by J. J. Keller
For a brief moment Kiara considered what her words meant then it dawned on her—the province of her birth. She took Mrs. Lombard’s hand, touching the tips of her fingers, and curtseyed as designated by Valkyrie protocol when meeting an elder. “Kiara of Asgard.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Kiara Ofasgard. My son didn’t inform me you were going to visit, and I’m sorry I don’t have any spare rooms—”
“She’s staying with me.” Harrison wrapped his arm protectively around Kiara’s shoulders. His ocean flower scent, wafting into her nostrils as he pulled her closer to him, sprung her stomach to clutch again.
Sofia Lombard’s smile vanished. “Any other time would be fine, but not with relatives next door.”
“Just as well. We’ll go to a hotel.” His soft gaze held Kiara still, in place snug by his side.
Could he see the panic in her eyes? She had to leave. If she stayed, more than likely a dead Harrison would be escorted to Valhalla and his family would never see him again.
The elder Lombard’s shiny pink lips tightened as one sharp word came from them. “Harrison?”
“I need to leave immediately,” Kiara said. “Heimdallr is waiting for my return.” If Harrison did remember, and from the glance at the machine sitting on the desk depicting Valhalla, he did, he’d recognize the name of the guard who welcomed the Valkyrie carrying their fallen soldiers into the hall.
“Now?” His arm dropped to his side. “No, I want you to stay.”
Harrison was a keen strategist and courageous warrior. The reason she’d chosen him was due to his valor. He would realize she couldn’t remain on Earth. In fact, he should be running as fast as he could to the nearest man of cloth and hope for protection. Harrison remained her temptation, one she didn’t want to give up just yet. In deference to the elder she took a step away from him.
Heather slid from behind her mother and stood beside Kiara. “Oh please don’t leave. Mother, Kiara can stay in my room.” She wrapped her arm through Kiara’s stiff one. “It’ll be fun.”
“Wonderful.” Sophia’s droll response brought a frown to Harrison. “Let’s go.”
Mrs. Lombard’s long stride led the way down the hallway lined with portraits. Obviously family members had been elucidated in the paints. Neither Heather nor Sofia’s images were there, maybe only the dead were posted on the wall. Kiara peeked at Harrison; she wouldn’t allow his likeness to be framed and stuck to the wall.
Chapter 9
Kiara stared at the family photos as they walked along the corridor. Laughter and music filtered upward. The party was in full swing. Damn, how could he get out of this? Harrison didn’t want to lose sight of Kiara. She’d bolt and he’d never be able to see her again.
He might have a single opportunity to find out why she was here. Most important of all, why she’d saved him. Her eyes ate him up and without a blink she’d shed her only piece of clothing. He hadn’t recognized the name, Hime-dollar or something, the person she needed to urgently return to. Was the man her boyfriend? Father? Lover? Squad leader? A ripple of jealously went through him. The name and the way she said it meant a man waited for her.
“Knot your tie.” His mother murmured as they stood at the top of the staircase. Many of the revelers stood in the grand foyer. Big band music came from the formal hall. His father loved the timelessness of jazz. A Glenn Miller song currently played with the trumpets and trombones creating a fast rhythm, not unlike the staccato of his heart.
“Can’t.” He frowned, shaking his head. “Fingers don’t work.”
Kiara pulled away. He grabbed her hand, keeping them linked.
His mother turned to him and looped the loose ends. “There.” She smoothed his shoulders. “So handsome,” she said through a tight smile.
Heather tugged Kiara’s hand free and the two women descended. “Come with me, I want you to meet my fiancé.”
They continued down the staircase and merged into the crowd, a mix of young and old, all friends. He spotted his cousin, Tyson, hammering his fist into his palm as he laughed with other relatives. Some of his Marine buddies, off duty, mingled in the crowd, set off by their dark blue uniforms. Women he’d dated in the past clustered around the bar. His mother obviously had arranged for him to have a female companion.
