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As she worked her triceps and biceps, the machine counted down the seconds. She pushed through the fatigue, allowed her breathing to shorten as her muscles threatened to give up. There, she’d done it. A new personal record on that particular machine, although she’d noticed recently, that all the personal bests on the gym equipment now belonged to the Valhallan men, which had caused some discontent among the male bodyguards.

The last two guys using the equipment headed for the locker room, leaving her alone. She turned toward the stationary bike, eager to give her aching arms a short respite before she challenged herself again.

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“My lady.”

She turned to find Sven watching her, his appreciative gaze fixed on her ass.

“I thought you weren’t coming.”

Damn, she’d said coming again. Would that word ever stop conjuring up the image of Sven masturbating in the garden?

Sven frowned and checked his wristband. “You said to meet you in the gym at five and here I am. Did I miss something?”

“It’s ten past five and you were supposed to meet me in my office.”

He planted his hands on his hips.

“But you are not in your office and I’m sure you said to meet in the gym.”

Had she said that
? A vague memory from the previous night niggled at her.

“I am only here, because you didn’t turn up at five.”

His frown grew deeper and he stepped closer. “You are just making things difficult.

I am here, you are here. What is the problem?”

She resisted an urge to poke him in the chest.

“You are the problem.”

“What have I done now?”

“You were supposed to be in my office at five. You didn’t appear so I decided to go and do something else with my valuable time. If you wish to liaise with me, may I suggest you turn up on time tomorrow?”

“I am here now.”

She glared at him. “I am busy.”

A low sound rather like a growl emerged from his mouth.

“Are all the females on the planet as contrary as you and the queen?”

“Probably.”

“Then perhaps it is better than Valhalla has less of you rather than more. Between you and the queen, I am struck dumb.”

Thea stared at his luscious mouth. “I hadn’t noticed.”

He ran a hand through his short fox-red hair and sighed. “The king has returned. I had to take care of the baby.”

Thea fought a smile. “You did?” She tried to imagine Sven singing lullabies and found it an intriguing image. Could a man as big as he was be that gentle?

“For some reason, I am the only one who can persuade the young prince to go to sleep. I was busy with him when I realized I was late for our meeting.”

“And where were the kid’s parents during all this?”

“The king and queen were in bed together. The king had much seed to share with his queen.”

Thea grimaced. “TMI, Sven.”

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“What?”

“Too much information.”

He reached out and hooked a finger under her chin.

“You do not wish to know that the king and queen mate?”

“Surely that’s their business?”

“But if offends you that the king couldn’t wait to mate with the queen? He is a lusty man, well suited to the queen’s demanding nature. Sometimes they disappear for days until the king is so sated that his seed runs dry.”

Thea stared into his brown eyes. How would that feel to make love so many times that you exhausted a man’s supply of sperm? She studied Sven speculatively.

“Has that ever happened to you?”

“What?”

Thea licked her lips. “Has your seed ever run dry?”

A flicker of pain darkened his eyes before he dropped his gaze. “Nay, I have not been so honored.”

She touched his cheek, felt the soft bristles stirring against her skin, wanted to lick his face and feel them against her tongue.
Damn, stop that
. She wasn’t talking to him, was she?

He bent his head, fitted his mouth over hers and kissed her. Her knees started to wobble. He slid his arm around her waist and held her close. His huge erection prodded her stomach.

“I enjoyed your taste, my lady.”

“My…taste.”

“The taste of your woman’s desire. The rich cream between your thighs when you opened them for me.”

She pushed at his chest. “Mr. Magnusson, may I remind you that we are at work? I told you, I don’t mix business with pleasure.”

He tapped his wristband. “It is after five, yes? You are officially off duty.”

“No, I’m still on government property and your comments are inappropriate.”

He frowned down at her, his arm still firmly around her waist.

“I did not please you?”

“Magnusson…”

His hand slid down over her hip and cupped her sex. “I am distraught. This time I will try harder to make sure you find my attentions enjoyable.”

She pulled out of his grasp, her breathing uneven, certain that her cheeks were scarlet.

“Why do men turn everything into a contest?” She glared at Sven. “I’m here to use the gym equipment and then I’m going home—alone.”

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“I will help you.”

“I do not need any help.”

He held her gaze, his brown eyes full of sexual challenge.

“But I have been told that it is dangerous to work out alone. Everyone needs a spotter, isn’t that so?”

“Only if they use certain machines and I’m going to make certain that I don’t use them.”

He bowed. “Then I will simply work out alongside you.”

Thea let out an aggravated breath as he strolled back toward the changing rooms.

Why wouldn’t he take no for an answer? Why wouldn’t he let her alone? She gazed at the nearest machine. Because she’d dared to question his manliness, of course. What male wouldn’t feel the need to prove himself if he felt inadequate?

She sighed and sat down on the bench. She slid her hands into the grips and brought them together in front of her chest. Sweat slid down her face as she worked.

The two guys she’d seen earlier appeared from the locker room and went past her with a cheery goodbye.

“Let me help you.”

She opened her eyes to find Sven in front of her. His muscular chest was bare as were his legs. He wore the shortest, tightest pair of black workout pants she had ever seen. They looked liked they’d been painted on him and emphasized every curve and bulge of his thighs and groin.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

Her rhythm deserted her and she could no longer bring the paddles into her chest.

Sven placed his hands over the outside of the paddles, his fingers brushing hers.

Try it now.”

With his help, it was almost too easy. Instead of concentrating on her muscles, she watched the concentration on his face as he worked with her. God, he was beautiful, his long eyelashes sweeping down over his eyes as he studied her movements. His unique scent surrounded her, reminding her of the high desert and the exotic perfumes of the night blooming cactus.

She slammed the paddles back and fought to catch her breath.

