“No male has touched you here but me?”
“Just you.”
A growl rumbles in my throat. I have to taste what’s mine. I move forward and my mouth is right where I need to be, licking the seam of her sweet pussy. She’s so wet it sends a surge of possessive lust coursing through my hot veins. I’m exploring, my tongue and lips moving through her delicate inner folds. I listen to her sounds of pleasure—her moans and her sighs—letting me know where to move and when to speed up or slow down.
Her hands grab my horns tight. My tail wraps around her ankle. I lick and lick and lick at that swollen nub. My cock is hard as stone and leaking in my pants.
“Oh Aegir, right there, don’t stop.”
She throws her head back and screams out her orgasm. I keep licking, right where she needs me, making sure I draw out every last bit of passion for my human. She’s magnificent.
And then someone bursts through the doorway.
“What the hell are you doing?” Bergelmir shouts.
My human squeals with fear and embarrassment and I help her off the counter and place her half-naked body behind me.
I turn toward my brother, furious at his interruption. Rage boils in my blood. My chest expands and fire roils inside. Dark smoke billows from my nostrils. I whip out my tail and elongate my claws.
Bergelmir’s face is a dark cloud as he takes in what transpired on my counter. “Riley, upstairs,” he orders.
Who the fuck does he think he is, ordering my female around?
She’s mine.
I throw my head back and roar with rage.
Everything I’ve been going through these last few months, wanting Riley and not being able to have her. Having to deal with the female who tricked me into getting her pregnant and then didn’t tell me about the existence of my own offspring until the moment I met them. It all slams into my heart and mind at once. My life has been completely out of control and I’m tired of it.
I bare my fangs. “Get out of my domicile.”
Riley places her tiny, clawless hand is on my forearm. “No. It’s okay, I’ll go. You two need to talk, and um, I need to get dressed.” And then she sprints upstairs.
My brother grabs me and slams me against the wall. “What were you doing with her?” he snarls.
I barely had time to wipe Riley’s juices off my face before Bergelmir crashed in on our intimate moment. “What did it look like I was doing?”
“You can’t touch her.”
“Fuck you. You don’t order me or my female around.” I slam a fist into his jaw.
He drops me and stumbles back but recovers quickly. Bergelmir throws a flash flame that singes the tip of my ear and burns my shoulder. I let out another roar, rush forward and throw my arms around his waist and the two of us fall onto the Traq table. It smashes beneath us.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do with my female,” I yell as I tighten my grip around his neck.
“Your female?” He breaks free and leaps up.
Now we’re both standing again, circling each other in the living room. I raise my fists and widen my stance. My chest is heaving and sweat drips off my face. We are still evenly matched. It’s always been like this. We were legendary sparring partners in the military, but I know his weaknesses. This fucker is going to pay for embarrassing my female.
“Listen to yourself,” he shouts. “You’re technically bound to another. You cannot have Riley. This is a dishonor to her, your family and your offspring.”
I lower my fists. His words are finally penetrating my red haze. “I can’t stop. I can’t.”
“What would Father think?” he demands.
I hang my head. “Don’t,” I plead.
“Yes, you need to hear this. You are better than this.”
“I love her,” I admit. “I can’t stop, it is too difficult.”
“I know. I see it and I understand, she is the one for you. But you are a Touchstone, we are not weak-willed males. You are not going to behave dishonorably.”
“Stop it!” a voice shouts.
We both turn our heads to see Riley standing in the room with an annoyed look on her face. “Stop it,” she repeats, as she tightens a robe around her lush figure, “you two shouldn’t be fighting over me.”
I let out a mighty exhale and take a step back. Bergelmir lowers his fists.
My female moves forward to stand in front of my brother and lifts her chin. “Bergelmir, what’s your problem? Is…is it that you don’t want your brother to be with a human?”
“No that’s not the problem.”
She bites her lip. “You don’t want him to be with me?”
