Erik and Rolf would love me, pamper me, push me to reveal my needs, my darkest secrets. But Gunnar’s love could break us both open and drown us. Deep down, in the most instinctive and passionate core of my soul, I understood this about him in a way that I couldn’t explain.
And so I reached for him now, when the fury of his hard cock thrusting into my body was done, because I sensed he needed to be reassured that he had not broken me, had not frightened me away. Not with being at the club, or with others watching. No, Gunnar feared my reaction to him, to his carnal nature. On the contrary…
“Gunnar.”
He looked down into my eyes and I did not ask permission, not for this. I reached up and buried my hands in his hair, pulling him down for a kiss.
The kiss was not wild or full of passion, but gentle, tender, a thank-you I could not speak aloud because I did not believe he would be ready to hear my words. But a kiss could not be denied. And so, I would thank him with the gentle press of my lips to his, the trusting embrace of my small frame.
He did not pull away, but lingered beneath my gentleness and I knew I’d been right. He needed this side of me as much as he needed my body riding his cock. He needed to be loved.
After long moments, I released him and stepped back. “That was…incredible, but we did not find what we sought.”
I saw his eyes change then, seeing as he, too, remembered our true mission. A good fucking had certainly cleared both our minds of everything else. For a few, fabulous minutes, I’d not been worried about anything but the hard length of Gunnar’s cock filling me, the sharp sting of his palm on my ass, the carnal press of him filling my body with his seed.
“No, we did not. Perhaps next time.” I could see and feel the tenseness returning to his body in the stiffness of his shoulders, the grim set of his jaw. We’d have to return, over and over, until we found the man we sought. The future of the entire planet rested on my shoulders. And as strange as that seemed, I was glad they’d accidentally abducted me during transport. Glad everything had worked out the way it had.
And if I had to return to this club every day for a year and allow Gunnar to fuck my brains out with an audience, well, that was a sacrifice I was willing to make. In fact, my body trembled with excitement and anticipation at the remembered feel of Gunnar’s dominant touch. The hunt for a killer made me so tense, my body so hyped up on adrenaline and nerves, that the orgasm had been like a fucking nuclear explosion in my system. I’d short-circuited, my brain shut down.
Gunnar was like my personal EMP.
“Take me home, Gunnar.” I needed to be home, surrounded by my mates. Safe. God, I just wanted to be able to relax and let them hold me. I was so tired. The rush of the hunt for the VSS henchman had long since faded. And Gunnar’s expert and skilled fucking wore me out, emotionally and physically. I just wanted to go home, and on this strange new planet, home was wherever my men were. All three of them.
“Gladly, mate.” His eyes had changed, the dark color softened, the mask gone, allowing me to see the gentleness he tried so hard to hide from the world. I was looking straight into his soul, and I fell in love with him, hard and fast, in that moment.
He was mine, and I was never going to let him go.
Gunnar took my hand and led me to the entrance. I ignored everyone around me, focused on the feel of his strong hand around mine as he escorted me to the door. My body was lax and sated, the seed power now floating in my bloodstream made me feel languid and content. Happy.
That was what this was. Happiness. Contentment. Two things I hadn’t felt in months.
No, years. Since my mother’s cancer first appeared and I’d made a deal with the devil in the form of Anthony Corelli.
Even through my pleasure-induced haze, duty forced me to listen to the voices around us, and so I did, relieved when the man I’d been looking for did not make an appearance as we reached the entrance. Our visit had been a waste. Well, perhaps not, for Gunnar and I had connected in a way we might not have if we were anywhere else.
Gunnar paused before the door, the question in his eyes, and I shook my head. No. I had not heard the voice we sought.
We were steps away from the door when it opened and a Viken man and his female friend walked inside. They talked and joked, and I shook my head once more. No. Not him.
The door did not close and I peeked around Gunnar’s shoulder to see another man and woman outside, courteously holding the door for us.
Gunnar stepped through and I followed a step behind him, as was expected from a submissive at the club. As I passed the open door, I thanked the Viken male automatically.
“My pleasure.”
I stiffened instantly, a chill racing the length of my spine as I remembered that deep timbre saying something else entirely.
If she’s not royalty, or worth a ransom, kill her.
It was him. Oh, God. Fear and panic rushed to the front of my mind and I grabbed the side of Gunnar’s uniform with rigid fingers. That voice.
I glanced over at the man’s wrist where he held the door open.
Yes. There it was. The tattoo.
This was the man we’d been hunting, the man who’d tried to kill the Queen, the man who’d nearly cost me my life.
* * *
Gunnar
I sensed Sophia as she lagged behind, stumbling into my side. Her hand grasped at my shirt with urgency, all softness gone from her. We stood just outside the entry, the cool air refreshing after the cloying scents of fucking from the club. I should have been relaxed, pleased with my mate, but my contentment washed away the second I understood her actions.
My prey stood before me, a man I knew all too well. The Viken who held the door for us.
The couple had yet to go inside as they were staring at us in return where we’d frozen in place. The female wore a cloak identical to Sophia’s, the hood pulled up to hide her features. I could only see the lower half of her face beneath the hood. I assessed her bowed head, the hands folded before her as her companion led her into the club by a long silver chain affixed to a collar around her neck.
