Viking Claimed (Triad Series Book 4) (3 page)

Rolf stood his ground, and in a blur of motion, altered his stance and hip checked Aki, sending him sailing over his head to land with a gigantic thud on the mat. The watching soldiers cheered and clapped as Aki stayed down. Rolf sauntered over and held out his hand.

“As I said, Viking, size isn’t everything.”

Aki took the proffered hand and got to his feet, his blue gaze locked with Rolf’s.

“I do not understand how you bested me, little man, but you have.” He slapped Rolf so hard on the shoulder that he rocked on his feet.

“It wasn’t really a fair contest,” Rolf admitted. “You have magic in your thoughts and spells. I have magic in my body, which makes me super strong—like a berserker.”

“Ah,” Aki nodded. “You cannot give me this magic.”

“I can teach you some of it.” Rolf tapped his forehead. “The parts that come from my thoughts.”

“Then I shall be glad to learn from you.” Aki bowed.

“And I’m sure we’d all like to learn some of your tricks with an axe or a sword.” Kaiden stepped forward. “Some of the people on this planet don’t use guns or advanced technology. Understanding basic warfare techniques would be an advantage.”

“I am sure that once my brother stops rutting long enough to meet you, he would be more than willing to show you our skills.” Aki grinned at Kaiden. “He is a fearsome swordsman while I favor the axe.”

Kaiden slung an arm around Aki’s shoulders. “I think you will fit in well here. Come and eat.”

As Aki turned he spotted Elli and came toward her.

“Did you see me laid low by that heathen Rolf?”

“I’m afraid I did.” His ability to take his defeat with a smile had impressed her. She tried to look at his face, she really did, but rivulets of sweat were running down over his chest and abs and she wanted to lick him clean and follow the trails down lower until…

“My lady?”

She jumped as Aki moved close until she could smell his sweat, which was normally a complete turn off in a man, but somehow made
him
even more delicious. She licked her lips.

“Sorry?”

He reached forward, put a finger under her chin and gently closed her mouth. “You are staring.”

“I know.”

His smile was just for her. “I do not mind, but if you continue to do so, I fear my interest will become obvious to everyone.”

Her gaze slid lower to his low-slung, black workout pants and the thrust of his erection tenting the fabric.

“Oh Gods,” she breathed and backed away two steps. “I’m so sorry. I’m embarrassing you.”

“Nay, you are making me hard.” He cupped himself and ran a thumb up the length of his cock. “It has been a long time since I’ve felt like this.”

“When you were in the ice, were you aware of anything?” she asked.

His gaze became distant. “It was like being trapped underwater. I occasionally became aware of something, but it was all very faint until the Pavlovan eclipse.”

Realizing everyone had already gone upstairs, she started toward the door. “That astrological event only happens about every four thousand years. I suppose you could say you were in the right place at the right time.”

His laugh was short. “Sometimes I think it would have been kinder to have left us where we were.”

She turned toward him, only to see his gaze fall over her shoulder as Kaiden’s voice boomed out.

“Come on, Aki. There’s food. Are you joining us, First Officer Slavin? There’s plenty.”

The food was good and being in the company of warriors made Einarr’s continuing absence easier to bear. But Aki missed his twin. He missed their easy communication. Einarr was his only blood kin in a world where he was adrift without his solid presence at his side.

It was almost impossible for him to shut Einarr out of his head, so he’d spent the dinner feeling like he was spying on his brother fucking his woman. His cock throbbed like a toothache and refused to go down. Sitting next to Elli wasn’t helping much either, her thigh was jammed against his on the bench and every time she reached for more food, her breast brushed his arm.

“Ash wanted me to ask you something,”

Aki turned to Elli, his eyebrows raised. She was slightly flushed, her tongue peeking through her lips. He wanted her mouth on him so badly…

On his other side, Rolf gave a snort, and Aki swung around. “What is so amusing?”

“
You and your lack of shielding. You’re blasting out the most filthy images
.”

“
You have no shields yourself then
?” Aki asked politely. “
Perhaps you shouldn’t be peeping
.”

