Son of Thunder (13 page)

“I changed my mind,” he seethed, unable to help the anger in his tone.

“About what?”

“I can’t wait to get home and see Erik’s punishment put into action.” Fury boiled in him as he saw again the bruises on her face and arm, the broken ribs. “Perhaps Hel will allow me to go a round with my nephew…or, if I’m lucky,
several
rounds.”

Her eyes widened slightly as his tone turned deadly.

“What, Liv, are you truly that shocked over my ire? Over my need to see you safe?”

She shook her head. “No, not in how you feel about Erik and what he did, anyway. I’m just…taken aback at the raw emotion on your face right now, in your tone.”

“Why is that?” he pressed, still not understanding where her shock was coming from.

“Because your anger is due to his hurting
me
. You want to beat the shit out of him because of what he did, and
wanted
to do, to me.”

“Why does that surprise you? You know damn well how I—”

“It’s not that. I’m not explaining myself clearly…” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Take your time, Liv. I mean it.”
You need to rest. I need you to rest and heal
.

“I know you care for me, that you would have done anything to protect me,” she said softly. “But this is the first time I’ve seen it, raw and fully exposed, on your face, in your eyes. I…I didn’t know it ran so deep.”

He kissed her again then rose up just enough to rest his forehead on hers. “It’s not a want, it’s a
need
. Make no mistake in that. My feelings for you run very deep,” he whispered. “More than you know, more than you can see.”

“I don’t think—”

“We will discuss that when you are healed, and ready to hear it.”
And not a moment sooner.
“I’m being very selfish right now in my desire to harm the godkin who caused you so much pain.” He lifted himself up so he could meet her eyes again, and when he saw the tears shimmering in them, his heart soared. Because those tears meant that he had a piece of her heart as surely as she had all of his. “You need rest.”

“You’ll stay with me for a few hours? I don’t think I can fall asleep and stay asleep without your warmth beside me.” She wiped a tear away. “I…need you beside me for just a few hours more.”

Lying down fully once more, he pulled her as close as he could without causing her pain, and kept his arm as snug as he could around her as well. “I will not leave until you are deeply asleep without dreams bothering you.”

He couldn’t stop her dreams of the events from inundating her, but she was at that point in tiredness that once she fell into a deep and true sleep, she wouldn’t dream.

“Close your eyes, Liv.
I have you
.”

And he planned on keeping it that way.

Chapter Thirteen

Three weeks later

Dressed in a pair of low-rise designer slacks and a long-sleeved white button-up shirt, Liv drew her hair into a neat bun. Lifting her arms above her shoulders brought pain from her still-healing ribs, so she made as quick of work of the bun as she could. She’d covered the sickly yellow bruises on her face with makeup as best she could. Smoothing out her shirt, she left the bathroom.

Today was the official announcement of the team dedicated to hunting down dangerous godkin. The new FBI department was called the Godkin Obtainment Division—the GOD team, as it had been nicknamed. The choosing of those who would be joining them from Asgard took less time than she thought it would, and the meeting of team members a week ago went fairly smoothly. It would take time to settle into being a true team. But she had the feeling that the president and Odin had been planning this far earlier than either she or Rune was aware.

Nothing usually went that swiftly in the government, especially when it came to forming a new department—even more so when it involved the gods.

But here she was, getting ready to meet the public with her new team. A team she, Cory, and Rune were leading. The east coast division, anyway.

This was something she’d dreamed of since joining the FBI out of college. Now, at thirty-four, she had realized that dream—though not in a way she’d ever envisioned.

She made her way to the living room of her townhouse, where Rune was waiting for her, holding her blazer.

“Don’t you look all professional in that suit,” she teased. What he
actually
looked like was an uncomfortable Viking. “When we get home tonight,” she said as he helped her into her blazer, “I’ll help you rip those clothes off.”

He growled, pulling her close. “I’m fully healed—you are not. Therefore, you will
take
off the clothes, not
rip
them.”

She laughed at the order, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him. “
Take
off. Yes, sir.”

He bent down and helped her into her shoes so she didn’t have to bend—her ribs still hurt like a bitch, but then again, ribs always took forever to heal. Or so she was learning.

When he came back up, his expression was serious.

“What’s wrong? If you don’t want to stay on Earth, Rune, I under—”

He cut her off by placing two fingers over her lips.

“You know this is where I wish to be, so don’t be foolish enough to finish that thought. I have a debt to you, Liv, but most of all, I’ve fallen in love you.”

She couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath the admission caused. She’d known his feelings ran deeper for her than she wanted to admit to herself,
far
deeper since the conversation they’d had before he’d left for Asgard. But to hear the words? That was something she wasn’t prepared for, and something that made her a tad more than wary.

“I think it’s time that I say that out loud. Time for us to speak of what they mean to the both of us.”