Sadness crossed his mother’s face, a fissure rarely seen. She wound her arm around his and whispered, “This was all too sudden and unexpected. Who is she? Her accent is different. How did you meet? Why the secrecy?”
He took a step. “Kiara’s from Norway. We met during my last mission. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to ask her to stay with me, but I will.”
Before he could go one more step she tugged his arm, stopping him. “There’s something about her. Fierce, untamed, determined. Are you sure about this?”
Regardless of his age, his mother was concerned for his future and this endeared him. Harrison bent and kissed her cheek. “Yes, I feel a connection. I want to marry her. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be a casualty of war.”
Her cyan-blue eyes went from fearful wide to soft. “Oh, then I guess we should introduce Kiara to our friends and make your announcement.”
“Wait.” A sudden thought pitted his brain. “I need to see if she’s able to, first.”
“Don’t you mean willing?”
Her question was unanswerable. Having lost sight of Kiara, he imagined her willing. But was she able to commit to a human, and if so what would the outcome of her decision be? There were always consequences or reactions to every action. He couldn’t forget that bit of wisdom.
Kiara stood near the patio doors, which were slightly ajar to let fresh air to mix with the stale. February was usually cold, snowy, or rainy in Indiana, but tonight the sky was clear with a multitude of stars and a full moon. Heather, her fiancé Brett, and their friends surrounded Kiara. Tad had the nerve to reach out and touch a bright blonde strand that had fallen from the twisted knot on Kiara’s head. The hair would smell like caramel and vanilla, Harrison knew this for certain, and no other man had the right to touch and sniff what was his.
Harrison stared, hoping their bond, natural or supernatural, would bring Kiara’s attention to him.
“Harrison.” His father grabbed his arm. “We’ve been looking for you. How are you doing son?”
“Fine, Dad. I’m glad to be home.”
The band continued to provide background music. Currently the saxophone’s deep wail mimicked his internal one for the delay. His father’s numerous friends and colleagues formed a group holding Harrison as a social hostage. A greater angst grew inside him. What if she disappeared as quickly as she’d appeared? Forty minutes passed like water over Niagara Falls, fast and furious. Looking away from his Marine recruiter, he glanced around the room. Kiara wasn’t to be found.
Harrison gave his regards to people as he passed at a brisk stride. She wasn’t in the foyer. He went to the last place he’d seen her, near the wall of double doors. Ignoring greetings from friends, he slipped past the first door and into the cold night air. He buttoned his jacket and noted the dark corners of the half brick wall were lightly illuminated with football-shaped fixtures. New and well placed.
Shadows from the outdoor lighting, in addition to the full moon, outlined his woman. Without hesitation he went to her, knowing she may very well spear him, prop him on her horse and ride through the sky.
“Kiara,” he whispered. Would his heart-felt announcement magically tie her to him, keep her bound at his side forevermore? He must have brain-damage or why would he care what a woman, from this century or world or another, planned to do in the future?
Surprised, she wrenched her head and crunched a white slip of paper in her palm. The shriek of a bird and flapping of wings drew his attention from her and into the dark sky. A twenty-seven-inch wing span took the night creature high into the air, seemingly floating among the stars, before he could identify the beast’s origin.
Kiara tucked her hands behind h
er back, lifted her chin and cemented her stance on the slate veranda. “Harrison.” She licked her lips.
Dragging her arms from behind her back, he held her delicate wrists in his hands. Her fists were clutched. Her skin was chilled and shaking. He wanted to reassure her, for what reason he didn’t know. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“I was hot inside. I needed fresh air.” If the band hadn’t chosen to take a break at that time, he wouldn’t have heard the crinkling of paper as it dropped to the rock floor. He had, and planned to retrieve the message. First, he needed to find out what the future held.
“You’ve goose bumps.” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to get her circulation going and the bumps to disappear. “A group of party goers does not bother you, so it must be because they are human.”
Their glances leveled with each other. “You remember?”
