Runes #03 - Grimnirs (28 page)

“I’m going home now,” I said, the sound of my calm voice surprising me.

The three supernatural beings, because that was what they were, even my best friend, stared at me as though they’d forgotten my existence.

“I’ll drive you,” Andris said.

Raine and Torin exchanged a glance, and then she said, “No, I’ll do it. Torin needs you here.”

The Valkyries didn’t argue. I didn’t argue. Just turned and walked away.

The drive home was a blur, the images and sounds of death playing in my head. I shivered. Outside my house, I switched off the engine and peered at Raine.

“Is it always like that with them?” I asked.

She smiled. She was glowing with runes so if my parents glanced out the window, they’d only see my silhouette.

“No. I’ve never seen them actually
kill
one of their own. Fight, yes. Snap necks, yes. You okay?”

I started to nod but ended up shaking my head. “You?”

She shrugged. “I’ve accepted that their world,
our
world, is violent.”

I sighed. “I don’t know if I ever will.”

“You must. Whether you like it or not, you are one of us now, Cora. Echo loves you, and knowing him, he’ll find a way to make you Immortal.”

“No, he can’t.” I shook my head, not sure whether I was responding to Echo loving me or making me an Immortal.

“It’s the only way to protect you, Cora.”

“I don’t know if I want him to. He’s trying to find Maliina so he can fix me. Maybe then I will stop seeing souls.”

“Oh, Cora. Runes are not erasable. If that were the case, the gods would have fixed Eirik by now. Unless Echo knows something we don’t, whatever Maliina etched on you can’t be changed either. But they’ll fade with time and their effects will disappear. In the meantime, just learn to live with them. You are already doing it. You’re even willing to help the lost souls, which I think is brave and nice of you.”

After tonight, I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. I didn’t even know if I wanted to help souls. How could I want Echo and reject one aspect of what made him who he was.

“Ask yourself one thing. Once the effects of the runes fade, are you willing to walk away from Echo? Because if you are, we’ll use bind runes to make you forget and keep doing it for the rest of your natural life.”

I had no answer for Raine. “I gotta go before my parents notice that I’m talking to myself. Do you need to come inside and use the mirror?”

“No.” She reached inside her boot and pulled out an artavus. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Goodnight.” I grabbed my jacket, purse, and keys and exited the car. When I looked back, she was gone.

Dad was still working and looked up. “Home early?”

“The club was boring.” I locked the door and went to the kitchen, turning on the lights as I went. I cut a large slice of apple pie and poured a glass of milk. Now that I was calmer, I couldn’t imagine washing down the pie with cider. And I was never ever going to like spinach lasagna. Bitching about it was normal. My normal.

“Cut a slice for me too, hun,” Dad called out when he saw me heading toward the stairs.

Grinning, I placed my slice and milk on a side table and got his. I hugged him and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Goodnight, Dad.”

He patted my arm. “Night, sweetheart.”

I’d been hoping he’d hug me back, but Dad was Dad when he was writing. Upstairs, I went in search of Mom. She was in bed reading. She tended to read organic farming books and magazines, with the occasional historical romance thrown in.

“Just coming in to say goodnight,” I said, putting my snack and drink on the table by the door.

She put the magazine aside and patted the bed. As soon as I sat, she took my hands and peered at me. “You okay?”

A sudden urge to cry washed over me. “Yes.”

Mom’s grip tightened. “Honey, I know you. What’s going on? You’re home early.”

“I wasn’t feeling the club.”

She nodded, but I could tell she saw through the lie. “And last weekend? You sounded awful when you called us from Raine’s. And this,” she added, turning over my right hand with the now healing cut.

I sighed. “Mom, I’m fine. I told you I cut my hand by accident. It’s going to take me a while to get back into my old routine.”

She shuddered. “No, an acceptable routine. Your old routine was nerve-racking. Too much partying, online activities, and boys.”

I rolled my eyes.

Mom laughed. “Come here.”

I hugged her tight and fought the urge to cry again.

“Goodnight, hun,” she said and kissed my temple.

I left her and hurried to my room, but Echo wasn’t there. An hour later, my pie eaten, I crawled in bed. He was still a no show.

