Rokar clenched his jaw and spoke to the others. “She still speaks to him.”
Something similar had happened to Kenzie, but in her case, they saw the Ancient Matter enter and exit her. This time no such thing had happened.
“Let her speak,” Vigdis murmured. “Let her ride out the memory Níðhöggr just triggered...because that is what’s happening.”
The moment she said it, his surroundings changed, and Tess’s eyes cleared as they met his.
“We’re there again, aren’t we?” she whispered, her gaze not nearly as defiant as it had been moments before.
He pulled her close while they took in their surroundings. The trees and lakes had vanished. In their place were molten beds of bubbling lava. The heat level, however, was the most notable change. It was blistering hot, yet again affecting their dragons when it shouldn’t.
“I forbid it, Daughter,” came a booming voice before the largest dragon he had ever seen appeared glaring down at Tess’s dragon. As Tess herself had moments before, defiance lit her eyes when she glared at him.
“You cannot stop who I choose to mate with,” she seethed. “Especially this dragon...such a dragon.”
“My arch enemy,” Níðhöggr roared, causing the steamy lava to swoosh and hiss beneath his thunderous voice. “Never!” He shook his great head. “After the losses we have already suffered at Skáld’s hand, how can you want such a thing? Such a dragon?”
“Because the opportunity is there,” she growled. “And we both know it...we both know I have caught his eye.” She flicked her tail, confident. “Look at what he allows me to do. Use his sons as I am. Roam about as I want.”
“Do you think that is what he is letting you do?” Níðhöggr lowered his great head until they were eye to eye. “Do you think even now he is not watching your every move...seeing if you run back to his mortal enemy. Seeing if you put your kin before his. Me before him?” His eyes widened. “You try to be your sister, but you are not! You do not have the patience to play such a part.”
Tess and Rokar glanced at each other, wondering what he was talking about.
“My sister is lost to us,” she growled, “and well you know it.”
“Is she?” Níðhöggr said. “Are you so sure?”
“Sure enough since she’s been gone all these months,” she spat. “Mated to Skáld’s brother.”
“Some say she lies with both Skáld and his brother.” Níðhöggr watched his daughter closely. “If that is the case, what hope have you with our enemy?”
“You will see, Father.” Hatred simmered in her eyes. She swept her tail back and forth and narrowed her gaze on the horizon. “You will see what I have planned. The great lengths I am willing to go to for this war.”
“For this war or for something else?” Níðhöggr’s watchful eyes never left his daughter. “Is it for this infection that brought several of Skáld’s warriors my way, which draws them to my females? That sees them killed by their own former master and his warriors, his very kin?”
He said more, but his words slipped away on an all-too-familiar wind before their surroundings returned to normal and their silent storm once again hovered in the sky above.
“There they are,” Kenzie exclaimed.
Tess frowned at the group who now sat around a fire on the grassy shore. “How long were we gone?”
“A few hours.” Kenzie embraced her and nodded at Rokar before looking at her sister again. “So what happened this time?”
They filled them in after they joined everyone and were handed skins of mead. Magnus was still here, but his warriors had gone off a ways to set up camp, so they didn’t drain the dragons of their magic.
“You don’t think your former dragon and Níðhöggr were talking about Ava, do you, Tess?” Soren said.
“I wish I knew.” Tess shook her head. “I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion yet though.”
“So, as we assumed based on our earlier communications with him, Níðhöggr was aware that love, or an infection, had arisen within his ranks.” Rokar preferred going over what they had learned thus far rather than focusing on what if’s. “Yet it didn’t sound like he approved of it.”
“I don’t know about that,” Tess murmured. “He didn't like whatever I was up to, but as to the infection in general, I sensed...I don’t know, not the disgust coming off of him I would’ve expected.”
“Which is something you should keep in mind as you move forward,” Vigdis said softly. “If nothing else has been proven thus far, it is that Níðhöggr’s prophecy and ensuing war is turning out to be more than we anticipated. Much more than mere vengeance on an old enemy.”