No, she was not the threat. The slave female was not who concerned me. It was him.
Dorn.
“Gunnar, it has been a long time. I am surprised to see you here.”
Sophia’s hand moved to the back of my shirt, her fingers curling and digging into my skin.
The man who had wanted my mate dead stood before me, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Not here. Not now.
“Dorn.” I said his name in a flat tone, the best I could manage when the urge to wrap my hands around his neck and strangle the life from his worthless body flooded me.
The man was my height, yet his body was not honed from fighting, from battle. He was thin and lithe, and unchanged in the long years since last I’d seen him. I easily outweighed him by fifty pounds, but I did not doubt his speed, agility or ruthlessness. His black hair and eyes matched his soul, his sneer, his cruel nature. I’d seen him with females inside the club many, many times. Based on the slave collar around his lover’s neck, I guessed not much had changed.
I’d watched him break many, men and women both, watched them writhe and scream, cry and beg him to stop.
He never did, not until he was ready. Not until he’d broken them wide open, pushed them past the point they’d wished to go.
I’d cringed the first few times I’d witnessed his calculated and expert cruelty. But my mentor had instructed me to watch and learn, and so I had. And been shocked to see the people he hurt come back time and again, begging him for more. Begging him to break them.
Pain was never my thing, but I understood it. He excelled at dealing out pain, and many at the club fought to serve him, to experience a taste of his lash or cane. There was no personal connection between Dorn and the women who served him, only pain meted out for his pleasure. He was a Sadist in the truest form. I should have been surprised that I’d spent so much time in years past with the man who would betray
the three Kings, the man who would stoop so low as to murder a beautiful woman and an innocent child.
However, I did not doubt for an instant that Sophia’s identification was accurate. If anyone could plot murder with icy precision, it was Dorn.
We’d both been members of the club for years. I’d gone off to fight the Hive and serve Viken, he working as a civil servant, moving his way up the ranks in government. I didn’t know what his title was now, but he’d always been an arrogant ass. I knew he’d have a mark of rank on his body somewhere. He always wore his status like armor, and wielded his influence like a weapon.
He held out his arm for a warrior’s greeting and we locked forearms the same way we’d done hundreds of times before. I glanced quickly to his hand where it gripped my arm and found exactly what I was looking for, a signet ring.
On his middle finger was a large ring, a black arrow on gold, the symbol of a council member from Sector Two.
Fuck. He wasn’t just ambitious. If he’d made it to the council, he had wealth and influence. Connections. He wasn’t just a sadistic ass, he was dangerous. Fuck.
I’d have to kill him.
When all was said and done, when the interrogations were over, I’d have to make sure he was well and truly ended. He posed too big a threat to my mate if allowed to live. I knew the three Kings would agree, worried for their own mate and child. At the moment, I wasn’t a servant of the Kings, I was a man. And this asshole had ordered someone to kill Sophia.
I lifted my gaze from the ring and met his prideful gaze with carefully banked fury. Sophia was safely behind me, but I had no doubt things would become critical the moment he saw her face.
Sophia was too beautiful, to perfect to escape his notice for long. And he was a predictable bastard in one way at least, he never forgot a beautiful woman.
“I see you climbed the ranks to a seat on the council.”
“And I see that you survived war with the Hive.” The voice grated on my nerves, I wondered how Sophia would react, if she would tremble with remembered fear or panic, if the sound of his voice made her heart race and terror invade her limbs.
His gaze flicked to Sophia. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that her hood was not up, that if Dorn took one step to his left, he would see her fully. Turning, I flicked the material up and over her, shielding her from the man’s sight even as I reached behind me and moved her to stand completely behind my back, out of his reach.
The decision to walk away made my blood burn like acid, but I would not face him here, not with Sophia by my side. I refused to place my mate in danger. Now that I knew who he was, he would be dealt with. He was a high-ranking council member in Sector Two, but the three Kings would not allow council politics to stand in their way. Two was my sector, King Lev’s sector. Sector Two was famous for brutal efficiency in its warriors, for men who liked to be in control.
Lev’s fury would equal mine. Neither of us would permit this bastard to live long.
For now, I needed to get my mate as far away from him as possible. For now, I had to tread carefully.
“Yes. I’m lucky,” I replied. “If you’ll excuse us, we are tired. The third floor was as entertaining as I remembered.”
“Of course.” He inclined his head and I gave the couple a brief nod, then took Sophia’s arm and pulled her along next to me as I walked down the street. She was stiff and slow, as if her legs were numb, for I had to tug her along behind me. It was as if Dorn’s voice triggered a deep fear in her, or sent her back into shock. I tucked her under my arm and tried to will my heat, my strength into her small body. “I’ve got you, mate. He’ll never threaten you again, I swear it.”
She shivered in response to my words, but picked up the pace, clinging to my side. Once we rounded a corner out of sight from the entrance, I stopped and turned her to face me. The sky was dark, but the city lights made the street bright. People were about, walking to their homes, their places of work. Their lives. Innocent people streamed past us as I processed the truth.