Tears slipped under my eyelids. I wasn’t even sure why I was crying. My lost innocence? Not really. I lost it the moment I accepted the fact that I could see souls and I wasn’t crazy.

Maybe it was because I felt alone. Disconnected from everything familiar. My parents’ hugs and love often eased my pain and made my world right when it tilted. I now belonged to a different world they didn’t know about. They couldn’t chase away all my demons.

Warm air brushed across my cheeks, and my heartbeat spiked. I looked over my shoulder and smiled. Echo stood by the mirror portal he’d just used. The warmth said he hadn’t come from Hel. Not that I cared. He was here now.

I didn’t say anything or turn on the lights. Just watched him as he walked to my bed. He took me in his arms, coat, boots, and all, and cradled me closer. His intoxicating scent was familiar and reassuring. He was my new normal.

I inhaled him and sighed.

His hand was gentle as he brushed the wetness from my cheek. He didn’t ask why I was crying, just held me until I was calm. I closed my eyes, nestled on his chest, and listened to his heartbeat, savoring the feel of him. It didn’t matter that the blanket was between us. He was here.

15.
 
Fantasies

“I know today was hard on you,” Echo whispered. “Our world can be brutal.”

I didn’t have a response. I was more concerned for him. “Won’t their souls report you to Hel? That you and Torin killed them?”

He chuckled, the sexy sound vibrating through his chest and making my body stir. “They won’t. Those two Grimnirs were ancient and bent on reclaiming their glory by grabbing you. I wasn’t going to let that happen, and neither were the Valkyries. When a Valkyrie or Grimnir dies, they are doomed to roam this world as shadows. Purposeless phantoms.”

I knew I should feel bad for the dead Grimnirs, but I couldn’t. They would have killed Torin and Andris had they won.

“We lose a little bit of our humanity when we become reapers, Cora. The longer we reap, the more our souls wither.”

Echo sounded sad.

I slipped my arms around him, wedging my hands between him and the bed. “That’s terrible.”

“Nothing in this world is free, Cora. Immortality comes with a price tag. That’s why we try to stay earthbound. Valkyries naturally spend more time here and reap less. We are not so lucky. We have more souls to escort. Not just to Hel’s Hall, but to Corpse Strand. Unlike most Grimnirs, I spend as much time as I can on Earth. Interacting with Mortals nourishes our souls. We can love them, without turning them, and suffer as our chosen mates grow old while we stay young forever. It’s worse than a stint on Corpse Strand. Or we turn them and get punished for it.”

I heard the frustration and the acceptance in his voice. There could never be forever for us. I wanted to ask him if he’d ever been in love. Ever been tempted to turn a Mortal, but I was afraid of the answer.

“So what are you supposed to do? Stay alone forever?”

He chuckled, his warm breath fanning my forehead. “Love them for as long as you can; then walk away. If you are lucky like Torin, your chosen mate turns out to be one of us.”

“Tell me more about Corpse Strand?”

“There are many mansions for the sick and the elderly in Hel, but there’s only one Corpse Strand. It has huge chambers where the souls of criminals are kept and tortured until the end of the world.”

“You, uh, torture them?”

“No. Serpents feed on them. They call it a second death—bitten and chewed on by snakes and dragons, and burned by the venomous poison dripping from their fangs, their screams echoing in the darkness.” He shuddered. “Others die a second death during the journey to the island on the river separating it from Hel’s Hall, a river of knives, daggers, and swords. When a Grimnir is punished, they are sent to Corpse Strand for a few years. If the goddess is fond of you, you get a few months, maybe a year. Otherwise she leaves you there for decades.”

“Have you ever been tempted to turn someone other than your Druid brothers and sisters?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself.

“No. Never.”

There was no hesitation in his voice, which told me he wasn’t lying. Part of me was hurt that he didn’t think I was worth going to Corpse Strand for, but another part was relieved.

“Until now,” he added softly. “Until you.”

Air rushed out of my lungs, and my body relaxed. “Echo—”

“But I can’t have you. I will not make you wait for me.”

“Then don’t.” I pressed my fingers to his lips when he tried to protest. “Don’t tell me you can’t have me when I am giving myself to you.”

Echo went very still, glowing runes appearing on his face. I didn’t want to give him a chance to reject me, so I went on, speaking fast, tongue tripping, heart pounding.