“No. I want Aegir to eventually make you his bound.”
She blows out a breath and a tremulous smile forms on her lips. “So you just want him to wait until the judgment is final and you’re upset because we weren’t, um, waiting?”
“Yes, that’s the reason.”
“Okay,” she reaches up and rakes her fingers through her hair. “Sorry, today is just crazy. So much has happened. And when you…” She pauses and gives Bergelmir an assessing look. “Wait, how did you know to follow me today to Rykeil’s house?”
Bergelmir doesn’t answer, just stares down at her. I can see my female is working it out on her own.
“Hey. Are you tracking my car?”
“Of course he’s tracking your vehicle.” Does she think we’re stupid? “It’s the only way to make sure you and my offspring are always safe.”
“Well, why is Bergelmir the one following me?”
“Because he’s my brother.”
“No, why is Bergelmir tracking me when you can hire actual security guards? Isn’t Bergelmir busy with his own business? He doesn’t have time to follow me around. That’s not fair for you to treat him like that, to expect so much.”
“That’s his business.”
“What business?”
“I run a security company,” my brother tells her. “I specialize in protecting high-value targets.”
She looks him up and down and then throws up her hands and laughs. “Oh my gods, now it all makes sense. You’ve been my security detail this whole time, haven’t you?”
“Yes. I have a team of Hyrrokin keeping you safe.”
“Well, hell, Bergelmir, next time there’s bugs in the house, I’m calling you.”
“No, you’re not,” I growl. “You’re calling me.”
“I only want my brother to treat you with respect,” Bergelmir explains to my female. “He cannot touch you while he is legally bound to another. Hyrrokin do not pleasure mate outside of a legal bond. It does not happen. I want him to treat you better than this.”
I bow my head. My brother is right.
Bergelmir turns to look at me. “I care for this human too,” he says. “I consider her family and I will not allow you to dishonor her.”
This stops me cold. My cheeks heat. I clench my fists and then I lift my head and meet his serious gaze. “I hear your words. You have my vow. I will not dishonor her further.”
“You won’t?” Riley pouts.
“I won’t,” I tell her. “You and I will both wait with honor. We will not touch again until the judgment is final.”
“How long is that?”
“Soon,” my brother answers.
“Soon,” I agree.
11
Riley
Godsdammit, it’s been a whole week and Aegir hasn’t touched me.
I blame it on Bergelmir. It’s all his fault.
I try to trick my male often with heated glances and “accidental” brushes in the kitchen, in the hallway, in the nursery, his office, or wherever I can find him alone in the house. But Aegir remains strong. He doesn’t even watch vid shows with me at night anymore because he says it’s too “triggering.”
“I won’t tell Bergelmir if you won’t,” I breathe against his bare chest.
He carefully plucks me off and steps back. “No touching means no touching,”
he rumbles. “We will wait until I can take you without reservation.”
Grr.
Late one night I show up, barely dressed and whimpering at his bedroom door. This is how desperate I am for his touch. But Aegir is strong-willed and honorable enough for the both of us. He puts his claws on my shoulders and turns me around and guides me back to my own room and leaves me there. “When the judgment is declared I will tend to you with countless orgasms. Until then we must both be strong and wait this out. You will sleep in your bed and I will sleep in mine. We can at least spend our days together.”
“You know I’m just going to just go in there and masturbate, right?”
He looks pained. His jaw clenches. “I will think of you too, my female. But we will wait.” Then he turns around and walks back to his own room and shuts the door.
Damn, that’s some serious self-control. I’m impressed.
Later that morning Bergelmir arrives and picks up Aegir and they both leave to meet Aegir’s lawyer to prep early for their court date. It’s day one of the proceedings to determine Kritan’s status as Aegir’s bound.
I hate it when my husband isn’t in the house. This is the second time I’ve been home alone, and the other time didn’t go so well.
I stop in my tracks. Husband?
What is wrong with me?
