Truth's Heart (The Valkyrie's Passion Book 3): A Valkyrie/Shifter Romance (5 page)

Raven broke the kiss. “So, shall we find the Yggdrasil root and head to Muspellheim?”

“We've been on the road all day. Do you want to venture through the dangerous lands of fire and giants now or in the morning after we rested?”

Raven glanced at the lodge and a yawn split her lips. “Morning. I could use a nice, long soak in a hot spring.”

“We didn't bring bathing suits,” Magnus pointed out.

“Who needs bathing suits?” arched Raven.

“I doubt we're the only visitors, but I'm willing to try if you are.”

Raven's cheeks went red. “Oh, you are absolutely right. I, well, I wasn't thinking.”

I resisted the urge to point out my early theory on cell phones. “Let's check in. I hope it's not too expensive.”

~   ~   ~

Raven

The lodging was too expensive. Magnus's eyes almost bulged. The poor clerk who ran the front office paled when Magnus growled, his fist clenching. I knew Magnus wouldn't hurt the man—my wolf never started a fight, he only finished them—but the clerk didn't know.

“I-I'm sorry, sir, b-but that's the rate,” protested the clerk.

“It's fine,” I told him, handing over my credit card. “I'll cover it.”

Magnus shook his head. “No, no, I'll pay. Do you accept cash?”

“We need a card on file in case of damages to the room,” the man answered. There was not a hotel left in America that didn't require a credit card. But Magnus had asked each time we used one on our flight south.

Magnus pulled out a credit card—I had been shocked to learn he even had one—and the man rang up our room. He gave us a set of keys. Old-fashioned, metal keys instead of keycards. We headed to our room, the bike's saddlebags slung over Magnus's shoulder.

While all the natural hot springs were outdoors, they did have a bathhouse that piped in spring water, and those were private. We trooped across the beautiful grounds, a stand of fragrant pines filled the air with sweet scent. There were several pools of steaming water outside, one with a massive and obvious root of the Yggdrasil diving through the center, the top hazing off into oblivion.

I doubted any normal people could see or touch it.

We stripped naked when we were inside the bathhouse, a pool of steaming water set into the floor. Everything was made of alternating white and periwinkle tiles. The steam rose from the water, the moisture beading on my naked body while I watched Magnus stripped.

He was a hunky man. His muscles rippled as he moved. He had several tattoos, a howling wolf on his arm, a dragon clutching a woman on his chest, and strange designs inked with black which mixed with the scars that adorned his body.

It was a Viking's body.

I sank down into the water, sighing as the warmth seeped into my sore muscles. I had a Valkyrie's enhanced healing powers. I recovered from mortal wounds in hours, but a day spent riding on the back of a motorcycle was wearying.

The water was magical against my skin.

An earthy scent danced over the surface. They said the minerals in the water were absorbed through your skin and that's what made bathing in them so wonderful. I leaned my head back, my breasts bobbing before me.

Magnus's hungry eyes were on them. His cock hardened and rose as he stepped into the water. I smiled, shifting as a new heat warmed between my thighs. The water rippled as he moved to me. Droplets beaded on his chest and ran down his muscular pecs.

I lifted my foot, my toes curling above the surface of the water. He seized my foot, his fingers massaging my soles. I sighed, “That's wonderful.”

My eyes closed as he kept massaging. I sank lower into the water, my black hair fanning around my shoulders until only my face was above water. I savored Magnus's kneading fingers as he worked the stress out of my body.

My other foot, not in his hand, found his leg. I smiled as I stroked up and down his thigh, moving slightly higher each time. When my toes brushed Magnus's heavy balls, he let out a growl. I was careful as I rubbed them and then I found his shaft.

“Feeling a little frisky?” Magnus asked as I rubbed my foot up and down his shaft.

“More than a little,” I smiled at him. The sole of my foot caressed the tip of his dick. He shuddered and growled, his fingers digging deeper into my foot. “How about you?”

“Your beauty always inspires me,” Magnus answered with a hungry grin. “I should bend you over the edge of the pool and take you hard.”

My pussy clenched. “Take what's yours.”

Magnus let go of my foot. He stepped closer, his hands reaching for me. I trembled as he seized me and flipped me over. He pressed me against the edge of the pool, pushing down between my shoulders until my breasts touched the cold tiles of the floor while his hard cock brushed my upper thighs.