“
I have excellent shields, but I must confess that I’m enjoying the show
.” Rolf’s gaze dropped to Aki’s pants. “
If you are still hard later come and find me. I’d be more than willing to get down on my knees and suck you off
.”

Aki’s cock kicked up even more and he barely suppressed a groan before turning back to Elli who had been waiting patiently for him to finish his conversation. Hopefully, her shields had protected her from Rolf’s coarseness.

“Excuse my rudeness.” Aki bowed. “What did you wish to ask me?”

“Ash said you need to continue your studies while you decide what you wish to do on Pavlovan.”

Aki groaned. “More teachers?”

She angled her head to one side. “What if I was your teacher?”

He went still, almost too afraid to speak or even to think all the various images that offered him. “
You
?”

“Would that offend you?”

He stood and grabbed her hand. “You may tutor me in any way you wish.” He managed to get her outside the door before she started to pull against him.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you to bed.” He turned her so that her back was against the wall and leaned down.

“Stop!” She slammed both her hands against his chest.

Mystified, he shut the door behind them so that they were alone in the narrow corridor.

“You do not want me?” He inhaled her scent. “I can almost taste your need on my lips. Teach me how to please you.”

She let out her breath. “That’s not quite what I was offering you.”

He braced his hand on the wall above her head and forced himself to ignore the demands of his body—and hers—and concentrate on her words. Life had been much easier for his ancestors who could simply toss a woman over their shoulder, take her home and ravish her at will.

She smacked him on the chest. “That is so not funny. Those poor women!”

“I have never done that!” he protested. “I am an honorable man. You take my thoughts now and use them against me? Is nothing private?”

“Not until you learn to shield better. That is what I’m offering you help with. I’m a trained telepathic counselor.”

“What does that mean?”

“I can show you how to build the strength of your shields and increase the power of your thoughts.”

“Oh.” He studied her closely and then took her hand and brought it to his lips. He liked her bravery and her willingness to stand up to him. “I will do my best to learn these things if you are willing to teach me.”

“Thank you.” She smiled into his eyes. “I’ll give you a couple of days to settle in and then we can start your lessons.”

To his dismay she pushed gently on his chest. “I have to get back to work now.”

He fought down the desire to beg her to stay. He was becoming a weakling and he hated it. “You are quite certain that you do not wish to join me in my bed? I swear I will give you more pleasure than you have ever imagined existed.”

She shivered. “And now you are a poet. I won’t sleep with you Aki.”

He kissed her nose. “You will not be sleeping, my heart—unless I have worn you out with my lovemaking. And even then I will wake you up and make you want me again.”

“Oh Gods,” she whispered. “This is
so
not happening to me.”

Her words made no sense but her mind closed against him and he took an unwilling step back. “I do not understand.”

“Which is why us getting together would not be a good idea at the moment.” “We hardly know each other.” She met his gaze head on. “You need to get used to being here and living with millions of telepaths.”

“And then you will bed me?”

“You are way too persistent.” She pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know, Aki. You might not feel the same about me when you’re more in balance.”

“I will still want you.”

Her smile was sad. “It doesn’t always work out that way, but I appreciate the thought.”

Aki took another step back and bowed. “Then I will wish you Godspeed, and look forward to seeing you again soon.”

Her gaze softened as she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “It’s going to be okay, Aki. I swear it.”

So his attempts to deceive her about his fear of being left alone hadn’t worked. It stung his pride. There was nothing he could do about it but accept her kind offer and improve his shields.

After Elli left him, Aki returned to the main room and got himself another ale. It was difficult to remember that this new world had its own set of rules and customs that he did not yet fully understand. He wanted Elli. He was fairly certain she wanted him back, but that apparently wasn’t enough. He frowned. What were the courting rituals of the Pavlovans? Did he need to seek the approval of Elli’s father? Or should he speak to Ash?

Rolf nudged him in the back and Aki spun around. “What
now
?”

“She likes you.”

“She is merely being kind.”

Rolf shook his head. “Nope, I can feel the vibe.”

