Valhalla Hott (5 page)

“I‟ve already been into your fur.”

He grinned down at her. “I am anxious to see you snuggled

under my bear.”

“I‟ve already been under you bare,” she countered.

“Perhaps you would like deer.”

She laughed. “Dear? Now who‟s nicknaming whom?”

“Come home with me.” His look was serious, and she was

tired of the word play.

“I would love that, but first food,” she demanded.

“I am hopeful that Ulfr has caught a buck,” Hott replied.

“Wolf?” she said. His word had sounded a bit strange to her

ears.

“My brother. You will like him.”

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Viking Warriors Book 1: Valhalla Hott

“Is he as big as you?”

“Yes.”

Hott began moving with Valerie clutching his hand. It was

growing dark and once again the mist was swirling around them.

The heavy vapor rolled in, and it was hard to see. Valerie looked

back and was confused to see their little area was clear, but beyond

them in the other direction more mist cut off the forest from her

view. Suddenly Hott was gone, and Valerie stopped. His hand was

behind him, still holding hers, but his body had vanished.

“Hott?” she called fearfully.

Hott pulled on her hand but something was stopping her from

going forward. Again Hott pulled on her, and again she was unable

to follow. It was as though a door was in front of her, barring her

entry. She called to him once more. Ever so slowly he reappeared

before her.

“Why do you not come with me?” he asked.

“I tried, Hott. I couldn‟t go in farther. It was like I was

stopped. What‟s going on?”

Hott frowned. “We must try a different way then.”

Valerie turned and led them back through the clear area into

the mist on the other side. She walked into the heavy fog, but

stopped suddenly when Hott jerked on her hand. When she looked

back he was gone, but his hand still remained in hers. She could

feel his hand, but she couldn‟t see hers. She pulled again, but she

was unable to pull Hott with her. She walked back into the mist.

“Hott?” she asked with building fear.

Hott starred at her with an odd expression. “Where you come

from, what is the time?” he asked.

“It‟s the twenty-first century,” she replied.

Hott hung his head. When his face rose to look at her, he was

devastated.

“Odin has shown me I want to live, and now it is his cruel

joke to punish me.”

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Viking Warriors Book 1: Valhalla Hott

“I don‟t understand,” Valerie whispered.

“I have said my wife and son were killed in a murderous raid. I

came out here to die, but found you instead. I must have you.

There must be a way.”

Valerie didn‟t know what to think. The fine hairs on the back

of her neck were standing tall, and she shivered from the cold.

Could this man really be a Viking? Could he really be from the era

he claimed to be? How was it possible she couldn‟t move with him

through the mist? She needed to think about this. The concept was

as eerie as the fog.

“Hott, I need to go back to the cottage. I need to eat and

change my clothes, it‟s getting colder. I will come back if I can, I

promise.”

“I will wait here forever,” he declared.

Hott released her hand. He looked so devastated Valerie

didn‟t know what to say. She turned and walked into the mist,

when she looked back, Hott was gone.

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Viking Warriors Book 1: Valhalla Hott

Chapter 3

Valerie lay quietly in her bed beside her boyfriend. Upon

returning, she realized he and his jerk friend hadn‟t even noticed

she was missing. She had been gone for hours, how could they not

have known? From Mark‟s cavalier attitude it soon became

apparent he didn‟t care enough to go looking for her. Both men

were drunk and rowdy. Both smelt suspiciously like perfume and it

wasn‟t her brand. She had just had sex with a Viking…so much for

them trying to repair their relationship.

Valerie knew it was as much her fault as Mark‟s. After being

with Hott she just couldn‟t bring herself to be with another. That

night she somewhat smugly told Mark she had her own „friend‟

visiting and she couldn‟t have sex with him. Mark had looked at

her with some relief and claimed that explained why she was being

so bitchy to him. After giving her a fast peck on the cheek, he had

rolled over and promptly fallen asleep.

Valerie was furious, why did men always assume women were

only bitches when they were on the rag? Oh no, it couldn‟t

possibly be that the men they were with were behaving like

assholes.

Now Mark was snoring, and all Valerie could think about was

Hott. Never in her life had she felt such strong emotion after such a

short time. She could still feel his warm flesh under her fingertips.

His taste lingered on her lips. As though thinking of the word

linger, a noxious smell reached her nose, and she realized the two

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Viking Warriors Book 1: Valhalla Hott

guys had been into the Mexican food, beer and chili—soon the

entire room reeked.
Gross!

Valerie tossed back the covers and waved her hand in front of

her nose. She opened the window, air conditioner be damned. She

would rather be hot and have clean air than cool air and risk being

asphyxiated. It would seem everything Mark did annoyed her and

she was finding excuses to be away from him.

The full moon had settled over the dark water. The

moonbeam was so beautiful she wished she could dance on it. The

gentle rustling of the trees below offered her a sweet clean smell of

fresh air. A loud snuffling came from behind her, invading her

thoughts.

Mark rolled over and farted again, it was followed by a loud

belch.
Now that’s attractive.
For the thousandth time her mind

wandered to Hott. Had he been real? Her crotch ached enough,

and it hadn‟t been her that had gotten up close and personal with

herself. Hott was real all right, and he was waiting for her.

Valerie quietly got dressed. She packed a duffel bag with a

warm blanket and food and water and a bottle of wine. She left a

note on the table telling Mark she was through with him. They had

been on again and off again so she doubted he would even care. She

should have known they were through when she‟d started calling

him the expletive a month ago.

Always a good indicator she needed to move on.

She was hanging on to the concept of a boyfriend. It wasn‟t

fair to either of them. She walked out the door after grabbing a

flashlight.