Nobody responded. They didn’t have to. Everyone knew a greater story was unraveling. A tale that brought fated mates back together and gave them a glimpse at an ancestry they never could have imagined.
“What brought you our way this time anyway?” Tess asked Magnus before her eyes went to Vigdis. “And you?”
“A fiery leaf,” they responded at the same time, casting each other a surprised glance before Magnus urged Vigdis to continue.
“I was at the Fortress seeing to my fellow seers,” Vigdis went on, “then my attention was caught by a flaming leaf blowing on the wind. I followed it only to end up here.”
When Tess looked to Magnus, he nodded. “The same happened to me, yet the leaf blew by mid-battle. A battle I brought with me when I was yanked here.”
“Yanked.” Rokar arched a brow, still unsure how he felt about the fire demon’s apparent bond with Tess. “Was it such a strong sensation then?”
“Yes.” Magnus’s eyes leveled with his, and he eased his mind. “But then my wife is here, so perhaps it makes sense, yes?”
“That she is,” Halla echoed, grinning. She looked between Vigdis and Magnus, who sat next to one another but showed little affection. Halla, meanwhile, sat close to Pierce randomly touching him despite his uncomfortable glances at Eirik, Soren, and Rokar.
“So what do you think the burning leaf is about?” Kenzie’s eyes skirted over Vigdis, Magnus, and Tess before landing on Rokar. “And did you see it as well?”
He nodded. “Yes, but it was not entirely aflame.”
She cocked her head. “So what, just singed?”
“More than singed,” he said. “Partially aflame much like the tree.”
“Weird.” Kenzie looked at Magnus and Vigdis. “But it was totally aflame for you two?” When they nodded, she asked, “What about the ash itself?”
When Magnus said, “It is as it was,” Vigdis nodded in agreement.
“So what are we supposed to make of this?” Tess’s murmured inquiry wasn’t directed at anyone in particular as she shifted closer to Rokar on the log.
“I think what you’re supposed to make of it will become clearer as time goes on,” Leviathan responded. “The First Blade will show you.”
Tess nodded, fanning herself again. “Is anyone else hot?”
Rokar nodded, glancing at the cool water in the dying sun. “I think it’s time to do what we came here for.”
“I couldn't agree more.” Another sort of heat altogether churned in Tess’s eyes when they met his. “Maybe explore a bit first?”
In total agreement, he pulled her after him.
“There will be game here to eat if you’re hungry later,” Halla called after them, amusement in her voice.
Not interested in food just wanting to cool his hot skin and spend time alone with Tess, he led them along a small lake to a path that cut away from everyone. As it turned out, it meandered along a river to an alcove encased in the Realm’s shimmering willows.
“I heard about the Vanaheim Willow in Skáld’s Domain,” Tess said as they found a grassy spot beneath one of the trees. He set down his satchel and laid his fur on the ground. “Are these from the seers’ home world too?”
“Likely.” He grew hotter by the moment while he watched her undress. “Though there is no way to be sure.” He glanced at the willow over
head. “I appreciate the shade they provide, even from the dying sun.”
“So do I,” Tess agreed, not shy. She decided it took too long to undress so chanted away her clothes. Something they were doing far too much lately considering it took magic, and there was no way to know if that drew the enemy. But he understood it right now as he removed his clothing with a chant and followed.
His temperature spiked even more as she strode into the refreshing water and dove. He liked the way her rounded ass moved. The play of her delicate muscles and the sound of her almost sensual relief when she sank below the water then surfaced. He even liked the avid appreciation in her eyes when she watched him stride in after her.
Helga had never looked at him quite like that, and he wasn’t sure why. He knew she found him attractive, so assumed it had to do with his dragon half. The side of him that made him larger than most men. That sheened his skin if he got too aroused. That erupted within his eyes in the heat of passion.