“And don’t tell me I can’t want you, because I already do. Nothing you say or do will ever change that.”

More runes appeared on his face, his unusual eyes dazzling.

“I don’t want anyone else to slay my dragons or chase away my demons. I want you to do it. With me by your side. I want to laugh, and cry, and fight with you.”

The yellow in his eyes had swallowed the outer green, making him look both feral and otherworldly. He cupped my face. I was lying on his chest, our faces a few inches apart.

“You are giving yourself to me?” he asked, his voice low and sexy.

“Yes,” I said without hesitation.

“Even when I can’t give you forever?”

“Forever is overrated.”

He grinned. “Then I’ll give myself to you for as long as I can.” He meshed our lips.

The taste of him went straight to my head. My senses responded, sending my heart off the chart. I slipped both hands around his neck and held him, scared he’d change his mind and start talking about forever and Corpse Strand.

Growling, Echo angled his head to deepen the kiss. One hand moved down to yank the blanket from my lower torso and pull my leg across his hips so my legs straddled him. My pajamas were skimpy shorts and a tank top, the material so thin I might as well be naked. I felt his hardness from my chest to my thighs as I pressed against him, pleasure shooting through my body.

We both moaned.

His mouth left mine to nibble my jaw and my neck. He took my earlobe in his mouth and nipped. I shuddered even as he soothed it with his tongue. I gripped his head and brought his mouth to mine, needing to taste him again.

Letting me take charge of the kiss, his hands slid down my back, caressing the skin between my tank top and my shorts, over my hips to my thighs.

The feel of his hands on my skin was electrifying. Sensations scuttled coursed through me. Cupping my butt cheeks, he pulled me higher and ground against me, his arousal nestling between my legs. I pressed down hard, and he mumbled something into my mouth.

In one smooth move, he rolled to the side of my bed, sat up with me, and wrenched his mouth from mine, his breathing labored.

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he ordered.

I barely complied when he stood and strode to the door. “Where are we going?”

Instead of answering, he went into super speed mode. When he slowed down, runes covered my door. “Your parents won’t open your door while we are gone.”

“Gone where?”

“To my place.”

“No. Not Italy.” It was where he used to take Maliina.

“Not there. Already sold it.” He captured my mouth in a searing kiss and headed toward the mirror, my room becoming a blur. The next second, we were in a large bedroom dominated by a large round bed. A single bedside lamp stood on the nightstand. I didn’t know where we were, didn’t really care. I had all that I wanted within my reach.

Echo.

He lowered me to his bed, broke the kiss, and moved back. Cold air rushed in to replace his warmth, but I didn’t feel cold. The heat in his eyes as he knelt between my legs was enough to melt the arctic.

“Do you know how often I’ve wanted to bring you here? Fantasized about you in this bed?” In a fraction of a second, he removed his coat and threw it aside. The boots and socks followed, leaving him with just the dark-brown leather vest, white long-sleeved pirate shirt, and the leather pants.

“I have fantasies, too.” I tried to sit up, but he nudged me back.

“No, don’t move. I want the memory of you lying there etched in my brain.” He undid the vest, one button at a time.

“Only one memory?” I teased.

“One of many to come.” He forgot his vest and reached down to run his fingers along my stomach, the part left bare between my shorts and tank top. “Tell me about your fantasies, Cora.”

Heat crawled up my face. I shook my head.

He leaned down, shifted his weight on one elbow, and kissed the skin above my tank top. He left a heated trail as his lips moved to my shoulder, one hand slipping under my tank top and caressing me intimately. I shivered. I didn’t know what to do with my hands, so I stroked his hair and shoulders. His muscles spasmed as though my touch sent a shock through him.

“If you tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine,” he whispered against my neck, and I shuddered at the sensation. “Please, Cora. Tell me about your darkest, juiciest fantasies.”

I tried to focus on the conversation, but my mind was slow to respond. “I want to undress you. Slowly.”

I couldn’t believe I’d actually said it. He went still, and I was sure he was going to laugh.

“Okay, doll-face. Undress me.” He jumped off the bed and waited, hands on his hips, stance cocky, and an intense sensual gleam in his eyes.

