Chapter 18 Vidar
Chapter eighteen
Vidar
Over my long years, I’ve had many titles, all of them coming with burdens I take pride in. What’s the point of my broad shoulders if not to carry duties that lesser men couldn't? And with each new role came with people I swore to protect.
Now, Kai.
I should be ashamed that if stacked against my other roles—Chieftain, Husband, Father, Vampire Family Head—Soulmate outweighs them all.
The village I ruled is long gone, as is my wife.
My sons are still strong in their own right, as are my offspring.
Yet Kai is fragile. He is not weak by any means, which is how I know when—not if—I make him into a vampire, he’ll survive the transformation.
Yet he’s guarded, and when I promised to be his shield against the world, I meant it.
So, when—not if—he lowers those walls for me, I’ll be the protection he needs to do so without prying eyes.
My little prince shifts in his sleep, face tucked into the crook of my neck, and his arms wrap loosely around my middle.
When he’s suitably comfortable, a satisfied sigh leaves him, and my heart nearly bursts with pride and…
something else. Something that begs me to draw him tighter into my chest, even if we’re nearly as close as two people could be.
After everything that happened to Kai yesterday, it proves that while Kai is mine to watch over, he is also mine to lose if I’m not careful.
He’s also mine to—
Kai shifts, rubbing up against me, and I have to hold back a groan as blood rushes down to fill my semi-hard cock so quickly that black spots swim in my vision. Swallowing back a growl, I grit my teeth to force down my sudden throbbing erection.
All night my hand rested on the smooth curve of Kai’s lower back.
Every inch of him pressing against me—separated only by his pyjamas I’ve come to fucking despise and my own thick denim jeans and black T-shirt.
Never have I been tested more than in resisting the urge to tear away all material between us and finally confront this confusing, relentless attraction.
Well…his old band tee covers the majority of his back. While Kai shifted in his sleep (another frustration I’ve had to contend with), a sliver of smooth skin lay exposed. Just enough for me to stroke with the tip of my little finger, again and again…
The spellbook might’ve burnt, but this little patch of Kai scorches.
His frame is lean, yet his body holds a hidden softness—the opposite of my own hard-won muscles.
As the hours passed, my anger at Emma stayed sharp, but it slowly quieted with my nose buried in his braids.
So with nothing else to focus on, and in the tranquillity of lavender and pencil shavings, I began to unwrap how I truly feel about Kai.
I’ve never lusted after a man; yet Kai awakens feelings that I’ve only experienced with women.
No. That isn’t right. Or, too simplified.
The pull I have towards Kai might be Fate, but I can’t deny that she chose well.
He is everything I’ve ever wanted—passionate and kind, funny and stubborn and challenging—all wrapped in a package that is far too captivating.
Place jade and emeralds and every green gemstone in front of me, and nothing would compare to the brilliance of his eyes.
Or capture the sparkle that glows within them.
Over a thousand years I’ve listened to music, and not one could conjure the song of his laugh.
So, in the dark with Kai in my arms, I wonder how we could even make this work. Perhaps a non-sexual relationship? I would sleep with women, and he would sleep with—
Jealousy—sharp enough to cut, digs deep into my gut. Any man who dares touch Kai should hide their necks, unless they want it torn out by my fangs.
I bury my nose deeper into Kai’s hair and inhale to calm myself as frustration eats at me. If even hypothetical men after my soulmate drives me insane, there’s no winning for either of us.
Kai shifts and yawns, taking me out of my thoughts as he rejoins the waking world. I gently stroke between his shoulder blades and the sliver of skin at his back.
“Good morning, little prince,” I murmur, brushing my lips across his forehead.
He sighs and snuggles deeper. He smells warm and sleepy.
“Am I dreaming?” he mumbles, eyes still closed.
I bring my lips down to his ear. “Dreaming about me, are you?”
I should stop flirting with him and touching him, and caring about him. Really, the list goes on for what I should do.
But I can’t stop myself.
Kai blinks, staring up at me for long moments before pinching my cheek hard enough to leave a mark. “Ouch,” I grunt. Though it didn’t really hurt.
“Huh, guess I’m awake.”
“And you couldn’t test that on yourself?”
He stretches out his long body, his band tee riding up, and his pinch is long forgotten as I can finally rest my hand on the sleep-warmed skin of his lower back.