She swallowed, hard, her mouth dry. “What are you asking of me?”

She wasn’t ready to say those words, though she would admit that she was falling hard for the god before her. That, however, didn’t change the fact that her heart and mind were not on equal footing concerning him. She hadn’t found her balance.

“Just that you let me in, deeper than you have now. Trust me to always have your back, to find you. Trust me with your heart, that I won’t break it, that I won’t give you reason to push me out.” He laid his hand over her heart, and warmth spread through her, and it had nothing to do with sex. “
Truly
trust me. That is all I’m asking, and I know it’s a great deal to ask of you. But this Viking’s heart belongs to
you
, Valkyrie, and I need to know if it’s safe with you.”

Tears choked her. Gods, he was offering her his whole being, his love, his light, his darkness, and his soul. He wanted
her
to have it, to guard it. She was suddenly so overwhelmed and excited at the same time that she couldn’t breathe.

Answer him, Liv. Give him what you can, and trust that he’ll be patient enough to wait for the rest.

“Liv?”

She swallowed again, forcing back the tears as best she could. Then, she said the only thing she could, the only thing she
felt
at his words. “Rune, it’s going to take some time to process what this all means. Loving a god isn’t an easy thing.” Then, wiping a tear away, she added, “But know this: I trust you with my heart and soul, and you can entrust yours with me.”

He kissed her, his hand lingering on the side of her face. “We can work with that, Valkyrie.”

She smiled, patting her eyes dry with her sleeve. “Now, let’s go greet the public, Son of Thunder.”

He took her hand. “I follow you, Agent Winter.”

“No.” She shook her head, not wanting to hear him speak as if she were somehow above him in their work or personal life. “You stand
beside
me. I’ll have it no other way.”

He squeezed her hand then moved to open the door as she grabbed her small purse.

“
Beside
you.” Surety blazed in his gaze, stilling her in the doorway as she took in the fierceness of his feelings for her.

If she ever got used to that, or to the constant need for him inside her, she’d die of shock. How the hell had she managed to go from wanting a one-night stand with a fierce, sexy man, to falling for a god?

Actually, it’s more like how the hell have I managed to not only have a god in love with me, but to love him so deeply that it physically hurts to think of life without him?

Maybe it would all make sense once her mind had straightened itself out and caught up with her heart. But it would take time to sort through everything it meant to be in love with a god: she would age, he wouldn’t. Nothing could be done to remedy that. The only small comfort in that was
if
they chose to have children—and she’d always wanted at least one—they would live a good thousand to two thousand years. Full-blooded gods tended to live five to six thousand years, so he’d have a long time with their children, and their grandchildren would lay him to rest.

As irrational as it might be to some, what made her the most uncomfortable was that she was going to have to meet members of his family one day, and he’d already told her that he was planning on showing her Asgard and the other worlds that were connected to it. After her encounter with Odin, she wasn’t certain that was the greatest idea.

I mean, really? I’ll probably end up starting a brawl because I won’t be able to keep my trap shut on subjects like how they forget their own half-human children.

“You are thinking far too much, beautiful flame.” He laughed softly, and she was suddenly aware that while she’d been thinking she’d been looking straight into his eyes. He would have seen the thoughts and questions whizzing by at light speed!

She rolled her eyes. “Sorry. You had me lost in thought about our future.”

“Then let us concentrate on the present—we do have a conference to get to, yes?”

“Yes, but…” She trailed off, the words to tell him how she truly felt suddenly coming to her.

He raised an eyebrow, curiosity front and center in his gaze.

“There is one thing that I know for certain—
you
are a part of me, and
we
are a team. A
real
team. And that is something that does not scare me, because my trust in that partnership is unyielding, unshakable.
Trust
, Rune, is the one thing that I can give you that will show you how much you mean to me, and how much you can trust that I will work from that. With your help and patience, I can and
will
meet head on the rest of my hang-ups and fears about what our relationship means.”

His Adam’s apple moved so slowly as he swallowed that she was certain it must have hurt. He squeezed her hand so tightly that she had to fight not to wince.

“Rune?” she whispered.

“
Those
, Liv Agda Winter, are the only words I need to hear on this subject. I’ve told you once, and I will say it again now—
I have you
, and that will never change.”

A horn honked outside.
Crap, the driver is here
.

Rune stopped her, pulled her close, and kissed her as if staking his claim.

His lips lifted from hers, and she struggled to catch her breath…and not just from her sore ribs.
Oh boy, does he know how to kiss.

The horn honked again, bringing her back to the duty at hand. She touched her lips. “Is my lipstick smeared?”

He grinned, letting go of her and grabbing a tissue from the table by the couch. He gently dabbed it around her lips.

“Not anymore. You can touch up in the car.”

She cleared her throat, spotted the traces of lipstick around his mouth. “Let me see that tissue.”

