Rise of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 1)

by Sky Purington

  He had connected with Cybil plenty of times in the twenty-first century without being affected this strongly. While his need to be near her had certainly increased, only now did he realize how much. Having her here in his era, on his land, was throwing everything off kilter. To struggle with prophecy was one thing. He had done it thousands of times. But this.

  Her.

  She was far different than what he had prepared himself for. A threat he had no ability to put into the right category and tackle. Something he had learned to do when he was fifteen winters old. Everything had a place. Everybody had a way to be dealt with. But not her.

  Not Cybil.

  “So what will you do about her, Cousin?”

  Heidrek sighed and met Svala’s eyes when she leaned against the wall beside him. She was the little sister he never had and a true rebel if ever there was one. “I will make sure she returns home.”

  “Ha! Loki’s ball’s you will.” She propped her hip against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. “You will lie with her and keep all others away because you’re fascinated by this pointless creature.” She cocked her head. “Why?”

  “You treated her unkindly,” he said. “Do not do it again.”

  “I will again and again,” she declared and jutted out her chin. “Especially if she drives you and Matthew further apart.”

  “Matthew has driven his own wedge between us.” He held her gaze and made sure she felt the fury of his dragon, that which could never be whole. “Do not ever attack her again.”

  Svala shuddered under the weight of his threat but fought it as she always did, her lips twisting, before the dragon flared in her eyes. “I will not as long as she means you and Matthew no harm.”

  “She is mortal and from the future,” Heidrek reminded. “Therefore, she has no control over her effect on any of us.”

  “Loki’s cock,” Svala spat before her lips curled into a ridiculously soft smile and her dark blue eyes twinkled. “You know I’ll do anything you ask of me, but remember well that I get moody when my kin are threatened.”

  She dropped a quick kiss on his cheek before she entered the main lodge, her last words spoken within the mind. “If you love her already, tell her because I feel my kin’s blood stirring in a whole new way. The males' anyway.”

  Love? That wasn’t a word he was allowed when it came to women. Ever.

  Not when he could always foresee their life journey.

  How could he tempt love with anyone when it might take them from their predestined path? A path he knew he wasn’t supposed to be part of unless he wished otherwise? Something he could never do. There could be no greater harm than pulling a woman’s fate in another direction because he desired companionship.

  “Heidrek, might we meet later?” a local woman murmured, her eyes roaming over him before she entered the cottage

  He shook his head, ran a hand through his hair and gazed up at the mountains. Sex was something he had enjoyed plenty of. Women came and went, but he kept none. They appealed to him long enough to spill his seed then he let them go so he wouldn’t affect their destiny. He couldn’t imagine investing more in a woman. Based on his own conscience, it had never been allowed.

  Heidrek ground his jaw as images of Cybil on her knees nude flashed through his mind. He gripped her hip and trailed a finger up her spine, teasing. Her flesh was warm, smooth, welcoming and her ass, round, perfect, waiting…

  “Heidrek?”

  He blinked, confused by the sound of Cybil’s concerned voice when he knew a long, low moan was supposed to come from her lips.

  “Heidrek, are you okay?”

  She had joined him outside. His eyes shot to her. Still caught in his fantasy—a snippet of the future—it was hard to focus. She was supposed to be purring with satisfaction beneath him. But no. She was fully clothed and shaking her head.

  He stared at her blankly, surprised by how difficult it was to separate the two realities. Evidently confused by his behavior, she took his hand…and saw his visions as clearly as him.

  Her cheeks reddened, and her lips fell open as she felt the raw pleasure. Heated passion. The promise of more.

  Then something shifted.

  Exhaustion slammed into her, and she was going down.

  He scooped her up seconds before she passed out.

  This was what Megan had warned might happen. The overwhelming exhaustion people experienced when they traveled back in time.

  His eyes roamed over Cybil. How delicate she really was. How fragile. He hugged her closer as the need to dominate her blew through him again.