“Why would I do that when you're so pinchable?” Kai sits up, but I tug him back. His weight and heat, and scent are all too addicting to release. Another thing I should stop.
“I need my glasses,” he mutters, his breath ghosting across my neck.
Instead of letting him go, I sit up, my arm anchoring us together and look down to see the things he’s looking for and grab them, sliding his round glasses onto his nose.
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” It sounds like an accusation. But I want to know everything about him, I want to know more than anyone else. More than his family or Golden.
Rurik.
“Sometimes in the mornings, but mostly when I’m drawing or tattooing.”
His cheek drops against my chest, his hand on my pec. I fight to remain still, hoping he doesn’t notice the cock I’ve failed to argue back to softness.
“The spellbook?” he reluctantly asks.
“Nothing,” I assure him.
He nods. “I should get up, I have work.”
“Don’t go in.” I try to soften my words, but from his quirked eyebrow, I can tell he heard it for what it is—an order.
“I can’t let Emma stop me from doing the things I love, and my client took a lot of courage to get this tattoo today; I can’t let her down.”
With that, Kai pulls himself up, and the loss of him is like losing the weight of my heart. However…as he climbs out, I get a view that yanks me by the throat.
I’ve travelled the world and beyond, seen wonders people couldn’t even imagine, and yet Kai’s plump ass wrapped in tight little briefs outshines them all.
I have to physically hold myself back to stop from grabbing his hips and dragging him back to bed.
Lying him face down and hips up, his legs spread to show me exactly what is mine.
My fists twist in the sheets.
Kai glances over his shoulder at me. I’m not sure what he sees, but his lips twitch. “Something you wanna say?”
“Do you always wear those little briefs?”
“You mean when I’m outside?” he teases.
I stand and move to him, and try to keep the growl out of my voice, but fail when I say, “You wear those little things in public?”
He doesn’t back down, just smiles like he’s won something. “Well, under my clothes, obviously.”
My fingers flex, the need to grab hold of him becoming vital. “Obviously,” I grind out.
“Unless I’m at the beach.” He fully turns to me, grinning. “Then yes, Vidar, I wear even tinier briefs in public.”
I reach out, but my little prince is quick, slipping away toward the bathroom and pulling the door open. I close the distance in a few steps and catch the door, holding it above him to keep it from shutting. “I meant what I said last night.”
Kai crosses his arms and cocks a hip, staring at me with a look that’s all him; longing and annoyance.
“I’m going to deal with Emma.” I move closer, crowding his space and brushing away his braids to cup his scarred cheek. I expect Kai to shy away, yet not even his gaze wavers. “No more being scared.”
“I don’t think anyone can stop that.”
“Try me,” I say, my voice rumbling.
Kai’s hand comes down on my bicep and strokes up to my chest, goosebumps rising in his wake like every part of me has no choice but to follow. “Why you gotta do shit like this, Vidar?” he asks quietly, staring at me through his dark lashes.
I could play dumb, but what type of man would I be to shy away?
“I wish I knew,” I say instead, my gaze locking with his.
My breath hitches as I slowly set my palms on his hips, my every finger pressing into his supple flesh to brand my touch into his body—his soul—and pull Kai flush against my hard chest. The soft gasp that slips from his plump lips when he feels exactly what he’s done to me is the moment I stop caring how Fate brought us together.
All that matters is that we are together.
Yet that thought doesn’t last long because I feel Kai against me. Or rather, his cock.
Because of course Kai has one…
And Kai’s hard.
Kai catches my hesitation and snorts a laugh. He takes the opportunity to duck into the bathroom and throws a look over his shoulder. “Make yourself useful and get breakfast cooking.”
I shake off my stupor, grab hold of the door again so he can’t close it. “You deserve a bigger kitchen, by the way, little prince. Come back to the mansion where it’s safe, and we can make meals together.”
“You think I deserve big things?” he asks, grinning.
My grip on the door tightens enough to splinter the wood. “As big as you can take.”
“I like big things, bestie.” Kai tilts his head, grin widening. “But I also happen to like a tight squeeze, too.”
I falter, my mind going blank. He laughs and pushes my hand away so he can slam the door in my face, leaving me dumbfounded that my hard-on doesn’t waver. Instead of questioning it, I do exactly what he ordered and get breakfast started.