“I believe so. You’re a Valkyrie.” Timing was imperative, but he had to find out if her hair’s fragrance was solid. She nodded, providing him an excuse to close the distance between them. Body pressed to hers, he inhaled. Sweet succulent caramel filtered into his nostrils. Part of him rejoiced in the knowledge she wasn’t a stalker and the other continued to question his sanity. “Tell me why you’re here.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure why Odin sent me here. I may have been permanently banished to Earth, because I didn’t follow the rules.”
Plump shiny lips touched the side of his mouth, but he tasted salt on her upper lip and grew concerned. She didn’t appear to be the sort to sweat. What caused her stress?
“I couldn’t get you out of my thoughts. Maybe he wanted me to get the urge to have sex with you out of my system.” Her nose touched his neck, she sniffed.
“Mission soon to be accomplished.” His cock vibrated, pushing painfully into his cotton pants. He lightly kissed her, merging their breaths together with tongues tipping. “I’ve dreamed of nothing else but being with you. To get to know you.”
She broke the kiss, pulling back. Her forehead fell onto his chest. A caress to her back didn’t reduce the impact of her deep breathing. “I want the same thing.”
He lifted her chin. She told the truth, and by the quiver of her lips she was afraid. Unreal, considering her role of shield-bearer for a god, and from what he’d seen thus far, he couldn’t imagine anything setting her off balance. “Will you marry me?”
A short chuckle left her mouth. “Why are you taking this so well? I imagine most humans would consider you mad if you talked of a Valkyrie appearing in front of your door with little clothing, no spear or means of survival, and wanting to have sex.”
“I’ve been in the Marines for ten years, so I know how to adapt to my reality. That’s over, by the way. I was discharged from active duty because of the injury. Do you still want me?” He removed his jacket and placed the warm cloth around her shoulders. Unable to be happy at a desk job, he wasn’t sure what the future held, but spending the rest of his life as a paper pusher scared him more than an enemy ever could. His role in the Special Forces, strategizing battles, had ended. All he knew was the military. He felt at a loss, except for Kiara. Their strange connection made him feel whole again, at least closer to being a whole man again. He needed her physically but wanted her emotionally. Could he convince her to stay with him?
Her arms wrapped around his waist, bringing their bodies into alignment. The jacket slipped, so he replaced it on her bare shoulder. Soft sparkling skin drew his attention. He wanted to feel all of her, to intimately know every inch of her body.
“Part of my possible exile is due to wanting you to live. My job was to take my pre-chosen fallen Einherjar, warrior—er—soldier, to join the ranks of Odin’s army. I couldn’t take you. I failed my god.” Her glance shot toward the ground.
“I see. Saving a life is bad in your world. That is why Washburn disappeared. A good soldier and friend, he died beside me. Was he sacrificed to save me?” His cheek rubbed against hers.
Her arms fell to her sides. She gripped the edges of his coat and swiveled around to lean on the brick balustrade. “He wasn’t sacrificed. Each recruit is given the option to go to Valhalla before they pass. Without hesitation, Washburn accepted the offer. The greatest honor”—she licked her lips—“of immortality.”
“You took a substitute. Why?” Why didn’t she want him to experience the greatest honor? Something was missing in her description and he was bound to find out, after he made love to her for a couple of days, though.
“Your foot is caught on the hem of the gown. Let me get it.” Harrison bent, snatching the slip of thick vellum, then released the edge of her dress from under her heel.
“Thank you.” Kiara extracted a hair pin and dragged the loose strands to the top of her crown, securing the hair into place. “I’m not certain why I did what I did. I’m hoping by being with you I’ll discover…”
“What?” From her sincere intonation he could feel her getting closer to confessing everything.
“What binds me to you,” she whispered, as if speaking it aloud would make their connection disappear or become more real.
His heart caught and his throat dried. Once she found her reason for being here, with him, she’d return to her world, leaving him alone and un-whole.
He put his arm across her shoulders, tugging her to his side, keeping both of them warm and assuring him he hadn’t already died. After all, his angel held him close and offered sex, perhaps a way to make her attach to him, want to always be with him. “Are you willing to give me more, to share time with me?”