As he dove under, relishing the cold water, he realized how free he felt with Tess. How oppressed he had let himself become over the years trying to please his wife. He never blamed her for it. She had a right to her feelings. But he had hoped eventually she might see things differently. That she would embrace his dragon half as readily as his human side.
When he surfaced, Tess was close. Quickly repressed sadness flashed in her eyes as she watched him. She had caught all that. He scowled, shook his head, and spoke more harshly than intended. “Those were not thoughts for you to listen in on, woman.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, her black hair slicked back and her eyes afire in the setting sun as she remained submerged to her shoulders. “I have trouble separating your thoughts from mine lately...they’re just there...and loud.”
He understood because the same thing happened to him, but knowing she heard such private musings made him uncomfortable. Vulnerable.
“It shouldn’t though,” she said, answering his thought. “It doesn’t make you any less of a dragon for wanting to please your wife...or that you couldn’t stop your dragon when it surfaced.” She hesitated before she continued, clearly looking for the right words. “I’m sure in time, Helga would’ve been flattered. She would’ve realized what a compliment it was.”
Would she have, though? He wasn’t so sure about that. “It no longer matters.”
“I think it does.” Tess shifted a little closer. “I think you believe you and your dragon are flawed when you’re anything but.” She shook her head. “And I think losing Helga and Bjárr did nothing to help that.”
He frowned. “You think me insecure then?”
She moved so close he could reach out and touch her. “More like afraid to be you...afraid you’ll let yourself down yet again if you are.”
While he could argue that was, in fact, insecurity, his inner dragon was responding to both her proximity and words. His temperature increased once again. This time for one reason. Her. Because of how much he wanted to sink into her tight, wet heat.
How he wanted to consume everything she had to offer.
“Then consume me.” She rested her hand on his chest, her eyes turned to his in invitation, and said words his wife never would have. “Show me all your inner dragon has to offer.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
YET AGAIN, TESS wanted to bat Helga upside the head for what she had put Rokar through. Why hook up with him if she had an aversion to dragons? Because she clearly did...right? Why bear his child, though? A child that could have very easily been born a dragon as well. It didn’t make sense.
Or did it?
If she was learning nothing else about Rokar, it was that he had a soft heart under all that gruffness. He had loved Helga and wanted to please her so who was Tess to judge? In all actuality, it made him a cut above the rest. Even so, her inner dragon remained fired up about it.
But then this was her long lost mate, so she supposed it made sense.
He was to be appreciated for every part of him. Something she made clear, allowing her dragon eyes to flare while she traced her fingers along his strong jaw, down his neck then across his broad chest, pleased when his skin sheened almost immediately. Shifting closer, she kept running her hands over him, enjoying the many indentations of muscles perfectly formed not just from battling but because he was dragon.
He was beautiful.
She made sure he knew that too through her mind’s eye. Through every lusty, admiring thought, through the way she touched him with admiration. She liked his scars. The way his dragon sheen accentuated them and told tale after tale of his many battles, of the life he’d lived. As she touched them, her dragon magic ignited, and she felt Helga’s touch before her. How she had wished they were less pronounced.
Less of a reminder of how easily she could lose him.
“She feared your dragon would take you away from her,” she whispered, meeting his eyes. “Helga truly loved you, Rokar.” She shook her head, never more sure of anything. “She never meant to make your dragon feel like an inferior part of you.”
His brows furrowed. “How do you know that?”
“I don’t know,” she murmured. “I just do...” Her eyes dropped to a scar. “My dragon does.” Her gaze returned to his. “My inner beast wants your dragon to know you were loved for all of you.”
He didn’t say anything right away but searched for the truth in her eyes. Something he evidently found when he cupped her cheek and his gaze grew tender. “You are a much different woman than I thought you were at the beginning...I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“I think we both had reservations at the beginning.” She closed her eyes and tilted her cheek into his touch, liking the feel of it, the comfort it brought when she had no clue she needed it.