  She belonged to him.

  And nobody else.

  As if she knew exactly what had happened, his queen appeared at the door.

  “You are lost, Nephew,” Megan whispered. “Follow me.”

  Chapter Five

  LOST IN THE darkness, they moved against each other. Their flesh heated and grew slick. Desperate, Cybil wrapped her legs around Heidrek and gasped against his shoulder as he thrust deep.

  Then she bolted upright.

  Discombobulated, breathing heavily, she peered around as her dream faded. She was in an unfamiliar room. Rain pounded on a high thatched ceiling, and she lay in a large bed covered with several thick furs. It was the same bed they had been in during the dream. Which could only mean one thing.

  This was Heidrek’s place.

  But how did she get here?

  “How are you feeling, Cybil?”

  Her eyes went to the far corner. Heidrek sat in a chair with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at a warm, crackling fire. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was in a bad mood.

  “How do I feel?” She frowned. “Confused. What happened? How did I get here?”

  “You fell asleep, and I brought you here.”

  “I don’t remember falling asleep.” She shook her head. “The last thing I recall was going to check on you because of…” Damn, that’s right. “Because I realized Megan was sick.”

  “Yes.” Heidrek’s voice was soft. “Then the exhaustion of traveling through time put you to sleep.”

  “Right, Megan said that might happen.” She continued to eye him and kept her voice equally soft. “I’m so sorry she’s unwell.” Though Megan seemed okay, she knew it was aggressive cancer. “If we find a way to get me home, maybe she can come and seek treatment?”

  Heidrek filled a mug and headed her way. “Here. Drink.”

  “Thanks,” she murmured, well aware of his pain.

  Though she had been concerned by his intense thoughts when they were in the small cottage earlier, deep down she knew he wouldn’t harm her. Now she just wanted to ease his distress. So she patted the bed. “Sit. Please.”

  He hesitated briefly then sat before speaking. “Megan will not seek treatment in the future because of how time passes so differently. She would be there too long. Naðr would be very old or most likely passed on to Valhalla by the time she returned.” He sighed. “She would rather enjoy the time they have left.”

  “Oh, God, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “She seems far too young.”

  “Yes, but she is not frightened.” His eyes grew distant. “She looks forward to sitting at Odin’s table with my sister, Freydis. They were very close.”

  “Your sister?”

  “Yes.” His eyes met hers. “She died in a raid a few winters ago.”

  That explained the flashes she saw of a woman in battle when she touched him before. How he held her as she passed away.

  “Again, I’m so sorry.” She touched his hand, not surprised to see flashes of Matthew standing over them with grief and fury in his eyes. “Your brother blames you for her death.”

  “He does. He always will. Because I led the raid.” His eyes drifted to one of many swords on the wall. “That was her favorite blade. She defeated many with it. The blood of her last victim remains on its edge.”

  Cybil didn’t know what to say so she kept a comforting hand on his and remained silent.
She got the sense that he blamed himself for his sister’s death every bit as much as his brother did. Yet he didn’t let guilt rule him the way Matthew allowed anger to control him. But then Heidrek seemed to possess a great deal of self-discipline.

  Or at least he had until she arrived.

  Now she felt it slipping in a way that seemed to truly perplex him. She thought of his words about claiming her. The concept seemed barbaric, but she didn’t doubt his aunts had gone through the same thing. And they seemed just fine. In fact, they appeared to share equality with their male counterparts. Still, the idea of being claimed by a man seemed inconceivable.

  Claimed by Heidrek.

  She inhaled deeply when an image of him thrusting into her filled her mind’s eye. Evidently following her thoughts, he cleared his throat and stood. “We will have to learn to adjust to this…connection we share.”

  “Hopefully, it’ll pass after we’ve seen enough…of it.” Now it was her turn to clear her throat. “Typically, my visions pass once I understand a person’s future yet…”

  He kept his back turned as he stoked the fire, his voice gruff. “Yet?”

