Finaan
Chapter eighteen
The Fire He Ignited
Iwake with a start, strong arms wrapped around my stomach—arms I’m clinging to, like I actually want them there—and a massive dick pressed against the back of my thighs. Which are closed, thank the gods.
“What the fuck, Wregen?” I shriek, pulling up the covers to hide my naked chest as I scoot away from him and plaster my spine to the headboard.
“What are you doing here?” I’m horrified at what I’ve done, but even more devastated by the sense of peace that surrounded me for that split second before I realized who shared my bed.
And then the memories wash through me. My nightmare. Wregen’s arms. The comfort he brought me.
“You needed me,” he says, confirming it wasn’t a dream.
Adding on his signature smirk, he lifts his arms over his head and stretches, not even trying to hide the erection lifting the little bit of blanket left to cover him.
I drag my gaze away from his firm chest and the V that leads away from it.
“And I gave you what you needed,” he adds as he reaches down, frees his dick from the speck of protection it had, and starts languidly stroking it.
The cocky bastard throws in a wink that really shouldn’t send sparks directly to my core, but does anyway.
I knew he was here and let him stay.
It doesn’t make what he did right, though.
“You can’t break into my room,” I growl, yanking the rest of the blanket away from him and wrapping it around me as I stand up.
“It was locked to keep you out,” I point out with a frantic wave at the useless chunk of wood.
“And I’m not … decent,” I add as I look down at myself to make sure I’m fully covered.
“Exactly as I prefer,” he says as his gaze tracks all the way to my bare toes and then back up, resting on my heaving chest longer than it should. “Did you sleep well?”
Ugh. I stare at him for a moment, biting back the answer that almost slips through my lips. I did, but I’ll be damned if I tell him that. It’s been months since I slept so well.
“You don’t have to answer,” he declares with a laugh when I don’t respond.
“Of course you did, with your mate’s naked body plastered to yours, his cock in your ass.
” He looks down at the hand that’s starting to pick up its pace.
“Well, not in your ass,” he amends with a smirk. “We’ll fix that soon enough, though.”
I huff out a sigh, not even bothering to respond to him because it wouldn’t matter. “Go away, Wregen,” I mutter instead. “You’re not welcome here.”
“Give me a minute, my skjaldmaer,” he murmurs, gripping himself more tightly as he wrangles with the erection that almost looks angry, it’s so red and hard. “I can’t pass up the chance to come while you watch me.”
Spinning, I drag my gaze away as I find something—anything—to look at other than him.
“That’s nearly as good,” the bastard rasps from behind me, his voice stuttering a bit. “I do adore your ass, and that blanket does nothing to hide the wondrous flesh that greeted my hard cock this morning.”
He’s quiet after that, other than the grunts that disturb the air every few seconds.
I have nowhere to hide in this small space—trapped until I can put on clothes and get some distance from him—but I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand there and let him ogle me.
So I tie the blanket around me, secure enough to hold, and start gathering his clothes. And then I throw them at him.
He laughs as the first boot flies his way, not even breaking the rhythm of his frantic fist when he swats it away.
I nearly get him with the second one, the heel less than a hand’s-width from his forehead when he manages to bat at it.
The clothes aren’t a threat, so he just watches me, a smile on his face and bright eyes.
They end up covering half his head and one ear, part of his arm with a smidgen of his chest, and a knee, but that fucking hand never even slows down.
I reach again for one of the boots—the only thing that might cause him pain—as I hold back the grin that’s trying to fight its way out.
I can’t let myself laugh with him. I refuse to enjoy this moment.
But my mate is smiling and he’s so fucking gorgeous, his soul so impossibly light and free, I’m almost grateful to the fates for binding us together.
As I focus on slowing my breaths, trying to calm my raging hormones, I realize it’s not our bond alone that draws me to him.
I’m happier than I’ve ever been, the laughter opening parts of my soul I didn’t know could be unearthed.
And I’d want him even without the fates’ interference.
His intensity is so gods-damned sexy, but it’s more than that.
He doesn’t give a single fuck what anyone thinks about him, except me.
He’d doom the whole world to Helheim if it meant I’d join him there.
Something about that turns me on, even if I know it shouldn’t.
Plus, he’s about to come a few feet away, and the mating bond is very happy about that.