I blow out a breath and glance at the silent pantry. I mean, what if the bugs return? Ugh. I try my best to shrug off this worry and the slip-up about the status of my relationship with Aegir and move on with my day.
The babies are down for first nap. I’m kinda proud that I’m still able to get them both sleeping in their cribs with little fuss. I’ve put time and effort into keeping them on a routine they can rely on, and it’s paying dividends. I’m so happy about this that I go into the kitchen, determined to start an actual dinner tonight. The food dispenser is amazing in a pinch, but fresh cooked food is always best and if I prep early, I’ve noticed I’m not that annoyed or overwhelmed with the actual cooking in the evening. Tonight, I’m determined to have Aegir try a dish I’ve learned to cook from the original planet. I smile, imagining the imposing Aegir Touchstone eating lasagna.
Today is going to be really stressful for him because Kritan will be in the courthouse. I’m hoping a nice dinner will make him feel better.
I pick up the tablet to ping Chloe. I want to chat with my friend and also play really loud original planet “Sexy Country” music. I’m trying to decide which should happen first, when the front door opens. I glance over my shoulder expecting to see Bestla, but I let out a shriek because it’s Kritan.
I place a palm over my rapidly beating heart. “What are you doing here?”
She bares her fangs. “Shut up.”
Holy crap. I reach down and calmly swipe the emergency alert with my thumb, doing my best to make it look like I’m just putting the tablet down on the counter. Bergelmir downloaded that app for me weeks ago. I pray it’s doing its job.
How did she get past the guards in this gated community? “You’re not supposed to be here. There’s a restraining order.”
Kritan doesn’t look the same as she did a week ago. Her clothes are torn and dirty. She’s unkept and breathing hard. “Fuck that,” she growls. “My babies are here in this house. And because I birthed his offspring, Aegir is my bound. I can come in here whenever I want, this is my house too.”
I back up. “If you leave right now, I promise I won’t tell anyone you were here.”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “I know you’re not just his nanny. He wants you, doesn’t he? He’s going to make you his bound.”
She looks wild-eyed and fear hits me hard. I’m alone in this house with this female. It’s just me and the babies. “Aren’t you supposed to be at court right now?”
“Why bother? Now that my father is on Aegir’s side too, it’s all over with.”
Oh hell, I’m alone with her, and she’s desperate.
“Your father?”
“Yes, all my plans are going to hell in a handbasket. I’m leaving the planet immediately and I’m taking the twins with me because I’m going to make sure Aegir pays for what he’s done.”
“What is it that you think he’s done?”
“He turned my father against me.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Aegir doesn’t speak to your father. It’s not true.” Maybe if I can keep her talking, help will be able to arrive.
“Yes. My father, Hyro Softstone, is my enemy now. He sent a formal apology to the court and to Aegir.”
“He did?”
“Yep. Read it,” she says, shoving a tablet in my face, “read it out loud.”
I take a step back, shaking my head in confusion. “But—”
“Now,” she snarls.
“Okay, okay.” Maybe this will buy me some time? I grab the tablet and start reading the words slowly, trying to keep my voice steady. “To Aegir Touchstone and the Fire Council. I offer a formal apology from the line of Softstone. My daughter, Kritan Softstone, tricked me into believing Aegir had treated her with dishonor. She moved to our vacation home in Perth and returned a year later with twin babies she’d birthed. She said she’d told Aegir early on about the pregnancy and he rejected her—because she was their mother and Aegir hated her. She told me she’d brought the babies to Aegir’s house to introduce them to their father and to beg him to give her another chance, but Aegir took the babies away from her. I’ve been trying through the courts to seek misguided justice for my daughter. I see now her only goal was to be declared Aegir’s bound and she didn’t care what she had to do to make this happen. Kritan never wanted to be a mother. The twins were just a way to get to Aegir. Yesterday I discovered the truth about my daughter. She is mentally ill and needs help. I apologize that I took her word and did not seek the truth earlier. She fooled me, but will fool me no longer. I hope that you will eventually find it in your hearts to forgive an old man’s foolishness.”