“Is there a rear entrance to get to your room?” Her hand went around his neck.
Skin to skin her sweet herbal scent lulled him more than her angelic voice. A sudden memory of her chanting to him on the battlefield rushed through him, creating tingles and electrical charges. He hadn’t understood the words, but the lyrics were soothing.
She was so good at dodging questions. Harrison could stand his ground and filter through her avoidances to discover all of her tale, but his cock ruled tonight. Without intimacy for over six months, a desirable, provocative woman offering him what he’d been dreaming of for the past thirty days was too much. He had to put out the fire, then flame the spicy embers back to life, until she agreed to stay.
“Rear staircase.” He took her cold fingers, entwined them, intending to never let go. “Come.” With her in tow, he picked up the pace.
Chapter 10
Kiara had had a single sexual experience with Heimdallr. Skogul’s depiction of what to expect from the act of sex had proven to be true. Heimdallr, a large, gentle man, had been a considerate lover, but she didn’t feel any different after the act. The deity’s kisses didn’t compare in any way to Harrison’s. With each nibble, a hammer struck her heart. She cared for Harrison and wanted to please her silent warrior.
On the other side of his sleeping quarters, she paused and glanced at his bed, large enough to fit both of them comfortably. Despite her woman place getting all hot and damp and her heart beating star-speed, she hadn’t received any clever “you were fantastic” or even “you’re a good lover” from her one and only partner. How would she know if she was skilled? Run!
Why did she fear this encounter? She had feelings for Harrison. She wanted to be with him. With no experience as a merry maid, could she please him? Could battle strategies be applied in the bed? She’d always chosen the bravest and most experienced for her Einherjar. Perhaps she didn’t excel at everything. What if she shared herself with her Valentine, and he went to Valhalla anyway? She would have committed murder.
During all of her contemplations, her dress and sparkling undergarment had been removed. Trails of hot kisses marked her upper body. Why had she suddenly become a coward? Step up and make love with him. Just looking into his eyes made her heart beat faster; his touch skimming along her arm sent quivers directly to her inner thighs. His soft mumblings between the tongue and lip action added a vibrating tingle to her woman parts. Ab
ove all else, she longed to be with him, to share time and create lovely memories.
She wanted to be intimate with her Earth-walker. A step over his jacket and she went to work on his clothes. The shirt came off with ease. She had the belt removed in seconds, but the bracca was a little more difficult. Harrison’s caresses made her stomach feel funny, as if butterflies flapped, tickled her skin on the inside. He nuzzled her tit, making her lower stomach prickle and clutch with need. Wetness dripped onto her thighs. Why? That hadn’t happened before. Perhaps Odin wanted her death.
The button on Harrison’s bracca fell through the hole. The small metal bar securely in between her fingers, she tugged and pulled until the pieces split apart.
A hiss left his mouth as his hand stopped hers. “Whoa, wait, I don’t have boxers on and you’re catching the hair in the pants zipper. Allow me.” He took her hand into his and together they lowered the fastening over his enormous endowment. The muscle was the size of Bright’s when he was in the same pen with Skogul’s Bella. An instant memory of Bella’s high pitched scream as Bright mounted her made Kiara hesitate. On bent knee she eased his clothing over his tight ass and thick thighs and inhaled the pungent earthy scent of his manhood. He smelled of pine trees; a flick of her tongue proved his, ah, javelin tasted like the inside of his mouth. Hard, vibrant, and the pulsation of his penis made her desire to wrap her mouth around the massive instrument. He was, indeed, different from a Valkyrie.
“No more,” he groaned, “I’ll come before I get to enter your sweet body.”
She nudged him to the mattress and fell on top of him. “I don’t know what that means, but I’m willing to try.”
Her leg went over him, straddling him as she had on the battlefield. This time no barrier lay between them. No rough clothing. Nothing but his hairy skin and pure muscle mass. The hardness she experienced on the battlefield renewed her desire to be intimate with him. She inhaled his moons-lit beach scent, falling deeper in lust. His sword would either slide past her shield or be deflected.