“My thanks.” He inclined his head in respect.
Her arms folded over her chest. “Are you interested in the position or not?”
He blinked, and Sera felt a radiant smile cross her face. His gaze softened when he looked down at her, and he stroked his thumb across her cheek. “I’ll have to discuss it with my mate before I can—”
“He’s interested.” Sera turned to the chancellor. “Set up a meeting to confirm it with the Senate the day after tomorrow.”
“Why not tomorrow?” The older woman’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“We’ve just been mated.” A wicked grin curled the corners of Sera’s mouth. “We have plans.”
“Then I’ll leave you to it. Governor Hahn. Doctor Hahn.” Her silver head bowed to them, not quite hiding her smile. She spun on her tiny feet and jerked her chin at the two older mermen to precede her down the corridor to the city proper. “Cuthbert. Cynric. We have business matters to discuss. Let the young be.”
Bretton’s hand curved under Sera’s chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “And the young will be happy, won’t they?”
Tears glutted her eyes, but she blinked them away. “Perfectly happy.”
He huffed out a laugh. “You’re certain you don’t mind me remaining in politics? I’d give it—”
“I know you would.” He had given it up. For her. So they could be together. After a year of coming in second to his career, the wonder of that overwhelmed her. Contentment bloomed in her chest, and she closed her eyes for a moment to savor it. When she opened them again, it was to see the same quiet peace reflected in his beautiful eyes. “You need to be involved. There are going to be some serious changes here with the Pacifica settlement. More than the Senate is willing to admit. I don’t think anyone could make that happen as well as you.”
“Only with you beside me to remind me when I’m being a cold fish.” He arched his brow and tightened his arms around her waist.
She slid her fingers through the loose strands of his hair. She loved seeing it down. “Count on me.”
“I do, fire fin. I do.” He winked at her, and her laugh was smothered by his kiss.
This was real perfection. Not striving constantly, but savoring this moment, this breath, this heartbeat. With him. He was right about that. The journey was the most important part, and they’d travel it together. And that, for her, was perfect.
THE END
Want more from Crystal Jordan? Join her mailing list here. And turn the page for an excerpt from her paranormal shape-shifter novel, Viking Fire.
MORE FROM CRYSTAL JORDAN
Crystal Jordan is originally from California, but has lived and worked all over the United States as a university librarian. An award winning author, Crystal has published paranormal, futuristic, and erotic romance with Kensington Aphrodisia, Harlequin Spice Briefs, and Entangled Publishing. She also writes contemporary romance as C. Jordan.
Crystal loves connecting with readers on social media:
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Recent Books by Crystal Jordan
Twilight of the Gods Series
Viking Fire
Viking Desire
Forbidden Passions Series
Stolen Passions
Fleeting Passions
Illicit Passions
In the Heat of the Night Series
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Big Girls Don’t Die
It’s Raining Men
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Enjoy the following excerpt from Viking Fire:
Ravencrest Farm, Virginia
“I need a shieldmaiden.”
Bryn was bent over, digging out a rock wedged under one of her horse’s shoes. At the sound of that voice, deep and rich and so familiar, every muscle in her body froze. Pain and longing and a million other emotions she refused to feel twisted through her soul. Moving as slowly as a thousand-year-old woman—which was actually how old she was—she carefully set the mare’s hoof on the ground and straightened but didn’t turn around to face him. “Well, you’ll need to keep looking, then.”
“Brynhild.”
“Just Bryn, thanks. Go away, Siegfried.” The gods knew he’d never show up here unless it was to fuck up her life. No, thanks. She might once have been a shieldmaiden, a valkyrie. She might still be able to shift into a raven and soar into the clouds. She might be older than dirt. But all of that meant she had an even lower bullshit tolerance than she did back in the day when Siegfried was the love of her life. Also her betrayer, her tormenter, the man who cost her mortal life. The man she’d betrayed in turn, a blood-soaked vengeance she’d never been able to cleanse from her stained, battered soul.
That was a long time ago, but some wounds never really healed, did they? She tried not to think about it. Ever.
She stroked a hand down the horse’s silky neck. Unhooking the cross ties, she snapped a lead line on to the mare’s halter, and walked her to her stall.
No sound gave away the fact that he’d followed her, but she was keenly aware of his presence, his nearness, his ability to throw her off-balance. Tingles skipped over her skin, and she tried to ignore the reaction.
His voice came from directly behind her when she latched the stall. “I’ve used Siegfried as my surname since I came to America. A hundred years ago. Maybe more.”
“Okay.” She infused as much disinterest into the word as she could manage.
“Erik is what you can call me now.”
“I prefer to call you gone.” She set off down the wide, concrete barn aisle. The sun would set in about half an hour, so she had to wrap up for the day. One more horse needed to be brought in. She whistled as she approached the paddock gate, and Rogue’s Gallery came galloping up. This paddock was designed specially to keep often unruly stallions in—the double fences were several feet higher than normal, for starters, with several other security features that discouraged her boys from trying to get out. Rogue slid to a stop just before he reached the inner fence, rearing up and whinnying.
She snorted. “Settle down, show-off.”
The stallion snorted back, shaking his head. The second she opened the gate, he shoved his nose against her shoulder, demanding petting. She scratched behind his ears, and he nickered in appreciation. “Ah, now. That’s my boy.”
“He looks like my Grani,” Erik noted. “Same color, anyway. Gray as stone.”
Yes, and she hated to admit that she might have a soft spot for Rogue for just that reason. “Grani was a warhorse who died a millennium ago. Rogue here is a thoroughbred. He had a great racing career, and now I keep him for stud.”
She clipped on the lead rope and then had no choice but to face her unwelcome guest.
