Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 41683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
"Yes," she whispers with such sweet innocence. And such conviction. Fate may have been unkind to this Valkyrie lately, but she isn't delicate. She's as fierce as any of her ancestors who ever stood in Valhalla. And as steadfast.
My heart pounds like a war drum as I lean in. The faintest hint of honeysuckle clings to her skin and hair, sending my senses into overdrive. Her eyelashes flutter closed as my lips descend on hers. The kiss is feather-light at first—barely a whisper of contact. But at the taste of her on my tongue, we both go up like kindling. The raw intensity of it consumes us both.
She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer as a soft sigh escapes her lips. I growl, my cock throbbing as I kiss her as if I intend to complete our bond with nothing but the intensity of my need for her. It courses through me, wild and uncontained.
Ah, Gods. I've never felt anything like it.
Her lips are sweet and pliant beneath mine, her kiss tinged with a desperation that matches mine. The bond amplifies our desire for one another, fueling our passion until we're both breathless and dizzy with need.
I flick my tongue against hers, eager for every shiver, for every breathy moan. My hands wander over her body, memorizing every curve and dip as she sighs into my mouth. My mind flashes with images of all the ways I want to worship her body, to savor every inch of her skin.
My body is hers, every bit as much as my soul. It would be so easy to pull her down beneath me and get lost in her. She's soft and sweet…the sweetest thing I've ever held in my arms.
"Reaper," she whimpers. "Please."
I know what she's asking. I know what she wants. I feel her need pounding through her in a relentless wave. I shift her until she's straddling my lap, her thighs spread wide around mine.
The heat of her sears my aching cock as she settles against my erection.
Her head falls back, a moan tumbling from her lips. She rocks against me, trembling in bliss.
I kiss a trail down her throat, tasting her delicate skin. One hand digs into her hip as I reach for her arms, needing as much contact with her as possible.
My hand slides down her wrist, my fingers gliding across the rope burns seared into her skin.
Reason returns in a painful rush.
It's far too soon for the things I would do with this little Valkyrie.
We pull apart, panting and breathless.
"Forgive me, solsken." I rest my forehead against hers, trying to scrape together the frayed and tattered remains of my self-control. "I forget myself."
"M-me too." She sighs, her breath sweet as it touches my lips. "You make it easy to forget, Reaper."
I hear the quiet longing in her voice, the ache to forget the horrors she's endured, even if only for a little while. She's been through too much, and still, we ask for more. Still, fate asks for more. It's unfair, especially for one so young. I've had lifetimes to grow accustomed to the heavy weight of duty and sacrifice, and it still chafes on occasion. She's had only days, and we ask the impossible of her.
To save not only her world, but all worlds. To save not only her people, but all people. As the humans say, it's bullshit. It's complete and total bullshit.
I wrap my arm around her, cradling her against my chest. "Do you want to sleep more, solsken?"
"No," she says quickly. "I'm not tired."
"Then come." I stand with her in my arms, smiling down at her. "Let's find you some clothes, and then I'll show you how this Fae leaves the world behind when it's getting on his nerves."
"The world gets on your nerves?" she asks, a tiny smile curving her lips upward.
"Nei," I admit, striding across the room, "but living with 166 other Fae does."
Her sweet laughter heals the wound her screams of terror carved on my heart.
Chapter Five
Tori
"What is this place?" I ask Reaper, spinning in a circle in the middle of the quiet clearing. Giant, towering trees surround it, hiding the tiny valley from sight. Their gnarled branches weave together overhead as if they cling to one another to protect the peace of this place. Even in the frigid, frozen landscape, delicate flowers poke through the frost all across the clearing, lifting their petals toward the sky. It's beautiful.
We're still in Eitr. The massive walls of the town loom up around us, standing like sentinels to guard against the night. Parts of them are damaged, charred where the Forsaken unleashed dark magic trying to bring them down yesterday, but they still stand. Lights from the sleeping town slip through the trees to the left, but we're far enough away that it feels as if we're in a world all our own. Out here, with the cold mountain air seeping into my lungs, the last lingering vestiges of my nightmare fall away.