared his throat. “She did, Senator. I heard her. The court record should confirm it.”

  “You do realize, Judge Trallis, that eradicating a telepath’s memory is illegal?” Ash stated. “Amendment 3.275 to the Trios System Agreement states it quite clearly.”

  “I believe that amendment only refers to cases where the entire memory is removed, Senator Ash.” Trallis managed to sound both contemptuous and smug. “I gave instructions that only this particular event would be removed as requested by FREN.”

  “No, that’s not correct. Any memory eradication is illegal.” He glanced over his shoulder at the Pavlovan ambassador. “You have the files on this don’t you, Dracon?”

  “I do, Senator, and I will be quite happy to share them with the judge at her convenience.”

  Ash sat back slightly. “Then I think we can agree that the latter part of the sentence should be struck from the records, can’t we Judge Trallis? You wouldn’t wish your unfortunate lack of knowledge of your own star system’s laws to become public, would you?”

  Trallis glared at Ash, but did eventually nod. Frey breathed out hard through her nose.

  “Now, as to the length of the incarceration…”

  “Science Officer Frey’s defense conceded that she was guilty of all charges,” Trallis snapped. “I see no reason to revisit my decision.”

  Ash’s faint smile died. “I will have to disagree with you. Her defense is currently employed by FREN who had a vested interest in Science Officer Frey being convicted. From all unbiased accounts of the so-called trial, Science Officer Frey was defended by a man who didn’t even attempt to get her side of the story or offer up any witnesses in her defense. If he had performed this most basic of tasks, he would have realized that Science Officer Frey has mitigating circumstances, which would have affected her sentence.”