“I’m done.”

He moved closer, trapping her hands in the grips. His mouth descended on hers and he licked the beads of sweat from her lips.

“You are stronger than you look, my lady.” He licked her lower lip, worried it with his teeth. “Why do you train like a warrior when you should have a man to defend you?”

She bit his lip and he jerked away.

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“Every woman should know how to defend herself. She can’t always rely on a man.”

He cupped her cheek, his mouth grim. “Why do you say this? Has someone hurt you?”

She tried to smile. “My Mom had a lot of boyfriends. Some of them tried to come onto me. I learned how to defend myself pretty quickly.”

“Come onto you?”

“You know, steal a kiss or a grope or worse.”

Anger flashed in his eyes and he hissed a curse. “Where was your father? Why didn’t he protect you?”

“He was long gone. I don’t even know his name. My mom can’t remember it either.”

His fingers tightened on her jaw.

“How can you smile when you say such terrible things?”

“What do you want me to do? Cry and give up? I’m not that kind of woman.”

He stepped back, the emotion in his eyes almost too intense for her to deal with. She shrugged.

“Sven? It’s okay. None of them raped me or anything.”

He bowed his head, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Thea stood up.

“I need to get on.”

He moved to one side and she immediately missed the heat from his body. As she brushed past him he caught her hand and kissed it.

“Perhaps you are right to train your body. On this world, most men seem incapable of protecting their womenfolk.”

She pushed him gently away. “And they don’t have to be. We’re all equal. We can all take care of ourselves.”

“Like your mother and father took care of you?” He abruptly turned his back on her as if he couldn’t bear to see her face. “I’m sorry my lady, but the thought of you being preyed upon by those who should have taken care of you is…distasteful to me.”

Eager to give him some space, Thea walked across to another machine and lay back on the bench. It made her uncomfortable to hear Sven’s concern for her, especially as she’d managed to convince herself that she was way beyond her crappy upbringing and a different person now.

After a vocal command, the machine lowered a bar loaded with the weight she specified and she grasped it with both hands. She took several long slow breaths before even daring to try to press the bar upward. Sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades making her back stick to the plastic-covered bench. A shadow over her head made her pause.

“It’s all right, my lady. I’ll just watch.”

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She gripped the bar more firmly and straightened her arms until her elbows locked and the bar remained stationary above her. After three seconds she lowered it and then repeated the motion five more times. When the bar lifted at her request to add more weight, Sven moved to stand at the bottom of the bench.

“It would help if I stabilized your hips and back.”

She studied him carefully. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Because then you could lift more weight and beat your personal record.”

The bar returned and she grasped it. She’d seen some of the other guys use that trick. “Okay then, but don’t distract me.”

“Why would I do that? I only wish to be of service.”

She shivered as his big hands curved around her hips holding her pinned firmly to the bench. To her surprise it did seem easier to lift. After three more weight increases, she ordered the bar away and looked down at him. He sat on the end of the bench, his gaze fixed on her pussy, his fingers massaging the flesh at her hips.

“Sven, I’m done. You can let go now.”

He shook his head. “Did you know that the skimpy garment you are wearing has exposed almost all of your pussy to me?”

Thea tried to slow her breathing as one of his hands left her hip, trailed over her stomach and between her legs.

“It’s for exercise. No one cares.”

His thumb settled over her clit. “I bet the other men working out here enjoy seeing you half-exposed, warm and sweating. I bet they would like to touch you like this.”

She shivered as he stroked the damp cloth over her clit and it swelled to his touch.

“All I need to do is hook one finger under this tiny piece of cloth and I’d be inside you.” He shifted back on the bench until she felt his hot breath on her parted thighs, the slight scratch of his unshaven cheek against her skin. “Would you like that, my lady?

Would you like to feel the length of my cock thrusting inside you?”

He started to lick the now-sodden fabric, his tongue gradually working over her clit until his teeth closed around it. She couldn’t stop her hips coming up off the bench in a desperate bid to keep him touching her. One long finger slid inside her and she bit her lip. What was it about him that made her so desperate for his touch? She’d been ready for him all day, her whole body poised to explode.

“You are very wet, my lady. I think you would take my cock easily.”

She closed her eyes as he began to work his finger in and out of her in a slow, slick rhythm that edged her closer and closer toward a climax. His tongue continued to suck strongly at her clit, driving her wild. He was more direct than any lover she’d ever had before, his focus entirely on her sexual pleasure. Perhaps that was why she responded to him so quickly. She no longer cared if anyone walked in on them. She no longer 41

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cared that she was at work, only that he finish what he had started the night before and fill her with his cock.

“Thea…”

His hand crept up to her breast, squeezed her already taut nipple and then pinched it hard.

“Thea, we cannot do this here. Let me take you home.”

She grabbed hold of his arm and dug her nails into his skin. He gave a muffled grunt, his face now buried in her pussy.

“Don’t you dare stop! If you don’t make me come right this minute, I’ll castrate you, Sven Magnusson, and you won’t have to worry about getting between my legs ever again.”

She gasped as he settled his teeth on her clit and shoved all four fingers inside her.

She climaxed with a scream, her thighs gripped his head, determined to stop him from moving anywhere until she finished enjoying the best orgasm of her life.

Sven tried to gulp in some air but all that did was make him suck in more of Thea’s cream. He swallowed it gladly, murmured his approval against her most intimate flesh until she relaxed her death grip on his head. He straightened his arms and pushed away from her. His cock ached so ferociously that he wanted to rip off his shorts and bury himself deep inside her until she came again and allowed him his release.

She lay back on the bench, her eyes closed, her breathing so rapid he could see the rise and fall of her breasts. He groaned as her erect nipples beckoned his mouth and his fingers. He prayed for the resolution to resist and muttered.