by Setta Jay
“Pothos?” she asked, and he looked at her again.
Shit, she’d asked him for confirmation that the frenzy would get worse until they completed the bond. “Yes, the mating frenzy gets more demanding until we finish it.” What he didn’t say was that it shouldn’t be this demanding already. Hadn’t his brothers gone hours before the need hit like a truck? He’d come inside her only minutes ago.
Her eyes landed on his cock, and desire flared in her emerald eyes. She shook her head. “I see that.” And then she licked her lips.
Fuck. She was killing him. They needed to talk, but it was getting nearly impossible. He attempted to arrange his own damned thoughts, but at the moment nearly all of them involved having her again.
“What do we do to stop this?” He heard her frustration and looked back down at her. She stood inches from him and he could see her small hands fisted under the water. Her nipples were so damned tight, they begged for his mouth. He moved back a step.
He groaned and ran a wet hand over his head. “In a traditional mating ceremony it begins with vows. After making my vows, you would mark me as your male.” Fuck if he didn’t want that right now.
He telepathically sent her the image of the traditional mating mark, the tattoo of twin dragons interlocked by their tails in the dual shape of infinity. “The symbol represents the everlasting bond of a mated pair.” His voice grew deeper as he continued, “That mark would signify that I am yours for all eternity.”
Her mouth shot open. “I would need to do this to you?”
He smiled. “Yes. If we were in my world, our healer would funnel her power through your hands. Here you would tap into the healing ability I have.”
“Healing ability?”
“I can do some, nothing like our healer, but enough for the mark to be permanently imbedded in my skin.”
“And your females take marks as well?” He swallowed through the desire to mark her soft skin. It was a primal urge that he needed to curb. She’d firmed those pouty lips, and he could tell she was shocked by the traditions.
“It’s tradition only for the male, but my brother Guardians’ females have taken a mark as well. You choose whether you would like one or not.”
Her eyes flashed with something. He felt her pleasure and wondered if it was the opportunity to have some say in all that was happening.
Her gaze went to study the designs on his heated flesh as she murmured thoughtfully, “Some in Thule mark themselves with spells or symbols of battle, but nothing for their female. They are not so detailed as this.” Her palmed slid to his bicep and nerves twitched following her exploration. “Do these markings define you?”
Define him? He supposed they did. When her soft fingers trailed around the back of his arm, his cock twitched in response. It was a simple touch nowhere near his dick, but that didn’t stop his reaction. He’d never felt anything as good as her small hands roving over his skin. Had he been so starved of contact through the centuries, or was it simply that his mate’s touch was like air to a flame? All he knew was that he wanted more. His skin heated to near burning. He flexed the muscles at his back, feeling the flesh at his spine tingle.
He growled when he could finally speak. “The tattoos there represent my family.”
She moved beside him, shaking her head. “But these are beasts?”
He gazed down at her, transfixed by her, wanting so much more. His tone was raspy to his own ears. “Many of my brothers have a beast half.” He wouldn’t get into a history lesson on how Immortals ended up with beast blood; it wasn’t pertinent to explain that Apollo loved a good experiment and he used animal DNA to try to make the perfect Immortal army thousands of years ago.
Her eyes shot to his. “They are able to actually change form?”
“Yes. Some can.” Not all could shift into their beast; some had just enough of the blood to give them an edge with added strength and enhanced senses. He distracted himself by using power to send the soaking lounge cushion through the air, using the winds to dry it before setting it back in its spot under the tree.
Her sexy-as-sin voice brought his gaze back. “There are dragons and wolves…” When she looked up at him, her pouty lips parted invitingly. A beat passed before she asked, “Is there a beast inside you?” That brought a groan to his lips. How could such a beautiful and powerful Goddess be commanding one moment and so damned seductively inquisitive, almost innocent, the next?
*****
Gefn wasn’t entirely certain how she felt about P turning into a beast. His lips curved as he looked down at her; the small change transformed him from beautiful to sinful. There was no mistaking the lust glazing his brilliant blue eyes. Lust she felt in turn. Her body was out of control, but she needed to know more about the male himself. So much had been focused on their worlds, on preventing tensions between their worlds. If she were to be connected to him for eternity, she wanted to know more about him.
“I’m a beast for you, thea mou.”
She sucked in a breath at the sexual undertones and the way his deep voice seemed to whisper over her skin, causing bumps to rise along her arms. He affected her body like nothing she’d ever known. She should move away to try to stave off the lust, but she couldn’t. She needed to touch him like this. She reveled in the intense reaction he had to her simple touch, the way his muscles flexed and moved with the slide of her fingers. His skin had heated as she looked at the images on his arms. So incredibly detailed as if they could come to life beneath her touch.
She felt a little light-headed when he added, “I don’t have an animal half.”
He lifted a hand to gently trace his thumb over her cheek, and she turned into the warmth as her eyes closed for a moment, stifling a sigh, and it eased and enticed all at once. She swallowed and opened her eyes, catching the intensity in how he gazed at her.
She licked her lips and pointed out, “You have wings.”
“I do. From my father.”