“Can you believe that shit?” she shouts. “My own father turned on me. He found out I’d compromised his currency accounts and used his Real Id and he went fire-ballistic.”
I set the tablet on the counter. “How did you get this letter from him?”
She shrugs. “Hyro was about to turn me in. I had to stop him.”
My blood runs cold. “Stop him? How?”
“He’s tied up and gagged, at our domicile on the other side of the community.”
“Your home? I thought you didn’t live here.”
“Oh I live here,” she sneers, her voice dripping with pride. “I finally found a way inside this community. I recently bought a small domicile here, just so I could be close to Aegir. I used my father’s ID and accounts to make the purchase. Then I put myself on his clearance list using a fake Real ID. I’m happy it worked.”
“You really are a criminal mastermind.”
“I am,” she agrees. “And I’ve decided that if I can’t have Aegir, no one else can have him either.” And she pulls out a blade and lunges for me.
My life literally flashes before my eyes. I throw myself back and she misses me and falls against the counter. I scramble away and run for the living room.
“Get back here!” she screams.
I dart around a corner. She’s right behind me. Oh fuck.
And then all hell breaks loose. Huge, armed Hyrrokin are busting through windows, through doors, yelling and stampeding into the house. There’s at least a dozen of them, carrying weapons, all pointed at Kritan. “No!” she screams as five different peacekeepers tackle her to the ground, disarming her and locking her in cuffs.
I back up against the wall, breathing hard and slide down onto my ass and wrap my arms around my knees.
“Felon is secured,” a deep voice shouts out.
Another official-looking peacekeeper steps forward and lists her charges. “Kritan Softstone, you’re being arrested and charged with drugging with intention to rape, purchasing and using illegal fertility medication. And for bre
aking and entering locked domiciles and committing bodily harm.”
“No! I’m the mother of your offspring. You can’t do this,” she wails.
Aegir is standing nearby. He’s completely ignoring Kritan, his gaze is solely on me.
The peacekeeper team swiftly drag Kritan outside and into a waiting armored vehicle.
The house suddenly seems very, very quiet. There are a few remaining officers who look busy tagging and bagging evidence. I’m still sitting there, trying to wrap my brain around what just happened.
Aegir looks down at the blade that’s fallen to the floor and he looks back at me. His jaw clenches and his black eyes darken. He strides straight for me and drops to his knees. He leans forward and holds me in his mighty embrace, so tight I can barely breathe. “Are you alright?” he says with a rough voice.
I look up and see Bergelmir holding both Kari and Loge in his arms.
I give my beautiful babies a watery smile. “I am now,” I answer.
12
Riley
That evening Aegir and I put the babies down for bed like usual. Despite all the drama, and the peacekeepers that swarmed our house for hours on end and finally left, we still manage a semblance of normal for Kari and Loge, which makes me happy.
Aegir quietly closes the nursery door, and escorts me to my room. Then he gives me one last heated look, filled with all the emotion he’s holding inside, and then he resolutely walks back to his own bedroom and shuts the door behind him.
“I cannot fucking believe this,” I mutter.
This whole situation is beyond ridiculous. Hyrrokin law makes no sense to me. I nodded earlier when Bestla, Methone and even Aegir told me the bad news that the judgment still isn’t settled and I acted like I understood and I wasn’t at all upset. But actually, I’m about to lose my freaking mind.
I’m so agitated I had a glass of Hyrrokin wine with dinner. And I don’t even like wine!
How much longer is this travesty going to continue? Kritan broke into our home and tried to kill me and was arrested and taken to jail. And that was after all the other crazy shit she’d pulled. And yet she’s still legally Aegir’s bound until a separate decision is made specifically on this matter by the court? Oh-kay.
His Human Nanny Page 11