Whoa. Her lips parted, surprise spurting through her. What a change. He was still enormously tall and built like a honed Viking warrior, a berserker who could conquer an army with one hand tied behind his back. It was his hair that caught her attention. Or rather, the lack thereof. He’d shaved his head, and the look was so different she blinked. She’d seen him once or twice over the last thousand plus years, never of her own will, but when Odin and Freya had summoned them at the same time, there was nothing Bryn could do about it.
This was the most dramatic change he’d ever made to his appearance. He’d always worn his hair long, no matter what the current fashion of the time dictated. His silver eyes, framed by absurdly long lashes, somehow seemed even more dramatic, more intense. Before this moment, she wouldn’t have believed it possible.
That gaze pinned her in place like a bug under a microscope, and it took effort not to squirm. She wasn’t used to that. Most men she met were like spoiled toddlers, and it had been years—maybe a decade—since one had interested her in doing anything other than yawn.
A decade. Shit, she might be regrowing her hymen at this rate.
And thinking about sex while staring at Erik was a mistake. She shook herself and glanced away. Somehow
with the shaved head, it was easier to think of him as Erik instead of Siegfried. Though he was both now, wasn’t he? Erik Siegfried. The new name suited him.
“Why are you still here?” She brushed passed him—careful not to make actual contact—and led Rogue to the smaller stallion barn.
“Are you serious?” he asked, incredulousness dripping from the question. “You’ve seen the signs, Brynhil—Bryn. You have to know what they mean.”
Hurricanes, earthquakes, winters that lasted far too long, summers that burned far too hot. Mortals thought it was climate change, but a valkyrie could sense the difference. Signs of the end times. The Vikings called it Ragnarök—the Twilight of the Gods—but it had been given many names by many cultures. Armageddon, eschaton, apocalypse, Satya Yuga, the appearance of Maitreya. It was all the same as far as she was concerned—a prophesized final chapter before a supposed golden era began.
She shrugged as she finished putting Rogue away, and then she turned to Erik. “Ah, but you’re the dragon-slayer who’s supposed to kill the baddies who want to take over the world. I suggest you quit bothering me and get to it.”
His smile was sharp and unamused. “Trust me, I’d like nothing more than to kill the baddies, preferably before they do the kind of damage that will land us in Ragnarök. Unfortunately, I need a shieldmaiden’s help.”
“I’m not the only one left.” Though, it had been a century or two since she’d been in contact with any other valkyrie. Freya hadn’t summoned her in a long time, and Bryn was just fine with that. She had her farm, her horses, and a quiet existence she enjoyed. “Go pester someone else.”
“Damn it, Bryn.” He scrubbed a hand over his head, looking as if he’d like nothing more than to throttle her. Interesting. He’d always been so obnoxiously calm and patient back in the day.
It annoyed the shit out of her that she liked this less stoic side of him. She widened her eyes innocently. “What?”
“I need your help.” He spread his hands in a gesture of helpless frustration, his brows snapping together.
“No.” There. Simple, easy. An idiot should get that message through his thick skull.
The growl he emitted was more wolf than man, reminding her that berserkers could shift forms as easily as valkyries. Again, that less civil side of him was…too alluring, too tempting, tugging at something deep within her. Something she’d rather crush under her boot.
Executing a quick about-face, she headed across the stable yard to the tidy two-story Colonial she called home. He stayed hot on her heels, of course. The persistent bastard. “Why me, Erik?”
He shoved his way through her back door, refusing to let her slam it in his face. Yeah, she could have gotten into a wrestling match with him, but they both had superhuman strength and it would have just resulted in the door being reduced to splinters. Plus, it wouldn’t keep him out. The only way to get him to leave was to convince him to go. Diplomacy had never been her strong suit, so this was going to be such fun.
He snapped, “Why you? Because a völva came to talk to me.”
“There’s a sentence that strikes fear into the most stalwart heart,” she drawled as she stomped over to the fridge and yanked it open. Despite the mockery in her tone, völva were no laughing matter. Prophetesses, witches, and power-hungry bitches all rolled into one nasty package. The few times Bryn had had to deal with them only made her loath to repeat the experience.
“I’ve never sought the company of a völva, no. They’re not my favorite kind of women. But not listening to them is a stupid idea, so I listened, and here I am.” When she didn’t respond at all, he let out a breath. “You haven’t changed a bit. Stubborn as a mule. More beautiful than the sun and the moon. Damn it.”
Glancing back, she saw him staring at her ass. The breath seized in her lungs. His eyes had burned to molten quicksilver, lust stamped clearly on the harsh angles of his face, and heated awareness flashed through her. There was no controlling her response to him, a lightning-strike of utter craving. Her nipples tightened, goose bumps shivered over her flesh, and her pussy fisted on emptiness. She straightened but couldn’t make herself confront that burning need, so she pulled open the freezer as if she had some interest in the contents. The wash of frigid air hit her overheated cheeks.
“Did the völva specifically say I was the shieldmaiden you had to come to?” She’d kept up her weapons abilities, adding martial arts and firearms to her repertoire as they’d been introduced to Western culture. She was a valkyrie, which meant knowing how to fight was part and parcel of her existence. That didn’t mean she wanted anything to do with whatever he had in mind.
A long beat of silence passed. “No, she didn’t specify.”
“Alrighty, then.” She closed the freezer, turned around, and flipped her long braid over her shoulder. “It’s been great catching up. Bye, now.”
“Sorry, sweetness. That’s not going to happen.” Shaking his head slowly, a smile kicked up one corner of his lips. He had a deep dimple in his right cheek. Gods, how had she forgotten that?
Then what he’d said hit her. Sweetness? Where the hell had that nickname come from? She scowled. “You can save the world without me. I’m not interested.”
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