  “Well, for starters, I usually foresee a person’s future and my part in it.” She shook her head. “But I don’t see any of that with you. All I see are the intimate things. Nothing more.”

  She decided not to tell him about her vision of something dire happening to him. At least for now. There was no point in adding another distraction. Something else to concern him. Especially when there was no way of knowing how accurate her gift was when it came to him. For all she knew it could be nothing.

  “I am experiencing the same,” he murmured in response to her previous statement. “I do not see anything beyond what we will share intimately. It is...consuming...distracting. And I must learn to control it.”

  She sensed he felt that way due to his upcoming position.

  “Naðr intends to make you king eventually,” she said. “Doesn’t he?”

  “Yes. Soon.” Heidrek braced his hand on the wooden mantle and stared into the fire. “So that he might spend more time with his queen.”

  “How soon?”

  “My guess is within the fortnight.”

  Her eyes widened. Within two weeks?

  “It sounds like a lot of responsibility.” She wrapped her arms around bent knees and watched him. “Are you ready?”

  “I am,” he confirmed. Though there was a firm set to his jaw, she sensed a flicker of hesitancy. “I have to be.”

  She recalled their time in the small cottage. How strongly she felt that something else was surfacing inside him because of her. Yet she got the distinct feeling the same thing was happening to her because of him.

  “It will be easier for you once I go,” Cybil murmured and stood. She needed to stretch her legs.

  “Will it?” His eyes met hers. “Because I get the sense it will be far harder.”

  Her heartbeat increased as their eyes held.

  “For twelve hours I watched you sleep,” he said softly. “And followed your every dream. All of them of us.” There was no missing the lust in his eyes. “I want to lay with you before you leave, Cybil.” His pupils flared. “Soon.”

  Well, he was certainly straightforward.

  “We’ve known each other a day, Heidrek.” Fire flared between her thighs when her eyes fell to the thick ridge straining against his leather pants. “Half of which I’ve been asleep.”

  “We have known each other longer than a day, Cybil.”

  He looked as though he wanted to devour her. Which brought to mind images of his mouth between her legs. She closed her eyes as pleasure speared through her. In any other situation, she would tell a guy she technically just met to take a hike. But this was different.

  And Heidrek was no average guy.

  “Cybil,” he whispered as he cupped the sides of her neck and jaw. Her eyes shot open at his proximity. She hadn’t heard him move. “Allow me to kiss you.”

  He seemed to be two men stuck in the same body. One was polite, courteous and well disciplined. The other was dominant and eager to take without asking. She wasn’t sure which one she was drawn to more. It was an unusual yet surprisingly appealing combination.

  “We won’t stop at a kiss,” she whispered.

  “No.” He ran the rough pad of his thumb along her jaw. “We will not.”

  Hell, it was tempting.

  He was tempting.

  Because she knew just how amazing it would feel. Even better? She had no sense of his future save that one flicker. No other women or paths he was supposed to follow.

  His mouth inched closer, his grasp firmer. Her lips tingled in anticipation. Who was she kidding? She wanted this. Every last bit she could get while there was still time.

  “Hey, there?” A knock came at the door. “Anybody awake? Heidrek? Cybil? Kjar’s returned.”

  “Damn it, Erin,” Cybil said under her breath. “Bad timing.”

  “Cybil just awoke,” Heidrek called out without releasing her. “Give her a moment, please.”

  “Okay, I’ll wait right here,” Erin said. “But don’t forget it’s pouring out.”

  Cybil was about to pull away but didn’t have the chance before he wrapped an arm around her waist, yanked her against him and kissed her.

  There was no anticipating what hit her. Because it was far more than a simple kiss. It almost seemed like every flash of him she’d had since Maine melded with thousands more that she couldn’t quite see. They came and went too quickly…too potently.

  The kiss remained soft, tentative yet sensual as she tried to make sense of everything. It was a speeding pinwheel of indecipherable emotions and sensations. Two things came through clearly, though.