His thumb slid from her cheek to the side of her lips before he pulled away.
She felt a wave of disappointment at the loss.
He groaned huskily. “Touching you makes me want your lips, thea mou. Ask your questions while it’s still possible for me to answer.”
She shivered with need and shook it off; he was right. She wanted to know more about him. “The other God did not have wings.”
“My father was the only God born with wings.”
She moved to look at the back of his arm. It was a swirl of colorful beasts mixed with the occasional symbol or face of those he cared about. She noticed a long wing on the back of one arm and moved behind him to see the other arm and stopped.
She gasped at what she saw. The unique lines of the markings ran down his spine, glowing just beneath the surface. She felt the raw beauty of them while a wave of emotion nearly choked her. She drew a hand to her lips, swallowing it back as he turned to face her with concern etching his beautiful face. “What is it?”
She took a breath. “You have magical runes on your back.” Runes that held so much heartbreaking meaning that she wanted to go back in time and kill Tyr. Her evil sibling had been the reason Pothos’ mother had placed the power in his skin.
He gazed down with a fierce look. “What does that mean?”
“They’re protections,” she answered. “If I am correct, these were placed beneath your skin by your mother.”
He growled, “Show me.”
“How?”
“Send the mental images in the same way you can talk in my mind.”
She moved behind him again, feeling his agitation. She looked at the soft glow of the ancient symbols and tried to use the mind power, but she wasn’t certain she was using it properly.
“Do you see them?” she asked when he tensed.
“Yes. I’ve never seen them before. What exactly do they mean?”
“Each of the sharp markings represent a powerful protection spell, but it is also a gift of power.”
His muscl
es twitched and flexed as he watched her. Another growl slipped from his lips. “Why does it upset you? I can feel it, Gefn. What aren’t you saying?”
Sorrow filled her. “She gave you her power.”
She saw the understanding flicker in his beautiful eyes before it turned to anger. “You’re saying she left me with my father and returned to Thule powerless?”
She swallowed through the lump in her throat before nodding. “I don’t know that for certain.”
“But you think so?” he growled. She felt his inner turmoil as if it were her own. She tried to send him soothing energies.
“A mother will do anything to protect her child,” she whispered. “I’m only sorry she did not come to me or Hroarr before doing something so drastic. We would have done anything in our power to protect the child of a priestess.”
She could feel his emotions spinning. He hadn’t known his mother. Was it worse knowing that his mother had sacrificed everything to protect him? Gefn felt her own raw emotion tearing at her heart. The cats tried to soothe her.
Pothos shook his head, and she felt a surge of anger and so much more as he spat out, “My father would have protected her. She didn’t need to make that sacrifice. Why would she?”
“I do not know.” And she didn’t. “Times were dark. Hroarr was gone a lot, searching for the key to locking our evil siblings away.” Her voice turned hollow in her own ears as she shared her greatest shame. “I had just returned from Hroarr’s palace when all three of my priestesses were slaughtered before my eyes, violently severing the bonds I shared with them.” She breathed out. “Your mother was right to take you from Thule.”
They stayed in silence for a long time with him looking out to the forest. She wanted to go to him, but she wasn’t sure he’d want her comfort.
He growled, “Come to me, Gefn.”
One step through the water and she was in his arms. She leaned her head on his chest. So many memories of that time haunted her dreams. His warmth eased the tension from her shoulders. “I’m sorry.”
He held her tighter and kissed her head. She closed her eyes. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
How could he know that? She had failed as a Goddess. Failed her own people, failed Pothos’ mother without knowing it. If she and Hroarr had been able to contain Tyr earlier, they would have saved so many. Too many sightless eyes looked back at her when she closed her eyes.
He rubbed her back soothingly.
After they’d both calmed, he asked, “Why are the markings only showing now?” It was another question she couldn’t answer with certainty.
“I do not know. It may have begun with your presence in Thule. Or it could be Fólkvangr.” She looked around the sacred place. “This is where our priestesses renew their strength.”
The desire that had been building before her discovery seemed to have only been waiting beneath the surface. She kissed his hard chest and was pleased at the way his muscle jolted under her lips.
He was dragging her up his body when they both felt the air change.
She cursed Reginleif and the others, knowing the trio had returned.
Chapter 12
Fólkvangr, Falls of the Dead – Thule
Gefn’s voice whispered into P’s mind seconds before the priestesses showed themselves, Hroarr’s females would never harm you. No one in Thule would dare. Nor could they. He knew she referenced the runes heating his back; her voice had a sorrowful tinge that he hated. She paused. Wait. It is me you worry for? Her sex-kitten voice held a hint of confusion. She’d gotten very comfortable, very fast with their telepathic connection. Having her speaking in his head was destined to be a constant torture for him. Frenzy or not, it was like fucking phone sex on steroids.