The path she was on went for a small distance before

branching off in a different direction. Valerie knew which way to

go because she had ripped part of her towel and tied it to the tree.

Even in the dark she could see the mist rolling around. The hairs

on the back of her neck rose, goose bumps dotted her arms, and

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Viking Warriors Book 1: Valhalla Hott

she shivered as she stepped over the fallen log, parted the branches

and slipped through the fog.

“Hott?” she whispered, feeling a little foolish.
What if he had

gone home? What if it had really been some crazy dream after all?

“I am here,” came a deep reply.

Valerie spun around and ended up in his arms. He was kissing

her until she was breathless. The duffle bag dropped and the wine

clanked against a tin of homemade cookies. Valerie ended the kiss

reluctantly. After all, she had eaten today, Hott had not. When

Valerie backed away from him, Hott gave a shout of surprise,

scaring her. His mouth hung open in fear, and he took a step back.

It didn‟t take her long to realize he was afraid of the flashlight. She

waved it at him.

“What trickery is this?” he demanded. “How do you make

light burst forth from your hand?”

Valerie laughed lightly at his indignant glare. “It‟s called a

flashlight. And it‟s harmless.”

She used the light to see into her duffle bag and pulled out the

blanket. Hott fingered the material looking amazed. He declared it

to be the softest texture he had ever felt. Even in his travels there

had never been a finer material. Strong fingers squeezed the

material into a bunch, then was released and it sprung back into

place. Valerie told him it was one of the softest fleece blankets she

owned.

Soon she had a variety of food spread out for a feast. She

handed him a plastic fork which he studied with interest before

tossing it aside. He attacked everything with his mouth and fingers.

Valerie smiled with pleasure when he raved over her homemade

potato salad, deviled eggs and cornbread. She wiped the grease on

his cheek and mouth from the fried chicken with a paper napkin.

Hott took the napkin into his hand and studied it carefully,

turning it over, running his fingers over the flower pattern. She

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Viking Warriors Book 1: Valhalla Hott

opened the wine and offered him a Styrofoam cup full. Hott sipped

at the liquid, while keeping a wary distance from the flashlight.

“This is good,” he said.

“Worth a whole eight bucks.”

“I do not think it is worth eight, perhaps a single buck and a

few fowl. It is best I do our bartering in the future.”

Valerie laughed so hard she almost choked on her drink. “Not

real bucks.”

His look was skeptical. “In your time they have fake bucks?

How do the does conceive?”

“I was talking about money, like cash, you know, coins.”

“Ah I see. What a strange name for wealth.”

“I guess it is,” she replied, then pondered. “Why do you

suppose we can‟t go into each other‟s era?”

“I am uncertain. But I will not leave you behind with a

quivering asshole boy friend.”

“He‟s a jerk, he doesn‟t quiver and I ended it between us.”

Hott brightened. “That is good. This boy friend appears to

have enough trouble without dying of fright.”

Valerie began cleaning up the remains of their meal. She

packed away everything except for dessert, the wine, and the

blanket. She watched as Hott picked apart his cup. Each time a

piece came off he held it up and looked upon it with amazement.

“It‟s called Styrofoam,” she informed him.

“An odd substance to be certain. A container not made for a

warrior.” He then crushed it in his hand.

Valerie watched the look on his face when she pulled a small

object out of her coat pocket. She thought perhaps they might need

a fire. When she flicked the lighter and the flame burst forth, Hott

bellowed like he had seen a ghost and jumped to his feet.

“Witchcraft,” he whispered.

“No, I‟m no witch,” she said a bit tightly.

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Viking Warriors Book 1: Valhalla Hott

She noted the sword he now held up in his hands. She

swallowed a bit uncomfortably, thinking maybe teasing him wasn‟t

such a good idea.

“Remember I‟m from the future. We have invented certain

things to make our lives more comfortable. This lighter can make a

quicker more efficient fire in less time. If you were to stumble

onto a relative of yours from a thousand years ago they might think

you were a warlock if you had something they hadn‟t invented yet.

Maybe some kind of new weapon.”

He seemed to be pondering her words. To her relief he

relaxed, and lowered his sword. Then he approached her with

trepidation as well as an air of eager excitement.

“Let me see this magic fire.”

She handed it to him. Hott shook it, then pushed down on the

button, but it wouldn‟t work. Valerie took it from him and

showed him how to strike it to cause a flame. Once shown, he

played endlessly with the object. Valerie just sat back and shook

her head at his enthusiasm. She reached around him, opened the tin

of cookies, and handed him one. One bite of the chocolate chip

cookie, and he abandoned the lighter.

“Easy now,” she cautioned. “I‟m guessing you‟ve never had

chocolate.”

“Is that what this is called?” he asked, poking at the brown

pieces on the cookie. Another disappeared into his mouth.

“Yes.”

“They are delicious,” he said, his eyes squeezed closed as he

savored the taste.

“I thought you might like them.”

“Are you not having any?” he asked and downed his sixth.

“No, I‟m watching my waist.”

Hott looked at her then looked down. He leaned in closer to

stare hard at her belly. “What exactly is it you are watching your

waist for?”

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Viking Warriors Book 1: Valhalla Hott

“Expansion,” she replied grimly.

“You will expand when you are pregnant. Do you think you

carry my child?” he asked excitedly.

“One thing at a time, cowboy.”

“Cows are not boys, they are female. Should the term not be

cow girl and bull boy?”

“Never mind,” she said before laughing.

Apparently having satisfied one appetite, Hott was anxious to

partake of another. He placed her now empty cup of wine off to