  Extreme need.

  Unparalleled desire.

  “Heidrek,” came a deep voice from outside. “I must speak with you now.”

  Heidrek brushed one last kiss across her lips and pulled away. There was a strange look on his face. Confusion mixed with wonder and blatant lust. She imagined she wore a similar expression.

  “What was that between us?” she whispered. “Outside of the obvious.”

  Heidrek eyed her for a long moment before he shook his head, stepped away and swung a fur cloak around his shoulders. When she narrowed her eyes, perplexed, he gave her a pointed look. “Coverage because there will be no undoing my arousal with magic.”

  “Oh,” she mouthed. Her eyes dropped to his groin though it was hidden now.

  “Come in Kjar and Erin,” Heidrek called out.

  “And me, Brother,” Mathew said as he, Erin and a monster of a man entered.

  “Kjar,” Cybil whispered, her eyes wide on the tall Viking with tattoos on his bald head and two long skinny braids coming from his goatee. He looked nothing like what she envisioned a demi-god would.

  “Welcome, Cybil.” Kjar dropped to a knee and lowered his head. “I am honored to meet you, warrior.”

  “Nice to meet you as well.” Confused by his behavior, she looked from Kjar to Heidrek. “Am I missing something?”

  Heidrek shook his head and appeared just as baffled.

  Matthew stood next to Heidrek with his arms crossed over his chest and a smug expression on his face. “Remember well, Brother, that I claimed her first.”

  Heidrek showed no emotion but kept his eyes on Kjar as the demi-god stood. Kjar gestured to the table. “Might we sit? There is much to share.”

  “Way to leave me out in the rain.” Erin grinned, winked and handed Cybil a horn. “You’re gonna want to sit and drink some of this.”

  Cybil and Erin had always shared sort of a love, hate relationship mainly because they were so competitive. She took the horn and sipped. It was warm and bitter. Ale.

  “Please.” Kjar gestured at a chair. “Come sit with me so that I might share what I’ve learned.”

  She felt like she was on stage somehow and glanced at Heidrek again. He remained silent but gave her a nod of encouragement. H
er eyes flickered over Matthew briefly. Now that the brothers were side by side, and Matthew was no longer angry, she could see a strong resemblance.

  “I take it everyone already knows what you’re about to tell me, Kjar,” Cybil said. She felt an odd affiliation with him. Perhaps because he had created the ash tree.

  “Yes. Everyone except Heidrek.” Kjar’s eyes stayed with hers. “He refused contact with everyone until you awoke and he knew you were well. He doesn’t understand why, but I do.”

  Oh, Heidrek made sure she was well all right, but she figured Kjar wasn’t talking about that.

  His eyes went to Heidrek. “Why have you not told her everything?”

  Heidrek frowned and lifted his chin. “I did not think it was necessary.”

  “Ever humble,” Matthew muttered.

  “It is necessary now,” Kjar said after he shot Matthew a frown. “She needs to know who and what you are, Heidrek. There is no room for dishonesty.”

  Erin looked at Heidrek curiously. “I, for one, am dying to know.”

  Heidrek’s eyes met Cybil’s and he hesitated.

  “It’s okay,” she murmured, well aware he was about to say something life altering. “I can take it.”

  Heidrek eyed her for another moment, his face expressionless despite the turmoil churning in his eyes. “While we all thought I had not inherited anything supernatural, we learned when I was fifteen winters old, that indeed, I had. I am not just a prophet but a Dragon Seer. One who can communicate telepathically with dragons and control them. One who can foresee their life paths. Someone like me has not existed for a very long time.”

  Matthew’s eyes narrowed on Heidrek. “Something very dangerous.” His gaze met Cybil’s. “And very unpredictable.”

  “But he is more,” Kjar said softly and nodded at Heidrek. “Go on.”

  Heidrek frowned but continued. “It seems my mother did not share the same father as her sisters.”