Heart pounding, anticipation making me dizzy, I slid off the bed and went to stand in front of him on wobbly legs. Biting my lower lip in concentration, I undid the next button on his vest.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

Our eyes met, and my hand went still. Heat leaped in his wolfish eyes. He brushed my lower lip, forcing me to relinquish it. Muttering a curse, he cupped the back of my head and captured my lips, his tongue slipping inside my mouth to find mine.

Stunned, I forgot about undressing him. The kiss was fierce. Hot. Mind-numbing. I grabbed his arms and hung on.

He lifted his head to growl, “You have thirty seconds, sweetheart. Then I’m taking over.”

My movements clumsy, I undid the last buttons and pushed the vest off his broad shoulders. I tugged the shirt tucked into his pants, bunched it, and pushed it up, revealing his lower abs and the thin line of dark hair snaking from his belly button. Echo was pure perfection.

I drooled at the six abs, the wide chest, and the broad shoulders. His chest was right there, begging me to kiss it, so I did, and he groaned. Best fantasy ever. I pulled his shirt over his head and tugged until his arms were free. I threw the shirt aside.

“You are so beautiful,” I whispered in awe.

He chuckled. “You say things like that and this fantasy of yours is over.”

Smiling, my hand went his belt buckle, unhooked it, and yanked the belt off. It joined his shirt on the floor. I undid the button and lowered the zipper.

He sucked in a breath.

“That’s it. I can’t take it anymore.” He pulled me to him and kissed me. “Off.” He gripped the edge of my top and pulled it off, his eyes darkening as he drank me in. “Magnificent,” he whispered and ran his fingers across my chest, teased me while I moaned and shivered. “You never fail to take my breath away.”

“You did from the first moment we met. I need to see you,” I whispered.

“Really?” He scooped me up and threw me on the bed. “What else?” He knelt between my legs and rained kisses on my belly button, his hands gentle as a feather as he caressed my thighs and hips. He moved upwards, driving me crazy with his touch and kisses. The worst part was he watched my every reaction. When I gasped, he grinned.

“You like that?” he asked in a husky voice, the hungry gleam in his eyes mesmerizing and exciting.

“Yes.”

My body ceased to be mine. He was in control, taking cues from my responses. I grabbed his shoulder and let him love me, my cries of pleasure filling the room. Without stopping, he reached down and stroked my stomach, my hips, and my thighs. He went on his haunches and stripped me completely.

He ran his eyes over me and gave me a slow wicked smile. “Doll-face, if I were a lesser man, I’d explode from just looking at you.”

“I want to see you, too.” And touch him and kiss him.

He hooked his fingers under the waistband of his leather pants and pulled them down.

The gorgeous hunk didn’t believe in underwear and… wow, he was splendid in his nakedness. I’d seen enough swim team guys in their Speedos, but he was my first. My first naked guy. The first to render me speechless.

“Quit looking at me like that,” he teased, kneeling between my legs.

I giggled. “Like what?”

Echo lifted my leg and planted a kiss on my calf. Then he moved lower and planted another on my inner thigh. “Like you can’t wait to do wicked things to my body.”

My entire body flushed. There was no point denying it. I wanted to do really naughty things to him. “I do.”

“Do what?” He stroked his way to my stomach, past it to find me. “Do what?” he asked again, tormenting me with his fingers.

“Wicked things to you.” I pulled him to me, loving his weight, his hot body against mine.

Echo kissed my neck then my mouth, our tongues caressing, his fingers pushing me higher and higher. The pleasure was so intense I went a little crazy with each stroke. I rained kisses all over his face, my hands caressing his shoulders and arms, anywhere I could reach.

I went over the edge as my world disintegrated. I was still catching my breath when he went into hyper-speed. I didn’t understand until he was back before the cold could replace his warmth. He’d gotten protection. Funny I never even thought of that. Heat flooded my face.

Echo nestled perfectly between my legs. “Look at me.”

I tensed. Should I remind him this was my first time?

“Cora, look at me. Please.”

I looked into his eyes and remembered this was Echo. The guy who could be so hard and harsh one second and gentle and sweet the next. The guy I loved.

He pulled me closer, his body tense as though he was holding back. I cupped his face, kissed him, and pushed against him, wanting the painful part to be over, but he froze and started to withdraw.