I trembled, suddenly so ready to be taken hard. I needed no foreplay tonight. Just being with Magnus made wet and ready. He moved his cock up my thigh, guiding the thick tip to my hungry folds. He brushed them.

I opened my mouth to moan when a loud rap shook the door.

“I'm sorry to disturb you, but Mr. Kron, there was a, eh, slight accident in the parking lot. I'm afraid one of our guests, well, hit your bike.”

“What?” Magnus roared.

I groaned in frustration.

“I'm so sorry sir. The damage looks minimal, but...”

Magnus loved his bike. Water splashed violently as he climbed out. I let out a frustrated groan as I sank my hips back into the water and knelt on the edge, watching him dress. I felt bad for his bike, but I really didn't want to leave the water.

“I'll be back,” Magnus growled as he thrust his wet legs through his jeans, struggling to work the garment up his thighs.

“I'll be waiting,” I purred as he struggled to zip up, his hard cock making that more difficult. “Don't take too long. Maybe I'll start without you.”

Magnus gave me a grin. “No. You'll wait for me. You won't be satisfied playing with yourself.”

I shuddered. He was so right.

Magnus yanked the door open and strode out bare-chested and slammed it behind him. I sighed, squeezing my thighs together as I turned over and sat back on the bench at the edge. I closed my eyes and let the warmth sink into me. My body floated up as I relaxed, my breasts and stomach breaking the surface of the water.

“You don't have to wait for him to return to find satisfaction,” a hungry voice said.

Chapter Five

Raven

I let out a squeak of right and jerked up, water splashing around me. Loki, naked and hard, slipped into the hot spring on the opposite side of me. His handsome face had that hungry smile that used to make my body ache.

I covered my breasts as I glared at him. “You bastard. What do you want?”

My heart raced. My thoughts whirled. I needed to do something. This man tricked me. He used me. He made me kill Odin. I glared at him as he stretched back in the water, spreading both his arms out on the rim as he let out a contented sigh.

I summoned my sword. It screamed into my hand in a burst of dark fire. I almost dropped it. This wasn't my sword. The flames should be bright and cheery, not tinged with darkness. When I moved my sword, screams of men erupted. They were horrible. I knew, somehow, that they were the cries of men dying on the battlefield.

I had heard these screams when Loki, masquerading as Odin, fought me. He wielded a sword that screamed with all the agony of men dying in battle, gasping and groaning as their guts were spilled out and their lives drew to an end.

Why did my sword make these sounds now? I hadn't summoned the blade since the fight. What had changed?

“Well, that is a surprise,” Loki said, still lounging. “Odin was more magnanimous than I expected.”

“What are you talking about?” I demanded, standing up and pointing my blade at him as water fell off my body. Even if the sword made those terrible sounds, it was still a weapon. I could still hurt him with it.

Right?

No, I couldn't. I could only end this doppelganger. It wouldn't harm the real Loki. But the sword made me feel safer.

“You are a glorious woman,” Loki grinned. “I still am saddened you didn't choose me. I would have showered you in riches and given you pleasures your small-minded Einherjer could only dream of.”

My cheeks burned red. I stood naked before him. With a thought, I summoned my silvery armor to encase me. Relief flooded me when it sprang into being around me. It was unchanged. Only my sword was different.

I marched through the water at him. “I would never choose a loathsome, pathetic worm like you. You're nothing. You put on a pretty face and think that makes you a man. It doesn't. It makes you weak, small, and desperate. What do you really look like? I bet you're ugly.”

Loki shrugged. “I really can't remember.” He glanced at the scramming blade. “I was very afraid for your life when you threw away the Sun's Tear and restored Sol.”

“You don't care about my life.”

“No,” he admitted. “But I care about what you can accomplish with your life. All the gods want you dead. I need you fit. I need you capable. I need you to have a weapon to kill them for me. The Sun's Tear would have made a glorious weapon for you. And you knew it, yet you threw it away.”

“I was done listening to you. I honored it Odin's last request.” Tears burned in my eyes.

“How admirable,” applauded Loki, his smile twisting into a large grin. “Such sentimentality. I think I'll shed a tear.”

I moved closer, the point of her blade aimed at his throat. “What do you want?”