Aki shoved a hand through his disordered hair. “I do not know what that means. All I know is that the females on the planet make no sense.”

“I’d agree with you, seeing as I tend to prefer men.”

Aki studied Rolf’s features. “You have to choose
one
?”

Rolf chuckled. “Not if you believe in the idea of this Pavlovan mating trio. It tends to be two men and one woman. You get the occasional one man with two women, or all the same sex, but most triads are male heavy.” Rolf shrugged. “At some point Ash said he will take us all to see the Oracle.”

“And what will this seer do for you?”

“She introduces you to your fated mate. Or, if you’re really lucky, both of them. That’s how Esca came to be Ash’s Second Male at age eighteen”

“And the Oracle is always right?”

“By all accounts, she is pretty damn good. There are only a handful of failed matings a year here, which is quite something compared to Earth.”

Aki shook his head. “The women in my village were free to leave a man if they wanted, and no one cared whether you fucked another man or a woman.” He hesitated. “But the new religion, the Christian one, insisted one man had to cleave to one woman. Some of our people tried to keep worshipping both Gods, but it was hard for them.”

Kaiden stood up and nodded to Aki and Rolf. “I’ve got to go to a bloody strategy meeting in Mac’s place. Will you keep an eye on Aki for me, Rolf?”

“That will be my pleasure, sir.”

Aki grunted as he watched Kaiden leave. “At least I only have to put up with you watching me. The security forces followed our every move on the other planet.”

“That’s because you passed basic onworld training. You’re no longer considered a major threat to society,” Rolf said. “They’re still watching all of us, but it’s much less obvious and we have more freedom. We have to prove our worth, which makes sense when we could be dangerous.”

“I suppose it does,” Aki agreed. “No ruler wishes his kingdom to be invaded by armed mercenaries. The Saxons fought hard to keep us out of their lands until we overwhelmed them.”

The other guys relocated to the seats in front of the big moving picture screen, and Aki finished his ale.

“Do you want me to show you to your room?” Rolf asked.

Aki held his stare. “That would be very good of you.”

Rolf winked at him as he got up, and they walked down a hallway that had several doors leading off it. He stopped at the last door at the end of the hall and tapped in a code.

“Give me your hand.”

Rolf pressed Aki’s palm to the panel on the right-hand side of the door and pressed the keypad again until it blinked three times. “You’re in. All you have to do is place your palm in the square just like you did then and the door will open.”

“Thank you.”

“Seeing as I kicked your ass, earlier, it’s the least I can do.”

Aki went through the door and then grabbed Rolf’s black T-shirt in his fist, practically hauling him off his feet. “I am more than willing to fight with you again.”

“You don’t have to prove your masculinity because the lady turned you down.”

Aki bared his teeth and growled, but Rolf leaned into him instead of away.

“I like you mad. And I’m always willing to be handed my ass.” Rolf licked his lips. “Although I’d rather give you a better welcome to Pavlovan by offering to be the first man in four thousand years to suck your dick. I bet you’ve worked up quite an appetite, haven’t you?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because I saw your thoughts, remember?” Rolf said patiently. “And if I’d been frozen for thousands of years I’d be wanting to get laid pretty damn quick to make up for lost time. And seeing as the female won’t have you…”

He removed Aki’s fingers from his shirt and sauntered toward the bathroom, pulling the garment over his head as he went. “Come on.”

Aki followed more slowly and heard the sound of water being turned on. One thing he did secretly love about his new life was the availability of hot water. After being incarcerated in ice, he had a feeling he would never be warm enough again.

By the time he reached the large shower, Rolf was naked, and Aki paused to consider the other man’s muscled body. Unlike Aki, he had no visible scars, but it didn’t matter. His battle experience showed in his eyes and in his warrior’s stance. Aki slowly took off his shirt and Rolf grinned at him.

“Nice tat.”

Aki glanced down at his arm and shoulder. The magical designs were so much a part of him that he hardly even noticed them.

“This…favor you offer me.”

Rolf raised an eyebrow. “Sucking you off?”

“It does not mean that we are mated or matched as the Pavlovans would call it?”