Yes. P stifled a growl of frustration as his shoulders bunched with tension. Every instinct in him demanded he shield his mate, but these were her fucking people. Still, he’d set her down and turned in the pool so that he was between her and the newcomers. He should be happy they’d returned now and not ten minutes from now. His cock, the greedy fucker, wasn’t pleased at being denied, but it wasn’t only desire for her. It was the need to take away the torturous sadness he felt from her at the sight of the runes and the memories of her slaughtered priestesses. In all honesty he acknowledged that they both needed some easing. To him his mother’s sacrifice felt like a senseless waste. Hades would have protected his mother if she’d stayed instead of dropping him off.
For Gefn it had been a harsher blow. She’d seen too much death; he felt it in her words as well as in their bond. As her mate he needed to give her enough pleasure to forget, even for a short time.
Are you always so protective? She moved to his side and he sucked in a breath as he looked down at her. There was a hint of a smile in her beautiful emerald eyes.
Of you, thea mou, he admitted honestly before nearly growling at how beautiful she looked with her lips curved like that, always.
He loved the way her breathing hitched and wished they were alone now, but the females were already at the pool. He’d tracked their movements without needing to look at them.
He finally turned to the visitors, crossing his arms over his chest. Their presence wasn’t surprising. If Hroarr was half the brother his female thought him to be, he would demand to know she was safe. The fact that he hadn’t come was telling, because Hroarr hadn’t struck P as the type to send others to speak for him. He’d been the first through the portal to Earth. He hadn’t sent warriors or his siblings; it had been the massive God and then the others. So that meant it was very likely that the females hadn’t lied about not being able to take passengers.
“Why have you come early?” Gefn’s demand was a mix of irritation and displeasure. He was caught by the fact that his Goddess could manage an air of power even with wet hair plastered to her naked flesh. He cursed the hip-level waters near the steps, but had no intention of retreating into the deeper end. His mind was too busy short-circuiting at the fact that his female’s beautiful full tits were just above the water, displayed like some sort of sexy sea Goddess come to take over his fantasies. She stood tall and proud, completely unfazed by her nudity.
He was not. His cock didn’t seem to care that they had company. He forced down the lust with an iron will, knowing his cock was barely concealed beneath the water and any more excitement would have it up and on display against his stomach. He gritted his teeth and kept his focus on the females before him.
It was Reginleif, the darker one, who answered, “Hroarr commanded us to see that you are safe.”
The trio of females darted glances from the wet pavilion out to the forest beyond. He had no doubt they were seeing the changes since they’d last been there. In that time the forest had bloomed with thousands of flowers.
Gefn nodded regally before huffing out an irritated breath. “I assumed as much.” She paused. “And as displeased as I am that you did not follow my instructions, it is good that you are here. I need you to relay information to my brothers.” Her heavy sigh only served to draw his eyes back to her fucking tits like a high-powered magnet. He grinded his teeth, knowing the frenzy had started working overtime and it was a damned menace.
Her eyes shot to his for a split second. Long enough for him to catch the same mix of annoyance and blatant heat he was feeling.
She tilted her chin before directing her attention back to the females. “I am still unable to leave this sacred place.” He felt a hint of his female’s anxiety at that fact, and he sent her soothing energies without a thought. Her eyes shot to his and he watched her slender throat move as she swallowed. Concentration was a bitch and he hated how relentless it was. They had a lot to discuss and not enough time to do any of it. He still hadn’t addressed some of the assumptions she’d made when he’d been hearing her thoughts. One was that Earth only had two Gods. Another was the fact that he was a Guardian of Earth and she seemed to need him in Thule. His main concern was getting the trio to leave. He felt his female send him sooth
ing energies, and it felt like she’d stroked his cock under the waters.
The priestesses turned to him, and this time it was Mist who spoke. “You are sure she will gain your power to leave?”
“I’ll get her out of this place no matter what.” It was his fault she was stuck there, and he’d find a way to get her out.
Gefn did not respond, instead commanding the females. “I need you to warn Hroarr that Kara is unconscious,” she said before quickly relaying all the information she’d learned from him about her sister’s presence on Earth, including the alliance Agnarr had with his father. He was glad she hadn’t shared the information about what his mother had done. That was too damned personal, which was something she seemed to understand.
Reginleif shook her head. “I cannot believe Kara would not have said something about this world.”
His cock was completely unbothered by the tension or the female’s words. The bastard was twitching beneath the water and was seconds from full wood thanks to the scent of his female and the way she was sending winds to caress his skin. He was forced to bite back a groan. Gefn, thea mou, you need to stop, he whispered into her mind. He was seconds from fucking her, audience or not. He forced his cock down with nearly all his focus. He wasn’t his father, who was perfectly fine whipping his dick out for all to see.
She turned to him with a frown. “What is it?”
Your winds are tormenting me, thea mou. He had no idea air could do what she was doing, and the look on her face told him she wasn’t consciously stroking him with it.
I didn’t realize… she stuttered before she blushed a pretty pink.
He couldn’t help the pained smile. I love it. Just not when I can barely think as it is, thea mou, he sent back, meaning every word. There was no denying how much he longed for her touch. For a male who’d avoided most contact with anyone, it was as if he’d been starved for so long all he wanted to do was gorge. Not on any touch, only hers.
“Were you speaking into her mind?” Reginleif questioned, and he had no doubt the female was information gathering for Hroarr.