Timeless

Timeless
:
The Asgard Warriors

Stolen Brides Series, Book 3

Sizzling paranormal romance from the bestselling author
Publishers Weekly
hails as “exciting” and “innovative”

A mysterious warrior abducts Lady Avril de Varennes from a trade fair and sweeps her away to Asgard Island, an enchanted paradise cloaked in mists and mystery, kept secret from the world for centuries. Against her will, Avril weds her arrogant captor, Hauk Valbrand—even as she vows to escape. Hauk believes himself beyond the reach of love, until his fiery captive bride begins to melt his heart of ice. But soon he must reveal the stunning truth about Asgard and its people—and Hauk and Avril must choose between love and honor, duty and desire, now and forever.

“Powerful. From the very first page you’re whisked away to a world where anything is possible.” –
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Entertaining. Exotic. This fantasy romance is an unusually smooth blend of both genres.”
–Locus

“An involving, beautiful story. I thought about the characters often at work, at the grocery store, in my car—wherever I was until I could get back to the book. A definite keeper, five hearts (highest rating).” – TheRomanceReader.com

An Alternate Selection of the Doubleday Book Club

A full-length novel of 100,000 words

Adult content: explicit love scenes

Originally published by Dell

This revised and expanded Author’s Preferred Edition e-book includes additional scenes never before published. Also includes bonus content: “The Making of TIMELESS: The Story Behind the Story,” plus excerpts from upcoming Shelly Thacker books.

The Stolen Brides Series

One falls through time and finds herself married to a dark stranger... one may never reach her royal wedding if she can’t resist her rugged protector... one is abducted by a mysterious swordsman and swept away to a secret island paradise. Three regal brides are about to discover that falling in love with a warrior is the most dangerous adventure of all.

Book 1:
Forever His
– Gaston and Celine

Book 2:
His Forbidden Touch
– Royce and Princess Ciara

Book 3:
Timeless
– Hauk and Avril

And coming soon, an all-new edition of the prequel:
Falcon on the Wind
– Connor and Laurien

About the Author

Shelly Thacker’s bestselling romances have won national awards and lavish praise from
Publishers Weekly
,
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
,
Locus
and
The Oakland Press
, who have called her novels “innovative,” “addictive,” “erotic” and “powerful.” Find out more at
www.shellythacker.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Publishing History

First edition published by Dell, a division of the Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group

Copyright 1998 by Shelly Thacker Meinhardt

Second edition published by Summit Avenue Books

Copyright 2012 by Shelly Thacker Meinhardt

ISBN: 978-0-9847646-7-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews, may be reproduced in any form by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission from the author.

The scanning, uploading, and distributing of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Cover design by Kim Killion of Hot DAMN! Designs
www.hotdamndesigns.com

Digital formatting by A Thirsty Mind
www.athirstymind.com

Publishers interested in foreign-language translation or other subsidiary rights should contact the author at
www.shellythacker.com
.

~~~

A note from Shelly

Dear Reader: My formatter and I carefully proofread each of my books before publication. We work hard to produce ebooks that are 100% free of typographical errors. But typos are sneaky little devils, and sometimes they slip past us. If you spot any typos lurking in this book, please send them to me at
mailto:[email protected]
. Thank you! Together, we can stamp out sneaky typos.

~~~

Dedication

To Laura Cifelli,

for encouraging me

when I needed it most.

In a time long ago, when kings and princes ruled, when the world’s unexplored corners and uncharted seas tempted men of bold heart to explore, a small band of daring Norsemen set out in search of a fabled, fertile domain to the west.

But like a mischievous dragon, the rough northern seas carried their longship to a hidden island instead, a place cloaked in mists and mystery, set apart from the world for centuries, untouched by time.

There they found bountiful fields and deep, cool forests, vast meadows, cascading waterfalls, and midsummer warmth that knew no season. Enchanted, the twenty Norsemen decided to claim the island as their home, naming this newfound paradise Asgard, after the legendary realm of the gods said to float above the earth, invisible to the eyes of men.