The VSS had infiltrated the sector councils. The three Kings had feared the movement had recruited spies and conspirators from deep within the government. I suspected this would be the case, but there had been no proof. Until now. Until Dorn.
Leaning down, I looked into her eyes from beneath the edge of the hood.
“Do not be afraid.”
She licked her lips. Only a short time ago, I’d have found that innocent gesture arousing. Now, with her eyes wide with fear and anxiety, I saw it as an outlet of her nerves.
“He…it was him. I…why did you let him go?”
“He won’t get away, I promise. I know who he is now, thanks to you. He won’t escape justice. Breathe, Sophia.” I placed my hands on either shoulder and pulled her close. She melted into me, accepting my protection and strength, trusting me to keep her safe, and my heart swelled with a painful ache I’d not felt in a long, long time. Her faith humbled me, made me feel complete, filled a void in me I hadn’t realized was empty. And I vowed to be worthy, to protect my beautiful little mate to my last dying breath.
She pulled away and looked up at me, her warm eyes clouded with confusion. “You know him? Is he your friend?” she asked, her voice stronger.
I nodded once, my jaw clenched. “He’s not my friend. I’ve known him for a long time. He’s belonged to Club Trinity even longer than I. He was one of my trainers in the Masters program there.”
Sophia closed her eyes and shuddered in revulsion. “God, how could any woman let him touch her?”
“He’s a Sadist, and very good at what he does. For those that find release through pain, he’s exactly what they need.”
She opened her eyes and blinked slowly. Once. Twice, as my words processed. “So, he likes hurting people?”
I sighed, unsure if she could ever understand the complexities of need Club Trinity catered to. “Some people enjoy pain, little one.”
“I know. It’s the same on Earth. I just…”
“What is it?”
“He’s—he’s evil, Gunnar. Pure evil.” She buried her face in my chest and I wrapped my arms around her, provided a safe place for her to release her anger and fear. “He was going to kill Leah and Allayna. He wanted that other man to kill me. He didn’t hesitate. He talked about killing me like he was stepping on a spider.”
I rubbed her back until her shivering stopped. “Let’s get out of her and go tell the others. The Kings will take care of arresting him. And when they’re done with him, Lev will kill him.”
She shook her head in denial and I placed my hands under her chin, gently lifted her face and forced her to meet my gaze. “If Lev doesn’t kill him, I will. He’ll never threaten you again.”
“It’s just like on Earth,” she replied. “It’s like I never left.”
“Why do you say this?” I knew little about the far-off planet, but I recognized the resignation, the sound of defeat in my mate’s voice, and I did not like it.
“There are many names for groups like the VSS. Terrorists. Mafia. Cartels. Gangs. The title is irrelevant, but there’s always a leader, someone with…minions beneath, and more foot soldiers and pawns beneath them. It’s like roots on a tree, they spread out and permeate every aspect of society. Government, police, banking, everything. The people on the bottom are expendable, and so are those in the middle. But those at the top are protected at any cost. It’s vicious and cruel and no one is safe. And you never know who to trust, and who’s been bought.”
“Yes,” I replied. “That sounds quite similar to the VSS.”
“That is how I was put in jail. I was at the bottom. I was expendable. That guy, Dorn, is he at the bottom?” she asked.
“No, I’m afraid not. He sits on the council in Sector Two. He has risen to a position of power.”
She shuddered, her eyes clouded with worry. Unable to resist offering comfort, I stroked her cheek. “Do not fear, mate. I will take care of this. You’ve done your part.”
“
Yes,” a voice said from behind me. “She has been a very busy little thing.”
Grabbing Sophia, I spun to face our enemy and pushed her behind me.
“Dorn.” I greeted him through clenched teeth, wondering exactly how much he’d overheard.
He stood there, the lighting casting shadow over his face, his female beside him. Her face was still covered by her hood, her posture that of a true submissive. Dorn leaned down and murmured to his female. She nodded beneath her hood and turned and walked back in the direction of the club.
Dorn lifted his head and returned his attention to me. “You have taken a mate, Gunnar. Congratulations.”
I shrugged with a casualness that hid my anger. I didn’t want the bastard anywhere near Sophia.
“It seems the Kings are pleased with their Earth bride as well,” Dorn said.
“How did you know she was from Earth?” I countered. Females on Viken were quite similar in appearance to those from Earth. Unlike planet Xerima, where the females were tall and strong and fiercely muscled, their women as likely to kill a man as ride his cock, Sophia’s softness blended in readily enough. We had not announced that we had a mate, nor that she had come from Earth. Only those in the transport centers and the guards that surrounded the royal family knew of the match.
And Dorn. Because he’d been the one to have the transports crossed. Because he was the one who’d wanted her dead. And discovered her anything but.
“My position allows me access to quite a bit of data.”
I couldn’t allow Sophia to remain. Dorn’s cover was blown. The only way for him to survive now was to kill me and Sophia both. If I could distract him, stand between him and my mate, she should be able to make it. “Go back to the club, Sophia. Summon Erik and wait for me there.”
Mated To The Vikens (Interstellar Brides Book 8) Page 12