That bond wants me to join in, and I wish to all the gods I could ignore my body’s response to Wregen’s pleasure.
The little spark that started in my core when he winked has become an inferno and it’s raging inside of me, dragging an unexpected joy and levity with it.
I’m trying to pull up thoughts of cold lakes and frozen mornings, but nothing stanches the heat that I swear I can feel coming from him.
And my mind, the traitor, can think of nothing other than his fingers plunging into my pussy for the first time, triggering the most intense orgasm I’ve ever felt.
Those fingers are doing wicked things to a dick the fates have decided is mine, and the need to push his hand aside and take over is almost overwhelming.
Twice as I’m stomping through the room, my hand moves down, almost of its own accord, toward the tips of my thighs.
Both times, I’m forced to pause and clench them together tightly, chasing friction as much as stopping myself from doing something I’ll regret for the rest of my life.
I let out a low sigh when I manage to quell my lust and continue with my pointless attack.
Finally, after what seems like forever, I hear Wregen grunt and I spin away, refusing to let myself watch him. Within a few seconds, he blows out a long breath.
Thank fuck.
“Tempting, isn’t it,” he murmurs, throwing his voice into my ear.
I hear him get up and move around the room—hopefully dressing himself—but don’t dare turn around.
“I’ll try harder next time to persuade you to join me.
I’d hoped to enjoy myself a little longer, but with that stunning ass bouncing around, reminding me how good it felt to wake up next to you, I couldn’t hold out. ”
He rests his hands on my hips and I spin around to shove him away.
“Don’t touch me,” I hiss, ignoring the shiver that rolls through me as I pull the blanket up further so it doesn’t slip down my chest. “And don’t come back,” I tack on, even though I know it won’t matter. Wregen does what he wants. Always.
“I’ll always return to you, my skjaldmaer,” he responds with a smile. “I’ll see you tonight. Tomorrow, you’ll help me remove these cuffs and we’ll leave together,” he continues as he shoves one foot into a boot, and then the other.
“I’m not helping you, and I’m definitely not leaving with you.
” My voice is low, not a hint of uncertainty, even though I’m starting to realize that’s exactly what I’ll need to do if I hope to free Panta.
I don’t want to like this horrible male the fates gave me.
But I’m starting to worry that I might if I keep seeing hints that a heart still beats in a chest I always believed empty.
“You’ll do both,” he responds as his hand rests on the doorknob. “You’ll see.”
He opens the door and strides out, not even looking back.
While I drop to the bed, open my legs, and glide my fingers down my stomach. The fire he ignited is still roaring inside me, and this is the only way I can ever let myself quench it.
“Balin’s keeping me from the tree, I know it,” Rata declares as he nibbles on one of the nuts the kitchen gave him for his meal.
“I should be able to sense it from here, but nothing,” he declares as he throws his little squirrel arms into the air, dropping the morsel he’d been devouring with a light clunk.
“Yggdrasill gives this land every bit of magic you see, but I can’t feel its draw. ”
We brought our lunch outside, supposedly to escape Wregen and enjoy the land, but really to plan. We’re in an isolated area—nobody close enough to hear us if we speak quietly—so we can decide where we go from here, and how.
I nearly moan when I bite into the sandwich the cook gave me. Gods, it’s scrumptious. I’ve only been here a couple of days but I’m already dreading how much I’ll miss the fruits and vegetables and meats and cheeses available in this unusual world. And the wine. I’d stay for that if I could.
I can’t, though. We have to leave. I need to find my dragon, but every bit as important, I need to get away from Wregen. I won’t let myself give in to him, and it gets harder and harder, the more time we spend together.
He’s a different male here than he was in Helheim, and I’m not sure why.
Maybe Hel’s influence over him draws out his cruelty there, displaying it for all to see.
Maybe Wrath is calmer away from her … and close to me, as much as I hate to admit it.
Or maybe it’s all an act, to lull me into complacency. Whatever it is, it terrifies me.
Because one thing about my frustrating mate isn’t going to change. He’ll never stop trying to get me back to Helheim. Even if I wanted him—and I refuse to want him—it wouldn’t matter. I’ll never be able to trust Wregen, so I need to use him while I can and then get the fuck away.
Which starts with getting those cuffs off of him so we can leave here.