He handed it to her, and she wiped the lipstick off.

“See what you do to me?” he teased.

A smile flirted on her lips as she took his hand, squeezing it slightly. “Shame on me.”

“Indeed.”

“Come on. Time to go. If we don’t hurry, our driver will barge in here to check on us.”

He nodded then she turned and opened the door. They quickly made their way to the waiting SUV. The agent that had been sent for the special occasion opened the door for them, smiling.

“The Valkyrie and the Viking.” He smiled. “Let’s get you to your first official day of work.”

The Valkyrie and the Viking?
She grinned as she got into the car.

She liked that.

No—correction—I
love
that
.

The agent got behind the wheel of the car. A moment later he pulled away from the curb. As he did so, Rune took her hand in his.

“Well,” she said with a sigh, “this is going to be one hell of an adventure.”

“Don’t you know, Liv? We Vikings were made for adventure.”

A thrill ran through her at his words, clinging to every fiber of her being.
Yeah, this is going to be
epic
.

And she couldn’t
wait
to get started.

Epilogue

One year later

He hadn’t thought it was humanly or godly possible for Liv to be any more beautiful than she naturally was, but he’d been wrong. Very wrong. When she had walked down the aisle to join him under the maple and oak trees, full of autumn colors, his breath caught in his throat and his jaw dropped slightly in awe.

The white, peasant-sleeved dress was gorgeous on her: the neckline dipped to just above her breasts, and light-green lace outlined both shoulders and down the center of her corset top. The soft-looking material of the bottom half of the dress, which flowed smoothly over her hips to touch the ground, made his hands itch to reach out for it, to pull her close. Her hair was down, with two small braids to keep it out of her eyes. The braids were pinned back with his mother’s leaf comb, the bronze color standing out against the red of Liv’s hair.

When she’d finally stood beside him, he wasn’t certain he’d be able to speak. She took his breath away. But he’d found his voice, somehow, and claimed her as his wife. Now at the reception hall with members of both her family and his, as well as close friends, she awed him.

“It was very nice of Var to officiate our handfasting
,
” Liv said as they stepped outside for a brief break from the celebration. “And of Freja to join us.”

Placing a hand on the side of her neck, his thumb caressing the skin just below her ear, he replied, “They’ve been to all of my family’s weddings. When I asked them to join this one, they did not hesitate.”

Var was the goddess associated with oaths and agreements—marriages included—so he felt it a natural to ask her to bind him and Liv. And Freja was the goddess of love and fertility, and she was also a close friend of his mother.

“Still,” she said, laying a hand on his forearm, “it was nice of them, considering I’m human.”

“A beautiful, strong, Norse woman.” He smiled. “They do not disapprove.”

They’d agreed to handfasting because it was the best ceremony for them: she was human, he was a god, so a normal ceremony with a priest seemed…unfitting. But they’d incorporated some customs of his people as well, mainly the three days of feasting leading up to the handfasting.

“I’m pleased to be your wife,” she said softly, her gaze meeting his. “Thank you for waiting for me.”

He leaned down, kissing her, and even though it was a soft, lingering kiss, heat coiled in his belly, wanting more. “Thank you for not turning away from me because of my godhood,” he said when the kiss ended.

The soft haze of desire echoed in her eyes. “We should rejoin the party, before they come hunting for us.”

“When we get to the cabin, I’m going to ravage you so completely that you won’t be able to walk in the morning…
wife
.” Gods, he
loved
that word.

“I’m looking forward to it, husband.” A smiled formed on her lips at the last word.

He let out a growl, then removed his hand from her neck and wrapped it around one of hers. “Let us spend a few hours with friends and family, then we can leave and they can celebrate without us.”

Her skin flushed, and that almost undid his resolve to not take her right outside the Hall doors.

“Let’s.”

He put his free hand on the doorknob and turned it.

“You know, tonight would be a great night to do our best to make a baby.”

He stilled, taking in the words. Then, slowly, he turned to look at her, letting go of the door. “Are you certain you’re ready?”

She chuckled. “Of course I am.”

Bliss swept through him, and he grabbed her, pulling her close for a long, passionate kiss. His tongue danced with hers. The taste of her was intoxicating.

The doors opened, forcing him to break the kiss.

His grandfather Thor wore a wide grin.

“Get in here, you two—plenty of time to ravage the bride after food and drink.”

Thor tugged Liv out of his arms and through the crowd to join a group on the dance floor. She turned to look at him, laughing. Rune thought his heart would burst from the joy and happiness coursing through him. A wedding, a baby, a future he planned to make certain was so full of memories that time would never erase them from his mind.

She waved him over as she began to dance. As he walked toward her, his mind could only think of one thing:
mine
.
She is
mine.

And he couldn’t wait to show her just how much that meant to him.

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