“By appearing here or just in general?” He arched his eyebrows. “What would you give me to tell my secrets? I can be...enticed by such a lovely creature as you.”

My skin crawled.

“You are so easy to manipulate,” he laughed. “It was so pathetic how wet you were for me. You had Magnus, this strapping man you claimed to love, and yet your body betrayed your feelings and lusted for me. If I really tried, you would have forgotten all about your silly love for Magnus and spread your thighs for me like a whore.”

I hissed at him, “I never would touch you. How my body responds is instinctive. There's no controlling that, but
I
decide who I give myself to. And I rejected you, Loki. And I am so glad I did. You are so despicable. You're nothing more than dog poop staining my shoe.”

“Dog poop? How amusingly cute.” He leaned back and spread his arms again, unconcerned about my sword. “At this point, it doesn't matter. I've won. I just need for you and the gods to kill each other. And how perfect. Odin gave you Gungnir, his lance.”

I glanced down at the dark flames burning on my sword.

Loki nodded. “I faked having my sword sound like Gungnir for the fight, but you have the real thing. The Lance of Odin has merged with your Valkyrie's fire. I do not have to worry at all. You have a weapon equal to the Sun's Lance. A pity you failed to use it on Freyr and his giantess whore.”

“I won't kill the other gods for you. I am done doing your work.”

Loki shrugged. “I'm sure your survival instinct will kick in when Thor swings Mjolnir at your head. His hammer packs a mighty punch. It would be a shame to have your pretty, little head caved in. Such a waste.”

My stomach knotted. Magnus and I just had to keep moving, to reach the dwarves, get the artifact, and then defeat Loki and unmask his treachery. Not another god has to die because of his foul games.

A wolf howled. Magnus roared in rage.

“I guess the puppy's realized he's been tricked,” sighed Loki. “He is far too possessive about that bike. Makes you think, doesn't it? Does he believe he owns you? Are you merely his property, Valkyrie?”

“That's not going to work. I know that you're just lying to me to trick me.”

“Oh, I never lie when the truth serves better. I see how he looks at you.”

Magnus was possessive, but I liked it. I knew he didn't actually own me, but I couldn't deny how sexy it was when Magnus took control. It had been hot when he flipped me over and bent me down in the bath only minutes ago.

“Well, last chance,” Loki said, standing up, the water cascading off his muscular body, his cock thrusting hard at my face. “If you want to feel what a real man is like inside you, I can take care of your pup. He can even watch. I bet it would be...educational for him.”

A surge of anger rushed through me. My sword swung, not at his head or chest, but at his disgusting cock pointing at me. The sword screamed death as it sliced down at his dick. Loki vanished before my blade reached him.

Water splashed as my blade plunged into the depths.

The bathhouse door burst open, and a werewolf loped into the room. Magnus had donned the wolf cloak, his body furry and fierce. He loped to me, snarling in rage. I dismissed my sword and armor as he reached me and swept me up in his furry arms.

“He's gone,” I told him throwing my arms around my neck. I felt so dirty. I shuddered in Magnus's embrace.

His fur vanished, replaced by smooth skin. I pressed my face into the nape of his neck as he held me tight, protective. Possessive. He cradled me like I was the most precious object in the universe and rocked me back and forth.

“Did he touch you?” snarled Magnus.

“No,” I answered. I grit my teeth against Loki's words. Magnus did not think he owned me. He was just being protective. He knew Loki had been here, and he had rushed to defend me. “I wouldn't let the worm. He just wanted to mock me.”

Magnus sighed, some of the tension melting out of him.

“I want to go to our room. I don't feel like soaking in here anymore.”

~   ~   ~

Magnus

Raven rushed into the shower the moment we entered our room. The water hissed on as her clothing fell off her body. She left the door open and stepped into the shower. I went to the saddlebags and checked that the Eldhrimnir still remained.

It was there. Untouched.

“Ooh, he is such a slimy worm,” Raven shouted from the shower. “The way he ogled me.”

“I can't believe I fell for the bike trick and left you alone,” I snarled. I took off my cut and set my leather vest carefully on the bed. It was important. It had my patches, the proof that the Black Wolves Motorcycle Club had once been proud and strong before Loki's plan wiped out most of my brothers.