Moments later, he cupped her other cheek and closed his warm lips over hers. His kiss wasn’t aggressive, but as tender as the way he had just looked at her. As heartfelt as he tilted his lips over hers and gave her the sort of kiss she generally avoided. One that wanted more from her than a few good times. It skirted around what she and Axle had shared then went even further.
Unexpectedly turned on by the chaste kiss, she groaned and pressed closer, enjoying the feel of his hard wet body, and hot dick throbbing against her. Hell, she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone and made that clear as she started to wrap her legs around him.
“No,” he murmured against her lips before he swept her up into his arms and headed for shore. “It will be done differently this time...done as it should have been before.”
“I didn’t think the first time was so bad,” she chided but knew by the look in his eyes he meant business. Heck, who was she to fight him? Based on what it had been like the first time, he was all about pleasing a woman. More importantly, he knew exactly how to go about it.
So when he laid her on his fur and kissed her again, his hand playing down her body, touching every tingling spot just right, she knew she was in for it. Some might say it was a mate thing, but she suspected he was just downright talented. He manipulated the flesh between her thighs so well that he’d barely kissed his way down her neck before she came hard.
“Fuck,” she cried out, arching into his touch, her body shaking, her swollen flesh throbbing against his fingers. “Where did you learn to do that?”
He smiled against her skin as he licked and kissed his way down. All the while he pressed and rolled the hot pad of his weapon roughened thumb against her clit in such a way it kept her coming until she whimpered. Then, perfectly synchronized, he pressed two fingers deep inside her at the same moment he pulled an overly sensitive nipple into his mouth.
She cried out again. Blazing heat followed by another sharp orgasm tore through her. Quivering, totally at his mercy, she trembled, her eyes rolling back in her head. He slowly moved his fingers in and out while curling them, sure to hit her G-spot every time.
He really was outstanding at this, and her body let him know as he drew out her all-time long
est climax. One he clearly intended to keep going. He continued enjoying her breasts before he kissed his way down her stomach, swirling his tongue here and there, even invoking a jolt from her bellybutton. By the time he made it where he was heading she was a puddle of pleasure, and pretty damn sure she’d been multi-climaxing the whole time.
So when his mouth closed over her incredibly sensitive flesh, she dug her hands into his hair and held on tight. Good thing because he was as masterful with his tongue as he was with his fingers, taking her way beyond coherency. Her head fell back, and she cried out yet again. By the time he finished a zillion climaxes later, she was positive she’d melted into the ground. All liquid limbs and pulsing flesh, she stared up at the willow before he brushed his lips across hers one more time.
She thought for sure he’d continue but instead pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair. Almost as if he were soothing her from the pleasurable torture he had put her through.
“What are you doing?” she whispered hoarsely, having trouble speaking because her vocal chords were as mush-like as the rest of her.
“Giving you time to rest,” he murmured.
Huh? Wasn’t the next step actually having sex? Yet as she simmered in the intoxicating afterglow he had afforded her, she realized her body probably couldn’t take much more right now. She would have chuckled at that if she could, but she was too far gone.
Rokar had sexed her out without actually having sex.
Vaguely aware of his rock-solid cock pressing against her side, she felt bad she left him hanging, but she was too adrift to act on it. In fact, she was so wasted on pleasure she drifted off and didn’t wake up until moonlight splintered down through the blowing willow leaves.
She was still tucked against Rokar’s side only now another fur covered them. Though pleasure still lingered between her thighs, it was manageable. Or at least it was until she decided to prop herself up and admire him sleeping. He really was gorgeous with his chiseled face, straight brows, and sensual lips. His ruggedly handsome features mixed with a fierceness that reflected his inner dragon. He had a rough hotness about him that made her want to look at him forever. His raw sex appeal would draw women of any age.
Viking's Conquest Page 15