True to the daring spirit of their age, the warriors went a-viking, raiding, to seek brides to share their new home—and they soon discovered that Asgard offered much more than natural beauty. The island held a special magic unknown elsewhere in the world, a gift that has been enjoyed by their sons and daughters generation after generation.

Over the centuries, the people of Asgard have kept the island’s secret, protecting it from those who would wage war to possess it. Yet the gift also carries a price...

Asgard Island, 1303

’T
was a dangerous task, stealing women.

A man needed guile, strength, blade-skill, and boldness to find a fair maiden, pluck her from the bosom of her family like ripe fruit from a bough, carry her off—and live long enough to enjoy his prize.

Hauk Valbrand frowned, seated in the stern of the longboat as it pierced the fog and glided across the glassy, night-black sea. Studying the twelve warriors straining at the oars, their sweaty, angular faces illuminated by an oil lantern dangling from the prow, he knew that only seven or eight possessed the qualities needed to survive. The young fools should have listened to him when he argued against taking this risk.

Despite the battle-axes strapped across their backs and the swords at their waists, some of his traveling companions would lose their lives before this voyage was done.

He clenched his jaw and looked back over his shoulder at the distant beach, now a mere ribbon of silver in the moonlight. A brine-scented breeze made the fog shift and dance, while the rhythmic dipping of the oars through the water made the only sound in the stillness. All revelry and bawdy jests had ended when they left shore.

As soon as the young raiders had donned their brown homespun garments and pushed the square-sailed ship into the mist that cloaked their island home, each seemed to realize the seriousness of the dangers ahead.

But neither Hauk’s logic nor the threat of facing an outraged father or brother or kinsman had been enough to sway them from their purpose. The ancient drives were too strong, the temptation too powerful.

Had he not felt the same fire in his blood years ago, his first time? Had he not lived to enjoy his pretty prize?

Ja, and he had also lived to regret ever setting eyes on her.

“Still having doubts, old friend?”

Hauk glanced at the man beside him, who had one arm slung across the tiller. “
Nei
. Nay,” he replied tightly. “Merely wondering which of us will not survive to return home, Kel.”

“I am certain we will all return home.” Keldan pushed back the hood of his cloak, revealing thick dark hair, a confident smile, and a face that always made females swoon at his feet in annoying numbers. “You have trained us well, Hauk. Gareth is now better with a blade than any man on Asgard—other than you, of course. And Bjarn has become an expert with that odd weapon that fires short arrows—”

“A crossbow.”

“A crossbow.” Keldan shrugged as if the name did not matter. “And we have spent six months planning every detail of this journey—”

“And most of you have never left the island before. Even the best among you is little better than a green lad.”

Keldan wrinkled his nose in offense. “Inexperienced we may be, but the Claiming voyage is an honored tradition—and even
you
cannot fight tradition, Hauk.”

“Stolen fruit tastes the sweetest,” one of the other would-be warriors said, quoting the centuries-old saying among the inhabitants of Asgard Island.

Hauk slanted the eager young whelp a quelling look. “If we are to survive, we must
change
some of the old traditions.” It seemed he had been saying that every day of late. He sighed, rubbing at his eyes, running a weary hand through his tangled blond hair. “The Claiming voyage was necessary for survival in the early days, but that is no longer true. In these times it is dangerous not only to us but to everyone we leave behind. There are seven hundred lives on that island, and I am responsible for keeping them safe—”

“Mayhap you should have stayed behind with them, Valbrand,” another raider commented, his voice laced with undisguised hostility. “We do not need you hovering over us like some overgrown nursemaid.”

Hauk sliced his old nemesis with a glare. “I am here by order of the elders, Thorolf. Someone had to ensure that you hot-blooded raiders remember our laws and do not bring a world of trouble down upon us.” Leaning back against the bulwark, he rested one arm along the boat’s railing, letting his cloak fall open to display the longsword gleaming at his waist. Won in battle by his grandfather, it was named
Forsvar
. Defender. “I will be keeping watch over
you
most of all.”